Everyone loves a trophy. In 1960, Topps created an All-Rookie Team and the baseball cards of outstanding young players had trophies added to their pictures.
There were a pair of National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees on the squad 40 years ago along with several all-stars and most valuable players.
The fourth member of the 1975 team to be profiled in the this series is Tom Veryzer.
Tom Veryzer was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Tigers in 1971. Veryzer was in the big leagues with the Tigers by 1973. He played in 18 games that season and then added 22 more the next year.
By 1975, Veryzer was the starting shortstop for the Tigers and he hit five of his 14 career homers with 48 RBI and a .252 batting average.
Veryzer was traded to Cleveland after the 1977 season as the Tigers had a 19-year old Alan Trammell ready to take over at short. He played four seasons in Cleveland before getting traded to the New York Mets prior to 1982.
A 12-year veteran, Veryzer finished his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1983-1984. He was in three games for the Cubs in the 1984 National League Championship Series against the San Diego Padres.
Next up in the series: Larry Parrish of the Montreal Expos.