#644 - Wayne Granger

I’d always thought this was a legit shot of Wayne in his new uniform. Those pinstripes are sure real but on closer inspection that “NY” on the cap is not and the setting sure isn’t Yankee Stadium. This, I think, is a spring training shot in one of the old Minnesota pinstriped shirts. That means that might be Joe Decker in the background if that’s a 23 on that uniform. All conjecture of course but if correct this puts him back in ’72, which would represent pretty much the last year of the first good part of his MLB career. ’73 began with his trade back to St. Louis for an outfielder who seemed mired in the minors but would strike gold in Minnesota, Larry Hisle. Oops. Then he and the Cards got off to a horrid start, the team opening the season 3-22 and Wayne going a month-plus before pitching in a game the team won. While he would finish May strongly he threw uneven ball the rest of the way, recording only five saves through early August. By then it was apparent he was no longer the stopper he had been and he was sent to the Yankees for minor league pitcher Ken Crosby. He would pitch better the rest of the way for NY but suffered some porous defense behind him – twice as many runs as earned ones – and by the time this card came out he was released. Just before the ’74 season tipped off he was signed by the White Sox so he would remain in a version of pinstripes but by then arm pain would dictate his career path and he wouldn’t get another card until ’76 when he popped back in the NL with a perm and a new team. But with his serious mien Wayne seemed ready for anything.

Wayne Granger grew up in Huntington, Massachusetts, where he was apparently always skinny but played hoops and baseball before going to nearby Springfield College after graduating in ’63. After a year of ball there he signed with St. Louis as a free agent early in ’65 and after a rough start in Double A got things going in A ball, going a combined 11-12 with a 3.10 ERA in the rotation. Wayne could throw heat but he also had a pretty wicked sinker that he could throw anywhere from full overhand to sidearm. Those pitches would become his out pitches from then on. In ’66 he moved back to Double A and the pen and had a big season, going 11-2 with a 1.80 ERA while helping his club to the league title. In ’67 he moved to a spot role in Triple A with an 8-7/3.03 line and then the next year returned exclusively to the pen where a 4-3/2.16 start to the season had him in St. Louis by early summer.

Granger got called up in June of ’68 right into a pennant race in the wake of injuries to reliever Ron Willis and some ineffective pitching by starter Dick Hughes, two guys who were big contributors to the ’67 title. Wayne responded well with a nice record and four saves as he gradually moved into a closer role before throwing a couple of Series innings. But after the season the Cards needed to fill a hole with Roger Maris’ retirement so Wayne and outfielder Bobby Tolan were sent to Cincinnati for Vada Pinson. It was a very good trade for the Reds as Wayne pretty much immediately took over the closer role, setting a record with his 90 games and recording 27 saves to win TSN’s Fireman of the Year award. He kept things going in ’70 when he set another record with his 35 saves to win his second straight FOY and help take Cincy to the post-season for the first time in a decade. Things got a bit sloppy there, though, when he gave up a grand slam to Baltimore pitcher Dave McNally. Still, Wayne returned in ’71 to a team that would be greatly diminished by injuries, though he was able to again lead the NL in games pitched with 70. But the saves were harder to come by and late in the season his ERA got elevated a bit as he lost closing time to Pedro Borbon. Wayne finished with eleven saves and after the season he was sent to Minnesota for another slight reliever – though leftie – Tom Hall.

With the Twins in ’72 Granger put together a pretty good season, lowering his ERA a bit and nearly doubling his saves total to 19. But a lot of that good work was front-loaded – by late June he had a 0.70 ERA and 13 saves - and some tough summer outings led to losing lots of late closing time to Dave LaRoche. After the series of moves he landed in Chicago early in ’74 and spent nearly all of that season in Triple A where he went 10-3 as a spot guy with a 3.24 ERA and five saves. He then signed as a free agent with Houston for whom he returned to the MLB level, doing mostly set-up work while going 2-5/3.65 with five saves. After being released following the season he signed with Montreal and split ’76 between Jarry Park – 1-0/3.66 with two saves in 27 games – and Triple A where he went 3-1/2.45 with six saves in 26 games. After then signing with and being released by the Braves Wayne relocated to Mexico where he pitched the next two seasons, primarily for Durango. In ’79 he threw for three leagues – Inter-American; Mexican; and in Triple A – in what would be his final season. He finished with an MLB mark of 35-35 with nary a start, a 3.14 ERA and 108 saves. In the post-season that grand slam killed him as he had an 11.25 ERA in his four games. In the minors he was 49-32 with a 3.01 ERA.

After his playing career ended Granger made his home in Florida, where he worked in sporting goods, at a boat dealership, and then for 15 years ran his own billiards business. In ’82 he was inducted into the Cincinnati hall of fame. After selling the billiards shop he returned to Massachusetts where he is retired.

There is no shortage of star bullets for Wayne here with his two big seasons in Cincinnati. On the back of his ’69 card Topps made a big typo, indicating that he helped his Reds team to the Series when it was actually St. Louis.

I sure didn’t see this hook-up coming but here goes:

1. Granger and Dave LaRoche ’72 Twins;

2. LaRoche and Ken Landreaux ’77 to ’78 Angels;

3. Landreaux and Steve Garvey – or a few other guys – ’81 to ’82 Dodgers;

4. Garvey was on the ’73 Dodgers.

When Ken Landreaux went to the Twins as part of the deal for Rod Carew he said it should have been even up and that he’d make the Minnesota fans forget Carew. That guy had balls.

#635 - Johnny Edwards

This card gets us to pretty much the end of the final card run that has recently characterized this set. Johnny Edwards’ card is the eleventh out of the last 13 non-team cards that represent that person’s final Topps card. Here he crouches at the Houston spring training facility prior to his penultimate season. Johnny began ’73 as the starting Houston catcher, which he’d been since the ’69 season. But an injury early in June took him out of the line-up for about six weeks which made things kind of tough for the club because the Astros had just traded his regular back-up Larry Howard to Atlanta. So they pulled up Skip Jutze from the minors and he did a pretty good job while Johnny was out and then split time with him the rest of the way. In ’74 Houston traded for Milt May and also called up Cliff Johnson so Johnny’s plate time declined pretty significantly and he would retire following the season. He’s pretty pensive in this photo and I like that he has an empty sack behind him. Somehow it seems appropriate for a final card.

Initially, Johnny Edwards was Ohio all the way. Born and raised in Columbus, he played basketball and baseball in high school and in the latter sport was all-state his senior year of ’56 while also serving as class president. A pretty smart guy, Johnny would then go to Ohio State on a baseball scholarship and his sophomore year he led the Buckeyes with 24 hits to earn second-team all Big Ten while earning a degree in engineering which he completed in ’63. In the meantime he was signed by Cincinnati early in ’59 and that year had a bang up season in C ball, putting up a .320/16/99 line while leading league catchers in putouts and double plays. In ’60 he moved up to Double A where he had a .293/14/70 line while continuing to improve defensively. After beginning the season in Triple A in ’61 with a .264/8/39 line in under half a season he was called up to Cincinnati.

