#82 - Dave Giusti

This is my first truly crooked card so I get out of blaming myself for a bad scan. Also, I would be real surprised if this shot isn't from the same set of shots that Dave's '73 card is from (it is almost exactly the same pose on the same field) which would make the shot from the latest 1972. Plus I believe it is a spring training shot. Dave is another guy whose '73 was smack in the middle of his most productive years: his 9-2 record, 2.37 ERA, and 20 saves helped get him his only All-Star nod as he was the Pirates closer the fourth year running. '72 was a pretty good year for Dave too so maybe that he was stuck there for a while was a good thing.

Dave Giusti was another college guy, having gone to Syracuse after growing up in upstate NY. For the Orange, Dave played a couple years of hoops and helped take the team to the CWS his last year there. He was then grabbed by the new Colt .45's in the '61 draft and that year - since the Houston franchise hadn't officially opened shop yet - went on loan to the Cubs for some time in A and Triple A ball, posting a 2.38 ERA on the season. In the game in which he pitched his first shutout at the lower level he also went 4-for-4 at the plate. Dave then started the initial Colt .45 '62 season on the Houston roster and did some spot starts but mostly relieved. After putting up not great numbers, he returned to Triple A for the balance of the season and most of the next two. During that time he went a combined 25-20 with a 3.45 ERA and missed some '62 time for an elbow operation. After some relief time back up top at the end of the '64 season he was up for good.

Giusti returned to the Astros in '65 and after that season of again both starting and relieving (and posting three saves), he became Houston's most dependable starter the next three seasons. He was their only guy to get double figures in wins each year. In a 1966 start he blanked the Reds while grabbing six RBIs! In '67 he began the year 0-5 while dealing with tendonitis, but had a strong second half. In '68 poor run support led to a losing record though his ERA was quite good. Following the '68 season Dave was traded to the Cards for Johnny Edwards, who became the Houston starting catcher. The Cards left Dave unprotected in the expansion draft and the Padres grabbed him. The Cards then used four players - including a pitcher named Phil Knuckles; too bad that guy never made it - to bring Giusti back. Unfortunately Dave didn't have a bang-up year - 3-7 with a 3.61 ERA - and St. Louis sent him to Pittsburgh shortly after the season for Carl Taylor.

For the Pirates Giusti blossomed. After a poor spring training in '70, Danny Murtaugh moved him to the bullpen and there Dave responded. His 9-3 record and 26 saves were, according to Willie Stargell, the primary reason the Pirates won their division. In '71 Dave led the league with 30 saves for the Series winners. He also didn't give up a run in over 10 post-season innings. The next two seasons he also recorded over 20 saves and in '73 he had the All-Star year. Two more effective years followed: 7-5 with a 3.32 ERA and twelve saves in '74; and a 5-4/2.95/17 line in '75. Then, after a sub-par '76, Dave was traded to the recently destroyed Oakland A's in the big trade that brought the Pirates Phil Garner. He actually had a very nice partial season for Oakland. In August he was sold to the Cubs for whom he did not do so well. Chicago released him after the season ended and that it was it for Dave. For his career he went 100-93 with a 3.60 ERA, 35 complete games, nine shutouts, and 145 saves. His post-season record was not nearly as good: 0-2 in 16 games with 2 saves and a 4.87 ERA. As indicated above, Dave was a pretty good hitter with four homers, 46 RBI's, and a .187 average in 412 career at bats.

During his career, Giusti was able to get his Masters in Education from Syracuse and he spent at least some time teaching science (his baseball-reference site is sponsored by a former student). But after his career he became a corporate sales rep for American Express and is reported to have retired in 2002.

This is actually a really good scan of a slanted card. The star bullets are nice but kind of ho-hummy. Dave's specialty pitch was a palmball which is sort of like a changeup; it looks like a fastball and is an out pitch because the batters are usually ahead of it. He picked it up while attending Syracuse.

How do we go from a Pirate to an Indian? Through the Phillies:

1. Giusti and Bill Robinson '75 to '76 Pirates;
2. Robinson and Oscar Gamble '72 Phillies;
3. Gamble and Frank Duffy '73 to '75 Indians.

