#415 Hal McRae

Card thoughts: McRae generally has a happy smile on his cards, although he’s been known to get a little surly.

The player: The Big Red Machine had so many great hitters in the 70s, even their rejects became stars for other teams.

McRae started out as a second baseman, but a broken leg in winter ball sent him to the outfield. Formerly a speedster, he was now just adequate in the outfield. The injury leads to a story where his manager, Dave Bristol, shamed McRae by pointing out that Harry Carey was doing his job (across the field, interviewing players), despite getting hit by a car in the off season, while McRae was still in a cast.

Despite motivating McRae to get back on the field quicker, he still could not break into the starting lineup. His continual moaning about a lack of playing time got him a trade to the Royals after the 1972 season, which turned out to be his salvation. The Royals at the time were a down-and-out former expansion team with plenty of opportunities for a player like McRae. Especially since the American League had just instituted the DH rule.

An aggressive player, McRae ran hard on every hit, perhaps making up for the speed he was robbed of by the broken leg. He would go so hard into second, that a new rule requiring players to slide into second base on a double play attempt was instituted because of him. Also, McRae’s defensive shortcomings were masked in the American League, as he spent most of his time DHing.

McRae first really big year was 1976, when #300 George Brett barely edged him out for the batting title. He still ended up leading the league in on base percentage (.407) and OPS (.868). But there was some controversy on how Brett won the title. The hit that edged him out was an inside-the-park home run Twins outfielder Steve Brye misplayed.  McRae began making obscene gestures to the Twins dugout, accusing them of intentionally giving Brett the title because they were racist.

McRae sacrificed some his batting average for power, and he slugged above .500 for the first time the following year, on the strength of his league leading 54 doubles.

With McRae a constant force in the middle of the lineup, the Royals went to the World Series in 1980 and 1985, and the ALCS from 1976-1978, 1980, and 1984. But it was 1982, one of the rare years the Royals didn’t advance to the post season, where McRae would have his only MVP caliber season. He led in doubles with 46, and RBIs with 133. He also reached career highs in home runs (27) and OPS (.910).

Although he would have another good season in 1983, McRae was aging, and by the time this picture was taken, he was splitting DH duties with a similarly ancient Jorge Orta. Although he started in the ALCS at the end of the 1985 season, in the World Series the DH wasn’t being used that year (it used to alternate every other year), so he was hitless in three pinch hit at bats.

McRae finished his career as perhaps the best all-time designated hitter up that point—at least until Edgar Martinez came around. He appeared in the third most games all time in that role, and ended up hitting .294. And all of his DHing prepared him to be a hitting coach with the Expos, Reds, Phillies, and Cardinals. He also managed the Royals (1991-1994), where he had one winning season, finishing third in 1993, the year of this famous rant. McRae went on to replace original Devil Rays manager Larry Rothchild for two seasons (2000-2001), when that club was perpetually in last place.

McRae's son, Brian, was a solid major league player for over a decade. 

Rear guard: McRae's first grand slam came off of Astros starter Jerry Reuss. He was pinch hitting for pitcher Ed Sprague and it drove in a litany or Reds stars: #195 Dave Concepcion, #85 Tony Perez, and Dennis Menke.

#359 Mike LaCoss

Card thoughts: Blue, blue, everywhere. This would be LaCoss’s only card in Royal blue. He has pretty goofy looking cards in 1981 and 1989.

The player: Mike LaCoss was a promising young pitcher for the Reds, who came on the scene right as the Big Red Machine was fading in the late 70s. He never fulfilled that early promise, however.

LaCoss’ key to success was his sinker, which kept the baseball in the ballpark. However, he did tend to get a little wild on occasion, and he didn’t have the strikeout as a weapon to get him out of trouble. After a 4-8 rookie campaign, LaCoss went 14-8 in 1979, earning him a trip to the all-star game (he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the game). But his bugaboo, the walk, haunted him in the NLCS that year, as he made it through just 1 2/3 innings against the Pirates, giving up 4 walks and 2 runs in a loss.

LaCoss really regressed the following two years as his ERA rose each year, ending up at 6.12 in 1981. But while the sinker was too inconsistent for a starter, the Astros felt it would be a good fit in a reliever. So the ‘Stros claimed him off waivers and put him in the pen in 1982. It was a fine year for LaCoss, as he sported a career low 2.90 ERA as the long man out of the pen. He was not as spectacular the following seasons, as he was the Astros main “swing man” in 1983 and 1984. He was a poor starter in particular, with less than a 1/3 of his stars being the quality variety.

