1973 Topps - Joe Lovitto.

Looking back at the 1973 season again. Today we have Joe Lovitto on card number 276 in the 1973 Topps set. The cartoon on the back informs us that Joe's first hit as a pro was a home run. In spite of Joe's position being listed as an outfielder the back of the card also states that he had the "natural ability to play almost any position..."

Joe split the 1973 season between the Rangers and Triple A. He played in 74 games for Spokane and 26 for the Rangers. While he played in the outfield for Texas he primarily split the backup third baseman duties with Bill Madlock.

In 112 innings in the field Joe committed five errors in route to posting a .898 fielding percentage. That dismal number was 55 points below the league average. That was probably part of the reason that Lovitto spent part of the year at Triple A.

The other part of the reason for the Triple A sojourn is likely related to Joe's .136 batting average. In 49 trips to the plate he managed just a .224 on base percentage. That coupled with his 7 strikeouts and only one extra base hit would make it hard to secure a spot on any MLB roster.

1973 was probably a season that Joe Lovitto wanted to forget. He needed some drastic improvement in the field and at the plate if he wanted to stick with the Rangers in 1974.

***Reminder to sign up for the Strat-O-Matic contest. You can still be competitive if you get in now. Last week saw a newcomer overtake Night Owl in the points race.***

Minor League Monday - Staff, 1986 ProCards.

Ok, so here we are at the end of the 1986 ProCards team set. Just three cards left: the manager, a coach, and a trainer. Going to hit all three in one post.

Dave Oliver was the manager for the Oklahoma City Eighty-Niners for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. They were his fourth and fifth seasons in the minors as a manager. In 2001 he managed in, of all places, Mudville. No word on if he was fired for not pinch-hitting for Casey. Prior to his minor league managerial career he played eight seasons in the minors from 1973 to 1980. In 1977 Dave played in seven games for the Cleveland Indians - his only major league experience.






Up next us coach Rusty Gerhardt. Not sure if Rusty is the hitting coach, pitching coach, bench coach, bullpen coach, third base coach, first base coach, or all of those rolled into one.

What I was able to find out about Gerhardt is that he managed the Eighty-Niners in 1984 before the advent of Dave Oliver. He also pitched for nine seasons in the San Diego Padres farm system from 1972 t0 1981 with a break for the 1980 season. Not sure if the break was caused by an arm injury or what. In 1974 he appeared in 23 games for the Padres. That was the extent of his major league experience. I have no idea where Rusty went when he left OKC.





Last in the set is trainer Greg Campbell. Not sure why Greg got a card in this set when Rusty Gerhardt was the only coach to do so. Perhaps he and Rusty were the only two staff members to show up for the photo shoot.

I wasn't able to find out much on Greg. The fact that all three of these cards have the same date of birth, height, weight, residence and such doesn't make things any easier. I believe that Greg may have played one season of Rookie League ball for the San Francisco Giants in 1982. Beyond that I have no idea where Greg was before he came to the Eighty-Niners or where he went when he left.

Well, that wraps up the 1986 ProCards Eighty-Niners team set. On to 1987 next time.

Senators Saturday - Tim Cullen, 1970.

Ok, so after our quick look at 1969 we head to 1970. This season will also not last all that long either since I only have about four cards from this team set. To start off with we have Tim Cullen on card number 49 of the 1970 Topps set. Cullen looks like he might be practicing his bunting with a fungo bat. That with guys in suits standing around in the background looking at something else. Kind of makes the windbreaker under the jersey look ok.

Tim was the starting second baseman for the Senators in 1970. Of the 732.1 innings he played in the field 721.2 were at second base, the other 10.2 were at short. At second Tim handled 476 chances during the season while committing only three errors. His .994 fielding percentage was well above the league average .979.

Tim was the prototypical light hitting middle infielder though. His average in 301 plate appearances was .214 and his on base percentage was .301. He walked 31 times while striking out 38 times. He scored 22 runs and bumped in 18 RBI. Tim had only one home run on the season while managing 10 doubles and two triples. He had only two sacrifice bunts all season, even with the practice.

Cullen's 1970 season could be summed up as all glove and no bat. He seemed to sparkle in the field but his offensive numbers were at the bottom of the starting lineup. Maybe he should have practiced more than just bunting.

