Aurelio Monteagudo – Why Does He Have a Card?

As Ed McMahon always said to Carnac, “I hold in my hand the last…” 

There were 490 players with their own card in the 1967 Topps set. Before today, I had blogged about 489 of them on one or another of my set blogs. And now, last but (not?) least…

 

It seems like over the years, Aurelio Monteagudo had more Topps cards than games played. Let’s check out my hunch:

Ok, it’s not as drastic as I had imagined, but after 1966, when he did have a card he didn’t play for that team, and when he did play, he didn’t have a card that year. He's also had more cards than seasons played.

Monteagudo was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1961, and played in the minor leagues every season from 1961 to 1973. After playing in the Mexican League from 1974-1980, he made a 1-game comeback in 1983 with the Angels’ AAA team. 

Aurelio made his major-league debut in September 1963 with the Athletics, appearing in 4 games in relief. In 1964 he pitched in 11 games, starting half of them. Those would be his last major-league starts except for his one game with the White Sox in 1967. 

After 4 relief appearances in 1966, the A’s sent him to the Astros in May, where he made 10 relief appearances. 

At the end of the 1966 season, the Astros sold him to the Reds, but he never played for the Reds in the majors or minors, and was released in mid-July. 

On the same day, the White Sox signed him, and after starting one game, he was cut a week later. On THAT same day, the Reds picked him up. (Essentially, he was loaned out to the White Sox for one game.) 

Monteagudo did not play for the remainder of 1967, but pitched for the Reds' farm teams for all of 1968 and the first half of 1969.

In June 1969 he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dennis Ribant. Playing no games for St. Louis, he was selected by the Royals in the post-1969 minor-league draft. He started the ’70 season in the minors, but pitched 21 games for the Royals in the second half, before returning to the minors for all of 1971. (Wow, Topps had their hands full dealing with his yo-yoing career!) 

In November 1971 he was selected by the Brewers in the Rule 5 draft. (Ok, that explains his 1972 card with the Brewers.) However, he was released during spring training, having never played for Milwaukee. The same day, the Padres took THEIR turn on this merry-go-round, but by mid-June they swapped him to the Angels for infielder Ron Clark. 

Aurelio pitched 15 games for the Angels in the second half, then was dealt to the Phillies in December. Monteagudo never played for the Phillies, but did show up as a Phillie in the 1974 “Traded” subset. (If you couldn’t make the 1974 Phillies’ bullpen, you know it’s time to hang them up.) 

That’s exactly what he did, moving down to Mexico where he was primarily a starter for 4 different teams from 1974-80. 

 

There have been 3 players named Aurelio in major league history. All 3 were killed in car accidents between the ages of 44 and 52.

 

So, I have posted all the 1967 player cards I planned to, but that's not the end of this blog.  I still need to complete my team reviews for the Astros and the Mets, then just freelance whatever comes along.  

It was never my intent to post about every card in this or any other set.  Rather than blogging about cards, I have been blogging about players. My intention was to write about every player that appeared in the 1966 to 1969 sets, and every significant player in the 1970 set, but not necessarily repeat a player on multiple blogs. I have now reached that point on my '66 and '67 blogs, and I'm 6 cards away on my '68 blog. 

 

Chris Zachary (#212)

Next-to-last alphabetically (and almost next-to-last on this blog) is Chris Zachary, who pitched for the Astros, Royals, Cardinals, and Tigers.

Zachary was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1962, but did not play that season. In 1963, he started his pro career at the top, appearing in 22 games (7 starts) for the Colts, and fashioning a 2-2 record in 57 innings.

From 1964-67, he spent most of his time with the club’s AAA team in Oklahoma City, but also saw some action in Houston each season.

After playing all of 1968 in triple-A, he was purchased by the Royals shortly after the expansion draft. Although he played 8 games with Kansas City in 1969, he spent most of that season and all of 1970 in the minors.

