#55 Clyde Wright

In a major surprise was AL comeback player of the year in 1970 with 22 victories....add a no hitter and the season was near perfect.....the back story was Clyde was at the nadir of his career with a W-L of 1-8 in 1969.....offered up on waivers, no other team took interest....enter teammate Jim Fregosi who was going to start his managerial career during Winter ball....Wright took the offer on advisement....worked on a screwball and change up to bolster his pitching arsenal....such high yield could make 1971 and ‘72 somewhat of a letdown but he still a consistent force with an ERA still under three runs a game....His game ground down in 1973 with a sizeable jump in ERA and losing a disproportional number of games; 19 defeats over victories 11......A change of scenery to Milwaukee brought further unraveling going 9-20....An unsuccessful test trial in Texas in 1975 spelled his exit from the big leagues.....Played overseas in Japan until 1978, a tumultuous period intermingled with culture clashes ala Tom Selleck’s movie Mr. Baseball....opposite of Hollywood ending  struggled with alcohol to masking his isolation in the far east...once retired, was able to overcome his addition.....A small college star, the lefty began career out with a straight fastball/curveball assortment....while some success was derived (10 wins in 1968) in his first three years....but never could establish himself in a particular role on the Angels staff.....Like one time teammate Bob Oliver opened an instructional school and had a son who was successful player, Jared who won 68 MLB games....still active in Angel activities.

#56 Rich Chiles

Mostly a farmhand....Only true employment occurred after being picked up by the Twins as a Rule 5 draft pick for 1977....two seasons exclusively in Minnesota with almost identical results....BA a tad above .260....released by Twins before 1981.....Considered a standard line drive hitter and not much else....weak arm, mediocre speed.....Made a career in the MLB a reach....platoon player at best which came late in his career....Once Chiles put in his 120 at bats in 1971, he only appeared in 22 MLB games over the next five seasons continuing in Houston, then New York Mets, and return ticket to Houston...had a stint in the Padre farm system  falling short of making the club....after his time as a Twin returned to AAA for a couple of seasons.....turned to being a batting coach at the university and minor league level......owns a .254 career BA based on 157 hits, 37 of which were doubles. 

#57 Bob Oliver

Maybe the Royal player with the most impact who was obtained from their expansion draft (note ROY Lou Pinella was acquired from the Seattle Pilots)...passed along Twins and Pirates before finding a home in KC....was able to become a regular outfielder over a cattle call of contenders....set franchise firsts: hit the initial  grand slam and going 6 for 6....1970 moves over to be KC’s primary 1^st baseman with the arrival of rookie outfielder Amos Otis and the failure of second year player Mike Fiore....Oliver responds with career year, establishing team high marks with 27 dingers, 99 RBI’s.....Oliver’s play downgrades in 1971, causing the Royals to take a chance of promising slugger John Mayberry....No longer an outfielder was odd man out Oliver and rather than ride the bench he is exchanged to Angels....Oliver returns to prominence on his new team easily leading the way with 70 RBIs and in going yard 19 times despite being tardy in joining the Halos...was an easy going clubhouse presence.....King Olly brought a wind of change from the controversies from the year prior.... improved runs driven in the following year.....started to tail off in 1974 along with some of his Anaheim peers..... from sent packing to Baltimore in late stages as California cleaned house....while the birds were playoff bound Oliver was not used....picked on waiver by NYY for 1975 also resulted little use and an anemic BA ending his MLB days by the all star break....did not directly give up on baseball, put together strong minor league seasons in AAA and then the Mexican League....but in the mid-30s a return to MLB did not materialize....Once Oliver hung up his spikes did some managing and established a baseball teaching academy....Father of Darren Oliver a MLB pitcher who logged in 20 seasons....jostled around third and first and outfield, did best when assigned to one steady position....resided in Sacramento most of his life until passing away in 2020.

#58 Ernie McAnally

Outfielder turned pitcher....A Met farmhand established in 1966 and a change of position after two stints in the low minors....lackluster hitting the culprit (as is many times the case).....Never a high draft choice, showed enough promise in his first year in the newly found position to be selected by the Expos in 49^th round in expansion draft....worked a taxed AAA farm club becoming the team leader in wins (which were few and far between)....earned an opening day roster spot in 1971.....a slow start going 1-7 which included a demotion to AAA....once back was able to turn his venture around and become a minor Montreal sensation with 10-5 finishing record....the steadfast Expo went 19 wins with 37 defeats in next three years.....despite record had an output ERA near 4 runs a game.....The Skip Lockwood of the NL sans Skip's longevity.

