http://baseballcardblogs.org Posts from the Best Baseball Card Blogs on the Net Mon, 21 May 2012 22:41:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/04/550-mel-stottlemyre.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/04/550-mel-stottlemyre.html#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:47:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=bcf30cc6b9a4ea4cf3cd3d735ebb421a I'm a few weeks overdue with this post, but getting there is half the fun. Our old friend Bob, a.k.a. the Commish, sent me this lovely specimen of a high-numbered Mel Stottlemyre rookie card. If you've skimmed over my checklist lately, you know that this was the last single-player card that I needed...besides that Mantle guy. There's no turning back now!

Fun facts about Mel Stottlemyre:

-Mel was born in Hazleton, MO but attended high school and junior college in Washington state before signing with the Yankees in 1961.

-He led the International League with a 1.42 ERA for Richmond and was 13-3 when New York called him up to the majors in August 1964. The rookie helped the Yanks capture the American League pennant with a 9-3 record and a 2.06 ERA in 13 games down the stretch, solidifying his place in the bigs for good.

-On September 26, 1964, Stottlemyre tormented the Senators by tossing a 2-hitter and going 5-for-5 at the plate with a double and a pair of RBI.

-Mel started three games in the 1964 World Series, earning a complete game victory in Game Two, permitting just two runs (one earned) in a seven-inning no-decision in Game Five, and unfortunately taking the loss on two days' rest in the deciding Game Seven. It would be his only postseason exposure.

-In his sophomore season, he made the first of five All-Star teams, posted a 20-9 record with a 2.63 ERA, and led the league with 18 complete games.

-Despite the Yankees' slide into mediocrity in the late 1960s, Mel had back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1968 (21-12, 2.45 ERA) and 1969 (20-14, 2.82 ERA, league-leading 24 complete games).

-A torn rotator cuff in 1974 ended his career at age 32. In an 11-year career spent entirely in the Bronx, he was 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA and 152 complete games. He is seventh in team history in career wins.

-Stottlemyre spent three decades as a pitching coach for the Mariners, Mets, Astros, and Yankees. He oversaw the Bombers' staff while they were busy winning five World Series at the end of the 20th century.

-His sons Mel, Jr. (Royals, 1990) and Todd (Blue Jays, A's, Cardinals, Rangers, and Diamondbacks, 1988-2002) were also big league pitchers.

-Mel was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a few years back, but the disease is now in remission. He lives in Issaquah, WA.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/8120107704076418772/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/02/510-ernie-banks.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/02/510-ernie-banks.html#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:44:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=acd333cc77c0b9e17a1dce4d59e3a1d2 Back again so soon. Ed's dragging me to the finish line on this project, in this case spotting a pretty well-conditioned copy of this high-numbered Ernie Banks card at a hobby show for $20. It's the most I've paid yet, but I'd say it's worth the cost. Now the needs list is down to the Magnificent Seven!

Fun facts about Ernie Banks:

-Ernie was born in Dallas, TX and was signed by the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs in 1950. He had two stints with the club sandwiched around a tour in the Army, and signed with the Cubs in September 1953.

-The young shortstop jumped right to the major leagues, starting for Chicago in a September 17, 1953 loss to the Phillies. As the first black player in team history, he went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, and batted .314 with a pair of homers in 10 games.

-Banks was runner-up to Wally Moon in 1954's N.L. Rookie of the Year voting. He played all 154 games for the Cubs, batting .275 with 19 home runs and 79 RBI. Only Hank Sauer (103 RBI) drove in more runs for the club.

-He broke out in 1955 with the first of 11 All-Star seasons, a third-place MVP finish, and a batting line of .295/.345/.596 with 44 homers and 117 RBI.

-Ernie had his greatest seasons back-to-back, winning the National League MVP honors in 1958 and 1959. In the former year, he batted a career-high .313 and led the Senior Circuit with 47 home runs (a record for shortstops at the time), 129 RBI, and a .614 slugging percentage. 1959 brought a .304/.374/.596 slash line, 45 homers, and a league-best 143 RBI.

-He won his one and only Gold Glove in 1960. The following season, the Cubs began transitioning him to first base, the position he played almost exclusively for the next decade.