Edwards reached the bigs in late June of ’61 and arrived in the middle of a pennant race. He scored and knocked in a run in his debut but his offense that season wasn’t his strong suit. While behind the plate he did excellent work with the Reds pitching staff in helping take Cincinnati to the Series. Then he led the team in batting with a .364 average with two doubles and two RBI’s in the loss to NY. In ’62 he replaced Jerry Zimmerman as the starting catcher and over the next four seasons Johnny would establish himself as one of the NL’s premier receivers, over that time earning three straight All-Star nods and two Gold Gloves. He was a defensive specialist and during that time led the NL at least once in each major fielding category and had a significantly better percentage than league average in throwing out runners. His hitting generally improved each year of that run as well as he topped out in RBI’s in ’63 and average in ’64. He seemed on the way to bettering both those numbers in ’65 when he missed some time due to a shoulder injury. In ’66 he was having a good spring when on the last day of training camp he broke a finger on his right hand, which was his throwing one. In order to attempt to keep him in the line-up his finger was set so that it would be able to hold a baseball but it made holding a bat difficult and made hitting problematic. So Johnny’s average dove significantly that year as he missed a bunch of time anyway and it remained at that depressed level in ’67 just in time for the debut of a new kid named Johnny Bench, already obviously the team’s next starting catcher. After the season this Johnny was sent to St. Louis for catcher Pat Corrales and pitcher Jimmy Williams.

Edwards had some pretty good timing his first seasons with new teams and again in ’68 moved to a team in a pennant race. Tim McCarver was the starting catcher and initially Johnny wasn’t too crazy about the trade but he would end up pretty much splitting time behind the plate with McCarver as each receiver worked exclusively with his own starting pitchers. In Johnny’s case his two were Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, who combined for a record of 35-20 in Gibson’s MVP season. He recorded only three errors all year and threw out 56% of the few runners that reached base against his starters. But after the season he was sent to Houston for catcher Dave Adlesh and reliever Dave Giusti in an attempt to shore up the St. Louis bullpen. This time Edwards wasn’t stepping into anything like a pennant race. But in ’69 he did return to an uncontested starting role for the Astros which allowed him to post his best RBI totals since ’65. He would retain that role pretty much through his ’73 injury, though he also missed a bunch of time to injury in ’71, and continued to do excellent defensive work. In ’74 he closed things out behind Milt May and he finished with a .242 average with 81 homers and 524 RBI’s and a .333 post-season average in his four games. Defensively he is in the top 20 all-time in putouts behind the plate, the top 50 in double plays, and the top 100 in assists. He finished his career throwing out 39% of attempted base stealers.

Edwards did not rest on his baseball laurels, either while playing or thereafter. Earning his degree allowed him to pursue a meaningful career away from baseball and from ’64 to ’69 he was a research engineer at the GE Nuclear Materials Lab in Cincinnati. After he was traded to Houston he became the Quality Engineering Manager for Cameron ironworks in that city. After his baseball career ended in early ’75 he was named that company’s Operating Manager of its Critical Service Product Line. In ’92 he moved to CTC International where he was a vice-president and then in ’95 upon that company’s purchase by Baker-Hughes he was a Plant Manager until his retirement in 2002. He continues to reside in the Houston area and will make appearances on behalf of the Astros.

Johnny’s signature sort of deteriorates by the end there. His fine defensive work shows up in his star bullet and his cartoon highlights his degree. Part of the reason he was pissed about his trade away from Cincinnati was because of his work there away from baseball, though maybe it was a good thing he got away from the nuclear testing facility.

Since Johnny did some pretty sensitive work away from baseball his card seems an appropriate place to return to Watergate goings-on. At this point it was late ’73 and both the missing tapes and the missing section of one tape were central to the case:

12/7/73 – Another tape with at least a partial Watergate theme is reported to have a segment that was now blank. At this point Judge John Sirica indicated his preference to have the tapes moved to the US Courthouse in DC. The tapes had remained with the White House for transcription but the two missing segments were making various people wary that the tapes would be further compromised if left there. Alexander Haig – always good for a quote, however off base it was – opined that “some sinister force” must have erased the segments.

2/6/74 – Watergate took a breather for the holiday recess and then the State of the Union but on this date the first big fallout was evidenced by the House of Representatives authorizing the Juciciary Committee to investigate grounds for impeaching President Nixon.

Again we get a double hook-up to Eddie Mathews. First to him as a manager:

1. Edwards and Orlando Cepeda ’68 Cardinals;

2. Cepeda and Hank Aaron ’69 to ’72 Braves;

3. Aaron was managed by Eddie Mathews on the ’72 to ’74 Braves.

For Eddie as a player it works like this:

1. Edwards and Joe Morgan ’69 to ’71 Astros;

2. Morgan and Eddie Mathews ’67 Astros.

#622 - Phil Gagliano

By this point in his career Phil Gagliano’s position – despite what the card says – was pinch hitter. During the Seventies Phil had made himself a bit of a franchise in that role and in his 41 pinch at bats during the '73 season he hit .300 with six RBI’s and a .480 OBA. But Phil was no liability in the field. In fact he put in time at every infield and outfield position during his career. Phil had come to Cincinnati before the season with outfielder Andy Kosco for pitcher Mel Behney, a one-time big deal draft pick out of Michigan State who never really made it. Both Phil and Andy would serve as excellent role players for the division winners in ’73 in their penultimate seasons. Phil had a fat grin on just about every one of his Topps cards so it’s too bad that this would be his final one.

Phil Gagliano was born and raised in Memphis and at Christian Brothers high school, where he was all-state as a senior in hoops, he was teammates with Tim McCarver. Phil was signed by St. Louis just before his 18^th birthday in ’59 and got things rolling the right way the next year with a .290 average in D ball and a .315 in Double A ball during which he was primarily a shortstop. In ’61 he moved up to Triple A and over to second base where for the next three years he averaged a .263/7/43 stat line while regularly finishing among league fielding leaders. After a short debut early in ’63 he returned to St. Louis for the first half of the ’64 season where he backed up Julian Javier at second before moving back to shortstop and hitting .262 in Triple A the rest of the way. In ’65 Phil returned to The Show and demonstrated his versatility while starting a bunch of games at second, third, and right field, and putting up a decent RBI total in the process. He would fill a reserve role in those positions the balance of the Sixties, getting his primary starts at third in ’66 and at second the rest of the way. He won another Series ring in ’67 and returned to the championship in ’68, getting some reserve work in both Series. Early in the ’70 season he was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Ted Abernathy.

With the Cubs Gagliano presaged his pinch hitting ability by lofting a two-RBI double in his first Chicago at bat. He spent the balance of the season doing back-up work at second before a trade to Boston after the year for infielder Carmen Fanzone. With the Sox Phil got some occasional outfield starts but his specialty was his pinch work: in ’71 he put up a .333/0/8 stat line with a .481 OBA in his 22 at bats and in ’72 his line improved to .346/0/10/.438 in his 26 pinch at bats. He then moved to Cincinnati and one last post-season before playing things out in ’74 in more reserve work. Phil finished with a .238/14/159 line for his MLB work and was a career .269 hitter in the minors. He went hitless in his seven post-season at bats.