#59 Fred Stanley

The last Seattle Pilot....journeyman infielder....well traveled, landing anywhere he could get playing time....anemic with a bat, but a very good glove assured his employment through the 1982 season.....Career BA of .216....never exceeded 260 at bats in a MBL season...feeble power going over the fence 10 times over 1650 chances .....resume trajectory reads;  developed in Astro system, sold to Pilots for their only season.....tags along briefly to Milwaukee, sold to Cleveland early 1971, traded to Padre early 1972 in a one for one deal....then shipped to the Yankees for an extended stay and career capped in Oakland for two seasons ending 1982....survived eight summers in the Bronx Zoo watching many skippers interchanged....nickname was Chicken....doesn’t quite instill a fear in the opposition....Note:  Topps got very lazy with image....a horrible air brush of a Cleveland cap even though he was an Indian the year prior.....the large butte in background suggests that the image was taken at either one of the two Seattle Pilots training camps.

#60 Manny Sanguillen

If not for a backstop named Bench, would have the apex of the catching position of the 70's.....played a different game than Bench....hitting for average which he did excelled not for power.....free swinger, never took a pitch be didn’t like...somewhere there may be rare footage of Manny getting a walk.....brought in other assets, strong defensively, a robust arm, great work ethic, positive energy, and speed, unusual for the position......A Panamanian, early liability was his language barrier with the English, but in time adapted and overcame....earned praise as a non-verbal communicator....infectious smile.....a brief tryout in 1967 showed promise but showed a need for seasoning....returning in 1969 wrestled starting spot from Jerry May finishing with a .303 BA....Onward and upwards, Manny improves each of the next two consecutive years with +.300 average....arguably the best NL catcher in 1971, edging Bench who had an off year....Crowning achievement was game management as the Bucs upset the favored Orioles in the Fall Classic.....Manny cools off a bit in next few years but remains near the top of his peers with a BA always above .280....returns to +.300 mark with a .328 accomplishment in 1975 reaching highs in OBP and SLG.....was traded to Oakland for 1977 in a typical swap involving the rights to manager Chuck Tanner.....steady body of work in light of a team gutted by free agency....returned to Steel City in a reserve role for next three years....one last blaze of glory circa 1979.....a walk off hit in game 2 bringing home his replacement Ed Ott as the Pirates repeat another WS victory over the Orioles....Traded to Cleveland for 1980 but was released in spring training.....A Pirate icon hitting .299 over 12 years in the gold and black....personal opinion Manny is the GOAT of Pirate backstops.....still active with the franchise reminding the faithful of better days.   

#61 Cubs Rookie Stars, Burt Hooton, Gene Hiser, Earl Stephenson

One stand out in the trio....Burt Hooton  A first round draft pick by the Cubs from the Texas Longhorn in 1971....fast tracked to AAA Tacoma mid season where enjoyed a very brief and successful run....had a taste of the MLB stage having won two games (one by shutout) in 1971....Not missing a beat, throws a no hitter in his 1972 debut making many a sports page headline....Settled into a 11-14 record and excellent 2.80 ERA......unique specialty pitch the knuckle/curve....took to the Cubs mound two more full years continuing as an inning eater yet plagued by a rising ERA ....Started 1975 poorly and was traded to the Dodgers....Ineffective at first but was seemingly invigorated after seeing a hypnotist....proceeded to win 12 straight games on the way to 18 total....becomes a fixture in the LA rotation showing a quiet reliability well into the 80’s....stepped up his game with taking 19 W(s) in 1978....good for 2^nd in Cy Young voting.....A strong post season performer victorious in 6 decisions, with an excellent 1981 winning 4 games over three series....phased out of prominence in 1984.....ended career with one season in Texas.....   Gene Hiser a seldom used and little known position player....at both the major and minor league level....one of several candidates for the Cubs centerfield trouble spot.....taken in first round of 1970 draft out of the University of Maryland....Back of card is a misnomer.....while Gene had only one hit in 19 at bats in AAA, played the bulk of 1971 in the Western Carolina League hitting a .289 clip (not shown on the card)....a light hitter in any league he played.....was able to eke out 236 big league at bats over five partial campaigns....final career line one home run and eighteen RBI’s plus a .202 BA....tried his hand at a short lived professional soft ball league after baseball offers dried up......Earl Stephenson No longer a Cub at the start of 1972....instead employed 70 miles up I-94 at the Brewer's Milwaukee County Stadium...was included in exchange for Jose Cardenal ....a limited but decent 3-5 record with 3.25 ERA for the Brew Crew....was traded to Phillies in off season....failed to make the club and struggled in AAA....not impressing big clubs was passed around from organization to organization....descended into the Mexican League....was spotted by Oriole scouts and was able to return to major league franchise employment....was able to sneak back in MLB with the birds in 1977 and 1978 appearing in a total of 12 1/3 innings.   

