5 Baseball Cards that Swung Surpisingly Hard
If only we could have harnessed their breeze!
On September 22, 1969, Bobby Bonds struck out for the 176th time on the season, setting a new one-year mark — more on that in a bit.
While Bonds is well-known for his whiff-ability, at least among fans of my generation, some of the other big wind men of the past may be a bit surprising.
So, to celebrate Bonds’ 55-year-old “accomplishment,” and to get our weekly quota of sweet cardboard memories, here are five guys you may not remember as league leaders (or nearly so), but who could corkscrew with the best of them.
1963 Topps Don Lock (#47)
Don Lock struck out 63 times in 71 games as a 25-year-old rookie centerfielder for the second-year expansion Senators in 1962, but he also connected on 12 home runs.
That power and Washington’s general yuck made Lock a lock for a starting slot in 1963, and he took full advantage by clubbing 27 home runs and driving in 82 runs in 1949 games.
Oh yeah — he also struck out 151 times, which would have been a new major league record if it hadn’t been for…
1963 Topps Dave Nicholson (#234)
At first glance, Nicholson’s 1963 line looks like it would fit in well with the 2024 version of the White Sox: .229, 22 home runs 70 RBI, 175 strikeouts.
Truth is, though, the Sox’ new left fielder was part of a 94-win team.
Acquired before the season from the Orioles along with Ron Hansen, Pete Ward, and Hoyt Wilhelm to in exchange for Chicago legend Luis Aparicio and Al Smith, Nicholson and his trade mates had big shoes to fill.
For his part, Nicholson filled the shoes with heavy feet and a lot of bat-generated wind, then saw his playing time diminish each of the next two seasons before landing in Houston and then Atlanta to finish his big league career.
For most of a decade, though, Nicholson had a slugger’s record all to himself.
1970 Topps Billy Grabarkewitz (#446)
By the looks of things, Topps wasn’t thinking much about players with names like “Grabarkewitz” when they designed their 1970 set — no room at the inn!
But then, they probably weren’t expecting Grabarkewitz to turn into an All-Star third baseman overnight, either. After all, he had come up with the Dodgers as a shortsop in 1969 and hit a “robust” .092 in 34 games.
The Dodgers were still in their transition years, though, searching for an infield combination that would carry them for the long haul (think they ever found it?). As a result, Grabarkewitz got another look, and he ended up starting 150 games in 1970, split between third, second, and shortstop.
Along the way, he hit .289 with 17 home runs, 19 stolen bases, and 84 RBI. And yes, those 149 strikeouts, which was “good” for only fourth place in the National League, behind Bonds, Tommie Agee, and Nate Colbert.
Seems Bonds had turned the ballpark breeze into something of a new fashion.
1975 Topps Jeff Burroughs (#470)
Old-time fans and collectors will probably remember that a young Jeff Burroughs surprised the baseball world by winning the 1974 American League MVP award after helping the Texas Rangers compete for a division title.
After a 57-105 showing in 1973, the ‘74 squad went 84-76-1 under new manager Billy Martin. Burroughs hit .301 with 25 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBI. He also struck out 104 times in 152 games, but nobody was complaining too much about the whiffs.
He was young. He would improve. And he was already the MVP!
Burroughs again played 152 games in 1975 and bumped up his homer output to 29. Problem was, his average fell to .226, his doubles dropped from 33 to 20, and his OPS dropped from .901 to .724 (not that anybody notice that one).
The culprit? Well, his majors-leading 155 strikeouts might have had something to do with the decline.
The good news is, Burroughs only struck out over 100 times in one more season (1977) and rebounded to have his best season (by measure of WAR) in 1978.
1978 Topps Gary Alexander (#624)
Alexander spent the first three (partial) seasons of his big league caree with the Giants. He probably didn’t outright wow anyone with either his power or his whiffs during that time, as he topped out with five long balls and 33 Ks in 1977, albeit in just 51 games.
In March of 1978, the Giants traded Alexander, five other players, a truckload of cash, and the west half of City Hall to the A’s for Vida Blue. San Fran chipped in Mario Guerrero in April after signing him as a free agent in December.
The good news for Alexander was that the suddenly rebuiling A’s were a great landing spot for a mid-20s player looking for a starting slot. The bad news was that the 100-strikeout potential he had shown in the minors was able to blossom with full-time play.
In 58 games with Oakland, Alexander hit .203 and struck out 66 times.
The A’s traded him to the Indians on June 15, and the fun continued in Cleveland — .235 with an even 100 strikeouts in 90 games. If you ran out of fingers counting those Ks, Alexander finished with a majors-leading 166 while playing in 148 games for two teams who went a combined 138-183.
He did crank out 27 home runs and 84 RBI between the two clubs, though, which earned him another 110 games with Cleveland in 1979. After an repeat 100-K performance, his playing time dwindled in 1980.
Then, in December of that year, the Tribe traded Alexander and three other players to the Pirates for Bert Blyleven and Manny Sanguillen.
Alexander made it into 21 games for his new team, then he was done.
Manny never appeared for the Indians.
BONUS! 1969 Topps Bobby Bonds (#630)
Bonds, you already know about. But, since he’s the guy who got this whole thing started, we’ll end with him, too.
His 1969 card is pretty solid, don’t you think? And, after all, it was issued the year he set the strikeout record.
The first time.
Because, yeah, Bonds topped himself with 189 whiffs in 1970. All in all, Bonds topped 100 strikeouts ten times in his 14-year big league career.
He’s in a different class than the rest of the guys on this list, of course, both in terms of the caliber of his overall play and his prodigious, sustained appetite for striking out.
Put Bonds’ season strikeout numbers in today’s game, though, and he’d look like Tony Gwynn. Or at least Chris Gwynn.
Indeed, Bonds’ mark of 189 strikeouts in 1970 now stands tied for the 41st highest single-season total ever. Among the four other men on the same rung with Barry’s dad is some dude named Shohei Ohtani.
—
Those guys up there represent a lot of strikeouts, but like Bonds’ performances, their seasonal totals look mild today. I guess I’ll get used to the new world order of baseball someday.
But until then, these whippersnappers need to get off my plastic green lawn.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam
Thank you for your answer!
Nice article!
Any idea who the Dodger in the background on Billy’s card is?