#191 Wally Backman

Card thoughts: This photo was likely taken just after (as in: mere minutes) after the one on the #53 Len Dykstra card. That is also a very weird angle on Backman's follow through. He looks like he's going to hop on down to first base.

The player: Wally Backman was a short, scrappy second baseman who was part of one of the most productive platoons in baseball while with the Mets. The drawback Backman always had was that, even though he was a switch hitter, he couldn’t hit lefties, so much so that he gave up hitting right handed later in his career.Backman's post playing career as interesting as when he was a player.

Backman was one of the ’86 Mets who remembered much leaner times with the teams. Although he was a #1 draft pick, Backman wasn’t anything special in the minors, hitting with a fairly high average, but little power. He did have a knack for getting on base (and stealing when he got on), so he was perfect for the top of the order. After a brief appearance in 1980, Backman thought he had good chance to become a starter in 1981. But the Mets, like many other teams, made the mistake in acquiring Doug Flynn to play second, thus curtailing Backman’s playing time. After the Mets demoted him in June, Backman refused to go to Tidewater for 6 days.

This defiant episode didn’t hinder Backman from winning the starting second base job in 1982. Although he hit .272, Brian Giles, a better fielder than Backman, won the starting job in 1983. But Giles was pretty much another Wally Backman with more strikeouts and less walks, so the Mets went back with the latter as their starter the year shown on this card. Despite being a starting second baseman, and presumably making good money, Backman distrusted his good fortune and spent the season living with his family in a camper in a campground in New Jersey.

After a decent year with the bat in 1984, Backman played in a career-high 145 games the year shown on this card. He also reached highs in runs (77), hits (142), doubles (24), and runs batted in (38). Backman was no slouch in the field either, leading the league with a .989 fielding percentage. The only worrisome statistic was his strikeout to walk ratio, which was 2 to 1, when it was usually 1 to 1. Like many Mets, Backman had a career year in 1986. Although he was now in a platoon with Tim Tuefel, Backman hit a career high .320, and once again led the league in fielding percentage at second. Playing nearly every game in the playoffs, Backman hit .238 in the NLCS, and over .300 in the World Series, scoring 9 runs in 12 games.

In the years following 1986, Backman saw less and less playing time as Tuefel began taking over at second. He managed to hit over .300 again in 294 at bats in 1988, his last season with the Mets. Backman once again supplanted Tuefel as a starter in the playoffs, a rewarded the Mets’ confidence by hitting .273 in the NLCS.

Backman was traded that December to the Twins for three minor leaguers. An injury to his shoulder kept him from contributing much to the Twins, and he managed to get into only 87 games and hit .231.

The Twins didn’t have much interest in re-signing Backman, so he went to the Pirates. The problem was, the Pirates had flashy fielder Jose Lind at second, so he went to third to platoon with Jeff King. Backman would have his last good season with the 1990 Pirates, getting 315 at bats and hitting .292. He hit over 20 doubles for the second time in his career, but hit poorly as a backup in the playoffs.

Backman would sign with the Phillies for the 1991 season and played 136 games over two seasons with the team, hitting .249 as a backup second and third baseman. A 10 game swan song with the Mariners in 1993 ended his career.

Backman began managing in the independent leagues in 1997, which was notable only in that he got bit by a brown recluse spider in Bend, Oregon and nearly died. But Backman’s fiery managing style attracted the notice of the White Sox organization, and he had great success in their system. He was strongly considered for the managerial opening that Ozzie Guillen eventually got, but the Sox got word that Backman was openly rooting against the team in the hopes that incumbent manager Jerry Manuel would get fired. In what wouldn’t be the last time in his managerial career, Backman shot himself in the foot.

Despite his personality flaws (or perhaps because of them), Backman was still regarded as a great minor league manager, getting the most out of clubs who had little talent. After a season managing their A ball team, the Diamondbacks named him their major league manager. However, in one of the all time colossal screw ups, the Diamondbacks did not investigate Backman’s past, instead relying on his word that there was nothing embarrassing there. Big mistake. Backman had been convicted of a DUI and harassment, and accused of spousal abuse. He also declared bankruptcy in order to get out from under a tax judgement by the IRS. An embarrassed Diamondbacks owner rescinded the managerial offer, claiming that Backman lied to him.

