#381 - Charlie Sands

You gotta admire eternal optimism. Charlie Sands has a big smile on his face even though he only got a whopping 33 at bats in ’73. Plus he is air-brushed into an Angels uniform, presumably  from a Pirate one. But he hit a homer in his first Angel start and it was a big year in the minors and it would seem that his stats there - .302 with 22 homers, 71 RBI’s, and a .444 OBA – would have been enough to have elevated him to the top. California in ’73 wasn’t exactly awash in great catchers; in fact the three guys who got the most time would be out of the majors in ’74. But Charlie wouldn’t. In fact though he was yet again relegated to third-string, he’d get his most time behind the plate that year. Plus he had to love the guys at Topps. Like Vicente Romo, a pitcher from many posts back, Charlie was in a good run with cards per at bats at this point in his career. He had two to represent his 60 at bats. And he’d get another one in ’75.

Charlie Sands was a big kid out of Newport News, Virginia where he played football and baseball in high school. In ’65 he was drafted and signed by Baltimore but then had to do some military time. He came back in ’66 and hit .245 in A ball. After that season Lee MacPhail, who had been with the O’s, moved to the Yankees and had Charlie taken with that year’s Rule 5 draft. That meant he had to stay all the next year on the NY roster which he did, getting one at bat and zero time in the field, even though NY was pretty hurting for catchers. In ’68 he was able to return to the minors and he went back to A ball where though he missed some time with a broken hand he hit .268 with 37 RBI’s in 261 at bats. In ’69 more pain came in the form of appendicitis and a shattered kneecap so Charlie only got into 40 games split between Double and Triple A. By ’70 he was relatively healthy and he hit .226 – but with a .374 OBA – again spread between the two leagues. After that season he was traded to Pittsburgh in a minor league trade.

The 1971 Sands experienced was not terribly different from his ’67. Coming off an excellent spring training – he would specialize in those – he made the Pirates roster as the third-string guy behind Manny Sanguillen and Milt May. Though in his second and third at bats that year he hit pinch-homers, he got almost zero playing time. He did get a Series at bat though – he struck out – and a ring. In ’72 May got more time but Charlie didn’t up top and he spent most of the season putting up nice numbers back in Triple A: .283 with 12 homers, 44 RBI’s, and a .443 OBA in 219 at bats. Before the start of the ’73 season he was traded to Detroit for pitcher Chris Zachary and two weeks later went to California for pitcher Mike Strahler. After another excellent Triple A year in ’73 he spent all of ’74 with the Angels, now behind Ellie Rodriguez and Tom Egan. In 83 at bats he got four homers and 13 RBI’s and had an OBA of .370 but only hit .193. Given that he also DH’d that last stat didn’t work too well and in spring training of ’75 he was released. He hooked up with Oakland and spent nearly all the next two seasons at Tucson, their Triple A club. Combined those years he hit .287 with 37 homers, 124 RBI’s, and a .472 OBA in 536 at bats. He was released after the latter season which is a bit of a mystery given the hodgepodge Oakland’s ’77 catching became. Charlie finished with an average of .270 in the minors with 87 homers and 300 RBI’s in just over 2,000 at bats and a .385 OBA. Up top he hit .214 with a .372 OBA.

After he finished playing Charlie moved back to Virginia where by ’78 he started his own Charley’s Restaurant. It did pretty well and beginning in ’80 he began adding more sites to an expanding chain. The most successful of them seems to be in Lynchburg where it has been in continuing operation for over 30 years.

I believe the game mentioned in Charlie’s first star bullet remained the longest uninterrupted game in history. It’s a wonder he was able to play at all after that one.  Charlie had a brother Paul who pitched in the minors for five seasons in the early to mid-Seventies who had a similar career although he never cracked a Major League roster.

So Charlie played with Wayne Garrett’s brother but that doesn’t help here. Let’s see what does:

1. Sands and Nolan Ryan – duh! – ’73 to ’74 Angels;

2. Ryan and Bud Harrelson ’68 to ’71 Mets.

#380 - Bud Harrelson

1973 was certainly not a yawner for old Bud here. He went on the DL twice: once when turning a double play and he got bowled over by the Reds’ Bill Plummer resulting in a broken wrist; and once when tagging out Pittsburgh’s Rennie Stennett in a rundown whose collision resulted in a broken sternum. He missed a combined two months although he did make it back just in time to be part of the big September comeback. Then in the NLCS against Cincinnati he and Pete Rose got into a big brawl which endeared Bud even more to us little guys since he was giving away about 40 pounds in that one. After the Reds upset the Mets nearly took Oakland in the Series. Lots of ups and downs for Bud that year. But he was probably destined for drama: Bud was born June 6, 1944 – his post gets published on his birthday, a first for this blog – otherwise known as D-Day.

Bud Harrelson was born and raised in California and picked up his “Bud” handle as a young kid. In high school he played all the big three sports, earning local honors in each, and the big plan was that he’d get drafted by the local Giants. When that didn’t happen he went to San Francisco State on a hoops scholarship. He also played ball a year and was then signed by the Mets in ’63 for a $10,000 bonus. In A ball the rest of that summer he had a tough time, both at the plate and at shortstop. The first wasn’t too surprising but the latter one was and he returned to that level the next year where he added 10 points to his average and cut down his running error total to raise his fielding average from .886 to .943. In ’65 he jumped to Triple A where he also remained the bulk of ’66. Both seasons he improved in fielding and both years he got a bit of action in NY.

