1973 Darrell Evans, the man Bill James once called “the most underrated player in baseball history, absolutely number one on the list,”
Evans 1973 slash line was: .
281 41 104 .403 .556. Evans led the NL in walks in 1973 with 124. He played in 161 games and had well over 700 PA, so his card will be bullet proof.
Evans teamed with Hank Aaron and Dave Johnson to make the 1973 Braves the first team in baseball history to have 3 players with 40 or more HRs during the same season.
Below is a preview of what his 1973 card looks like from the '70s mystery card game (make sure to click on the 1973 season). Not only is Evans a lefty bat at 3B, but he is one of those rare lefties who hits lefties better than righties. His 1973 card has good power and high OBP and he plays respectable D,
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/pl ... /1670/1/70He currently has two mediocre cards, his 1974 card with Atlanta and his 1984 card with Detroit, in the ATG set that are seldom used. Near needless to say, there are numerous less accomplished players with cards for their best season who lack Evans' longevity and productivity.
Evans' 1973 card would get a lot of use in boomer parks and lefty parks as a lower priced alternative to other lefty third basemen like Brett, Boggs and Mathews and as a greater offensive threat than Ventura and Nettles.
Evans' best card is worthy of inclusion in the ATG card set on its own merits. To those who play franchise leagues, it would be unfair to deny the 1973 Evans card inclusion in the ATG set merely because Milwaukke/Atlanta has good Eddie Mathews cards from the 1950s or good Chipper Jones cards from 1999 and 2008. But, depending on the franchise league rules, if it's any card of any team to which a player is carded, since Evans' 1984 card is for Detroit, Evans 1973 card could be used by Detoit, as the Detroit post WWII and expansion franchise is in perpetual need of a 3rd baseman and 1973 Evans would more than fill the bill.
Evans kind of reminds me of a lefty version of Dave Kingman in that they both had good power, but with 3 major differences:
1. Evans generally hit for a higher BA than Kingman;
2. Evans had a much higher career OBP than Kingman;
3. Evans was a better defensive player than Kingman.
We have Kingman's best card. Why not Evans?