Backman was once again back managing in the independent leagues, and was in a reality show about his experience called “Playing for Peanuts.” If you want to see Backman’s mercurial managing style, here’s a (NSFW) video of his epic meltdown over a player being ejected. There’s a bunch of Backman’s tirades online from this season.

As of 2012, Backman is back in organized ball, managing the Mets AAA affiliate.

Rear guard: In the hard up early days of the Mets, they rushed anyone with even a smidgen of talent into the majors, regardless of age or maturity level. 1965 was the only season Bethke pitched in the majors, and he went 2-0 with a 4.28 ERA in relief. He was a bit wild, however: He walked 22 against 19 strikeouts. Bethke would pitch 6 more seasons in the minors in the Mets and Royals organizations, retiring at 24. Bethke does not have a 1966 card, only one from 1965. Looking at this card, you could see the Mets were in for better things. Tug McGraw and Ron Swoboda were integral to the Mets '69 World Series win.

This date in baseball history: The nickname "Pilots" would be chosen as the Seattle expansion team's nickname in 1968. The team would play only the 1969 season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers.

#190 George Hendrick

Card thoughts: I'm not really digging the upside down U Fu Manchu. It looks like he started growing it after he was traded to the Padres. The picture was taken during the Angels' September 2-4 series in Detroit, where they went 2-1. Hendrick only played in one game in the series, but almost 50% of all the hits he would get for Angels came in that game.

It's a crying shame that Rollie Fingers, a sure hall of famer, gets a card ending in "5" and Hendrick gets one ending in "0." Topps definitely had a position player bias when doling out these special "0" cards.

The player: For years, Hendrick was a reliable middle of the order hitter. Not too flashy, he just drove in 80-100 runs a year while playing for some bad teams. Like a lot of good RBI guys, Hendrick didn't walk or strike out much, and was known as a "cripple" hitter, who rarely missed a mistake pitch. His best seasons were with the Cardinals in the late 70s/early 80s. Hendrick was also the first major leaguer to wear his pants down to his ankles, a look that soon supplanted the socks-hiked-up-past-the-calf look. He was also nicknamed “Jogging George” and “Captain Easy” (for his reputation as a lackadaisical player) and “Silent George” for his longstanding refusal to speak to the media.

Hendrick began his career with the A’s (he was the first overall pick in the 1968 draft). But like a lot of young players, he found it hard to break into such a stacked lineup as the A’s sported in the early 70s. So the A’s shipped him off to the Indians with future pitching coach (then catcher) Dave Duncan for former all-star catcher Ray Fosse and infielder Jack Heidemann. Given the opportunity to start for the first time, he showed good power, slugging 21 home runs in just 440 at bats. The next two seasons he made the all-star team, which was probably more a function of the lameness of the Indians (at least in 1974) than Hendrick’s skill. His 1975 campaign was more deserving, as he hit 24 home runs, drove in 86, and hit .258.

After a similar season in 1976, Hendrick was traded to the Padres where he had his best season to date, coming in 7^th in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) among position players and finishing in the top 10 in batting average while hitting 23 home runs and driving in 81.

Despite his career year, Hendrick would only last 36 more games with the Padres. Although never accused as being a clubhouse cancer, owner Ray Kroc (who knew a thing or two about customer service) was miffed the Hendrick refused to talk to reporters, sign autographs, pose for photos, or even accept awards in person. He was traded in 1978 to the Cardinals for pitcher Eric Rasmussen in one of the worst trades in Padres history. With the Cardinals, Hendrick would finally become a bonafide star.

Within a couple of years, Hendrick was driving in 100 runs and hitting over .300 for the perennially contending Redbirds. In 1980, 81, and 83 he was in the top ten in OPS, and he was one of the leaders on the 1982 Cardinals team that won the World Series. After a season which saw Hendrick drive in over 100 runs again, he hit over .300 in both the NLCS and the World Series while driving in 7 runs. Completing an incredible run with the Cardinals, he drove in another 97 runs in 1983, and 69 more in 1984 at age 34.

