#177 Joel Youngblood

Card thoughts: Another classic Topps pose for a batter, albeit Youngblood looks like he’s kneeling in a dirty aquarium. He’s in an almost identical position on his 1984 Topps card.

Youngblood was only an outfielder this season. He only got into one game at third. Perhaps these position circles are “aspirational.”

The player: Youngblood is one of those players common in baseball: The super-sub who can play several positions and can hit well, but whose versatility is too valuable for managers to waste making them a regular at any one position. Youngblood was constantly frustrated that he never became a regular player. He ended up playing most of his career in right or left field, but also played a significant amount of time at second and third.

Youngblood broke in with the Reds in 1976 as a pinch hitter, and hit a poor .193 in that role. Not finding a place for Youngblood’s bat in the powerful Reds lineup, they shipped him to the Cardinals for pitcher Bill Caudill; then the Cardinals shipped him after 20 some games to the Mets for infielder Mike Phillips.

This was the break Youngblood was looking for. Although he still wasn’t a regular at any one position, manager Joe Torre (who retired as a player to clear roster space for Youngblood) showed a lot of confidence in Youngblood, and the next year he got 266 at bats playing left, right, center, second, and third. In 1979, Youngblood would have a career year. He got into 158 games, mostly in the outfield filling in for rightfielder Elliot Maddox (jammed his foot) and left fielder Steve Henderson (also injured). In those games, Youngblood scored 90 runs on 162 hits and even hit 16 home runs and drove in 60. Even though Youngblood showed good speed, he was not very wise on the basepaths, stealing 18 but being caught 13 times. The Mets gave Youngblood a starting role in centerfield as a reward for that season (and a three year contract worth $900,000) and moved Lee Mazzilli to first base in 1980. At the 3:23 mark in this video, you can see Youngblood robbing a home run from a Cub on opening day that year. Although he drove in a career high 69 runs, the power from the year before disappeared and he became a singles hitter.

Youngblood was on his way to having a career year in 1981 before the players strike, hitting .350. On the strength of that average, he was named to his only all star game after play resumed in August. But soon after that, Youngblood badly injured his knee and was out for the season. The next year, increasingly disgruntled at his reserve role, he demanded a trade. The Mets accommodated him after a day game at Wrigley Field on August 4, 1982. Youngblood had a single and drove in 2 runs against hall of fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins. After the game, he was traded to the Expos who were playing a night game in Philadelphia. Youngblood raced to Philly in time to get a pinch hit for the team against another hall of fame pitcher, #120 Steve Carlton. This made him the first player to get a hit for two different teams on the same day.

This would be the highlight of Youngblood’s brief, 40 game career with the Expos. The next year he was with the Giants, where he played mostly second his first year with the team, and had a career high 17 home runs and .292 average. At long last, in 1984, Youngblood finally realized his goal of being an everyday player, as the Giants started him at third for most of the year. While his hitting was adequate, his fielding was erratic as he led the league in errors with 36 and had a poor .887 fielding percentage (in fact, Youngblood was only a consistent fielder in the outfield—at third, his career fielding percentage was .896, and at second it was .954). It was back to a Giants’ utility role for him from 1985-1988, where he generally hit about .250 with little power. 1989 was his last major league season and it was with the Reds, where he hit .212.

For a long time, Youngblood was a jack of all trades with a startup software company, selling and marketing the product to various companies. In the meantime, he managed in the minors for Kane County, an Orioles affiliate. Youngblood also worked as a coach for the Reds, Brewers, and Diamondbacks. He’s currently the Minor League Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

Rear guard: Youngblood's first home run was off the Dodgers' Burt Hooten in the 4th inning. It was a solo shot.

This date in baseball history:   In 1953, the St Louis Browns were blocked from moving to Milwaukee because the minor league team that was there objected. Curiously, the Browns were allowed to move to Baltimore, even though it was close to a major league city, Washington.

#176 Jay Tibbs

Card thoughts: Nice high leg kick. I wonder if he had a problem preventing steals?

The player: Tibbs was highly regarded young pitcher for the Mets. He had good stuff, but failed to control it. His first few seasons in the Mets system, he bounced from level to level, never dominating any. Tibbs finally turned it around in 1983 for Lynchburg, the Mets High-A club. He won 14 games for a very strong club that also featured a young Dwight Gooden. This was enough to temp the Reds into trading for Tibbs the next year.