Gagliano had made St. Louis his permanent home while playing with the Cards and after his playing time was over began his post-baseball life there. For two years he worked as a salesman for Paramount Liquors, a local wholesaler. He then moved to a firm called Durbin Durco, an industrial hardware company, and during a 17-year stay there moved from sales to become its head of operations. He then did other work until he retired in 2002 and relocated to the small town of Hollister, MO. A couple of his grandkids, Kyle and Conner Mach, have done some recent time in the Giants and Yankees systems, respectively.

Topps uses the same theme I have for this blog in the star bullets. That hobby was usually associated with a New York guy but maybe I'm being too provincial. SABR has a bio on Phil but you have to buy a book to read it.

To keep things rolling I am going to forgo the Watergate stuff for a bit. For this hook-up Phil and Bernie just missed each other and had a bunch of teams in common:

1. Gagliano and Bob Gibson ’63 to ’70 Cardinals;

2. Gibson and Bernie Carbo ’72 to ’73 Cardinals.

#568 - Mike Torrez

July was sort of a lost month posting-wise so it’s good to come back to an action shot, this one of Mike Torrez going through his pitching motion at Shea, which will be one of many homes for him down the road. Mike was expected to have a big year in ’73 after his huge improvement the prior year and if he even approached the success he had in ’72 it’s very likely the Expos would have made the playoffs. But things roll that way sometimes and he wasn’t the only guy on the staff to go south in ’73 as Bailor Moore and staff ace Bill Stoneman had tough years as well. The good news for Mike, though, was that his year would be an abberation in what was a pretty good run for him in the Seventies. Mike was a location guy who could throw some heat. I remember during the ’77 season how Phil Rizzuto would explain how his job was to keep nibbling at the corners, which explained his relatively high walk totals, at leaset compared to his strikeouts. I am pretty sure that’s how he pitched pretty much his whole career, and it wasn’t a bad one so let’s check it out.

Mike Torrez grew up in Topeka, Kansas, where in high school he was a basketball star and only played baseball in summer leagues because his school dropped the sport. By happenstance one of his coaches was a scout for St. Louis and on his recommendation the Cards signed Mike in ’64, after he finished his senior American Legion season. His career began a bit less than swimmingly the next summer when he was 4-8 with a 4.79 ERA in A ball. He fixed that in ’66 when he went 7-4 at the same level, cut his walks in half, and had a 2.50 ERA. The second half of that season was spent in Double A and while Mike went only 3-9, his ERA remained low at 2.62 so in ’67 he moved up to Triple A. There he went 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA before making his MLB debut that September. In ’68 he put up some nice early numbers as a spot guy in St. Louis but with all the innings hogs the team had, he wasn’t getting enough work and he returned to Triple A to go 8-2 with a 3.24 ERA. Both years he missed post-season work. In ’69 he stayed in St. Louis the whole season, again doing spot work, and posting a very good record while putting up an NL-average ERA. In ’70 he joined the rotation and his innings moved up considerably, but so did his ERA as his record went the other way. After a lackluster start to the ’71 season he went to Montreal for pitcher Bob Reynolds.

Going to the Expos was not exactly a cure for Torrez’s lost season. Montreal initially sent him to Triple A Winnipeg, where in a spot role he went 2-4 with an 8.16 ERA and the usual high number of walks. It would later be revealed that Mike was out of shape, both physically and emotionally, in part because of a rough divorce he was undertaking. But he pitched well in his only game up top, got in shape over the winter, and had a good spring training in ’72. Then he put up his biggest season to date after returning to the rotation, completing 13 of his starts and finally recording more strikeouts than walks. After his step back in ’73 he went 15-8 with a 3.57 ERA the next year and got his K/BB ratio on the right side again. But it would be his final season in Montreal as, in one of the worst trades ever, the Expos sent him and Ken Singleton to Baltimore for Dave McNally, Rich Coggins, and a minor leaguer. Coggins would have that weird thyroid thing that would minimize his playing time up north and McNally retired pretty much immediately. In the meantime Singleton began his career as an offensive force in the AL and Mike went 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA and 16 complete games. He did lead the AL in walks but with that better defense behind him and the season he was having, he could afford that luxury. But then he was gone again, this time to Oakland, who was looking to unload two of its disgruntled stars before they all left to free agency. So Mike, Don Baylor, and Paul Mitchell (not the hair guy) went to the A’s for Ken Holtzman and Reggie Jackson. Mike wouldn’t win 20 this time but he would still have an excellent year, going 16-12 for a team that nearly won the division again. He recorded four shutouts and cut his walk total by over a third, both of which contributed to a career-best 2.50 ERA. In ’77 he began the season 3-1, a real achievement for the decimated A’s, before hitting the road again, this time to the Yankees, where he went for Dock Ellis, Larry Murray, and Marty Perez. While Mike only went 14-12 the rest of the way for NY, he ate a lot of innings with his 15 complete games, and he helped provide a nice balance to lefthanders Ron Guidry and Don Gullett. While he would give an iffy performance in the playoffs against Kansas City, he became a real stopper in the Series, going 2-0 against LA with a 2.50 ERA. 15 K’s, and only five walks in his two starts. Mike liked NY and was looking to stay there but when contract negotiations came up the Bombers were looking for a five-year deal and Boston offered seven so Mike moved yet again, this time to the Red Sox as a free agent.

Torrez would post identical records of 16-13 his first two seasons in Boston and, while he continued to eat up innings and posted a better-than-average ERA, his most high profile moments for the Sox were negatives: in ’78 he gave up the Bucky Dent homer in the one-game playoff with the Yankees; and in ’79 he led the AL in both earned runs and walks. In ’80 his ERA popped to over 5.00 as he went 9-16 for his first losing season since ’73. In ’81 he was rolling pretty well but the strike sort of killed his momentum though he finished the year with very ’69-ish numbers of 10-3 with a 3.68 ERA. After a 9-9 season in ’82 with another fat ERA, he was sent back to NY following the season, this time to the Mets. For a pretty bad team, Mike almost did the negative Triple Crown thing, leading the NL in losses, earned runs, and walks, going 10-17 with a 4.38 ERA. After a 1-5 start to the ’84 season he was cut and then picked up by Oakland. Back with the A’s his numbers weren’t too hot either in Oakland or for his few Triple A games, and he was again released. In ’85 he hooked up with the independent Miami Marlins of the Class A Florida State League. He did well enough, going 7-8 with a 2.80 ERA in his 19 starts but got no takers. His pitching career over, Mike finished 185-160 with a 3.96 ERA, 117 complete games, and 15 shutouts. In the post-season he went 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA in four games.

Following his career Torrez returned to the NYC area where in ’86 he became a marketing guy for an office furniture and supply company which he did through ’94. Later that year he founded MAT Premiums, a business that attaches logos to pretty much anything. He is still running the business, though now he commutes to its east coast base from back in Kansas, where he returned in the mid-2000’s. He has an interview on the Jimmy Scott blog that is linked to here.

