Vintage Fridays: Earl Robinson, 1961 Topps #343

Let this card serve as a reminder that Topps has been clumsily manipulating images for several decades. It's not just a recent thing. In this case, Earl Robinson's Dodgers helmet has been painted over with an orange and black that look more like red and navy blue. The Orioles had just purchased his contract the previous December, so Topps didn't have many options here. Earl would play in a career-high 96 games for the O's in 1961, batting .266 with a strong .354 on-base percentage. He totaled 8 home runs and 30 RBI, and his .455 slugging percentage was second-best on the team behind Jim Gentile. Robinson never stuck in Baltimore, though; he saw action in just 29 games in 1962 and another 37 contests in 1964. As it stands, he has had to accept his fate as the third-best Robinson in Orioles history. Of course, the competition is pretty fierce.