#657 - Jim Shellenback

The book “Seasons in Hell” describes the Texas Rangers spring training site in Pompano Beach as about the ugliest complex ever ringed with palm trees covered with fungus. That looks about right in this final card shot of Jim Shellenback on what may be the mound. Jim has an impossibly long face which gets even more elongated by the placement of his eyes which are scrunched up way on his forehead (check out his ’70 card). ’73 wasn’t much of an MLB season for Jim, about whom we get no color in the above book. Pretty much all of it was spent in Triple A where, given the team’s dynamics, one would think his 13-7 season in the rotation and four shutouts would have made someone excited. But Jim was 29 then and his ERA was a bit fat at 4.31 and since Texas was in the midst of a youth movement for its rotation – both Jim Bibby and David Clyde were rookies – this Jim seems not to have had too many chips on his table. He’d get another couple shots up top, neither of which went too well. But like the former post subject, Adrian Garrett, Jim would come off his seldom-used MLB time into a super long coaching stretch.

Jim Shellenback was signed by the Yankees upon graduating Ramona High School in California – a school also attended by Steve Barber and Tom Hall in this set – in ’62. After a summer of D and C ball during which he went 1-5 with a 4.04 ERA but 57 K’s in 49 innings, Jim was selected by Pittsburgh in the first year draft. The Pirates moved Jim up to A ball where he had a very nice ’63: 17-3 with a 2.03 ERA and nearly a strikeout an inning. He continued pitching well the next few years, going 8-14/3.53 in Double A in ’64; 14-6/3.33 in a ’65 split between Double A and Triple A; and 11-13/3.09 with four shutouts in Triple A in ’66, the year he debuted for a few innings in Pittsburgh. He got his first rookie card in ’67, had a 7-10/3.16 season in Triple A and returned to a nice couple games in September, one being a complete game eleven-inning win over the Dodgers. But he then spent all of ’68 back in Triple A, partly as a recovery from a nasty car accident that broke his leg right after the prior season. He still had a pretty good half season, going 9-8 with a 2.85 ERA and a couple shutouts. In ’69 he got his second rookie card, started the season as a reliever for the Pirates, and knocked off some pretty good innings before a May trade had him in DC for pitcher Frank Kreutzer, by then a minor leaguer.

Shellenback joined the Senators and the team’s manager Ted Williams in what was a bit of an ironic twist. Years earlier Jim’s uncle Frank was Ted’s player-coach on the San Diego PCL team. Frank got props from Ted in Ted’s autobiography, “My Turn at Bat” and it had also been suggested that Frank was responsible for turning The Splendid Splinter from a pitcher into an outfielder during his PCL time, which may or may not have been the case. Either way, Jim would become more of a spot guy with Washington, getting eleven starts and a save the rest of the ’69 season for DC. In ’70 he had probably his best MLB season as he started 14 games and recorded a shutout. In ’71 all Jim’s numbers were pretty comparable to his prior season’s except his won/loss record which tumbled pretty hard. In ’72 he was pitching pretty effectively but with some bad luck when a shoulder injury took him out of action in early July for the rest of the year. '74 would work a lot like ’73 except his numbers weren’t nearly as good: a 5.48 ERA in 25 innings for the Rangers and a 4-4/3.78 season in Triple A. After that season he was sold to San Diego where he would spend a considerable amount of time the next two seasons in the Padres Triple A rotation, going a combined 17-11 with a 4.25 ERA and five saves. Then in ’77 he moved to Minnesota where he got some light work in Triple A – 2-1/3.90 with a save in 30 innings – and his final MLB work where he posted a high ERA in a few innings. That was his final season and Jim finished with an MLB line of 16-30 with a 3.81 ERA, eight complete games, two shutouts, and two saves. In the minors he went 103-82 with a 3.42 ERA.

Shellenback remained in the Minnesota system after playing as a pitching coach. In ’83 he served that role in Minnesota. He had an 18-year run for the team’s Class A franchise in Elizabethtown that ended with his retirement following the 2011 season.

Jim has a nice signature, especially for such a long surname. His career came very close to ending after that ’67 car crash. Those two wins from the second star bullet were successive and took nearly a run off Jim’s ERA that season: He gave up six hits and two earned runs against Milwaukee and threw a two-hit shutout against the Angels. The info regarding his uncle Frank’s guidance in Ted Williams’ career came from Jim’s ’70 card. His uncle has a SABR page and was born in 1898, the youngest in his family. So Jim’s dad was up there when Jim was born, at least in his late Forties. It’s too bad he got no notice in the “Seasons in Hell” book since his surname minus the S dovetails nicely with the title: Jim had been to Hell and back. But that’s just a bad joke.

A Canadian helps big with this hook-up:

1. Shellenback and Dave Nelson ’70 to ’74 Senators/Rangers;

2. Nelson and Fergie Jenkins ’74 to ’75 Rangers;

3. Jenkins and Adrian Garrett ’70 and ’73 Cubs.

#639 - Joe Lovitto

This appears to be a spring training shot of Joe Lovitto at home, which I believe would back then make it Pompano Beach. If I am correct in the time then Joe here should have a more hopeful countenance than he shows since he had a good enough spring to be named the Rangers starting third baseman. Granted that status didn’t last too long and after hitting .152 in that role in April Joe suffered a back injury that took him out of the line-up a couple weeks and then after a month or so of back-up work contributed to a return to Triple A where he spent time at both third and center, hence his card designation. Joe was the first in what would ultimately be six guys who had significant third base time for the Rangers in ’73, just another one of a list of elements that would lead to another horrible finish in Whitey Herzog’s only (partial) year of managing the club. Whitey was an optimist, which was hard to be for this team back then and it looks like Joe agrees with that assessment.

Joe Lovitto was a San Pedro, California kid who attended a couple high schools and was a football and baseball star at both of them. He was good enough in the latter sport to get drafted as a first rounder by the Senators in ’69 and that summer got off to a bit of a slow start in A ball, though he did steal 22 bases while splitting time between the outfield and catcher. He picked up his average significantly at that level the following year when he moved to second base supplemented with a bit of outfield time. In ’71 he lost time to his reserve military hitch but when around did well in Double A and even better at Triple A Denver, where he put up an OBA of .414 while again playing second and center. In ’72 he came up in time for the team’s move to Texas and to be managed by Ted Williams in his last season. Joe won the starting gig in center but had a tough time cracking Mendoza levels the first half of the season and would give up some at bats to Elliott Maddox. But Joe put up a .254 average with twelve stolen bases in the second half which looked real good next to that team average of .217 and he seemed to be on the way to some good stuff until ’73 stepped in. In ’74 he returned to the regular spot in center but nagging shoulder and back injuries kept his average low and reduced his playing time just when the team was making a real run for the division title. He would pretty much split time in center that year with the rejuvenated Cesar Tovar and the next year give way to Lenny Randle and David Moates when the low average and a summer missed to injury really crimped his playing time. In December he was traded to the Mets for Gene Clines but his injuries were pretty debilitating by then and he was released before spring training was over. Joe finished with a .216 MLB average and hit .266 in the minors.

