#599 - 1974 Rookie Pitchers

Now we get to a card with more than one unrecognizable name on it. But though this card may not do as well as the prior ones in showcasing future MLB career longevity winners, it does have something all its own to offer and that is the final “Washington Nat’l” card of the set. There is apparently a third rendition of this card – the large-type version of which I am pretty sure I am without and will most likely remain.

Ron Diorio was a high school basketball star in Waterbury, CT, and moved gradually into pitching after beginning his time as a catcher. He then attended Central Connecticut State before transferring to New Haven College where he continued to play both sports. In hoops there he was a center and averaged 8.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg. His pitching line was better as he went 24-3 with a 1.57 ERA and 262 strikeouts in 235 innings. He was briefly a teammate of Joe Lahoud and was an All-American his senior year of ’69 when he was also drafted by the Phillies. For them he would do almost exclusively pen work as he moved up the chain. In ’69 he went a combined 7-11 with six saves and three complete game starts with a 2.57 ERA split between Rookie and A ball. In ’70 he went 1-3 with three saves and a 1.84 ERA at the higher level. ’71 was a combined 6-2, 2.38 with nine saves split between A and Double A. The next year was 8-4, 3.03 with eight saves at the higher level and ’73 may have been his best season with a 5-1, 1.71 ERA, eleven saves year at Triple A before he was called up in early August. He did nice relief work in Philly, getting a save and posting a 2.33 ERA in his 19 innings. After pitching winter ball he threw a couple games early in ’74 before being sent down to Double A where he went 3-3, 2.67 with four saves through June. He was then promoted to Triple A but his first game his dad passed away. Ron’s family was close and his numbers showed the effect as he went 1-0 with a 5.27 ERA the rest of the way and was then released. In ’75 he hooked up with the Montreal organization for whom at Triple A he went 2-5, 2.44 with three saves. Then it was on to the Yankees where in ’76 he was 3-3, 1.55 with seven saves in Double A and in ’77 6-4. 4.59 with eight saves in Triple A. Released again, he would spend ’78 pitching in Mexico where he went 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA. Ron finished with a record of 42-36 with a 2.86 ERA and 62 saves in the minors and a 3.15 ERA on no decisions in 25 games up top. He had become involved in real estate back in CT in off-seasons while he played and then took a job as Waterbury’s Fair Housing Officer when he was done, which he continued to do through ’86. That year he took a job with the Nocera Company, rose to partner in ’96 and still resides professionally. He also refs local hoops games. Just about all the background comes from his SABR bio.

Like Ron Diorio, Dave Freisleben (pronounced freeze-le-ben with the accent on the first syllable) played both hoops and baseball in high school, but Dave did it a few notches south, in Pasadena, Texas. Grabbed by the Padres out of high school in ’71 he moved fast through the system and that summer went 7-3 with a 2.97 ERA and four shutouts in his 13 A ball starts. He then went 17-9, 2.32 in Double A in ’72 and in Triple A the next year 16-8 with a 2.82 ERA. In ’74 he went 2-1 in his first three starts before moving up to San Diego in late April. Again he went out strong, winning his first three starts and throwing a shutout in his sixth game. By mid-June he was 6-2 and he still had a winning record by late August. Earlier that month he threw 13 shutout innings at Cincinnati but didn’t get the decision. Later that month he worked into the 12^th inning of a loss. But he fell prey to the team’s lack of hitting, losing nine in a row and finished 9-14 with a 3.66 ERA. ’75 was a tough sophomore season as he went 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA. Part of Dave’s problem was control and over his MLB run his walks would match his strikeouts. Part of it, too, at least according to Padres management, was his waistline. Dave began ’76 back in Triple A and returned to San Diego in late May where he had a nice bounce when he posted his best numbers with a 10-13, 3.51 year. But then ’77 started ugly as he went 0-4 in April with an elevated ERA. He returned to Triple A where he went 4-4, 3.94 until he returned in late June. From July through year-end he improved to 6-4, 3.87 as a swing guy and went 7-9, 4.61 on the year. By then Dave was apparently suffering from recurring injuries and his ’78 was pretty nasty: after an 0-3, 6.08 start as a little-used spot guy he went to Cleveland in June for pitcher Bill Laxton. He did just as bad in the AL, going 1-4, 7.11 in ten starts for the Tribe who placed him on waivers after the season. He was picked up by Toronto and in ’79 went 2-3 with three saves and a 4.95 ERA as a long guy before he was released, ending his playing time. Dave finished 34-60 with a 4.30 ERA – also his strike and walk total – 17 complete games, six shutouts, and four saves. In the minors he was 48-28 with a 2.95 ERA and 13 shutouts. After playing Dave got a degree in law enforcement at San Jacinto college and became a police officer back in Pasadena. He then became a golf pro and currently appears to run a fishing service out of San Leon, according to his Facebook page.

Frank Riccelli grew up near Syracuse where he was a good enough pitcher – three-time all-state – to be picked by the Giants as a first rounder in the ’71 draft. Like Dave Freisleben he moved quickly and that summer he went 7-3 with a 2.56 ERA as a starter in Rookie ball. He had heat that year and struck out 116 batters in his 88 innings. He continued throwing hard in ’72 in Double A, going 9-9, 3.18 with 183 K’s in 164 innings. His first couple seasons in Triple A were a bit tougher and the K’s came way down. In ’73 he went 10-11 with a 4.25 ERA and in ’74 fell to 3-7, 6.16 in far less innings so he may have been injured. But in ’75 he returned to Double A, putting up a 14-6, 3.26 year before in ’75 returning to the higher level. He still could not match his success in Triple A and over the next two seasons he went a combined 17-20 with a 5.64 ERA around a few brief innings in San Francisco in ’76 during which he went 1-1 with a high ERA. Immediately after the latter season he was sold to St. Louis where he threw considerably better, going a combined 12-10, 2.86 between two Triple A teams.  That second team was a Houston affiliate and in ’78 Frank got a couple innings up top before spending all of ’79 with the Astros. That year he went 2-2 with a 4.09 ERA as a seldom-used spot guy and he had a big day at the plate when he knocked in three runs against Cincinnati in a game. After being released during spring training of ’80 – he had his second Topps card that year, a big gap with six years – he appears to have taken the year off before attempting a few comebacks over the next three years with affiliates close to his home base of Buffalo (Pittsburgh) and Syracuse (Toronto), none of which lasted too long. Frank was done after the ’83 season with a record of 3-3 with a 4.39 ERA up top and 72-68 with a 4.17 ERA in the minors. He has been tough to track since then but seemed happy and healthy in 2012 when he was inducted into the Christian Brothers hall of fame.

Greg Shanahan was born and raised in Eureka, California and after graduating high school attended UC-Santa Barbara and then nearby Humboldt State University where he played with Dane Iorg and from which he was drafted by the Dodgers in ’70. In A ball that summer he went 5-5 with a 3.66 ERA while striking out a batter an inning. At the same level in ’71 he went 8-10, 4.01 while leading his league with 182 K’s (in 164 innings). He split ’72 between A and Double A, going a combined 10-8, 3.12 with 187 K’s in 171 innings. In ’73 he went 12-12, 4.18 in Triple A while again leading his league in K’s before he got his September debut in LA. He struck out the first batter he faced, Willie McCovey, and in 16 innings posted a 3.45 ERA with a save. He then spent nearly all of the next two seasons in Triple A where his combined numbers were messy at 13-24, 4.64, though he again threw pretty well in his few innings in ’74 up top. Greg was released in spring training of ’76 and spent that year pitching in Mexico before returning to The States in ’77 when he went 11-11 with a 2.54 ERA for Kansas City’s Triple A franchise. That was his final season and Greg put up a 3.57 ERA and a save in his eleven MLB games and went 62-70 with a 3.81 ERA in the minors. In off-seasons he’d returned to the Eureka area to work in insurance and in ’78 he got his license and shortly thereafter opened his own shop, which he still has. In ’96 he established the Humboldt Crabs, an entry in a Far West summer league for college and post-college players and was its GM through 2008.

