The 1974 Topps Rookie All-Star Team - John D'Acquisto

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" by a vote of fellow MLB players following the 1974 season and featured in the 1975 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2018 Series Two, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Topps decided to skip the Trophies on the 1974 Topps Set, but they made a triumphant return in 1975. I wanted to show my appreciation for this expression of good judgement, so for the 1974 Lineup, I will do a separate post for each player. This was a pretty good crop of players, so let's dive in! 

Well, at the end of the day, Topps made a pretty good run in 1975, festooning the worthy rookies with a gaudy golden bowl of greatness. But John D'Acquisto was given the short end of the stick. The Righty from SoCal worked his way up the Giants' minor league ladder for a hearty snub from Topps.

See? He was the Giants' leader in Ks in 1974 - and Topps had him on the 1974 Rookie All-Star Team, but denied him the trophy. Topps also named him the Rookie Pitcher of the Year. It's a shame!

Also a shame? I thought I had a copy of D'Acquisto's sweet 1977 Topps card as a Saint Louis Cardinal, but I can't find it in my 70s binder. It might be in a box somewhere, but who knows which one? After a couple solid seasons in San Francisco, and a brief 3 game stint in Saint Louis, D'Acquisto moved to his hometown team of San Diego. The Padres revived an injury plagued career by shifting John to the bullpen. He still wanted to start however, and found limited success that way. He was pretty good in the bullpen again in 1980, splitting time between the Padres and the Montreal Expos. In 1981, he pitched just a handful of games for the Angels before the strike hit. He would end up finishing that year in AAA Salt Lake. In 1982 he was a minor leaguer in Atlanta's system, then finished his MLB career back in the bay in 1983 with the Oakland A's. D'Acquisto also found time to appear in the Senior League, like so many other 1974 Topps Rookie All-Stars.

The Joy Of A Completed Run

I nearly made this post a few months ago, when I purchased a "complete" 1983 Topps Traded set on eBay for only $12! Well, I still feel like I got a good deal on the set, even though it turned out that one card in particular was missing. I could have been upset about this, but the very low cost combined with the fact that the set was the only card related item on the seller's store made me think they weren't trying to cheat anyone. I let them know that the card was missing from the set, and that someone most likely pulled it out before the set made it to them.

I found this one on COMC, purchased with some store credit that I earned from a PayPal payment from a friend for Twins tickets. So now I've completed the whole run of 80s Topps Traded Sets!

I didn't know the 1981 Traded Set came in the same box design, so it was a surprise to find it on eBay. Most of these were picked up at shows or card shops for a couple bucks. The 1982 set of course was the big ticket item, I hemmed and hawed on that one for some time before buying it. But once I added it, I figured I should do the whole run of sets with the same box design.

I have two questions for you (thanks for reading this far!)

1. Which traded set is your favorite? (I'm partial to 1986 for the crazy rookie checklist)

2. Why are the traded sets exactly 132 cards? (I don't know the answer, I'm hoping someone out there does)

Clearly a Future Ace

Another quick phone post- I have been trying to see as many Twins games as possible before Joe Mauer calls it a career. José Berríos made his final appearance of 2018 this afternoon, striking out 10.

The game was originally scheduled to be played in April, but snow and rain along with high winds postponed the matchup until today. 

Berríos picked up the win, his 12th of the season, and became the first Twins pitcher to surpass 200 strikeouts since Francisco Liriano in 2010.

Ok, So NOW What?

By the time Mitch Garver hit this walk off double, the Twins were all bu eliminated from playoff contention. The trade deadline more or less sealed the team's fate in 2018, as they traded away Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Lance Lynn, Zach Duke, Ryan Pressly, and Fernando Rodney. 

If they could have, I'm sure they would have traded away Ervin Santana and Logan Morrison too, but injuries made that impossible. Even though their season would not extend into October, there was still plenty of baseball left to play.

I didn't listen to my own rules about sticking to just Twins NOW cards, I couldn't pass up this awesome bat flip from the wunderkind 19 year old of the Nats. Soto homered in 3 straight games, the first teenager to do that since 1898. Eighteen Ninety Eight!

On the other end of the spectrum, I knew ahead of time that this would be a card I would add, as long as Bartolo could make it happen. He's made 24 starts for Texas this season, and has stated he wants to pitch again in 2019. I hope someone signs him- he's now just three wins away from 250 for his career, which is a nice milestone.