I am not clear at all as to what Joe Lovitto did after playing but it appears that whatever it was he did it in the Arlington area. I want to say it was something related to sports fishing because I have seen photos of him in that activity. Unfortunately one activity that took up a large chunk of Joe’s time in the Nineties was his battles against various cancers. Initially nailed by testicular cancer in ’91 Joe spent the better part of that decade fighting that and successive diseases, battles he ultimately lost when in 2001 he passed away at age 50.

Joe is another seemingly warm weather guy who liked to hit the slopes. He seems to have received a bit of face time in a book called “Seasons in Hell” by Mike Shropshire which may be excerpted in a few sites on the web. The book appears to be pretty hilarious and in one instance during his ’72 rookie season Joe is told by manager Ted Williams that he could be a great hitter if he worked harder. Joe politely responded to Ted to “F___ off” and slammed the door on him. He certainly had guts.

Watergate goings on were happening miles from Arlington, but they were happening:

7/24/74 – The Supreme Court finally handed down its decision in United States v Nixon and ordered the President to turn over all the requested White House tapes. “The Court held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege. While there was a limited executive privilege in areas of military or diplomatic affairs, preference must be given to the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of justice. The President must obey the subpoena and produce the tapes and documents.” Nixon reluctantly complied.

7/27/74 – Partly emboldened by the Supreme Court decision, over the next three days the House Judiciary Committee adopted three Articles of Impeachment against President Nixon. The three were: obstructing the Watergate investigation; misuse of power and violating the oath of office; and failure to comply with House subpoenas. The Committee’s vote this day was televised and the call was actually quite stirring, particularly that of Committee Chairman Peter Rodino who looked close to tears when voicing a quavering “Aye.”

Sanders didn’t have any Texas time but he was an AL guy, which helps here:

1. Lovitto and Clyde Wright ’75 Rangers;

2. Wright and Dave May ’74 Brewers;

3. May and Ken Sanders ’70 to ’72 Brewers.

#618 - Jim Mason

We’ve been doing a sort of back and forth between Traded cards and final cards and this card completes that loop, at least for a while. Jim Mason was pretty much the poster boy for light-hitting shortstops, even more so than the guy who’d be synonymous with that designation in a couple years. Here he strikes a tough pose in Oakland but I don’t think too many people were fooled. In ’73 he had his busiest MLB season to date, spelling Toby Harrah at shortstop and Dave Nelson at second. He would top that in ’74 in his first and only season as a downright starter before reverting to his backup role down the road. On his Traded card, which appears to be from the same day, Jim gets another nasty pinstripe airbrush job in one of those “looking up” photos. It seems Topps took those shots in case of that instance which may have grated a bit on the card subjects since there was an implication Topps knew something they didn’t. Jim sure does have a worried look on his face on that card, though he needn’t have been so concerned. In fact, Jim was able to wrangle a decent career out of not much wood despite a bit of traveling

Jim Mason came out of Mobile, Alabama, like a few other guys in this set. Jim was a good enough baseball player to be taken in the second round of the ’68 draft by the Senators. He’d also played basketball and football in high school and after graduating attended the University of Southern Alabama but didn’t play ball there. That first summer he didn’t hit too well but he fielded well enough to get up to Triple A in ’69, a season he missed a considerable part of due to military duty. In ’70 and ’71 he remained at the higher level, gradually getting more lineup time while his average escalated. His OBA both seasons was quite good at .377 in ’70 and .390 the following year. That September he made his debut in DC and was lucky enough to be on the field for the last ugly game there for a bunch of years. He began ’72 back in Triple A where he had his best offensive run before coming up to Arlington in late July on the heels of an injury bug to the Rangers. He spent a month-plus taking over the shortstop role and when Toby Harrah was healthy again spent the last couple weeks as the regular guy at third. In ’73 he was about the only infielder who didn’t spend time at the hot corner before he was sold to the Yankees in December.

New York had been having a pretty long run of light-hitting shortstops since pretty much Tommy Tresh’s rookie year. The latest of those was Gene Michael and in ’74 Michael ran out of gas a bit sooner than expected. So Mason stepped into the starting role and was a pleasant surprise on the offensive side when he hit .250. He was even more so of one when he rapped four doubles in one game early in the season. In ’75 he was expected to fill the starter role again but when his average tanked by almost 100 points Fred Stanley took over that role as he also did in ’76 when Jim hit .180. He did, though, have a rather surprising post-season that second year when he became the only Yankee to go yard against Cincinnati in his only Series at bat. In the winter he went to Toronto in the expansion draft. After hitting .165 in 80 at bats he then returned to Texas in a May trade with pitcher Steve Hargan and some cash for third baseman Roy Howell. Jim did a bit better the rest of the way for the Rangers, hitting .218 behind Bert Campaneris. He remained in that  role all of ’78 before closing things out with Montreal – he is one of few guys to play for both Canadian franchises – in ’79. Jim hit .203 up top and .252 in the minors.

I have no idea what Mason did once his career ended. Earlier this year a James Percy Mason was married near his hometown of Mobile, so if it is either this Jim or a junior one he apparently returned to his roots at some point.

I’d indicated a couple times that shortstops tended to be small during the time of this set, but outside of Luis Aparacio, that doesn’t actually appear to have been true. Look at Jim’s numbers: 6’2” and 185 isn’t too bad. That he worked for a moving company probably underlines my redaction.

Again Topps dispenses with the details of Jim’s acquisition. I wonder how immediate all that speculation was? I doubt this deal was a front-pager.

We are on the cusp of some big stuff in the whole Watergate scandal. Here are some more lead-ins:

4/23/73 – It was on this date that a third secret slush fund was disclosed. This time the fund was managed by President Nixon’s personal attorney, Herbert Kalmbach, and was reported to hold as much as $500,000. From Florida – maybe the White House staff was on spring break? – a release came that Nixon had no prior knowledge of the Watergate buggings before they occurred. Also on this date a new Grand Jury was convened to investigate news leaks purported to be coming from the sitting Grand Jury.

4/24/73 – The White House directly denied that any payoff or other offer had come from within its confines or from its staff to any of the five Watergate burglars, E. Howard Hunt, or G. Gordon Liddy in return for their silence. Both this and the above denial responded to earlier testimony from James McCord, one of the burglars.

4/25/73 – In what would become a pretty ironic development, especially given his own issues with credibility, Vice-President Spiro Agnew declared with “full confidence” that President Nixon had no involvement with Watergate and would find a way to resolve the Watergate “crisis.” Meanwhile John Mitchell let everyone know that his “conscience is clear” which, from everything out in public about the guy at that point, meant absolutely nothing.

So while Jim had at one time been in the DC area as a Nat, he was now down in Texas just looking for a hook-up with Mr. Ford, another name that would have a big DC profile in the near future. This one’s easy:

1. Mason and Ted Ford ’72 Texas Rangers.

#602 - 1974 Rookie Pitchers

Back to the pitchers, we get a couple guys who had decent careers and a couple we’d never hear from again, at least in Topps world. They all get sunny skies though.