So like on all the other cards although it says Washington on the front the back continued to denote the team the San Diego Padres, which would of course be the correct designation. Here we are a bit more challenged in terms of MLB service as these guys combined for seven years and no awards. At least the hook-ups should be challenging. Here we go with those:

1. Ron Diorio and Mike Schmidt ’73 to ’74 Phillies;

2. Schmidt and Dick Allen ’75 to ’76 Phillies;

3. Allen and Jim Tyrone ’77 A’s.

Now around the card:

1. Ron Diorio and Mike Schmidt ’73 to ’74 Phillies;

2. Schmidt and Bobby Tolan ’76 Phillies;

3. Tolan and Dave Freisleben ’74 to ’75 Padres;

4. Freisleben and Derrell Thomas ’74 Padres;

5. Thomas and Frank Riccelli ’76 Giants;

6. Riccelli and Von Joshua ’76 Giants;

7. Joshua and Greg Shanahan ’73 to ’74 Dodgers.

That wasn’t too bad.

#387 - Rich Morales

Lots of “lasts” for this post. This is the last Topps card for Rich Morales as a player. It is also the last solo Washington Nat’l card of the set. Shortly after this card went to print it became apparent that the Padres were not moving to DC and Topps reverted to the regular Padres cards including re-issuing the older Nat’l ones as Padres. (There will be one more Washington Nat’l designation but it is a multi-player card.) Rich here is in the midst of his first NL season after a bunch with the White Sox. He was acquired early in the season to help salve some infield turmoil in San Diego. Incumbent second baseman Dave Campbell was on the way out and newby Derrell Thomas had to play a bunch at shortstop. Also heralded rookie Dave Hilton pretty much bombed so Rich ended up getting the most starting time at second. Defensively he delivered with only five errors in 81 games. It should have been a good thing for him but that .164 average sure didn’t make anyone happy. He would barely play in ’74 and after the season he was released.

Rich Morales grew up in the Pacifica region of California and after high school attended the College of San Mateo, a JUCO school from which he graduated in ’62. He was signed early the following year by the White Sox and then put in a couple seasons in A ball to let his fielding come around, though his first season he did have 69 RBI’s. In ’65 he moved to Double A where his errors dropped to half what they were his first season. While he was a light hitter (.215 that year) he put the ball in play and was on a good run to the top. That got arrested in ’66 when he broke his leg early in the season and missed pretty much the rest of the year. But he returned to post decent numbers in a ’67 split between Double and Triple A and then peaked offensively in a ’68 spent exclusively at the higher level: .264 with 24 doubles and 58 RBI’s. In both ’67 and ’68 he got short looks up top. After another good start in Triple A in ’69 he was called up to Chicago.
 

The ’69 White Sox were sort of a hot mess. The Sox were very dependent on their pitching for success and their two aces – Joe Horlen and Gary Peters – were in decline modes. They only had two real offensive threats in young guys Carlos May and Bill Melton. And their defense was wrecked by injuries. When Morales came up into that morass he was placed at second even though he had been pretty much exclusively a shortstop until then. He did pretty well defensively and that coupled with his new ability to play anywhere in the infield was what kept him on the roster the next bunch of years. ’70 pretty much mirrored ’69 as Rich spent equal time at shortstop and third. In ’71 and ’72 he spent most of his time at short where the latter year he was the de facto starter. Then in ’73 the Sox had a new hot rookie in Bucky Dent to take over shortstop, Jorge Orta and Bill Melton were pretty much entrenched at second and third and so when San Diego came calling for infield help Rich got sold to the Padres. After his short tenure there he was done. He finished with a .195 average.

Rich trolled around a bit as a coach in the minors after playing. In ’79 he managed in the Oakland system and from ’80 to ’82 in the Cubs’ one. From ’83 to ’85 he was a scout for the White Sox and he then came up top as the Braves bullpen coach from ’86 to ’87. Then it was back to managing: in the Seattle system (’88 to ’90) and then the independent Pioneer League (’91). By then his lifetime record was 447-449. He also coached in that league in ’92 and ’94 and then sort of goes missing. At some point during the Nineties it appears he returned to coach in his old Pacifica hood at Terra Nova High School which after a couple years off he was doing as recently as last year. Some sites also have him working as a scout for the Orioles since 2006 but I think that may be a younger guy with the same name.

Rich’s props are all for his defense; no surprise there. He also enjoyed gardening on his ’73 card so at least he was consistent in his hobbies.

This is a short post so it’s a good one to catch up on some music news. On June 21, 1973 the group Bread performed their last gig, a concert at The Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. The group was big with the mellow hits like “Make It With You” and split up because its two song writers were in disagreement about which songs should be released as singles. On the 23^rd new group 10CC scored a Number One in the UK with its first single “Rubber Bullets.” The group, whose biggest hit would be “I’m Not In Love” in a couple years, actually had a hit in ’70 under the name Hotlegs called “Neanderthal Man.” And on June 22, 1974 a new Number One in the UK belonged to Gary Glitter and his “Always Yours.” The song is on YouTube and features Gary and his band parading around in their sequined uniforms. It all looks harmless enough but it gets a little creepy when his future Jerry Sandusky-type habits got revealed.

Let’s get the old guy with the new one through someone who always acted like a kid:

1. Morales and Derrell Thomas ’73 to ’74 Padres;

2. Thomas and Gary Matthews ’75 to ’76 Giants.

#364 - Clarence Gaston

The second double card post in a row brings us to a star-gazing Clarence - later Cito - Gaston. Maybe he is looking back at his wonderful '70 season. Or maybe he's looking ahead at his World Series success in twenty years. Whatever he's looking at, he appears to be doing it at home in Jack Murphy Stadium. This would be the last year Clarence gets to show us his Padre threads on a card. In '75 he gets one of the all-time worst air-brush jobs for his trade to the Braves. '73 was a mixed season for Clarence. It was bad because he was still in San Diego and because even though his power numbers rebounded significantly from the year before, his average took a hit and by now it was apparent that his '70 numbers would never be repeated. It was good because it was his last season as a regular. In '74 the acquisition of Bobby Tolan and the continuing emergence of Dave Winfield would crimp his time in right field and eventually force the trade. And moving to Atlanta wasn't exactly a salve for all the losing. Clarence would just have to wait a while to be on a winner.

Clarence Gaston was born in rural Texas and moved around a bit before ending up at Holy Cross High School where he was a quarterback and a pitcher, as well as a hoops star. When he finished high school he began working as a truck driver - like his dad - and a garbage collector. He also played local work league ball at which he was spotted by a Braves scout and soon signed in '64. His start that year wasn't exactly meteoric as he hit .235 for a couple Single A teams with a homer. In '65 he fell to .188 at the same level. But in '66 he got inspired - his family was very religious - and hit .330 with 28 homers and 104 RBI's to win his A league's MVP award. It also earned him a late promotion to Double A where he continued to hit .300. At the latter level in '67 he kept it up and after a .305 season he got his look in Atlanta for a few games. In '68 he hit .273 between Double and Triple A. After that season he was selected by the Padres in a late round of the expansion draft.

