Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Wood vs. Wood #153

 Last time 1962 cruised to a 6-1 triumph. Who will win this time?

Infielder Pumpsie Green is shown here at Yankee Stadium, talking while posing resulting in a bit of an awkward photo. He was the first Black player on the Red Sox, the last MLB team to integrate, making his debut in 1959. He played four seasons for the Red Sox and one for the Mets, hitting .246 with 13 HR and 74 RBI in 344 games. After his career he worked for over 20 years at Berkeley High School in California, as a baseball coach, truant officer and summer school math teacher. He died in 2019.

Duane Ward is shown in spring training, 1986, when he was still a member of the Braves. We all make fun of the bad airbrushing on Topps cards, but we rarely celebrate the well-executed airbrush jobs like this one. Ward pitched ten games for the Braves before being traded to Toronto for Doyle Alexander, and he pitched the rest of his 462 major league games for the Blue Jays. He was the top set-up man and sometimes closer for the great Blue Jays teams of the early 1990s. For his career he went 32-37 with 121 saves and a 3.28 ERA. He was particularly dominant in the World Series, going 3-0 with 2 saves and a 1.13 ERA. He had a career year in 1993 with 45 saves, but injuries limited him to just four more appearances, and he retired in 1995. He is now a radio announcer for the Blue Jays.



10 comments:

  1. Neither is great, but I'll go with Pumpsie.

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  2. I usually pick the oldest one. But 87 is one of the best designs the decade, regardless of value

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  3. I didn't realize Ward was airbrushed. That's cool. But still going with Green.

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  4. Pumpsie (written with that Eddie Murphy accent in mind).

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  5. Pumpsie by a mile. That's a great one.

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  6. Pumpsie. Cool name... and worked in the Bay Area, so he gets my vote.

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  7. Didn't know Ward was airbrushed. Still going with Pumpsie!

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