Name the Game - 1983 Topps Phil Garner

It has been a long time since I've named a game, so let's give it a go!  Today's entry is a fabulous Phil Garner card from the ever-loved 1983 Topps set.  It is also the first game I've named that featured two players will awesome nicknames: Bad Dude and Scrap Iron.

Bad Dude (aka John Stearns) was a "speedster" catcher that played every game of his 11 year career for the New York Mets, save for his debut game with the Philadelphia Phillies. Growing up, Stearns was known to me because from 1978 to 1982 he held the record for most stolen bases by a catcher in a single season (25).  This record was obliterated in 1982 by John Wathan who stole 36 bases.  So, I find it very appropriate that today's Name the Game card features Stearns stealing a base.

As for the other cool mustachioed cat, that's Scrap Iron (aka Phil Garner).  Garner earned his nickname for his style of play, and Stearns earned the Bad Dude handle from his early football days.

Looking at Garner's card, we can tell this game is played at Shea Stadium between the visiting Houston Astros and the New York Mets.  What I absolutely love about this card is that both Garner and Stearns are looking at the second base ump to find out if Stearns stole a bag or was caught stealing by Alan Ashby's "cannon."  Considering Ashby only caught 19% of the base runners stealing in 1982, it's no surprise that Stearns is safe.

This is verified by the second base ump's outstretched right arm.  Well, given all this photographic evidence, I found that Stearns only stole one base at home against the Astros in 1982.  This game was the front end of a double header on May 30, 1982.  Man, I sure do miss the old double dips of old.  I remember going to double headers back in San Diego where we'd watch the first game, then the Beach Boys would play a concert and then we'd watch the second game.  Good times...

So, we know the date, May 30, 1982.  Review of the box score shows that this play took place in the bottom of the 2nd.  Prior to this play, Steans had been hit by a pitch from Mike LaCoss, so I guess Bad Dude was flashing his wheels to rub an extra base into LaCoss' ego.

And for you completists out that, the second base ump was Paul Runge!  Also, if you want me to Name a Game for a specific card, please leave a comment!

Name the Game - 1973 Topps Steve Garvey

This card has always cracked me up because Steve Garvey appears to be making a cameo on his own card.  The frame is practically absorbed by Wes Parker with Garvey peaking out of the shadow of Mr. Steady's right shoulder.  Another quirk to this card is how much Wes Parker towers over Garvey.  While part of it is perspective, I find it funny that the official listed height for Wes Parker was 6' 1", and Garvey's was 5' 10".  Sure doesn't look like a 3-inch height discrepancy to me!

Anyways, I do love this card because it is one of the first home run celebrations portrayed on a Topps card.  Garvey is finishing his trot, while Parker is waiting with bat in hand to congratulate Popeye.  I also like the lurking catcher at the left of the card with his shin guards peaking out.  Is that orange I see...?  Let's dissect this card to Name the Game!

In 1972 Garvey hit nine home runs in 317 plate appearances.  Since the Dodgers are in their road greys, those nine dingers are whittled down to four.  One in Montreal, one in Pittsburgh and two in San Fransisco.  

Looking at the orange seats in left field, I could automatically knock off Montreal and Pittsburgh, but we'll do this scientifically.  Of the four games noted, Wes Parker batted in the order behind Garvey in only one game, the July 1, 1972 meeting between the Los Angeles Dodgers and their dreaded rival San Fransisco Giants (The peaking orange shin guard tells all!).

In this game, Garvey was batting clean-up with Parker in the 5-hole.  In the top of the first, Bobby Valentine (ugh) reached base on a walk, and then Garvey hit a home run off of Sam McDowell to jump the Dodgers out to a 2-0 lead that they eventually let slip away...

So, the featured card is the July 1, 1972 game between the Dodgers and Giants at Candlestick Park, and the play is Steve Garvey smacking a home run in the Top of the 1st off of Sam McDowell.    

