"Cubgrade" - A Definition & Examination

What the heck is a "Cubgrade?"

There goes Tony again, makin' up words and such.

Well, I've never really made much sense in my life, so why start now?  I reject your reality and substitute my own.

Unlike "fetch," I'm going to make this term happen.

Did I just reference Mean Girls?  *Sigh* Where do I turn in my man card?

Cubgrade (kʌbˈɡreɪd) verb - to improve the condition of a baseball card in my CATRC by replacing a card that depicts/lists a player as a member of a different team with one that depicts/lists said player as a Cub.

Got that?  There'll be a quiz later.

In my blogging absence, I was able to make several "Cubgrades" that I'd like to share with you now, in no particular order:

 
Man, Scott just does not photograph well.  On the left, it looks like he licked a lemon right before the pitch.  On the right, it looks like a pitch took his arm clear with it.

Maine was a failed reliever on the minor league shuttle from 2010-12 before being lost on a waiver claim to Cleveland (it wasn't much of a loss: 5.09 ERA in 40.2 innings).

I picked up this card issued by the College World Series on Ebay a few years ago because you don't see many cards that feature Major Leaguers in their college duds.  I'm not going to lie, I was kind of sad to replace this one in my master binder; but Cubbie Blue is much better looking that green and orange.

Emilio's 2014 Heritage issue was gifted to me by our good friend Stubby in a trade package a few months ago.  I guess Heritage was already in production when Boni was cut by the Royals way back in February.

Boni wasn't here for long, but I'll forever remember his insane 9 for 12 start to the season.  When he was traded in July with James Russell to Atlanta, I figured he'd never have a Cubs card.

But, Donruss Series 2 was on the case!  In fact, he was the only Cub in all of series 2.  While at the LCS, a fellow collector bought a box of Donruss and I offered him a quarter if he found this card.  Well, he obviously found it.

Also, sweet throwback uni appearance on a retro-inspired set.  Those 1914 Chicago Federals jerseys didn't even have logos for Panini to airbrush out; good idea guys!

Jason Hammel was part of a strategy that the Cubs have employed since the start of their rebuild:  buy low on a still young but struggling pitcher who once had success, fix 'em up and flip them for some prospects.  For reference, see Paul Maholm and Scott Feldman.

Thus, he was only around for half a season before being shipped to Oakland with Samardzija to get Addison Russell (!!!).  His 2014 Topps Series 2 appearance will be his only piece of Cubs cardboard.

For a top 7 prospect, I think I can live with that.

Alright, now we're starting to get a little older.  Sandy (or Angel, depending on his mood) had a moderately long career as a backup catcher, including a Cubs stint from 1998-99.  He was one of 3 catchers on that improbable Cubs Wild Card/Sammy Sosa-fueled team of 1998 and was behind the plate for Kerry Wood's legendary 20 strikeout game that April.

Otherwise, his Cubs career is very easily forgotten.

Luckily, Fleer didn't forget about Sandy in their 1998 Ultra series and even featured a somewhat unique shot of him firing back to his pitcher that spring.

Moving on, you should bust out your Member's Only jackets and leg warmers- we're jumping back to the 80's:

Dan Briggs was a weak-hitting first baseman that the Cubs brought in as a backup for Bill Buckner in 1982 after 5 lackluster seasons in California, Cleveland and San Diego.  He couldn't hit for average (.125 in 50 PAs) and lacked any sort of power (0 HRs or XBH).  So he was cut loose and never saw the Majors again.

So, this 1982 Donruss card doubles as his only Cubs card and as his "sunset" release.  

He might not have done anything in the batter's box or on the field worth mentioning for the Cubs, but he sure did grow a sweet porn star 'stache for them.

Bob Molinaro is one of an exclusive list of players to have played on both the North and South Side of Chicago.  However, unlike say Steve Trout or Kenny Lofton, he was never very good on either side of town.

The spare outfielder was featured as a Cub in this team issued set during his only year as a Cub - 1982.  The full-bleed set was sponsored by Red Lobster and is otherwise noteworthy for featuring the very first baseball card depicting Ryne Sandberg in blue pinstripes.

Ryne totally stole Bobby's thunder... or not...

There's an awful lot of mediocrity in this post; how about we discuss a player of a little more substance?