In San Diego's first spring training camp, Gaston was seen as something of an unknown since his performance in the minors was sort of inconclusive. But over the winter he won the batting crown in Venezuela by hitting .383. He won the Padres starting center field gig but didn't put up terrific offensive stats. The next winter he again won the batting title - this time with a .360 - and when he returned to San Diego for the '70 season he brought his mojo with him. That year he had pretty much the best offensive line of a Padre - .318 with 29 homers and 93 RBI's - until Tony Gwynn came along. He was an All-Star that year. Then in '71 he had one of the biggest falls ever as his average plunged 90 points and his power tanked. Always a free swinger, the chink in his '70 armor was a high strikeout total of 142. His OBA cracked 100 points in '71. In '72 new acquisition Johnny Jeter took over center and Clarence moved to right. Jeter was a bust but Clarence's power kept sliding. In '74 he backed up in right and left as the new guys took over the regular spots. After the season he was traded back to Atlanta for Danny Frisella.

For the Braves over the next four seasons Gaston continued as a backup, seeing a little time at first as well as in the outfield. He put up some good numbers in '76 - .291 with 25 RBI's in 134 at bats - and '77 when he hit .271 with 21 RBI's in only 85 at bats. After the average fell to .229 in '78 he was sold to the Pirates in September for the stretch run in which he was employed as a pinch hitter. That was his last season in the States as a player and Clarence wound things up with a .256 average with 91 homers and 387 RBI's.

In '79 Gaston continued to play ball, first for the Inter-American League where he hit .324 before it folded, and then in Mexico where he hit .337 for Leon. He again played for Leon in '80 but his average tumbled a bunch and he retired. In '81 old roommate Hank Aaron got Cito a job coaching in the Atlanta system and in '82 Gaston moved to Toronto's. He was hitting coach of the Blue Jays in '89 when manager Jimmy Williams was fired with the team 12-24. Cito was asked to be the interim guy - he initially said no because Williams was a close friend - and took the team to a 77-49 finish. After that record Toronto dropped the interim from Cito's title. He remained as Blue Jay manager through '97, going all the way in '92 and '93, becoming the first black manager to win a Series title. After the team faded in the late Nineties he was released. He then took some time off although he interviewed for managing gigs in Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Chicago. He also maintained ties with Toronto, working informally as a hitting coach and also doing some admin work. In 2008 he again stepped in as manager after a medicre start, going 51-37 after the team started 35-39. He remained there through the 2010 season when he stepped down to be a consultant. His managerial record is 894-837.


There's his first big season in '66 plus a couple game-winners in '72. The Cito name came from an old Mexican wrestler who was popular in Texas when Gaston was a kid. The cartoon is the same as on his '70 card so the girls all stayed healthy for three years. I find it hard to believe he never won Manager of the Year.

I'd love to do the hookup through Matty Alou or Horace Clarke but neither of them played much for San Diego. Then I remembered this guy:

1. Gaston and Pat Dobson '70 Padres;
2. Dobson was on the '73 Yankees.

#309 - Dave Roberts

For our first double card in a while we get a beaming Dave Roberts at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. This Dave was an infielder, the other Dave Roberts, a former Padre, a pitcher. This Dave was a hot property back then. An excellent high school pitcher and infielder, Dave went to Oregon on a baseball scholarship and was the first draft pick by the Padres in '72. He went straight to San Diego where he took over third base and made the Topps Rookie team. After hitting .286 his second year, it was all upside for this guy. But how quickly things can change.

Dave Roberts was born in Oregon and went on to local baseball fame there in high school before going to Oregon in '69. He played summer ball in Alaska in '70 and '71 and hit .342 in two seasons there with 17 homers and 103 RBI's in 120 games as a shortstop. The second year he played with future Padre teammate Dave Winfield. After an All-American junior season in '72 for Oregon in which he hit .410 while playing third, he was selected number one by San Diego and immediately inserted at third. In '73 he began the season at second due to Derrell Thomas being injured and hit horribly, well under .200 by the end of May. He went down to Triple A Hawaii for some renewal, hit .375, and returned to third in San Diego in June, hitting well over .300 the rest of the way. He set what would be career highs in homers and RBI's that year before he began his slide.

In '74 Roberts had another nasty start to his season, caused partly by a back injury, but unlike '73 he never came out of it. While he spent no time in the minors that year, he did see some bench time. It was a significant decline: in 318 at bats he hit only .167 with five homers and 18 RBI's. Along the way he lost the starting third base gig to Dave Hilton. In '75 this Dave was shipped back to Triple A where he spent most of his time at second and hit .262 with 12 homers and 71 RBI's in 121 games. That got him back to San Diego where he hit .283 the last month-plus and reclaimed third base. In '76 the Padres traded for Doug Rader who took over third and Dave was back in Hawaii where his offensive numbers were a bit of a discount to those of '75. He spent most of his time in a new position, catcher, where he did a decent job defensively. In '77 he did a round trip to the Blue Jays before settling in back in San Diego as the third string catcher behind Gene Tenace and Bob Davis. '78 was split between San Diego and Hawaii and after the season he left the Padres for good with Oscar Gamble and some cash to the Rangers for Mike Hargrove, Kurt Bevacqua, and Bill Fahey.

In '79 Roberts backed up just about everywhere except pitcher, hitting .262 in only 84 at bats. The next year he got a serious bump in playing time as the number two guy at three positions - third, catcher, and short. After hitting .238 with his best homer and RBI totals since '73 - 10 and 30, respectively - he left as a free agent, signing with the Astros. After spending most of the year on the bench he was traded to the Phillies for a minor leaguer. A few games into the '83 season he was released. Dave finished with a .239 average with 49 homers and 208 RBI's. He got one pinch at bat for Houston in the '81 playoffs, striking out.

Roberts' first year after playing, 1984, he managed a team in the Royals chain but after a poor season was done. In '85 he became a scout for the Indians which he did through the middle of '87 when he was promoted to be a Cleveland coach. In '88 he became a scout for the Tigers which he continued to do through at least the late 2000s.


Topps sure likes to dig back pretty far for Dave's star bullets, don't they. I think this is the first time I have seen specific mention of a player's sophomore high school baseball season. On the Goldpanners he also played with Pete Broberg and Jim Sundberg. Dave is the second of what would be three Dave Roberts to play for the Padres. The most recent was the outfielder and current coach who looks like he has successfully fought off lymphoma.

I think this is a weird one:

1. Roberts and Al Oliver '79 to '80 Rangers;
2. Oliver and Bruce Dal Canton '68 to '70 Pirates.

#250 - Willie McCovey

For the last double card post in a while we get a Hall of Famer. Willie McCovey gets a double card since he is airbrushed into his new team for '74 , the Padres. It's not a particularly great job but at least Willie's smiling. This would be two Traded cards in a row but that might have been a bit much - two Traded cards (a Washington and San Diego one) and a regular Giants card? It would have been nicer I think to do the Beckert thing and just have Willie in his old uniform with the Padres heading. The Washington card is the first one I purchased just for this blog since it had eluded me before.