In July 1970, he was traded to the Cardinals for reliever Ted Abernathy, but the Cards did not bring him up until May 1971. That year he pitched in 23 games, the first time he logged more than 10 games since his rookie 1963 season.

After the 1971 season, he was traded to the Tigers for pitcher Bill Denehy, and again had another good season, playing in 25 games (all but 1 in relief) while logging a 1.41 ERA over 38 innings.

Just before the 1973 season, he was traded to the Pirates for backup catcher Charlie Sands. He pitched in 6 games but played most of the year in triple-A (starting 25 games).

In December 1973 Chris was traded to the Phillies for catcher Pete Koegel. He started 24 games for their AAA team in Toledo before retiring at season’s end.

Zachary passed away in 2003 at age 59.

Dick Selma (#386)

Dick Selma had a 10-year career (9+, if you factor in his 1st season was just a few games in a September call-up). He was primarily a reliever, but started quite a few games for the Mets in 1968 and the Cubs in 1969.

Selma was signed by the Mets in May 1963, and played 3 seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut in September 1965. In both 1966 and 1967, he split his time between the Mets and their AAA team.

In 1968 he started 23 of his 33 games, and was the team's #4 starter behind Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and the veteran Don Cardwell.

With Nolan Ryan, Gary Gentry, and Jim McAndrew around to fill starting slots, Selma was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was selected by the Padres with the 5th pick.

He was their Opening-Day starter in 1969, but by late-April was traded to the Cubs for pitchers Joe Niekro and Gary Ross. Dick posted a 10-8 record as the Cubs' #4 starter in his only season there. (The 1969 Cubs had a tight starting rotation. Only 4 pitchers started more than 5 games!) 

After the 1969 season, Selma was shipped off to the Phillies (along with outfield prospect Oscar Gamble) for outfielder Johnny Callison. Dick played for the Phillies for 4 seasons.

In 1970 he pitched 73 games (all in relief) and led the team with 22 saves, while posting a 2.75 ERA. He only pitched 24 innings over 17 games in 1971.

Dick returned in '72 to pitch 98 innings over 46 games, but had a bad year, going 2-9 with a 5.56 ERA. (That’s ok, all 12 Phillies' pitchers not named Steve Carlton had a bad year in 1972!) 

Selma began the 1973 season with the Philllies, but was released in early May. Two weeks later he was signed by the Cardinals and assigned to their AAA team. He was sold to the Angels in the season's final week but did not see any action.

Dick pitched 18 games for the Angels by mid-June 1974, then was sent to the minors. He was sold to the Brewers in late-July, but after a 2-game stint in August left him with a 19.29 ERA, the Brew Crew said "no thanks" and returned him to the Angels.

He also pitched for the Dodgers' triple-A Albuquerque team in 1975-76 before retiring.

Selma died in 2001 at age 57.

Turk Farrell (#190)

Ok, after last week's make-over for Larry Sherry, now it's "Richard" Farrell's turn.

We last saw Turk Farrell here, but come on now, what kind of a card is that? Topps did a pedestrian job with many of the 1968 photos. They also gave Farrell ANOTHER capless photo in the 1969 set. It seems they have no excuse, since he was with the Phillies several years earlier (and it was not beyond Topps to use old photos).

Farrell returned to the Phillies in May 1967, so by the time I got his card that year he was already with the Phillies. (At the time, I assumed he was swapped for Bo Belinsky, since Bo was with the Phils in '66 and Astros in '67, but they were separate deals.)

Bob Miller (#461)

During his 17-year career, Bob Miller played for 10 of the 24 MLB teams, tying a modern-day record (since broken). He also played for 3 teams in the same season THREE TIMES!

Miller began his pro career in June 1957 as a bonus baby, pitching for the Cardinals (with no prior minor-league experience). After pitching 9 innings over 5 games that season, it was back to the minors for all of 1958.

