01 February 2011

let's turn two with tony kubek

there are a handful of truly awesome double play cards that i have seen.  some i have posted here, such as the 1978 topps felix millan card (the first dp card i ever saw), the 1973 world series card (probably my favorite of all time), the 1971 topps cookie rojas, and the 1992 donruss juan bell/carlos quintana twin killing as well as some i haven't yet posted, like the 1971 topps dal maxvill, the 1994 topps stadium club omar vizquel or the 1991 topps walt weiss. 

well, here is one that is moving from the second group to the first.  it's a double play, it's vintage, and it is freaking shweet.  it's a 1962 topps tony kubek action card - 'kubek makes the double play'.
he didnt' turn it, he made it.  take note suckers.  of course, kubek may be well remembered for the double play he didn't make. 

i don't know how many of you watched game 7 of the 1960 world series when the mlb network aired it a few weeks ago.  i watched the last couple of innings and it was nice to finally understand why kubek was replaced in the bottom of the 8th inning after a bill virdon single (i had only looked at the play-by-play on baseballreference until then).  it wasn't so much a single as it was a nasty bouncer that took a bad hop and struck kubek in the neck.  if kubek fields that ball cleanly, the scene on this card is mirrored, there are two outs with nobody on, and maybe maz doesn't come to bat the next inning (although, if you assume that everyone else does exactly what they did following the virdon at bat, mazeroski would bat with two outs in the 9th).

here's to you tony kubek, master of making the double play!

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