-Banks played his entire 19-year career at Wrigley Field, where he was known as "Mr. Cub" and beloved for his production, leadership, and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, this also meant that he never got the opportunity to play in the postseason.

-He hit three home runs in one game four times in his career: August 4, 1955 (part of a 7-RBI outburst); September 14, 1957 (nightcap of a doubleheader - let's play two!); May 29, 1962 (4-for-5 with a double); and June 9, 1963 (two off of Sandy Koufax!).

-He retired in 1971 with a .274 average and an even .500 slugging percentage, as well as 512 home runs and 1,636 RBI. His total of 277 home runs as a shortstop was a record that stood for over two decades before being surpassed by Cal Ripken, Jr.

-Ernie was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1977, collecting 321 votes out of a possible 383 (83.8%). The 62 voters who didn't choose him should be given severe noogies. He's maintained a close relationship with the Cubs throughout the years, even spending a few years coaching at the end of his playing career. His #14 was retired in 1982, making him the first Cubbie to receive that honor, and in 2008 a statue in his likeness was dedicated outside of Wrigley Field.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/4127245875656930946/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/02/134-world-series-game-three-mantles.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/02/134-world-series-game-three-mantles.html#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:10:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=73da8224334ad3a2d3cd38fcbc02b9af That's 590 down and 8 to go! I might not get my hands on the Mick's regular base card any time soon, but a gen-u-ine World Series action photo beats some humpty-dumpty posed shot any day, if you ask me. Here's another card that I've bought off of Ed for $10.

To set the stage: it's Saturday, October 10, 1964. 67,101 fans have packed into Yankee Stadium to see if the Yankees can take a 2-1 lead over the Cardinals in the World Series. 18-game winner Jim Bouton starts for the Yanks, opposed by veteran and fellow 18-game winner Curt Simmons of St. Louis. Simmons, making his first postseason start in his 17th big league season, runs into trouble in the second inning. Elston Howard singles, Joe Pepitone walks, and Clete Boyer plates the game's first run with a double. New York strands two runners in scoring position as Bouton flies out, and Simmons bears down and shuts them out for the next six innings.

Bouton is also on his game, allowing only six Cardinal hits in nine innings. He gives up a single unearned run in the fifth inning to tie the game, though. Tim McCarver leads off the frame with a single but moves up to second base as Mickey Mantle misplays it in right field. Dal Maxvill advances the runner to third with a groundout, and Simmons evens things up with a two-out single. This sets the stage for a tense ninth inning.

Still trying for the complete game, Bouton is betrayed by his defense once more in the top of the ninth. McCarver leads off again and reaches first base as shortstop Phil Linz boots a ground ball. Mike Shannon, who hit into a fielder's choice to leave the bases loaded in the sixth, bunts McCarver to second. Pinch hitter Carl Warwick walks, and Bob Skinner bats for Simmons and moves the lead runner to third with a flyout to deep center field. Curt Flood lines out, leaving St. Louis hoping for extra innings. But it's not to be. Reliever Barney Schultz surrenders the game-winning home run to Mantle, the first batter in the home half of the ninth. It is the 16th of an eventual 18 home runs hit by Mickey in World Series play, and the last of those to be hit in New York. It also proves to be the last home win for the Yanks in the Fall Classic until the first game of the 1977 Series.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/3239826603375890464/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/579-dick-smith.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/579-dick-smith.html#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:14:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=10c7980d77ddee4bb59914403b62430d Another card that I bought off of Ed for low, low prices. Here's an uncomfortable question: if a locksmith is a lock maker and a blacksmith makes tools and other items from iron and steel, what is a Dick Smith? Forget I asked.

Fun facts about Dick Smith:

-Dick was born in Lebanon, OR and signed with the Dodgers out of high school in 1957.

-He spent six years in the minors with the Dodgers, establishing himself as a .250-ish hitter with some pop, before the Mets purchased his contract in October 1962.

-Made his big league debut as a pinch hitter on July 20, 1963, fouling out to first base against Dallas Green of the Phillies.

-Appeared in 20 games as a rookie for New York, batting .238 with a triple and 3 RBI.

-Dick spent the first half of the 1964 season with the Mets, carrying just a .223 average with no home runs and 3 RBI in 97 trips to the plate.