Alright, there's a star for ya!  Joe Carter was originally a Cubs farmhand but was traded in '84 as part of the Rick Sutcliffe deal.  Though Carter went on to stardom and World Series heroism, "The Red Baron" anchored the pitching staff for many years.  Too bad we couldn't have both.

If that card on the right looks familiar, it's because the Cubs 1983 team-issued set is essentially the same as their '82 edition; just updated players and a new sponsor - Thorn Apple Valley.

Meanwhile, the card it's replacing in my CATRC binder hails from my original childhood collection and is one of the earliest cards I remember pulling; so, it holds a special place in my heart.

Sidenote - I've yet to track down a reasonably priced copy of Carter's 1984 Donruss rookie card, so this Thorn Apple Valley will have to do for now.

While he may not have been a star, Henderson did have a long and productive career as a pinch-hitter and fourth outfielder from 1977-88, including a 2 year stint coming off of the bench for the Cubbies in 1981-82.

This "Cubgrade" actually came from within my collection.  At some point in my collecting adventures, I picked up his 1982 Donruss release and threw it haphazardly into my doubles bin, where it sat for an unknown amount of time in card purgatory because I incorrectly assumed that I already had a Cubs card of him.

Well, I finally noticed that he's definitely sporting a Mariners jersey in his '85 Fleer issue.

Doh!

Finally, I have to show off one last card that was"Cubgraded".  It's a Hall-of-Famer and it comes from one of my favorite sets of all-time:

"The Duke of Tralee" saw 2 games of action in 1900 with the Cubs and then later wrapped up his HOF career (largely with the Giants and Cardinals) from 1913-15 in Chi-Town.  He even served as player-manager for the last of those seasons.

Replacing a vintage card in my collection like this 1960 Fleer Baseball Greats is always a rough go, but who can say no to those early 20th century Cubs uniforms?  Look at that hat; I think he's pulling the hidden ball trick with it.

This switch actually just occurred yesterday after a routine trip to the LCS uncovered a box of 1992 Conlon Collection.  I was very enthused!

A set made up of entirely players from the early portion of the last century could very well fill several gaps in my collection.  I'll have a detailed post about the contents of the box on a later date.  It was certainly an exciting break, for me anyway.

In the meantime, I'm getting tired, dinner is ready and my eyes are strained from staring at my laptop for too long, so it's time to wrap this post up.

If nothing else, today you can hang your hat on the fact that you learned the meaning of the word "Cubgrade."

Now don't you feel special? 

Oh and in case you didn't get the reference I made earlier about "fetch"...

Whatta Maroon!

When Bugs Bunny utters that familiar phrase, he's usually commenting on his foil's lack of intelligence.

However, I'm sure Jim McCauley, depicted here on a lovely Ars Longa Art Card that I recently acquired, was no stooge - at least not to the level of Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam anyway.

No, McCauley just so happened to be a CHICAGO Maroon.  Oh, you've never heard of them?  Well, neither had I until I came across this card.  Don't worry, I'm not going to get all hipster on you.  I assumed it had something to do with the University of Chicago.

Nope.

The Maroons of Chicago were a member of the Western Association in 1888, which was class A ball - the highest minor league classification of the time.

Information is spotty (I mean, it was 126 years ago) but it seems that it was the first year for the WA and they operated through 1891.  At any rate, only in 1888 did it include the Maroons.

McCauley showing off his catching ability

Jim McCauley was a former big league catcher, trying to keep his dream alive in pro ball.  After brief stints with St. Louis in the American Association and Buffalo in the NL, McCauley came to Cap Anson's Chicago Cubs (then White Stockings) for a whopping 3 games to play the third-string behind Silver Flint and HOF'er King Kelly.

Jim's teammate King Kelly resides in my CATRC, but Mr. Flint is currently a pipe dream

He got 1 hit in 6 at-bats and was sent packing.  After an audition with Brooklyn the next year amounted to little more action, he found himself washed out of the Majors.  But he didn't quit.

Including his 16 games as the starting catcher for the Maroons, McCauley kept on trucking until 1897; but, he never got the call.

You and I would have never learned his story or his team without this card, a fine piece from Ars Longa Art Cards and their "Beginnings: 1880's" series.

I've sung the praises of this card company in my posts about Wild Bill Hutchison and Marty Sullivan; so I won't beat these sentiments into the ground here.  Just know that these vintage-looking cards are well-made and demonstrate superb artistic skills as well as baseball knowledge.

