This is the latest in my Topps Minus 50 series which addresses transactions and other events within Major League Baseball which might have had an affect on Topps checklists and the like.
June 24, 1974
The California Angels signed Ken Sanders as a free agent.
Sanders had been released by the Indians a week prior to the Angels picking him up. Sanders would be traded to the Mets before the 1975 season, making the airbrushing job moot.
The Milwaukee Brewers traded Bill Parsons and cash to the Oakland Athletics for Deron Johnson.
Parsons would pitch just 2 innings with the A’s in 1974 and was sold to the Cardinals in early December, making this another wasted airbrushing effort (the transaction is noted on the back of the card). He wouldn’t pitch in the Majors at all in 1975, his last pro season.
Researching Deron Johnson for this post ended up raising an eyebrow or two. He appeared in 110 games in 1974 and 151 games in 1975… so how is it he didn’t have a 1975 Topps card? As it turned out, the 36-year-old Johnson was released in late October, 1974 after a poor season (.171/13/43) split between three teams and he didn’t get picked up again until the following April, so Topps probably dropped him from the 1975 checklist.
I gave some thought to creating a phantom 1975 card for Johnson, but in searching for an image I ran across a When Topps Had Balls custom which does the job just fine, so I bailed on that idea.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Ollie Brown off waivers from the Houston Astros.
If you’ve followed this Topps Minus 50 series, you might remember that Ollie Brown had been traded from the Brewers to the Angels in October, 1975 (resulting in a Topps airbrush job in 1974 Topps) and then got sold to the Astros late in Spring training (resulting in my “HyperExtended” custom).
The Phillies would use Brown in a right-field platoon with Jay Johnstone, which worked out well. In slightly fewer at bats than he had in 1974, Brown improved his batting average from .232 to .303, held steady at 19 runs scored and upped his RBI’s by 7.
June 26, 1974
The Angels fired Bobby Winkles, replaced by 3rd base coach Whitey Herzog on an interim basis; a couple of days later the Angels hired Dick Williams
Winkles was a College Baseball HOFer head coach with Arizona State University, but didn’t find the same success as the manager of the Angels. The team had a 30-44 record in his second season when he was let go.
Herzog had been the team’s 3rd base coach at the time, and Williams had stepped down as the manager of the Oakland A’s the prior fall after winning two World Championships with the team.
June 27, 1974
Giants manager Charlie Fox resigns and is replaced by Wes Westrum.
Fox was in his 5th season with as the Giants’ manager, but had a 34-42 record when he stepped down. Westrum was a scout for the Giants at the time but had experience managing the Mets in the 1960s.
The team did better in 1975, but Westrum and his staff were all fired in advance of Horace Stoneham selling the team after the season was over.
June 29, 1974
The California Angels purchased Chuck Dobson from Mexico City Tigers (Mexican League).
Dobson was a double-digit game winner with the A’s from 1967 to 1971, but struggled with elbow issues in the 1970s and appeared in just one Major League game from 1972 to 1973. In 1974 he was released by the A’s near the end of spring traning and he got an offer to pitch in Mexico. He pitched well in Mexico and the Angels purchased his contract and sent him to Triple-A. He got a September call-up and pitched well enough that Topps gave him a card for 1975, his first card since 1972 Topps.
Dobson pitched in 9 games in 1975 before getting sent down again, and he never returned to the Majors.
The Shlabotnik Report 