-He had a memorable game vs. the Cubs on May 26, 1964, batting leadoff and igniting the Met offense in a 19-1 rout: 5-for-6 with a double, a triple, a stolen base, three runs scored and two driven in.

-The Dodgers reacquired Smith in October 1964 for pitcher Larry Miller. He played 10 games for L.A. in 1965, going hitless in 6 at-bats. It was his last stint in the majors, but he kept playing in the minors through the 1968 season.

-In parts of 3 big league seasons, Dick batted .218 with no home runs and 7 RBI. He finished his 12-year minor league career with a .265 average and 120 homers.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/5697454047603284188/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/415-curt-flood.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/415-curt-flood.html#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:38:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=cd009cd9c59aa90bbd6a4100796ee04f Here's the second of the troika of cards I bought with Ed's assistance at the December Philly Card Show. I'm glad to finally have a vintage card of Curt Flood, whose struggles against Major League Baseball and the reserve clause helped bring a premature end to his career. His story is one of the most fascinating in all of baseball in the 20th century.

Fun facts about Curt Flood:

-Curt was born in Houston, TX, but attended high school in Oakland, CA before signing with Cincinnati in 1956.

-The teenaged outfielder was the Carolina League MVP for the High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms in 1956. He batted .340, slugged .567, and totaled 29 home runs in his first season as a pro.

-Flood got September glimpses of the big leagues in 1956 and 1957. He had only four plate appearances total, but hit his first home run off of the Cubs' Moe Drabowsky on September 25, 1957.

-He became a regular starter for the Cardinals after a December 1957 trade, but didn't settle in at the plate until 1961, when his .322 average trailed only third baseman Ken Boyer (.329) for the team lead.

-The 1963 season saw Curt earn the first of seven consecutive Gold Glove awards for his sterling play in center field. He once went 223 straight games without an error, which included a mishap-free 1966 season.

-Flood was an All-Star for the first time in 1964, when he notched a .311 average and led the National League with 211 hits. He would return to the Midsummer Classic in 1966 and 1968.

-He played in all 21 World Series games for St. Louis in 1964, 1967, and 1968, struggling at the plate (.221/.287/.267 in 94 plate appearances) but nonetheless contributing to a pair of World Championship seasons and a close call in '68.

-Curt was nearly 32 when the Cardinals informed him that he'd been traded to the sad-sack Phillies after the conclusion of the 1969 campaign. He objected to the reserve clause, which owners had been using to bind a player to their team in perpetuity, or until the owners saw fit to release or trade the player. Flood insisted that he should have some power to decide where to play, and refused to go to Philadelphia. With the support of new players' union head Marvin Miller, the outfielder eventually took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, before losing in a 5-3 decision with one abstention. However, he paved the way for player free agency, which became a reality in 1976.

-After sitting out the entire 1970 season, he agreed to be traded to the Washington Senators. But some combination of age, rust, and the transition to the American League took a toll on Flood's performance. He retired after going 7-for-35 with no extra base hits for the Senators in 1971. He left behind a career average of .293 (especially impressive considering his career spanned the "second dead-ball era") with 85 home runs and 636 RBI.

-In his life outside baseball, Curt was dedicated to painting, owning small businesses, and international traveling. He worked for the Athletics as a broadcaster in 1978, and served as the commissioner of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association in the late 1980s. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995, and died in 1997 at age 59.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/8176563365876388824/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/8-nl-era-leaders-sandy-koufax-and-don.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2012/01/8-nl-era-leaders-sandy-koufax-and-don.html#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:24:00 +0000 Kevin http://baseballcardblogs.org/?guid=56d73df171145dd2cd79b94b9170ca3f I'm back from an end-of-2011 break with three more cards for the collection, which is nearly complete! 589 down, 9 to go; I can hardly believe it! Though I wasn't able to make it to December's incarnation of the Philly Card Show, Ed once again served as my eyes and ears and found a few of my dwindling needs. He knows how to find bargains, and this card featuring the Dodgers' pair of Hall of Fame hurlers is no exception.