After making the impulse purchase of this card from their Ebay store late one night (I'm as bad as my father is with infomercials), I was contacted by the man behind the magic - Jesse Loving - and it turns out that he's a fan of my project!

As a thank you for my previous reviews on his work, he even offered to send me a bonus card, no charge, of another Cub that I had yet to acquire!

Is that bribery?  Who cares; I'm from Chicago anyway.

Ain't the card community great?

That is truly a beauty from their new Diamond Heads '15 checklist.  The set takes elements from Cracker Jacks, Goudeys and US Caramels and blends them into these 2 3/8 x 3 1/8 bad boys.

Combine those influences with detailed 1915 biographical information on the back (hence the '15) and exceptional artwork (front and back) and you have yourself a nice product.

Bonus points for the blue background on a Cubs card!  You might say that this card made my "O'Day!"

*rimshot*

Hank O'Day was one of the few managers I had yet to find.  He never appeared for the Cubs during his playing career, but skippers count in my collection too.

He led the club for just one season, 1914, taking over for Johnny Evers after the latter was traded away to Boston.  He led the Cubs to a mediocre 78–76 record and a 4th place finish, before being replace by Roger Bresnahan for 1915.  But it wasn't his managerial career that sealed his place in Chicago history.

Technically, the Cubs had 3 successive HOF'ers managing their club in the teens

You see, "The Reverend" was much better known for his umpiring career; in fact, he was inducted into the HOF for it in 2013.  In fact, he was the crew chief one September afternoon as the Cubs and the Giants battled for the pennant:

"On September 23, 1908... Al Bridwell's apparent single drove in the apparent winning run. However, baserunner Fred Merkle never advanced from first base to second, in keeping with the common practice of the era. When the Cubs produced a ball – not necessarily the game ball, which had been thrown into the stands – and claimed a force play at second base, which would negate the run, the debate erupted."

O'Day ruled Merkle out and the game was replayed at the end of the season.  The Cubs won that game, giving them the Pennant and, eventually, their most recent World Series triumph.  Who'd have thought that he'd be managing that same club 6 years later?

 Turns out that all the parties involved later became Cubs and thus enter into my CATRC

Also, can you spot the two "boners" on Merkle's 1961 Nu-Scoops card?

But, getting back to the card itself, it would be a crime if I didn't mention the packaging that it came in.  

Why? Well, because it's as much of a piece of art as the main attraction is.

My Hank O'Day Diamond Heads '15 came seated inside of a top-loader with this eye-catcher in front:

Each series has their own unique "redemption card" like the one you see above.  If you collect 10 of them (no matter which series), you can mail them back into Ars Longa for a free card from a mysterious and otherwise unavailable series.

Anyone out there accomplish this?  My curiosity is piqued.

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And so, that's the story of how some late-night impulse buying lead to my contact with Jesse Loving of Ars Longa Art Cards.  I must say, he's a good guy with a deep knowledge of the game's past and some serious designing skills!

I hope to continue doing business with him in the future and I highly recommend that you do so as well. Everyone could use at least one of these curiosities in their collection.

Without him and his art cards, I never would have been able to add Hank O'Day or Jim McCauley to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

He's no maroon!

Head East, Young Man

So, in the time that I was absent from blogging, some of that was due to a long-overdue vacation in late June - my first one since 2010.

Where did I go? Well, I'd never been further east than Ohio, so the girlfriend and I loaded up the car and hit the east coast. She's from Delaware and most of her family is still in the area.

Thus, we didn't have to pay for any lodging - *fist pump*

However, the major draw was Firefly Music Festival in Dover. We spent four days camped out in a tent doing nothing but listening to good music and hanging out. I can't think of a better way to spend a vacation. Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Weezer, Beck, Cage the Elephant, Imagine Dragons, OutKast... and much, much more!

However, if that wasn't enough - we also made it a point to head slightly over the border to Philadelphia to take in a Phillies game too.

Guess who the opponent was. I'll give you a hint - they wear blue and have a baby bear (who doesn't wear pants) as a mascot.

On a day meant to honor Jim Bunning and his perfecto in '64, I saw Travis Wood take a no-hitter into the 6th inning and Anthony Rizzo homer as the Cubs cruised to a 3-0 victory. That quieted the Phillies fans heckling me real quickly.