Mike isn’t a lover of capital letters in his signature. His star bullets are rightfully all about ’72. This is his third card in which the cartoon recognizes his affinity for cars, though that hobby didn’t come up in the above interview.

Mike’s longest stop was with the Sox, so let’s see how he gets with the ’73 version:

1. Torrez and Carlton Fisk ’78 to ’80 Red Sox (I could also have used Yaz, Tiant, Lee, and Dwight Evans);

2. Fisk was on the ’73 Red Sox.

#556 - Dave Campbell

Dave Campbell’s final card has him doing the on deck thing at Candlestick. Topps covers nearly all the bases with Dave’s positions here, giving the “infield” abbreviation a period but not the “outfield” one one. By this point in his career Dave’s hamstring issues had pretty much immobilized him but he was able to gut himself back into the San Diego starting line-up at second in late April and by mid-May was hitting .333. But then things went south pretty quickly and he left the Padres on an 0 for 15 run that became an 0 for 36 run when he then went to Houston, and reached 0 for 43 before he had his first hit in his eighth game for the Astros. But while still with San Diego Dave had already begun sowing the seeds for his next career, which not too unlike his playing one started a bit rockily. But in that one he’d engineer a much longer run.

Dave Campbell was born in Michigan where he grew up playing ball and continued to do so when he went to the University of Michigan. His sophomore year of ’62 he helped take the Wolverines to the CWS title, pretty impressive given the school only played about a third of the games of most their tournament competition. Despite being offered contracts by the Braves and the Red Sox he remained in school through his ’64 graduation, earning a degree in education. Then, signed finally by his home-state Tigers, he killed his few games in A ball, hitting .369 with 13 RBI’s in his 65 at bats. He cooled off a ton to hit .209 the rest of the way in Double A. At both levels he played mostly shortstop and first as he had in college. In ’65 he improved to .310 in Double A the first third of the season and then hit .247 the rest of the way in Triple A, that year adding some outfield starts to his portfolio. A weak start in Triple A in ’66 had him back to Double A a third of the way through the season where he hit .228 in the first year in which most of his starts were at second. In ’67 he stuck at the higher level where he hit .246 but with 20 homers from the top of the order. He made his Detroit debut late that year. In ’68 back at Triple A he upped his offensive numbers to .265 with 26 homers and 64 RBI’s (vs. 36 the prior year) in 130 less at bats, partly due to a case of mono. Up top he recorded his first hit in an August game which was a home run. In ’69 he made the Detroit roster out of camp but got very little action, putting up a pretty miserable average in his few at bats. He did hit during his couple send downs to Triple A putting up a .427 average in a bit over 100 at bats. After the season he was sent to San Diego with Pat Dobson for Joe Niekro.

Campbell was named the Padres’ second baseman shortly after the trade was announced. He would have a good season defensively, leading NL second basemen in putouts and assists. He began the season hitting well enough, but a big mid-year slump pulled down his average, though his 28 doubles, twelve homers, and 18 stolen bases – which led the team – were hopeful. In ’71 Dave got some competition in training camp from new guys Don Mason and Garry Jestadt and so when regular third baseman Ed Spiezio got hurt in training camp, Dave got the opening day start at that position. He would grab a bunch more starts there but when Spiezio returned Mason had pretty much established himself at second and Dave would end up splitting starts with him for most of the balance of the season. He had another mid-year slump which pulled down his average and his power didn’t match his ’70 numbers, which was too bad since Mason wasn’t exactly a stellar guy on offense (though he did strike out a lot less). In early September Dave’s season ended with his first heel operation. In ’72 the initial plan was to have Jestadt start at third – he’d hit .291 for San Diego in ’71 – and new guy Derrell Thomas at second, making Dave an infield reserve. But Dave had a better spring training than Garry and fielded a touch better at third and started 30 of the first 33 games of the ‘72 season at that position. He was hitting as high as .280 in mid-May but his Achilles continued to bother him as his power numbers continued to tank. By early June he required another operation and his season ended then. In ’73 he assumed a utility role with much missed time and the two trades – to the Cards for Dwain Anderson and then to Houston for Tommie Agee – landed him with the Astros. In ’74 he again got very little field time as an infield back-up for Houston and after that season he retired finishing with a .213 average. In the minors he hit .267.

Campbell had been able to do some color work for the Padres while he was laid up following his surgery in ’72. Most of his away time from baseball had been substitute teaching but the broadcasting bug got him and after he finished playing he returned to San Diego where he did various support work for local stations and got occasional sportscasting work. In ’77 he returned to the Padres organization to manage its Double A affiliate in Amarillo, going 56-74. In ’78 he was able to move into the San Diego broadcasting booth where he became very popular, initially being teamed with Jerry Coleman. Unexpectedly fired following the ’88 season – one article called it the worst trade in Padres history – he did some talk radio work and called baseball and football games for San Diego State. In ’90 he moved to ESPN where he did mostly radio through 2010. From ’93 to ’98 he was also an announcer for the Rockies. Since then he has done mostly voice work for baseball video games.

Dave gets an extra capital letter in that signature of his. This is the second card in a row in which he gets the pianist tag. His star bullets are expectedly all about defense.

Thse guys are both former Tigers, but the NL gets them together:

1. Campball and Clay Kirby ’70 to ’73 Padres;

2. Kirby and Woodie Fryman ’76 Expos.

#535 - Bobby Tolan

Given the palm trees in the background this must be a spring training shot. But from the look on Bobby Tolan’s face it could be taken from last September. Bobby had about the worst year of anyone in this set – given his past achievements – in ’73 this side of Steve Blass. After his pretty huge comeback in ’72 he began ’73 strongly enough and was still north of his ’72 average in early May. But then came a big swoon which may or may not have been instigated by more leg issues and by late June he was down to Mendoza levels. It was also around then that he was moved to right field in a switch with Cesar Geronimo. He then began to lose at bats as he got pinch hit for late in games and did a bit of that himself so new guys Ken Griffey and Ed Armbrister could get some looks. In August he got into a shouting match with the director of player personnel over Bobby’s facial hair and as a result he was banned from the team for a bunch of games. Then in mid-September he was suspended by the team for the rest of the year, thereby missing the post-season. Marvin Miller filed a grievance on his behalf but Bobby was sent packing to the Padres for Clay Kirby. So Bobby had lots of reasons to look the way he does in this photo. Having a glow-in-the-dark air-brushed hat to boot just seals the deal.

Bobby Tolan grew up in LA where he went to Fremont High and was teammates with Bob Watson and Willie Crawford. Signed by the Pirates his senior year he hit .271 as a first baseman that summer in A ball. He was then selected by the Cards that winter in the first year draft who moved Bobby to the outfield and Double A. He had a nice season in ’64, hitting .297 with a .369 OBA with 68 RBI’s and 34 stolen bases. In ’65 he moved to Triple A and the top spot of the order, hitting .290 with 45 stolen bases. He also made his St. Louis debut that September. In ’66 he hit .333 to start the year in Triple A, got some mid-season time in St. Louis, missed some time for military service – as he would the next couple years – and finished the season in Triple A. In ’67 and ’68 he worked around his military time to be the club’s fourth outfielder behind Lou Brock, Roger Maris, and Curt Flood. While he was a bit frustrated for a lack of playing time, he did get to go to two Series and won a ring in ’67. After that second year the Cards were looking for a veteran to replace the retired Maris and they traded Bobby and Wayne Granger to the Reds for Vada Pinson.

