Friday Five: Top 5 Curt Flood Cards

I do not fully understand how Curt Flood is not in the Hall of Fame. He had a very good playing career, which by itself is probably not Hall worthy, but his contributions to the game should make him a slam dunk. In fact, every modern player who is enjoying a league minimum salary of almost $800K with the possibility of making millions of dollars through arbitration and free agency should be name-dropping Curt Flood for the Hall on a daily basis. 

That's not going to happen, but I can dream.  

I have long enjoyed Curt Flood baseball cards and decided it would be a fun exercise to put together a list of my five favorite cards of the long-time Cardinals outfielder.  

5. 1960 Topps 

I love the contrasts on this card with the black and white photo paired with the color photo, along with the bright yellow letters with the black background. That red background behind the black and white photo really pops. I also love the old-style Cardinals bats-on-the-bat logo, really sweet. Overall, this is one of my favorite early 1960s Cardinals cards based simply on aesthetics. Great looking card.  

4. 1967 Topps 

I am not sure Clubbers is the right word to describe the combination of Lou Brock and Curt Flood in the Cardinals lineup, but I love this dual card.  The two were fixtures in the Cardinals outfield for the latter half of the 1960s helping the team win a World Series in 1967 and a National League pennant in 1968. I love the look of the old, wool 1960s Cardinals uniforms on this card. The off-white jerseys with the shortened sleeves and bright red accents and hats looked great together. The Cardinals also have some of the better socks in the league.  

3. 1971 Topps 

I love that Topps gave Curt Flood a card in 1971. After the Phillies traded him to the Senators, Flood only played in a handful of games and retired before the first month of the 1971 season ended. It would have been easy to skip over Flood. This was his final baseball card.  

2. 1964 Topps 

A bit of a sentimental choice for me to rank the 1964 Topps card second on my list. This was one of the first good vintage cards in my collection and my first Curt Flood. Wasn't there a collector who hoarded this card by the thousands? Yes.   Anyway, I love the green text on the white background, the photo of Flood standing with his glove, and who could miss that his name is spelled out on the fingers.  Classic.  

1. 1958 Topps 

My scan is pretty terrible, but this is a great card.  I love all the bright colors here with the bright green background, yellow logo box...err...triangle, and the red name box on the bottom of the card. Love the blue Cardinals cap and that Curt Flood is smiling on his rookie card.  

Friday Five: Top Five Archives Autographs

Topps Archives base set is horrible. 

What is the point of releasing a Topps Heritage set every year, which borrows the design of a previous Topps set, when Archives does the same thing? 

Maybe the question should be why is Topps releasing Archives every year? 

Both products have some positives. I like the Heritage base set better than the Archives, but I like the autograph checklist of Archives much better. With the release of a new Topps Archives set this week, I thought I would take a look back at my five favorite Topps Archives autographs. The autographs after all are the only reason to purchase this annual Topps release.  

This was actually a challenging list to create. I could easily go Top 20 here and still make a good list. Narrowing the list down to my five favorites took some work.  

T5. 2020 Topps Archives Felix Jose 

Felix Jose is a symbolic choice here. I could have picked Joe McEwing or Edgar Renteria or George Hendrick, but I thought Felix was perfect for this post. I try to collect as many certified autographs of Cardinals players as possible and I never thought Felix Jose would be on that list. If you are not familiar with Felix, he came up in the late 1980s with the Oakland Athletics, but was traded to the Cardinals for Willie McGee. That's a tough act to follow in St. Louis and all Felix did was hit .305 with 40 doubles during his first season with the Cardinals. He was eventually traded to the Royals for Gregg Jefferies, but getting this card made me take a few minutes to look back at his career numbers on Baseball Reference and appreciate the time he spent with the Cardinals. Every once in awhile Topps gets something right, Felix Jose signing cards 25 years after he retired is incredible.  