He split the ’59 and ’60 seasons between the Cardinals and their minor-league teams. Bob was back in the majors to stay in 1961, pitching in 34 games (5 starts) in his final season with the Cardinals.

Prior to the 1962 season, Miller was selected by the Mets in the expansion draft. (Bob was one of 2 pitchers named Bob Miller on the ’62 Mets. ) After compiling a 1-12 record for the wretched expansion team, he was traded to the Dodgers in the off-season for first baseman Tim Harkness and 2nd baseman Larry Burright.

Bob really got his career on-track during his 5 seasons with the Dodgers. Mostly a reliever, he also started 23 games in 1963 and a few more over the next 4 seasons. In ’63 he reached a career-high 10 wins (pretty good for a reliever) and in ’64 he led the NL with 74 appearances. His ERA was also under 3.00 in each of his first 4 seasons.

Miller closed out 2 games in the 1965 World Series vs. the Twins, and also pitched 3 innings in a game vs. the Orioles in the ’66 World Series.

With Jim Brewer emerging as a fine reliever, the Dodgers traded both Miller and Ron Perranoski (along with starting catcher John Roseboro) to the Twins after the 1967 season for shortstop Zoilo Versalles and pitcher Mudcat Grant.

The Dodgers were trying to plug the hole they created at shortstop by trading Maury Wills a year earlier, but that trade was a disaster. Roseboro had 2 solid seasons with the Twins and made the All-Star team in 1969, Perranoski led the AL in saves in ’69 and ’70, and Miller went on to pitch for 7 more seasons. Meanwhile Versalles was a bust after leaving Minnesota - after batting .196 in 1968, he was selected by the Padres in the expansion draft, but quickly flipped to the Indians for minor-leaguer Bill Davis (he of the 5 Rookie Stars cards). What a waste, eh Night Owl?

After two seasons in Minnesota (including an appearance in the 1969 ALCS), Miller spent the final 5 years of his career bouncing around to 7 teams: Indians (’70), White Sox (’70), Cubs (’70-’71), Padres (’71), Pirates (’71-’72), Padres again (’73), Tigers (’73), and back to the Mets (’73-’74).

Bob also pitched in the ’71 and ’72 post-season for the Pirates, and closed 2 games in the 1972 World Series.

After his playing career, Miller was the pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays during their first 3 seasons (1977-79) and later was a coach and scout for the Giants.

He passed away in August 1993 from a car accident at age 54.

Vada Pinson (#550)

Here is Vada Pinson’s 1967 card – a high-number card that I didn’t get until the 1980s, well after I had his ’68 and ’69 cards. Only a few months ago did I realize that there is a piece of tape on the top edge.

Pinson was signed by the Reds in 1956, and played 3 seasons in the minors as an outfielder. He also pitched in 3 games. Pinson made his major-league debut in April 1958, at age 19. He began the season as the Reds’ starting right fielder, but was sent back to the minors in mid-May, where he remained until September.

Vada was the team’s starting center fielder for the next 10 years, and played in 154 or more games each season from 1959-67. In both 1959 and 1960, he led the NL in plate appearances (over 700), at-bats, and doubles (47, 37), and made the all-star team twice. He also led the league in runs scored in 1959 with 131. Pinson also led the NL in hits in ’61 (208) and ’63 (204), and in triples in '63 (14) and ’67 (13).

After his long run in Cincinnati, Pinson was traded to the Cardinals in October 1968 for outfielder Bobby Tolan and pitcher Wayne Granger. He replaced the retired Roger Maris in right field, then moved on to the Indians (in exchange for outfielder Jose Cardenal) after only one season in St. Louis.

Vada spent 2 seasons in the city by the lake as their starting right fielder (’70) and center fielder (’71), then he was on the move again. This time he was traded to the Angels for his old Reds’ teammate Alex Johnson. (Wow, the similarities between Pinson’s later career and Johnson are eerie. They both played for the Reds, Cardinals, Indians, and Angels, and both players moved around frequently.)