Tolan began the ’69 season as the everyday guy in right field and by about midway through he moved to center. The deal worked out quite well for Cincinnati as Bobby hit .305 with 26 stolen bases and got his power groove on with lifetime highs in homers and RBI’s. In ’70 he moved to the top of the order again and finished that year with lifetime highs in average, OBA (.384), and stolen bases, with an NL-leading 57. He returned to the post-season this time as a starter and got on base at about a .385 clip. After that season the Reds put together a barnstorming basketball team – Pete Rose, Lee May, and Wayne Simpson were also on it – of which Bobby was the star. At least he was until he ruptured his Achilles tendon. That injury kept him out of baseball for all of ’71 and was the biggest contributor to the Reds big bust that year. By spring training of ’72 he was mostly healed and he would have an excellent return, hitting .283 with 42 steals and 82 RBI’s to again help lead the Reds to the playoffs. That year he was a big RBI guy as he put up ten in 12 games and also stole five bases. After the misery of ’73 he was traded to San Diego in November with Dave Tomlin for Clay Kirby.

When Tolan got to San Diego he moved to right field since the Padres had young guy Johnny Grubb in center. That first year Bobby was a soothing presence for fellow new Padre Derrell Thomas and though his speed was clearly compromised – indicated by a severe decline in steals and lending more credence to his leg being hurt in ’73 – he had a bit of an offensive recovery, pulling his average up 60 points and hitting more doubles and scoring more runs even though his at bats were lighter by about 100. That happened because in July he had to have knee surgery after messing it up on a catch in foul territory. In ’75 he returned and was moved to left field in a switch with Dave Winfield. That year he made it through the season relatively unscathed and hit .255. He was released after the season and signed with the Phillies. He had returned to first base a bit during the ’75 season and in ’76 he got most of his field time there, splitting time with Dick Allen. He turned in a decent season, hitting .261 with 35 RBI’s in 272 at bats. In ’77 the Phillies picked up Richie Hebner to play first and Bobby, after a few at bats, got released and then signed by Pittsburgh, for whom he pinch hit the rest of the year. In ’78 he went to Japan to play for the Nankai Hawks for a season where he joined Carlos May. He then returned to the States and in ’79 hit .284 for the Puerto Rico team of the short-lived Inter-American League. He then re-signed with San Diego where he finished up the season and his career as a pinch hitter. Bobby finished with a .265 average with 86 homers, 497 RBI’s, and 193 stolen bases. In the post-season he hit .253 with 13 RBI’s and seven stolen bases in 27 games.

Tolan immediately began a coaching career following his playing one, beginning by coaching third base for the Padres in 1980. He moved to first base and hitting coach where he remained through ’83 and then managed two seasons in the minors. In ’86 he moved to the Seattle system as a hitting instructor: in the minors that year and in Seattle in ’87. In ’88 and ’89 he managed in the Baltimore system and then moved on to manage in the Senior Leagues, winning the only title that league ever had. He then shows up sporadically in managing and coaching gigs: in ’99 he managed the Nashua Pride; in 2005 he coached the Bristol Sox and in 2006 managed the Great Falls Sox. In 2008 he reappeared in headlines when his son Robbie, a draftee of the Washington Nationals, was shot in his driveway in Texas after being mistaken for a car thief. There was lots of controversy around the event with the Tolans claiming racial profiling led to an overly aggressive use of force. Robbie’s career ended shortly thereafter and the cop was acquitted but a civil suit is still on. Bobby still does card shows and has begun an eponymous local league that has its own site. As a manager he has gone 309-309.

That first star bullet is interesting because Bobby did not make the MLB All-Star team and was not part of the game roster in 1970. However he was named to The Sporting News NL All-Star team at the end of the season. In ’72 he also won the Hutch Award. Eddie Tolan has been variously listed as Bobby’s cousin or uncle. He won both the 100 and 200 sprints in the ’32 Olympics after setting both high school and college records while going to school in and around Detroit. Initially he wanted to be a doctor but funds were hard to come by for his schooling during the Depression. He won some professional meets in Australia in ’35 and worked for various municipalities until he passed away in ’67 at 59 from a heart ailment. Eddie was described as “bulky” when he was a runner: he topped out at about 135.

These guys missed each other on the Phillies by a few years:

1. Tolan and Mike Schmidt ’76 to ’77 Phillies;

2. Schmidt and Eddie Watt ’74 Phillies.  eHHeHYeHJh

#530 - Mickey Stanley

Mickey Stanley shows off his go-to pose at Comiskey. Pretty much every card up to this point of his had this stance at various stadiums. But that’s OK because Mickey was a pretty consistent guy who was able to use his defense and his versatility as well as some timely hitting to build a nice career for himself even though most of his outfield mates got more press and generally better offensive stats. He had a pretty good year in ’73, recording his personal best with 17 homers and winning his first Gold Glove in three years. It wasn’t nearly as exciting a season as the prior year when the backbone of the ’68 Series champs grabbed the division title. But it still had its moments, like when he recorded eleven putouts in a game in center, setting a record. His most endearing moment, though, may have come in a loss, a no-hitter by Nolan Ryan after which Mickey said, “Those were the fastest pitches I ever heard.”

After starring in the big three sports in high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mickey Stanley was signed shortly after he graduated and played a summer of local ball before getting things rolling professionally in ’61. He’d been a pitcher and second baseman in high school but immediately became an outfielder that summer in D ball (where he hit .279 with some power) and C ball (where he hit .223 with none). In ’62 he hit .285 with 18 stolen bases at the higher level and in ’63 he jumped to Double A where he hit .252. He bettered that big in ’64 when he hit .304 after a slow start in Triple A and then had a September debut in Detroit. He returned to Triple A for most of ’65 and had a nice year, hitting .281 with 73 RBI’s. He returned to Detroit late that summer after incumbent center fielder Don Demeter got hurt and got in about a month as the regular guy. He hit over .300 his first couple weeks and then had a cold streak at the plate to finish the year.

Stanley made the cut in ’66 as the fifth outfielder behind Demeter, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup, and Willie Horton. He got some early looks but then broke his hand in May, missing about a month. When he returned Demeter was traded to Boston and Mickey got the lion’s share of work the rest of the way, raising his average about 100 points from before his injury. In ’67 he split time in center with Northrup after he was originally scheduled to go solo but his average compromised his time in the field. In ’68 he had a big bounce – bigger because just about every other hitter’s stats fell – as his average rebounded and he added some decent power. He also won his first Gold Glove, which was pretty extraordinary given what happened during the season. Mickey was the uncontested guy in center except on two occasions: one was when injuries to Kaline and Norm Cash required him to put in some time at first; and two was when after the Tigers clinched manager Mayo Smith had him start some games at shortstop where regular Ray Oyler was not even close to Mendoza levels. This experiment would go on to be a high-profile success in the ’68 Series win when Smith kept Mickey there the whole Series, allowing Kaline to start in the outfield and keep his big bat in the line-up. After that big win Oyler went to the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft and Mickey spent some time at shortstop in ’69 but after Detroit acquired Tommy Tresh from NY, Mickey returned to his spot in center where he would reside the next five seasons.