Glenn Abbott was a big boy from Arkansas who was drafted by Oakland his first year at the University of Central Arkansas in ’69, but then missed playing that summer for military time. He returned early enough the following summer to go 8-3 with a 3.83 ERA in A ball and followed that up with an 11-10/2.72 season at that level in ’71. In ’72 he went a combined 9-16 in Double A and Triple A but with 13 complete games and a 2.96 ERA. In ’73 he led the PCL in wins as he went 18-8 with a 3.50 ERA and got a save in his only non-start. He made his debut that year in a July start, returned to Triple A, and then finished the year in Oakland with a win in a five-hitter against Kansas City and a 3.86 ERA for the year. He then began ’74 back in the minors, going 6-2 in eleven starts, before he returned to Oakland in June to finish the season as the A’s fifth starter, going 5-7 with a 3.00 ERA. In ’75 he moved to more of a swing role, going 5-5 with a 4.25 ERA and spending a few mid-summer weeks back in Triple A (2-2 in four starts with a 3.60 ERA) before in his final game of the regular season combining with Vida Blue, Paul Lindblad, and Rollie Fingers to throw a no-hitter. In ’76 his numbers continued to slide as he went 2-4/5.49 in just 19 games. After the season he was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft and in ’77 he led the Mariners in victories while going 12-13 with a 4.45 ERA. The next two years were pretty miserable for Glenn stats-wise as he went a combined 11-26/5.23 before he had a pretty good bounce in ’80 going 12-12 with a 4.10 ERA. In ’81 he lost a bunch of time to an elbow ailment and his record slid to 4-9 as his ERA improved to 3.94. That off-season he had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow but while recovering came down with viral meningitis, lost 30 pounds and some of his hearing, and missed the whole season. While recovering early in ’83 he got tendinitis in his pitching shoulder which contributed to not great rehab numbers in Triple A (0-2/6.08). But he was called up anyway and in his first start in June threw a five-hit one run complete game against the Royals. By mid-August he was 5-3 though his ERA had fattened to nearly 5.00 and he was sold to Detroit for whom he would have a nice stretch run, going 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts. But his follow-up in ’84 wasn’t so great and after some time back in Triple A he was released, missing the big Series run. Glenn finished with a record of 62-83 with a 4.39 ERA, 37 complete games, and five shutouts. He threw a hitless inning in the post-season and was 55-48 with a 3.45 ERA in the minors. After playing he immediately went into minor league coaching: for the Mets (’85-’89); Oakland (’90-2002); Texas (2003-’05); San Diego (’06-’10); and back with the Mets (’11- present). He has been in professional ball non-stop for the past 44 years.

Rick Henninger is another big boy from not too far away in Nebraska. After being drafted by Cincinnati and passing in ’66, Rick went to the University of Missouri from where he was drafted his sophomore year in the first round by the Senators. Rick had a big curve and would later add a palmball and a screwball and began things the following summer by going 4-6 with a 3.22 ERA in Double A. A big target, Rick was a horrible hitter – he would go 2 for 120 in the minors – but he moved quickly on the mound. In ’70 he went a combined 12-10 with a 3.28 ERA in Double A and Triple A but he was then beset by injuries which pretty much killed his numbers the next year, going a combined 4-7/5.97 at the same levels. In ’72 he bounced at the higher level, going 9-8 with a 2.87 ERA, and in ’73 he was 12-5 with a 3.81 ERA when he was called up to Arlington. He would get in six games in September, going 1-0 with a 2.74 ERA in his only MLB action. In ’74 his record fell to 7-9/ 4.99 in Triple A and in ’75 he moved to the Cleveland franchise where he went 3-7 with a 5.64 ERA before being released. After a season in Mexico in ’76 Rick’s pitching career was done. In the minors he went a combined 51-52 with a 4.00 ERA. After playing he remained in Texas where he has since had a long career in the oil exploration field.

Craig Swan went to Arizona State after a standout baseball career in Long Beach, California. While there he went 47-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 459 strikeouts and in ’72 was on the CWS all-star team. That same year he was drafted as a third-rounder by the Mets and he then matched his ASU ERA while going 7-3 in Double A. He then spent most of the next three years at Triple A where, while he was healthy, he threw excellent ball and went a combined 22-15 with a 2.66 ERA. In ’74 he lost a bunch of time to tendinitis but he bounced in ’75 to win his league’s pitcher of the year award.During that time he also pitched a bit in NY But that didn’t go so well as over those three seasons he went 2-7 with a 5.81 ERA as a spot guy. He got untracked in ’76 when he went 6-9 with a 3.54 ERA in the rotation for a pretty good team. In ’77 the team got bad fast and Craig went 9-10 with a 4.23 ERA as he worked to resolve some control issues. That he did, and after an excellent spring training in ’78 he went 9-6 in 28 starts while leading the NL with a 2.43 ERA. Despite his achievements on the mound it was a frustrating season: he was 1-5 to start even though his ERA was 2.67; in nine games in which he got a no-decision he went at least seven innings and only gave up 14 earned runs (his ERA in those games was 2.17). Then in ’79 he went 14-13 with a 3.29 ERA for another horrible team. Then in ’80 he began the season 5-4 with a 2.21 ERA when the tendinitis returned in his shoulder. That was followed by a lower back ailment and finally a small rotator cuff tear that ended his season in August at 5-9 with a 3.58 ERA. He rested and stretched the shoulder and after a pretty optimistic training camp returned to the mound. In his second start he was nailed in the back by a Ron Hodges throw trying to nail a runner going to second. Craig missed the rest of the pre-strike season and then all the post-strike one when the shoulder pain returned. In ’82 he had a nice bounce when he went 11-7 with a 3.35 ERA and came in second to Joe Morgan for the NL Comeback Player award. But by ’83 the rotator cuff issue was back and a downward spiral never abated as Craig went a combined 3-9 with a 6.15 ERA which included some brief ’84 time with California. That was his final season and he finished with a record of 59-72 with a 3.74 ERA, 25 complete games, and seven shutouts. At the tail-end of his career, some of his therapy was the Rolfing technique and Craig really took to it, so much that he became a practitioner, opening his own shop in CT where he is still going strong.

Dan Vossler played at least basketball and baseball while growing up in Portersville, California. In the former sport he appears to have put up a record 39 points in a game and in the latter he was good enough to be drafted by the Twins coming out of high school in ’66. Instead he opted to play ball at USC- Riverside where he set a record one year with a 1.80 ERA though his other stats are elusive. His junior year of ’69 he was drafted again by Minnesota and this time he signed, beginning his career the next summer by going 5-3 with three saves and a 2.83 ERA in A ball. He went 10-10/3.04 at that level in ’71 and then was a league all-star at Double A in ’72, going 10-8 with a 2.11 ERA and five saves. He then spent the next two years in Triple A but a combined 10-21 record and 4.97 ERA over that time got him away from the game following the ’74 season. He never made it to the Major Leagues and finished his career with a 35-42 record, a 3.52 ERA, and ten saves. And that’s it. For a big guy he has been impossible to find.

