A Giant Strat-O-Matic Contest

The Strat-O-Matic Game Company is providing me with three copies of the game to give away in a contest. The contest is on my other blog (A Giant Blog). It's a great game -- head on over if you would like to enter. :)

1976 Topps #278 - Bernie Carbo

• Bernie Carbo was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1965. He played in the minors through the 1969 season and showed his readiness for the majors by batting .359 for Indianapolis in '69. Carbo came up at the end of the season and was hitless in three at bats.

• In 1970 Carbo was a close second to Carl Morton in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He batted .310 with 21 HR, 63 RBI, and 94 walks in 365 at bats. His .454 on base percentage and good power gave him one heck of a strat-o-matic card that year. Bernie was hitless in 14 at bats in the NLCS and the World Series. This was the only year Bernie would be a starter.

• Carbo had a major sophomore jink in 1971. His batting average dropped to .219 and he hit only 5 HR in 310 AB. After a slow start in 1972 (.143 in 21 AB) Carbo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 19 for Joe Hague. Bernie hit .258 for the Cardinals in 302 AB in '72.

• Bernie batted .286 in 308 AB with an OBP of .397 in 1973. After the season he and Rick Wise were traded to the Boston Red Sox for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.

• Carbo was a useful 4th outfielder/DH/pinch hitter for the Red Sox in '74 and '75. He batted .249 and hit 12 HR in 1974. Bernie did better in 1975, batting .257 with 15 HR and a .409 on base percentage. Carbo didn't play in the ALCS, but he had an excellent World Series against his former team (Cincinnati), hitting 2 HR and a double in eight at bats. His home run in the 8th inning of game 6 tied the game.

• In 1976 Carbo split the season between the Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in 17 games for the Red Sox then was traded on June 8 for Bobby Darwin and Tom Murphy. For both teams Carbo batted .235 with 5 home runs in 238 AB. After the season the Brewers sent Carbo back to the Red Sox (along with George Scott) for Cecil Cooper.

• Bernie had a good season as a backup in 1977, hitting 15 HR and batting .289 in 228 at bats. In 1978 Carbo again played for two teams. He started with the Red Sox and then was purchased by the Cleveland Indians on June 15. He batted .282 in 220 AB for the two clubs. Bernie became a free agent after the 1978 season and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Carbo played sparingly in 1979 (.281 in 64 AB mostly as a pinch hitter). In 1980 he was exclusively a pinch hitter. Bernie started with the Cardinals (.182 in 11 AB) and was released on May 27. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Carbo on September 1. He was 2 for 6 as a pinch hitter for the Pirates and then was released at the end of the season. Bernie tried to hook on with the Detroit Tigers in 1981 but hung 'em up after batting .190 in 19 games for AAA Evansville.

• After his playing career Bernie spent some time as a hairdresser. Several years after the end of his career Carbo was able to kick drugs and alcohol and in 1993 he founded Diamond Club Ministry in Alabama. Here is a June 23, 2009 newspaper article about Carbo and his ministry.
• Here is a "Where are they now" article about Carbo.

• Liked to face: Bill Hands (.366 in 41 AB); Mike Torrez (.429 in 35 AB); Steve Blass (.333 in 33 AB)
• Hated to face: Gaylord Perry (.167 in 54 AB); Jim Palmer (.147 in 34 AB); Pat Dobson (.148 in 27 AB)
  

1976 Topps #131 - Bill Stein

• Bill Stein was a utility infielder from 1972-1985. He made his debut on September 6, 1972 (my 6th birthday).

• Stein started in the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1969 and played in the minors for several years. He never had a full season with the Cardinals. Bill batted .314 in 14 games in 1972. He spent most (but not all) of the 1973 season with the Cards and batted .218 in 32 games. Bill was traded to the California Angels for Jerry Davanon on September 25, but he didn't see any action with the Angels. He was sold to the Chicago White Sox before the 1974 season.

