It's Opening Day! - NL starters

Continuing with the theme of the previous post, here are the opening day starting eight for each NL team, in order of the each team's 1967 finish.

Unlike the starting pitchers in the last post, I made no attempt to guess who the starters were here. (Too many players!)

Conspicuous by their absence are Dodgers' centerfielder Willie Davis, Phillies' 1st baseman Bill White, Cubs' catcher Randy Hundley, Mets' 1st baseman Ed Kranepool, and to a lesser extent, Giants' rightfielder Ollie Brown and Astros' leftfielder Ron Davis.

I know that White was injured, and I would have to assume the same for Willie Davis.  Maybe the others as well.

 

No surprises here.  These were the starting 8 all year, all the way to winning the World Series.

I would have suspected that Ollie Brown was the right fielder, instead of Henderson.

Dick Bertell?  This veteran didn't even have a card in the 1967 set. I would have assumed Randy Hundley would be the opening day starter, since he was the Topps All-Rookie catcher in 1966.

This is a solid group of starters, who, if I recall correctly, spent the first 2/3 of the 1967 season in first place.  Rookie 1st baseman Lee May wasn't the starter until later.

Bill White missed the first month of the season due to injury, so super-sub Tony Taylor filled in at 1st base.

No surprises here, although I would have guessed Jerry May or Jim Pagliaroni was behind the plate, instead of Gonder.

These 8 Braves were the season-long regulars, although Woodward shared 2nd base with rookie Felix Millan.

The league-leader of interchangeable parts doesn't disappoint! The absence of center fielder Willie Davis moves Parker from 1B to CF, Fairly from RF to 1B, Lou Johnson from LF to RF, with Bob Bailey inserted into left field.

Veteran ex-Braves' 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews was the Astros' primary 1st baseman in 1967, while rookie Aaron Pointer (on his only card) was the left fielder for the first week or so, until Ron Davis took over.

I was surprised to see that regular right fielder Ron Swoboda was the opening-day 1st baseman instead of Ed Kranepool. Cleon Jones slid over to right field, with rookie Don Bosch in center.


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