T5. 2020 Topps Archives Tom Pagnozzi 

This is another symbolic choice. I could have gone with a low-key very good player from your favorite team too. Here is a trivia question. Between 1991 and 2020 how many of the National League Gold Gloves at catcher were won by Cardinals players? The answer is 15 or half of the Gold Gloves at one position. Molina won 9, Mike Matheny won 3, and this guy Tom Pagnozzi won the other 3.  Who remembers stuff like that? Topps Archives. Tom Pagnozzi also was the Game 7 starting catcher in the 1987 World Series and also caused Uber prospect Todd Zeile (sounds funny now) to move to third base.  He's not a Hall of Famer or anything, but still a really good player and I am happy to own his autograph.  

 

4. 2001 Topps Archives Mickey Lolich Autograph 

I started collecting the current Durham Bulls players the year that I moved to North Carolina. They have had plenty of top prospects on their roster over the past two decades and there has always been an abundance of modern autographs that has made them easy to collect. I did not start collecting the old former Bulls players until I started blogging about my cards, roughly a decade ago. The autographs are a little harder to find, but I was really happy to land this 2001 Topps Archives Lolich card. I loved the 2001 Archives set, which has a little different format than the current rendition of the set and a much better autograph checklist. However, those autographs are also largely off the secondary market at this point save for a few really common cards that were signed in huge numbers. Lolich is not one of those, making this my tough to find autograph on this list. Lolich also has a better Hall of Fame argument than most realize.  

3. 2012 Topps Archives Jose Oquendo 

Nicknamed "The Secret Weapon" you never knew where Jose Oquendo was going to play for the Cardinals when you watched one of their games in the late 1980s. He eventually settled into being the second baseman next to Ozzie Smith, but for several years he played all over the infield and outfield. Topps did something incredible with Oquendo's 2012 autograph by creating 9 different variations of the card, one for each position on the field. These cards were a project a few years back, but I lost track of it and stopped trying to track them down. Topps can be creative when they try. It's all about the effort.  

2. 2016 Topps Archives Robert Wuhl Autograph 

Topps has done several pop culture insert sets over the past decade within their Archives product. The 2016 Bull Durham movie cards were obviously my favorite. I never shelled out the money for a Tim Robbins or Kevin Costner autograph, but Robert Wuhl was in my price range. The long-time actor plays the Bulls pitching coach Larry Hockett in the movie and has some of my favorite lines in the movie, including his pep talk to the team while they are on the mound airing out all the drama that is occurring in their lives.  

Candlesticks always make a nice gift, let's get two.  

In fact, I have two copies of the card.  

1. 2013 Topps Archives Ray Lankford Autograph 

Ray Lankford last played for the Cardinals in 2004. During that entire season, the only card made of him was in MLB Showdown. No Topps, Fleer, Upper Deck, or Donruss cards at all.  Nobody made a card of him in 2005 either. It took almost another decade to get a brand new Ray Lankford card, which appeared in the 2013 Topps Archives autograph set. No base card. I was still really excited to see this card and pick up a copy for the collection.  

Friday Five: Favorite Adam Wainwright Autographs

It has been really hard to watch the Cardinals this summer. The worst part has been watching Adam Wainwright trying to reach 200 career wins, currently he's at 198. Waino has not been himself this season and I fear he is likely going to fall short of 200 by two wins. 

Rather than dwelling on the negative, I took some time last night to flip through my Adam Wainwright cards. Wainwright has not signed many certified autographs beyond the first few years of his career, which came before I started writing about my cards. I have not really shared any of these on my blog prior to this evening, but thought they would be a fun post.  

Honorable Mention: 2006 Topps Co-Signers Autograph 

Wainwright actually has two autographs in this set. There is a Co-Signers dual autograph card, which also is signed by Anthony Reyes. It would be a pretty sweet add to the collection, just never got around to finding a copy. Especially given that both played an important role in the 2006 Postseason for the Cardinals. I put this card as an Honorable Mention largely due to condition issues. My scanner did a good job of hiding the blemishes, but this is a black card with not-great quality card stock. The edges are a little chippy. However, I do like the Spring Training photograph with Wainwright wearing number 70. 

5. 2007 Topps Finest Autograph 

This is the only card in this countdown that has previously appeared on this blog. I traded for this card back in 2014 and gave it a post. It's a nice card, but I wish Topps had blended the sticker a little better. Nothing worse than a white baseball card with a silver sticker slapped on top. Actually pretty common practice at this time. I did not scan the back of the card, but the "No Pressure" label on the bottom is in reference to Wainwright's Game 7 performance against the Mets in the 2006 National League Championship Series. 

