I guess you could call this Terrible Terrell? Minnesota native and journeyman infielder Jerry Terrell’s 1978 card has a few good qualities but you can’t escape the perils of his 51-13.
Terrell played for eight years exclusively in the AL and was known for dividing his time equally between third, short and second. He never was known as an offensive threat but in 1978 with KC, it really went south. With .203/.225/.211 numbers in 147 plate appearances, there just wasn’t anything there.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 Totals | 73 | 147 | 133 | 14 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 13 | .203 | .225 | .211 |
Again, with Terrell, he has a couple upsides with this card. One, he’s fast. Not only did he get a (F) rating but because of 8 stolen bases in 147 plate appearances, APBA had to squeeze in his stolen bases the best they could. They did so by giving him an 11 and a 10 plus 27 second column 11s behind one zero.
Terrell is also pretty versatile in the field by playing three high-demand positions and not sucking at them.
But Jerry “Snowflakes” Terrell pays the price for the 11 and the 10. He has hit numbers 0- 7 –8-8-9-9-10-11 before it degrades into 31-36 and a 51-13.
Interesting notes about this card
- because of Terrell’s relatively low K count, his 13s are placed at 51 and 13. As a result, he has unconventional result numbers like 35-32, 26-30, and 42-30.
- Terrell was given the error number 21at 53. The 21 is normally reserved for pitchers. However, APBA will occasionally hand them out to players who don’t have a primary position especially infielders.
- APBA played a little merry-go-round with Terrell’s numbers because of the placement of the 12 at 36. The 33 which normally goes there was moved to 63 and 31 was moved to 24. I’m pretty sure that was common for players that year.
- Finally, read this article entitled,
Where have you gone, Jerry Terrell?
- if you want to find out how someone could get two standing ovations in a 12-run loss.
- Only in KC.
anybody know where he got the nickname, Snowflakes? did a quick search but couldn’t find anything.
almost afraid to ask. :)
Met Jerry Terrell when he played for the Fort Myers Sun Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He was still fairly fast and could pick it at short, but his body broke down part way through the season. He was just too old. Great guy, though.
Wow a 63-33. thats pretty horrible. How many double plays did this guy hit into anyway? I would never use this guy on a hit and run that is certain. In fact the only redeeming value this guy has is the 11/10 for pinch running.
I almost wonder if they could have gone with a single column on this guy the way his second column is set up?
Honestly, I went through my ’78 set last weekend and pulled Terrell and Luis Pujols as Terrible Tuesday offerings. But a family matter arose. Cards are still on the kitchen table.
Tom, great minds think alike :)
hope all is well.
Jerry Terrell cards always had a special place in my heart, only because of his birthplace, Waseca MN. My mom was from Waseca and I spent many summertime days in Waseca playing APBA during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. I do believe the nickname “Snowflakes” came to him while he was with the Twins. Reading a few anecdotes about his playing days with the Twins, I gathered he was not well liked by many Twins players.