In ’67 spring training Bud made the cut and was announced as starting shortstop by the Mets. He put up a pretty good first year – technically he wasn’t a rookie – for a shortstop at the plate though he had a few too may errors in the field. He would aright the second stat in ’68 but suffered a big downtick in his average in part due to a bum knee that required off-season surgery. That surgery led to some downtime in ’69 but like ’73 it was worth it to Bud for the post-season work. After the Mets won it all he returned in ’70 to what was probably his best season as he made the All-Star team, was not injured, and turned in a super defensive performance. In ’71 he continued that run, winning his Gold Glove, and starting the All-Star game. In ’72 his average tanked and he missed a bunch of time due to a bad back. Then after the big ’73 finish it was more of the same for ’74 and beyond: lots of time on the DL. That year he nearly came to blows with Cleon Jones in spring training and then missed 60 days due to a broken hand suffered while diving back to first. He did, though, put up his best OBA with a .366. He then missed almost all of ’75 when his knee problems returned in spades.  When he returned in ’76 he put in his most time and had his best season in a long time: .234 with a .351 OBA in 359 at bats. In ’77 everything went south as he hit only .178 in another season marred by injuries. After it he was sent to the Phillies for a guy named Fred Andrews. There Bud backed up Larry Bowa a couple seasons though he missed any playoff action. In ’80 he finished things up in Texas where he moved as a free agent with a pretty good season: .272 with a .373 OBA alternating time with Pepe Frias. Bud finished up top with a .236 average and a .327 OBA. In the post-season he hit .200 with six RBI’s in 20 games. He ranks in the top 100 shortstops in lifetime fielding average.

Harrelson didn’t take too long to get back in baseball. In ’82 he was a Mets coach. In ’83 he did a season of broadcasting work. He then managed in the Mets chain from ’84 to mid-’85 (he went 66-44) before returning to NY as a coach to replace Bobby Valentine who left to manage the Rangers. Bud stayed in that position through the ’86 Series championship and into ’90 when he was named manager to replace Davey Johnson. He went 149-129 before the pulled-apart team collapsed at the end of the ’91 season and he was replaced by Mike Cubbage. In ’92 he helped found and co-owned the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Class A team in the Royals chain. He and another owner then founded the Atlantic League in ’98 as well as their own franchise in that league, the Long Island Ducks. Bud also coached the team a bit, managed it in 2000 (82-58), and was even activated for a game. He continues his association with the team as an owner and administrator.

There’s Bud’s full name which could not be pronounced by his brother when they were kids, hence the nickname. For a short time Bud and his main double play partner, Ken Boswell, each held the record for consecutive error-less games. I think that Topps sets the “star” hurdle a bit low as Bud only hit .250 with two runs scored during the Series although his OBA was .379. I would have given that designation to Rusty Staub.

Time to recap some music news and it is all from ’73. On June 1 the vocalist/drummer from the group Soft Machine (think Yes but with a jazzier feel) – Robert Wyatt – fell from an open window at a party in the UK and was paralyzed from the waist down. He has since done a bunch of solo and corroborative work. On June 2 Paul McCartney’s “My Love” took over the Number One spot in the States and would keep it for four weeks. And on June 5 Gram Parsons performed what would be his last live set in Philadelphia.

Back to the double hook-ups. I have a feeling Martin the manager would have appreciated Harrelson as a player:

1. Harrelson and Mickey Lolich ’76 Mets;

2. Lolich was managed by Billy Martin on the ’71 to ’73 Tigers.

For Billy as a player we get:

1. Harrelson and Phil Linz ’67 to ’68 Mets;

2. Linz and Elston Howard ’62 to ’65 Yankees;

3. Howard and Billy Martin ’55 to ’57 Yankees.

Phil Linz was a Yankees backup infielder in the early to mid-Sixties who also played for the Phillies and ended things with the Mets in ’68. Howard, of course, was an All-Star and MVP catcher for the Yankees and Red Sox.  

#379 - Billy Martin/Rangers Field Leaders

Now we come to Billy Martin, Texas manager. Why is Billy airbrushed into his Ranger threads? Because he spent most of ’73 managing the Tigers, in whose uniform he is actually attired. There are even some of his boys in the background by the batting cage. Detroit was Billy’s second gig up top and he was able to pull off his usual magic, taking an aging Tiger team to the AL East championship in ’72, his second year. Then, on top of the team aging fast in ’73, both the Tigers and Billy were bedeviled by what would continue to be negative fallouts from his managing style: used-up pitchers; significant disagreements with veterans; and public issues with the executive suite. For a while he had no bullpen. Al Kaline and Willie Horton got hurt. He was knocked out of first place by the lowly Brewers. Then in August the bad stuff peaked when frustrated in a game by Gaylord Perry, Billy retaliated by having his pitchers throw spitballs as well, and then announced he did so to the press. That was a bit too much for GM Jim Campbell who suspended Billy and then fired him (and then for all his troubles nearly took a bullet in his hotel room). Within a week Billy was hired by the Rangers who summarily disposed of Whitey Herzog just for the opportunity to get Martin (owner Bob Short said he’d fire his own mother to get the guy). While Billy only went 9-14 the rest of the way, he ramped things up considerably in ’74 when he took the Senators/Rangers franchise to only its second winning season in its existence.