It's certainly no surprise that Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax finished 1-2 in the National League in earned run average in 1964, especially considering that they made their home starts at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. The bigger shock is that Los Angeles finished in sixth place with 80 wins, but that can be chalked up to the club's humdrum offense. Koufax was in the midst of his incredible run of five straight ERA titles, clocking in with a career-low 1.74 (he then topped it with a 1.73 mark in his farewell 1966 season). However, arm woes brought an abrupt end to Sandy's standout year in mid-August; he finished 1964 with 223 innings pitched, nearly 100 less than teammate Drysdale. Don checked in with a 2.18 ERA in a league-leading 321.1 innings of work. He ran into some tough luck, accumulating an 18-16 record despite his mound mastery. The big righthander never did capture an ERA title, though he did grab three strikeout crowns earlier in his career and topped the senior circuit with 25 wins in 1962.

Upon flipping the card over, we see the same extended leaderboard as on the other league leader cards in this set. We've got the Phillies' Chris Short (2.20 ERA), Juan Marichal of the Giants (2.48), and another Phil in Jim Bunning (2.63) rounding out the top five. Because there were only ten teams in the National League, and most were working with four-man rotations, it's a pretty comprehensive list. Aging star Warren Spahn, bringing up the rear at 5.28, surely wishes it was less comprehensive! Topps also offered an interesting addendum, a list of the 13 best ERAs for pitchers who topped 75 innings but fell short of the 162 needed to qualify. As you can see, Pirates reliever Al McBean (1.90 ERA in 89.2 IP) is the only one who even comes close to Koufax's miniscule mark.

]]> http://1965topps.blogspot.com/feeds/3627289159579977375/comments/default 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/470-yogi-berra.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/470-yogi-berra.html#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000 Kevin Yogi! This is the second card from Randy, and Yogi's iconic mug and old-school catcher's gear does a great job distracting from the defacement inflicted on the card. I guess somebody wanted it known that Berra had quit playing by then.

Fun facts about Yogi Berra:

-Yogi was born Lawrence Peter Berra in St. Louis, MO. He signed with the Yankees in 1943 as a teenager, but spent the next two years serving in the Navy. He saw combat in North Africa, Italy, and France during World War II.

-He debuted with the Yankees on September 22, 1946, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in a 4-3 win over the Athletics.

-Berra kicked off a string of 15 straight All-Star seasons in 1948, when he batted .305 with 24 doubles, 10 triples (!), 14 home runs, and 98 RBI.

-Yogi famously won three MVP awards (1951, 1954, 1955), and finished in fourth place or higher every year from 1950 through 1956.

-Under the tutelage of Yankee coach and Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey, Berra became a strong defensive catcher. He threw out 47.3% of would-be base stealers for his career.

-Spending most of his career with the dynastic Yanks, Yogi played in an incredible 14 World Series, coming out on the winning end 10 times. Overall he batted .274/.359/.452 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI in the Fall Classic, and caught Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers in Game Five of the 1956 Series.

-He originally retired as a player following the 1963 season, and was named Yankee manager in place of Ralph Houk, who moved to the front office. Houk became convinced in midseason that Berra did not have control over his players, and fired him at season's end despite 99 wins and a narrow World Series loss to the Cardinals. He was picked up by the Mets as a player-coach, but played in just four games. He stayed on as a coach until the 1972 season, when he took over as manager after Gil Hodges' sudden death. Yogi managed the Mets for parts of four seasons, winning a surprise pennant with an 82-win club in 1973 and losing another squeaker World Series to the Athletics. He returned to the Yankees as a coach in 1976, and managed the team to a third-place finish in 1984. An antsy George Steinbrenner fired him just 16 games into the next season, and Yogi held a grudge for 15 years before a public apology from the Boss smoothed things over.

-In parts of 19 seasons, Berra batted .285 with 358 home runs and 1,430 RBI. In 1972, the Yankees retired the uniform number 8 that he and Bill Dickey each wore, and in 1988 the pair received bronze plaques in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park. Yogi was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, his second year of eligibility.

-Yogi and his wife Carmen have been married since 1949. They have three sons. Dale Berra was an infielder for the Pirates, Yankees, and Astros from 1977 to 1987. Tim Berra was a kick returner for the 1974 Baltimore Colts.