In ’69 and ’70 Stanley won two more Gold Gloves in center field. In that first year he hurt his arm at shortstop and his average fell a bit but he recorded his personal high with 70 RBI’s. In ’70 he led Detroit in a bunch of hitting categories as the team put up a losing record for the first time in a bunch of years. In ’71 he recorded his best average though his playing time slipped as new manager Billy Martin moved around the outfield pieces a bunch more. In the ’72 division title year his average fell a bit but he doubled his homers, added a bunch of RBI’s, and hit .333 against Oakland in the AL playoffs. In ’74 he was the starting guy in center until he broke his hand on a pitch and while he sat new guy Ron LeFlore took over his position. Mickey did return to win a game with an over the wall catch of a Rico Petrocelli homer attempt but with the younger LeFlore now entrenched in the line-up his days as a regular were pretty much over. In ’75 he was having a pretty good run as a reserve guy when a – guess what? – broken hand pulled him out of action for a month.  He did up his average by 30 points and kept it there in ’76 as he did back-up work at center and left as well as both infield corners. He continued in those roles the next two years and hit .265 in ’78, his final season. Mickey finished with a .248 average, 117 homers, 500 RBI’s, and lots of assists from center. In the post-season he hit .235 in eleven games.

After retiring Stanley played a year of professional softball in the Detroit area and then settled into a long career as a manufacturer’s representative. He then moved into real estate development in which he partnered with his son. He still resides in Michigan.

That outfield streak in the cartoon happened mostly during the ’68 season when he didn’t have an error all year in center. He also turned that trick in ’66 and ’70.

Since the Bill Bonham post represented the 80% mark of this set it is an appropriate time to review the statuses of the different categories;

Starting with post-season representation, each year from ’59 to ’90 is now represented by at least one member of a team that played in that year’s post-season. My rather subjective inclusion of that Game 2 Series card as a Willie Mays one also adds ’51 and ’54 to the mix. And Dave Winfield’s rookie card adds ’92 and ’95 on the front end. The ’73 post-season has the most representation with 79 participants.

Topps Rookie Teams – we now have the full complement of the ’73 team’s ten guys. The older teams stack up as follows (year and players):

’59 – 3    ’60 – 2    ’61 – 3    ’62 – 1    ’63 – 3    ’64 – 3    ’65 – 5    ’66 – 5

’67 – 6    ’68 – 6    ’69 – 7    ’70 – 5    ’71 – 8    ’72 – 8

Award Winners – the set is up to 23 former or future MVP’s. We are also at 15 Cy Young winners; ten Firemen of the Year; 19 Managers of the Year; 22 Rookie of the Year winners; 24 Comeback Players of the Year; and seven The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year winners.

Milestones - there are 26 Hall of Fame inductees. There are 51 official or non-official Traded cards. There are 39 rookie cards in the set, so far trumped by 49 cards representing the final ones issued for that subject as a player. And 53 players from this set are now deceased.

Odds and Ends – there have been 123 action shots, 301 shots of subjects in away uniforms and 162 in home uniforms. There have been 39 players with parenthetical names, a good indication of the number of Latin guys in the set. The Washington Nat’l card number has been stuck at 14 for a while. And both ugly cards and those of guys who were in Viet Nam are stuck at five each.

This hook-up was alluded to above:

1. Stanley and Tommy Tresh ’69 Tigers;

2. Tresh and Horace Clarke ’65 to ’68 Yankees.

#520 - Tim McCarver

Lots of people know this guy, even ones who weren’t around when this card came out. There are very few regular watchers of baseball over the past 30 years or so who don’t have a strong opinion of Tim McCarver, and that opinion is probably pretty balanced between like and dislike. I’m probably in the former camp, but I’ve always been happy to hear someone talk baseball who knows more about it than I do. And Tim is and has certainly been a talker. Even back in ’73 he was always good for a sound byte. He spent that year back in St. Louis for the first time in a few years after being spirited away by the Phillies in ’70. This time around Ted Simmons was the regular guy behind the plate so Tim put in most of his time at first with Joe Torre. He put up his best numbers since his old Cards days but his stay this time wouldn’t be crazy long as he’d be moving on again before ’74 was out. Tim shows his lefty batting stance at Candlestick. It’s an appropriate pose because a big Lefty would help extend Tim’s career for a while.

Tim McCarver grew up in Memphis where he was a big deal football and baseball star at Christian Brothers High School. He got lots of D-1 offers for full rides in the former sport but when the bonus numbers got big – he signed for either $65,000 or $75,000 depending on the source – he opted to sign with the Cards in ’59. He then hit .360 in D ball and .357 in a few games in Triple A before making his debut that September in St. Louis when he was only 17. He’d put in a few more games up top the next couple seasons but put in most of his time in the minors. In Double A in ’60 he hit .347 and then in ’61 and ’62 came down to earth a bit in Triple A with a .229 and .275 respectively, though the second season he added a bit of power with eleven homers and 57 RBI’s. After that year he was ready to go topside for good.

McCarver pretty much stepped into the starting role in ’63, replacing Gene Oliver as catcher. He put up some pretty good offensive numbers starting that season but what really ingratiated him to his teammates was his work behind the plate. Soon after getting his regular spot – and according to the book “October 1964” with some tutoring regarding his Good Ole Boy ways – he became tight with Bob Gibson which could be a tough thing to do back then. After hitting nearly .290 his first couple years he went to the Series in ’64 where he hit .478 with a game-winning homer against the Yankees. In ’66 he had his first All-Star year and led the NL in triples, a first for a catcher. In ’67 he had his highest average as he returned to the All-Star game and came in second in MVP voting to teammate Orland Cepeda. St. Louis also returned to the Series that year and the next and while Tim didn’t hit too well the first year, he did win another ring. He hit .333 in the ’68 loss to Detroit. In ’69 he put up better regular season numbers and then was part of the big trade between St. Louis and the Phillies in which Dick Allen became a Card and Curt Flood a Phillie, but not for long.

McCarver’s time in Philadelphia didn’t start off too well as a broken hand early in the season pretty much wrecked his year and had the Phillies scrambling to find replacements. He came back to start in ’71 and got into a mid-season fight with ex-teammate Lou Brock. In ’72 after starting off as the regular guy, he was traded to Montreal in June for John Bateman and the rest of the way caught and played a bit in the outfield for the Expos. After the season he returned to the Cards for Jorge Roque, a young outfielder. In ’74 Tim’s playing time contracted significantly after Torre moved to first full-time and Simmons rarely sat. After hitting .217 in just over 100 at bats, he was sold to Boston in September to help fill in for the injured Carlton Fisk. While hitting .250 for the Sox down the stretch it was rumored he was also next in line for the Boston manager gig when Darrell Johnson was having a tough time. But after hitting .381 as a pinch hitter in ’75 and with the Sox making their big pennant run, Tim was released in June. He was picked up by the Phillies shortly thereafter and in pretty much the same role hit .254 the rest of the way.