Billy Martin was a scrappy kid out of Berkeley, California, who played some ball late in his high school career for a local affiliate of the Oakland Oaks, an independent PCL team. The Oaks signed Billy upon graduating in ’46 and sent him to their C league team to finish that season. In ’47 at the same level he hit .392 to earn a call-up to the Triple A Oaks late that year. He played there the next two seasons as well, earning the admiration of manager Casey Stengel. After he hit .286 with 12 homers and 92 RBI’s in ’49, Casey had Billy and Jackie Jensen traded to the Yankees for Eddie Malone. After a good partial season in Triple A he came up for good at the end of the ’50 season. A second baseman and sometime shortstop he didn’t get too much time in the field the next couple seasons behind Joe Coleman and Phil Rizzuto. Early in the ’52 season Coleman enlisted to fight in Korea and Billy took over second base. He had a pretty good regular first season and then peaked up top in ’53 with a .257, 15 homer, and 75 RBI season followed by .500 hitting on a record 12 hits in the Series. For ’54 and a bunch of ’55 he was in the service. He returned as the starter for ’56 and then, early in ’57 was involved in a bar fight in NYC with a bunch of other Yankees. Billy, as the most expendable one, was traded to Kansas City. He then moved around a bunch: to Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati – where he nearly blinded Jim Brewer with a sucker punch on the mound - Milwaukee, and Minnesota. His final season was ’61 and he finished with a .257 average and an All-Star appearance. He hit over .300 in the minors and kicked butt in the post-season: .333 with five homers and 19 RBI's in 28 games.

Martin became a scout for the Twins shortly after he finished playing which he did through ’64. He then moved to Minnesota as a coach from ’65 to early ’68 when he got his first managing gig for the team’s Triple A franchise, turning a losing record into a winning one. In ’69 he took over managing the Twins and took them to a division title. But he was then fired after the season, partly because during the year he got in a fight with one of his star pitchers, Dave Boswell. After a year off he became Detroit’s manager, kicking off his career there off by pushing the Tigers to second and flashing the bird on his ’72 Topps card.  In ’74 he won his first Manager of the Year award for his work in Texas. In ’75 he was fired after the team couldn’t repeat in part because of overused pitchers and veteran fallouts. Like in ’73, though, he was quickly scooped up, this time by the Yankees. In ’76 NY made some huge trades that pretty much all worked and Billy got his second MOY award as he took them to the Series for the first time in 12 seasons. In ’77 he won the whole thing before pretty much imploding mid-way through the ’78 season. He returned in mid-’79 to replace Bob Lemon – the guy who replaced him – but the death of Thurman Munson was too much and NY finished in fourth place. In ’80 he moved to Oakland where he revived that franchise to second place before winning the division championship and his third MOY award in ’81 (he lost to the Yankees in the AL playoffs). In ’82 same story as his pitchers ran out of gas and Billy posted his first season-long losing record. He returned to NY to manage in ’83 (when he finished in third), ’85, and ’88. He put up excellent records in both latter stints but was replaced both times due to attitude issues and the Boss’s worries about Billy’s health. His managing record was 1,253-1,013 in the majors. In between he did consulting gigs for the team. He was doing that as well when he was in a fatal car accident Christmas Day in ’89. He was 61.

Art Fowler was a pitcher in South Carolina who played some local industrial ball after graduating high school. In ’44 he was signed by the Giants – he is about the only guy eligible so far on this blog to miss WW II service – and won 13 that first summer in D ball. He then ramped that up to 23 wins in C ball in ’46 which earned him a promotion to Triple A in ’46. But with everyone returned from the service Art had a tough time for a few years turning in consistent numbers at the higher levels. In ’48 he won 19 back in A ball; in ’49 he was traded to the Braves; and four years and 63 wins later – most at Double A – he was traded to the Reds. For them he finally made his debut up top, in ’54 going 12-10 with a 3.83 ERA as a 31-year old rookie. It would be his best season. He spent the next three seasons with Cincinnati in both the pen and the rotation. In ’58 he returned to the minors and mid-year was traded to LA for – among others – Don Newcombe. He spent the next three seasons pitching for Dodger franchises including part of ’59 up top, though he got shut out in Series play. During ’61 he was sold to the new Angels and for them he joined the pen where he would stay the next three seasons. After a poor start to the ’64 season he was released and finished with a record up top of 54-51 with a 4.03 ERA, 25 complete games, four shutouts, and 32 saves. He finished out the season as the Angels bullpen coach then moved to Denver, Minnesota’s top team where he both pitched and coached five of the next six seasons. His pitching numbers were pretty good during that stretch even though he was over 40 and in ’68 his manager was Billy Martin. The next year they both went to Minnesota to win the division. Art returned to Denver for his last year when Billy was fired. There, at age 47. he went 9-5 with a 1.59 ERA and 15 saves. He finished his minor run with a record of 205-137 with a 3.39 ERA. He then stayed with Martin, going to the Tigers (’71-’73), the Rangers (’73-’75), and eventually the Yankees (’77-’78,’79,and ’83). He also coached at Oakland (’80-’82). Between and after those dates he returned to South Carolina where he played some golf and ran local promotional events for the Yankees and other teams. He passed away in 2007 at age 84 from blood cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Frank Lucchesi signed with the Yankees out of San Francisco in ’45 and that year began a minor league career as an outfielder that stalled at the B level. Despite hitting over .300 a couple times and a decent career .276 average, his size – 5’7” – and lack of speed worked against him and by ’51 at only 24 he was managing a D team. He worked his way through the NY and then the St. Louis/Baltimore systems and landed in Philadelphia’s in ’56. From that year through ’64 he would put up a winning record each season and win four titles, including three successive ones from ’60 to ’62. After a couple off years he resumed capturing titles in ’68 in Double A and the next season in Triple A. Those earned him a promotion to the top in ’70. But the Phillies were a transitional team back then and Frank made it mid-way through ’72 after going a combined 166-253 when he was replaced by Paul Owen, the GM. He then hooked up with Cleveland as a coach/admin guy in their system until late August when he got a call from old friend Billy Martin to join him as a coach in Texas. That he did until mid-’75 when he was named to replace the fired Martin as manager. He put up a better record the rest of the way than Billy and after a middling ’76 was set for a big year in ’77. Unfortunately , after naming rookie Bump Wills his new second baseman, the old one – Lenny Randle – took umbrage and nearly destroyed Frank’s face in an assault in spring training. Frank had to spend over  a week in the hospital, and though Randle was fined and traded, Frank was released a couple months into the ’77 season, which would turn out to be by far the team’s most successful one with 94 wins. He would return to Texas as a consultant in ’78 and then as third base coach from ’79-’80. In ’81 he returned to the Cleveland system as a scout and then manager for part of the season, resuming things as a scout in ’82. In ’85 he took up the same role with the Dodgers and then in ’87 signed on with the Cubs as a coach. He would later manage Chicago that season when Gene Michael resigned, that being Frank’s last managing gig up top (lifetime he was 316-399 at that level). In ’88 he joined the Cincinnati system, taking over as manager of Nashville later that year which he did through ’89. He finished his minor league managing career with a 1,561-1,365 record. He then mostly retired although he made Arlington his home and has done a bunch of community work for the Rangers in the past twenty-plus years.