Willie gets a serious card number in this set and while in some ways his numbers for '73 may seem undeserving, there were some special considerations. He crossed the 400 line in career homers. He had a pretty big comeback season, boosting his average by 50 points and more than doubling his homer and RBI totals from an injury-plagued '72. It was also his last year - for a while at least - as a Giant. So the honor was probably fitting.

Like some fellow HOF guys and other players in this set - Aaron, Otis, and Cleon Jones - Willie McCovey came out of Mobile, Alabama and was signed by the Giants in '55 when he was 17. In Class D ball that year he smoked pitchers for a .305 average and 117 RBI's in 107 games. After a '56 in B ball where he hit .310 with 91 RBI's he jumped the next season to Double A where he slowed a bit to .281 but still moved up to spend '58 and the first part of '59 at Triple A where he hit .372 with 29 homers and 92 RBI's in only 349 at bats the second season. He came up to San Francisco that July 30, got four hits in his debut against Robin Roberts, and won NL Rookie of the Year with a .354 average in 52 games. Willie, a first baseman, had a little competition ahead of him there in the form of the prior season's ROY Orlando Cepeda. In '60 Cepeda got moved to the outfield to make some room for Willie who returned to post the classic sophomore jinx season, his average dropping over 100 points as his weight ballooned from all the banquets he attended in his rookie year honor. While things picked up a bit in '61 Willie still wouldn't see a full season of playing time until '63 after he posted a pretty impressive half-season the prior year when he began to pick up some outfield time. A lefty, he was platooned that season and would famously hit into the last out of that year's Series. But in '63 now a more-or-less full-time outfielder, he recorded his first big power year with 44 homers and over 100 RBIs. After an off '64 when he had his first knee problems, he returned in '65 to recapture first in the wake of Cepeda's trade to the Cards. That year he recorded the first of what would be six successive years of over 30 homers. He wouldn't break the 100 mark in ribbies again until '68 when he had a great season in a tough year to do so for hitters. It was a nice prelude to his MVP season of '69 when on top of his listed stats he posted an OBA of .453 which was insane back then. His '70 was nearly as good but it would be his last full season for a while as knee and foot problems started keeping him out of the lineup. '71 was pretty good for roughly half a season and he kicked butt in the playoffs against Pittsburgh - .429 with two homers and six RBIs in four games - but '72 was a disaster and although the '73 rebound was nice, Willie, who was 35, was sent to the Padres for Mike Caldwell as the Giants pursued a younger team, also dumping Juan Marichal.

For San Diego McCovey took over first base from Nate Colbert and put up stats his first two seasons that happily resembled '73 more than they did '72. He averaged .253 with 23 homers and 65 RBI's. But in '75 his walk totals came in pretty hard and his OBA dropped from .416 to .345, setting the stage for a pretty awful '76. Willie's knees were a mess, he lost starting time to Mike Ivie, and late in the season he was sold to the A's to help down the stretch. But after hitting .208 with zero RBIs in a few games, he wasn't re-signed and he returned to the Giants as a free agent. After off-season surgery he was expected to ramp things up a bit but the year he had exceeded all expectations: .280 with 28 homers, 86 RBIs, and a .367 OBA that won him the NL Comeback Player of the Year. In his 40's Willie did the slow ease, recording his 500th homer in '78 and playing things out in '80, thereby extending his career to four decades. He finished with a .270 average, 521 homers, 1,555 RBIs, a .370 OBA, and six All-Star appearances. In the post-season he hit .310 with three homers and seven RBIs in eight games. He was elected to the Hall in '86. After playing he settled into admin roles for the Giants, played some golf, and had a million knee operations. He has been getting around mostly by wheelchair the past few years and in '03 opened a restaurant in California that has been quite successful. He has a statue at the new stadium and of course, McCovey's Cove, where Barry Bonds has hit tons of homers.

Willie's card revives the little traded print. He only has room for some brief star bullets but they're awfully good ones.

This one is easier than I thought it would be:

1. McCovey and Vic Harris '77 to '78 Giants;
2. Harris and George Mitterwald '74 to '75 Cubs.

#241 - Glenn Beckert

This is one of two cards like it in the set. It pictures a player on a non-Traded traded card still in the uniform of his former team. The other player pictured this way was the other side of this trade and will be coming up shortly. This post also starts a run of a bunch of double card posts in the next ten or so. I always thought this card was pretty cool. Certainly the un-retouched uniform looks better than all the air-brushed ones. And the blue works pretty well on the Brown and gold Padres colors. It's also an excellent action shot as Mr. Beckert here looks like he was almost running before he even hit the ball at Wrigley. There is a fan behind him who looks like he's decked out in a full complement of Oakland colors. Boy is that guy in the wrong place.

Glenn Beckert grew up in Pittsburgh and then attended Allegheny College in PA where he played hoops and baseball. His sophomore season he set a scoring record in basketball and he was all-conference his three years there at shortstop. Signed by the Red Sox in '62 he exited before his senior year - though he did eventually get a degree in political science - he kicked things off that year in D ball hitting .280 with an excellent OBA. He was selected after the season in the first year draft by the Cubs and put in a year of A ball good enough to get him to Triple A in '64. Groomed to be the double-play partner of '62 ROY winner Ken Hubbs, Glenn instead came up in '65 to take his place a year after Hubbs died in a plane crash. Beckert pretty much didn't skip a beat, settling in to become a superior defender and in a season, a roughly .290 hitter who was awfully tough to fan. In '68 Glenn led the league in runs, the first guy to do so with under 100 since the dead-ball era. He also had only 20 strikeouts in 685 plate appearances and won a Gold Glove. The following season he was named to the first of four successive All-Star teams. In '71 his average popped to .342 and he came in 11th in MVP voting. But then Glenn aged pretty quickly and by '73 he was pretty much splitting time at second with Paul Popovich. After the season he was traded to the Padres with Bob Fenwick for Jerry Morales. Hence this card.

For the Padres Beckert and another old hand, Horace Clarke, backed up Derrell Thomas at second base. In '75, although he was hitting .375 in a few early season at bats, Glenn was released by San Diego and then retired. He finished with a .283 average and only 243 strikeouts for his career, or less than one every 20 at bats. He is in the top 100 of putouts, assists, and double plays recorded at second base.

In the off-season Glenn had been a partner of Ron Santo in life insurance and real estate businesses which he continued for a couple years following his retirement. He then became a commodities broker in Chicago which he did for a bunch of years. Given what happened in those markets around then, it is quite possible he is very comfortable financially.


Glenn seems to have always been outstanding defensively. Regarding the cartoon, he had a five-year run when he had the lowest strikeout ratio in the NL. He also put together two hitting streaks of over 20 games in his career.

This should work as an all-Cubs hookup:

1. Beckert and Rick - or Ricky - Reuschel '72 to '73 Cubs;
2. Reuschel and Joe Coleman '76 Cubs.

#226 - San Diego Padres/Padres Team Records

This post should set a record for the most attached photos for the blog since the individual Padres cards had no official Traded companion cards in this set. That's too bad since there isn't too much to say about this team, except that probably no team had to deal with as stacked a deck against them as these guys did.