Look at how big these guys were! These personal dimensions would have been as fitting on NBA rookie cards as they are here. We get 18 seasons and that ERA title out of these guys which doesn’t work out to that much per inch.

I guess for the hook-up we bypass Vossler. To keep it fair, let’s just get to the ’74 Twins. From the last card we get:

1. Glenn Abbott and Sonny Siebert ’75 A’s;

2. Siebert and Bake McBride ’74 Cardinals.

For the round the card trip we get:

1. Glenn Abbott and Paul Lindblad ’73 to ’76 A’s;

2. Lindblad and Dick Billings ’71 to ’72 Senators/Rangers;

3. Billings and Rick Henninger ’73 Rangers;

4. Henninger and Elliott Maddox ’73 Rangers;

5. Maddox and Craig Swan ’78 to ’80 Mets;

6. Swan and Jerry Koosman ’73 to ’78 Mets;

7. Koosman and Bob Randall ’79 to ’80 Twins;

8. Randall and Steve Braun ’76 Twins;

9. Braun was on the ’74 Twins.

#597 - '74 Rookie Shortstops

The second rookie batch is designated as a group of shortstops but Manny Trillo almost never played that position up top. But that’s just nit-picking.

Dave Chalk came out of Texas and stayed there in college for the University of Texas where he was a three-time All-American with a .368 career average. A first-round pick out of school by the Angels, he hit .253 that summer of '72 in Double A and moved up the ladder fast. After hitting .293 at that level in the first couple months of ’73 he moved to Triple A where he hit .236 while putting in his first significant time at shortstop. He then made his debut with the Angels in September, hitting .232 the rest of the way in his new position. He stayed in Anaheim thereafter and besides being a very good fielder and moderately productive batter, he was quite diverse. In ’74 he was an All-Star at shortstop while also playing third. In ’75 he was again an All-Star, this time at third base, which he played exclusively as the Angels tried a bunch of rookies at his old position. That was his best offensive year as he put up a .273/3/56 season with a .353 OBA. By ’76 it was apparent that the prior year’s shortstop experiment was pretty much a wash – though the main guy, Mike Miley, showed flashes of brilliance only to die in a car crash – and Dave returned to that position. In ’77 Bobby Grich came along as a free agent and Dave moved back to third where he posted his best average of .277. In ’78 new kid Carney Lansford moved him back to short where a pretty good year – and career – got wrecked by a late-September knee injury. He was still in recovery mode in May of ’79 when he was traded back home to Texas for Bert Campaneris. He only got into a couple games for the Rangers when at the June deadline he and Mike Heath went to Oakland for pitcher John Henry Johnson. But Dave’s mobility was severely limited that year and his average shrank 30 points. He then signed with Kansas City as a free agent and for the next two years did utility work, tasting post-season action in ’80 when in his tone appearance he walked, stole second, and scored. For his career Dave hit .252 with nearly 300 runs batted in and scored. After playing he was a scout, primarily for Seattle, and also returned to the Longhorns, where he did some coaching work. His daughter later played softball for Texas where Dave continues to reside.

John Gamble grew up in Nevada so it is hard to imagine a more appropriate surname. His parents were both educators – his dad was a dead ringer – and by high school John was a good enough shortstop to be taken by the Dodgers in the second round of the ’66 draft. He finished that summer in Rookie ball, hitting .225. He remained at that level in ’67, upping his average to .298 and then in ’68 hit .254 in A ball, all while playing shortstop. In ’69 he made some noise in A ball by hitting .297 and stealing 33 bases for a couple teams and then in ’70 at that level stole 60 bases and scored 99 runs while hitting .254, mostly as a third baseman. Following that season he was taken by Detroit in the Rule 5 draft and in ’72 he was moved up to Double A where he hit .252 with 38 stolen bases. He made his Detroit debut that September as a pinch hitter and played a game at shortstop later that month. In ’73 all his appearances up top were as a pinch runner before he was returned to Triple A for the balance of the season where he hit .291 in his dual role. In ’74 he hit .240 in a season split between two Triple A teams but only stole ten bases which may indicate an injury around this point. He rebounded to hit .288 at that level in ’75 and finished his career with a .210 season at that level in ’76. John went 0 for 3 with a run scored for Detroit and hit .264 with over 200 stolen bases in the minors. He’d obtained a degree from the University of Nevada during the early Seventies and there are some indications that he followed his parents into education but I have been unable to confirm anything since his playing days.

Pete Mackanin hails from Chicago from where he was drafted by the Senators in ’69 upon completing Brother Rice High School on the south side. He hit .231 with decent power that summer in Rookie ball while playing third base. Like Dave Chalk he would move around the infield a bit during his career and in A ball in ’70 he also played shortstop as his average slipped to .202. He bounced offensively at that level in ’71, hitting .259 with seven triples in a season in which most of his time was spent at second. The next year he played all three positions while at Double A and a bit at Triple A where his offense again got whacked pretty hard. He revived big at the higher level in ’73, hitting .302 as he played strictly shortstop, a position he continued when he made his debut for Texas late that summer. But after hitting .100 in his 90 at bats with 26 K’s, he returned in ’74 to Triple A where he had a lights-out year, hitting .291 with 28 homers and 103 RBI’s. After the season he and reliever Don Stanhouse were sent to Montreal for outfielder Willie Davis. With the Expos Pete became the regular second baseman the next two years. He had some moments, like hitting 12 homers while stealing eleven bases in ’75, but overall he hit .224, struck out a bit much, and had a few too many errors. In ’77 Montreal signed Dave Cash and Pete spent the season as a reserve guy, getting minimal plate time. He then spent ’78 back in Triple A where he had another bang-up power year while playing third and shortstop, with a .276/17/112 season before he was placed on waivers that September. Philadelphia grabbed him and he spent the balance of that year and all the next on the Phillies roster, although he almost never appeared. After the ’79 season he was traded to Minnesota for pitcher Paul Thormodsgard and for the next two years he saw a lot more action while moving between second and shortstop. In ’80 he had his best MLB season, hitting .266 with 35 RBI’s in 319 at bats and in ’81 his average dipped to .231 in his final year up top. He signed with the White Sox as a free agent, was released during spring training of ’82, and then returned to Texas where for the next two years he picked up where he left off, as a Triple A, mostly corner infield power guy. In ’82 he hit .268 with 16 homers and 73 RBI’s in 377 at bats and in ’83 he had a .269/11/91 year. In ’84 he played third base for the Cubs Triple A franchise, slowing down a bit with a .248/8/44 season in his last year. Pete hit .226 with 30 homers and 27 stolen bases in the majors and .263 with 103 homers and 624 RBI’s in the minors. He immediately moved into managing after that in the minors for the Cubs (’85-’89); Cincinnati (’90-’92); Baltimore (’93-’94); Montreal (’95-’96); and Pittsburgh (2001-’02 and ’06). In between he was an MLB coach with Montreal (’97-2000) and Pittsburgh (2003-’05). He was appointed manager mid-season twice up top: for the Pirates in ’05 and for Cincinnati – for whom he’d been scouting – in ’07. He went a combined 53-53 in those roles, and those were not great teams. In 2008 he was a scout for the Yankees before returning to coaching as the bench guy for the Phillies from 2009 trough 2012. During that time he was on the short list as manager for a few spots, including Chicago and Boston. For 2013 he has been a Yankees scout. His minor league record is 985-944 with a few championships and a TSN Minor League Manager of the Year award.