Jackie Moore was signed by the Tigers out of high school in Texas in ’57. Originally an outfielder he was converted to a catcher early in his career and worked his way through the Detroit system, reaching Triple A in ’61. Stuck behind Bill Freehan and John Sullivan in the pecking order most of his career, his best season was probably ’63 when he hit .296 with seven homers and 37 RBI’s. He split ’65 between Triple A and Detroit, when he got his only action up top (he hit .094 in 53 at bats). After the ’66 season he was traded to Boston in the deal that brought Detroit Bill Monbouquette. After a season in Triple A for the Sox he was released and finished in the minors with a lifetime .250 average. He then immediately got into coaching. After managing in the BoSox chain in ’68 to ’69 he moved up to coach the Brewers from ’70 to ’72 and then the Rangers from ’73 to ’76, taking a few months in ’75 to manage half a season in the minors. In ’77 he joined the Blue Jays where he stayed through ’79. Jackie then returned to Texas for a year before re-joining Billy Martin in Oakland, first as coach, and then from mid-’84 through mid-’86 as manager. His record with the A’s was 163-190. He then moved to Montreal (’87-’89), Cincinnati (’90-’92), back to Texas (’93-’95), and Colorado (’96-’98). It seems he enjoyed three-year runs. In 2000 he took over as manager for Round Rock in the Houston chain for its owner Nolan Ryan which he did through ’07. His minor league managing record is 949-948. In ’08 he returned to the majors as the Astros bench coach. He then went back to Texas in the same role, re-joining Ryan. He is currently the Texas bench coach. He has a son, Jonathan, who plays in the minors.

Like Jackie Moore, Charlie Silvera was a catcher. Signed by the Yankees out of the San Francisco area in ’42, he put in a summer of D ball before he got drafted into the service. He then played ball on Army teams in the Pacific the next three years. When he returned Stateside in ’46 it was to three years of Triple A ball, peaking in ’48 when he hit .301 with 85 RBI’s. He made his debut for NY late that season and hit .571 in 4 games. The next season Yogi Berra missed a bit over a month so Charlie got his career high up top of 130 at bats and hit .315. He also got into the Series that year. After that year, though, it was Yogi all the way and Charlie maxed out with 82 at bats in any one season. He stayed in NY through ’56, put in a partial season with the Cubs in ’57, and finished his career up top with a .282 average and .356 OBA. In ’58 he returned to NY as a player/manager in the minors which he did through ’59. He then moved to the Pittsburgh system for a year, his final one as a player. In the minors he finished with a .262 average. From ’61 to ’68 he scouted for the Senators and he then returned to coaching, this time up top, and all for Billy Martin. Charlie had gigs for the Twins (’69), Tigers (’71-’73), and Rangers (’73-’75). During the ’70 season he managed again in the California chain (his lifetime managing record was 167-203). Since ’75 he has done scouting, principally for the Yankees and the A’s. As of late 2011, at 87, he was still at it from his home base back by the bay.