-He is famous for his "Yogiisms", malapropisms such as "It ain't over 'til it's over" and "It's like deja vu all over again". His muddled turns of phrase are so notable that many others are falsely attributed to him. This has led him to say, "I didn't really say everything I said". My favorites are: "If people don't want to come to the ballpark how are you going to stop them?", and "Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours."

]]> http://baseballcardblogs.org/2011/10/31/470-yogi-berra/feed/ 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/160-roberto-clemente.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/160-roberto-clemente.html#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000 Kevin ...No, I will not be referring to him as "Bob", you xenophobic Topps person, you. Much to my surprise, this was one of two cards that arrived unannounced last weekend from all-around swell guy Randy. Only a dirty dozen left to collect!

Fun facts about Roberto Clemente:

-Roberto was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. At age 19, he signed with the Dodgers during the 1954 season.

-The Pirates claimed Clemente in the minor league draft and he made their big league roster in 1955. He hit just .255 in 124 games, but finished second on the team with 23 doubles and 11 triples, and improved his average to .311 in his sophomore season.

-Roberto was famous for his extremely powerful throws from right field. He led the National League in outfield assists five times, including a high total of 27 in 1961. For his career, his 266 assists rank 17th all-time. He also captured 12 straight Gold Glove Awards.
-Clemente was an All-Star in 12 different seasons as well, beginning in 1960. The following year he won the first of his four batting titles with a .351 average that was bolstered by his ability to reach out and hit pitches out of the strike zone.

-Roberto was named National League MVP in 1966, when he batted .317 and reached career highs of 29 home runs, 119 RBI, and 105 runs scored.

-Though he hit well in his first World Series (.310 AVG, 3 RBI in 1960), the star outfielder was nothing less than a force of nature in the 1971 Fall Classic. He batted .414 (12-for-29) and slugged .759 to help the Pirates outlast the Orioles in 7 games. He captured Series MVP honors, and homered in each of the last two games.

-Despite his increasing stature in the United States, Clemente returned to his homeland nearly every winter during his career to play (and later manage) in the winter league. He felt he owed it to the Puerto Ricans, who otherwise would not have had an opportunity to see him play.

-In December 1972, he organized a humanitarian effort to assist the people of Managua, Nicaragua, who were victims of a devastating earthquake shortly before Christmas. On New Year's Eve, a cargo plane carrying Clemente and four other men experienced technical problems and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone aboard. Roberto was 38 years old.

-His final career totals included a .317 average, 440 doubles, 240 home runs, 1,305 RBI, and exactly 3,000 hits in 18 seasons.

-An exception to the customary five-year waiting period was made, and Clemente posthumously became the first Latin American player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. The Pirates retired his #21 that same year, and Major League Baseball repurposed a recently-created honor as the Roberto Clemente Award. It is given annually to a player who stands out both on the field and in the community. The most recent winner was DH David Ortiz of the Red Sox; the full list is viewable here.

]]> http://baseballcardblogs.org/2011/10/28/160-roberto-clemente/feed/ 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/533-mets-rookie-stars-dan-napoleon-ron.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/533-mets-rookie-stars-dan-napoleon-ron.html#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:51:00 +0000 Kevin Back again! I would've popped in a bit sooner, but this quad-rookie card required four times as much work as a regular card, and I'm lazy. Why lie? The good news is that there are a couple more cards to post in the coming days, and each of them features just one player. Anyhow, this one comes from Max, who emerged from wherever he'd been hiding to let me know that he'd found a duplicate in his collection (in lovely condition, no less!). He sent it off with the usual varied stack of Orioles cards, and in gratitude I sent back all of my 2011 Allen and Ginter Mets. Hey, it's what the man asked for. So let's do this thing.

Fun facts about Dan Napoleon:

-Danny was born in Claysburg, PA, in the central region of the state. He attended Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ before signing with the Mets in 1964.

-In his first pro season he set the Class A New York-Penn League on fire, batting .351 and slugging .639 with 36 home runs for Auburn.

-The talent-bereft Mets put Napoleon on their Opening Day roster in 1965. He delivered a pinch single off of Houston's Hal Woodeshick in his debut on April 14.