Name the Game - 1973 Topps Pat Corrales

Every so often, a baseball card amazes me.  True, I find something to appreciate in almost every card, but some cards elevate themselves to a higher plane.  Some cards transcend.  Pat Corrales’ 1973 Topps release is one of those cards.

During last year’s Topps Diamond Giveaway, I tried for months to land this card.  While I already had one of these in my complete 1973 set, I was still working on completing the 1973 Padres Team set.  Either based on the shear coolness of this card, or the fact that it’s a high number and the “book value goons” were not letting the card go easily, it took a lot of bartering to finally land this card.  In fact, it took 36 separate trades to earn the “right” to pay 53 cents to get this card in 6 to 8 weeks.

Once the card arrived in the mail, I knew it was a perfect candidate for a Name the Game episode because of the play at the plate and the opponent’s jersey number is showing.  Before getting into the nitty gritty, let’s take a moment to absorb this card.

• Play at the plate.
• Cloud of dust and chalk.
• Home plate is scattered, smothered, covered and chopped.
• Awesome/ugly-ass Big Bird road uniforms.
• Ball clinched in Corrales’ bare right hand.
• Corrales’ look of pain and anguish.
• Ump with mask in hand.
• Base runner with cleats up and missing his helmet/cap. 

Phew!  That’s a lot of awesome.  Alright, now on to naming the game… (Un)fortunately, Corrales’ played in only 44 games for the Padres during the 1972 campaign.  Judging by the uniforms, we know it is a road game, and that knocks it down to 27 potential games.  Looking at the base runner, we can tell it’s either a Met or a Cubbie.  We can also tell the player’s number, which is either a 21 or a 31.

#21 on the Mets was Cleon Jones.  #31 on the Cubs was, wait for it, here comes the awesome, Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins.  Diligent review of Cleon’s box scores shows that he’s not the man inflicting gratuitous pain on Pat Corrales.  This leaves Fly as the lone culprit, who pitched in one home game against the Padres in 1972, which was on June 14, 1972.

Review of that box score reveals a play at the plate in the Bottom of the 2^nd involving Pat Corrales and Ferguson Arthur Jenkins.  Prior to this play, Fergie singled to leftfield off of Steve Arlin, moving Ron Santo to second base.  The next batter, Don Kessinger, hit a double to left field, scoring Santo.  Based on the box score, the leftfielder’s throw (Leron Lee) went to the cutoff man (Enzo Hernandez), who then threw out Fergie at home (7-6-2).

This is confirmed looking at the card.  Corrales’ has the ball in his right hand, Fergie is not touching the plate, and the home plate ump, Mel Steiner, is cocking his right hand about to fire the “Yer Out!”  So, the 1973 Topps Pat Corrales card depicts the Bottom of the 2^nd inning in a June 14, 1972 meeting between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Wow!

Name the Game - 1987 Topps Kevin Mitchell

This is an epic baseball card.  It was huge back in 1987, and unlike most of the junk wax era, I dare say this card has aged well.  Before we delve into Naming the Game, let’s dissect this card.

It is obviously a play at home given that the Expos catcher Mike Fitzgerald is in the frame.  What else do we see? 

1.    Catcher’s mask in the foreground.
2.    Fitzgerald with his head turned looking for a passed ball.
3.    Kevin Mitchell rising like a Phoenix out of a swirling, cloud of dust.
4.    Mitchell’s blue batting gloves, orange wristbands and orange undershirt.
5.    Kevin’s huge pack of chaw and accompanying “woooooo” look.
6.    The crowd is on their feet!

I bet 100 cards that PlayatthePlate has this card in his collection!  Now own to why we are here…

In 1986, Kevin Mitchell played in six home games against The ‘Spos in 1986.  A three game set in late June and a three game set at the beginning of August.  Of those games, Fitzgerald appeared in four, the entire June series and the first game of the August series.  Three of those four games were at night, so, easily enough, we are left with the June 25, 1986 game as the one shown on the card.

