1975 Topps Set Card 285/660 – #165 – Doug Rader, Astros

1975 Topps Set Card 285/660 – #165 – Doug Rader, Astros

Progress: 285/660

Card Number: 165

Player Name: Doug Rader

Team:  Houston Astros

Position: 3rd Base

Image Style: Posed Hitting

Years In The Major Leagues: 16 seasons, 1966, 1968-82

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Doug Rader played in 129 games for the Houston Astros in 1975.  He connected for 100 hits in 448 at-bats during the year earning him a .223 batting average.  Rader drove in 48 runs over the course of the season while scoring 41 times.

Notes From Career:  Doug Rader is a career .251 hitter that played for three different teams during his 11-year career.  He has 1,302 career hits to his credit including 245 doubles and 155 home runs.  Rader won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1970-74 for his excellent defensive play at 3rd base.

1975 Topps Set Card 273/660 – #53 – Dave Giusti, Pirates

1975 Topps Set Card 273/660 – #53 – Dave Giusti, Pirates

Progress: 273/660

Card Number:  53

Player Name:  Dave Giusti

Team:  Pittsburgh Pirates

Position:  Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues:  15 seasons, 1962, 1964-77

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Guisti pitched in 61 games for the Pirates in 1975.  He amassed a record of 5-4 with 17 saves through the seson.  Giusti pitched 91 innings during the season while allowing 79 hits and 38 runs.  At the end of the 1975 campaign, he sported an ERA of just 2.95 while giving up 42 walks while striking out 38 batters.

Notes From Career:  Dave Guisti pitched for five different major league clubs during his 15-season career.  A strong reliever, he has 145 career saves with a record of 100-93.  In 668 games played, Guisti worked 1,761 innings allowing 1,654 hits and giving up 764 runs.  Guisti was selected as an NL All-Star in 1973 and is a member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates team.

1975 Topps Set Card 271/660 – #96 – Michael Cosgrove, Astros

1975 Topps Set Card 271/660 – #96 – Michael Cosgrove, Astros

Progress: 271/660

Card Number:  96

Player Name:  Mike Cosgrove

Team:  Houston Astros

Position:  Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Pitching

Years In The Major Leagues:  7 seasons, 1972-76

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Mike Cosgrove appeared in 32 games for the Astros in 1975.  He compiled a record of 1-2 with 5 saves over those games.  In 71 innings of work during the season, Cosgrove allowed 62 hits and 24 runs en route to a 3.03 ERA.  He struck out 32 batters in that time while walking 37.

Notes From Career:  Mike Cosgrove spent all five of his big league seasons as a member of the Houston Astros franchise.  He has a lifetime record of 12-11 with 8 saves in 119 games played.  Cosgrove made 20 starts during his playing days, working 2 complete games which included 1 shutout.

1975 Topps Set Card 268/660 – #604 – Oscar Zamora, Cubs

1975 Topps Set Card 268/660 – #604 – Oscar Zamora, Cubs

Progress: 268/660

Card Number:  604

Player Name:  Oscar Zamora

Team:  Chicago Cubs

Position:  Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues:  4 seasons, 1974-76, 1978

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Zamora appeared in 52 games for the Cubs in 1975.  He compiled a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 5.07 in those games.  Zamora worked in 71 innings, allowing 84 hits and 42 runs while striking out 28 and walking 15.

Notes From Career:  Zamora ended his major league career with a 13-14 record over 158 games played.  He worked in 224 total innings, allowing 256 hits and 121 runs en route to a career ERA of 4.53.  In those 224 innings, Zamora gave up 256 hits and 121 runs.

Happy Birthday Randy Johnson!!!

Happy Birthday Randy Johnson!!!

Randy Johnson turns 51 years old today.

And now that he has been out of the game for almost a few seasons, it gets pretty easy to look back at his amazing career and say that he is one of the greatest pitchers from his era and ranks pretty high on the all-time list as well.

With a pitching career that boasts of every major pitching accomplishment achieved, and some multiple times, Johnson was a machine during his playing days.  From No-Hitters to Cy Young awards to Strikeout records to perfect games to 300 wins to World Series championships, Johnson has done it all.

He is an absolute first-ballott Hall of Famer, and I personally feel that his talents would have dominated any generation of the sport.

Happy Birthday to ‘The Big Unit’!!!

1975 Topps Set Card 251/660 – #227 – Bob Watson, Astros

1975 Topps Set Card 251/660 – #227 – Bob Watson, Astros

Progress: 251/660

Card Number:  227

Player Name:  Bob Watson

Team:  Houston Astros

Position:  Outfield

Image Style:  Posed Hitting

Years In The Major Leagues:  19 seasons, 1966-84

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Bob Watson hit .324 in 132 games for the Houston Astros in 1975.  He was chosen as an All-Star that year, and put together a solid offensive season.  Watson connected for 157 hits including 27 doubles and 18 home runs.  He scored 67 runs for the club and also drove in 85.  Best of all, Watson struck out just 50 times in 533 plate appearances.