Beginning in ’76 McCarver took on the role that he would have the duration of his playing career as Steve Carlton’s personal catcher. Tim and Carlton had been in the same battery in both St. Louis and earlier in Philadelphia and for the next four years most of Tim’s starts would be when Lefty was on the mound. The first couple years Tim would make the most of the opportunity offensively as well, posting a .300 average with an over .400 OBA while putting up 59 RBI’s in 324 at bats in ’76 and ’77. Both seasons Philly made the playoffs as well as in ’78, when Tim’s average slipped to .247. After hitting .241 in ’79 he retired – during their time together Carlton went 77-41 – until he was brought back for a couple games in ’80 so he could be a four decade guy. Tim finished with a .271 average on 1,500 hits, 97 homers, and 645 RBI’s. He stole 61 bases and had a .337 OBA. Defensively he led the NL in assists once and fielding percentage twice. In the post-season he hit .273 with two homers and 12 RBI’s in 28 games.

McCarver began his broadcasting career while playing – it was in his contract – doing some spot work for the Phillies in ’78 and ’79.  He then stayed with the Phillies full-time through ’82 before moving on to the Mets (’83-’98) and Yankees (’99-2001). During that time he also did post-season work for all the networks and since 2002 has been working games for Fox. He has won three Emmy’s as a sportscaster and was inducted into the Hall as one in 2012.

Tim gets a good star bullet and an irrelevant cartoon. He stayed in Memphis a lot longer than I’d have expected. In that “October 1964” book Tim is described as an eager guy with a temper. In a few instances teammates had to talk to him about keeping a cool head during his first couple seasons.

How about using a guy for whom McCarver was traded:

1. McCarver and Dick Allen ’75 to ’76 Phillies;

2. Allen and Bill Sharp ’73 to ’74 White Sox.eHHeHYeHJh

#495 - Dick McAuliffe

For the first time in a long while Topps slips us a non-Traded traded card. In the ’73 off-season Detroit sent long-time second baseman Dick McAuliffe to Boston for young outfielder Ben Oglivie. Dick has an airbrushed “B” on his hat – I thought they always cut and pasted the logos – but otherwise looks pretty unblemished in an away flannel at Yankee Stadium. Like Danny Murtaugh of a few posts ago Dick always looked old – check out his ’62 rookie card – and while I suspect this photo is not from ’73, it could be from any one of the past ten seasons. Dick had a subpar season in ’72, a year in which it seemed all of Detroit’s aging stars threw all they had at a division title. And while his at bats declined, all his other offensive stats had a nice bounce in ’73. That year he pretty much platooned at second with Tony Taylor, but he got a card and Tony didn’t so maybe there was an emotional victory in that. He’d opined during the season that he’d have liked to spend his last couple seasons back near his Connecticut home so Detroit obliged him with the trade. He’d end his career with the Sox, but not in the way he’d probably hoped.

Dick McAuliffe was a pretty impressive shortstop while in high school in Farmington, CT, where he also played football and basketball. Signed by Detroit during his senior year of ’57 he got off to a slow start that summer, hitting .206 in D ball. He would actually finish high school during the next couple off-seasons. Around then he took on his celebrated batting stance. He’d been strictly a push hitter, sending nearly all his hits to the left side (he was a lefty). He began using a wide open stance and then closing it a bit when the pitcher went into his windup and rolling onto his back foot with his right one high up in the air (this can be seen on his ’73 action card). ’58 was much better with his new stance as he hit .286 at that level and .241 when called up to A ball. He spent ’59 in B and A ball around his service time and then ramped things up considerably in A ball in ’60 by hitting .301 with 109 runs, 21 triples, and a .404 OBA that got him some year-end looks in Detroit. In ’61 he hit .353 with a .418 OBA and 14 triples in half a season of Triple A ball before he came up for good.

The ’61 Tigers nearly won the pennant as just about every regular hit the crap out of the ball. McAuliffe got called up when regular shortstop Chico Fernandez was injured in early July and he did well enough to be the regular guy the rest of the season and also started a few games at third base. In ’62 Fernandez had one of his best offensive seasons though just about everyone else on the roster had a downtick and Dick spent the year switching starts at second and third with regulars Jake Wood and Steve Boros, outhitting each of them. In ’63 Detroit slid to a losing record and there was a bunch of transitions on the team, the most successful being Dick’s taking over shortstop pretty much full time. While he wasn’t the best defensive guy around, he was a hustler, and he hit way better than the average shortstop in his day, posting averages and especially OBA’s far above league norms. He recorded his biggest power year in ’64 and then the next two years was an All-Star as Detroit picked up Jerry Lumpe to take over second base, which really helped solidify the middle infield. In both ’65 and ’66 Dick missed about a month due to a hand injury the first year and food poisoning the second. By ’67 Lumpe was running out of gas and it was pretty apparent that Ray Oyler, who’d stepped in for Dick while he was injured, was the better defensive guy at short. So during the season Dick was moved to second, for the third time in four years he hit over 20 homers, and he was again an All-Star, now in a new position. The Tigers barely lost out to Boston for the pennant and in ’68 Dick helped take them all the way by leading the AL in runs with 95, topping out career-wise with 24 doubles and ten triples, and setting a record by not grounding into one double play all year. His most high-profile moment that year, though, wasn’t a great one. Thinking Tommy John was trying to bean him after the ChiSox pitcher threw two by his head, Dick rushed the mound and tackled John, separating the pitcher’s shoulder and getting him a five-game suspension.

Detroit was a contender for a new division title in ’69 until McAuliffe went down mid-season with a knee injury after generating first-half numbers that more than matched his ’68 ones. When he returned in ’70 he had his best year of plate control, getting 101 walks against 62 K’s, but his average and power slid a bit. In ’71 and ’72 he ceded some starts to Tony Taylor as his average didn’t bounce too well. He returned to the playoffs under Billy Martin in ’72 and then had a pretty good offensive year in ’73. In Boston the plan was for him to do back-up work at second and third behind Doug Griffin and Rico Petrocelli. He actually ended up getting more work than expected as they both were injured but he only hit .210 in 272 at bats with little power. In ’75 he took a job managing the Sox’ Bristol franchise and he did great work, guiding the team to the playoffs with a record of 81-57. Towards the end of the season Boston needed a reserve guy at third and Dick didn’t think Butch Hobson, his third baseman, was ready yet. So the team promoted Dick instead and he got a little work down the stretch. He had a tough moment, though, when a couple errors of his lost a game and sent the Fenway fans in a booing frenzy. He was left off the post-season roster and that was it for him. Dick finished with a .247 average on over 1,500 hits, 231 doubles, 197 homers, and 697 RBI’s. He also posted a .358 OBA and hit .213 in twelve post-season games with two homers and four RBI’s.

After playing McAuliffe did some work with baseball camps before owning and operating a business that repaired and installed washing machines and dryers in laundromats. For a brief time in the late Seventies he played professional softball. He sold his business in the late Eighties and since then had done some public appearance and autograph show work.