This is the first double hook-up in a while and at least one of them is easy. For Billy as manager:

1. Martin managed Fergie Jenkins on the ’74-’75 Rangers;

2. Jenkins and Burt Hooton ’71-’73 Cubs.

For Billy as a player:

1. Martin and Harmon Killebrew ’61 Twins;

2. Killebrew and Bill Hands ’73-’74 Twins;

3. Hands and Burt Hooton ’71-’72 Cubs.

#378 - Burt Hooton

Now this is a great action shot, and for a couple reasons. First off, its the second action shot in the last six posts of an iconic field, and even if you’re not a Cubs fan you gotta love those ivy-covered Wrigley Walls. Second, check out the subject, Burt Hooton. He has just released a pitch but it looks like he could be hailing a cab. That’s the beauty of throwing the knuckler and its derivative curve; it’s not too physically demanding. Third, Burt looks pissed. He always looked pissed which is how he picked up his “Happy” nickname. And last, there is a guy playing in the outfield behind Mr. Hooton. Who is it? It’s a right-hander for sure. So it ain’t Rick Monday or Gene Hiser. And it’s not Jose Cardenal because he played exclusively in right. Billy Williams batted left but he was a left fielder and he threw righty. Rick Reuschel’s card is also an action shot and I’m betting Topps didn’t make too many trips to Wrigley that summer. If I am correct and the photos are from the same game, then that game was most likely played on August 15 when both pitchers hit the mound in a 15-1 blowout by the Braves (that would also explain the pained look on Burt’s face). Rico Carty was the left fielder that whole game so that is probably our boy in the outfield which is nice since Rico was shut-out card-wise in this set.

But back to our subject, Hooton had a pretty good ’73 with the Cubbies, despite some time in the pen and an ERA that rose a bunch from the prior season. He tied with Reuschel and Fergie Jenkins for most wins on the team, but none of them had a winning record. It would be his last good season in Chicago as things went downhill for him pretty fast beginning in ’74. But better things awaited him on the left coast.

Burt Hooton grew up in Texas where he taught himself a knuckle-curve pitch when he was 14. He threw four no-hitters in high school and then two more at the University of Texas where he was an All-American his three varsity seasons and compiled a 35-3 record with 13 shutouts and a 1.14 ERA. He’d been drafted by the Mets in ’68 but opted for college and then was drafted by the Cubs in the first round upon graduating Texas in ’71. Nine days later he made his first appearance in Chicago. In his second game he struck out 15 Mets. In his third he threw a shutout. Chicago then optioned him down to Triple A – to work on his pitching (?!) – and he blew people away there too with 135 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 102 innings. Needless to say in ’72 he came up for good.

Hooton continued his hot career kick-off in ’72, throwing a no-hitter in his first start that year. He had an awfully good rookie year but the days of averaging over a strikeout an inning were over and despite his 2.81 ERA he put up a losing record. Same deal in ’73. Then in ’74 he got off to a poor start and spent more time in the pen than the rotation and went 7-11 with a 4.80 ERA and a save. In ’75 he bottomed out in Chicago, going 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in his first three starts. He also upstaged manager Whitey Lockman in a game so when the Cubbies had a chance to trade him to the Dodgers, they went for it. Burt went to the Dodgers for pitchers Eddie Solomon and Geoff Zahn.

Too bad for the Cubs. While Zahn and Solomon went a combined 2-7 the rest of the way, Hooton revived big to go 18-7 with a 2.82 ERA and four shutouts in his new home. In ’76 he took a step back, posted a nice ERA, but had a losing record. In ’77 he recovered his winning ways, going 12-7 with a 2.62 ERA. His first playoff game that fall was a mess, though, as he walked four guys in a row in his only start and couldn’t get out of the second inning. But he had a pretty good Series against NY, going 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA. Then came his big ’78: 19-10 with a 2.71 ERA and second place in the NL Cy race. After a crappy post-season run he put up some pretty good seasons the next few years, going a combined 25-18 in ’79 and ’80 and 11-6 with a 2.28 ERA in strike-shortened ’81, making his first All-Star team. That year he finally had a consistently good playoff run with a 4-1 record in five starts with an ERA of below 1.00 as LA won the whole thing. Burt got the NLCS MVP award. Then in ’82 he was having a not-great start to his season when a bone spur was discovered in his knee, the same one that had been operated on when he was a kid. It required an operation that didn’t quite take and despite flashes of his old self the next three seasons in LA were pretty tough. Burt went a combined 16-21 from '82 to ’84 and spent the last one in the pen. In ’85 he signed as a free agent with Texas and though he got off to a 2-1 start in the rotation soon fell prey to his old injury and was released after the season. In his career Burt went 151-136 with a 3.38 ERA, 86 complete games, 29 shutouts, and seven saves. In the post-season he was 6-3 with a 3.17 ERA in eleven games, all starts. He continues to rank pretty high in Dodgers career pitching stats; his record in LA was 112-84 with a 3.14 ERA and 22 shutouts.

After a couple seasons off Hooton returned to baseball in ’88 as a pitching coach in the Dodger system which he did through ’95. From ’96 to ’99 he did the same thing at his alma mater, the University of Texas. He then took on the pitching coach gig for Nolan Ryan’s Round Rock minor league team in 2000 but halfway through the season was promoted to Houston where he was the coach through ’04. In ’05 he returned to Round Rock and he is still the pitching coach for the franchise which in 2011 moved to Oklahoma City.

Lots of nice stuff happened to Burt when he opened his career and Topps gets most of it in the star bullets. Besides the knuckler, Burt also had a fastball, straight curve, and a change-up.