LaCoss signed a contract with the Royals in 1985, but was sent to the minors in early August, and didn’t pitch at all in the post season. After another release, he found a home in San Francisco, where he revived his career with several good years as a part-time starter and reliever. Part of his success was no doubt due to learning the split finger fastball from #111 Roger Craig. Even his hitting improved, as he hit home runs in consecutive at bats in 1986. But the Giants got him for his pitching, and after a 10-13 record that year (with good peripherals), LaCoss was ninth in the league with 13 wins in 1987, helping the Giants reach the playoffs, where he pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief. By 1989, he was more of a reliever than a starter, but still got the start in Game 3 in the NLCS. LaCoss wasn’t good, as he spotted the Cubs three runs in the first three innings. But he was saved the loss when the Cubs bullpen couldn’t hold the lead.

LaCoss started his final year (1991) as a starter, but he was terrible in four out of five starts, including giving up 7 runs in the first inning on April 26. He wasn’t much better in relief as, incredibly, he gave up at least a run in each of his first 8 appearances. So LaCoss’s final game on July 2 was a fitting capstone to his year, as he gave up two runs at the end of a 8-4 loss to the Astros. 

Rear guard: The "AL" is superfulous in the Talkin' Baseball write-up, and without the period, it looks like Al's All-Star Squad. Both outfielder Lou Pinella and pitcher Wally Bunker had better seasons than Rodriguez, who hit just .236 with an OPS+ well below average (78). However, he was hitting .260 in the first half. Rodriguez also made the squad in 1972, when he was more deserving of the honor. Here's his 1970 card, where's referred to as "Ellie".

#332 Darryl Motley

Card thoughts: This is the name of a Hanna-Barbera villain.

The player: Motley was drafted by the Royals in the 2^nd round in 1978, but didn’t hit for much power for a corner outfielder. After an solid but unspectacular climb through the Royals minor league system, he became the big club’s regular right fielder after the strike, since opening day starter Clint Hurdle had been injured in June, just before the work stoppage. But Motley wasn’t seasoned enough, and his pedestrian .588 OPS earned him another full season at Omaha in 1982.

When Amos Otis, the long-time outfielder for the Royals, left as a free agent, Motley earned the starting role in right in 1984. Playing a career high 146 games, he had an above average OPS on the strength of 25 doubles, 6 triples, and 14 home runs. Despite these numbers, Motley found himself in a platoon with Pat Sheridan in ’85, and his numbers suffered. Overall, he did slug 17 home runs, but his average plummeted to .222. Although as a right handed hitter he mainly played against lefties, he hit only .198 against them.

In a memorable post-season moment, Motley crushed a home run off John Tudor in Game 7 of the World Series, after breaking his bat by slamming it on the plate after hitting a long foul in the same area. In those days, bats broke less often, so he didn’t have another of his bats available, and instead picked a random black bat, with which he hit the homer.

Despite hitting .364 in the World Series, that success did not translate to the next season, where Motley’s .203 average led the revolving door in right with Mike Kingery, Rudy Law, and Bo Jackson all putting in significant time at the position.

Soon Motley was out to door, banished to the minors league system. He soon left the country, and played for several foreign teams in Mexico and Japan. Finally back in the states, he played for seven years in independent ball finally retiring at age 42.

Rear guard: Motley's first home run was a solo job off Tigers pitcher #270 Jack Morris. 

The two guys picked after Nelson (Don Mincher and Tommy Harper by the Seattle Pilots) were way better players than he was. Nelson was a bullpen guy who was fairly unremarkable. However, he found some spotty success with the Royals, going 7-13 with a fine 3.31 ERA in their inaugural season. After a few years battling injury, his 2.08 ERA in 1972 was good enough for eighth in the league in 1972. 

Here's Nelson's card for 1969, his first for the Royals (although he's actually in an Orioles uniform . . . the hat is blacked out.)

#300 George Brett

Another 100 cards down! Carlton Fisk has surpassed Steve Yeager as the most popular post, despite being only a month old. This is what happens when a post closely follows a news story about a player (in this case, Fisk's DUI).

Card thoughts: The last “100” card was also a Hall of Fame, third baseman.

The player: Brett is perhaps the best third baseman I’ve ever seen play. More of an all-around player than Schmidt, Brett was a gap hitter that ranked in the top ten in every offensive category one time or another in his career. He came from good genes: All of his brothers played pro ball.

With such a long and storied career, it might be best to carve it into 5 or so year chunks.

1973-1977: Drafted as a shortstop, Brett was moved to third and was named the starting third baseman in 1974, more as a testament to his strong arm and range than his bat. Struggling at the all-star break that season, he turned to hitting coach Charlie Lau who rebuilt his swing. He ended up hitting .282 and was third in rookie of the year voting.

Hitting third in the lineup, Brett showed great gap power in 1975 and 1976, leading the league both years in hits and triples. In 1976, George Brett, teammate Hal McRae and opponents Lyman Bostock and Rod Carew were all within percentage points of each other for the batting crown on the last day of the season. Each could have won it in that game, but Brett went 2 for 4, his last hit an inside the park home run. McRae was up next and grounded out. He had won the title by .001 points. Against the Yankees that year in the ALCS, he hit .444.