Not a Cardinals fan? Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth inning, and Carlos Beltran up with a trip to the World Series on the line.  

My favorite Wainwright moment.  

4. 2006 Upper Deck Future Stars Autograph 

This is the only Wainwright autograph I ever pulled out of a pack of cards. The 2006 Upper Deck Future Stars was the greatest/worst box I ever opened. I got this Wainwright autograph along with Ruddy Lugo and James Shields. Lugo and Shields were both on the Durham Bulls at the time. I think both cards are now under $2 on COMC these days. My other autographs were Kelly Shoppach and Colter Bean, but did I mention Adam Wainwright? The sticker is showing here, because my scanner is having a really good Friday. Seriously, Upper Deck did a really good job of blending it on the front of this card. The card is also acetate and has some nice front and back features. Maybe another day when I feel like making more scans.....

3. 2004 Bowman Sterling Autograph/Jersey 

This was the first Wainwright autograph in my collection. I picked this up from a local card shop in St. Louis back when I lived there. Relatively cheap as I recall too, less than $20. I might rank this a little higher, but the autograph is partially off the sticker. I have contemplated replacing this card at some point, but many of the sticker autographs on other copies of this Bowman Sterling card are also missing part of Wainwright's signature. It's really hard to do much better than what Wainwright did on this card. The red jersey swatch is a nice bonus. Bowman Sterling is a good looking product, I just wish the autographs were on-card.  

2. 2006 Upper Deck F/X Special Endorsements Autograph 

I like the looks of this card and I also like how Upper Deck blended the sticker autograph. You can barely tell that Wainwright did not sign the actual card. Sticker autographs are a sub plot on this post and this is the best of set of stickers that Adam Wainwright signed during a two-year window early in his career. I believe this was a random EBay purchase at some point in 2006 or 2007. If this were an on-card signature, I might have picked this card as the top Wainwright autograph in my collection. Still really nice at 2.  

1. 2004 Topps Traded Signature Moves 

Good design with an on-card signature, and a complete Wainwright signature. I know a winner when I see one and this is not a sticker autograph.   

Friday Five: My Favorite 1988 Topps and Topps Traded Cards

I got a copy of the 1988 Topps set from my parents for Christmas that year. I was excited about getting a complete set, so I opened the set box and sorted out all of the cards. Everyone from the 1980s knows you are supposed to leave your complete Topps sets sealed, right? I was in fifth grade and baseball cards are fun, of course I opened the box. Also, it's the 1988 Topps set.  You can probably find a copy of the set at your local thrift shop for $5.  

There are probably multiple copies for less than $5 at your thrift shop.  

Is the 1988 Topps set unpopular because it's really that bad, or because it lacks a signature rookie card Truth be told, I kind of dig the 1988 Topps set. The design is underrated.  

Topps is using the 1988 design as an insert set with the 2023 Topps set. Many have not liked the 1988 Topps set for the past thirty years, but you're going to love it now and buy all the retail packs from Target and Wal-Mart.  

I personally like the Nolan Arenado card.  

Now, let me get to the countdown. I am going to include cards from the 1988 Topps Traded set in this post, because there are some good cards in there and it is also a $5 set.  

Shall we?  

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Andy Benes #14T 

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Ron Gant #39T 

I did not touch the 1988 Topps Traded set until the Cardinals signed Andy Benes and Ron Gant as a free agents before the 1996 season. There was a high-end card store that was a few minutes from my house back in the 1990s. When the Cardinals signed Benes and Gant, they set out a huge stack of 1988 Topps Traded sets on one of their counters with all the sets costing $10. I bought the set expecting it to have a Ron Gant rookie and a bunch of junky cards. 

Not the case.  

As a Cardinals fan, I got cards of Jose DeLeon, Luis Alicea, and Tom Brunansky on top of Gant and Andy Benes. There was also David Wells, Jim Abbott, and Roberto Alomar amongst others. It's a pretty good set and I have no idea how it is only crispy Alexander Hamilton.  

