Wood vs. Wood #335

 Last time 1962 edged 1987, 6-4. Who will win here?

Bill Bruton poses at spring training wearing his new Tigers uniform, after eight years as a Milwaukee Braves. He was considered one of the fastest players in baseball in an era where stolen bases were infrequent. He led the NL in SB his first three seasons in the majors, and later twice led the league in triples. He had four good seasons in Detroit before retiring. Overall in 1,610 games he hit .273 with 241 2B, 102 3B, 94 HR, 545 RBI and 207 SB. After his retirement Bruton became an executive at Chrysler, rotating through various business departments over 23 years. He retired in 1988 after serving as Special Assistant to CEO Lee Iacocca. He died of a heart attack while driving in 1995.

Topps goes for the seldom-used over-the-shoulder portrait on Candy Maldonado's card. The background is blurry but I think it might be a bat rack or helmet storage. Maldonado played for seven teams in fifteen seasons, as a corner outfielder with some power. He lost a fly ball in the lights in the 1987 NLCS that was key in the Giants losing to the Cardinals, but had a walkoff hit in the 1992 World Series to help Toronto win that championship. Overall in 1,410 games he hit .254 with 146 HR and 618 RBI. He has been an announcer for ESPN Deportes for many years.
 

Cake or gum? 1977 Ted Simmons

Last time gum rolled to a 7-2 win. Will cake win here?

A couple of interesting photos here. Hostess has Simmons in a spring training shot, with lots of interesting things going on in the background. Topps has Simmons in his catching gear, in full bicentennial mode with the patch and the Cardinals' commemorative pillbox cap.

Ted Simmons was a fine catcher for many years for the Cardinals, Brewers and Braves. He was a nine-time All-Star who hit for a fairly high average (.285) and some power (six 20+ HR seasons). He is considered one of the weaker Hall-of-Fame selections in recent years (he had 50.4 WAR in 2,456 games, compared to Thurman Munson, 46.1 WAR in 1,423 games). After his playing career he was an executive, coach and scout for several teams.
 

1981 Topps Warren Brusstar

 

The front: Fun background with cars and a warehouse.

The back: Brusstar's 199 innings were 12 more than the second place pitcher, Rick Sutcliffe.

The player: Brusstar's career was a good example of the volatility of middle relievers. He had some excellent seasons, such as 1978 (the year he allowed 0 HR), 1981 and 1983, but most of the other seasons he was mediocre. Overall in 340 games over 9 seasons, mostly for the Phillies and Cubs, Brusstar went 28-16 with 14 saves and a 3.51 ERA.

The man: After his playing career Brusstar had a long coaching career, but is now retired. He also works with the Tug McGraw Foundation, where his wife Jennifer Brusstar is the CEO.

My collection: I have 15 of his cards, from 1978 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1978 SSPC #54.
 

1976 SSPC Dave Rader

 

The card, in brief: No sky is visible on this card but it certainly seems to be a night card.

Playing career, in brief: Rader had a fine rookie season with the Giants in 1972, hitting .259 with 6 HR and 41 RBI. The next season his averaged dipped to .229, and from then on was primarily a backup catcher. The Giants traded him to the Cardinals after the 1976 season, starting a string of four teams in four years, ending his career with Boston in 1980. Rader, who caught Ed Halicki's no-hitter in 1975, played in 846 games, hitting .257 with 30 HR and 235 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief: After his playing career, Rader became a plumber, like his father and grandfather before him. He also worked in real estate, and appears to now be retired.

My collection: I have 12 of his cards, from 1972 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1976 Hostess #21.

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #14

Both bride and groom wearing white to symbolize purity. Don and Kim got married in 1979 and divorced in 2008.

Mattingly's thoughtful approach to baseball is apparent even in these brief answers.

1988 Domino's Dick McAuliffe

 

This is the kind of great action pose that I wish Topps had used in their cards of the era. An earlier version of this card misspelled his name McAuliff.

McAuliffe was a shortstop with unusual power for a 1960s middle infielder, with three 20+ HR seasons for the Tigers. A three-time All Star, he led the AL with 95 runs scored in 1968. That year he was second in the AL in fielding and became the first ALer ever to go a whole season without hitting into a double play. However, a knee injury limited McAuliffe's action in 1969 and he was never the same player after. Overall in 16 seasons, 14 with Detroit, McAuliffe hit .247 with 197 HR and 696 RBI. After his playing career he owned a baseball school and a coin-op laundry business. He died in 2016.