Pinson played for the Angels during the 1972 and 1973 seasons, where he was their primary left fielder but also started a few dozen games at the other 2 spots.

Vada played right field for the Royals in ’74 and ’75, then was released in December 1975. The Brewers signed him in January 1976 but released him 4 days before the start of the season, ending his 18-year career.

Pinson finished with a .286 career average, 256 home runs, 1169 RBI, and (surprisingly) only 1 Gold Glove (1961).

After his playing career ended, he was a coach for the Mariners (1977–80, 1982–83), White Sox (1981), Tigers (1985–91), and Marlins (1993–94).

He passed away in October 1995 after suffering a stroke, at age 57.

Norm Cash (#540)

Norm Cash was the Tigers’ slugging 1st baseman for 15 years from 1960 to 1974. In 1961, he led the AL in hits and batting average.

Cash was signed by the White Sox in 1955, and played 2 seasons for their class D Waterloo (Iowa) White Hawks in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (also known as the III, Three-I, or Three-Eye League).

Norm missed the 1957 season while in military service, then split the 1958 season between the White Sox and their AAA team in Indianapolis.

After a full season with the Sox in 1959, Cash was traded to the Indians (with 3B-OF Bubba Phillips and catcher Johnny Romano) for outfielder Minnie Minoso, catcher Dick Brown, and pitchers Don Ferrarese and Jake Striker.

Norm had no time to get settled, as Cleveland flipped him to the Tigers a week before the 1960 opener for 3rd baseman Steve Demeter, who would spend 19 years in the minors while only playing 15 games in the majors. WHAT A STEAL FOR THE TIGERS!

While Demeter’s major-league career was over on May 6, 1960, Cash went on to play 15 seasons as the Tigers’ starting 1st baseman. His 193 hits and .361 batting average led the AL in 1961. He also threw in 41 homers and 132 RBI that season.

Cash hit 30 or more homers in ’61, ’62, ’65, ’66, and ’71, and was an all-star in ’61, ’66, ’70, and ’71. He also hit .385 with 5 RBI in the 1968 World Series, and hit .267 vs. Oakland in the 1972 ALCS.

Midway through his final 1974 season, he split the 1st base duties with long-time Tigers’ catcher Bill Freehan.

Cash never wore a batting helmet during his career, having been grandfathered-in after helmets became mandatory in 1971.

After retirement, he played a few seasons of professional softball, and later broadcast Tigers’ games.

Cash drowned in northern Lake Michigan on October 12, 1986 at age 51, after slipping off a dock on Beaver Island and hitting his head.

Jim "Catfish" Hunter (#369)

Here is my first card for Jim “Catfish” Hunter. It’s a nice spring training shot, much better than the rather plain photo from 1966, or the ridiculous capless head shots in the ’68 and ’69 sets.

Catfish was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964, and became the last "bonus baby".  (The bonus baby rule became moot with the advent of the amateur draft.) They immediately sent him to the Mayo Clinic to correct a foot injury due to a hunting accident a year earlier.

Hunter never played in the minor leagues, and made his major-league debut at age 19 in early May 1965. Catfish joined the starting rotation permanently 2 months later, and finished his rookie season with a record of 8-8.

In 1966 the Athletics’ starting rotation was rebuilt, with Hunter now joined by Lew Krausse, Blue Moon Odom, Jim Nash, and Chuck Dobson, all in their early 20s. Hunter made more starts (25) than any other A’s pitcher.

The rotation stayed the same in 1967, although Odom and Krausse both alternated between the rotation and the bullpen. Hunter became the team’s ace, leading the staff in wins (13), starts (35), innings (259), and strikeouts (196).

