As a veteran in the league, Tito must have gotten pretty tired of rookies messing with his hat. So he grabbed the masking tape, wrote his name in big letters and stuck it on his hat, Tito's hat. In this picture, he's leering at 22 year-old Mike Ivie, who recently filled Fuentes' hat with shaving cream. Did I mention that you should not, under any circumstances, mess with Tito's hat!Fuentes led the league in errors in '71 and '72, then set a record in '73 for fewest errors. Ryne Sandberg broke the record later.
Here's proof that I may be a Tito Fuentes Super-Collector:
Fun Facts about Tito Fuentes.1. Actual first name: Rigoberto
2. When he reached base: fans yelled "Go-Go"
3. Hobby: Ping Pong
4. Current Occupation: Analyst for the Giants Spanish broadcast.
5. Autograph: Dots his "i" with a star (See '75 Topps card)
Next Up: I put this tribute to bed, show off Eck, Brett, Ryan, and Aaron, and move on to something new. Maybe even follow-up on the contest I held long ago!
4 comments:
There look to be at least 5 guys in that last card from at least 3 teams. Which one is Tito?
You gotta love old action shots. Tito is the one with his knee in that 2nd baseman's face. He must have messed with his hat.
I think it's Giants vs. Reds. That could be McCovey's rear in the foreground.
I first thought it was the Reds, but I now think it's the Astros at Candlestick. Tito is #23, having taken out the second baseman (Tommy Helms?) on a steal attempt and the shortstop walking by looks a little like Roger Metzger. The outfielder coming in looks like Cesar Cedeno from CF. The hats don't look like the Reds' "c" as much as they look like the Astros' "h" inside the star. The color seems to be way off, although the photo would be from '72, when the Astros had more of a burnt orange instead of the flaming orange they started around '75 or so. The other reason I think it's the Astros is that the Reds almost never had two caucasian middle infielders in 1972. Darrel Chaney played a lot of SS, but their other middle infielders were Joe Morgan, Davey Concepcion and Julian Javier.
If it's a stolen base against the Astros on 4/22/72, then the rear in the foreground is none other than Willie Howard Mays walking away from the batters box.
fanTAStic.
Post a Comment