But, Tony, this is a baseball card blog - what does any of this have to do with cards? Well, at Citizens Bank Ballpark, I found a souveneir item that I had been looking for all over Chicagoland before I left but could not find:

Ironically, I had to go all the way to Philly to find the 2014 Topps Cubs factory team set. While, I already had all of the players in said set in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection in some form or another, I was able to upgrade two men with their first Cubs cards in my binder:

Jake Arrieta, who, like Wood on that day, has taken several no-hitters into the late innings this year during his breakout campaign...

...and the cringe-worthy Jose Veras, who had been released just 4 days earlier. That'll happen to a closer with an 8.10 ERA and no saves. Also, Once a Cub already covered the major blasphemy with this card here on his wonderful blog.  Can you spot it?

Despite all the negative connotations, Mr. Veras still needs to be properly represented in my collection. Since this'll be the only Cubs issue that he receives, it'll have to do.  Meanwhile, the rest of the cards from the set have filtered nicely into my Cubs player collections.

Plus, my girlfriend found this sweet Phillies duck for her rubber ducky collection (she named it "Ryne" - I approve). See,that's how she tolerates my habit - we're both collectors!

But, that wasn't all the card hunting I did over there. One of the small, costal towns we stayed in had a a thriving antique market community, with 3 shops in it's downtown area. Who doesn't love adventuring through such shops? You just never know what you're going to find.

While there weren't any forgotten boxes of tobacco cards lying around (drat), there was one small shoebox filled with junk wax era cards in the third location. I gave it a cursory look and was able to pull a pretty neat card for my CATRC:

Scott May was a failed propect out of the Rangers system that the Cubs pulled off the scrap-heap in 1991. He received one last shot of MLB glory with the Cubbies, but gave up 4 runs in 2 innings that August and punched his ticket out of town.

Like Arrieta and Veras, he was already represented in my collection with his '88 Donruss card on the left, which shows off his Rangers duds.  However, this Iowa Cubs card is the closest thing he got to an actual Cubs card. Thus, it provides a solid upgrade.

Plus, I've made it no secret that I love minor-league cards and these 90's Line Drive sets are among the best-of-the-best in my opinion. Simple design, big sets, deeply-varied player selection... I can't say enough.

And yet, there were still more adventures in baseball card-hunting to be had for me on this vacation! While my girlfriend was in the bathroom at a local shopping mall, I was lucky enough to find a baseball card shop.

I believe that was the universe's way of rewarding me for patiently tolerating a couple hours of outfit shopping.

Since most of the stuff in the shop obviously steered towards teams like the Phillies, Orioles and Nationals, I decided to take my chances with a randomly-selected $5 mystery box of 100 cards.

Hey, I've spent $5 bucks on worse things - like that gas station hamburger...

But, this bet turned out pretty good for me, as this card was sitting right on top:

Well, that was unexpected! I don't have many relics in my collection, as I don't generally seek them out. But pulling one of my favorite players in Kid K out of a random box in Delaware was pretty darn cool!

While, that Wood relic marked the end of the cardboard portion of my adventure, I was way too busy rockin' out at the aforementioned Firefly music festival to do anymore searching anyway.

What a trip!

I'll leave you with a couple of great tunes from bands on the rise I caught at Firefly. Give these a listen - you won't regret it!

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You might have heard their radio-smash "Come With Me Now," but these South Africans rock with authority all throughout their new self-titled album.

While alternative, garage-rock and even reggae influences rear their heads, it's this 70's style rocker that steals the show.

"Hey, I Don't Know" proves that they, in fact, do know how to groove like Grand Funk Railroad.

Bleachers is the new project featuring Fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff.  While his main focus is currently inactive, Jack is keeping his creative muscles flexed.

Their debut album "Strange Desire" is a fascinating blend of indie rock, pop and even electronic and the variety of sounds is evident in each track.

However, the cut "Rollercoaster" might be the best of all.  If Bruce Springsteen was a young songwriter in today's indie scene, this is what "The Boss" just might sound like.

Wake Me Up When September Begins

For if we woke Arodys Vizcaino when September ended, he'd miss his call-up to the Majors!

Another top prospect comes up!  Alcantra, Hendricks, Baez, Soler and now Vizcaino!

Hopefully he does indeed have a "Gold Future" as this 2012 Topps insert proclaims.

Arodys and 6 others got the call today to come on up to the Cubs.  Of those 6, the others who will be making their Cubs debut are pitcher Eric Jokisch and catcher Rafael Lopez.