When Manny Trillo was signed by the Phillies in ’68 he had been a catcher on his high school team in Venezuela. But the team liked his arm too much and turned him into a left side infielder. He hit .261 in a short summer season that year in A ball and then .280 at the same level in ’69 before going to Oakland in the Rule 5 draft. He duplicated those numbers the next two seasons in Double A for the A’s while continuing to concentrate on the left side. In ’72 he moved to Triple A where he hit .301 while playing a considerable amount of games at second for the first time. The next year it was all second base as he was being groomed to take over from Dick Green. He hit .312 that year while knocking in 78 runs around his Oakland debut in June where he hit .250 while doing late-inning work. He stayed up top to open the ’74 seasons and got some starts at second but after not hitting too well returned to Triple A where his average slid to .253 before he returned to Oakland in September to finish the season. After it he went to the Cubs with Bob Locker and Darold Knowles for Billy Williams. Once in Chicago Manny’s MLB career took off in earnest as he was named the team’s starter at second, hit .261, and fielded well enough to come in third place in ROY voting. He remained with the Cubbies through ’78, rarely missing a game and providing pretty good offensive punch while excelling defensively. In ’77 he made his first All-Star team. After the ’78 season he returned to the Phillies in a big trade and for whom he again took over as the regular guy. His average would pop a few points as he would have an award-filled run during his four seasons there: three Gold Gloves, two more All-Star games, and two Silver Slugger awards as the NL’s best offensive second baseman. He also got a Series ring in ’80 after being named mvp of the NL Championship Series after hitting .381. In ’83 he went to Cleveland as part of the group that brought Von Hayes to Philly. He was an All-Star again before going to Montreal to finish the season. He then moved to San Francisco as the regular guy for ’84 and ’85 before returning to Chicago where he spent the next three years doing mostly infield reserve work. He ended his playing career after an ’89 season with Cincinnati with a .263 average, 61 homers, and 571 RBI’s. He hit .267 in 17 post-season games, winning two rings. Defensively he led NL second basemen in putouts twice, assists four straight years, and double plays and fielding percentage once each. Lifetime he is in the top 100 in that last stat and in the top 50 on the other ones. After playing Manny was for a few years a coach in Venezuela before returning to The States in that capacity in ’96 with the Cubs, beginning a long career. He coached in the Chicago system (’96-’98); was director of minor league development for the Phillies (’99), coached in the Yankees system (2000); coached in the Milwaukee system (2001-’03); and coached and managed in the White Sox system (’04-present). For the past few years he has also assumed admin roles for the Sox.

Gamble is the oldest guy here and Mackanin the youngest. I bet this card does pretty well in terms of MLB service also. Between these four there were 25 MLB seasons, six All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, and two Silver Sluggers.

Now first we move between two young AL guys:

1. Dave Chalk and Leroy Stanton ’73 to ’76 Angels;

2. Stanton and Dick Pole ’77 to ’78 Mariners.

And then around the card:

1. Dave Chalk and Denny Doyle ’74 Angels;

2. Doyle and Tony Taylor ’70 to ’71 Phillies;

3. Taylor and John Gamble ’72 to ’73 Tigers;

4. Gamble and Woodie Fryman ’72 to ’73 Tigers;

5. Fryman and Pete Mackanin ’75 to ’76 Expos;

6. Mackanin and Andre Thornton ’76 Expos;

7. Thornton and Manny Trillo ’75 to ’76 Cubs.

#580 - Jim Spencer

On this card we get a first-time All Star in what is his most frequently-used card pose. Jim Spencer hit nearly .300 the first few months after his trade to Texas from California and provided his usual excellent defense at first to get the All-Star nod in ’73. Other than that it wasn’t a crazy memorable season for him as he’d hit better in the past, especially power-wise. He’d come over from Anaheim in a pretty big deal involving pitchers and first baseman: he and Lloyd Allen for Mike Epstein, Rich Hand, and Rick Stelmaszek (who was actually a catcher). Once Jim arrived he more-or-less took over first base for the Rangers, sharing some starting time with fun guy Bill Sudakis. Jim would also put in some time at DH during his stay with the Rangers since in another year he would be joined by Rookie of the Year Mike Hargrove at the position. Jim wasn’t a big fan of being platooned – who was? – but he generally did good work in that role and wouldn’t stop with the Rangers. But for now he is residing in Texas – the photo appears to have been shot in Oakland – and on a Topps honor card which was not a bad place to be.

Jim Spencer was born in Pennsylvania and by the time he hit high school was residing not too far from Annapolis, Maryland. At Andover High he was named All-American in basketball and baseball, being both a pitcher and first baseman in the latter sport and tapping the ball at a .407 clip during his high school career. A first round draft choice by the Angels upon graduating in ’65 he hit a light .223 in A ball that summer. In ’66 he moved up to Double A where his stat lines improved pretty markedly over the next three seasons: .264/16/53 in ’66; .279/19/72 in ’67; and .292/28/96 in ’68 when he won his league’s mvp and made his debut for California in September. He moved to Triple A Hawaii to open the ’69 season and hit .262 in 47 games before being pulled up to Anaheim for good.

In ’69 the Angels brought old Dr. Strangeglove, Dick Stuart, back from Japan to play first base but that didn’t go so well as the Doctor couldn’t break .200 his first month of at bats. So California brought up Spencer to take over the position and while his numbers weren’t super great, they were a significant improvement over Stuart, both offensively and defensively. In ’70 Jim took over the position for real, providing some good offense and winning his first Gold Glove as he led AL first baseman in putouts, double plays, and fielding percentage. He would lead the league in that last category four years in a row. In ’71 he also topped the AL in putouts and assists, topped his previous highs in doubles and homers, and saw his average fade a bit as the other offensive threats in the lineup pretty much disappeared. In ’72 Jim kicked off the season with a low average and shortly into it the Angels picked up Bob Oliver who vied with Jim for starting time at first and then pretty much won the position outright. So Jim’s at bats declined and he finished the season as a left fielder.

In ’74 new kid Mike Hargrove arrived to press Spencer for time at first and while Jim would put up nearly the same exact offensive numbers as he did in ’73 for Texas – a few more homers, a few less walks – he did it partly from a different place, DH. It was the first year in the last five he didn’t lead the AL in fielding percentage but that was just because he didn’t get enough chances. In ’75 Texas had a sort of messy time replicating the team's ’74 success and a dearth of outfield offense got Hargrove moved out there for a significant part of the season. That meant that Jim got to do nearly all his time at first that year and his .266/11/47 season wasn’t terribly dissimilar to his prior ones. After the season he went back to California for pitcher Bill Singer and the next day was flipped to the White Sox with outfielder Morris Nettles for pitcher Steve Dunning and infielder Bill Melton. With the Sox Jim amped up his power a bit, the next two years averaging 16 homers and 70 RBI’s while getting the lion’s share of first base time that otherwise went to Lamar Johnson. In ’77 he won his second Gold Glove even though he was injured nearly a month, mostly from a foot ailment. After that season Jim went to the Yankees in a trade that was otherwise populated by minor leaguers.