Notes From Career:  Bob Watson is a 2-time All-Star with a tremendous baseball resume.  He is a lifetime .295 hitter with 1,826 hits in 1,832 games played.  Watson connected for 307 doubles during his career and 184 home runs.  He scored 802 runs during his playing days and was responsible for driving in 989 runs.

1975 Topps Set Card 242/660 – #49 – Larry Dierker, Astros

1975 Topps Set Card 242/660 – #49 – Larry Dierker, Astros

Progress: 242/660

Player Name:  Larry Dierker

Team:  Houston Astros

Position:  Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Pitching

Years In The Major Leagues:  14 seasons, 1964-77

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Larry Dierker started 34 games for the Houston Astros in 1975.  In those 34 starts, he compiled a record of 14-16 and a 4.00 ERA.  In 232 innings of work, Dierker gave up 225 hits and 109 runs while also striking out 127 batters and walking 91.

Notes From Career:  Larry Dierker was a 2-time All-Star during his 14-year big league career.  He has a lifetime record of 139-123, and had a personal best 20-wins in 1969.  Dierker threw 106 complete games during his career, including 25 shutouts.  He has a career ERA of 3.31 as he allowed 948 runs in 2,333 innings of work.

1975 Topps Set Card 236/660 – #614 – Rookie Pitchers With Kucke, Miller, Ruhle, Siebert

1975 Topps Set Card 236/660 – #614 – Rookie Pitchers With Kucke, Miller, Ruhle, Siebert

Progress: 236/660

Player Name:  Jack Kucek, Dyar Miller, Vern Ruhle, Paul Siebert

Card Number:  614

Team:  Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros

Position:  Pitchers

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

How these players fared in 1975:

Kucek – Kucek pitched in just 2 games in 1975.  He threw for 3 innings allowing 9 hits and 2 runs while striking out 2 and walking 4.

Miller – Miller made 30 appearances during his rookie season while putting together a record of 6-3 with 8 saves.  He had an ERA of 2.72 and struck out 33 batters in 46 innings of work.

Ruhle – Ruhle made 31 starts for the Tigers in ’75. He capped the season with a 11-12 record and 190 innings pitched.  In those 190 innings, Ruhle allowed 199 hits and 104 runs.  He struck out 67 batters in that time while allowing 65 walks.

Siebert – Siebert made 7 appearances for the Astros in 1975.  He went 0-2 on the year as he faced just 77 batters.  In 18 innings of work, Siebert gave up 20 hits and 7 runs en route to an ERA of 2.95.

1975 Topps Set Card 234/660 – #51 – Bob Forsch, Cardinals

1975 Topps Set Card 234/660 – #51 – Bob Forsch, Cardinals

Progress: 234/660

Player Name:  Bob Forsch

Team:  St. Louis Cardinals

Position:   Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues:  16 seasons, 1974-89

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Bob Forsch made 35 starts for the Cardinals during the 1975 baseball season.  He went 15-10 on the year and finished the season with 7 complete games, 4 shutouts, and an ERA of 2.86.  Forsch worked 230 innings in ’75 allowing 213 hits and 89 runs while striking out 76 and giving up 71 walks.

Notes From Career:  Bob Forsch is a 16-year MLB veteran with 498 appearances and 2,794 innings of work on his resume.  Forsch has a career record of 168-136 alongside 67 complete games, 19 shutouts, and 3 saves.  Forsch won two Silver Slugger Awards during his career crowning him as the best-hitting pitcher in the National League.  He is a member of the 1982 World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals.

1975 Topps Set Card 215/660 – #479 – Ken Boswell, Astros

1975 Topps Set Card 215/660 – #479 – Ken Boswell, Astros

Progress: 215/660

Player Name:  Ken Boswell

Team:  Houston Astros

Position:   2nd Base, 3rd Base

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues:  11 seasons, 1967-77

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Ken Boswell played in 86 games for the Houston Astros in 1975.  He hit .242 with 43 hits in 178 at-bats.  Among his 43 hits were 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 33 home runs.  Boswell drove in 21 runs for the Astros in 1975 while also scoring 16 times.

Notes From Career:  Ken Boswell is a career .248 hitter with 625 lifetime hits.  During his 11-season big league career, Boswell split time between the New York Mets and the Houston Astros.  He was a good defender and found himself playing both second and third base at times for both clubs.  Boswell won a World Series championship with the Mets in 1969.