Airbrushed Fridays: 1974 Topps #208

It was a big week for me, as I actually managed to successfully get three packages out the door. Little successes!

Mike Marshall was a former All-Star screwball-tossing reliever who played for an impressive 9 major league teams over the course of 14 seasons. He has previously appeared in this feature here. Also pictured is John Hiller, as this card highlight's the top firemen of the 1973 season, based on a ranking system that gives equal weight to a pitching win as it does a save. Marshall led the NL in saves, but he also had 14 wins (and 11 losses) over the course of a 179 IP season in which he started no games at all in some sort of bizarro version of pre-Tony La Russa managed baseball.

Why did Topps airbrush Mike's photo? It's rare that I can say this, but I honestly have zero idea. Marshall had spent the last 3+ seasons in an Expos uniform before an offseason trade to the Dodgers as noted in the previous Mike Marshall post. Can anyone explain this? He is actually airbrushed into his former uniform.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? That Expos logo is awful. It's like two different people handled each side of it or something. Also, Marshall appears to be wearing a ghostly baseball equivalent of a hospital gown instead of a proper uniform. Maybe I'm just letting my imagination run wild tonight.

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.

Airbrushed Fridays: 1974 Topps Traded #73T

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here's this week's airbrushing victim, just in time to enjoy with some holiday nog.

Mike Marshall was one of the most durable relievers of all-time, not to be confused with the similarly named Dodgers outfielder who primarily played in the '80s. Marshall relied heavily on the screwball, an old-timey pitch that nobody seems to know how to throw anymore.

Why did Topps airbrush Mike's photo? The back of the card tells the story. (I prefer it when they actually show stats on the back, but what do I know?) Marshall would go onto set MLB records for most appearances in a season (106), most consecutive appearances (13) and also logged more than 200 IP in the year the Dodgers acquired him.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? The huge "TRADED" banner does its best to obscure pretty much all of Marshall's uniform, but they still had to do something to the hat. Unfortunately, that something resulted in this unearthly glowing blue hat. If only there were red and green caps to match this, it would be quite fitting for the holidays. Unfortunately, it seems like it's mostly the blue caps and the occasional orange one that get this kind of treatment.

If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.