#51 - Bobby Heise (MIL)

Bobby spent 11 years in the bigs, had 8 uniform numbers, played with 7 teams, played 6 different positions, was traded 5 times and switched leagues 3 times.  I couldn't find anything he did four times, otherwise I could have tossed something in there about a partridge in a pear tree.  He is tied with Duane Kuiper on the all-time home run list with one.  Despite all this, he had only 1100 some odd at bats in his career.  To stay around that long says something about a player.  Many guys are gone in a few years.  I really don't remember Bobby playing, but I remember his card.

Bobby never played for the Brew Crew in '74.  He was traded to the Cardinals in December of '73, at the winter meetings, I'm guessing.  He's the next card in this blog set in the form of a Traded card.  What's funny is that he would be traded twice more in '74.  Once in July from the Cards to the Angels (July 31 for those trade deadline buffs) and once more from the Halos to the BoSox in December.  I'm sure Bobby is still getting around on frequent flier miles.  Pssssst, don't tell anybody, but Bobby's pine tar extends WAY higher than anything George Brett ever sported.  Bobby, you be out with that bat!

Cartoon: Bobby played basketball in high school.  That would be in Vacaville, CA, just a half hour up the interstate from me, home of several million new outlet malls all strung together.  I'm sure I can get some great deals on basketball shoes there at the Nike outlet store.  From what little I know of Spanish, I think "Vacaville" means "cow town" in English.  They should have just called it Cow Town to begin with.  Lots of cows used to live there.

Ballpark background: I'm going to take a wild guess and say Yankee Stadium.  I don't know why.

#27 - George Scott (MIL)

I always like seeing players with the same last name as me.  Knowing my family tree extensively, I am sure there is no relation.  Other notables are Jake Scott, the Miami Dolphin safety from the undefeated team, Fast Freddie Scott from the Detroit Lions past, Luke Scott who played for the Astros a few years ago, and a few assorted NFL linemen.  There's also that Astros dude that used sandpaper on the ball, Mike.  Byron?  A few namesakes include a professional mile runner, professional golfer and a Chicago news anchorman.  George Scott had a decent career of 14 years, was a slugger for a good part of it, and was coming off one of his two best years when this card was released.


Cartoon: Note, George is only ONE of the flashiest fielding first sackers in the bigs.  We all know the cartoonist knows Willie Montanez is simply THE flashiest, he just can't say it.  Not PC, even in 1974 terms.  And George's cartoon is backhanding a ball from behind.  His next move is to cross dribble between his legs twice, then an alley-oop to Michael Jordan at the hoop.  Oh, wait.  Maybe it will be to Wilt the Stilt at the top of the key for a sky hook.  Okay, wrong sport.  After I post this, I'll go onto YouTube to try to find some George Scott flashy action.  I know he was flashy, because his last year he played part of a year with the Royals and his uniform number was 0.  Having a number of 0 in the 70's was flashy, almost by definition.

Ballpark background:  Add one part Brewers road uniforms, one part yellow shirt behind George's right thigh, one part yellow sock just below George's right knee, then we sprinkle a bunch of yellow in the crowd beyond him, top with a sloping dugout roof toward the field, mix well, bake at 475 for 15 minutes, and out pops the Oakland Coliseum.

Situation ID: [Updated 03-20-11]  This action shot of Scott was at the Oakland Coliseum.  It looks as if he is watching a popup.  If this photo was taken in 1973, then it was likely on Saturday, August 18, a day game, when cleanup hitter Scott fouled out to first baseman Deron Johnson leading off the second inning off of pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom.  The A's took the game 6-3, on their way to their second of three consecutive WS victories.  Here, George has no middle name shown on this card, while his BR page lists Charles as his mid-moniker.

#12 - Dave May (MIL)

I'm liking this card.  Dave has that bat barrel bulging into the camera angle, and it looks like he's actually swinging the thing.  And this pose is a great reflection of his 1973 season.  He went from .303/25/93/Total Base Leader/All-Star/MVP votes...(awesome pose!) to a woeful .226/10/42 in 1974 with not much less playing time.

He led "loops in batting?"  62 and 64?  What the heck is that?  


Cartoon: Maybe he had Jim Bibby's brother to cheer for.  Were the ABA afro do's in style yet?


Ballpark background: I'm guessing Anaheim Stadium, after a delayed gathering of good evidence.  First, the Brew Crew wore powder blue on the road.  Second, the player behind his left shoulder appears to have a two-tone hat, with the lighter color on the bill.  Next, the seats in the upper deck (no press box is there) indicate a three deck ballpark.  The stands extend straight down the line, and slightly curve in the corner.  The seating section width between the aisles matches the 70's and 80's layout, as do the seat colors.  The clincher for me was the concentric arc of dirt behind home plate that I confirmed in a Google Image search for Anaheim Stadium, early 70's.