NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 DANNY WALTON

Here’s a “not so” missing card for a guy who I have previously created THREE missing cards through the 1970’s, Danny Walton, who suited up for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1976 season, albeit briefly:

Walton’s 1976 season consisted of 18 games, hitting .133 with two hits over 15 official at-bats while assuming a pinch-hitting (??) role.
Previously I created a 1972 card for him as a New York Yankee, and both a 1974 and 1976 card while he was playing for the Minnesota Twins.
His only full season came in 1970 while with the Milwaukee Brewers, when he hit .257 with 17 home runs and 66 runs batted in over 117 games and 454 plate appearances.
As I’ve written before, in between all of that Major League action, Walton put in some monster Minor League years, most notably in 1977 when he hit 42 homers with 122 RBI’s and 117 runs scored for Albuquerque, the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate.
For his MLB career, he’d finish with a .223 batting average along with 174 hits in 779 at-bats, with 28 homers and 107 RBI’s between 1968 and 1980.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 DANNY WALTON

Here’s a “missing” 1974 card for former outfielder Danny Walton, who played the first of his two seasons for the Minnesota Twins in 1973:

Walton appeared in 37 games for the Twins during the ‘73 season, batting .177 based on his 17 hits over 96 at-bats.
It was a comeback of sorts for him after spending the entire 1972 season in the Minors for the New York Yankees, hitting 23 homers with 88 runs batted in for the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League.
He would also spend the entire 1974 season in the Minors, slamming 35 homers and driving in 109 runs for the Tacoma Twins of the Pacific Coast League before appearing in 42 games for Minnesota in 1975.
That would pretty much be the norm for him the remainder of his pro career, on-and-off between the Majors and Minors until 1980, when he played his last MLB games for the Texas Rangers after a two year absence.
All told he put in nine years in a Major League uniform, batting .223 playing for six organizations, with 28 homers and 107 R.B.I.’s in 297 games and 779 at-bats.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 DANNY WALTON

Here’s a “missing” 1976 card for Danny Walton, who would play through the 1970’s with five different organizations and never getting full-time work in:

During the 1975 season Walton was playing for the Minnesota Twins and appeared in 42 games, batting .175 with 11 hits over 63 official at-bats after playing the full 1974 season in the minor leagues.
He would find himself on the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976, playing in only 18 games before moving on to the Houston Astros in 1977 where he suited up for 13 games. And except for a scant 10 games for the Texas Rangers in 1980, that would be it for the travelin’ man as far as his Major League action went.
He did get somewhat of a full season’s action back in 1970 with the Milwaukee Brewers and he didn’t do so bad, hitting 17 home runs with 66 runs batted in over 117 games and 397 at-bats.
But the common thread for his nine-year career spanning 1968-1980 was limited play as a utility player, finishing up with 297 games played and a .223 batting average with 174 hits over 779 at-bats with 28 home runs and 107 RBI’s.
It’s worth mentioning that he did have a few monster seasons in the Minor Leagues, finishing up with 238 home runs, with a high of 42 for the Dodgers’ system in 1977 along with 122 RBI’s, as well as 35 homers with 109 RBI’s in 1974 in the Twins system.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 DANNY WALTON

Here’s a “missing” 1972 card for New York Yankees outfielder Danny Walton, who actually split the 1971 season with the Bombers and the Milwaukee Brewers:

Walton appeared in a combined 35 games in ‘71, the last five with the Yankees on his way to a .193 batting average with 16 hits in 83 at-bats.
It was a bit of a disappointment for a guy who played very well in 1970, batting .257 with 17 home runs and 66 runs batted in over 117 games for the Brewers.
It would turn out to be his only somewhat full-time season in his nine-year career that was spread out between 1968 and 1980, playing for six teams.
Always a “future star” while in the minor leagues, he put up some monster numbers, hitting as many as 42 home runs (with Albuquerque in 1977) and batting as high as .332 (with Oklahoma City in 1969).
He would hit 238 homers in the minors, topping 20 six different years.

LONG TIME NO SEE (YET I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE SAW YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE): DANNY WALTON

So here's an interesting one for all of you.

Seems that former player Danny Walton went five years between cards from 1973 to 1978, so he makes for a subject for my "Long Time No See" thread.

However, when you take a look at his stats and see his playing time the years immediately before each card, you have to wonder why Topps even bothered in the first place!

Making Walton more of a "What Were They Thinking" subject over anything else.

Even though Topps gave him a slot in their 1973 set (card # 516), turns out Walton never even played in the Majors the previous year, 1972.

And on top of that he only saw action in 35 games in 1971, good for only 91 plate appearances split between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees.

So why would he get a card in 1973, shown here?:

We then have to wait until 1978 to see another slab of cardboard depicting Walton, this time as a Houston Astros player, after appearing in only 13 games totaling 21 plate appearances in 1977. 

Huh?!

Here's the '78 card (#263):

Let's not even delve into the airbrushing job here…

What's most interesting is the fact that if we were to go by his playing time in both 1971 and 1977, then Walton was "missing" in the 1972, 1974 and 1976 sets since he saw more playing time the previous years, warranting a card.

Strange how it really was a crap shoot with some of these guys (Hector Torres comes to mind), where they'd get a card that was questionable, yet go "missing" when you think they would have had one.

As for Walton, he managed to carve out a sporadic nine-year career spanning 1968 to 1980, usually as a player off the bench who could play some infield and outfield.

In those nine years he totaled 297 games and 880 plate appearances, eeking out a .223 average with 28 homers and 107 ribbies.

I don't want to rag on they guy, but his batting averages between 1971 and 1977 were as follows: .193, (no MLB in '72), .177, (no MLB in '74), .175, .133 and .190.

Whew…