A lot of hair on that one.

#81 - Frank Duffy

Here is Frank Duffy looking very Kingman-esque - by that I mean tall and sluggerish - in Oakland (I hope). Frank was actually a pretty big boy for a shortstop back then but was about as far from a slugger - although more of one than his DP partners - as you could get. Taking nothing away from him as a player or a man, Duffy's lasting contributions to baseball are being part of two of the most one-sided trades in baseball history. Still, this card memorializes what was probably Frank's best season and that .263 average and 50 - not 49 - RBI's he put up in '73 are nothing to sneeze at, given he only had 361 at bats and put up those numbers as a shortstop.

Frank Duffy grew up not too far from where this photo was taken and was a Stanford guy who made third-team All-American his junior year of '67. He'd been selected by Atlanta in '66 but passed to stay in school and in the first round of the '67 regular draft he got nabbed by the Reds. He put in a year at Double A and two at Triple A, always just behind Dave Concepcion, which to a degree restricted his playing time. But at both those levels he put up serviceable to good offense and excellent defense, which was about right since he was drafted for the latter quality. He appeared for the Reds briefly in both '70 and '71 before he was traded to the Giants in May of the latter year with Vern Geishert for George Foster in bad trade number one. Frank would get up 28 times for San Francisco the rest of that season, plus once in the playoffs. After it he would be traded with Gaylord Perry to the Indians for Sam McDowell.

The trade to Cleveland was bad trade number two, but at least this time, Duffy was on the good side of it. McDowell would win one game in half a season with the Giants while Perry won 64 the next three seasons for pretty bad Cleveland teams. Plus the Indians got a reliable defensive full-timer in Frank, who would be their starting shortstop the next six seasons. In '72 he supplied the best stability the position had seen in at least five seasons. His '73 was the best seen offensively or defensively - he finished first in AL fielding percentage - at shortstop for the Tribe in over a decade. While he was with the Indians his double play partners were Jack Brohamer (30 career homers) and Duane Kuiper (1 career homer), hence his relative slugging ability. In '74 he topped out at 158 games and 549 at bats, though his offense was generally a discount to '73's and his '75 was very similar to his prior year. In '76 Frank's average tumbled to .212 and he gave away some field time to new guy Larvell Blanks, but he returned to the top of AL in fielding percentage. Frank stayed with Cleveland through the '77 season when his average fell a bit more and Blanks took a few more games. Frank then left in a trade for Rick Kreuger to Boston where he served as a backup to Rick Burleson, hitting .260 in that role in '78. After a season plus in Boston, Frank was released in May of '79 and that ended his career. He finished with a .232 average and struck out in his only post-season at bat. Defensively he is 20th all-time with a .977 lifetime fielding average at shortstop.

Duffy basically relocated full time to Arizona after his time as a player ended. There he has spent a bunch of time involved in real estate.

These are actually pretty cool star bullets and add some color about summer baseball in the States. Wichita had two teams that played semi-pro, the Rapid Transit Dreamliners and the Service Auto Glass. I am not sure for which one Frank played, but the three previous years one of them won the nationals. In '67 Frank was MVP for the Boulder Baseline Collegians which won the summer tournaments in both '66 and '67. One of the teams all the above would play against was the Alaska one for which Tom Seaver and Rich Troedson - and others coming up - played. The last bullet is interesting; led shortstops in what? He WAS the top fielding shortstop that year for the AA Southern League Asheville team; Sparky Anderson was his manager. And he's a southern Cal guy: of course he plays guitar!

Let's hook up these guys away from summer college ball:

1. Duffy and Del Unser '72 Indians;
2. Unser and Tom Seaver '75 to '76 Mets.

#80 - Tom Seaver

If there is a New York icon in this set, this guy is it. Tom Terrific (I never liked that nickname) was the most consistent NY All-Star of his time and again was a pivotal reason the Mets got into the post-season. While he came up just shy of 20 wins, his miniscule ERA, NL-leading strikeout totals, and very nice post-season work helped him grab his second Cy in '73. Here he is pitching at Shea with John Milner in the background as well as some blob-like thing right over Tom's butt. It looks like Topps blurred that bit out intentionally, but I wonder why? If it was something untoward in the stands, I cannot imagine it would be seen clearly, since nothing else that far back is. It does look like Tom is throwing heat here, so maybe it's just something thermal.

