Card fact: Hey! Back-to-back purple-pink combo cards! My little pep talk must have worked.
What I thought about this card then: I did not see it. However, Hrabosky's "Mad Hungarian" routine was well-known to me growing up in the '70s. We thought the guy was crazy for going behind the mound before each pitch, taking a deep breath, pounding the ball in his mitt and then trudging back up the mound. Every pitch he did this. Crazy.
What I think about this card now: It's very strange seeing Hrabosky without a mustache and beard. That was his trademark. Apparently, now he's a Cardinals broadcaster and not only goes without a 'stache and beard but has short, graying hair. What's more, he's not even Hungarian! I am shattering all of my childhood beliefs in this blog entry.
Other stuff: I mostly saw Hrabosky on Mets telecasts, since the Cardinals weren't very good in the '70s and they never appeared on NBC's "Game of the Week." The Mets broadcasters -- Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy -- got a kick out of Hrabosky's routine.
I've read that batters didn't appreciate the antics. But I really don't remember anybody doing much about it. I know batters today probably would flip out over it more.
Back facts: It was a long time before I knew what a "bonus baby" was. I didn't know what babies had to do with baseball.
Other blog stuff: The blog went over 5,000 visits on Sunday. A respectable number for a niche blog about a card set from 35 years ago. Or maybe not. I have nothing to measure it against.
2 comments:
Congrats on the 5K milestone. That's a good number for a niche blog...oh wait you said that. I love seeing all these '75s...I have maybe 10-15 of them, so many of theme are new to me. Where does Al's pre/post pitch routine rank with some of the wackiness players do between pitches?
I still say that purple-pink should be the Hemi Challenger colour combo.
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