When 500 HR meant something

Today in baseball history two HOF'ers hit their 500th home run. Two of the greatest players of any era; Willie Mays and Frank Robinson.

Mays hit his 500th in 1965 while Robinson hit his in 1971. Back in the day when hitting 500 home runs was a commodity for a select few both Mays and Robinson were tops in their class.
September 13th certainly does mark a special day in baseball lore.

Willie Mays Topps 1970, # 600: the eyes awaiting a home run pitch
(I know it is a photo from spring training but I still love those intense "eyes")

Frank Robinson Topps 1967 #100: another shot of the "home run" eyes

Ranking 4th (Mays with 660) and 7th (Robinson with 586) in career round trippers, I salute Mays and Robinson for reaching that 500 HR club on the same day, albeit six years apart.

Baseball's Greatest Hits from OH

my wife came into the house this afternoon exclaiming "you have a package". I like getting packages. (I feel compelled to mention at this time, that even though I get home before the wife, she gets the mail - has done that for years and she just does it. I think she likes to get the mail, though I am not really sure because I never asked otherwise).

Anyways, today's bubble mailer was a rather pleasant surprise from "Baseball Dad" Jack of All Tribe Baseball a long time Cleveland Indian fan. In this package was a CD, yes a CD. He had mentioned a contest of sorts in a post a few weeks back and to be perfectly honest, I totally forgot about it, but am glad he did not.

This CD is a collection of 22 of Baseball's Greatest Hits (hence the title of the CD) and includes such classics as "Who's on First" by Abbott & Costello; "Say Hey" (The Willie Mays Song); "Willie, Mickey and the Duke"; "Casey at the Bat"; "Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech" and Chicago Cub favorites like Steve Goodman's "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" and "The Land of Wrigley".

This is now playing in my computer and I really like this selection of music and baseball lore on a CD. Jack also included a few Cubs cards; and I especially like the larger than life bat in your face Julio Zuleta 2002 Topps Total and the Kenny Lofton 2003 Fleer depicting the 1963 Fleer design.

Jack, thank you very much for remembering me . . . and for sharing Baseball's Greatest Hits !

Bonds as a Cub

Yes Bobby Bonds, the father of the "famous" Bonds (as in Barry) played for the Cubs. His official last year in the majors was 1981 and he was in a Cub uniform. He played in only 45 games for the Cubs in 1981, hit 6 HR's, batted .215 and struckout 44 times.

While Bobby made a name for himself as a San Fransisco Giant in the late sixties and early seventies he actually played for seven other teams during his 14 year career. One of the best power and speed combination players; Bobby was actually the second player ever to reach 300 HR's and 300 stolen bases (Willie Mays was the first).I found this card (1982 Fleer # 588) in the bargain bin (20 for $ 1.00) at a flea market this past weekend and could not pass it up. The other nineteen cards I found were also cards I needed, wanted or liked but none compare to having Bobby Bonds in a Cubs uniform. Nothing exciting about this card except for the traditional blue Cub hat which does not match his pants (I wonder what uniform he was actually wearing ?).

Bobby Bonds passed away in 2003 but will always be one of the more exciting players I was able to see play growing up . . . and was a Cubbie, albeit for a very short time.

Duplicate Initials: C.C.

Players with the initials "C.C." are not as prevalent as the previous B.B. but there are plenty of players that come to mind. First many of you might think of C.C. Sabathia but sorry I meant first and last initials.

There is Cecil Cooper, Carl Crawford and Coco Crisp. Lesser knowns, Clay Carroll, Chris Carpenter, Chien-Ming Chang, Carmelo Castillo and Casey Cox. I could have also been a homer and just used a Chicago Cubs team photo or even non-players with cards like Charles A Comisky or former President Calvin Coolidge.

No, instead I went with a "star" from the early seventies, billed a "the next Willie Mays" by Leo Durocher in 1972 (then the manage of the Houston Astros). A supreme talent who burst onto the big league circuit at the age of 19; a rocket of an arm, blazing speed, a solid glove and a bit of pop in his bat. Five time Gold Glove winner, four time all-star and had 20 HR's and 50 stolen bases three consecutive years (1972, 73, 74).

While he never lived up to that super-stardom label (nobody else has managed to do that either), Cesar Cedeno was a very good player; career numbers of 199 HR's, .285 BA and 550 SB. Mostly known for hs days in an Astros uniform (1970-81) but also played for the Cincinnati Reds (1982-85), St Louis Cardinals (1985) and finished his career with the Los Angeles Dodger (1986). Historian Bill James ranks Cedeno as the 21st best center-fielder of all time.

