#119 -- Marty Perez

Marty Perez

I think I was pretty impressionable as a young baseball fan. If I ever heard something good about a player, that's what they were forever. That explains why I still can't believe Mike Rogodzinski, Tom Heintzelman or Stan Papi didn't make it big. Anyway, I must have heard something good about Marty Perez somewhere along the line because I grew up thinking he was a mid-level shortstop. He wasn't a Dave Concepcion or Bud Harrelson, but I always thought he was on a par with guys like Chris Speier or Tim Foli.

Imagine my shock when I grew up a little more and ran across his stats in the Baseball Encyclopedia. Marty was a full-time shortstop from 1971-1977 for the Braves, mostly, spending 1976 with the Giants and 1977 with the A's. But he hit .240 with no power, didn't steal bases, didn't walk a lot, and was an average to below average shortstop. But somehow he was a big league starter for most of 7 seasons. Of course, so was Mike Tyson. This just goes to show how the position of shortstop has undergone a transformation in the last 40 years. His career OPS+ was 70, hitting a high of 81. Since I don't like to use the word "suck" when I teach Sunday School, I'd have to say as a hitter, Marty verily stinketh.

He did hit lefty starters fairly well, as long as they weren't Hall of Famers. He hit over .340 against guys like Geoff Zahn, Doug Rau, Dave Roberts, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack. Good righthanders overpowered him. He was 0-for-John Montefusco and hit under .150 against Fergie Jenkins, Don Wilson and hard-throwing Tom Phoebus.

Not much else to say about Marty except that I'll forever link him with his double play partner, Felix Millan.

1972 Feature

Now, after all that about Marty, I'm going to write something much more complimentary. He played a big part in our June 17, 1972 Game of the Day. The Expos were in Atlanta to play the Braves and Ernie McAnally took a 2-0 lead into the 9th for the Expos. Ernie got Mike Lum to ground out and struck out Rod Gilbreath (making his big league debut). However, Marty worked a 2-out walk. Lum Harris sent Jim Breazeale (winner of the 2008 Cardboard Junkie Baseball Card Tournament) up to pinch-hit for Phil Niekro. He hits it out. Game goes to the 10th.

In the 10th, Ralph Garr singles to lead off against McAnally. After a passed ball on Terry Humphrey, McAnally wisely walks Hank Aaron. Mike Marshall comes in to relieve and Rico Carty singles in the winning run. All because Marty Perez worked a 2-0ut walk in the 9th. Way to go, Marty!

While this was going on, a security guard found some tape over a door lock. He took it off, but noticed it was back a few hours later and called the police. He had no idea how much that one phone call would change politics and journalism. That tape was in the Watergate Office Complex in Washington, DC, where future NBA Commissioner and 1972 Democratic National Committee Chairman Lawrence O'Brien had an office. Arrested that night were 5 men who worked for the Commitee to Re-Elect the President.

I remember the aftermath well, but nobody really remembers the break-in. President Nixon swept to one of the largest electoral and popular vote margins of all time. That's what's ironic. They didn't have to try to get the Democrats' secrets because they didn't stand a chance anyway. The 1972 election was decided the day Senator Ted Kennedy dropped Mary Jo Kopechne in the Chappaquiddick pond in 1969.

Instead of letting a special prosecutor deal with this, President Nixon decided to cover it up. The same paranoia that led his operatives to break in and look for secrets led him to try to cover it up. I guess he must have been gone the week they taught in Sunday School that your sins will find you out.

I liked President Nixon. I may have only been 8 in 1972, but I was a big Nixon guy. I got a poster in 1973 in the school book order and hung it in my room. It was still hanging in my room 10 years later when we were trying to sell our house (that was a good point for the folks that ended up buying it). However, for all the forward thinking in the Nixon/Kissinger foreign policy, he missed it big. Because of this, people mistrust politicians now, because he looked in the camera and said, "I am not a crook."

What's also ironic is that in 1968, Nixon was elected largely on a "law and order" platform that resonated with middle America, especially after the Democrat's convention in Chicago where anarchy broke out on national TV.

It would be nice if America could remember June 17, 1972 for Jim Breazeale's dramatic pinch-homer, but, unfortunately, this date will be inextricably linked with Nixon and company.

# 97 -- Tom Kelley

Tom Kelley





Tom Kelley didn't manage the Twins to 2 World Series wins. Tom Kelly did. It's hard to find much information on Tom Kelley beyond what we can see on the back of this card. He signed with the Indians before the draft, but made it to the big leagues for a few appearances in May of 1964, but spent most of the season in the Eastern League. He tore up AAA in 1965 (16-3) and pitched well in 4 late-season starts, so things were looking up.


He's with the Indians all of 1966, but can't crack the rotation, pitching out of the bullpen about once a week and getting about 1 start a month. Then in 1967 and 1968 he's hardly pitching anywhere. That could mean 2 things in the late 60's -- arm trouble or military service. Usually, when there's an empty year and the player was in the armed forces, Topps would put a line for that.