Mostly pitchers on this hook-up:

1. Hooton and Ray Burris ’73 to ’75 Cubs;

2. Burris and Steve Rogers ’81 to ’83 Expos;

3. Rogers and Ron Woods ’73 to ’74 Epos.

#377 - Ron Woods

Back in the NL we get Ron Woods’ final card at Shea. Ron seems a bit confused as to what to do with that ball which may help explain his soon-to-be departure from the majors. But Ron was actually a pretty good fielder. Ironically, too, ’73 was his biggest season in terms of at bats and a bunch of other offensive numbers as his platooning partner in center, Boots Day, was hurt part of the year. Over a month into the season Ron was leading the NL in hitting with a .429 average. It’s been tough to get information on this guy. Most items pulled by search engines get you info on Ron Wood, the Stones guitarist. If you look up his Detroit days you get – you guessed it – Tiger Woods info. So if Ron wanted to go underground after he played he sure had the right name to do it.

Ron Woods was born in Ohio and at some point relocated to the LA area since he also played for Chet Brewer’s teams and played high school ball against future teammate Roy White. Ron was signed by the Pirates upon graduating in ’61 and then began a long minor league odyssey to the majors that took up most of the rest of the decade. After showing some good power his first two years in D ball – a combined 35 homers and 129 RBI’s in 590 at bats – he spent the next four seasons bouncing back and forth between A and Double A ball. That last year – ’66 – he was traded to the Tigers and for them he improved his numbers enough to step up his advancement. In ’67 he hit .296 with ten homers in Double A and in ’68 he batted .292 and hit 16 out in Triple A. In ’69 he was brought up to Detroit to be a defensive back-up in the outfield.

In 1969 the defending Series champ Tigers were pretty set in the outfield with Jim Northrup, Willie Horton, and Al Kaline. Woods got into a couple games when Horton had a fit and quit the team for a couple games. After only 15 at bats through mid-June Ron was traded to the Yankees for ex-icon Tom Tresh. NY had a lot more holes to fill so Ron spent a bit more time in center the rest of the way but only hit .175. In ’70 he played winter ball in Puerto Rico to work on his hitting. That move ended up being as good for him as it was for Boston pitcher Bill Lee since Ron pretty much saved Lee from getting destroyed by Ellie Rodriguez after Lee hit the catcher in a game. Ron returned to NY, this time splitting right field time with Curt Blefary since Bobby Murcer had taken over center. Ron’s numbers improved a bunch but that .227 average was still pretty light. After a few games to start the ’71 season he was traded to the Expos for old NY favorite Ron Swoboda.

Woods had a nice run his first year in Montreal, hitting .297 with a .382 OBA as he got some time in both right and center. In ’72 he and Boots Day became the platooned center fielder for the next two seasons. That year Ron had the biggest day of his career as he hit two homers with six RBI’s in a game. After peaking out playing-wise in ’73 he and Day saw significant contractions in playing time in ’74 due to the acquisition of Willie Davis. In January ’75 his contract was sold to the Chunichi Dragons of Japan for whom he would play for two seasons. His first year there he hit 16 homers with 45 RBI's, 69 runs, and a .263 average and towards the end of the season he was among a group of four players attacked by some rabid fans in Hiroshima. Pretty dramatic stuff so I wish I could have obtained some more color. In ’76 he matched his average but then departed the team midway through what seems to have been his final year as a player. In the States he hit a lifetime .233 with 26 homers and 130 RBI’s. He added about 100 points to his OBA as he had more walks than strikeouts. In the minors he hit .276 with over 130 stolen bases.

At some point after he played, Woods opened a photography studio back in Thousand Oaks, California, which he was doing in the late Seventies. I have gone hitless in trying to find what Ron has done since.

Ron had some speed early in his career both on the basepaths and in the outfield which gets noted in the star bullets. No hints here either to what he'd do after baseball.

We get lucky on this hookup with a former Rookie of the Year:

1. Woods and Stan Bahnsen ’69 to ’71 Yankees;

2. Bahnsen and Jorge Orta ’72 to ’75 White Sox.

#376 - Jorge Orta

The action shots are over for a couple cards as we return to Yankee Stadium for a shot of Jorge Orta who seems to be borrowing Bob Watson’s glum look from a few posts ago. Jorge became a regular for the White Sox in ’73, in the process boosting his average over 60 points. Jorge was never much of a fielder but with Mike Andrews having run out of gas a bit earlier than expected he did fill a big potential hole at second, questionable defense or not. So like Mr. Watson he should also be pretty happy but he obviously isn’t. Maybe Topps wouldn’t let him put on both his batting gloves.

Jorge Orta’s dad played pro ball in Cuba. By the time Jorge was around his dad had relocated to Mexico – nice timing – and was on the road a bunch as a coach. Jorge was frequently with him so there was a bunch of transition in his teen years and his main outlets were pick-up games of hoops, which he also played in high school.  When he graduated he opted to give baseball a shot. He made the Fresnillo team but after a few games there decided to return to his dad who was now running his own restaurant. He spent the next year-plus under his father’s tutelage and returned at the tail end of the ’70 season to post a pretty good average. The next year he exploded with his .423 in the summer league and then finished with a .362 in the fall league. He was then recommended to new White Sox player personnel director Roland Hemond who flew down to watch Jorge deliver his Mexicali team the league championship and signed him on the spot. Jorge – after his wrist was healed following his falling through a window celebrating the championship – was brought up to Florida late that fall for some instructional league play. He then hit a ton in ’72 spring training and made the Sox. Early that season he split time between second and shortstop but after hitting an anemic .202 was sent to Double A Knoxville. There he revived his stroke and after again smashing the ball at a good clip in ’73 spring training he was up for good.