Let’s try and figure out what play this is!  In this game, Mitchell was 3 for 4, but only made it to home plate in the Bottom of the 4th.  To get on base, Mitchell lined a double to left field off of Andy McGaffigan, scoring Daryl Strawberry.  The next batter, Ray Knight, singled to Tim Raines in left, who then tried to nab Mitchell at home.  The throw made it passed Fitzgerald, allowing Knight to advance…The Mets went on to beat the Expos 5 to 2.

So, the play depicted on this card was during a June 25th 1986 day game at Shea Stadium between the New York Mets and Montreal Expos.  Specifically, the play at the plate was in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Quick Fact – Mike Fitzgerald began his career as a catcher for the New York Mets and was latter part of a trade that brought Gary Carter from the Expos to the Mets in December of 1984.

Name the Game - 1978 Topps Len Randle

This Name the Game submission is courtesy of the 1978 Topps set and features a play at first between Gene Richards of the San Diego Padres and Len Randle of the New York Mets.  Review of the old box scores reveals that Len Randle played in four home games in 1977 against the Friars, which were the second half of a double dip on May 11th, and all three games of the July 29th through 31st series.

Further investigation revealed that the May 11th second game of the double header was at night, so that game has been eliminated.  As for the series at the end of July, both Gene Richards and Len Randle played in all three games, however, Gene Richards only played first base during the first six innings of the July 31st day game, and played outfield the remaining time.

So, we’ve identified the action on this card coming from the July 31st, 1977 game.  Now, let’s dig a little deeper and see if we can figure out what play is occurring! 

To me, it is obvious this is a pick-off play at first base.  Randle has dove back to the bag, soiling his white pinstripe uniform, knocking his helmet askew, and flashing his sparkling white teeth in a grimace.  If that wasn’t awesome enough, the pickoff throw has thrown Gene Richards off balance, and Gene braces himself by planting his left hand on Randle’s rear.  HOW COOL IS THIS CARD?  Add to it the bright green grass, contrasted with the infield dirt, the yellow bleachers, the yellow stirrups, Gene’s yellow batting glove, the yellow piping around the card, as well as Gene’s flip shades and this card achieves 70s greatness.

Phew, let me compose myself.  Ok, back to the actually play.  Review of the box score shows that Randle was on first base with Richards covering twice during the game.  Once in the bottom of the 3rd via a single to center and the other in the 4th on an E5.  In the bottom of the 4th, there was a runner on second, so the Padres wouldn’t have been attempting a pickoff maneuver, so let’s take a look at the bottom of the 3rd.

Here’s the official box score description, “Randle Picked off 1B, safe on E1; Randle to 3B.”  Randle was a speedster at the time, so with no one on second and a tied game, I bet the Pads were trying to keep Randle close to the bag.  Apparently, the Pads tried one too many times to pick him off and there was an errant throw by Dave Wehrmeister, which ended up with Randle on third.

Looking at the card, it’s hard to tell if this is the errant throw or not, but I don’t think it is.  I think it is a previous pickoff move because it looks like the ball is in Gene Richards’ first baseman glove judging by the bulge in the pocket.  Regardless, the play pictured came from the Bottom of the 3rd inning during the July 31, 1977 matchup between the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.

Name the Game - 1971 Vada Pinson #275

Before I get started, thank you to those of you who sent your well wishes concerning my 4-year old son.  He is doing great with the new glasses, and if I can ever get him to sit still long enough, I’ll be sure to make a custom card of/for him.  By the way, his first words after getting the new specs were, “Daddy, I can see where I am going!”  Awesome.

Alright, I’ve been wanting to do this Name the Game post for a long time now.  I have researched this bad-boy for going on six months, well, actually like two hours if you combine all the time spent, but it took me six months to produce this.

The 1971 Vada Pinson has to be one of my all-time favorite cards.  I am surprised that Play at the Plate hasn’t had this card as his header, yet.  The card shows a sprawled out Thurman Munson, and Vada Pinson emerging from the home plate dust.  Classic card that surprisingly has a huge back story.