I found a quote from The Baseball Page written by Dan Holmes and Kirk Robinson that best summarizes Cedeno: " A talented player in the mold of Willie Mays, Cesar Cedeno never reached superstar status for many reasons, some beyond his control. The Dominican-born Cedeno was involved in a scandalous off-the-field episode that resulted in the death of his girlfriend; played much of his career for a team that rarely made headlines above the Oklahoma border; suffered from playing in the Astrodome, a stadium that cost him power numbers that may have gave him notoriety; and finally, injuries and attitude problems cost him playing time. Despite all of that, Cedeno had a very good career, winning five Gold Gloves and finishing among league leaders in steals, batting average, and doubles on many occasions. "

There you go . . . my entry for Duplicate Initials: C.C. . . . Cesar Cedeno . . .

44HR for #44

In another entry in my tribute to Roberto Clemente and his remarkable career, a statisical coincidence which appears on other baseball cards (if you recall Clemente's 1973 last card indicates exactly 3000 hits achieved) as I call a "Clemente-ism"

So I present the 1963 National League Homerun Leaders (card is the Topps 1964 # 9).

This card displays awesome power led by Henry Aaron and three members of the San Francisco Giants; McCovey, Mays and Cepeda. The Giants team of 1963 hit an amazing 197 homeruns that year with five players over 20 HR's (those three and Bailey and Felipe Alou).

For comparison, the Cubs hit 127 and the "powerful" New York Yankees hit only 188 (I know Mantle and Maris had injuries). For the Chicago Cubs perspective; Santo and Williams tied for the club honors, each hitting 25.

This card becomes rather unique from the quirkyness found on the back. Aaron and McCovey tied for the League Lead with 44 round trippers . . . they each wore uniform #44 !

Bobby Bonds - "Dancing" in 1973

Much has been written about Bobby Bonds over the years, most notable being the Father of Barry, yet so many forget how great a baseball player he really was. The combination of power and speed had not been seen since Willie Mays; Bobby Bonds was actually the second player to hit 300 homeruns and steal 300 bases (Mays being the first).

Bonds played fourteen seasons, seven of which were in San Francisco to begin his career (1968-1974) and interestingly enough he ended his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1981, hitting six home runs in 45 games. Bonds ended his career with 332 career homeruns, 461 stolen bases and had a grand slam as his first major league hit.

The card I am highlighting is his 1973, Topps # 145. I like this “action” shot of Bonds trying to return to first base avoiding the pick off (it looks like a “young” HOF Willie Stargell or is it Bob Robertson ?). In either case Bonds looks like he will be safe as usual.

The back of the card is even more interesting, noting that “Bobby’s Hobby is Dancing”. I think he might be able to win “Dancing with the Stars” if he was able to compete today.

And another one of Topps genius’ messed up on his statistics for 1968 and 1969, his first two years in the majors. Yes they are inaccurate.

From all reliable sources I can find, including his 1969 RC and 1970 second year card, as well the Baseball Almanac, he hit .254 with 9 Hr and 35 RBI in 1968 and batted .259 with 32 HR and 90 RBI in 1969. His 1973 card is all messed up yet his major league totals are indeed correct.

I do not have any later year cards of Bobby Bonds to see if and when his stats were corrected. Can anyone help me on this one ?

Bobby Bonds “danced” . . . on the bases and with his bat.

Willie May - 1970 - 600 HR on #600

My first baseball card post for 2009 is none other than Willie Howard Mays. Some regard Mays as the greatest all around baseball player ever (if not number one certainly in the top five on everyone’s list). While I was able to see him play in person only twice, his career numbers are incredible.

660 homeruns, .302 career batting average, 1903 RBI’s, to go along with 338 stolen bases, 20 time all-star, 2 time National League MVP (1954 and 1965), 12 time gold glove award winner, 1951 Rookie of the Year and naturally his uniform # 24 is retired by the San Francisco Giants. If that was not enough, the current Giant stadium (AT&T Park) is addressed as 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

The 1970 card of Mays, # 600 pictured here is one of my favorites. I like the cards from 1970, simple gray border, name printed in script and a posed picture with Mays’ eyes looking for that perfect pitch to be thrown. As in some of my earlier posts, I like the back of the card even better. The nine basic statistical categories and the listing of his entire career year by year; unlike the 1971 cards listing only stats from 1970 and career. Take a look at games played and you will see a player who played in over 150 games 13 years in a row – look at most of today’s players and the number of games played, it is a joke.

One most interesting stat on the back is homeruns. Mays ended the 1969 campaign with exactly 600 round trippers . . . his card is numbered 600. As I mentioned before in my Roberto Clemente 1973 post, I have termed this sort of coincidence as a “Clementi-ism” . Do you know of other cards with this sort of “coincidence” ? Let’s share . . .