Pitchers that throw the ball with a sidearm motion are unsettling. From the batter’s perspective the ball looks like it is heading straight at his head from the point of release. From the stands it looks like the pitcher doesn’t quite know how to throw a ball until a satisfying *pop* emanates from the catcher’s mitt. Coaches who grew up throwing overhand don’t seem to know what to say when confronted with a sidearm delivery. It just looks weird.
St. Louis Cardinals reliever Al Brazle threw with just such a motion and the odd appearances don’t stop there. The photograph used in his Topps card from the same year is taken from a low angle, amplifying a long neck to an almost comical degree. Brazle resembles a sauropod reaching up into the green foliage background to grab a mouthful of leaves. The photo retouching artist, clearly distracted by Brazle’s giant neck, painted the Cardinals baseball cap blue instead of black.
You know what else looks odd about this card? The corners and borders are very sharp. That is due to the fact that a previous owner used a razor to trim the card. I don’t mind trimmed cards, so long as I do not have to pay anything close to what a high-grade example would cost. This particular card was purchased from a seller who had a half dozen similarly modified cards in his possession. I hope to find more like it.
Even His 1952 Bowman Card Is Strange
The oddities don’t stop with Brazle’s 1952 Topps card. The biographical text on that year’s Bowman issue begins by calling him a “reliefer.” At least the writer recognized him as a good reliefer. Maybe Brazle can throw a strike to the “catch-em-upper” behind the plate or induce a ground ball to be fielded by one of his team’s “fielderers.”