The '73 Padres' best record was 2-0 and then they promptly dropped five straight. In early June a 1-13 streak pretty much eliminated them before the season was half over. They would finish 12th in hitting and eleventh in team ERA. That all adds up to another dead last finish in the NL West. On top of that they had to contend with rumors all season that they were moving to DC or even being folded. On the positive side they did have three rookies - Randy Jones, Rich Troedson, and Johnny Grubb - make various rookie all-star teams. New kid Dave Winfield was someone to get excited about and young players Dave Roberts, Jerry Morales, and Fred Kendall were developing nicely. But in the end they would tumble to another 100-loss season, chase after some old guys to amp things up, and set the stage for continued morose baseball. At least they got to stay in sunny San Diego.

There's nothing much going on with the team card. Certainly the yellow uniforms stand out but due to the blurriness it's hard to tell who most of the players are. The Washington card is actually much clearer than the San Diego one. It would have been cool if the back of the Washington team card had the new team name in the header but it just had the same back as the San Diego card, shown below. In the photo, that looks like Don Zimmer in the manager seat and Winfield could be the guy in the back right - he certainly seems tall enough - but he looks too dark and Dave didn't really have a fu. Maybe it's Leron Lee. On the checklist we have a lot of signatures from guys not on the '73 team: Willie McCovey, Glenn Beckert, Matty Alou, and Bobby Tolan. As for the rest, most of the team's better players are represented. I think Clarence Gaston has the nicest signature.

Thankfully only two team record holders do not have cards in this set. They are both pitchers:

Frank Reberger was born in Idaho and attended the University of Idaho where he played basketball and baseball. He was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in '66 and put up a 6-5 record with a 2.91 ERA in Rookie ball that summer. He moved to Single A in '67 and did poorly but then went 4-2 with a 2.60 ERA when moved up to Double A. In '68 he went 7-5 with a 3.79 ERA in Triple A and put in a couple innings in Chicago. Prior to the '69 season he was selected by the Padres in the expansion draft and as one of their primary relievers went 1-2 with a 3.59 ERA and six saves his rookie year. He was then traded to the Giants for Bob Barton, Bobby Etheridge, and Ron Herbel. For San Francisco he was a spot starter and long reliever the next three seasons, going a combined 13-12 with a 4.70 ERA. He also pitched a bunch for the Giants' Triple A club. His last season up top was '72 and he finished with a 14-15 record and a 4.52 ERA with eight saves. He pitched in the minors through '74 going 29-29 with a 4.03 ERA combined at that level. After baseball he returned to Idaho where he owned and ran a fishing lodge until 1980 when it was wrecked by soot from the Mt. Saint Helen's eruption. He relocated to the Caribbean to coach, which he did in PR and DR the next couple seasons. He then moved to the Angels system to coach, reaching the top in '91. He moved to the Marlins for '93 to '94 and then coached and managed in the Giants system the next few years before moving to independent ball. Beginning in '08 he has been the pitching coach of the 7-11 Lions.

Jack Baldschun came out of Ohio and went to Miami (of Ohio) University. Upon being signed by the Senators in '56, he went 20-25 the next two years in C ball. After an off season he went 6-2 in B ball in '59 and 12-9 in A ball in '60 and then went to the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft. By then he had learned a screwball, which would become his signature pitch. In '61 he led the NL in games as a rookie with 65, going 5-3 for an awful team. he would then spend the next three years as the Phillies' closer, going a combined 29-23 with 50 saves. He occupied that role for much of the '64 season before manager Gene Mauch rather publicly lost confidence in him and didn't pitch Jack at all during that year's big swoon. After an OK '65 season he was traded to the Orioles for Darold Knowles and Jackie Brandt and then a couple days later was included in the deal that brought Frank Robinson to Baltimore. For the Reds Jack floundered, going 1-5 with a 5.20 ERA over the next two seasons, spending time in the minors, and getting released in the winter following the '68 season. He was signed by the Padres before the '69 season, got in 61 games, primarily as the middle guy, and went 7-2 with a 4.79 ERA. He would pitch a couple innings in San Diego in '70, then hang out in the minors through '71. He finished with a record of 48-41 with a 3.69 ERA and 60 saves. After playing Jack ran a carpentry business with his brother back in Ohio and then worked as a rep for a lumber firm. He is now retired.

Given the swath of new players on the front of the checklist it is likely the Padres fall short in player representation in this set but let's see. On offense, Jerry Morales had a card with the Cubs - in his Padre uniform - and Dave Campbell with the Astros. That leaves Gene Locklear, an outfielder (with a .240/3/25 line in 154 at bats); Dwain Anderson, shortstop (.121/0/3 in 107 at bats); and Dave Marshall, another outfielder (.286/0/4 in 49 at bats); as the only players with over 25 at bats not represented. Locklear's absence is a mystery but Anderson, who was the shortstop on Topps' '72 rookie team (for the Cards), and Marshall were at the end of the line. I am pretty sure the first two are on the team card with Anderson the first player in the second row and Locklear, who was tiny, the fourth player in that same row. Looking closely at the card, I believe Winfield is four over from Locklear. He must be kneeling down. As for the pitchers, Fred Norman went to the Reds mid-season (where he did a wonderful job), Mike Caldwell is horribly air-brushed into a Giants uniform, and Bob Miller less horribly into a Mets one. That leaves Gary Ross, who went 4-4 with a 5.42 ERA in relief and a guy with the great name of Frank Snook, 0-2 and 3.62 with a save, as the only pitchers with records who were card-less. I believe Frank and Gary are the second and third guys in the last row. So we miss 310 at bats and ten decisions. I guess that's not so bad.

Let's get Mr. Splittorff and these guys together:

1. Dave Winfield on the '73 Padres;

2. Winfield and Doug Bird '81 Yankees;

3. Bird and Paul Splittorff '73 to '78 Royals.

#197 - Vicente Romo

This guy has what may be the most informative Baseball-Reference bullpen page I have seen thus far of the players in this set. The author appears to hold Mr. Romo here in a venerated light but I certainly have my favorites also. I will be borrowing from his contribution pretty liberally for the narrative. On these cards Vicente takes a break from his favorite fielding pose. He is a season away from having a Traded card which would have made this a very crowded post. Prior to the '73 season Vicente went to the Padres for Johnny Jeter where he shared closing duties, recorded seven saves, and posted some of the best numbers for any San Diego hill guy. Vicente would have a very long career, only a fraction of it being in the States.

Vicente Romo was from Baja and began playing in the Mexican Leagues in '62 upon finishing school. Purchased by Cleveland following the '64 season from Mexico City, he would have a not particularly great '65 at Triple A Portland. He then did a round trip, returning to the Tigers in '66 and giving Portland another shot in '67 which also did not go so well (those two seasons he went a combined 5-16 with an ERA above 4.20). Prior to the '68 season the Dodgers snapped up Vicente in the Rule 5 draft and pitched him for an inning before returning him to the Tribe. In '68 the numbers at Portland improved significantly and during the season he returned to the majors, this time as an Indian. His rookie stats were excellent as he recorded twelve saves in his 40 games and put up an ERA to match teammate Luis Tiant's. He also had a dramatic windup very similar to the one Tiant would develop with a big turnaround motion on the mound.

