Thursday, May 4, 2017
no. 655 - mike epstein
Who is the man: Mike Epstein didn't perform quite as well in 1970 as he did in 1969, but he still struck for 20 home runs.
Can ya dig it: The Senators cards simply go with this design. Another great one.
Right on: I'm a little surprised Epstein isn't airbrushed for this card since this is the sixth and final series. He was traded to the A's in early May of 1971. Maybe that wasn't enough time, I don't know when the final series was put to bed.
You see that cat Epstein is a bad mother: Epstein was the leading hitter on the U.S. baseball team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics.
Shut your mouth: Epstein's nickname was "Superjew," which seems terribly inappropriate today but was embraced by Epstein when it was given to him by minor league manager Rocky Bridges.
No one understands him but his woman: Epstein became sick of the Orioles constantly sending him down to the minors (he was blocked at first base by Boog Powell and couldn't adapt to the outfield), and when he was sent down again just before the 1967 season, he refused to report. Instead, he and his wife went to his native New York and stayed with his grandmother. He was traded to the Senators two months later.
(A word about the back): I enjoy how the bio mentions that Epstein grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium and the photo on the front shows him in Yankee Stadium.
Ted Williams turned Mike into a Pretty Good Hitter.
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