Card fact: There are six pairs of brothers in this set. I have not featured both brothers of any pair on this blog until now. George Brett was card No. 228 and here is his older brother, Ken.
What I thought about this card then: No knowledge of it.
What I think about his card now: The photo is awfully similar to his 1976 Topps card.
Other stuff: Ken Brett played for 10 different teams in a 16-year career, but had several notable moments during that span. He remains the youngest pitcher to participate in a World Series game. He was 18 years old when he pitched for the Red Sox in the 1967 Series against the Cardinals.
I remember Brett mostly because of is reputation as a tremendous hitter. He hit .262 for his career, recording 91 hits in 341 at-bats, including 10 home runs, 18 doubles and 44 RBIs. He probably would have had even better stats had he not pitched in the American League for most of the late 1970s.
Brett was the winning pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game in 1974, and pitched a year for the Dodgers in 1979. Later he played for the Royals, joining his brother George, for the end of his career.
Brett died after a six-year battle with brain cancer in 2003.
Back facts: Love the cartoon duck.
Also, I don't know why Topps bestowed the number 250 upon Ken Brett. Sure, he was a fairly good pitcher at the time, but 250 was usually reserved for better players. In the years immediately preceding 1975, #250 went to Willie McCovey ('74), Manny Sanguillen ('73), Boog Powell ('72), Johnny Bench ('71) and McCovey again ('70).
Other blog stuff: This is the first time deceased players have been featured in back-to-back cards. ... Ah, that's happy.
I think he got 250 - because he won the All Star game, the Pirates won the division, and he may have been the best pitcher on the staff for a short period of time - In 1974 baseball was in a transitional time where the games must not dominated by a few big stars but by a lot of good players
ReplyDeleteLooking at the 1976 card - there's an unbreakable record. No pitcher will hit 5 HRs in 5 starts, ever. I will bet my left nut on this.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd risk my left nut on anything...baseball records especially. Ken and George were the first set of MLB brothers I was aware of and I thought it was cool that two brothers could be in the Majors at the same time.
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