Who is the man: Sandy Vance had just completed his rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was voted the Dodgers' rookie of the year after the 1970 season.
Can ya dig it: I recall seeing this card as a youngster and being instantly drawn to Vance, hoping that he had a long and prosperous career with the Dodgers, but not realizing that this was his only baseball card.
Right on: The chain-link fence is out of sight. Love those old-style spring training props.
You see this cat Vance is a bad mother: Vance features the names of two of the greatest pitchers in Dodger history -- Sandy Koufax and Dazzy Vance -- in his name. I can't think of anything more bad-ass than saying, "name's Sandy Vance. Sandy as in Koufax. Vance as in Dazzy."
Shut your mouth: According to Vance's wikipedia page, his oldest son decided to root for the Giants during the 2010 World Series. Because of this, Vance's daughter, a Dodger fan, has barely spoken to her brother since. I have no idea if this is really true.
No one understand him but his woman: Vance developed arm injuries in 1971 and didn't play in the major leagues after that season. Vance was part of a talented crop of young Dodger talent in the late '60s and early '70s, but one of the few top prospects who didn't pan out.
(A word about the back): Vance's totals for Stanford were good enough to get him in the school's Hall of Fame.
Sandy Koufax and Dazzy Vance came to mind here as well as soon as I saw the post, interesting card.
ReplyDeleteI alway thought Billy Garbarkowitz would have been the Dodger's top rookie of 1970. But I think he was ineledible because he spent most of 1969 with the big club.
ReplyDeleteUnrelated: I remember reading about Dazzy Vance from a book called Strange but true Baseball Stories when I was a kid. Dazzy's story was that he is one of the all time late bloomers not winning a game until age 31, never the less he still ended up in the HOF.
I had the Sandy Vance once, hurt like hell and took forever to clean.
ReplyDeleteI'm now in love with his daughter if that is true about the brother.
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