4. 1988 Topps Traded Robin Ventura #124T

Robin Ventura is not quite a Hall of Famer. One of the best third baseman from the 1990s and early 2000s, just a step below players like Scott Rolen. In the aftermath of the 1982 Topps Traded set, every Topps Traded set had a potential Cal Ripken waiting to rising from the checklist. This was the "it" card from the 1988 Topps Traded set. Not sure it was every really all that expensive at any point, but the fact that the card costs less than a dollar is insanity.  

This card should cost at least a dollar at a minimum.  

3. 1988 Topps Vince Coleman #1 

I loved the design of the Record Breakers cards in the 1988 Topps set. That red background really pops and it was great to see a Cardinals player on the first card of a Topps set.  The Record Breaker was for Coleman's third consecutive season with more than 100 stolen bases. I believe that Topps has reused this design in one of their Throwback/Customer Direct products.  

Here is the moment.......

The previous record was held by Rickey Henderson.  

2. 1988 Topps Mark McGwire #580 

Mark McGwire with a Topps All-Star Rookie logo in the corner. It was a no-brainer. No goatee or crazy muscles, just skinny Mark McGwire holding a bat and posing for a picture. This is one of my favorite early McGwire cards. Topps also used a picture from this same photo shoot on McGwire's 1988 Glossy Mail-In card and the A's Team Leaders card.  

I am sure if I looked hard enough, Topps has probably recycled these photos on modern McGwire cards as well. It would be borderline shocking if they have not.  

1. 1988 Cardinals Leaders #351 

Great picture here with long-time Cardinals player, manager, and coach Red Schoendienst standing next to catcher Tony Pena. Most coaches do not get cards, so it was nice to see someone as high-profile as Red get the nod from Topps. It is somewhat surprising that Pena appeared on this card over some of the more popular 1980s Cardinals players like Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, or Vince Coleman. 

Still, not a complete reach.  

If you weren't around for 1980s baseball, Pena was the premier defensive catcher in the league and the Cardinals were loaded with Gold Glovers. The Cardinals had outfielders to spare, but no catcher. Prior to the 1987 season, the Cardinals traded Andy Van Slyke to the Pirates for Pena. The Cardinals ended up winning the National League that season, but injuries caught up with them in the World Series and they lost in seven games. 

A card back.  

Solid numbers on the Cardinals Team Leaders. I am sure Red helped somehow, someway. 

Friday Five: Super Bowlish Edition

It's not Friday, but it's the effort that counts. I love a good countdown post, but I have never consistently made them. Sometimes my day job interferes with other aspects of my life. 

It's Super Bowl weekend, so I am thinking about something with football.  

There is a bit of a problem though. 

If I had to make a post out of football cards, it would be short and feature only a few former NC State players I enjoyed watching along with a few Rams from their time in St. Louis. I might have enough Mike Glennon and/or Jacoby Brissett cards to give them their own post. I know everyone loves a good Mike Glennon card, so I am going to post one and let you know I went a different direction.  

Honestly, the title was just a ruse to get people to read the post. This is actually going to be about baseball cards, but they are all of a player who was in the NFL at one point thirty years ago. 

There are videos of Brian Jordan playing football on the internet, but most are over five minutes and you're not going to watch that. I am not either. Instead, here is Brian Jordan running over Gary Bennett with Vin Scully on the call.  

As a former Cardinals player, I have a healthy collection of Brian Jordan cards, so it took a few minutes to flip through them all and narrow the list down to five cards and a marble.  

Honorable Mention: 1997 Topps Pro Shooters Marble 

Ray Lankford is also in this set, which is why I ended up with the Brian Jordan marble. The guy who was selling these insisted that I needed to buy all his Cardinals marbles if I wanted the Lankford. Pretty interesting item and they have become rather difficult to find over the years. There are currently none for sale on Ebay or COMC. Although, someone is selling a wrapper on Ebay for $18.  

5. 2001 Fleer GameTime Patch Card 

There are not many Brian Jordan relic cards out there, let alone ones with patch pieces. Add in the fact that this is the only set that has a Ray Lankford relic, and its always been one of my favorites. If only it were a Cardinal card.  I own several copies of this card, all with different patch pieces. I need to scan them all and puzzle piece together how much of the Braves logo from his jersey I own.  