-Ten days later, the 23-year-old had what would prove to be the biggest hit of his career. Batting for Roy McMillan in the top of the ninth in San Francisco, he faced reliever Bob Shaw with the bases loaded, two out, and the Mets trailing by two runs. His bases-clearing triple was the game-winning blow.

-Spending most of his rookie year as a pinch hitter, Danny struggled. He had 14 hits in 97 at-bats (.144) with only 2 extra-base hits and 7 RBI.

-He was demoted to AAA Jacksonville for the 1966 season, returning to New York in September. He fared little better in his second try at the big leagues, totaling 7 hits in 33 tries (.212) with a pair of doubles, a lone walk, and 10 strikeouts.

-On April Fool's Day, 1967, Napoleon was traded to the Cardinals in a five-player deal. He didn't know it at the time, but he'd already played his last major league game.

-His abbreviated big league totals included a batting line of .162/.225/.200, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored.

-Danny played in the St. Louis organization through the 1971 season, bowing out after a three-year stint in the AA Texas League with Arkansas.

-He passed away in Trenton, NJ at age 61 in 2003.

Fun facts about Ron Swoboda:

-A Baltimore, MD native, Ron attended Sparrows Point High School and the University of Maryland before the Mets inked him to a deal in 1963.

-Though he didn't have the eye-popping totals of Danny Napoleon, Swoboda had a strong minor league debut in his own right, batting .271 with 17 homers and 72 RBI with AA Williamsport and AAA Buffalo.

-He was a few months shy of his 20th birthday when he earned a spot in the Mets outfield in the spring of 1965. Ron started hot, going 10-for-30 (.333) in April with 4 home runs and 9 RBI.

-Though Rookie of the Year voters were scared away by his .228 season average, Ron did lead his club with 19 home runs in just 135 games. His power, when combined with a fair ability to take a walk (.291 OBP) and the lower leaguewide offensive standard, gave him a decent 102 OPS+. His consolation prize was a slot on the Topps All-Star Rookie team.

-His best all-around year was 1967, when he batted .281/.340/.419 with 13 homers and 53 RBI. He nearly paced Mets regulars in on-base percentage, finishing a couple hundredths of a point behind Tommy Davis.

-Swoboda was a standout performer for the Amazin' Mets in the 1969 World Series, as he delivered 6 hits in 15 at-bats (.400) and delivered the game-winning hit with an eighth-inning double off of the Orioles' Eddie Watt in the Game Five clincher. He also tormented his hometown team with a game-saving diving catch of a Brooks Robinson liner in the ninth inning of Game Four. It was a pretty heady play for a guy whose teammates dubbed him "Rocky" for his lack of grace in the outfield.

-Ron spent the second half of his career as a part-timer for the Expos and Yankees, retiring after the 1973 season.

-In parts of 9 big league campaigns, he hit .242/.324/.379 with 73 home runs and 344 RBI.

-Ron has had a lengthy career in sportscasting, working in New York City and then New Orleans, where he currently calls TV games for the Marlins' AAA Zephyrs club.

-A quote from Swoboda: "I'm kidded, occasionally, by folks who wonder: 'How long are you going to keep living off of one catch?'. My answer: 'How long have I got left?'."

Fun facts about Jim Bethke:

-Jim was born in Falls City, NE, and signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1964.

-Despite some underwhelming minor league numbers and the fact that he was just 18, he was promoted to the majors at the start of the 1965 season. (Sensing a trend?) He was the youngest player in the league that year, and was 26 years younger than teammate Warren Spahn!

-He earned wins with scoreless relief appearances against the Astros on April 15 and the Braves on May 9. Despite walking four batters with only a single strikeout in a combined two and two-thirds innings in those games, he allowed just one hit.

-Bethke had a fine 2.86 ERA in 17 relief appearances in the first half of the year, but walked 12 men while striking out just 11. He spent July in the minors, and was not quite as lucky upon his return in August, finishing with a 2-0 record and a 4.28 ERA overall. He continued to walk more than he struck out, 22 and 19 standing as the final totals.

-Jim never made it back to the majors, plying his trade in the Mets and Royals farm systems up through the 1971 season. His pitching career ended at 24 years of age with minor league totals of 36-42 and a 3.36 ERA.

