1970 baltimore orioles

this post covers the 1970 baltimore orioles and cards numbered 61 to 71 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

what team is this?:  the 1970 world champion baltimore orioles

why this team?:  they won the world series for the second time in their history, winning 108 games in the regular season and going 7-1 in the postseason.  they also boasted the league's mvp and three of the top five cy young award vote getters.

which players are featured?: all the same guys from 1969, as would be expected.  boog powell, brooks robinson, davey johnson, merv rettenmund, eddie watt, frank robinson, jim palmer, mike culler, paul blair, pete richert, and ellie hendricks.

why these players?:  these were the guys that made the o's tick in the late 60's and early 70's.

boog powell started at first base but went 0 for 3 in the all-star game in 1970.  that's ok, because after finishing 2nd in the league mvp voting in 1969, boog took home the hardware in 1970 with 35 homers and 114 rbi.  he hit 2 more homers and drove in 5 runs in the world series.

brooks robinson was the mvp of the world series in 1970 with 2 homers, 6 rbi and made some nice plays on defense, as his memorable moments card will attest.  otherwise, it was a typical year for the hall of famer, as he won another gold glove and was named to the all-star team.  speaking of which, robinson went 2 for 3 with 2 rbi in the all-star game as a reserve behind harmon killebrew at third base.

davey johnson won his second straight gold glove and started the all-star game at second base, going 1 for 5 in the game.  he hit .313 in the world series after hitting .364 with two homers in the alcs against the twins.

merv rettenmund hit .322 with a career high 18 homers as the orioles 4th outfielder in 1970.  he appeared in 106 games and played each outfield position in at least 30 games. rettenmund made two starts in the postseason (plus one appearance as a pinch-hitter) and he made them count.  he was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi in game 2 of the alcs and then went 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 runs scored, and a homer and 2 rbi in game 5 of the world series.

eddie watt was 7-7 with 12 saves for the orioles during the 1970 world series.  he made only one postseason appearance in 1970, and was saddled with the o's only loss for his troubles.

frank robinson went 0 for 3 as the starting right fielder in the all-star game, and posted a line of 25/78/.306 as the orioles' right fielder during the regular season.  it's worth noting that frobby hit two grand slams in a single game during the regular season.  he hit three more home runs in the postseason, including two in the world series.

jim palmer won 20 games for the first time in his hall of fame career in 1970.  he led the league in shutouts and innings pitched, and was named to the all-star team for the first time.  in fact, he was named the starter for the american league, and he pitched three scoreless innings in the game.  he also recorded three strikeouts - willie mays to start the bottom of the first, and then tony perez and johnny bench in the second inning.  palmer finished 5th in the cy young voting and went 2-0 in three postseason starts, including a win in game 1 of the fall classic against the reds.

mike cuellar led the league with 24 wins, 40 games started, and 21 complete games in 1970.  he made the all-star team and finished 4th in his attempt to defend his reign as the cy young award winner.  cuellar was knocked around in his lone alcs start, but he came back to pitch well in two world series starts, including a complete game victory in the game 5 clincher.

paul blair won a gold glove for the second straight year as the orioles' center fielder.  blair was held to just one hit during the alcs, but he came out strong in the world series and posted a .474 average with 3 rbi and 5 runs scored.

pete richert was 7-2 with 13 saves and a 1.98 era out of the bullpen for the 1970 orioles.  he pitched to just one batter in the postseason, but that batter was bobby tolan, and richert got him to line out to end game 1 of the world series with the tying run on base giving richert his lone career postseason save.

ellie hendricks matched his career high with 12 homers in 1970.  he appeared in 106 games as the orioles' primary backstop and helped guide the pitching staff to 60 complete games and three 20-game winners.  he hit .364 with a home run and 4 rbi in the world series.

the stadium on the back is...?: still memorial stadium, as it should be.

did upper deck get it right?: we know that the bird logo is not right, and that the players are appropriate to represent the team.  it would have been nice, perhaps, to have earl weaver included, and i would have understood if bobby grich were here as he shows up with the angels later in the set.  still, i am glad he is not, as he was not a big part of the orioles' 1970 team.

so, that brings us to the photos.  after using a later-era photo for boog on the 1969 card, upper deck reverted to an older photo for him here, similar to the one they used on the 1966 installment.  the uniforms look legitimate for powell, brooks, rettenmund, watt, frobby, blair, and richert.  davey johnson, however, is wearing a uniform that was introduced in 1971, as is mike cuellar.  jim palmer, on the other hand, is sporting the white front panel cap which wasn't introduced until 1975.  his photo looks like it is from the latter part of palmer's career - possibly from the early 80's.  and then there is ellie hendricks.  he is shown sporting the sleeveless jersey that was last worn by the orioles in 1969.  close, but no cigar.

is this team timeless?:  yes. the orioles in 1970 finished 15 games ahead of the yankees in the al east and dispatched the reds in the world series 4 games to 1.  they were the world champions at the time i was born, and that's good enough for me.