In '69 after a good start, Romo was traded to the Red Sox with Joe Azcue and Sonny Siebert in the deal that brought Ken Harrelson to Cleveland. For Boston he would continue with good stats, posting eleven saves while also picking up some starts. In '70 he continued his dual roles, turning his record around even though his ERA shot up. Prior to the '71 season he was sent to the White Sox with Tony Muser for Duane Josephson and Dan Murphy. In Chicago Vicente would pitch for legendary coach Johnny Sain as he returned to the pen primarily as a middle reliever. While his record wasn't great, his ERA was better than league average.  In '74 his ERA shot way up although he upped his save total to nine. He also had control issues, recording more walks than strikeouts and he was released the following March. He returned to the Mexican League for a bunch of seasons. In May of '82 LA bought Vicente and pulled him all the way up as a starter and reliever and at age 39 he did pretty well, going 1-2 with a save and a 3.03 ERA in 15 games. That would be the last appearance of his career in the States. Vicente went 32-33 with a 3.36 ERA, four complete games, a shutout, and 52 saves.

Romo's true success was found in Mexico. Playing primarily in the Pacific Mexican League, he pitched there through '86 in both summer and winter ball. He is the league's record holder in career wins, strikeouts, complete games, and ERA. He won 182 games in that league and all told more than 400 wins during his career. He was elected to the Mexican baseball Hall of Fame in '92 and worked as a pitching coach there following his retirement as a player. He is currently a coach for Olmecas de Tabasco.

Vicente gets mention for his '72 season since that year the Sox gave Oakland a pretty good run in the West. His nickname was courtesy of his head, which a coach in the minors likened to an egg. It was pretty big. Vicente's brother Enrique was also a pitcher up top. I remember him having a nice rookie year for the Mariners in '77.

Finally back to the NL, I lean on the other league for the hookup:

1. Romo and Gerry Moses '69 to '70 Red Sox;
2. Moses and Jim Fregosi '71 Angels.

#173 - Randy Jones

This is the rookie card of Randy Jones. Being a low-numbered Padre, Randy gets a two-fer. He looks pretty magnanimous at Jack Murphy Stadium but that's OK since he won a pitching spot on the Topps Rookie All-Star Team that year (so he's pitcher two). Randy's whole pitching career was basically built around his two wonderful seasons in the mid-'70s but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Randy Jones grew up in Brea, California and wanted to play for the Dodgers. He went undrafted out of high school though as two guys he played against - Steve Busby and Al Hrabosky - were snapped up. Randy then attended Chapman College where, due to an arm injury, he had to refine his pitching game from primarily heat to placed pitches. He was drafted and signed by the Padres in '72 and had a pretty quick rise up. By the end of that year he was in Double A and after a super start there in '73 he was moved up to San Diego. His move there was also helped by the sale of Fred Norman to the Reds that season, as the Padres needed a lefty starter to fill the gap. In going one game over .500 Randy set the then club record for winning percentage by a lefty and made the Topps team.

'74 would be tough for Jones. His money pitch was a sinker that only hit the mid-'70s but could move up and down. Most of his outs were therefore groundouts and the Padre infield of '74 was pretty porous. Top that off with declining confidence and Randy's record fell to 8-22 with a 4.46 ERA. In 17 of those losses the Padres put up two or fewer runs and the bullpen was pretty dreadful. Going into '75 Randy worked with pitching coach Tom Morgan to re-establish the sinker and refine his slider. Both would prove hugely successful when in '75 after a middling start Randy caught fire and won 20 games while leading the league with a 2.24 ERA. While Randy threw a slow pitch he worked quickly and his games averaged less than two hours. In '75 he threw a complete game on 68 pitches. Randy would finish second to Tom Seaver in Cy Young votes, make the All-Star team and win Comeback Player of the Year, which was a bit silly. In '76 the magic continued as Randy would be 15-3 by the All-Star break. He started that game, ultimately went 23-14 with a 2.74 ERA, and won the Cy. He tied a record by throwing 68 consecutive innings without giving up a walk. He would throw 315 innings that season and in his last game snapped a nerve in his upper arm that left him unable to flex his bicep. Unfortunately for Randy that injury set the tone for the balance of his career.

In '77 Jones began the season going 4-1 but the nerve damage wouldn't go away and he ended the year only 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA. For the next three seasons the ERA came back to earth but he went a combined 29-39 and after the '80 season he went to the Mets for a couple minor league pitchers. Things didn't improve in NY as Randy went a combined 8-18 in two seasons before being released. '82 was his last year and he finished things up with a record of 100-124 with a 3.42 ERA, 73 complete games, 19 shutouts, and two saves. In 305 career games he only gave up 503 walks.

After baseball, Randy moved around a bit career-wise. He did the real estate thing and also owned and ran a group of car washes. He then moved into food service and would travel worldwide seeking concessions on military bases. In the Nineties he returned to the Padres as a community rep and also opened a barbecue stand at the stadium. Away from that he has been running a baseball school - one of its graduates is Barry Zito - and does some radio work for the Padres.

The adjectives are flying in these star bullets. That's a cool cartoon. No wonder he had Dodger blue in his eyes.

This time we go all NL:

1. Jones and Jerry Morales '73 Padres;
2. Morales and Gene Clines '77 Cubs.

#148 - Dave Hilton

We are back to the NL and when I say back, I mean way back. I know the Padres were only five years old at the time, but Dave here looks like he's in a uniform from the '50s. And those glasses are too much. Very Malcolm X. Dave looks very serious here where he appears to be the only life form on some post-apocalyptic field where the grass was struggling. Unfortunately '73 was a struggle for Dave as well. Though he would get his greatest amount of plate time that season, he responded with a sub-.200 average, which wasn't a key to longevity, even for the Padres. He also had one of the team's young stars - though not for long - ahead of him at his preferred position of third base in Dave Roberts. But this Dave was a battler and he returned to the minors in mid-season to work on his game at second, ditched the glasses, and returned the next season to raise his average a bunch. He was never gonna be Joe Morgan, but he did a pretty good job as Dave Hilton.

Dave Hilton grew up in Texas and played ball at Rice University. While at Rice he was a sought-after player but couldn't get drafted out of the school because he was too young. So he did what was a fairly common practice back then and after his first year transferred to a local two-year school since those schools didn't have the same restrictions. He was then the first overall pick by the Padres in the January '71 draft. His first season in Single A produced a pretty light average but he showed decent power while splitting time between shortstop and third base. In '72 he moved to Double A and had a nice year while playing nearly exclusively at the hot corner. He came up to San Diego that September and got in a couple games. He was on a path to be the next Padre third baseman. But that summer San Diego took a big deal kid out of Oregon, Dave Roberts, and that Dave sort of leapfrogged over this Dave and pretty much stepped right into the regular spot. So, while our Dave would have another spanking spring training in '73, that low average and the other Dave's big year would cause this guy to do some traveling between Double A, Triple A, and San Diego. By then he was putting in some time at second and in '74 that would be his primary position in Triple A where he had a very good offensive year (.328 with 22 doubles and 43 RBIs in less than half a season). That year the other Dave cooled off a bunch so for San Diego Hilton played third, boosting his average over 40 points. In '75 after a couple games at San Diego, Hilton got hepatitis which slammed him out of the lineup and after he recovered he went to the minors to rehab, where he had a good season - .298 - back at third base between Double and Triple A. In '76 he was a full-timer at Hawaii where he had another good year (.288 with 16 homers and 77 RBIs). Following that season he was purchased by the new Blue Jays and again spent the '77 season at Triple A, putting up similar power numbers, but with a .237 average.