Well, I consulting Baseball Reference and found out that the Indians played at Yankee Stadium nine times during the 1970 season.  Of those nine games, one was a night game.  Scratch.  In another, Thurman Munson did not don the Tools of Ignorance.  Scratch.  In two more, Vada Pinson never reached base.  Double scratch.  And finally, in three of those games, Pinson never had a play at the plate.  Triple scratch.

This left two games where Vada Pinson was involved in a home plate dust-up.  Both games were on June 24, 1970 in AN EPIC DOUBLEHEADER.  Let me breakdown what happened on this day:

Four Home Runs – Bobby Murcer hit four consecutive home runs, tying Lou Gehrig.

Firecrackers! – A “fan” threw a cherry bomb from the upper deck, where it exploded next to Indians Catcher, Ray Fosse, causing burns through his stirrup, sock and shoe.  The fan was arrested, and Fosse played on.

Folly Floater – Yanks pitcher, Steve Hamilton, lobbed a high soft pitch to Tony Horton, who promptly popped it up.  Horton called for another one, Hamilton obliged, Horton popped out and then proceeded to crawl back to the dugout on his knees.

Fight Night – Pinson tried to score from second on a wild pitch.  Munson retrieved the ball and threw it to Stan Bahnsen at home.  Bahnsen tagged high and hard, prompting a response from Pinson.  Bahnsen threw the ball hitting Pinson’s foot, and then Pinson laid Bahnsen out with a single left hook.  BAM.

Here are the write-ups I found on this game:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nJ9RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Cm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2691,3558315&dq=stan+bahnsen&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19700625&id=UcNOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I0gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1174,4954923

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2079&pid=4613

Anyways, that all leads to WHAT IS THE PLAY ON THE CARD, ALREADY?  Unfortunately, it’s not the fight scene on the card, as that would be Bahnsen at home, not Munson.  Turns out in Game 1 of the double dip, Pinson and Munson were in a play at the dish.  Here’s the setting…

Top of the 8th, Indians Batting, Ahead 6-0, Yankees' Ron Klimkowski intentionally walks Vada Pinson.  Ray Fosse singles to CF and Pinson goes to third.  Nettles flies to center, and Pinson is thrown out at home on a sac fly. 

While fruitlessly looking for pictures of The Fight, I found something even more interesting.  Turns out there was a 1970s movie called Bang the Drum Slowly (You can read about it on Wrigley Wax).  In this movie, they used action footage of the real Yankees.  Check out this screen cap from a certain home plate encounter used in the movie.

Look familiar?  Munson is positioned to catch and tag from a center field throw.  Pinson is sliding into home.  The moment just before the picture used on Pinson’s 1970 Topps card was taken.  

How cool is that?

Name the Game - 1971 Cookie Rojas #118

While reorganizing the blog, I found some old posts I had written for a new series I was trying to develop.  I have attempted new topics in the past, some flopped mightily and others were actually interesting, such as this one, Name the Game.  The point of these is to find an action shot from a baseball card and then try to determine the exact play and game that the photograph occurred.  I have done three previous versions, so I thought I’d raise this genre back from the dead.

Sticking with my original plan of starting at the first action shot (1971 Thurman Munson) and working forward (plus the fact vintage rocks), the next determinable card is the 1971 Cookie Rojas #118.  This card has all the trimmings for determining the game and play. 

1.    Double play ball at second base.
2.    Opponents jersey and number is clearly visible.
3.    Day game.
4.    Bonus – Score board visible in the background.
 

Because of these four items, this card was easy to identify.  First step was to identify the stadium.  It’s obvious the Royals are on the road, and I do spy pinstripes sliding into second base.  So, it’s a day game at Yankee Stadium.  At the beginning of the 1970 season, Cookie was a Cardinal and then traded to the Royals for Fred Rico, after Cookie was hitting an abysmal .106 after 23 games for the Red Birds.  Cookie played 98 games for the Royals, and checking out Cookie’s game logs for 1970, we see the Royals played three games at the Yanks during Cookie’s tenure that year (August 14th, 15th and 16th).
 