1968 was the Athletics’ first season in Oakland, and Hunter marked the occasion by twirling a perfect game on May 8th against the Minnesota Twins. [Earlier this year, my daughter got me this book about the 20 perfect games pitched in MLB history. So far, I have read the chapters on Jim Bunning and Jim Hunter. I learned from the book that A’s outfielder Joe Rudi (who had played 19 games in 1967) was just recalled from the minors, and was playing his first game of the 1968 season that day. He made a critical defensive play to preserve Hunter’s perfecto.]

Hunter and his rotation mates chugged along for the next few seasons, although Nash and Krausse were traded away after the 1969 season.

In 1971, Catfish was eclipsed by rookie Vida Blue, who won 24 games while striking out 301, on his way to winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards. Hunter did his part, winning 21 games (a feat he would repeat in ’72 and ’73), as the A’s made it to the ALCS, only to be swept by the Orioles.

Hunter continued pitching for the A’s through the 1974 season. The team won the World Series for 3 consecutive seasons (1972-74), and Catfish led the AL in wins (25) and ERA (2.49) in 1974, and won the Cy Young award.

Catfish was granted free agency after the 1974 season, due to owner Charlie Finley botching a provision in Hunter’s contract. He was approached by all the other teams (except the Giants), and signed a 5-year contract with the Yankees for over 3 million dollars – the largest contract at the time.

In his first season with New York, he again led the AL in wins (23), and also in complete games (30), while finishing 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. After going 17-15 in 1976, Hunter’s workload and performance dropped off over the next 3 seasons due to arm injuries. He was also diagnosed with diabetes early in 1978.

He retired after the 1979 season, at age 33. After his playing career, he returned to his farm in North Carolina, hunting and raising various crops. He was also a spokesman for diabetes awareness.

In early 1998, he was diagnosed with ALS, and died at age 53 on September 9, 1999, a month after falling at home and hitting his head on concrete steps.

***

My brother (who I’ve referred to several times on this blog) was diagnosed with ALS early in 2012. He continues to battle this disease, and his mobility and speech have been severely impaired. I will be visiting him tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.

Roberto Clemente (#400)

Today is the 40th anniversary of Roberto Clemente's death.

In the 1967 set, Topps assigned #400 to his card, one of the "superstar" numbers (ending in "00"). The others were:
100 - Frank Robinson
200 - Mickey Mantle
300 - Willie Mays
400 - Bob Clemente
500 - Juan Marichal
600 - Brooks Robinson

In addition to the "00" number status, each player had their "floating head" appear on the checklist containing their base card. (Jim Kaat appeared on the 4th series checklist. Maybe his card number was 350?)  


Roberto Clemente was playing ball in Puerto Rico when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him, and sent him to their AAA team in Montreal. After 1 season as a bench player, the Pirates selected him in the Rule 5 draft, and the rest is history.

After the 1958 season, Clemente joined the US Marine Corps Reserve. His 6-month stint in basic training was credited with improving Roberto's strength and conditioning (which had been affected by a car accident during his rookie season).

Clemente and the Pirates won the World Series in 1960. That year he began a string of 6 consecutive seasons as an all-star. Roberto led the NL in batting during the '61, '64, '65, and '67 seasons, and won the MVP award in 1966.

In 1968, his batting average dipped to .291, which would be his only season under .300 (and only all-star absence) after 1959. He bounced back with 4 more "Clemente" seasons.

Roberto led his team to a World Series victory in 1971, and collected his 3000th hit in the next-to-last game of his final season (1972).

He was 38 when his plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico, en route to Nicaragua on a humanitarian mission on 12/31/1972.


Also check out Clemente's 1970 card.  

Final Card: George Smith

Only 3 more cards to go in my "Final Cards" series for the 1967 set: 

Topps chose a less-than-flattering photo for George Smith's final card (#444). George's major-league career was over before this card hit the streets. In fact, he's one of 11 players with their own card in the set who didn't play in the majors after 1966.