In '78 Hilton would take his game over to Japan for the Yakult Swallows, where he made an immediate impact. He was the leadoff hitter on the team that won the Japanese Series, batting .317 with 19 homers and 76 RBIs. The following season his average slipped a bunch to around the .260 level and in '80 he was traded or sold to the Hanshin Tigers where he had a poor season. Before the season was over he returned to the States where he managed to hookup with Portland, a Triple A team of Pittsburgh's. He put in another full season there in '81 with decent numbers but was by then 30 and after that season he was released. In '82 he moved down to Mexico City for his final season as a player. For Dave's major league career he hit .213 in what amounted to a full season. In the minors he hit .277 with 87 homers.

Hilton would stay involved in baseball, initially hooking up with the Minnesota organization, for whom he managed in the minors in '84. He also managed at that level for the Braves ('92), and Orioles ('97) and in that role went a combined 162-194. In between he coached in those systems as well as Oakland's and Milwaukee's and made it up top for the Brewers ('87-'88). He has also done scouting both in the States and in Asia. He has also been running his own baseball school for years. I have linked to its website here.

Topps completely dismisses Dave's time at Alexandria (Double A) in '73. '72 was Dave's big year in the minors and I believe he played winter ball in Venezuela. The cartoon is a harbinger of his later move to Asia. He has a SABR bio.

Back to the NL now, there is one guy who makes this happen:

1. Hilton and Dave Roberts - why not - '72 to '75 Padres;
2. Roberts and Johnnie Jeter '72 Padres (Hilton didn't play enough);
3. Jeter and Bart Johnson '73 White Sox.

#125 - Nate Colbert

The next Padre/Washington Nat'l guy is an All-Star with a "5" card even. Nate Colbert was a belter and was just coming off the best five year run of his career. While '73 was a bit of a downtick for Nate in the big power numbers, it was still an awfully good offensive season for a Padre back then. He also had some of the meanest facial hair of the set. which I think gets accentuated by that crazy Padre yellow. If those blurred seats in the back are red, this should be Candlestick, or it could be home at Jack Murphy Stadium. A bunch of the Padres away shots are in Riverfront, though, so who knows. It IS one of the best smiles in the set at least.

Nate Colbert was a local St. Louis kid who saw Stan Musial play at Sportsman's Park, which would turn out to be ironic later in his career. Nate's dad had played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues so he had a lot of exposure to baseball. He was signed by the Cards in '64 out of St. Louis Baptist College. He put in a little time in FLA for rookie ball and in '65 played Single A where he demonstrated some power. But the Cards had a pretty good pipeline for first basemen and they left Nate unprotected so Houston gobbled him up for the '66 season in the Rule 5 draft. I now have a handle on how that worked: when a player was taken in that draft he incurred "bonus baby" status for a year and had to stay on the major league roster. This Nate did in Houston for all of '66 but he only got into a couple games and in '67 he went down to Double A where he wowed them with his power - 28 homers - but also would strike out 143 times. '68 was spent at Triple A where the power numbers declined a bit and in a late-season call-up to the Astros. That winter Nate was drafted by the Padres in the expansion draft.

Colbert immediately became the San Diego starting first baseman and would retain that position for the club's first five seasons. Nate was the only consistent offensive threat on the Padres during that time as he averaged 30 homers and over 80 RBIs despite the high strikeout totals. He was an All-Star from '71 to '73 and nearly went to the Mets after the '71 season in a trade that blew up and then had NY grab Rusty Staub. His best season was '72. More on that year below.

In '74 the Padres traded for Willie McCovey and to make room for him, Colbert played some outfield. He began experiencing significant back problems that year and his average plummeted. That November he went to the Tigers for Ed Brinkman and Dick Sharon to fill the recently-retired Norm Cash's role. But his offensive numbers continued to fall and by mid-year he was sold to the Expos. His numbers didn't recover for Montreal either. He would get cut by them early in the '76 season and then sign as a free agent with Oakland. But after a season with their Triple A club in which he put up some decent power numbers - twelve homers and 44 RBI's in 210 at bats - he was still striking out once every four at bats and then he was done. Nate finished with a .243 average, 173 homers, and 520 RBIs in just over 1,000 games. He was also excellent defensively and led the league in both assists and putouts on a few occasions.

After his playing career was over Colbert worked his way back to the Padres and by '85 was involved in their community affairs program. He then coached in their minor leagues the next five seasons. In 1990 he was indicted for mortgage fraud for listing properties he didn't own to get a loan. He spent some time in prison, came out and became a minster with his wife. He also returned to baseball and in '95 and '96 managed a couple independent clubs, going a combined 62-100. As recently as last year he and his wife have been running an advisory business to amateur athletes.

That was some double header in August of '72. Nate broke Stan Musial's record for RBIs in a two-fer and was actually at the game in which The Man did it when he was a kid, hence the irony indicated above. Those two games were against Atlanta and even Hank Aaron said it was the most amazing power display he ever saw.

This one won't be as tough as I thought:

1. Colbert and Ollie Brown '69 to '72 Padres.
2. Brown and Bob Coluccio '73 Brewers.

#102 - Bill Greif

Our next Padre/Washington Nat'l guy is Bill Greif, which despite the way I had always said it is pronounced "Grife." Here he warms up in an action shot at Riverfront. I have to admit that over the course of this blog so far I have grown to like these yellow uniforms. It's a pretty good thing, then, that my chosen field of endeavor is not as GM of a baseball team. The yellow does look pretty good against the almost-blue artificial turf. Bill was in the middle of arguably his best season at the time of this shot. While he would put up an excellent ERA though, he was rewarded with yet another crappy record as San Diego once again finished dead last in NL hitting. Things wouldn't get better any time soon and Bill was frequently referred to as a "hard-luck" pitcher. This, then, is a very appropriate card shot for Bill: twice he took the hill in Cincy in '73 and both games started around 2:00 (so that small shadow isn't much help in picking the date). One start was May 18th and the other September 23rd. Both times he went up against Jack Billingham who was having an excellent All-Star season. I am going to go with the September game since Bill has the long shirt on. He lost that one 3-2 though he gave up zero walks and struck out seven in his seven innings. That qualifies as a hard-luck loss to me. 

Like Bobby Valentine, Bill Greif was drafted out of high school in '68, he in the third round by the Astros. A local boy from Austin, Bill was a multi-sport guy and QB'd his football team to a state championship. The next few seasons he wound his way through the minors, spending roughly a year at each level. He did pretty well with an ERA in the low three's although he was only 25-29 as primarily a starter. In '69 he followed up a good Rookie ball year with a couple solid starts in A ball and then his elbow popped. He threw only 30 innings between those early starts and some later rehab work. Two more good years followed in Double A and Triple A respectively. That second season of '71 his ERA moved up a bit but his K totals got everyone excited and he saw his first MLB work that year when he was called up in late July to replace an injured Larry Dierker in the rotation. That December he went to San Diego with Derrel Thomas for Dave Roberts (the pitcher, not the infielder).