1978-1982: These were the most dramatic five years of Brett’s career. Brett led in doubles with 45 during the ’78 season, and in the ALCS, Brett hit three home runs and swatted .389 in a losing cause. After what was now a standard year for him (leading the league in hits (212) and triples (20)), he wowed the nation by almost hitting .400 in 1980, despite only playing in 117 cams. Brett ended up hitting .390 (and driving in a career high 118 runs) en route to his only MVP award.

1982-1986: This era started with the famous pine tar incident. In a game at Yankee Stadium, Brett hit what appeared to be a go ahead home run off Goose Gossage. However, manager Billy Martin complained that the pine tar on Brett’s bat was above the allowed amount. He was called out, the home run invalidated, and the win given to the Yankees. Brett went ballistic, and had to be restrained from decking home plate umpire Tim McClellan. Eventually, AL president Lee McPhail overruled the umpires, and the game was resumed at a later date (the Yankees lost). It was such a seminal moment in baseball history that Fleer made a card of it.

As Brett aged he continued to hit well, but he generally hit in the lower .300s, rather than the higher .300s earlier in his career. He had sacrificed some of his hitting for average for power hitting, and he led the league in slugging in 1983 (.563) and 1985 (.565).

1987-1993: Brett was still a great hitter in this era, although it was obvious he was slowing down. However, he did have on more great season in him, as he led the league in doubles (45) and hitting (.329) in 1990 at age 37. Even in his last season, he had 19 home runs and 75 RBIs while designated hitting.

Brett finished with over 3,000 hits and is 6^th all-time in doubles (665). He was voted to the hall of fame on the first ballot in 1999. Brett continues his long time association with the Royals, serving as their vice president. He tried to buy the Royals in 1998, but had to settle for owning minor league baseball and hockey teams.

Rear guard: With all of Brett's accomplishments, he only hit over 30 home runs once in his career, and this card came out right after he's reached that mark.  

#269 Dane Iorg

Card thoughts: A card that bothered me as a child, as all cards who featured a player with an unpronounceable last name. In my head, I always said “ee-org”. Apparently, it’s “orj”. Iorg also played first base only twice, so his position circle should simply be outfield.

The player: Iorg (who has a brother, Garth, who will be featured on this blog in the future), was a very effective pinch hitter for the Cardinals and the Royals for many years. He did play the field a bit, mainly at all outfield positions, but also occasionally at the corner infield spots.

A first round draft pick by the Phillies in 1968, Iorg generally hit over .300 in the minors, but didn’t exhibit much power. He was traded 12 games into his Phillie career for afro-sporting Bake McBride (who had several good seasons for the Phils) of the Cardinals. As a bench player, Iorg hit over .290 from 1979-1982. But he really showed his worth in the 1982 World Series where he hit an incredible .529 as the Cardinals’ DH.

But Iorg’s hitting began to drop off after 1982, and there was no place on the Cardinals for an aging outfielder who was no longer very useful in the field. He was sold to the Royals after starting the 1984 campaign hitting .143. His average went up to .255 for the Royals, and once again in the post season, Iorg got a hit every other at bat.

Although Iorg was coming off a .223 season when this card was issued, Iorg once again came up big time in the World Series, where he drove in the winning runs in Game 6 and once again hit .500 (it was his only hit in two pinch hit at bats). But the low average in the regular season encouraged the Royals to cuts ties with Iorg. After another ineffectual season on the bench for the Padres, Iorg retired.

Like players back then, when Iorg left baseball he had to get a job. He is now a lumber salesman in Utah and also runs a sports nutrition business. 

Rear guard: Iorg only hit 12 career home runs (and only 3 in 1980). Yet, showing that anything can happen in baseball, he belted two homers off Pirates starter Jim Bibby (both led off the inning). I guess Iorg took the fact that he was batting cleanup seriously.

#245 Jim Sundberg

Card thoughts: I don’t why, but looking at this picture I’m thinking of the nickname “Sunny Jim” Sundberg. Probably have former Cards first baseman "Sunny Jim" Bottomley.

The player: The 70s were a glorious time for catchers. Whereas you would only find the occasional catcher in the 50s and 60s who would catch more than 120 games, the 70s saw such notables as Johnny Bench, Thurman Munson, Carlton Fisk, #62 Bob Boone, and #237 Ted Simmons all catch nearly 140 games some years, with great hitting and receiving skills to boot. Sundberg certainly belongs in this category. Although more similar in hitting prowess to Bob Boone than Johnny Bench, he was in a league of his own when it came to defense.