-He spent a short time with the Mets, but wore three different jersey numbers. According to the superb Mets by the Numbers, Bethke was given #41 in his season-opening stint with the club. When he returned in August, he took the #28 that had previously been worn by the since-demoted Carl Willey. Willey returned to New York in September and reclaimed his digits, and Jim switched to #36. So in less than a full season, one teenaged rookie wore the numbers later popularized by Tom Seaver, John Milner, and Jerry Koosman!

Fun facts about Tug McGraw:

-Born Frank Edwin McGraw in Martinez, CA, Tug signed with the Mets out of junior college in 1964. His older brother Hank, a catching prospect, leveraged the team into taking a flyer on the smaller pitcher.

-He debuted with the Mets in 1965 (of course!), posting a 2-7 record as a swingman with a 3.32 ERA and a single save.

-Tug's only two wins as a rookie came in consecutive starts. On August 22, he scattered 7 hits and 5 walks in a complete-game 4-2 win over the Cardinals. He then earned New York's first-ever victory over Sandy Koufax on August 26, holding the Dodgers to a pair of runs in 7.2 innings. Koufax had come in with a 13-0 record in 14 starts against the Mets (the Dodgers won the 14th game after he had departed).

-McGraw was battered in shorter big-league stints in 1966 and 1967, and spent portions of those seasons and all of 1968 in the minors. During this time, he learned a screwball from veteran pitcher Ralph Terry. It would later become his signature pitch.

-He was resurgent in 1969, when Mets manager Gil Hodges made him a full-time reliever. He finished the year 9-3 with a 2.24 ERA and 12 saves, teaming with righty Ron Taylor (13 saves) to give New York bullpen threats from both sides of the mound. Tug allowed only 2 runs in his last 38 innings, an 0.47 mark. He did not appear in the World Series, as the dominant Mets starters carried the team to victory.

-The lefty got even better with more experience, posting identical ERA marks of 1.70 in 1971 and 1972. He went 11-4 in the former season and saved 27 games in the latter, a team record broken in 1984 by Jesse Orosco. He made the first of two All-Star teams in 1972, earning the win and notching four strikeouts in two innings.

-Tug coined the phrase "You gotta believe" in 1973, which became the rallying cry for a Mets team that turned around a miserable season and eked out the National League pennant with a mere 82-79 record. McGraw himself was a part of both the nosedive and the resurgence: he followed up an 0-4 record, 6.17 ERA, and 1.73 WHIP in the first half with a 5-2 mark, a 1.64 ERA, and a 0.99 WHIP post-All-Star Game. His lack of activity in the 1969 World Series contrasted mightily to the 13.2 innings he tossed in 5 outings in the 1973 Series, which Oakland eked out in the full 7 games. Tug struck out 14 batters and allowed 4 earned runs, all of which came in a 6-inning slog in Game 2. He wound up with the win in that contest, as the Mets capitalized on a pair of Mike Andrews errors to put up four runs in the twelfth inning.

-Sent to the Phillies in a six-player swap prior to the 1975 season, McGraw was revitalized after a surgical procedure that removed accumulated deposits from his shoulder. He stayed in Philadelphia for a decade, posting a 3.10 ERA and saving 94 games total. He pitched in five postseasons in a six-year span, including the Phils' first-ever World Championship in 1980. He allowed a single run and struck out 10 Royals in 7.2 innings over 4 games that October, winning Game 5 and saving Game 1 and the Game 6 clincher.

-Tug hung up his spikes following the 1984 season, finishing his career with a 96-92 record, 180 saves, and a 3.14 ERA in parts of 19 seasons. He was chosen for the Mets Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1999.

-One of his four children was Tim McGraw, the product of a fling he had while pitching in the minors in 1966. He denied paternity for several years, but the two eventually became close and Tug helped Tim launch a successful career as a country musician. Tug was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March 2003 and given three weeks to live. He hung on for nine months, passing away at age 59 on January 5, 2004.

]]> http://baseballcardblogs.org/2011/10/27/533-mets-rookie-stars-dan-napoleon-ron-swoboda-jim-bethke-and-tug-mcgraw/feed/ 0 http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/16-astros-rookie-stars-joe-morgan-and.html http://1965topps.blogspot.com/2011/10/16-astros-rookie-stars-joe-morgan-and.html#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:43:00 +0000 Kevin Back again! I've knocked another of the remaining big-ticket items off of the want list thanks to Ed's bargain hunting skills. This lightly used Joe Morgan rookie set me back one cool sawbuck. Not too shabby.

