Friday, November 10, 2023

Cake or gum? 1976 Terry Forster

 Last time Topps cruised to a 5-1 victory. Will this be a closer matchup?

Hostess shows Forster posing near the bullpen in Oakland. Topps has him in the outfield at Comiskey. Powder-blue road uniform or red-pinstriped home uniform? I am too young to remember when red was the White Sox' main color, so both look odd to me.

Terry Forster was one of the best relievers in baseball at this time. He was the White Sox closer in the mid-1970s, leading the AL with 24 saves in 1974. Later with the Dodgers, he was the closer on the 1978 pennant winners and a key member of the 1981 world champs. By the mid-1980s, in his stints with the Braves and Angels, he became more known for his weight than his pitching. Famously called a "fat tub of goo" by David Letterman, he embraced the notoriety, appearing on Letterman's show and eating a sandwich, as well as recording a song called "Fat is In". Overall in 614 games he went 54-65 with 127 saves and a 3.23 ERA in 16 seasons. He also had 31 hits in 78 at-bats. That .397 batting average is the major league record for players with 50+ at-bats or 15+ seasons. After his career he coached at the University of Ottawa and was a scout for the Angels, but he appears to now be retired.

6 comments:

  1. I gotta go with the gum. I really don't remember the White Sox being red either. I do remember when they switched to the uniforms with shorts though.

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  2. Cake - I like the catcher in the background

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  3. I remember watching Letterman when he said that! Good thing Forster was a good sport about it. BTW - cake wins.

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  4. Gum.

    That's crazy about the batting average.

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  5. Gotta remember that batting average next time Immaculate Grid does ".300 lifetime average". He played for 5 teams so there's a good chance he'll be usable.

    I'm gonna go Topps just because you can see his eyes in that picture but not the other.

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