Sundberg was a 1^st round draft choice by the Rangers in 1973 and, as the Rangers were wont to do in the early 70s (see David Clyde), he was rushed to the majors in 1974 with only a year of A-ball under his belt. Despite this, Sundberg acquitted himself well as a rookie, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and making the all star team. He wasn’t the hitter he would yet become, hitting only .247 with a .678 OPS, but his defense was already remarkable.

Sundberg was the first catcher since World War II to have more than 100 assists in 1975, but the rest of the season was a mess, as he hit a meager .199 with a .256 slugging percentage. After a similar weak 1976 offensive campaign (when he won the first of 6 straight Gold Gloves), Sundberg looked be the proverbial good field no hit catcher.

But Sundberg really turned things around in 1977, hitting .291 and finishing in the top 20 in MVP voting. He would hit above .275 every year until 1981, and developed some power as well, heating 10 home runs and slugging 24 doubles in 1980.

After 10 years with the Rangers, Sundberg was traded to the Brewers in late 1983 after hitting only .201 the previous season. He had a bit of a late career renaissance in 1984, making the all star squad as a reserve. But the Brewers signed another 70s catching relic, Ted Simmons, and he traded as part of a four-team deal to the Royals after the season. It’s hard to tell who went where in these complex affairs, but Danny Darwin, Tim Leary, Don Slaught and a minor leaguer were distributed among the Rangers, Brewers, Mets, and Royals.

Sundberg steadied the Royals young pitching talent, enough so that they had a the second lowerst team ERA in 1985. Sundberg scored a dramatic winning run in Game 6, avoiding Darell Porter’s swipe tag at home in the 9^th inning. After the 1986 season, where he hit a career high 12 homers (but with a low .212 average), he signed as a free agent with the Cubs. I remember Sundberg in this time as seeming very, very old. He was brought in because Jody Davis’ knees were blowing out due to the lack of trust the Cubs had in reserve Steve Lake. Sundberg fulfilled his role as a steady backup for the 1987, and beginning of the 1988 season.

After a season and a half with his original team, the Texas Rangers, Sundberg retired. Upon retirement, he had caught the second most games in history (behind Bob Boone), and had a .993 fielding percentage. He is now VP of Public Relations for the Rangers, where I am sure he is very sunny.

Rear guard: Here's Sundberg's first card. I'm surprised he didn't get a rookie cup, but it went to Barry Foote, a career .230 hitter who had his best offensive season as a rookie.

This date in baseball history: Ty Cobb's first major league at bat was on this day in 1905. He doubled off Jack Chesbro.

#215 Frank White

Card thoughts: White looks positively jolly catching this throw in spring training. Either he knows the camera is on him, or his teammate just had a pratfall.

The player: White started out as a defensive whiz every bit as respected as Ozzie Smith. He was considered the best defensive American second baseman in the late 70s and early 80s. White also acted as a kind of auxiliary coach, positioning infielders and even outfielders. Only later would he become a dangerous hitter.

George Brett is considered the icon of the Royals franchise, but Frank White--the only other player whose number was retired by the Royals and who has a statue in front of the stadium--would be a close second. Growing up not far from the stadium, White actually worked on the construction crew that built Kauffman Stadium, which would be his home for the 18 seasons.

Initially a backup to popular second baseman Cookie Rojas, White took over the second base job for good in 1975. Up until 1980, he was known as a slick fielder who contributed little on offense, mainly hitting singles and driving in about 50 runs. White won gold gloves from 1977-1982, and made the all star team on the strength of his glove in 1978 and 1979 (as a starter in 1979).

White began blossoming into an offense force in the 1980 ALCS, where he won MVP honors by hitting .545 in the three game sweep of the Yankees, propelling the Royals to the World Series for the first time. In 1982, White began a stretch of 6 straight seasons where he slugged over .400, a feat he’d only accomplished once in the 70s. In the 1985 World Series, which was played without a designated hitter, he displaced regular designated hitter Hal McRae as the cleanup hitter, and contributed a home run and 6 runs batted in to the winning cause.

The next season was one of White’s best, as he set or tied career highs in home runs (22) and runs batted in (84). He made his last all star game that season, along with winning his second to last gold glove.

White retired in 1990, reaching 2,000 hits and coming in 38^th all time in defensive WAR. After his retirement, White held a variety of jobs with the Royals, including coach and broadcaster. But despite being an icon, the new Royals ownership came to regard White with disdain. They considered him to think as highly of his status as George Brett, despite not having hall of fame numbers. Eventually, these tensions came to head, and White was fired this past offseason as the Royals broadcaster.

White has since renounced all ties to the franchise that he was associated with for so many years. In order to stay employed in his hometown, he took a job with the independent league Kansas City T-Bones.

Rear guard: You can see White's homer totals begin to climb.

This date in baseball history: Cliff Johnson ties a record by hitting his 18th career pinch homer in 1983.