I have 15 of his cards, from 1963 to 1974. I would be interested in trading for 1962 Topps #527 and 1972 Topps #725. 

Burgers or gum? Chet Lemon

Last time it was a 4-2 win for gum. Will burgers do better here?

Wendy's has a portrait of Lemon at spring training, while Topps has him at bat at Tigers Stadium. Chet Lemon played sixteen seasons in the major leagues, making three All-Star teams and winning a World Series in 1984, hitting .294 in the Fall Classic. In 1,988 games he hit .273 with 215 HR and 884 RBI. In addition to his fielding records, his highlights including leading the American League in HPB four times and in doubles in 1979. After his playing career he owned the youth baseball program Chet Lemon’s Juice, considered one of the top programs in the country. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2011. Chet Lemon passed away in 2025.
 

Wood vs. Wood #333

Last time was a 5-1 win for 1987. Will 1962 do better here?

Frank Cipriani wears the black and red of the old Kansas City A's. Though he would play in the minor leagues through 1966, his brief MLB career was already over when this card came out. In 13 games for the A's in '61, the outfielder hit .250 with 0 HR and 2 RBI. After his playing career he served as a lieutenant in the Lackawanna Fire Department for 35 years. He and his brother, Mario, also operated several restaurants, including Big Wheel in West Seneca, N.Y., and Macaroni Company and Garcia’s Irish Pub in Buffalo. He died in 2022.

Ken Phelps digs into the batters box in Anaheim. The only day game at California that Phelps appeared in during the 1986 season was August 10. Phelps went 0-for-4 as the Mariners lost 4-0. Phelps was a low-batting-average slugger whose high slugging percentage and OBP numbers made him an early sabermetric darling. He had four 20+ HR seasons during his tenure with the Mariners, who famously traded Phelps to the Yankees for Jay Buhner. Phelps quickly ran out of gas after the trade, while Buhner developed into a big star. Overall, Phelps played in 11 seasons for six teams. In 761 games he hit .239 with 123 HR and 313 RBI. He now does some announcing and community service work.
 

Cake or gum? 1977 Dave Kingman

Last time was a 7-0 shutout for gum. Will cake get on the board here?

Hostess has Kingman posing for a portrait in spring training, while a llama in a blue sweater looks on. Either that or one of his teammates is about to peg a ball at his head. Meanwhile Topps shows Kingman in a follow through, tracking the progress of a fly ball to left. Judging by the way he's twisting his body, and the lack of reaction from the fans, this ball was probably well foul.

Dave Kingman was the forefather of today's big-HR, big-strikeout sluggers. He twice led the NL in home runs, hitting over 30 seven times and finishing with 442 in his 16-year career. He also struck out over 100 times in 13 seasons, back when 100 strikeouts for a batter was a lot for one season. As a rookie he played in the 1971 NCLS with the Giants, but never again made it back to the postseason as he was usually the biggest star on some bad teams, most notably with the Cubs and Mets. Overall in 1,941 games for seven teams, he hit .236 with 442 HR and 1,210 RBI. He was known to be one of the more difficult personalities in the league, especially when it came to dealing with the media. After his career he owned a tennis club in Lake Tahoe and continues to reside in the area, where he raised his family. His son Adam, a carpenter and designer, won season three of the reality show Making It.
 

1981 Topps Al Bumbry

 

The front: This is one of the more action packed cards in the set. The speedy Bumbry is off to first after hitting the ball hard somewhere.

The back: Bumbry played in six postseason series in his career. In four games he hit .250 (4-for-16), scoring 5 runs. In the other five series, he played in 18 games, hitting .086 (5-for-58), scoring 4 runs.

The player: Bumbry was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1973, hitting .337 with 7 HR, 34 RBI and 23 SB, leading the AL with 11 triples. He remained a fixture at the top of the Orioles lineup for a decade, with speed and doubles power. Overall in 1,496 games he hit .281 with 220 2B, 52 3B, 54 HR, 402 RBI and 254 SB.

The man: Bumbry served in the ROTC while in college, and was drafted into the Army, where he lead a platoon in Vietnam for 11 months. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service. After his playing career he was a coach for many years, and since 1989 he has been a co-owner of Robbie's First Base, a baseball card store in Timonium, MD, where he can often be seen interacting with fans.

My collection: I have 32 of his cards, from 1973 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Fleer Stamps #147.