4. 1998 Fleer Ultra 

This is the best picture on a Brian Jordan card and it's not even close. Maybe it's silver medal to one of the cards on this list, but it is very, very good. This is one of those cards that is fifty cents on COMC and Ebay and there is no reason why you should not own it. I also own the fancy gold version, shown below, but not the ultra-fancy serial numbered version.  

3. 1996 Leaf Signature 

This was my first great Brian Jordan card, which fittingly came out in 1996. The 1996 Cardinals were a fun collection of young players from the post-Whiteyball rebuild (Jordan, Lankford), free agents (Ron Gant, Andy Benes), and Oakland A's retreads who came over with LaRussa (Stottlemyre, Eck). Also add in Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee to mix as bench players. Few remember the team coming within a win of the World Series. Lankford and Gant were better players than Jordan during the regular season, but Jordan was incredibly clutch for the team in the playoffs. 

The best of those clutch moments was his series clinching home run off of Trevor Hoffman in Game 4 of the NLDS.  

Jordan has also signed a bunch of cards for the Topps Archives Signature products, some of which are really nice. My favorite is this autograph on his 1997 Topps card. If I were going Top 10, this would have made it. I will add it as a mid-post Honorable Mention instead.  

2. 1998 Topps 

Easily one of the best Cardinals cards that Topps has ever produced for their flagship set. This is the best picture on a Jordan card, gold medal all the way. You know the Bo Jackson card where he is wearing shoulder pads with a bat across his shoulders? That's a great card, but I think this is its equal in many ways in the eyes of people who collect Cardinals cards. If nothing else, Jordan had a much better baseball career than Bo.  

It's true.  

1. 2000 Hologrfx Piece of the Series 

Brian Jordan's lone career World Series appearance came in 1999 as a member of the Braves. He played a very well in both the NLDS and NLCS, most notably hitting a home run off of Mike Hampton in Game 3 of the first round with the Braves trailing late in the game. Had the Braves lost, they would have been down 2-1 in the Series and facing elimination on the road.  

Upper Deck made a nice World Series themed insert for their 2000 Hologrfx product, which featured the stat players from the Braves and Yankees. Each player had a relic card that featured a "game-used" piece of base. Don't get me started and also an autographed parallel numbered to the players uniform number.  

Super rare Jordan autograph shown above. Base insert card with base shown below.  

Let's do this again next weekend.  Maybe even on Friday. 

Friday Five - Top 5 MLB Players From NC State

It's the first day of the college baseball season. My Wolfpack are home for three games against Seton Hall.  If it weren't going to be 40 this weekend I would consider venturing out for a game.  I will wait for a little warmer weather.  

In the meantime, here are a few former Wolfpack players who made their way from Raleigh to the Major Leagues.  No Hall of Famers, but maybe you know a few of these players.....

Honorable Mention- Adam Everett 

Everett played for the Astros, Twins, Tigers, and Indians during his eleven year Major League career.  You probably best remember him as a member of the Astros in the early 2000s.  Not much of a hitter, but he was a really underrated defensive player.  Everett ended his career with a .242/.294/.346 slash line.  That's really painful.  He also ended his career with a 15.6 dWAR, which included seasons of 2.2, 2.5, 3.3., and 4.1.  He finished in the top 5 in that category four different times during his career and he somehow managed to not win a Gold Glove.  

#5- Tim Stoddard 

Stoddard is the only Major League Baseball player who has both a World Series ring and an NCAA National Championship in basketball.  Stoddard was a member of NC State's 1974 National Championship team who beat Marquette for the title.  He averaged 20 minutes a game, scored 5 points per game, and grab 5 boards too.  Stoddard was not just sitting on the bench.  

He spent time guarding Bill Walton in the National Semi-Final Game against UCLA.  Former Braves and Indians outfielder Kenny Lofton played basketball at Arizona, appeared in World Series games and Final Four games, but won neither.  Interestingly enough, both Lofton and Stoddard went to the same high school outside of Chicago.  

