What a card: Rob Picciolo played his only season with the Angels in 1984, batting just .202. He was released after the season and signed by the A's, the team with which he made his major league debut back in 1977.
My observation on the front: Even though Picciolo was a longtime coach with the Angels and Padres, I associate him only with the Oakland A's.
More opinion from me: Picciolo died just last month. Even though I've done my share of cardboard eulogies on the other blog, it feels weird to write this post so soon after his death.
Something you might know: Picciolo was Oakland's starting shortstop in 1977, the year that the A's sank to last place after gutting their former three-time Series champion team. Picciolo received the unenviable task of replacing Bert Campaneris and hit .200 in 140 games.
Something you might not know: Picciolo is one of the few major leaguers to appear on a card with his toddler son. The card also features his son's vitals on the back (height: 2-4, weight: 23).
My observation on the back: Well, I'll be darned, the fourth-place Phillies, huh? Mike Schmidt was the only real HR hitter on that team and he slugged 36. After that it was Ozzie Virgil with 18, Von Hayes with 16, Juan Samuel with 15, Sixto Lezcano with 14 and Len Matuszek with 12.
The blog wants to speak now: No update this time. Just want to mention that with me finishing the 1971 Topps blog, I will probably update this blog a little more often. It won't be once a day though.
Interesting how Topps felt the need to abbreviate Santa Monica and Redondo Beach.
ReplyDeleteThere's clearly enough room to at least write Redondo.
I wonder how many position players have managed to play 9 seasons without cracking double figures in walks?
ReplyDelete