Fun facts about Joe Morgan:

-Joe was born in Bonham, TX. He was 19 when he signed with Houston in 1962.

-After cups of coffee with the Colt .45s in 1963 and 1964, he became the team's starting second baseman and finished second to the Dodgers' Jim Lefebvre in 1965 Rookie of the Year voting. Morgan showed a glimpse of his valuable skill set, leading the Astros with 100 runs scored, 12 triples, 97 walks (also tops in the N.L.), and a .373 on-base percentage. He batted .271 with 14 homers and 20 steals.

-Though he made the All-Star team in 1966 and again in 1970, Joe didn't truly flourish until he was dealt to the Reds in November 1971. He was the prime attraction for Cincinnati in an eight-player deal that sent slugger Lee May to Houston.

-Morgan was an All-Star in each of his first eight seasons with the Reds. In that span, he captured four on-base titles (peaking at .466 in 1975) and twice led the league in OPS and OPS+, with marks of 1.020 and 186 in 1976 as his career highs.

-As the ignitor of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine", Joe won back-to-back league MVP awards in 1975 and 1976. The latter was his best overall year, as he hit a personal-best 27 homers with 111 RBI. He also stole 60 bases (his fifth straight year of at least 58 SB) and led the N.L. with a .444 on-base percentage, .576 slugging, and the aforementioned OPS and adjusted OPS+. He put up a slash line of .333/.412/.733 in the four-game World Series sweep of the Yankees, hitting a home run off of Doyle Alexander in the opener.

-He was also considered a deft second baseman, reigining as the National League Gold Glover at the keystone from 1973 through 1977.

-Morgan played for five teams in the final six seasons of his career, going from the Reds back to the Astros and then to the Giants, Phillies, and Athletics. He played regularly through age 40, and his lowest on-base percentage in a full season was .347 in 1978. In his 1984 swan song, he still reached base at a .356 clip.

-Joe retired with a .271/.392/.427 batting line and a 132 OPS+ for his career. He totaled 449 doubles and 268 home runs, drove in 1,133 runs, and stole 689 bases. He is still ranked eleventh all-time in steals, and is the top home run hitter among Hall of Fame second basemen. He reached Cooperstown on his first ballot in 1990, and the Reds retired his number 8 in 1987.

-He has spent the last quarter-century broadcasting televised games for the Reds, Athletics, and Giants, as well as nationally for ABC, NBC, and most notably ESPN, where he and Jon Miller comprised the Sunday Night Baseball crew from 1990 through 2010. He has often been the target of criticism for his strident and misinformed opposition to advanced statistical analysis.

-Morgan is currently working in an advisory role with the Reds, and hosts a syndicated sports talk radio show on Sports USA.

Fun facts about Sonny Jackson:

-A Washington, DC native, Sonny signed with Houston as a teenager in 1963.

-After getting brief trials with the inexperienced Colts and Astros clubs of 1963-1965, he started at shortstop for the club in 1966. He batted .292 with 80 runs scored and a rookie-record 49 stolen bases, and finished second to Tommy Helms of the Reds in Rookie of the Year voting.

-Jackson's numbers plunged in his sophomore season (including a 106-point dip in OPS), and he found himself traded to Atlanta in the ensuing offseason.

-Sonny spent seven injury-riddled seasons with the Braves, topping out at .259/.347/.320 in 1970.

-He hung on in the minors from 1974 through 1976 before finally calling it a career.

-In parts of 12 big league seasons, Sonny batted .251 with 7 home runs and 162 RBI.

-Four of his seven career homers were of the inside-the-park variety, and all four of those were hit in the Astrodome.

-Fun with matchups! Sonny hit .400/.447/.571 in 39 career plate appearances vs. Milt Pappas, including one of those inside-the-park homers. However, he had a slash line of .145/.169/.188 in 74 meetings with Juan Marichal.

-He has been a coach and instructor in both the majors and minors since his retirement, working for the Braves, Giants, and Cubs.

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