It's the first Logan Forsythe card as a Twin! He started out with the team hitting everything, including this 5 hit game, but he's cooled off considerably. His numbers now are closer to his career rates, and he looks to finish out 2018 right at the 0.0 WAR replacement level. I have my fingers crossed that the Twins make a run at bringing back Eduardo Escobar in the off season, Dozier I am less enthusiastic about. Forsythe is better suited for a team looking for a veteran backup, rather than the Twins who need a starting 2B.

Mauer watch continues as he hasn't ruled out coming back for another season, nor has he said he'll play beyond 2018. He passed Carew in August, and the next time he reaches base, he'll pass Harmon Killebrew on the Twins' All-Time on base list. Right now he's up to 2,112 career hits, he'd probably need to play full time for another 5 seasons or part time 7 or 8 to reach 3,000. I don't see that happening, though he could pass Kirby Puckett if he plays one more great year, or two average seasons. Maaaaaybe?

One of the best stories of this "lost" season has been reserve catcher Willians Astudillo. He was called up earlier for a series in Chicago and appeared in Left and Center Field, 3rd and 2nd base, and even pitched in a blowout. He blasted this walk-off home run on a Sunday afternoon and has quickly become a fan favorite. This is his first card in an MLB uniform.

You can't spell Astudillo without "A Stud." I don't know how many more NOW moments the Twins will have in 2018, but I'm hoping for one tonight as I make my way back to Target Field to catch a few more Joe Mauer at bats if these are indeed his last.

The 1974 Topps Rookie All-Star Team - Claudell Washington

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" by a vote of fellow MLB players following the 1974 season and featured in the 1975 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2018 Series Two, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Topps decided to skip the Trophies on the 1974 Topps Set, but they made a triumphant return in 1975. I wanted to show my appreciation for this expression of good judgement, so for the 1974 Lineup, I will do a separate post for each player. This was a pretty good crop of players, so let's dive in! 

Washington did not play organized baseball in high school - instead he was a track and field star. Similar to the grooming of Herb Washington, Claudell was a speedster that was destined to be a pinch runner for Charlie Finley's A's. There was just one problem with that plan - the guy could hit pretty well, too!

Despite his limited experience, Washington breezed through several levels of minor league ball and wound up on the MLB roster in his 2nd full professional season. He stole 80 bases in the minors and was a major leaguer for good at age 19. He was used as the team's 4th outfielder and Lefty DH in the second half and was a key part of Oakland's third straight World Series title.

That would be his only trip to the World Series in his 17 year career. He did show impressive speed and power early on, however, and made his first All-Star appearance in 1975 at just 20 years old. While base stealing was considered his biggest asset, it was his tape measure home runs that really caused fans and rival GMs to take notice. His power potential made him an attractive trade piece 5 times in his career. He was swapped for other outfield bats like Bobby Bonds (in a trade from Texas to the White Sox) and Ken Griffey, Sr. (from Atlanta to the Yankees).

The Braves signed Washington to a five year, $3.5MM contract after the 1980 season, in which he stole 21 bases and hit 11 homers for the White Sox and the Mets. The contract had some scratching their heads, but the truth was that Washington had not been given a regular starting role at any point in his career and was motivated to show what he could do. In 6 seasons in Atlanta, Washington had 647 hits, and 115 stolen bases including his 2nd and final All-Star selection in 1984. It was also during this stint that he hit a memorable foul ball at Wrigley Field, the footage of which was used for the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Washington did have some off field issues in the 80s, and was one of several players implicated during the infamous Pittsburgh cocaine trial. For his part, Washington sought treatment and donated a portion of his Braves' contract to drug treatment and prevention programs. His character and reputation was damaged but not destroyed, and it was his years in pinstripes that saw a late career renaissance. His 1988 season in particular was a return to his early career form, batting over .300, while stealing 15 bases and hitting 11 homers. He had worked diligently over the years on his defense in the outfield, his one glaring weakness as a player had become a strength.

Another season of double digit homers and steals pushed his career totals to 163 round trippers to go along with 308 steals. Some highlights from his career include 3-Homer games in both the AL and the NL, hitting the 10,000th homer in Yankees' history, as well as a walk off blast in the 18th inning for a marathon victory for New York over Detroit in 1988. He would finish his career in 1990, with a brief stint with the Angels before being traded to the Yankees for his final 33 games. He finished with over 1,800 career hits, 334 doubles and 824 runs batted in.