 Spencer arrived in NY in a good year for drama. It was the season of the big comeback from 15 behind but Jim saw a significant part of it from the bench. Chris Chambliss was the first baseman and he rarely sat so nearly all of Jim’s appearances were as a DH and it wasn’t a terribly productive season as he hit .227 in 150 at bats, his lowest amount of plate time since ’68. But his RBI total of 24 was pretty good for him and he did get some action in that year’s Series. Then in ’79 as most of the team was having an offensive meltdown, Jim put up probably his best season in the same roles, with a line of .288/23/53 in only 295 at bats. The next season Chambliss left for Atlanta and while Jim’s at bats – and his offense - came in a bit he got to enjoy most of them at his normal position, where he split time with Bob Watson. After putting up a .236/13/43 season in 259 at bats and complained about his being platooned, just before the ’81 season began Jim and a bucket of cash was sent to Pittsburgh for Jason Thompson, a power-hitting younger first baseman. But the deal was nixed by the commissioner’s office – too much cash – and Jim again put in some games at first before he was traded in May to Oakland. There he spent the next season-plus as a back-up first baseman, again seeing some post-season action that first year. It would be his final stop as a player and he would retire following the ’82 season with a .250 average with 146 homers and 599 RBI’s. In the post-season he hit .150 in eight games. Defensively his .995 fielding average at first is in the top 25 all-time and he is in the top 100 in assists at that position.

Spencer returned to the Yankees as a scout after he played which he sandwiched around a few years as a coach for The Naval Academy which began in ’86. He was still doing some work for NY when he passed away from a heart attack in 2002 at only 54. There’s been a bit of a streak going recently of former players passing away at relatively young ages. I sure hope that ends soon.

Jim has some nice penmanship and Topps gives him props for his big ’68 season and some defensive work in a year he didn’t win a Gold Glove. His grandfather, Ben Spencer, was an outfielder on the 1913 Senators.

Two former Yankees are years apart in their time with the team, but that should help anyway:

1. Spencer and Lou Piniella ’78 to ’81 Yankees;

2. Piniella and Cecil Upshaw ’74 Yankees.

#558 - Bill Fahey

Here we have Bill Fahey on a very tilted field during spring training. Bill had nary an at bat for Texas in ‘73 and at this point in his career had already had three cards for his grand total of 127 at bats. But here he is as Topps and others expected him to take an active role in the Rangers battery for ’74. It didn’t quite work out that way as Bill would spend nearly all of ’74 in the minors as well, getting leapfogged by another highly touted college catcher, Jim Sundberg. Baseball could move fast sometimes. But though Bill spent the whole season in one spot it did have its ups and downs. He put up some pretty good numbers on offense and was an excellent defender in Triple A, good enough to be named team mvp that season. At least he did through early August, when a collision at home plate resulted in his breaking five ribs and puncturing a lung. Things would go like that for a while for him and it would take a few years for him to get a regular gig. But that would be for a different team in a different league.

Bill Fahey was Michigan all the way. Born in Detroit he grew up in a suburb there and was drafted his senior year of high school by Baltimore but opted for the University of Detroit instead. He then either did or did not transfer to St. Clair Community College, also in Michigan, but for sure played baseball somewhere in ’69. He was good enough to get drafted the following January by Washington and then signed to a bonus somewhere in the range of $40,000 to $50,000, all depending on the source. His first year in A ball was not too bad offensively and quite good on defense. In ’71 he moved to Double A where he was an all-star and then got into a few games at both Triple A and in DC. He then began ’72 in Triple A where his numbers included an OBA of .386 before moving up to Arlington in late July and then getting a bunch of starts down the stretch. He did well enough behind the plate but wasn’t so hot at it. So in ’73 the Rangers basically swapped Bill and Ken Suarez and Bill spent the whole season in Triple A. In ’74 he began the season in Arlington but with Jim Sundberg and Duke Sims getting just about all the starts, Bill was back in Triple A by early May. There he was an all-star for the second straight year while hitting .259 with 39 RBI’s in his 317 at bats. By ’75 Sims was done and Bill returned to Texas as Sundberg’s back-up and did a pretty good job despite almost never playing and suffering a broken hand that kept him out of action for almost two months. In ’76 the Rangers picked up John Ellis so he and Bill doubled on the back-up work. Those three seasons combined Bill only got 185 at bats, though he did hit a respectable .249 in them. By ’78 Ellis was getting the lion’s share of the back-up work – he was better offensively – and Bill was shuttered back to Triple A where he was now the second guy in the depth chart and hit .250 in his .212 at bats. After the season he was sent to San Diego with Kurt Bevacqua and Mike Hargrove for Oscar Gamble, Dave Roberts, and a bunch of cash.

In 1977 the Padres had picked up Gene Tenace as a free agent so it seemed as if Fahey was headed for more light back-up work since Tenace still had a pretty good bat. And ’79 kicked off that way with Bill getting some spot starts and late inning work. But by early August Tenace had to take over first base and Bill would get the lion’s share of starts the rest of the season. That must have made him pretty happy, but he paid for it. In one week of August he went all the way in a ten-inning, an eleven-inning, and a 19-inning game. He did super on defense and was a big surprise offensively as he hit .316 from his starting role the duration of the season. Overall he hit .287 on the year. In ’80 he split starts with Tenace, hitting .257 in 241 at bats, his most up top. In spring training of ’81 Bill was sold to Detroit. While there he would be injured every year and reprise his back-up role behind another catcher who rarely sat, this time Lance Parrish. In his three seasons with the Tigers Bill would hit .212 in just 156 at bats, spending a bit of time in ’83 in Triple A for rehab. He spent a considerable amount of time when he returned to Detroit that year as the bullpen coach and it would be the final year of his playing career. He finished with a .241 average and 83 RBI’s in his 934 MLB at bats and hit .265 in the minors.

In 1984 Fahey was named manager of Lakeland, Detroit’s A franchise in the Florida State League. He went 46-98 in what would be his only season as a manager. In ’85 he was a coach in the Texas system and then from ’86 to ’91 a coach up top for the Giants. After that it has been tough to see what he has done professionally, though he was very active in the Dallas suburb of Duncanville where he has resided since he played for Texas. There he had two sons, one of whom, Brandon, grew up to play ball for the Orioles.

So Bill gets some good star bullets on the back. During spring training of ’71 his manager Ted Williams said Bill would be an All-Star by ’75; not exactly the way things turned out. Since I have not been able to find definitively which school he was actually in when drafted by the Nats, I have no comment on how the University of Tampa fit into everything.

This one I wasn’t expecting, but here goes:

1. Fahey and Don Mincher ’71 to ’72 Senators/Rangers;

2. Mincher and Jim McGlothlin ’67 to ’68 Angels.

Don Mincher was a slugging first baseman from the Sixties to the early Seventies who won a pennant with the ’65 Twins, got props from Jim Bouton in “Ball Four”, and finished his career up in ’72 as a pinch hitter for Oakland, finally winning a Series.