Contest - week two.

So this past week in the Strat-O-Matic contest it was the Astros hosting the Rangers in Houston.

In the MLB Showdown game the Rangers managed to outlast the Astros 5-4 to get the win for Ismael Valdes. Jim Kern picked up a two inning save. One point if you predicted the Showdown Rangers to win.

In just my second Strat-O-Matic game the Rangers beat the Astros 4-1. In the first inning Nelson Cruz, as shown here on his 2010 Strat card, came up with an injury after grounding out to the shortstop. He will be out for eight games. This effectively removes him from the rest of the contest. One point if you predicted the Strat-O-Matic Rangers to win.

For the second time the MLB Showdown Rangers won the scoring contest. This time it was close, 5-4. One point if you predicted that the Showdown Rangers would score the most runs.

A couple of more thoughts on Strat-O-Matic versus MLB Showdown.

When I first started looking at Strat-O-Matic I was convinced that it would not be as simple as Showdown. After just a couple of basic games I am changing my mind. The game is not as complicated as it looks at first. Granted, I am playing Showdown at the highest level of play and Strat at the lowest but the time it takes to play a game is about the same after just a short time. Nice to be able to grasp the game that quickly. Advantage even.

Injuries. They don't really exist in Showdown. At least not any that will take a player out of action for any length of time. I have always thought that this was a failing that I would like to see addressed. After all, the really good teams in baseball always have a good bench to give the starting lineup a break and to fill in in case of an injury. In spite of the fact that the Rangers got bit by the injury rules with Nellie Cruz I like the idea. Strat seems to be much more accurate in this area than Showdown. Advantage to Strat-O-Matic.

On to this week's match. Next the Rangers play the Mets in New York. Make sure to get your predictions in as the contest is still wide open. Remember to include if you think the Showdown Rangers will win, if you think the Strat 2009 Rangers will win, and which Rangers team you think will score the most runs.

For details on how this contest works please see this post.

Back to winning.

So the Rangers won their second straight last night to knock the A's out of first place. Matt Treanor was the big gun of the night as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Unfortunately for Matt, I have no cards of him in a Rangers' uniform.

That leaves one of the other two bombers for Texas last night. Decided to go with Michael Young on this 2005 Prime Patches card, number P-21 in the set (numbered 86/150). Michael went 3-for-5 last night in the designated hitter's spot with 3 RBI. I must admit that part of the reason that Michael gets today's card is the card itself. For some reason I fell in love with the Prime Patches set. The packs were totally out of my price range but I have managed to pick up quite a few singles on Ebay. The numbering system drives me crazy but I still like them.

Nice to see Texas back to winning. Hopefully they can get back into that habit.

Ok, the second week's results on the Strat-O-Matic contest come out tomorrow. This is your last chance to get your predictions in for this week. Need some folks to jump in and make this thing interesting.

Wantlist - 2001 Donruss.

Continuing the Rusty Greer example series here. Today Rusty appears on card number 97 of the 2001 Donruss set to provide an example of what the set looks like. Still need quite a few of these cards:

2001 Donruss
1 Alex Rodriguez
171 Mike Young SP
185 Carlos Pena SP
201 Alex Rodriguez FC
209 Ivan Rodriguez FC

If you have any of these please let me know so we can work out a trade. Thanks!

***Don't forget to get in on the Strat-O-Matic contest this week. Night Owl hasn't yet so you stand a great chance of catching him in the point totals.***

1973 Topps - Dalton Jones.

Well, my Mom always used to say that if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything. That pretty much precludes talking about Derek Holland's injury, Rich Harden's meltdowns, the Rangers' losing streaks, etc. Mostly everything about the team right now.

Time to take a look back at 1973 and see if we can find anything positive. Today we come to card number 512 in the 1973 Topps set, Dalton Jones.

It can be positively said that Dalton Jones was no longer with the Rangers in 1973. After one season with the team he was released by Texas on January 25, 1973. That was the end of his major league career. He spent 1973 at Triple A for the Expos before hanging it up

Just a quick reminder to get your entry in for the Strat-O-Matic contest second round. In keeping with my Mom's advice I will only say that participation has not been what I was hoping for. It would be nice to see a few more folks in the mix. Jump in now, there's a Strat computer game on the line.