Stoddard played 13 years for the Orioles, Yankees, Padres, and several other teams.  He spent his entire career as a fairly solid relief pitcher, including for the 1983 Orioles, who won the World Series.  Stoddard ended his career with a 41-35 record, a 3.95 ERA, and 76 saves.  

#4. Mike Caldwell 

Caldwell played a total of 14 years, most of those came with the Brewers after bouncing around between the Padres, Giants, Reds, and Cardinals early in his career.  His best seasons were almost all over 30 too, sort of a late bloomer.  At 29 in 1978, in his first full season with the Brewers, Caldwell won 22 games, and had an ERA of just 2.36.  He would go on to win in double digits for the Brewers six times and helped them win the American League East twice.  In 1982 the Brewers advanced to the World Series.  Caldwell won two starts for the Brewers against the Cardinals.  

#3. Dan Plesac 

Dan is on MLB Network, or at least the last time I checked he was on there.  He had a long career which had long stretches with the Brewers and Blue Jays, several other teams in there too.  At the beginning of hid career, Plesac was used as a closer, but spent the majority of his career as a middle reliever.  Not bad either, averaging almost a strikeout per inning over an 18 career.  Plesac made three All-Star Game rosters early in his career while he was serving as the Brewers closer.  Overall, he won 65 games, saved 158, and had an ERA of 3.64.

#2 Roger Craig 

Craig had some nice years for the Dodgers early in his career and helped the team win the World Series in 1955 and 1959.  He eventually ended up on the expansion Mets in the early 1960s and lost 46 games between the 1962 and 1963 seasons.  Craig was later traded to the Cardinals and picked up his third World Series ring in 1964, helping to beat the Yankees.  He ended his career in 1966 after a brief two year stint as a relief pitcher for the Reds and Phillies.  After retiring as a player, Craig managed the Padres (1978-1979) and Giants (1985-1992).  He led the Giants to the 1989 National League Pennant and won the 1990 National League Manager of the Year.  

#1- Dave Robertson 

It's hard to find a lot of biographical information about Robertson's MLB career, but there are a lot of gaps and partial seasons.  He was a World War I era player, but I cannot actually find any information about him being in the Army.  Not sure if he was injured, or what happened during some of the spaces in his career.  Tim Peeler, who works at NC State and does a lot of great writing about the athletic program, wrote a piece a few years back about the legend that is Dave Robertson around Raleigh.  The Peeler article mentions that he retired because of injuries, but more on that later.  

There was a three year stretch for Robertson starting in 1915 where he played more than 140 games in a season.  That only happened four times during his career.  He led the National League twice in home runs during that stretch.  The National League leaderboard is littered during those three years with appearances by Robertson.   He finished in the Top 10 in average, slugging, on base, runs, hits, total bases, doubles, and RBIs at some point during that time span.  

Robertson helped the Giants reach the 1917 World Series against the White Sox.  The Giants lost that World Series, but Robertson had a 11 hits in the Series.  The record is for hits in a World Series is 13, but Robertson played one less game than the record holder, who is former Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett.  

Robertson's only other full season in the Majors came in 1920 with the Cubs.  He hit .300/.353/.462 with 10 home runs, 11 triples, and 29 doubles.  The next season, during 1921 he would hit for the cycle becoming just the 29th player to accomplish the feat in Major League history.  In 1922, he would pick up a World Series ring with the Giants in his final season, though he did not step foot on the field during the Fall Classic against the Yankees.  

For what it's worth, after leaving the Giants because of injuries, Robertson played another nine seasons in the Minor Leagues while managing various teams.  He never hit below .300 during his final stretch in the Minors and had a season with 35 home runs and another with 24.  Pretty impressive totals for the 1920s.  

Not a long career, but he was great when he stayed on the field.   

Friday Five: Greatest Former Durham Bulls Postseason Performances

Many Durham Bulls players have graduated to the Majors and have had the opportunity to shine on baseball's biggest stage during the postseason.  There have been a total of 9 former Durham Bulls who have won a Postseason MVP Award, which includes former hitting coach Gary Gaetti who won the ALCS MVP with the Twins in 1987.

Which are the five best?  Here's my take with a few baseball cards mixed in.....