In ’74 Orta continued his upward climb in hitting, posting a .316 average with 67 RBI’s and a .365 OBA. In ‘75 he hit .304 and was named an All-Star, but was replaced due to a pulled hamstring. In ’76 the Sox acquired Jack Brohamer and Jorge got itinerant, spending most of his time at third and in the outfield. He had a tough time error-wise at both spots but did finish high among AL outfielders in assists. His average contracted 30 points but he also had by far his best stolen base season with 24 thefts. In ’77 the Sox got free agent Eric Soderholm to play third and Jorge returned to second where he upped his average to .282 and his RBI total to his career best of 84. Then in ’78 Jorge’s offense sputtered a bit and he missed some time as his nagging hamstring issues became more chronic. That peaked in ’79 as he missed some time and played more DH than second. After the season he opted for free agency and signed with the Indians.

The Indians of ’80 had a bit of an offensive revival, led by first-year wonder Joe Charboneau, and Orta moved into right field to be a part of it. His average upticked to .291 and he got his second All-Star nod even though he spent a couple weeks on the DL. Then in ’81 he led AL outfielders with eleven assists but the offensive numbers went south as he missed more time. After that season he was traded to LA in the deal that brought Cleveland Rick Sutcliffe. Good trade for the Indians as Jorge’s season for the Dodgers was a mess even though he had another excellent spring. He hit only .217 with eight RBI’s in 115 at bats as a right fielder/pinch hitter. After the season he was shipped to the Mets for Pat Zachry. But the Mets were pretty loaded with lefty-hitting outfielders so a month later they sent Jorge to Toronto. Back in the AL he did much better, raising his average 20 points in twice as many at bats, while also raising his homer and RBI totals almost five-fold. Then he went to the Royals for Willie Mays Aikens, problem-child. Jorge was by now chiefly a DH and in KC he hit nearly .300 in his new home splitting time with Hal McRae. That year he got his first taste of playoff action. In ’85 and ’86 he continued platooning with McRae, the former year becoming part of a Series champ. Jorge earned a kind of immortality when in a game against St. Louis he was called safe in a play in which it was later revealed he was clearly out. KC was down 1-0 in the game – the play happened in the ninth – and 3-2 in the Series. They ended up winning the game 2-1 and the Series the next night so the play was a big deal. Jorge would play a partial season with the club in ’87 before he was released mid-year, finishing his career. He ended with a .278 average with a .334 OBA, 130 homers, and 745 RBI’s. In the post-season he hit .111 in eight games with an RBI.

There are indications out there that Orta got into coaching in the Houston system immediately after playing, however specific documentation of anything is pretty sparse until the mid-90’s or so. He did continue to play off-season ball in Mexico for a bit and in ’94 played for a season in Italy. Then for sure he coached in the Houston chain from ’97 to 2005, including three seasons as a manager at the Class A level (2001-’03) during which he went 116-84. In ’06 he moved to the Cincinnati chain where he has been a hitting coach at a few levels, including a roving one for two years.

That really was a monster season in the first half of ’71 although back then the Mexican Leagues were considered about a half step below Single A ball. Those two stolen base totals were in the minors as well. The cartoon is a bit tricky: in a newspaper interview his rookie year Jorge noted that a hoops scout from UCLA saw him play in Mexico and told him to come check out the school, but I have found nothing substantive indicating he was ever actually offered a scholarship. At 5’10” he must have been a hell of a point guard.

On May 26, 1974 David Cassidy of the Partridge Family is performing at White City in London. Back then Cassidy was that time’s version of Justin Bieber and the concert was attended by thousands of adolescent girl fans. Over 1,000 will get medical care at the stadium, six will be hospitalized, and one will pass away from heart failure. The grim event pretty much marks the peak of Cassidy’s singing career.

We use a couple of stylish AL guys for the hookup:

1. Orta and Pat Kelly ’72 to ’76 White Sox;

2. Kelly and Jim Palmer ’77 to ’80 Orioles;

3. Palmer and Earl Williams ’73 to ’74 Orioles.

#375 - Earl Williams

Returning to the action shots we get Earl Williams about to hit somewhere in an AL park. On this card at least Earl appears to have converted to Hinduism. He probably could have used it as his recent trade to Baltimore wasn’t going too well. He was still hitting for power, as his homer and RBI totals would attest. But his average dropped over 20 points, he spent some time on the DL, and he and the other Earl of Baltimore were having a testy time. Plus that other guy, manager Earl Weaver, made a bold prediction that when the O’s got this Earl it guaranteed them the pennant. Not exactly; the A’s juggernaut prevented that from happening. Plus, Baltimore gave up an awful lot to get this guy. Pat Dobson didn’t have a great run in Atlanta but he came back to the AL and won nine in half a season. Johnny Oates became starting catcher for the Braves. And assumed broken-down second baseman Davey Johnson set a record with his 43 homers. Oof. That’s a lot to live down. And Earl was no wallflower, preferring the Dick Allen method of conflict resolution over the Gandhi kind. So when the other Baltimore catchers and then the fans jumped behind Weaver to let Williams know how they felt he was right back at them. And all because the Braves turned him into a damn catcher.