Tom Seaver had an interesting time of things even before hitting the majors. He graduated high school in Fresno in '62 and did a stint in the Marines. He attended Fresno City College from '63 to '64 and in the summers of '64 and '65 played baseball in Alaska. He initially went there at the suggestion of Rod Dedeaux, the USC coach, who was interested in signing Tom but wanted to see him first against some major college competition. Tom passed the test and went to USC for the '65 and part of the '66 seasons. He was drafted by the Dodgers in '65 but shot them down (he thought it would take too long to reach the majors with them). The Braves signed him in early '66 but the signing was voided as a sort of tampering case. The Mets then signed Tom as a free agent to their Triple A Jacksonville Suns team and he had a nice season in his only minor league time, going 12-12 with a 3.13 ERA. Then it was all MLB time.

Seaver came up in '67 and went 16-13 for a team that would lose over 100 games. He won that year's Rookie of the Year award and never looked back. In '68 he won 16 again and put up his first year of over 200 K's under Gil Hodges. Then came the magic year of '69: 25 wins, a 2.21 ERA, his first Cy Young, and the big Series win. From then until '73 he would average over 20 wins, over 200 Ks and never top 3.00 in ERA. In '70 he led the NL in strikeouts and ERA. He turned that trick again in '71, posting a sick ERA while coming in second in the Cy race. After another excellent '72, by '73 he had begun acquiring his vineyard interests in California and he hurt himself moving cases of wine, missing some starts and almost for sure another 20-win season. He also won the division-clincher against the Cubs and had that excellent post-season, even though he only went 1-2 (he put up 35 Ks in 31 innings and had a 2.00 ERA). In '74 hip problems dropped his record to 11-11 as he missed a few more starts and had a tough time completing games - the Mets were pretty awful that year - but he bounced back in '75 to win 22 and grab his third Cy. '76 was Jerry Koosman's year and Tom would post the last of his nine successive 200 K seasons as his decisions dropped substantially and he went only 14-11 despite another excellent ERA of 2.59. The next season, in the wake of bitter contract negotiations between Seaver and Mets GM Donald Grant, Tom was on a nice early season roll when at the June trading deadline the unthinkable happened: he was sent to the Reds for a bunch of young players: Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Pat Zachry, and Dan Norman.

For pretty obvious reasons the trade of Seaver was hugely unpopular in NY, and while a couple of the kids would have some decent seasons, that Tom went on to win 21 games that year really cemented the bad feelings generated by the transaction. It certainly wasn't all bad for him though. NY was at the beginning of a downward spiral that would produce some ugly teams and last though the early Eighties. Meanwhile, Cincy was still tough and after a 16-14/2.88 year in '78 that was his final one of over 200 strikeouts, Tom returned to the post-season in '79 with a 16-6 year. In '80 he missed a bunch of starts to the hip again and his record fell to 10-8 in the first year his ERA was sub-par to the NL's. But a big season followed in the strike year of '81 when Tom went 14-2 with a 2.54 ERA to nearly nab another Cy. Unfortunately that year was followed by an '82 when he had his arguably only bad season: 5-13 with an ERA that exceeded 5.00.

In '83 Seaver returned to the Mets in another trade with a bunch of kids on the other side. NY made a huge deal about Tom's return but after a middling year for him they then left him unprotected following the season. The White Sox picked him as a free agent compensation pick as they had lost Dennis Lamp to Toronto. Then any team losing a player to free agency had the right to pick any unprotected player from any team. Tom then won 31 games in two years for the Sox, including his 300th win at Yankee Stadium. In '86 he pitched for both Chicago and Boston. It was his final season and he saw no action in that post-season. Seaver retired with a record of 311-205, a 2.86 ERA, 231 complete games, 61 shutouts, a save, and 3,640 strikeouts. In his three post-seasons he was 3-3 with a 2.77 ERA and 51 strikeouts in his eight games. On top of his three Cy Young's and ROY he made 12 All-Star teams. He went in the Hall on his first ballot in '92. He has become a professional vintner and done lots of broadcasting, first for the Yankees and then the Mets.

