Wood vs. Wood #190

Last time, with one of the largest voter turnouts in some time, 1962 defeated 1987, 8-5. Who will win this time?

Wally Moon is hatless even though he had been on the Dodgers for years and would continue to be in 1962, so they certainly could have used a cap in the photo. I'm not sure of the location. Moon came up with the Cardinals in 1954 and was excellent for four seasons, with high batting averages and some power and speed. After one down year in 1958 the Cardinals traded Moon to the Dodgers for Gino Cimoli. He bounced back in a big way in 1959, hitting .302 with 19 HR and 74 RBI, leading the NL with 11 triples, winning the first of his two World Series rings with the Dodgers. He was coming off another big season here, having hit .328 with 17 HR and 88 RBI, leading the NL with a .434 on-base percentage. It would be Moon's last standout season. He hurt his knee in 1962, and lost further playing time as the Dodgers moved toward playing young prospects. He retired after the 1965 season. In 1,457 games he hit .289 with 142 HR and 661 RBI. After his playing career he had a long career coaching and managing college and minor league ball. He died in 2018.

Jim Sundberg follows through on a swing in a spring training game in West Palm Beach against the Expos. A six-time gold glove catcher and three-time All-Star, Jim Sundberg played sixteen seasons in the major leagues, mostly for the Rangers and Royals. In 1,962 games, he hit .248 with 95 HR and 624 RBI. He was a key member of the Royals team that won the World Series in 1985. He is now a public speaker and blogger, as seen on his site JimSundberg.com. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards in 2019.