Monday, October 22, 2018

Setting Out on That Old Dusty Trail


One of the many bonuses of 1950s cards are great nicknames. With the exception of Player's Weekend, the nicknames of current ballplayers are seen far less frequently. This card comes thanks to generosity of Greg from The Collective Mind


So who was Dusty Rhodes? Well, if you have the time, I highly recommend reading his SABR biography, written by Warren Corbett, which includes stories of drinking with Giants' team owner Horace Stoneman, and making Vin Scully laugh with quips and one-liners. Rhodes was a pinch hitter in 1954 (as an outfielder, he had poor defense, not to mention playing behind Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, and Don Mueller), but a very effective one. He hit .341 and slugged .695 in 1954, homering once every 10.9 at bats. He was even more efficient in the World Series that year, contributing in each of the first three games as a pinch hitter. He won game 1 with a walk-off round tripper, homered again in game 2, and added another hit in game 3, driving in 2 more runs. He hit .667/.714/1.667 for the series.   

3 comments:

  1. "So who was Dusty Rhodes?"

    https://youtu.be/BRATbL8eI18

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  2. Awesome card! It seems Greg has been upping his generosity game lately. Card #1 cant be easy to find in such sweet condition.

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  3. Love that he's card No. 1 given the previous year's World Series. Topps should still do this. As painful as it would've been for me, George Springer could have been card No. 1 in the 2018 set instead of relying on some popularity contest for the spot.

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