At this point in Tom's career he could have had about 30 impressive star bullets. The game with the 10 consecutive K's was against the Padres in which he struck out a total of 18. He actually did enjoy playing bridge. That was what he was doing when Jerry Koosman had a locker room guy impersonate Howard Cosell on the radio in the early 70's and say Seaver had been traded to Houston for Doug Rader. At the time trading Tom was unimaginable. Little did they know...

Tenace and Seaver again met in the '73 Series. How do we get them together?:

1. Seaver and Keith Hernandez '83 Mets;
2. Hernandez and Gene Tenace '81 to '82 Cards.

Another All-Star. That's appropriate.

#79 - Gene Tenace

I have been picking up what seems to be some trends in this Topps set. For instance, this card is the fourth in a row of a west coast guy. Plus we have an A's guy which means the next card will be a Met. But this card belongs to Mr. Tenace, so let's concentrate on him. Or the card.

First of all, I like it. It is an action card taken when a pitcher is being yanked, given the other personnel on it. Second, it is an action shot that actually designates Gene as the correct subject of the card, unlike his action shot in '73 when he was called Joe Rudi. Also, Gene was a daring guy: he apparently wore no helmet while catching. And speaking of catching, this card is a bit deceptive because in '73 Gene spent by far most of his field time at first base. There he had a typical Tenace season: good D, quite good power, not a terribly high average but an OBA that pushed .400. Finally, it looks like he is holding a bag of rosin. It could have been a warm day, but I bet it had more to do with whomever was pitching. I think I have too much time on my hands.

One last segue before I get into Gene. I alluded to this on the Preston Gomez post and since Dick Williams is in the photo, now is as good as any a time to get into him a little bit. Williams was the manager for the A's during the '73 season. He quit right after the Series ended because he was tired of owner Charlie O's meddling, which came to a head during the whole Mike Andrews thing (more on that on the Series cards). When Williams tried to take on a new job - as manager of the Yankees - Finley would not let him out of his contract. Therefore, there was a shot he would be back. In the meantime, Al Dark was hired to manage the A's but I guess the situation was in too much turmoil by the time the Topps set went to press for them to issue an Oakland manager card.

Now back to Tenace. He was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the 20th round of the first draft in '65. Most of the reason he went so late was that he was from a tiny town in Ohio that didn't get on scouts' radar and so area players generally didn't get viewed until they played in regional tournaments, which Gene didn't do until his senior year. In this set, though, Larry Hisle and Al Oliver were also from the same neck of the woods so maybe the scouts should have spent more time there (that's a pretty good trio). Gene was an outfielder/pitcher in HS and initially in pro ball played the former position and every infield position but shortstop as well. And when he DID pitch, the results were pretty good: in the minors he went 0-1 with a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings. At the plate though it would take him a while to establish himself and it wasn't until '67 in A ball that his average got above Mendoza levels. In '68 he put up his first big offensive numbers at that level with a .283/21/71 line. That year was also his first behind the plate and his defense there was so good that it would be his primary position the next bunch of years. Then in '69 he went crazy in Double A with a .319/20/74 line in only 276 at bats. It was around this time that Gene also developed an affection for walks, posting a .438 OBA. He came up late in '69 and then, after another big but short Triple A season, made Oakland his home.