The 14th game was a Friday nighter, so it’s out, but Cookie played in both the Saturday and Sunday day games.  So, we’ll look at the mysterious #9 sliding into second.  That’d be Ron Woods, who was in both games, but Ron never actually played in the Saturday game.  He was a pinch hitter that was then pinch hit for.  He never swung the bat in that game.  That makes the Sunday, August 16th the game on the card.  This is also confirmed by the scoreboard in the background that matches the Sunday game.
 

So, what play is it?  Looking through the box score of that game, we see that Ron Woods led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left field against Ken Wright.  Gene Michael then hit into a 6-4-3 double play.  There you go!
 

The 1971 Topps Cookie Rojas #118 is the first half of a double play in the bottom of the sixth inning during the August 16, 1970 day game at Yankee Stadium!

Name the Game #4 - 1990 Upper Deck Doubleheader

A friend of mine gave me two 1990 UD cards to track down. First one up is Billy Hatcher featuring Benito Santiago with a play at the plate!

Looking through Baseball Reference, I found that Hatcher played 7 games versus the Pads at good old Jack Murphy. In only two of those games he scored a run, and he was not called out at the plate. One of those runs scored was from one of his homers, so that game is out, leaving us with the August 10, 1989 game. So, in this shot, Hatcher is scoring from second on a single to RF by Craig Reynolds. That means that Tony Gwynn couldn't throw him out in time. DANG!

Hatcher's line form the game

Astros	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OPS	Pit	Str	PO	A
B Hatcher LF	2	1	1	0	0	0	.227	.583	11	8	0	0

Next up is a Fred Manrique card featuring a play at second with the Crime Dog sliding. There were only two candiates for this card. One being a double play and the other being a force out at 2nd. Since Manrique is still holding the ball, the double play is out!

So, this card is from the August 7, 1989 game at SkyDome. This play took place in the Bottom of the 2nd after McGriff walked. Pat Borders grounded to 1st causing a force out at 2nd (3-6).

Manrique's line from the game.

Rangers	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OPS	Pit	Str	PO	A	Details
Manrique SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	.308	.770	15	11	1	1	SB

Weird side note is my friend stopped by on Saturday for a few hours and I gave him two unopened 1989 Topps Wax packs. He opened them with the help of my 2 year old son, and low and behold he pulled a Fred Manrique (and a Pat Borders).

Other interesting side note is my son took each card and threw them on the ground, each of the 15 cards landed face down. We gave them back to him and he threw two more face down, making 17 cards in a row face down. The odds: 1 in 131072. Should have bought a lottery ticket with that luck!

My daughter on the other hand (11 months) decided that Tom Brunansky looked better bent in half.

Name the Game #3 - 1971 Casey Cox

I'm coming off a nasty bought of illness (I say flu, wife says ecoli), and thought I'd post a softball of Name the Game.

Akin to the 1981 Donruss enigma I mentioned in an earlier post, Topps action shots in the 1971 set have the uncanny coincidence of being almost entirely shot in New York. If you look through your binders, you'll notice (almost) every action shot includes a Met or a Yankee. That being said, review of the Casey on the Mound card shows him at the original house that Ruth built.

Note the Visitor's Bullpen

A quick glance at the handy Baseball Reference shows that Casey pitched one game at Yankee Stadium in 1970. July 4th, 1970. Casey had a decent game, but lost 4-2 to the Damn Yankees.

Senators	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	BF
C Cox, L (4-6)	6	6	4	4	1	3	0	4.50	25

And before someone says that's not Yankee Stadium! Yankee Stadium had not undergone renovations or alterations to the outfield until 1974-75.

Note the bullpen between the LF-CF stands & the Monuments in CF

Not a hard game to find, but it does add an added dimension to our favorite baseball cards when we actually know the game in which the picture was taken!

As noted before, I am taking requests (Plunger!) on Name the Games, otherwise I will continue marching through the 1971 set until now!

