1974 hank aaron special (1966 - 1967)

here we are with yet another hank aaron special.  it's the 1974 o-pee-chee hank aaron special (1966 - 1967):

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

so, with this card we learn, among other things, that 'baseball writers voted hank the braves' mvp' in 1967.  not surprising, but why didn't they vote him league mvp?  orlando cepeda was the unanimous choice, yet aaron, who finished fifth in the voting, had more at bats, runs, hits, home runs, stolen bases and walks.  he had two fewer rbi (109 to cepeda's 111), a lower batting average (.307 to cepeda's .325), a lower obp (.369 to cepeda's .399) but had a better ops (.943 to cepeda's .923).  aaron led the league in runs, home runs, total bases, and slugging percentage.  cepeda led the league in rbi only, by the slim margin i mentioned earlier.  of course, the fact that the cardinals won the pennant probably had a lot to do with the voting.  perhaps a greater indignation to aaron is that tim mccarver was second in the voting!

note that number 7 in the topps set is jim hunter, which created another checklist variation we covered here. 

voici à vous, 1974 hank aaron special (1966 - 1967)!