#539 - Lloyd Allen

If there was an AL equivalent for what happened to Steve Blass over in the NL this guy’s season was probably it. Now Lloyd here didn’t have nearly the pre-’73 career that Blass did, but his Angels stats – which represented his whole career through ’72 – were 8-15 with a 3.04 ERA. In ’73 he went 0-6 with a 9.42 ERA. What happened? It began in ’72 when a hamstring injury in May took him out for a couple weeks. After going 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA before the injury, Lloyd went 3-6 with a 4.08 the rest of the way. Lloyd was a power pitcher with a big fastball and slider and after the injury he couldn’t push off the mound as well. Then in ’73 he hurt a shoulder after a fight with nearly former teammate Ed Kirkpatrick in a game against KC. After a few nasty relief innings for the Angels early in the season he went to Texas with Jim Spencer for Mike Epstein, Rick Stelmaszek, and Rich Hand. The Rangers were hoping Lloyd could return to his pre-injury days but after the fight it was more problems with the arm and before you knew it Lloyd couldn’t buy a win up top. So that gloomy sky behind him at Yankee Stadium was pretty indicative of Lloyd’s recent baseball past and near future and this would be his final card.

Lloyd Allen grew up in the small town of Selma, California where he was a big Yankees fan and played the big three sports through high school. There he went 36-7 with a 0.78 ERA and 588 strikeouts in 314 innings for his career, all good enough numbers to make him the Angels’ first round pick of the ’68 draft. He got on a good track pretty quickly, that first summer in pro ball going 4-3 in ten starts with a 2.62 ERA with better than a strikeout an inning in Rookie and A ball. In ’69 he went 10-14 but with a 2.77 ERA in instructional, A, and Triple A ball and added his debut in Anaheim that September though he got rocked around a bit. He then spent most of ’70 in Double A where he went 12-8 despite a spike in his ERA to 4.56. In late August he returned to California where he wrapped up his season nicely as a set up and spot guy.

In ’71 Allen moved to both the pen and California full-time and put together a nice season as the year was falling apart for the rest of the team. He recorded 15 saves as the staff closer and seemed to be on the same path in ’72 until the hamstring problem. He finished that year with five saves as his walks topped his K’s and followed that up with his disastrous ’73. In ’74 he worked infrequently the first half of the season – Billy Martin had zero tolerance for faulty pitching – and though he dropped his ERA a ton, it was only to 6.44. In late June he was taken off waivers by the White Sox and for the rest of the season split time between Chicago – where his ERA returned to double digits – and Triple A, where he went 1-3 in the rotation with a 3.41 ERA. Up top for the season he was 0-2 in twenty games with a 7.45 ERA. More poor numbers in Chicago in ’75 meant the bulk of the year was spent in Triple A where he actually threw quite well, going 9-2 with a 3.42 ERA as a starter in a season split between the Chicago and St. Louis franchises after a mid-year sale. In ’76 for the Cards he went 11-6 with a 2.81 ERA again at Tulsa though those numbers did not prompt a call-up but a release. He was picked up by the new Toronto Blue Jays and nearly made it through spring training until his release. He then attempted short comebacks each of the next three seasons with Iowa, back in the White Sox chain. None of them went terribly well and he retired during the ’79 season. Lloyd finished with a record of 8-25 with a 4.69 ERA and 22 saves up top and 52-45 with a 3.66 ERA in the minors. He also hit .200 against MLB pitching.

Allen got involved in the restaurant business away from playing and by 1980 had become a franchise representative for various chains. He has for a bunch of years now been vice president of international franchising for Escape Enterprises, a steak chain.

Lloyd has some pretty good star bullets, but there are better ones. He led his baseball team to league championships all four seasons of his high school career and in one season threw three consecutive no-hitters. According to Bobby Valentine, Bill Buckner was so pissed that Lloyd was drafted ahead of him in ’68 that in a minor league game he vowed to line a pitch off Allen’s head. That he did; pretty painful retribution. I have not been able to dig up any of Lloyd’s football stats but he was inducted into Selma High School’s hall of fame earlier this year.

So Lloyd and Cesar were teammates in ’74 but Lloyd had too few innings on the mound for the Rangers that year. Let’s use a guy who came over from California with him:

1. Allen and Jim Spencer ’69 to ’73 Angels and ’74 Rangers;

2. Spencer and Cesar Tovar ’74 to ’75 Rangers.

#511 - Toby Harrah

We get another batting stance shot, this one of an American Leaguer in Oakland. Toby Harrah is in the midst of his third year with the Washington/Texas franchise and he’s on the cusp of establishing himself as one of the premier AL shortstops, and possibly the best offensive one. Toby would produce some pretty decent RBI totals and would develop a knack for getting on base. Beginning in ’74 he would start just about every game for a bunch of years and he could run, picking up some impressive stolen base totals. But that’s all down the road. His biggest moment in an otherwise forgettable ’73 season may have been hitting the game-winner in an August defeat of Baltimore that ended a 14-game Oriole win streak. His worst was probably getting his hand broken when he raised it to protect his face from a Paul Splittorf chin music special. Toby also had the added bonus of having to play about half his games at third base, a position he shared that season with about five other guys. That was about as good as it got playing for Texas back then.

Colbert Dale “Toby” Harrah grew up in Ohio where at Elgin High in Marion he was a star in the big three sports as well as a sprinter in track. He then took a football scholarship to Ohio Northern University where after his first season he decided he made a mistake and got a Phillies scout to get him a tryout. He was signed that December of ’66 and the next summer split some military time with some shortstop time in A ball where he hit .256. He was then taken by Washington in the minor league draft and in ’68 at the same level hit .239. Things improved in ’69 with a .395 OBA in A ball and a .350 in Double A. He got his first at bat with DC that autumn and in ’70 returned to Double A where his solid season included 27 stolen bases and a .373 OBA.

In ’71 Harrah came up to the Nats where he walked into the shortstop position vacated by the Ed Brinkman trade to Detroit. In ’72 he became the first Ranger to get an All-Star nod after the team moved to Texas and stole 16 bases. In ’74 he maintained that .260 average and he had some trouble on the basepaths but his other numbers started popping with 21 homers and 74 RBI’s as the Rangers made a huge dash to respectability under Billy Martin. He also led AL shortstops in putouts. In ’75 Toby was one of the few guys on the team to up his numbers and he had a big jump: 293 with 20 homers, 93 RBI’s, a .403 OBA, and 23 stolen bases, while again putting in some games at third. Those numbers got him back to the All-Star game and after the season he began attending classes at Texas Wesleyan while also doing some volunteer coaching for the fall baseball team. Then a .260/15/67 season got him the starting role in that year’s All-Star game even though a leg injury cut down his average a bit and pulled his steals down to eight. In ’77 the Rangers went big in the free agent draft and nabbed Bert Campaneris and so Toby, showing his versatility, moved over to third for good, putting up a .263/27/87 year with an AL-leading 109 walks and a .393 OBA. In ’78 his stats slid a bunch due to a pulled muscle in his ribcage that kept him out of action about three weeks and limited his ability to swing. He did, however, record his lifetime high in stolen bases, with 31.

