1980 Calbee Large: A Scarce and Intriguing Set (Part 4)
Part 4 of my 1980 Calbee Large survey. This segment features "The Japanese Joe DiMaggio" and a couple notable American players. Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Archive #24 Philip James - Outfielder (Taiyo) Nicknamed “Skip,” James is pegged as an outfielder for Taiyo but his defense at first is also first rate. Skip James played sparingly for the San Francisco Giants in 1977 and ‘78. In ‘79 he joined the Minor League Vancouver Canadians before making the move to NPB the following year . Although James had a solid season for the Whales (.269, 21 HR), 1980 would be his final year as a player. This card is notable as being one of only a few cards from block 1 (#1-48) to feature a player blurb rather than just basic statistics. #25 Yoshihiko Takahashi - Infielder (Hiroshima) Takahashi holds the NPB record for most consecutive games with a hit (33). I was a bit surprised this record does not belong to Ichiro, although Ichiro does have the record for most conse...