Name the Game - 1971 Lee May #40

I had so much fun doing the Thurman Munson card, I thought I'd move on to the next 1971 Topps action card that is even remotely possible to determine the game. This card is of Lee May holding a currently unknown Phillie on first base.

Intense base holding action!

So, we are left with a Phillies home game, Lee May on first and an unknown Phillie with a jersey number beginning with 2, obviously a 20-something. But what number?

Review of the Phillies roster from 1970 gives us: Jim Hutto (#20), Ron Stone (#21), Larry Hisle (#22), Oscar Gamble (#23), Byron Browne (#24), Scott Reid (#25), Sam Parrilla (#27) and Grant Jackson (#29). Hisle, Gamble, Browne and Jackson are out for obvious reasons.

That leaves us with Hutto, Stone, Reid and Parrilla. Philly hosted the Reds 6 times in 1970, and Parrilla did not appear in any of those games, so now we are left with Stone, Hutto and Reid. Stone appeared in 5 of those 6 games, Hutto in 2 and Reid in 2.

From the card, we can plainly see that it is a day game, sorry Night Owl, and of the 5 potential games, only one was played during the day. The June 14, 1970 day game. In that game, Stone and Reid appeared, so Hutto is out. Reid pinch hit, but grounded out to second. That leaves Stone.

Our mystery baserunner has been solved!

Stone was 1 for 3 in the game with a RBI and a walk. May was 2 for 2 with 2 runs and 2 ribbies. Stone had a single in the first scoring Gamble, but advanced to second on the throw. McGlothlin walked Stone in the bottom of the 4th, lined out in the 6th and hit into a double play in the bottom of the 9th. Looks like the 4th inning is it!

Therefore, the action in this card is of Lee May holding Ron Stone at 1st in the bottom of the fourth after a walk from McGlothlin. Stone would later be forced out at second, and the Reds beat the Phillies 10 to 1 on a CG by McGlothlin.

Name the Game - 1971 Thurman Munson #5

I thought I would shake things up a bit and introduce a new feature for this fledgling blog. I went through my Topps Baseball Card Book and found what I consider to be the first action shot produced, the 1971 Topps #5 Thurman Munson. I know 1955 and 1956 have sort of action shots, but it is really a face portrait with an inlaid action painting.

So, after going through all of the sets, I settled on Mr. Munson as being the first, as his card is the first action shot in the 1971 set.

Anyways, so the name of this game is to determine which major league game the action shot took place. I won't be able to figure out every game because it requires both teams in the picture, either in the play or in the background, and some will be removed because of spring training games.

So, let us give this a go!

Munson making a play at the plate!

The Yankees played the A's 6 times at home in 1970, and Munson played in 5 of the games and all of those games were day games. In none of those games was an Athletic called out at the plate. Problem is who is the head first slider?

Possible candidates:

April 25, 1970 - A's win 3-0 with Mincher scoring on a single (nope-slider is thinner); Bando scores on a double (nope); and Green scores from second on a double (nope-no play likely at the plate when scoring from 2nd on a double).

April 26, 1970 - A's lose 3-8 with Munday scoring on a passed ball (nope - Munson would be retrieving the ball).

July 16, 1970 - A's win 8-2 with Murcer scoring on a GRD (nope); Dobson scores from 2nd on a RF single (hey now); Rudi scores from 2nd on a single to CF (maybe).

July 17, 1970 - A's lose 1-7 with no candidates

July 18, 1970 - A's lose 2-7 with no candidates.

So, it comes down to Dobson and Rudi. After looking at hair cuts, shoes and stirrup height, I'm going to have to go with Chuck Dobson the PITCHER! Who else could make it close at the plate than a pitcher scoring from second, plus only a pitcher would wear his stirrups so high.

The headfirst home plate sliding pitcher!

In conclusion, card #5 from 1971 Topps is Chuck Dobson safely sliding headfirst under the tag on Thurman Munson in the top of the 4th from a Joe Rudi single to right field on July 16, 1970!

PS - Edited thanks to an Anonymous dude.