Vizcaino came over in the Paul Maholm/Reed Johnson trade of 2012.  The flame-thrower has been on the mend from Tommy John surgery since then and has been having an at-best, up and down season in AAA Iowa (5.40 ERA, 18.1 innings).

That said, his previous stints at AA (2.63 ERA, 13.1 innings) and A+ ( 1 ER in 9 innings) in 2014 have been much more successful.

At any rate, the flame-thrower has great potential and it's time to see if he'll sink or swim.  With durability being his main concern, he's likely destined for a career as a late-inning reliever.

Welcome to the Cubs All-Time Roster Collection Arodys!  Eric and Rafael - I'm now on the hunt for you guys!

Oh and because I love me some Green Day:

There's an App For That, Pt. 3

First off, happy Labor Day!  I hope everyone reading this was lucky enough to have the day off of work/school.

Second off, for the past couple days I've showed you about half of the custom cards that I created with the Rookies App.  In case you missed that first part, Rookies is a card generator app that is available on Apple products that allows you to insert your own pictures in templates inspired by classic designs.

You can then buy these creations in an authentic wax pack for about thirteen bucks.

Today, I'll wrap up this series of posts by showing off the special subset that I created within my Rookies wax pack.

Did you guess what the theme of it was, based on the terrible puns I provided in yesterday's post?

"It's a "high flying" set that's really earned it's wings."

It's a Wichita Aeros team set!  It features players from several different seasons because I could not find pictures of these guys in Cubs uniforms.

The Aeros were the Cubs AAA affiliate from 1972-80.  They have since relocated and become the Buffalo Bisons and are now associated with the Blue Jays.

But well before that, Willie Prall was a flame-throwing prospect during the mid-70's.  The Cubs acquired him from the Giants in 1974 for Ken Rudolph and he made his MLB debut the next season.

It didn't go so well - in 3 starts he went 0-2 with and 8.59 ERA in 14.2 innings.  His lack of control was his biggest detractor; Prall walked 8 men in that time-frame.

After 2 more seasons in the minors, Prall was finished with professional baseball.

However, his name resurfaced in pop culture as the favorite player of Aldo Burrows on the show Prison Break.

This screen grab features "Willie Prall" in a flashback sequence.

Meanwhile, I've actually covered Gene Krug at length in this previous post.  He's the most recent Cubs player to have reached the Bigs that has never had a baseball card issued in his name.  Krug was briefly a Cub in the strike-affected season of 1981.

Al was a second baseman that was originally signed by the Red Sox out of Loyola University in New Orleans in 1963.  The scrappy (5'5" and 158 lbs) player was limited by his size and was thusly never able to crack the Boston big-league lineup.

He hung in there though!  In 1972 he was sent over to the Cubs where he continued to put up solid, but unspectacular numbers in the minors.

Finally in 1975, after 12 seasons in the bush leagues, Al was rewarded with a brief September call-up to the Northsiders.  He got just 1 hit in 13 at-bats over 5 games; but, more importantly, he was finally able to call himself a major-leaguer and no one could ever take that away from him.

His story reminds me an awful lot of a more recent scrappy Cubs second baseman who toiled in the minors for over a decade before finally getting that special call:

Bobby Scales here spent 10 years in the minors before he finally got called up by the Cubs in 2009.  Heck, he even spent time in the Red Sox organization too.

On the other hand, our next subject is actually the only player in this set to have played more than a single season in the Bigs:

Jim Kremmel was drafted in the 1st round (9th overall) by the Washington Senators in 1971 in the old secondary amateur draft held in January.

After the Senators became the Texas Rangers, Kremmel was called up to the Majors in 1973 - where he struggled mightily with control (6 walks in 9 innings).  He was soon jettisoned and bounced around organizations.

But, he can always say that he was traded for a Hall of Famer - Kremmel was named as the PTBNL in the infamous Ron Santo trade with the White Sox in 1973.

That next season, he received some extensive playing time and pitched in 23 games, mostly from the bullpen, totaling 31 innings.  Unfortunately, he wasn't really fooling anybody and posted a 5.23 ERA as well.

Thus marks the end of Jim Kremmel's MLB career.

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And thus marks the end of my Rookies App wax pack.

Overall, I would have to say that I was rather impressed by the service.  The cards were produced very well on slightly thin, recycled card stock and definitely feel/look like your typical baseball card from the 80's.