#62 Angel Mangual

Advanced billing with the albatross label of “the new Roberto Clemente”....ideal spawned in his native Puerto Rico.....such comparisons turned out to be way over extended....evidence of failing to achieve his advanced billing;  started in Pittsburgh organization and garnered a few big club at bats in a call up....liabilities became evident, a poor fielder, weak against right handed pitching, and later a fiery temper.....Two stories abound with his attainment by the A’s....either a player to be named later or purchased outright; depending on the source....Decent MLB debut with the A’s in 1971 with a .287 BA.....even garnered a few ROY votes and a Topps Rookie award....Trouble with following up in 1972 with 40 point BA drop, stagnating his playing time as a late season influx of veteran outfielders joined the fray....the year did harvest the greatest moment of his career with a clutch WS game winning pinch hit....Mangual was relegated further down the Oakland bench with the addition of Bill North in 1973....BA dovetailed another 20 points....was able to regain playing time the following year and put up career numbers but only a marginal uptick in BA rubbed out Mangual’s chances of advancement....was only to play sporadically in 1975 and most relegated to minors in 1976....after a brief comeback chance in the Mexican league was out of baseball at age 32.....little is known about post baseball life but there was some allegations of involvement in a drug cartel in the late 90’s.....passed away in 2121....bloodlines include a brother, Pepe, and a cousin, Coco Laboy, who also were major leaguers.       

#63 Duke Sims

A backstop by origin but really a Jack of many positions.....Played Left and Right field, 1^st base too.....unfortunately was never being able fully take over a given position....Started in the Cleveland organization....worked his way up over time....able to reach regular player status in 1968.....production number climbed accordingly topping out with 23 homers and 56 RBIs in 1970 .....caught in an overcrowded talent  pool with position players caused by fine rookie seasons by backstop Ray Fosse and outfielder Roy Foster....traded to the LAD (and a true contender) for two pitchers.....As a Dodger shared catching duties with incumbent Tom Haller in 1971....hit better but lost playing time and seem to struggle with going yard given Dodger stadium dimensions....floundered in 1972 and found himself shuffled late in the season in Detroit via a waiver transaction....immediately helpful in bringing relief to Bill Freehan bearing a .316 BA...appeared in 4 playoff games, accumulating three hits, all for extra bases.....Well traveled and little used......split teams again in 1973, first a Tiger then a Yankee once again acquired via the wavier wire....his last season started as a Yankee then reunited with Billy Martin in Texas....birth name was Duane.     

#64 Pete Broberg

Great expectations out of #1 draft pick.... Dartmouth educated....Florida born, handsome and well groomed....Taken by the Senators in 1971 and pressed immediately into the big league mound.....despite a 5-9 record accounted well for himself sporting a 3.47 ERA...far and away his career best..... making the move to Texas and was the first Ranger to win a game..... however Pete experienced bulging  ERAs and eventual demotion to minors.....1975 resurfaced in Milwaukee....established himself as team top winner taking on 14 triumphs for a substandard squad....nearly cut his ERA in half from his truncated 1974 number....temporary highlight....could only capture one conquest in 1976, a slight uptick in ERA indicates a season long stretch of tough luck over failed performance.....Broberg’s last two years MLB servitude are a case of a road rarely travel.....left unprotected for the expansion draft selected the infant Seattle Mariners....was a Mariner during spring training....did not make the sea goers roster but since they were sans a AAA team at the time he was loaned to the Cubs Wichita club.....Impressed Cubs organization in an exhibition game performance against the big club to the extent he was acquired by the Northsiders (a rare case of a change of clubs who owned his contract but not changing team).....was able to worm his way to the Cubbie’s friendly confines midseason.....At the end of Spring training 1978 did not fit into the Cub’s roster so he was traded to talent deplete Oakland A’s.....Riding an early season surges was able to go 4-0 (1.08 ERA) and 9-6 at midsummer but only finished with a 10-12 record with 4.62 ERA.....entertained possibly going further with LA Dodgers for 1979 but opted to use his Ivy League pedigree.....returned to the family attorney’s practice specializing in real estate and estate planning in native Florida....aside from a small contribution to the 1974 Rangers and the .500 Cubs, Broberg was decidedly a second division player....outspoken beyond his years and butted head with certain skippers....did better with those he liked.