a card that makes you go hmmmm - or, wtf?

i recently completed a trade with a non-blogger. he had some 1970 cards for my set, and i had some detroit tigers for him from his want list. easy enough. the cards arrived, including the red sox team card featuring reggie smith's floating head.

what i was not expecting was the bonus 1973 cards. i have about a third of this set, but i don't think i will ever try to complete it. i am just not that into it, i guess. anyway, most of the cards sent were double plays, so that's nice.

here's future dodger mark belanger:

an airborne frank duffy:

looks like the belanger and duffy could have come from the same game. same goes for these next two:

mike andrews with bob oliver of the royals sliding in. nice astroturf.the diminutive freddie patek.baseball almanac shows ed spiezio as number 5 for the white sox in 1972. he is listed at 5'-11", but looks like frank howard next to patek. beware the headless umpire!

more research shows that oliver was with the royals only at the beginning of the 1972 season, while spiezio didn't join the white sox until later that year.

the card that made the trade, though is this one. luis alvarado.

where do i begin? check out the muscle cars! the weeds in the outfield! the chain link fence! the power lines! the cinder block wall and residence behind it! this card looks like it was taken at little league tryouts.

i was at first confused about the direction of the photo, but it looks like the picture is taken from the first base side, maybe a bit behind the bag and down the line. next, knowing what i know about the 1973 set, i wasn't sure whether alvarado was number 38 or the other guy. baseball almanac lists number 38 as phil regan. well, that's not phil regan. alvarado is a shortstop, so he must be the one taking the throw.

alvarado managed to play parts of 9 seasons for 6 teams. a pedestrian career, but one of the most gloriously strange cards i have ever seen.