Tom had shoulder surgery. He had 12 AA starts in 1968 and in 1969 floated between A and AA ball. Then he's released. The Braves pick him up in 1970 and put him in AA where he flourished for the first half. But he couldn't get it done at Richmond in the second half. Things aren't looking good for Tom.


Then it came back. 1971 and 1972 were Tom's 2 best season. He was a swing man in between the rotation and the bullpen and he pitched well in 1971. He went back down in 1972 and then the bottom dropped out in 1973. He struggled in the minors through 1976 when he packed it in. It looks like he had recurrence of the arm troubles. I always hate seeing that in someone who has a promising start like Tom did in 1965. The fact that he fought through the arm troubles for about 10 years tells me how much he really loved baseball.


That Rawlings glove Tom's wearing looks a lot like the Bobby Grich model I bought in 1972 when I had need for a new glove (that story will come some other time). I used that glove until about 1995 when I had to break down and buy a new one to play softball. I don't know if there was still an original string left in that glove. I had a grandpa that had a lot of leather around the house and he'd restring it when I broke one. When I got that glove, I thought it was really cool how it had the hole in the back to stick out my index finger. Since Bobby Grich debuted in 1971, I really doubt Tom's wearing the same glove I had, but it's kind of neat to see him wearing it.

#74 -- Cecil Upshaw

Cecil Upshaw

In the late 60's, Cecil was a top reliever in the league. He and Claude Raymond teamed up to make a good late innings combination for the Braves. He helped them to the NL West title in 1969 and pitched well agains the Mets as the Braves were swept out. He even hit his only homer in 1969.

However guys who are 26 sometimes do things they regret. Cecil fit that category. In the off-season he's having dinner with friends when he decides to show off how he can jump to touch a sign. He was 6'6", after all. He gets his ring finger caught and severs the nerves. He had a lot of surgery and missed the entire 1970 season. Whoops. That's got to go into the list of baseball injuries along with Vince Coleman's tarp, Mike Matheny slicing a finger open and missing the playoffs, Clint Barmes slipping while carrying in groceries and Moises Alou's treadmill. Cecil should have just said he was washing his monster truck.

Cecil came back strong in 1971, but he wasn't the same. He slipped further in 1972 and started bouncing around in 1973. His final season was in 1975 and his K/BB ratio had eroded significantly. Cecil was a sidearmer and I suspect he needed movement to be successful and the injury affected his grip. Cecil had a heart attack and passed away in 1995. He and BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays are the only pitchers from Centenary to play in the big leagues.

Cecil got to play with his cousin, George Stone, with the Braves. Of his 78 Braves' saves, 12 of them came in George Stone's wins. That would have made nice talk around the Thanksgiving table at their grandparents' house.

1972 Feature

Here's a brief return, but it doesn't have much to do with the world 37 years ago. On March 17, 1972, future baseball wife Mia Hamm was born. She seems to be a nice gal for a Tar Heel.

#21 -- Atlanta Braves Team

Atlanta Braves

The shot here looks like a Spring Training facility. This was a team that had been fairly strong and had a 3rd place finish in 1971. But they were headed into a brick wall in 1972.

Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews came in to manage toward the end of the year. That didn’t help. They had Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Phil Niekro. That didn’t help. They had the 1971 NL Rookie of the Year Earl Williams behind the plate. That didn’t help. Ralph Garr and Dusty Baker both hit over .320 in the outfield. That didn’t help.

They finished last in the NL in pitching. That sure didn’t help. The only thing that did help is that the injury-decimated Giants and the expansion Padres were in their division so they only slipped to 4th. They had an odd year. They split with division-winning Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, but were a combined 10-19 against the Padres and Expos.

In addition to Williams, Aaron, Garr and Baker, the lineup had Darrell Evans, Mike Lum and Rico Carty, so there was plenty of pop. The middle infield of Felix Millan and Marty Perez were weaker than average at the plate. Millan was strong in the field, winning a Gold Glove, but Perez wasn't. The pitching staff was horrible that year. They were last in ERA, last in shutouts, last in strikeouts and 8th (of 12) in walks allowed. I know the Launching Pad of a stadium they played half their games in had something to do with it, though. Niekro and Ron Reed were the only decent starters they had, and Reed was below league average that year. After Niekro and Reed, 8 other guys got at least 5 starts. That's not a good thing.

Hank Aaron started the All-Star Game in right field, but that was all the Braves had. This was the start of a long descent. They finished above .500 in 1974, but then had 4 last place finishes to round out the '70's and then in the late '80's finished last 4 out of 5 years. They did manage to fit in 3 winning seasons in the glory days of Dale Murphy, but that was short lived.

1972 feature

I was having fun with this, but it's getting time consuming. I've recently (and unexpectedly) had some big time commitments come up. This is going to be an intermittently recurring feature and I'll focus more on the baseball aspect of the cards, players and teams involved.