He made his debut in 1984, and had his best season, going 6-2 with a 2.86. This was enough to get him penciled in as the #2 starter for the season shown on this card, but it was disaster in the early going. Tibbs went 4-11 and walked way too many batters before being sent to minors. Upon his return to the Reds, he had a much better 6-5 record. Tibbs’ 16 losses were 3^rd in the league.

The Expos looked on the bright side of things (his success later in the season), and traded their #1 starter Bruce Gullickson to get him, Dann Billardello, John Stuper, and #133 Andy McGaffigan to add depth to their rotation. Tibbs ended up having two middling years with the Expos, reaching a career high with 117 strikeouts in 1986. He was again traded in a multi-player deal to the Orioles in February in 1988.

Tibbs’ first season with the Orioles was probably his worst, as he was on the leader board for losses (15). His ERA was a bloated 5.39, and he lost his spot in the rotation. Tibbs’ 9 straight losses that year were then an Orioles record. Injuries the next year limited him to 10 starts but he pitched well, winning all his decisions and having a fine 2.82 ERA. But another year ineffectiveness and wildness occurred the following season, and Tibbs was exiled to the Pirates in September where he ended his career.

Rear guard: Tibbs pitched a fine game for his first win, giving up only 2 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. However, as a foreshadowing of his career, he also walked 4 without striking out anyone.

This date in baseball history: Mickey Mantle announces his retirement in 1969.

#175 Steve Sax

Card thoughts: Another card I remember vividly, all these years later. Probably because Sax is one of the few players I've ever seen on a card listening to the national anthem. Although I suspect Topps wanted to highlight the "Hollywood" good looks of Steve Sax for all the girls who collected cards at the time.

The player: Sax started off like a rocket, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1982. However, he wasn't a complete player yet. He was a poor fielder, especially when turning the double play, and he had almost no power. What he did have was speed to burn: He stole 49 bases his rookie year.

The next year, Sax avoided the dreaded sophmore slump by nearly matching his rookie batting average, but stealing 56 bases (although he led the league in caught stealing) and scoring 94 runs. He made his second all star team as well. But in the field, Sax developed the mental block that prevented his from throwing the ball to first, one of the easiest throws on the infield from second. This caused  Sax to commit 30 errors, 13 more than an aging Joe Morgan. His throws were so erratic, box seat patrons behind first would wear batting helmets as a joke.

This condition would continue on and off throughout his times with the Dodgers. Sax's hitting regressed in 1984 and 1985, likely because he was concentrating so much on fielding. The season shown on this card was the worst in his career. Although he hit .279, he had a pathetic 16 extra base hits out of 136 overall hits. Sax also only stole 27 bases, a career low as a regular.

Sax would turn it around in 1986, having the best season of his career. He was the second leading hitter in the league, and also made the top ten in on base percentage (.390), runs scored (91), hits (210), doubles (43), and stolen bases (40). At this point, Sax was undoubtedly the second best second baseman in the league behind Ryne Sandberg.

After Sax's breakout season, he had two more good years as the Dodgers leadoff man. In the 1988 World Series he shone, hitting .300 and scoring 3 runs. Sax also parlayed his fame and good looks into being a guest star on several shows including Square Pegs, Who's the Boss, Hollywood Squares, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Most memorably, Sax was invited the be on the softball "ringer team" created by Mr. Burns on the Simpsons. He was prevented from playing when he was accused by Chief Wiggum of being the culprit in all the unsolved murders in New York City and thrown in jail.

Sax left the Dodgers in 1989 as a free agent and landed with the Yankees, where he had a season almost as good as his 1986 season, once again collecting over 200 hits, hitting over .300, and making the all star team. He had one more stellar season in him in 1991, when he hit a career high 10 home runs. But then, the White Sox made an ill-advised trade, sending Melido Perez and Bob Wickman, two of their better pitchers, to the Yankees for him. Sax never hit above .230 with the White Sox and was released in spring training in 1994. After 7 games with the A's that season, Sax was done.

After his playing days were over, Sax ran for state assembly but withdrew as his wife was dishing some nasty gossip about him when they were going through a bad divorce. He currently uses the overcoming of his throwing problems as a basis for his career as a motivational speaker.

Rear guard: Here's Sax's first Topps card. Mike Marshall would have a long productive career with the Dodgers and will be discussed at greater length later on this blog. #63 Ron Roenicke was already discussed.

No one uses the term "long hits". Try "extra base hits." Garvey's 5 hits were 3 doubles and 2 home runs. He drove in 5 and scored 5.

This day in baseball history: In 1946, Pie Traynor and Herb Pennock are elected to the Hall of Fame.