Plus, the printing was excellent as the images turned out clear and sharp; also, the centering was probably better than Topps has been at times.


Not to mention, the shipping was very prompt; I got my package in less than a week.  Thats 20 custom cards - printed, cut, carefully packaged and shipped off in the matter of a few days all while I'm sure they're dealing with many, many orders at the same time.

Combine all of this with their awesome wax packaging and it makes for an authentic and exciting experience.

I'm impressed and I highly recommend the Rookies App!

There's an App For That, Pt. 2

Yesterday I showed you about half of the custom cards that I created with the Rookies App.  In case you missed that first part, Rookies is a card generator app that is available on Apple products that allows you to insert your own pictures in templates inspired by classic designs.

You can then buy these creations in an authentic wax pack for about thirteen bucks.

Alright.  If we're all caught up, let's dive right into the second half of this pack.

Today's half was supposed to deal with more recent subjects; however, I did forget one guy from the early days of baseball.  It was quite the slight on my part, as this man accomplished something quite great:

Mr. Bradley here was the first man in National League history to twirl a no-hitter.  Unfortunately, he was not in Chicago at that time; he was pitching for the St Louis Brown Stockings against the Hartford Dark Blues.

As you can judge by those team names, this was an awfully long time ago - July 15, 1876 in fact.  he also lead the NL in ERA that first season.

However, not only was he the first no-hit pitcher, he was also the first Rick Ankiel.

In fact, it was his only season in Chicago that precipitated his move from the mound.  In 1877, he lost effectiveness and posted an 18-23 record for the defending champs and he was unceremoniously dumped.

While he still dabbled in pitching, he moved to third base and played through the 1886 season as a respectable batsmen.

While that's all well and good, it's time to press fast-forward and jump several decades into the future:

That guy on the left was supposed to be a "super freak" on the mound, but unfortunately it just wasn't meant to be.

He only pitched in three MLB games during the 1967 season, totaling 4.2 innings and giving up 7 earned runs, but he will forever hold a place in Cubs history:  he was the first player selected by the Cubs in the first ever Amateur Draft in 1965.

Taken 6th overall, he began the long-time Cubs tradition of first-round draft busting.  Thanks Rick!

Meanwhile, McMath was also a early round draft pick - but from the class of '67.  It didn't take him long to reach the majors, but it also didn't take him long to wash out of them either.

His September call up in 1968 saw him bat .143 in 14 at-bats and he was never able to regain the favor of the club.

Do the McMath - he never got another taste of the MLB.

Ah, the College of Coaches.  Owner P.K. Wrigley instituted a rotating collective of coaches to occupy the manager's seat and every other coaching position throughout the organization in the early-60's in order to shake things up.  

This "visionary" thinking did nothing but cause confusion and chaos throughout every link of the chain.

Vedie Himsl lead off the rotation in 1961 and led the club to a 10-21 record.  What a roaring start.

At any rate, with this card, I now have a card for every Cubs manager through 1925!

Clint here was a rule V draft of the Cubs in 1972 and his entire big-league career consisted of just one game, two innings at that.  In those 2 innings, Clint gave up 2 runs - never to get a 2nd chance nor earn a 2nd appearance.

Meanwhile, Johnny is a member of one of the greatest baseball families of all-time.  The Hairston clan includes father Sam, brother Jerry, and nephews Jerry Jr. & Scott.  All spent some time on a Chicago roster - be it Cubs or White Sox.

Johnny was a September call-up for the Cubs in their fateful 1969 season.  But, since Mgr. Leo Durocher was busy riding his regulars into the ground, he only got into 3 games.  Those ended up being his only games in his big league career.

We'll wrap up today's portion of the pack with Steve Davis here, who looks like he's just sustained a battle wound.

Steve was a 14th round draft pick by the Cubs in 1976 who only got action 3 games in September of 1979. In his 3 at-bats, he didn't get a hit, but he did earn an RBI, so the stint wasn't a total loss for him.

But, the Cubs moved on after that season and after a couple of years in the minors for Toronto, he called in quits without seeing the majors again.

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Alright - we're almost done with this series.  

Tomorrow I'll show you the special sub-set I created within this Rookies App wax pack.

It's a "high flying" set that's really earned it's wings.

Don't worry - those terrible puns will soon make sense.