Earl Williams was a three-sport star in Montclair, NJ. His senior year he averaged 20 per game in hoops and got a scholarship to Ithaca College when he graduated in ’65. He was also a pretty good pitcher who could throw heat so when the Braves trumped the school with an offer that included a bonus, Earl opted for baseball. Pretty much at least. He did go to school first where his contract prevented him from playing. The next summer he both pitched – 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA in eleven games – and played first base in a short season. In ’67 he dropped pitching in A ball and split time between the outfield and first. Then in ’68 he missed a bunch of time with an injured knee as he split time with a couple Single A teams. He finally got things going in A ball in ’69 with big homer and RBI totals and a .340 average. Those couple years he was still primarily a first baseman. Then in ’70 the club decided to take advantage of his arm and split him between first and third in both Double A – where he hit 21 doubles, 19 homers, and had 63 RBI’s in about half a season – and for a short stint in Triple A. He also got into a few games up top where he hit and fielded well at the corners. In ’71 he was slated to return to Triple A but a hot spring training made him a big-leaguer instead.

1971 was a tough year for the Braves. Orlando Cepeda’s knees finally gave out and he only got in a little under half a season at first. Batting champ Rico Carty missed the whole season on the DL. Clete Boyer was in a contract dispute and was running out of gas anyway at third base. So they were facing a wicked set of circumstances in shooting for their second NL West title in three years. The chaos worked out pretty well for Williams though. His season began at third base while the intended new guy there, Darrell Evans, got a little more seasoning. When Cepeda went down he also put in some time at first. But the Braves true need was behind the plate. ’69 rookie all-star Bob Didier had since faded to mediocrity and neither he nor Hal King could hit a lick. So the Braves threw Earl back there. He wasn’t real pleased but being the excellent athlete he was he did a pretty good job, winning pundits from even Phil Niekro, a tough boy to catch. Plus Earl was slugging up a storm and at the end of the year his 33 homers and 87 RBI’s would allow him to pass early-season favorite Willie Montanez for NL Rookie of the Year. In ’72 he pretty much matched his offensive numbers in more plate appearances but he had a tougher time catching as he led the NL in passed balls with 28 – he was catching Niekro – and helped give up 78 steals. He also let it be known he wasn’t crazy happy playing behind the plate. So when Baltimore was shopping for some power, Atlanta was listening. Earl went to the O’s with heralded minor leaguer Taylor Duncan for Pat Dobson, Roric Harrison, Johnny Oates, and Davey Johnson.

’73 wouldn’t be all bad for Williams in his new home. A lack of knucklers on the O staff reduced his passed balls to four and he threw out nearly as many guys as he allowed to steal. With Boog Powell’s decline he also got in a considerable amount of time at first. Plus he was a significant uptick offensively to anyone else the Orioles had behind the plate. He also had a pretty good playoff against Oakland, hitting .278 with a homer and four RBI’s in the five games. And Baltimore did win the division his two seasons there. But ’74 was an even tougher season as his RBI numbers declined to 54 and his homers to 14 even though he picked up his average a few points. And he went o-fer in the playoffs. Plus he was now getting racially-tinged hate mail on a regular basis. So when Baltimore returned Earl to Atlanta for pitcher Jimmy Freeman, he wasn’t too displeased. But it wasn’t ’71 any more. Though playing a bunch more at first than catcher, Earl didn’t come close to matching his power output in ’75 – 11 homers and 50 RBI’s in 383 at bats – nor in ’76. So when he kicked off that second season hitting only .212 he was sold mid-year to the Expos. For Montreal he continued his double position thing and raised his average 25 points the rest of the season. But with Gary Carter solidifying himself behind the plate and free agent acquisition Tony Perez taking over at first, Earl was released in ’77 spring training. He was shortly thereafter picked up by car wreck Oakland for whom he hit 13 homers in 348 at bats as a catcher/DH and also stole the only two bases of his career. But he also had only 38 RBI’s and hit .241 and in spring training of ’78 he was released. Later that spring Earl actually put an ad in the New York Times soliciting his services – I have linked to an article regarding that here – but got no takers. So in ’79 he went down to Mexico and that year hit .343 with 20 homers and 112 RBI’s for Durango. In ’80 he moved to Campeche but his stats were nowhere near as good and by mid-season he was done. In ’81 he was offered a minor-league contract by Pittsburgh but declined. That ended his time in baseball. Earl finished with a .247 average with 148 homers and 457 RBI’s. In the post-season he hit .208 with a homer and four ribbies in seven games.

When Williams finished he returned home to Montclair and shortly thereafter relocated to Somerset, NJ, where he spent the next twenty years as a warehouse operations manager. As of the above article from 2011 he has been retired.

Most of this stuff Topps offers is is old hat in the star bullets. Earl could be a streaky hitter. In his big '69 season he had eight homers in seven days, two of them grand slams. In his brief '76 stay with Montreal he had a span of six homers in 24 at bats. There's that phonograph record thing again.

We have one bit of music news from 1973. On this date Mike Oldfield, a 20-year old wunderkind from the UK, released his album “Tubular Bells” on which he performed all the instrumentation. It’s single, of the same name, was a pretty big hit in both the UK and the US, mostly because it was used as the theme song to the big-selling summer freak show movie “The Exorcist.”

Earl gives us another break since he and Marty were teammates:

1. Williams and Marty Perez ’71 to ’72 and ’75 to ’76 Braves and ’77 A’s.