At the beginning of the season shown on this card, Hendrick was traded to the Pirates for Brian Harper and John Tudor (who would win 20+ games the next season), the second time he had been involved in a lopsided trade--although this time Hendrick’s subsequent poor performance was the cause. Unfortunately for the Pirates, his bat had gone lame and he hit only .225 while driving in a meager 25 runs. The Pirates cut their losses in a deadline move, moving Hendrick along with #140 John Candelaria and Al Holland for bee look-alike #114 Mike Brown, Pat Clements, and Bob Kipper.

Hendrick wasn’t much better in his first go-round with the Angels, hitting a microscopic .122 in 16 games. He was a little better in 1986, the year the Angels nearly made the World Series. Getting into 102 games as part of a platoon in right field, some of Hendrick’s stroke came back and he hit .272 while bashing 14 home runs. But this would be his last as a regular player. Playing around 60 games in each of the next two seasons, he hit in the .240s while serving as a backup outfielder. Hendrick’s last game was on the final day of the 1988 season when he grounded out to shortstop pinch hitting for Devon White. 

Hendrick has coached for the Tampa Bay Rays since 2006. Prior to that, he coached for the Cardinals, Angels, and Dodgers.

Rear guard: Hendrick played so long, it's hard to see his numbers; it's even harder to see his miniscule Angels numbers.


This date in baseball history: Wow! An event that actually involves the player in this post. Charlie Finley, owner of the A's, suggested that the league try out some orange balls during an exhibition game in 1973. Our very own George Hendrick claimed that he couldn't pick up the ball (even though he hit 3 home runs during the game!) which basically killed the idea forever.

#189 Mike Mason

Card thoughts: I find Mason’s smile extremely dopey and a little creepy. Also, the perspective of the picture makes his glove look way too big, compared to his head. Mason's picture in the 1986 set is almost the same.

The player:  Mike Mason was a first round draft pick of the Rangers, so they must have seen something in him. Unfortunately, he never showed it in the majors.

Mason had an unspectactular minor league career before making it to the majors for brief spells in 1982 and 1983. His rookie season was his best. Mason went 9-13, but had a career high 113 strikeouts in 184 plus innings. His ERA was also a career low 3.61. You know you’ve had a mediocre career when, in your best season, you didn’t even have a winning percentage above .500.

The season shown on this card was much worse for Mason. His 15 losses were 7^th in the league and his ERA rocketed to 4.83. Mason righted the ship the next year, going 7-3 with a 4.33 ERA. But after a 5.56 ERA to start the 1987 season, he was shipped to the Cubs in May for Dave Pavlas, a pitcher who never even made the majors with the Rangers (however, the Cubs liked Pavlas so much, they bought him back from the Rangers three years later).

Mason was just as terrible for the Cubs, as he went 4-1 but with a terrible 5.68 ERA. He pitched 6 2/3 more innings for the Twins the next season before leaving the majors for good.

Inarguably, Mason has had a much bigger impact as an ex-player on baseball. Almost immediately after ending his baseball career, he began his second career as a minor league pitching coach with stops in Appleton, Memphis, Springfield, Lansing, Wichita, Scranton, and Des Moines. Mason is the current Iowa Cubs pitching coach. I guess in this case the old adage is true: Those who can’t do, teach.

Rear guard: A paltry 6,000 fans saw Mason shut out the Mariners while striking out 11. He gave up only 6 hits, none of them for extra bases.

Joe Lovitto, a former 1st round draft pick, only hit .224 in 1972 (his rookie year), and after his 6 straight hits, he was only hitting .212. Lovitto would only have 165 hits over a four year career, never more than 100 in any season. Here's his card from that year. And, woah, does Lovitto look like a weird dude! A lot of chin!

This date in baseball history: In one of the all time greatest hoax stories, George Plimpton wrote a fictitious article in Sports Illustrated about a pitcher who could throw 168 mph. Several Mets were quoted, which lent credence to the story. The cover date was April 1, 1985.