Tenace established himself the next three seasons as the primary backup to Dave Duncan behind the plate after Phil Roof got sent to Milwaukee. In '70 and '71, despite not too much plate time, he posted some good offense numbers and right away excellent OBA's. In '72 his playing time increased but his numbers all fell pretty hard though he then got a bunch of playing time in the post-season and had a rough go of it against Detroit: Playing second base (?!!) he dropped a ball that would have been a third out after which Detroit rallied; he then made up for it by singling home the winning run of the playoff. But he then cranked it against the Reds in the Series as his four homers and nine RBI's won him the mvp award. And the starting first baseman slot, the position at which he primarily played the next two seasons. After his first year as a starter in '73 went well, he would get on base the next two Series at a better than .400 clip. '74 saw his average tumble to .211 but his power remained and his AL-leading 110 walks kept his OBA high. In '75 he moved back to primarily being a catcher, which is ironic since he was named starting first baseman for that year's All-Star team in what was his only appearance in that game. That year his average rebounded and he topped out with 29 homers and 87 RBI's. After missing a little time to injuries in the '76 season - though otherwise his numbers were comparative to '75's - he left town in the big diaspora that hit Oakland hard as free agency began.

Tenace, along with teammate Rollie Fingers, was among the first big free agent signees and the two of them headed south to the Padres. In San Diego Gene continued switching between catcher and first. And he kept piling on the walks; his '77 season total of 125 led all of MLB. Gene generally posted lines that were slight discounts to his ones in Oakland - his line average was .237/17/60 - though that OBA killed at .403. While he got no post-season work for the Padres, following the '80 season he went to St. Louis in the big trade that brought the Padres Terry Kennedy. There he backed up Darrell Porter for two seasons, raised his OBA to .426 (though on only 253 at bats in his two seasons), and was again on a Series-winning team in '82. After that season he went to the Pirates where he did spot duty at first and was then done. For his career, Gene hit .241 with 201 homers, 674 RBIs and a .388 OBA. In the post-season he hit .158 with 14 RBI's and a .338 OBA in his 42 games. He was also an excellent fielder.

After his playing career ended, Tenace almost immediately began his coaching one, first with Houston and then with the Blue Jays, where old friend Cito Gaston put him in as hitting coach. With those guys Gene won two more Series rings in the early Nineties. He then went to St. Louis and in 2008 back to Toronto to reprise his role when Gaston did the same. He has gotten some serious props from current Blue Jays for helping with their swings. He has been subject to some serious debate over his HOF worthiness. He was pretty much dismissed on the ballots right away but advocates point out his OBA and defense numbers relative to his peers and they apparently make him a shoo-in. I'm on the fence; I'm a Munson guy.

This is a great card back, if only for that name. Just on that, Fury should be in the Hall. His birth name is actually Fiore Gino Tennaci - even better - and I guess Fury is the anglicized version. Lots of stuff about the '72 Series and this is the only instance I remember him being called "Steamboat." My one critique is with that last bullet: I assume it is a record for a seven game Series since Donn Clendenon posted a slugging average of 1.071 in five games in the '69 Series.

For the double connection we have:

1. Tenace and John D'Acquisto '77 to '80 Padres;
2. D'Acquisto managed by Charlie Fox on the '73 to '74 Giants.

For Fox as a player we have:

1. Tenace and Felipe Alou '70 As;
2. Alou and Whitey Lockman '58 Giants;
3. Lockman and Mel Ott '45 Giants;
4. Ott and Charlie Fox '42 Giants.

Now that's pretty good. 31 years in five guys.

#78 - Charlie Fox/Giant Manager and Coaches

These cards are always hard to label. Do I use "Charlie Fox", the front of the card, "Giants Field Leaders", the back of the card, "Giants: Mgr./Coaches", the regular checklist name, or "Charlie Fox & Co'h's", the team checklist name? Sometimes these blog posts can be quite a semantic exercise.

For people of a certain age, Charlie Fox approached iconic status, since he was the only manager to take the Giants to post-season play for an interval of 25 years. And Charlie was a company man: he was nearing the end of an affiliation with the Giants that had run over 30 years. But '73 was no picnic. Despite a nice pickup record-wise from '72, the Giants did their annual June fade, his star pitcher had a teddy bear, the rest of the pitching wasn't so hot, and he got in a fight with the Dodger third base coach, a guy named Tommy Lasorda. He probably spent a bunch of the season longing for '71. Plus it wouldn't be great again to be a liberal - which I assume he was since his card leans to the left - until later in '74 when it really hit the fan.

