What do you get when you have part Monster Card and part Terrible Card? It’s certainly a candidate for a Weird Card Wednesday. Scott Veatch found this Tommy Harper card of 1969 which is pretty wild. I’ve not found one quite like it. Definitely a card in need of a few asterisks.
The interesting thing about this odd card is that Harper played a full season in 1969. He played 148 games with 639 plate appearances for the Seattle Pilots. Yes, if there was any doubt, he led off for the short-lived expansion team.
Harper didn’t have much power but he did get on base (94 walks) and once there, he usually didn’t stay there. He stole 73 bases which led the American League. His .348 wasn’t bad considering he batted only .235.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Totals | 148 | 639 | 537 | 78 | 126 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 41 | 73 | 18 | 94 | 89 | .235 | .348 | .311 |
Kidding aside, Harper’s card is quite good. His result numbers are just re-arranged because of his speed numbers. By my count, he has eleven on-base chances against an A pitcher. That’s pretty good.
No, his card doesn’t have much power (one zero) and he has to rely on his speed numbers (an incredible 11-11-11-11-10) to get a hit (an 8 and a 9 otherwise) but this man gets on base and then some.
If his card isn’t strange enough, Harper has six 14s but has a 45-13.
Fun numbers: 31-11, 55-10, 61-14
Ugly numbers: 11-8, 22-14, 45-13
While he isn’t exactly a gloveman, Harper is also quite versatile, playing third, second and the outfield. He listed as playing 59 games at both 2B and 3B but has a few more innings at third. APBA made the right call listing 3B first. Those replayers who wish to play a realistic replay of the Pilots will need to suffer some of Harper’s bad play at second though.
as always, thanks Scott!
You’re going to cost me a hundred bucks for sure putting these original 1969 cards on here:) Oh could you ever annoy someone with this guy.
Thanks for posting this one.
I just did a project (with a rival game company) using some teams from the late 60s, and I had the same reaction with Harper. Thought “Geez, .235?!” and then looked closer at his card and saw “WALK” listings all over the place. He ended up being the 69 Pilots MVP over the course of my 30-game season, finishing 4th in a 6-team league in OBP. Bad defender, sure, but you can hide him at 3B and he’s a great lead-off option with that OBP.