Harrah was a fan and owner favorite in Texas. He was also fond of staying out late. So when Cleveland came looking for power at the December ’78 MLB meetings, Ranger management obliged by sending Toby to Cleveland even-up for Buddy Bell. Indians fans felt betrayed by the swap and the press was fond of constantly reminding Toby of the deal, which many felt the Rangers got the win. So his time in Cleveland wasn’t exactly a honeymoon. But Toby’s numbers actually kept pace with his better years in Texas. In ’79 he revived his average to .279 with 20 homers and 77 RBI’s. In ’80 his homer total halved but his RBI total stayed level, and in the strike year of ’81 he upped his average to .291. His power stats took a bit of a hit that second season because he hurt his shoulder after falling off his roof the prior winter. But he then returned to the All-Star game in ’82 with a .304/25/78 season and a .398 OBA, his highest in Cleveland. Then ’83 just got nasty. Prior to the season his house burned down and his dad was killed in an auto accident. That came after off-season surgery to repair a heart murmur. And then, early in the season, came a broken hand. His resulting numbers would be a pretty big discount to his ’82 ones and after the season he went to the Yankees for reliever George Frazier and outfielder Otis Nixon.

When NY made the trade for Harrah, the intent was to have him back up Graig Nettles. But shortly thereafter Nettles went to San Diego and Toby became the starter. It was a forgettable season and by the end of the year he gave way to Mike Pagliarulo and wanted out. He was obliged the following winter when ex-teammate Tom Grieve, now the Texas GM, traded Billy Sample for him. Toby was offered a shot at the second base gig which he won. He pulled his average up to .270 and his 113 walks contributed to a huge OBA of .432. After his average slid to .218 the following season, Jerry Browne took his spot at second and Toby retired. He was the last Senator to play. He finished with a .264 average on over 1,900 hits, 195 homers, and 918 RBI’s. He also stole 238 bases and put up a .365 OBA. He is in the top 100 for assists, both at third base and overall.

Harrah tuned to managing immediately after playing, first for the Rangers in Oklahoma City from ’87 to ’88. He then came back to Texas as a coach for Bobby Valentine (’89-’92) before replacing him as manager the latter half of that last season. He then returned to the minors as a hitting instructor (’93-’94) before again managing for Norfolk (’95) in the Mets system. He then coached at Cleveland (’96), Detroit (’98), and Colorado (2000-’02). In ’03 he became Detroit’s minor league hitting coordinator until late 2012 when he became the assistant hitting coach for the Tigers. His managing record in the minors is 222-201 and up top is 32-44.

That’s some signature with Toby opting for his given name. That cartoon is awfully fitting since he played in Texas. Lots of other cards extol a pitching feat when he was younger: in his only game as a pitcher for his American Legion team he threw a no-hitter. Toby has one of the few last names that is spelled the same forward as it is backward. Toby gets mentioned a bunch in the "Seasons in Hell" book; a fun reference to him is when the author tells us that Toby played a whole game in '73 with congealed vomit in his hair.

Let’s hook up a couple of third basemen:

1. Harrah and Jon Matlack ’78 Rangers;

2. Matlack and Wayne Garrett ’71 to ’76 Mets.

#466 - Dick Billings

This is Dick Billings’ final card and he goes out in style with a pretty cool action shot. Dick – more often referred to as Rich – looks pretty pissed here and my guess is an opposing runner just crossed the plate, maybe in Oakland. Dick had a tough year in ’73. After finally achieving a starting catching role most of the past couple seasons new Rangers manager Whitey Herzog platooned him with Ken Suarez and Dick’s average suffered, falling into Mendoza territory. Then, to add injury to insult – yeah, I know what I said – Dick got steamrolled at the plate in a game in April of ’74 by Bobby Murcer and missed the next six weeks, allowing rookie Jim Sundberg to get the catching role unchallenged. Once everyone saw Sundberg’s work behind the plate, that was it for Dick and he would soon be gone. So maybe the expression on his face is an appropriate one for lots of reasons.

Dick Billings starred in the big three sports and track in high school in Troy, Michigan and then attended Michigan State on a baseball scholarship. Back then Dick was an outfielder and sometime third baseman and his junior year at MSU he hit .375 to lead the Big Ten in ’64. After he got a BS in Education he was taken by the Senators in the ’65 draft – in the 25^th round so maybe something went wrong his senior year – and that summer hit .264 in A ball while playing the outfield. In ’66 he upped his numbers at the same level pretty good, hitting .312 with 14 homers and 70 RBI’s. He moved up to Double A in ’67 but didn’t hit too well. He did, though, put in some serious time at third, and that versatility helped move him up in ’68 to Triple A where he upped his average to .276. After a few games in the outfield in DC in the fall, it was generally regarded that he wasn’t going anywhere fast at third base so in ’69 he was moved back to Double A to learn a new position: catcher. He’d work back to Triple A and the Show that year but it was a tough one as he barely hit .200 at any level. But in ’70 he nailed a pretty good season in Triple A where he caught nearly exclusively: .305 with 15 homers, 67 RBI’s, and a .380 OBA.

In’71 Billings was up in DC where he played a bit in the outfield and split time behind the plate with Paul Casanova before taking over the position with his superior hitting after the halfway mark. Dick did have issues, though, as he led the AL in passed balls in about half the games of his fellow catchers. In ’72 he turned pretty much the same trick, this time wresting the job full-time from Hal King, who’d come over from Atlanta for Casanova. Then came his woeful ’73 though he did have a high moment when he caught Jim Bibby’s no-hitter that year. After giving way to Sundberg he hit .226 in a limited back-up role before going to St. Louis in an August sale. For the Cards Dick did some time at Triple A Tulsa before getting into just a couple games up top. In ’75 he hit .294 in Triple A with the same deal upstairs and after the season he was done. He hit .271 with 55 homers in the minors and .227 with 16 homers up top.

After playing Dick returned to the Arlington area where he opened his own investment and commercial real estate shop. He has been there ever since and makes frequent appearances at Rangers and other MLB events.

I’ve tried to get some color on how long Dick managed in Venezuela but haven’t been too successful. He also taught school during some off-seasons. He only got plunked half as many times when he had his bigger ’70 season so I guess he learned to move back off the plate. While researching this post I came across a book which I gotta get: "Seasons in Hell" by Mike Shropshire. It's about the Rangers from about '73 to '75 and one of the best quotes from the book regards Rich, manager Whitey Herzog, and the '73 season. In spring training of that year Whitey opined that "If Rich Billings is our starting catcher, we're in trouble." Billings' response upon hearing the above? "Whitey, obviously, has seen me play."

Texas contributed David Clyde’s debut to the baseball centennial celebration in ’76. I believe it’s one of only two contributions from 1973. It is detailed on the Clyde post.

This one’s easy:

1. Billings and Dick Bosman ’68 to ’73 Senators/Rangers.