Dick has a flowing formal signature and gets a star bullet for another record of his. There’s the cartoon about his batting stance.

Bostton contributed its “Impossible Dream” pennant-winner of 1967 to the baseball centennial in ’76. The Sox had finished ninth in ’66 but had a pretty great group of young gamers in ’67 with Carl Yastrzemski, George Scott, Reggie Smith, Rico Petrocelli, Tony Conigliaro, and Mike Andrews all doing really nice offensive work. Jim Lonborg was putting together a Cy Young year and a lot of the bench guys were stepping up. The big scare was Tony C’s midyear beaning that took him out of baseball the next couple years. But about then the Sox picked up Gary Bell from Cleveland who did what Fred Norman did for the ’73 Reds and gave Boston another hot starter in the rotation. Yaz was on a tear all year on his way to a Triple Crown and MVP. And Dick Williams ran a tight ship, which worked for a bunch of kids. It was a tight race and Boston didn’t win outright until the last game of the season when it beat Minnesota at home 5-3 in which Lonborg won his 22^nd game and Yaz went 4 for 4 with a couple RBI’s. Boston beat Detroit and Minnesota by a game and the White Sox by three games to go to the Series.

There was another veteran who went to Boston near the end of his career in ’74 and he comes in handy:

1. McAuliffe and Juan Marichal ’74 Red Sox;

2. Marichal and Ed Goodson ’70 to ’73 Giants.

#493 - Joe Hoerner

I don’t think I ever saw a baseball card growing up in which Joe Hoerner didn’t have an expression in which he looked annoyed. So I always thought the guy was a sort of morose hanger-on until I did some research for this post. On his ’67 card he actually has a devilish grin which seems to be much more appropriate for the type of guy he was. Even before he was established he was a cutup, like the time in ’64 he threw a spitter by Don Drysdale just to see his reaction (Drysdale, Joe, and the umpire all cracked up over that one). But in ’73 he had reason to frown. He missed the first two months of the year to get torn cartilage removed from his knee and returned in June to post more fat ERA numbers – though he did get a couple saves – for the Braves which continued his tough time in Atlanta since his trade there in ’72. In mid-July he was sold to Kansas City where the ERA remained awfully high even though he won two and saved four without a loss in relief. All that after he’d reported some excellent numbers in the pen for the Cards and Phillies for a bunch of years. And he did that all with a heart ailment that would have kept most people from the game in the first place.

Joe Hoerner came out of Dubuque, Iowa, where he grew up on a 250-acre farm and his dad was a sheriff. He was an outfielder and a pitcher in high school and in ’54 helped pitch his team to a state title. Shortly thereafter he was in a nasty car accident in which he separated his shoulder, broke some ribs, and apparently damaged his heart. After graduating he worked locally and also played some semi-pro ball. In ’56 he was discovered by the White Sox who signed him early the next year. His start that summer in C ball was a 16-5 season with a 2.58 ERA. In ’58 he moved up to B ball where in the midst of a decent season he collapsed on the mound due to his new heart condition. In ’59 he split the year between three levels but nearly all in relief as he collapsed again a couple times and spent a bunch of the season in various hospitals. While the imaging technology of the day could find nothing specifically wrong it was theorized by Joe’s doctors that his overhand windup was somehow constricting blood flow in his heart and so from then on he became a sidearm pitcher. In ’60 he got things back together and went 11-9 with a 2.97 ERA as a swing guy in A ball. In ’61 he moved back to the rotation at the same level where despite a very good ERA he went 6-13. In ’62 it was back to the swing role which seemed to work better for him as he went 9-1 with a 2.49. Prior to that season he was taken in the minor league draft by the Colt .45’s and for them that year he threw a couple innings in Triple A. In ’63 it was all Double A as he went 11-7 with much higher K totals. He also made his debut in Houston that year with three shutout relief innings. In ’64 he again got some inconclusive work up top but in Triple A settled in nicely as a strictly relief guy, going 3-3 with a 1.31 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 62 innings. ’65 was all Triple A with similar results: 8-3 with a 1.94 ERA. After that season he was selected by the Cards in the Rule 5 draft.

For Hoerner his long road to the Major Leagues resulted in his being a rookie at age 29. His timing was pretty good, though, in that it gave him a year to establish himself in the Cards pen with a near-perfect season that included 13 saves. So when St. Louis rolled to two Series the next couple years Joe was an integral part of the bullpen, with excellent control and a total of 32 saves. He still had occasional blackouts on the mound but he always returned shortly thereafter. He didn’t throw too well in the post-season but in ’69 as most of his teammates faded a bit he still threw excellent ball, recording another 15 saves. At the end of the year St. Louis was looking to revamp things and Joe got included in a big high-profile trade: he, Byron Browne, Tim McCarver, and Curt Flood went to the Phillies for Dick Allen, Jerry Johnson, and Cookie Rojas. It was the trade that got Allen out of Philly and set the wheels rolling on free agency when Flood refused to report. Joe went a more tranquil route and picked up pretty much where he left off in St. Louis as he set a personal record with nine wins and recorded as many saves despite losing time to his biggest heart-related episode in years and a broken finger late in the season. That year he made the All-Star team. ’71 was another nine saves and more nice numbers even though Philly was stinking things up back then. In ’72 a pretty good start to the season was arrested with his June trade with Andre/Andy Thornton to the Braves for Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer.

After the disappointment of the past couple seasons Hoerner posted some better numbers for Kansas City in ’74, including a 3.82 ERA and a couple saves. Immediately before the All-Star game he threw one-hit shutout ball in five innings of relief but then barely got used the rest of the year. He was released immediately after and then signed back with the Phillies. He only got into 25 games for the reviving franchise but made the most of it with a 2.57 ERA. He was then signed by the Rangers for ’76 for whom he recorded eight saves but otherwise went 0-4 with a 5.14 ERA. In ’77 he closed things down with a few innings for the Reds split between Triple A and Cincinnati. Joe finished with a record of 39-34 with a 2.99 ERA and 99 saves in 493 games. In his five post-season games he went 0-1 with a save and an 8.44 ERA.

Hoerner was a pretty busy guy in the off-seasons. For years he worked back home in construction. During his stay in St. Louis he and Dal Maxvill established their own travel agency which they both continued to do after playing. Dal tended to run the office side while Joe would lead tours around the country, especially baseball-themed ones. Joe also played in a bunch of fantasy camps and worked his farm back in Iowa. He was doing that when in ’96 he was involved in a tractor accident that proved fatal. He was 59.

That’s a pretty obvious star bullet. There were some better ones including the no-hitter he threw his first season in pro ball followed up a month later by eight innings of relief in another no-no. The reference to Wally Schirra is pretty cool. Wally was one of the original Mercury astronauts and as one was pretty much a folk hero throughout the Sixties. I was unable to find any details about their friendship though.

These two guys missed playing together by about a year. I like those ones:

1. Hoerner and Willie Montanez ’70 to ’72 Phillies;

2. Montanez and Mike Rogodzinski ’73 to ’75 Phillies.