George began playing baseball in 1955 with his hometown St. Petersburg Saints, an unaffiliated class-D team in the Florida State League. After being out of baseball during '56 and '57, he was signed by the Tigers in 1958.

Smith played in Detroit's minor league system every season from 1958 to 1965, while also appearing in 52 games for the Tigers in 1963, and a handful in '64 and '65. Although primarily a 2nd baseman, he played a lot of 3rd base and outfield in the minors during the 1963 season.

Immediately after the 1965 season, he and outfielder George Thomas were sent to the Red Sox for veteran pitcher Bill Monbouquette. Smith took over the starting 2nd base job from the departed Felix Mantilla (who coincidentally, was also one of the 11 players in the 1967 set who didn't play after 1966).

George's employment in Boston only lasted one season, as rookie Mike Andrews took over the reins at 2B starting with game #7 of the pennant-winning 1967 season. (Rookie centerfielder Reggie Smith started at 2B for the first six games of the season.)

George spent the 1967 season as a backup 2nd baseman for the Giants' triple-A team in Phoenix. He did the same thing in his final season (1968), splitting time between the Astros' and Senators' triple-A teams.

Smith died in his hometown of St. Petersburg, FL in 1987, about 3 weeks short of his 50th birthday.

Final Card: Walt Bond

This is the final card for Walt Bond (#224). He was released by the Twins on May 15, 1967. Four months later, he would die from leukemia.

Walt played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in the mid-1950s. This led to his signing by the Cleveland Indians in 1957, where he spent 7 seasons in the minors (1957-63), although he did play a few dozen games with the Indians from 1960 to 1962.

After the 1963 season, Bond was sold to the Houston Colt .45s. Not only did this get him back to the major leagues, but he became an everyday player in Houston in 1964, starting 76 games at 1st base and 70 games in the outfield.

Walt's playing time decreased slightly in 1965. Where he had been the clear #1 first baseman the previous season, now he split the position evenly with Jim Gentile. Bond started 68 games at 1st base, but got only 36 starts in the outfield this season, as the newly-acquired Lee Maye got most of the playing time in left field.



Two days before the start of the 1966 season, Bond was traded to the Twins for Ken Retzer, a 30-ish minor-league catcher who played for the Senators from 1961-64. Walt spent the entire 1966 season at triple-A Denver, since the the big club's outfield was well-stocked with Tony Oliva, Jimmie Hall, Bob Allison, Ted Uhlaender, Andy Kosco, and Sandy Valdespino, as well as frequent outfield starts by infielders Harmon Killebrew and Cesar Tovar.

Walt began the 1967 season with the Twins, but his leukemia (which had been in remission) returned. He played only 10 games (his last on May 7th) before he was released in mid-May. He played briefly with the Mets' AAA team, but his illness had caught up to him.

Walt Bond died on September 14, 1967, a month before his 30th birthday.

More information here, here, and here.

Chris Short's first card

This is Chris Short's rookie card (#395). Yes, in 1967, this veteran of 8 years, 87 wins, and 988 strikeouts finally got a Topps baseball card! I don't know the story behind it, I just assume that he never signed a contract with Topps. (The same was true for Maury Wills. 1967 was his first Topps card, although Wills appeared on a Fleer baseball card in the early 1960s.)

Back in 1967, this was my favorite Phillies card. I'm not sure why - maybe the bright red windbreaker worn under his shirt, maybe the cool swagger he had.



I thought it was odd that Short threw left, but batted right (the rarest of the throws/bats combinations).

Short was the Phillies' left-handed ace during the 1960s. His best seasons were '64, '65, '66, and '68. He only pitched 10 innings in 1969 due to a back injury, and was never the same after that. By 1971 he was used more and more as a reliever, and in his final season with the Phillies (1972), he appeared only in relief. Chris wrapped up his career in 1973 with the Brewers.

Short suffered an aneurysm in 1988, lapsing into a coma until passing away on August 1, 1991 at age 53.