Charlie was a lifelong Giants fan who grew up in the Bronx and was a mean American Legion ball catcher, signed with the team in '42, played three games in the majors, hitting .429, and went down to class D ball. Those three games turned out to be his whole major league playing career. He went to the Navy late that year where he worked the North Atlantic and came back to baseball in '46 about 35 pounds heavier. Those pounds really crimped his playing time so after a year of part-time catcher duty at class B he took on managing in the minors along with playing at the ripe old age of 25. His playing career lasted through '56 and he finished with a .279 average in over 3,000 minor league at bats. From '47 through '70 the only times he was not managing in the minors he was either scouting ('57 to '63) or coaching in the majors ('65 to '68). He got called up to manage the Giants in mid-season '70 and during his tenure that season had the best record in the NL West. That continued in '71 when he won the division crown and also won Manager of the Year. '72 was tough as both Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal got hurt and Bobby Bonds slumped after Willie Mays was traded to the Mets. '73 was the rebound year that ultimately failed and after a poor start in '74 Charlie was let go. He then moved to Montreal where he initially did admin work, managed in '76, and then was GM through '78. He then left Montreal for Chicago, again in an admin role, until in '83 he again did the transitional managerial stint. After that he was primarily a scout and coach, moving to the Yankees in '89, and then Houston in the early '90s. Charlie passed away in 2004 at age 82. For his managerial career he was 377-371 up top and 981-731 in the minors.

Joey Amalfitano was another guy with a long Giants affiliation, being signed by them in '54 as a bonus baby out of his junior year of Loyola after growing up in California. Any player signed as a bonus baby had to stay on the major league roster for two years or go through waivers, which meant that Joey got a full Series share that year even though he only had five at bats. After not playing very much again in '55 he went to the minors. He spent time at every level from A to Triple A over the next four seasons and generally hit well with not too much power while splitting time between second and third. He peaked in his '59 Triple A season, posting a .308/7/43 line. He then returned to the Giants - now in San Francisco - in '60 and for the next two seasons spent time all over the infield as a semi-regular, putting up a combined .265/3/50 line in just over 700 at bats. In '62 he went to Houston in the expansion draft, spent a year as the Colt .45 starter at second (hitting .237), and returned to the Giants the following season for Manny Mota where he hit only .176 in his backup role. He then got sold to the Cubs for whom he split time at second in '64 and then played out his career as a player/coach, finishing in '67. For his career he hit .244 in 643 games. He immediately started his coaching career with the Cubs, with whom he stayed through '71. The Giants followed, from '72 to '75, then the Padres ('76-'77), then the Cubs again. He managed the team for a bit in '79 and then from the second half of '80 through '81, although not terribly well (his record as manager was 66-116). After a year with the Reds he went to LA where he was the third base coach from '83 until '98. He has since done some special assignment work, mostly with the Giants.

Andy Gilbert had cups of coffee with the Red Sox in '42 and '46 sandwiched around time in the military for WW II. He was signed by the Sox in '37 out of semi-pro ball in PA and played pretty much every outfield and infield position except shortstop. That first year he was going great guns in D ball when he broke his neck mid-season sliding into second and missed the rest of the season. He returned the next year to post another big average at that level and generally hit well at the lower levels before a .296, 87 RBI year at Double A in '42 got him that short look in Boston. Then it was all Navy in WW II until '46. He was 31 when he came back that year so his future was pretty much written. After a couple decent Triple A seasons - one in '47 when he was traded to NY -  he began managing at the minor level in 1950. He continued playing a bit through the '59 season and put up a lifetime .290 average with 206 homers in the minors (.083 in his twelve MLB at bats). As a manager he taught Juan Marichal how to throw a slider and a change-up and was quite successful. By '72 he had won five league championships and from then until '75 he coached at the major league level. He then returned to manage in the minors, first for the Giants and then the Braves. He retired after the '82 season with a lifetime record of 2,009-1,899. He then coached at St. Vincent College and helped out in the Latrobe Little League, both in PA, until he passed away in '92 at age 78 from complications of Alzheimer's and respiratory disease.