Grief thereby joined a pretty horrible team and fit right in with a horrible '72 record of his own. His first start for the Padres was a shutout of Atlanta, but things went downhill fast. At one point during the year he went 0-7 while shaving a run from his ERA. In '73 he would add a knuckle curve (sort of) and throw three two-hitters. He was still seven games under .500 and it would prove to be by far his best season as a starter as in '74 he went 9-19 with a 4.66 ERA while leading the NL in HBP's. He was then moved to the bullpen in '75. The Padres started relatively strongly that year and Bill was one of the leaders in relief topping the club with nine saves. But he started '76 with an ERA above 8.00 and was soon sent to St. Louis for Luis Melendez. While he threw better for the Cards, his performance was less than stellar and after the season he went to Montreal (his '77 card is one of the worst air-brush jobs ever). But the Expos released him in spring training and he never played a game for them. After an abbreviated comeback in '78 with the Mets at Tidewater he hung them up. He finished with a record of 31-67 and an ERA of 4.41, 18 complete games, five shutouts, and 19 saves. In the minors he was 24-30 with a 3.20 ERA.

While playing Greif was able to get an undergrad degree in psychology at the University of Texas. He then acquired a Masters in Education from Texas State and went on to a career in real estate, based in Austin. Further down the road his wife got breast cancer which was treated successfully and the two of them began a support service for cancer victims and their families. It is linked to here.
 

Bill was a big boy and was sought after by a bunch of colleges, particularly in Texas. The shutout mentioned in the third star bullet is one of the two-hitters named above. He may have been a switch hitter but it didn't help any: his lifetime batting average was below .100. Bill has a SABR bio.

We are in the midst of one of the Topps west coast swings. Let's see if it helps:

1. Greif and Dave Winfield '73 to '76 Padres;
2. Winfield and Bobby Valentine '75 to '77 Padres.

Greif was gone before Valentine got his requisite at bats, a stat I totally made up.

#77 - Rich Troedson

Another Padre/ Washington guy! I like these posts because they force me to be creative with the narrative. Especially this one, since this guy only hung out for just over a season. One observation I have - and I am sure that it is a nuance of my cards specifically - is that Rich appears much tanner on his San Diego card than on his Washington one, which is of course appropriate.

Rich Troedson was a stud pitcher at Santa Clara University and before that at Camden HS in San Jose. From Camden he was picked by Oakland in '68 but Rich opted for school. While at Santa Clara he was a four time all-conference player while winning 40 games out of his 58 starts and 445 strikeouts in his 437 innings - all still school records - and a 2.10 ERA. He was a first rounder by Houston in '71 - he passed again - and in '72 was the WCC (West Coast Conference) player of the year. During his SCU time he also played summer ball in Alaska with major leaguers to be Brent Strom, Steve Dunning, Jim Barr, Pete Broberg, and Dave Kingman. San Diego made him a first rounder again in '72 and this time he signed. He pitched well in A ball that year - more than a K an inning - and after a good spring was on the opening day roster for the Padres in '73.

Troedson would both start and relieve for San Diego during the '73 season. While his numbers did not get him on the Topps rookie team, they did land him on the Baseball Digest one. In '74 he sort of blew up to start the season - 1-1 with a save but a 9.00 ERA in 18 innings - and was sent down to Triple A Hawaii in May. There he settled into the rotation but the ERA was still a bit toppy. So in '75 Rich moved to double A and although he had an OK year there - 8-9 with a 3.96 ERA, he didn't advance. A telling stat that season was that his big K totals were done: only 24 in 134 innings that year. In '76 he threw for Monterrey in the Mexican League in what was his final season as a player. For his career Rich went 8-10 with a 4.74 ERA, two complete games, and two saves. In the minors he was 21-21 with a 3.86 ERA. This is his first and last card.

Shortly after playing Troedson took over managing a sporting goods store for about ten years. Beginning in '88 or so he began a long career in real estate banking and judging by some information available online he is still at it near his hometown.

The records mentioned in the first star bullet include the four named above. He had some nice company on that '70 team including Mike Caldwell, Burt Hooton, Johnny Grubb, and John Wathan. The US came in second to Cuba in the tournament. Dave Roberts - the third baseman one - was also on a bunch of Troedson's teams including the '70 one and the Alaska ones. And the Padres of course. I do not know if his graduate pursuits were in finance but given his subsequent career it would make sense.

A one-year NL guy! This may be tough:

1. Troedson and Johnny Grubb '73 to '74 Padres;
2. Grubb and Mickey Rivers '79 to '82 Rangers.

I guess not.

#53 - Fred Kendall

Here is Fred Kendall, Padres starting catcher and the subject of the second Washington Nat'l card of the set. Fred is fresh off his '73 season as San Diego's MVP. It was also Fred's best career season as he topped out in average, homers, and RBI's in what was pretty much his busiest year. Here he crouches at the Padres' spring training compound.

Fred Kendall was a '67 draftee of the Reds out of his Torrance, California high school as a catcher, but you know who was in front of him there. Though Fred lacked Johnny Bench's power, he had a couple decent offensive seasons, including a .301 in A ball his first year and a .292 in '68 in Double A. Following that season he was selected by San Diego in the expansion draft and  with his new team put up a very similar '69 in Double A with a bit more power prior to his late look. His next season was an error-less '70 behind the plate in Triple A. After some time at that level in '71 he moved into the starting Padre lineup late that summer.

Kendall's predecessors in San Diego weren't monster batsmen so even though his MLB average entering the '72 season was sub-.200, Fred was given a split starting assignment with recent transplant Pat Corrales. He turned in some nice D and on offense cracked that .200 barrier before taking on the job solo the next year. He retained the starting gig in '74 but as his average swooned 50 points, his at bats moved down. In '75 Fred's average again moved to sub-.200 as his at bats came way in to make room for the new young catching hope in Bob Davis. But Davis' stick wasn't too great either and Fred was staff ace Randy Jones' favorite receiver - Jones gave Fred a lot of credit for his pitching success in '75 and '76 - so in '76 Fred got a big jump in at bats as he reported a much better .246/2/39 offensive line. After the season Fred, Hector Torres,  and Johnny Grubb were sent to Cleveland for George Hendrick.

With the Tribe, Kendall moved into another split-role assignment - this time with Ray Fosse - and turned in numbers a bit better than his '76 ones. After that for the Indians he went to Boston - with Dennis Eckersley, oof! - for Rick Wise and other guys. He played very sparingly for the Red Sox, again for obvious reasons, and the next season returned to San Diego. After a couple backup seasons he was released in 1980. Fred finished with .234 average with 31 homers and 244 RBI's.

Following a few years with a real-world job, Fred returned to baseball as a minor league coach and manager in the White Sox system. In that second role from '92 to '95 he went 246-243. He then hooked up with former teammate Buddy Bell and became his bullpen coach for all his major league stops, the last being in 2007 in Kansas City. His son is, of course, Jason Kendall, currently with the Royals.

Some more poop on the whole Washington/San Diego situation might be appropriate here. Between low attendance woes and other business losses, San Diego's owner - CA Smith - got in dutch with the IRS, among other parties. He actively sought various deals, the most promising of which was a bid by a Japanese group to take the Padres to Washington. The city of San Diego sued to block the move; I do not know the outcome of that legal situation. But things were up in the air enough with Smith's finances that a move to DC seemed likely, at least enough to print those cards. In the end, of course, the Padres stayed in San Diego, becoming the property of McDonalds millionaire Ray Kroc. That was a pretty good save.

The card back focuses on Fred's primary strength, his fielding. The cartoon references the Connie Mack league which I always thought was strictly a northeastern rec league, but since Kendall was a California kid I guess not.

All NL this time:

1. Kendall and Johnny Jeter '71 - '72 Padres;
2. Jeter and Al Oliver '69 - '70 Pirates.

We will see Jeter later in the AL.