1977 mike hargrove

mike hargrove was known as the human rain delay thanks to his antics in and around the batters' box. i know him also as a weak variant in the 1977 o-pee-chee set. here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

see?  the photo is ever so slightly cropped differently and his facsimilie autograph is rotated.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

who's on first?  mike hargrove.  as the rangers' first baseman, hargrove had one of his better years in 1977. he set a career high with 18 home runs and hit .305 while playing in 153 games. he also had an obp of .420, which was good for third in the league. it made sense, then, that hargrove hit lead-off despite being a first baseman. in fact, he had 5 lead-off home runs in 1977, including 4 in a one week span.

voici à vous, 1977 mike hargrove!