Don McMahon actually could have had a player card in '73. Although already a pitching coach he was activated when the bullpen fell apart and pitched in 22 games, going 4-0 with six saves and a 1.48 ERA. He was 43. McMahon was another NY guy and was signed by the Boston Braves in 1950, also out of semi-pro ball where he played third base. Converted to a pitcher, he started his career well, going 20-9 his first year in D ball. Then after a couple games, Don missed the better part of two and a half seasons to Korea. He got back late in '53, had a couple middling seasons and then in '55 had a disappointing Triple A one (2-13 with a 5.01 ERA). The next year he was turned into a reliever, his numbers improved, and after a nice season in the Triple A pen in '57 came up to Milwaukee, just in time to make the Series roster. He pitched well at the MLB level right away and enjoyed his sole All-Star selection in '58. In '59 he led the league in games finished and saves. A tough '60 and a very good '61 followed and in early '62 he was sold to Houston and then his travels started. During the Sixties he went to the Indians, Red Sox, White Sox, and Tigers (another Series), all of for whom he pitched well. In '69 he landed at San Francisco and he stayed there the duration of his playing career (he actually pitched again in '74). He finished with a 90-68 record, a 2.96 ERA, and 153 saves. He has some nice career rankings including in hits per nine innings (19th all time). games finished (39th), and saves (75th). He became the pitching coach for the Giants in '72 and remained in that role through '75, then moved to the Twins ('76-'77), back to the Giants ('80-'82), and then Cleveland ('82-'85). From '78 to '80 he was a salesman for Rawlings. He was also a long-time football scout for the Raiders; he and owner Al Davis were high school buddies. In '85 he took a gig as a scout and batting practice pitcher for the Dodgers.In '87 he was performing that latter role prior to a game when he had a fatal heart attack. He was 57.

John McNamara was signed by the Cards in 1951 and got in about a year of C and B ball before he went into the service the following year. He returned in '55 and then more-or-less established himself as a light-hitting minor league catcher. His career average in the minors - he never made it to the majors - was .238 so his directional path if he wanted to stay in baseball was pretty clear. During that time he moved to the Giants, the Phillies, and finally the A's for whom he began managing in the minors in '59. He played through '64 and continued to manage in the KC system through '67 and by then was a league champ three times. He came up to coach for Oakland in '68 and '69 and was made manager the tail end of the latter season. In '70 he had a great year, again finishing second to the Twins, and that sparked his firing by owner Charlie O. He moved to coach the Giants from '71 to '73. Then came managerial stints with the Padres ('74-'77), Reds ('79 -'82), Angels ('83-'84), Red Sox ('85-'88), Indians ('90-'91), and back in California ('96). He was named Manager of the Year in '86 and then had the heart-breaking Series loss to the Mets. He ended his managerial career with an MLB record of 1,160-1,233 and in the minors of 647-631 and is one of a handful of guys to pilot six major league franchises.

All these guys have SABR bios.

I am going to do the double link again, first for Fox as manager:

1. Fox and Mike Caldwell '74 Giants;
2. Caldwell and Rich Troedson '73 Padres.

Now for Fox as a player:

1. Fox and Mel Ott '42 Giants;
2. Ott and Whitey Lockman '45 to '46 Giants;
3. Lockman and Orlando Cepeda '58 Giants;
4. Cepeda and Tony Gonzalez '69 - '70 Braves;
5. Gonzalez and Cito Gaston '69 Padres;
6. Gaston and Rich Troedson '73 Padres.

Now that's a record.

#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.

#76 - Mickey Rivers

This is the first post that I have been somewhat intimidated by because Mick here was one of the guys that revitalized the Yankees and if you were around in the late 60s and early 70s for those guys, then he is due a certain amount of reverence. And his performance in '73 sure built a nice foundation for that. After a big Triple A year, Mick came up top in September to take over center field and continued his hitting magic the rest of the way. Between the two teams he got nearly 800 plate appearances. That said, this is the first Rivers card that I think captures his public personality: the slow-moving, fast-running, good-fielding, weak-armed, horse-loving, malaprop-inventing center fielder that shared a name with a famous guy he probably never heard of. In fact he looks like he might be thinking about the answer he would give someone asking about his expectations for the coming season: "Hit .300, score 100 runs, and stay injury-prone."

