Who is the man: Enzo Hernandez, Bill Buckner and Marty Perez all spent the majority of their 1970 baseball year in the minors, but both Buckner and Perez made brief visits to the majors that year.
Can ya dig it: This marks a departure in the presentation of the rookies in the set. Up to this point, they have been categorized by team, two at a time. But this one is much more lenient, selecting three players from random NL teams. Topps started this practice of some rookie stars cards focusing on teams and some on leagues in the mid-1960s and it would continue into the early '70s.
Right on: Hernandez played in the Orioles' organization in 1970 before a trade to the Padres in December 1970, so he's wearing an airbrushed Orioles' cap (or O's minor league cap). Perez was part of the Angels' organization in 1970 before a trade in October 1970, and he's wearing an airbrushed Angels cap.
You see those rookies are bad mothers: Really, no, they're not. Nobody cared about rookie cards in 1971. This isn't even Buckner's rookie card (it's in the 1970 set).
Shut your mouth: Hernandez won the "negative triple crown" in 1971, with the league's worst batting average, home run total and RBI total.
No one understands him but his woman: Buckner's wife is Jody. Perez's wife is Judy. I don't know the name of the wife of Enzo (Hernandez died in 2013), but I hope it at least starts with a "J".
My observation on the back: You can tell by those minor league "life" totals that both Hernandez and Perez had logged plenty of time in the bushes.
That's actually a Houston jersey that Hernandez is wearing.
ReplyDeleteIt's beyond me how anyone could have well over 500 ABs in a season and drive in only 12 runs, but Enzo did it!
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