1969 baltimore orioles

this post covers the 1969 baltimore orioles and cards number 39 to 49 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

for the third time, we have a team without a 'memorable moment'.  we also have 11 players featured - by far the most we've seen so far.  all the players that were featured in the previous orioles post (1966) are still with the team and included in the set. 

what team is this:  1969 baltimore orioles

why this team?:  the '69 orioles won 109 games in the first year of divisional play.  they beat the minnesota twins in the american league championship series 3 games to none, but then ran into the amazing mets in the world series.

which players are featured?:  boog powell, brooks robinson, davey johnson, merv rettenmund, eddie watt, frank robinson, jim palmer, mike cuellar, paul blair, pete richert, and ellie hendricks

why these players?:  these guys were, for the most part, the core of the orioles' dynasty of the late 1960's.

boog powell was named to the all-star team for the second time, and finished 2nd in the league mvp voting (behind harmon killebrew) in 1969 thanks to his 37/121/.304 line.  he hit .385 with a solo home run in the alcs and then had 5 hits (none for extra bases) in the world series, batting .263 against the mets.

brooks robinson hit only .234 in the regular season, but still won another gold glove.  he hit 23 homers and drove in 84 runs along the way, and then hit .500 (7 for 14) in the alcs.  in the world series, he was limited to a single in 19 at bats for a lowly .053 average.

davey johnson was the orioles' second baseman and hit .280 in the regular season.  he was named to the all-star team for the second season in a row, and won his first gold glove.  johnson actually had a better postseason in 1966 (his rookie year) than he did in 1969.  maybe upper deck should have included him with that team instead of this one.  in the alcs he hit only .231 and then managed just one hit in the world series for an average of .083.

merv rettenmund's inclusion in this set with this team is kind of a headscratcher.  he wasn't a regular, appearing in 95 games and hitting .247 during the regular season. in the postseason, he made a single appearance in each the alcs and the world series, without an at bat in either.

eddie watt shared the 'closer' duties with pete richert.  he saved 16 games and had a 1.65 era in 56 appearances.  in the alcs, watt pitched 2 perfect innings.  after a scoreless two-inning outing in game 4 of the world series, watt wound up taking the loss in game 5 despite giving up just a single unearned run.

frank robinson was right behind boog powell in the 1969 al mvp vote, hitting .308 while slugging 32 homers and driving in 100 runs for the final time in his career.  he hit .333 with a home run in the alcs and added a solo shot in the world series, although his average over those 5 games against the mets was just .188.

jim palmer did not pitch in the majors in 1968 (he appeared in only 10 minor league games that year) but returned to the orioles' rotation for the 1969 season.  he wound up with a record of 16-4 in 23 starts.  he threw 11 complete games and 6 shutouts and also made 3 relief appearances.  he was 1-0 against the twins in the alcs, throwing another complete game, and then lost game 3 of the world series by allowing 4 runs in 6 innings of work.

mike cuellar was the al cy young award winner in 1969, although he didn't lead the league in any major pitching category.  he won 23 games (2nd in the league) and had a 2.38 era (third).  cuellar had a no-decision in his lone alcs start, and then earned the win in game 1 of the world series.  he returned to the mound a few days later to start game 4 which the orioles eventually lost in 10 innings.

paul blair won his second gold glove and made the all-star for the first time in 1969.  the orioles' center fielder posted a solid line of 26/76/.285, with the home run and rbi totals proving to be career highs.  he was the orioles' offensive star in the three game sweep of the twins, hitting a home run and driving in 6 runs while batting .400.  he hit only .100 in the world series, however.

pete richert was the left-handed complement to eddie watt in the orioles' bullpen.  he appeared in 44 games and saved 12 of them.  he pitched a single scoreless inning in the alcs, and then failed to record an out in his only world series appearance.  that appearance came in game 4, as richert was called upon in the 10th inning with runners on first and second and no outs.  jc martin pinch-hit and sacrificed, but was hit by richert's throw to first and the winning run scored.

ellie hendricks hit 12 homers for the orioles in 1969.  the catcher appeared in 105 games for the al champs and played in all three alcs games.  he had 2 doubles and 3 rbi in that series, but just one hit in the three games of the world series in which he appeared.

the stadium on the back is...?:  memorial stadium.

did upper deck get it right?:  the team is a good one.  the orioles' 109 wins were the most since the 1961 yankees won 109 and the most until the yankees won 114 in 1998.  the players featured include pretty much all of the key players except for mark belanger (d. 1998), dave mcnally (d. 2002), and don buford who is still around and would have been a good choice to include in place of merv rettenmund. 