Honorable Mention- Adam Kennedy 2002 American League Championship Series MVP 

The long time Cardinals and Angels infielder played in Durham during the 2009 season while trying to work his way back to the Majors.  In 2002, while playing for the Angels, Kennedy won the ALCS Award in route to the Angels taking home the World Series Championship in a hard fought series with the Giants.  The Angels took on the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS and Kennedy had one of the best Postseason games in the history of baseball hitting three home runs.



If I were ranking individual game performances of former Durham Bulls players in the Postseason I would probably have a really hard topping Kennedy's game 5 barrage against the Twins.


5.  Javy Lopez - 1996 National League Championship Series MVP 

The 1996 Braves were the favorites to win the National League after winning the World Series in 1995.  However, they found themselves in a 3 to 1 hole against the upstart Cardinals in their first season with Tony LaRussa.   During the first four games the Braves had been done in by a two home run game by Ron Gant, a Dmitri Young triple followed by a Brian Jordan home run, and a Gary Gaetti grand slam off of Greg Maddux.  Lopez and the pitching staff led the Braves back over the last three games.  He ended the NLCS with 2 home runs, 5 doubles, 6 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.607.  The Braves went on to the World Series, but lost in 6 games to the Yankees.




4.  Steve Avery - 1991 National League Championship Series MVP 

The Big 3 started out being Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery.  Avery was the youngest of the bunch and probably the most hyped of the three Atlanta pitchers.  He had a nice 1991 season going 18-8 with an ERA of 3.38.  In the postseason the Braves were pitted up against the favored Pittsburgh Pirates led by Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla.  The series went a full seven games with Avery shutting down the Pirates in Game 2 and Game 6.  The Game 6 performance forced a Game 7, which got the Braves into the 1991 World Series.  In the 2 wins, Avery pitched 16 innings, struck out 17, and did not allow a run.


3.  Hideki Matsui - 2009 World Series MVP 

Matsui excelled for many years in Japan before joining the Yankees in 2003 at the age of 29.  By the time 2009 rolled around the power hitting outfielder was at the end of his time with the Yankees.  The Bronx Bombers reached the World Series and were matched up against the Phillies, who were the defending champions.  Matsui did not do much in the ALDS against the Twins, nor the ALCS against the Angels, but the World Series was a different story.  During the 6 games series, Matsui had 8 hits in 14 plate appearances, which included four extra base hits.  Three of those extra base hits were home runs.  Matsui would go on to spend time with the Angels and A's before landing with the Rays in 2012.  Before joining the team in Tampa, the Rays let Matsui spend a little time with the Bulls.





2. Ben Zobrist - 2016 World Series MVP 

There were players on this list that had better Postseason numbers than Zobrist did last year in the World Series, but I figured contributing to the end of the Cubs long championship drought had to count for something.  Similar to Matsui, Zobrist did almost nothing of value in the playoffs before reaching the World Series.  He hit .188 against the Giants in the NLDS and .150 against the Dodgers in the NLCS.  In the World Series he hit .357 with three extra base hits.  One of those was pretty important......





1. Mickey Lolich - 1968 World Series MVP 

Lolich is a no-brainer here.  The Tigers were heavy underdogs to the defending World Series Champions, the Cardinals, in 1968.  The Cardinals jumped out to a 3 to 1 Series led by ace Bob Gibson.  St. Louis put up 21 runs in the 3 games that they won, the lone bright spot for the Tigers was Game 2, which was won by Mickey Lolich.  The Cardinals had 3 games to put the Tigers away with Bob Gibson pitching the seventh game if the Tigers got that far.  Lolich started Game 5 and the Tigers managed to rally to win the game after the Cardinals scored 3 early runs.  Game 6 went to Detroit too, setting up a Game 7 match-up between Lolich and Gibson.  Gibson had won 7 straight World Series games stretch back to the 1964 match-up against the Yankees.  Included in those seven straight World Series victories were two Game 7 wins in 1964 and 1967 against the Red Sox.  Lolich pitched shut out ball until a Mike Shannon home run in the ninth, but that was the only run the Cardinals scored in a 4-1 Tigers win.  Lolich ended the Series a perfect 3-0.