Mick the Quick Rivers was drafted - and signed - by the Braves out of Miami-Dade Community College in the summer of '69. He had previously been drafted by the White Sox, Mets, and Senators the previous 18 months but shot them all down for school where he hit a combined .362 his two seasons. After a half season in the Rookie League in which he hit .307 he was sent to the Angels for Hoyt Wilhelm, the knuckleballing reliever. For the next four seasons, he hit no less than .322 in the minors, piling up hits, triples, and runs. He lost some time in '72 to military reserve duty and also popped up to the majors each season. While his speed was apparent, his outfield inadequacies and problems with righty curveballers - he was a lefty - kept him from garnering a full-time position. That finally got fixed in September of '73.

Rivers joined the starting Angel lineup full-time in '74 and led the AL in triples that season. In '75 he again led the league in three-baggers as well as with 70 stolen bases, which was the biggest seasonal total in the AL since Ty Cobb played. Both years he hit in the mid-.280s. He then went to NY with pitcher Ed Figueroa for Bobby Bonds. Mick replaced Bonds in center, providing less power but also way less strikeouts. His first three seasons there NY won three pennants. '76 and '77 were his best seasons: a .312 average, 95 runs, his only All-Star appearance, and third place in MVP voting in '76; a .326 average, 12 homers, 69 RBIs, and 11th place in MVP voting in '77. The one consistent knock on Mick was that he didn't walk - he didn't strike out that much either - and in '77 he was replaced at the top of the lineup by Willie Randolph, who had a much higher OBA. In '78 Mick's average took a hit, the Yanks were way out of the race by mid-summer, and his enjoyment of the racetrack got to be an issue. But the Yanks had the big comeback as  his average revived, the team won another Series, and besides, "[he] and Reggie and George were two of a kind." In '79 Mick's average recovered to close to .300 but the team's poor performance and continued issues with the track forced the Yanks to trade him to a more benign place, that being - ironically - Texas. He went to the Rangers for, primarily, Oscar Gamble. There he pulled his average up 13 points and the next year set a club record for hits with 210 while hitting .333, his highest average in the majors. He got hurt in '82 and spent '83 and '84 as a semi-regular. Although he hit .300 in '84 it was his last season. For his career, Mick hit .295 with 267 stolen bases. In the post season he hit .308 in 29 games. And though he was constantly criticized for his defense. Mick's speed allowed him to reside in the top 75 all-time in all major defensive categories in center. And there were lots of great quotes. One more (when explaining how to play center field to a group of kids): "the first thing you want to do is wet your finger, hold it up, and check the windshield factor."

Sparky Lyle was not a fan of Mick in his book "The Bronx Zoo" and in it Rivers comes across as a bit of a malcontent. I also read somewhere that when he played center field at Yankee Stadium, he would always ask the guys in the bullpen how a horse he had bet on did in a race. If it won, he would be a demon in the field; if it lost, he would not hustle at all. Once the bullpen guys realized that, they always told him his horse won. But all that just made him more interesting.

After baseball, Mick worked some with horses - of course - played Senior baseball, and did some local work in the parks and with kids back in FLA to which he relocated. He has an "official" website here that showcases his bio and a bunch of his quotes. He also has recently started working with the Yanks again as a spring training coach and there are a couple interviews from '09 on the web. He looks good.

John Milton was of course the guy that wrote "Paradise Lost." Rivers was not named for him but for some relatives. I had not known that he ever signed with his real first name before I saw it on this card. The triple A numbers make you wonder why he wasn't given more of a shot in the majors: back then the Angels weren't exactly awash in All-Stars out there. That second star bullet was slower by a second to the record. If I remember correctly, I think Ken Griffey Sr. ultimately broke it.

We have had quite a run of AL cards now so this is easy:

1. Rivers and Joe Lahoud '74 and '75 Angels;
2. Lahoud and Jim Colborn '72 to '73 Brewers.

Happy to throw an ex-Red Sox in there since they have been woefully under-represented so far in this set.