the stadium on the back is appropriate, but the bird logo on the front is still wrong.  as for the player photos, boog's photo is not from 1969, but from anywhere between 1971 through 1974 when the o's went with the three stripes on their sleeves.  this is interesting because the photo they use for boog in the 1970 team grouping is more like what they used for the 1966 team.  strange. 

next, we have brooks robinson who is rocking the white panel helmet and the orange pullovers that the orioles wore in the mid-1970's.  not 1969 for sure.  davey johnson looks ok, but merv rettenmund has those tri-color stripes on his sleeve, so he's definitely not from 1969.  eddie watt and frank robinson both look good (although they would likely be showing the '100th anniversary' patch on their sleeves if the photos were from 1969.  jim palmer is rocking a post-1974 look and this may be a photo from the 1980s.  finally, mike cuellar is spot on with the patch!  the rest of the players are certainly shown circa 1969, but likely not from that specific year.  it's nice that upper deck didn't use a photo of ellie hendricks from his third go-around with the orioles in 1978.

is this team timeless?:  i suppose.  this may have been the best orioles team of that era, despite losing four straight games to the mets in the world series.  what do you think?

1966 baltimore orioles

this post covers the 1966 baltimore orioles and cards number 9 to 12 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

so far, only the 1965 twins have been without a 'memorable moment.'

let's break it down.

what team is this: 1966 baltimore orioles

why this team?: the orioles won 97 games in 1966, claimed the american league pennant and then swept the dodgers in the world series.  that's why.

which players are featured: boog powell, brooks robinson, frank robinson, jim palmer

why these players?: powell and the robinson 'brothers' were the offensive leaders on the team, and they accounted for half of baltimore's hits and rbi in the world series, as well as just over half of the runs scored and 75% of the home runs hit in those 4 games.  palmer was one of two aces on the staff, with the other being dave mcnally, who unfortunately passed away in 2002.

powell hit .357 in the series to lead the orioles.  during the regular season, he hit .287 with 34 homers and 109 rbi.  he finished 3rd to teammates brooks and frank robinson in the league mvp voting.

brooks robinson hit only .214 in the series with a solo home run.  that came after he hit .269 with 23 homers and 100 rbi in the regular season.  the 1964 league mvp finished 2nd to teammate frank robinson in the 1966 mvp voting, marking the third straight year he had finished in the top 3.  speaking of streaks, brooks picked up his 7th consecutive gold glove award in 1966, and also made his 7th straight appearance on the al all-star squad.  he was named the mvp of the midsummer classic in 1966, and also picked up the lou gehrig memorial award that year.

all frank robinson did in 1966 was win the triple crown with a line of 49/122/.316.  he also led the league with an ops of 1.047, 122 runs scored, and a war of 8.3.  it was his first season in baltimore to boot.  in the series, frobby hit .286 with 2 homers and 3 rbi and was named the mvp of the series.  that award was added to his mvp award, the al babe ruth award, and the major league player of the year award that robinson received thanks to his monster season.

jim palmer was all of 20 years old in 1966 when he threw one of the orioles 3 shutouts in the world series.  he allowed 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 in game 2, which also turned out to be the last game of sandy koufax's career.  palmer also led the orioles' staff during the regular season with 15 wins.  he made 30 starts and had an era of 3.46.

 the stadium on the back is...?: memorial stadium, which the orioles used from the time they rolled into town in 1954 through 1991, the year before camden yards opened.  the colts also played there until they rolled out of town in 1983.  the end zones were beyond center field and behind home plate.

did upper deck get it right?: i think they got the players right.  that, the stadium, and the photo they used for boog may be about it.  they got the bird logo wrong, for starters.  you can compare the bird on the backs to the one on jim palmer's hat, or you could click the link in the last sentence to see that the logo upper deck is using is the cartoon oriole that was in service from 1975-1988. 

if we agree that boog's photo is legit, then when we see him in 1970 we will agree that the photo used is not legit, since they look like they were taken at the same time.  brooks robinson's photo seems ok, except that i am pretty sure merv rettenmund's 1969 (and 1970) images were taken by the same photographer, and merv didn't suit up for the o's until 1968.  plus, doesn't that look like former commissioner bowie kuhn leaning forward right behind brooks' arse?  kuhn wasn't the commish until the 1969 season.  frobby's photo is him holding his mvp award, so it would have come from 1967 unless the award was announced prior to the world series back then.  finally, jim palmer's photo looks like it comes from the latter years of that particular bird logo, maybe 1973 or 1974 given the polyester pullover jersey.

is this team timeless?:  there is no doubt this team belongs in the set.  the 1966 orioles were the first team in franchise history to win the world series, and the first since the 1944 browns to even make it to the fall classic.  plus, they swept the dodgers in what would be sandy koufax's final season.