• Bill was in the minors (where he batted .328 in 151 games) for most of the 1974 season. He batted .279 in 13 late season games with the White Sox. Stein stayed in the majors in 1975 and batted .270 in 226 at bats. He followd that with a .268 season in 392 at bats in 1976. Stein was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft after the '76 season.

• Stein was given a chance to play every day at third base in 1977. Bill played in 151 games and batted .259 with a career high 13 home runs. Stein got most of the starts at 3B in 1978, which was his last year as an everyday player. He batted .261 but with only four home runs.

• Bill went back to a utility role in 1979 and batted .248 in 88 games. He had a similar season in 1980 (.268 in 67 games). Stein became a free agent after the 1980 season and signed with the Texas Rangers.

• Stein had a very unusual season in 1981. He batted .330 in 115 at bats and played just about everywhere (except pitcher and catcher). Stein set the AL record for most consecutive pinch hits with 7. I would have loved to have had a card like that on my bench in a Strat-O-Matic league that year. Bill dropped to .239 (184 AB) in 1982 and then batted .310 in 232 at bats in 1983. He didn't play much in 1984 and 1985 (122 combined at bats) and retired after the 1985 season.
  
• Stein managed in the minor leagues from 1988-1992, was a minor league batting coach in 1993, and managed again in 1994. He then left baseball for good. He now conducts private baseball lessons on North Padre Island in Texas.

• Sports Illustrated polled AL managers and coaches before the 1982 season and asked what pinch hitter they would least like to see bat in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded and two out. The results were: (1) Jose Morales, (2) Terry Crowley, (3) Bobby Murcer, (4) Lou Piniella, (5) Bill Stein.

1976 Topps #52 - Dave Chalk

I am currently doing a Strat-O-Matic replay of the 1976 season. One neat thing about the game is that there is an option to show a picture of the batter and pitcher as the game is playing. I'm using a photoset that someone made from the 1976 Topps set. It's funny how so many California Angels players have this bunting pose on their cards. I guess that's why the Angel offense was so anemic in that era. :)

Dave Chalk was an infielder for California, Texas, Oakland, and Kansas City from 1973-1981.

He was an All Star in 1974 and 1975 and had some pretty good years in the mid-seventies. Dave was traded from California to Texas for Bert Campaneris in May 1979 and then was traded to Oakland in June 1979. Dave signed with the Royals as a free agent in 1980 and appeared in game 2 of the World Series (he walked, stole second as part of a double steal, and scored a run). Chalk played for the Royals in 1981 and then called it a career.

1976 Topps #40 - Dave Kingman

Kong!

Dave Kingman hit a lot of home runs and had a lot of whiffs for seven teams from 1971-1988. He hit 442 homers but had a lifetime average of only .236. He also finished his career fourth all-time (at the time) in strikeouts with 1816. He was an all-star three times (1976, 1979, 1980).

Dave hit 37 home runs in 1976 for the Mets. He hit a lot more for me in a Strat-O-Matic league I was in (but he killed me on defense).

In 1977 he had the dubious distinction of playing for a team in all four divisions as he played for the Mets, Padres, Angels, and Yankees. Dave signed as a free-agent with the Cubs after the 1977 season and played four seasons for them. His best year was in 1979 when he hit 48 homers and batted .288.

Dave finished his career as a DH for Oakland in 1986. He hit 35 homers that year. Kingman signed with the Giants on July 15, 1987 but he didn't play for them that year. He played 20 games for the AAA Phoenix Firebirds but hit only .203 with 2 homers.

Dave is enjoying a quiet retirement near Lake Tahoe.

1976 Topps #31 - Len Randle

Len Randle was a utility player in the 70s and early 80s for five teams. He is probably best remembered for punching out his manager Frank Lucchesi in 1977 after Lucchesi gave the starting 2B job to Bump Wills. Randle was charged with assault and traded to the Mets. He went back to the minors in 1979 and played for the Phoenix Giants for part of that year. I went to a lot of those games, but I don't remember him being on the team.

Randle was one of those guys who had some value on an APBA or Strat-O-Matic team because he played so many positions.