Tony Oliva (#50)

Tony Oliva was a hitting machine who played for 17 seasons – all with the Minnesota Twins.

He was signed by the Twins in 1961, and played 3 seasons in the minors, where he batted .410, .350, and .304. After cups of coffee with the Twins in ’62 and ’63, Tony made the team in 1964, and became the Twins’ regular right fielder for the next 8 seasons (starting 140 or more games every season from 1964-70).

In his rookie season, he led the AL with a .323 batting average. He also led in runs (109), hits (217), doubles (43), and total bases (374). He also hit 32 home runs (his career best). Tony was named AL Rookie of the Year, and finished 4th in the MVP voting. He made his first of 8 consecutive all-star appearances.

Olivia followed up his rookie season by leading the AL in batting in 1965, this time with a .321 average, while also collecting the most hits (185). He finished 2nd to teammate Zoilo Versalles in the MVP voting. Although he only hit .192 (5-for-26) in the ‘65 World Series vs. the Dodgers, he hit a home run in game 4 off Don Drysdale.

Tony hit .307 in 1966, but finished 2nd to triple-crown winner Frank Robinson. Oliva picked up his only Gold Glove award in ‘66. Oliva hit .289 in both 1967 and 1968, but had a league-best 34 doubles in ’67.

The next 2 seasons he was back over .300, hitting .309 and .325, while leading the AL in hits and doubles in both ’69 and ’70. Tony hit .385 in the 1969 ALCS, and .500 in the 1970 ALCS.

In 1971 Oliva was limited to 126 games, but lead the league in batting a 3rd time with a career-high .337 average. He also led the AL with a .546 slugging percentage.

Knee injuries hampered Tony for the remainder of his career. He missed all but 10 games of the 1972 season, and when he returned, it was strictly as a designated hitter. He was the team’s full-time DH from 1973-75, and a part-time player in his final season (1976).

I was surprised to see that his career batting average was only .304 (the effect of his last few seasons under .300).

Oliva was a hitting coach for the Twins in the late 1980s.

Angels in the Outfield: Eight is Enough

Unlike today, back in the 1960s Topps made cards for about 24 to 26 players per team, plus 1 to 3 rookie stars cards per team. For the Angels, the breakdown by position is a little strange.

There were EIGHT outfielders with cards in the 1967 set. (The Angels also had eight outfielders in the 1968 set, and seven in the 1966 set.) Along with 8 outfielders, Topps featured FOUR Angels' catchers in the '67 set. This left room for only 4 infielders.
 

Here they are in order of 1967 games played in the outfield:
Rick Reichardt (138), Jimmie Hall (120), Jose Cardenal (101), Jay Johnstone (63), Bubba Morton (61), Len Gabrielson (1, then traded to the Dodgers in May), Ed Kirkpatrick (1), Jim Piersall (1, then retired in early May).

The Angels also acquired Roger Repoz from the Athletics, who played 63 games in the outfield.

Cardinals Team (#173)

Here is the 1967 Cardinals Team card, the only low-numbered card from this set that I didn't get in 1967. I bought this card (and almost all the high-numbered cards) in the 1980s.

It's also one of the 6 cards from 1966-69 where Topps didn't follow the team's color scheme.

As with all the team cards in those days, the back lists the team's statistical leaders, and all the pitchers with at least 1 decision. The "big guns" from 1966 (Bob Gibson, Orlando Cepeda, Lou Brock, Curt Flood) were also the main contributors in 1967, as the Cardinals went on to win the World Series. The 1967 pitching staff would be mostly the same as in 1966, except they shed veterans Curt Simmons, Art Mahaffey, Ray Sadecki, and Tracy Stallard.

Also check out the 1968 Cardinals Team card.

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.

Jay Johnstone (#213)

Jay Johnstone will be appearing on my 1970 blog soon, as part of the “Bat Rack” series, so I’ll focus on his entire career in that post. I wanted to show his 1967 card also, specifically because of the uniform he is wearing.

Here it is 2 years after the Angels moved from Los Angeles to Anaheim, and Jay is shown in his “Los Angeles” uniform. (Maybe the Topps' expert misread this as "Angels", and let it go.) This was brought to my attention about a year ago by fellow blogger Eric C. Loy, as we were discussing Topps’ inability to photograph Angels’ players in a timely fashion. This must have been a spring training photo from 1965, because Johnstone didn’t begin playing for the Angels until 1966, when they were in Anaheim.

This is also Johnstone’s rookie card. He was one of 6 rookies with significant playing time in 1966 that didn’t appear in the 1966 Topps set, even on a Rookie Stars card. I previously posted this list on my 1966 blog in April 2010:


I began paying attention to Jay in the mid-1970s when he was with the Phillies. Johnstone was one of 2 players (along with Bill Robinson) that the Phillies rescued from the minor-league scrap heap during that time, who went on to revive their careers the second time around. Jay was the Phillies’ regular right fielder from late 1974 to mid-1977, when the Phillies acquired Bake McBride from the Cardinals.

Johnstone was known as a character (a “flake” in 1970s’ parlance), and was dubbed “The Jay of Johnstone” by Phillies’ broadcaster Harry Kalas. I remember him specifically for a great defensive play he made against the Pirates during a game in 1975. Playing right field, he ran in and took a snap throw from catcher Johnny Oates, picking runner Frank Taveras off of first base. (I discovered today that this event is mentioned by the sponsor of Johnstone’s Baseball-Reference.com page.)

Hank Aaron (#250)

Most know that Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.  Many know he also played in the Negro Leagues, but lesser known is that he was offered a contract by the Boston Braves and the New York Giants, but chose the Braves (because they offered him $50 per month more than the Giants), thus missing out on playing in the same outfield as Willie Mays.

While still in high school, Aaron had a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and played in the Negro Leagues with the Mobile Black Bears. In 1952 he played in the Negro League World Series with the Indianapolis Clowns. That same year, he was signed by the Boston Braves.

He was a 2nd baseman in the minors, playing in class C (1952) and class A (1953) before making his major-league debut in April 1954 at age 20. Aaron started 11 of the first 14 games in right field, then moved to left field, where he started 102 games. After August 25th, he only made 1 start, and was primarily used as a pinch-hitter.

Hank finished 4th in the 1954 Rookie of the Year voting (to Cardinals’ outfielder Wally Moon, Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks, and Braves’ pitcher Gene Conley).

“Hammerin’ Hank” only hit 13 homers as a rookie, but his power kicked in beginning in 1955. He hit 20 or more homers in each of the next 20 seasons, while making the all-star team each season, and leading the league in homers 4 times (3 times with 44) and in RBI 4 times (at least 126 RBI each time). He also led the NL in batting twice (once with a .355 average), and was the NL MVP winner in 1957.

Hank hit .393 and .333 in the ’57 and ’58 World Series, and hit .357 in the 1969 NLCS against the Miracle Mets.

Usually the Braves’ right fielder, he played center field for half of the ’57, ’61, and ’62 seasons. Hank was also the Braves’ regular 1st baseman for the 2nd half of 1971 and all of 1972, before returning to the outfield in 1973.

Aaron finished the 1973 season one home run short of tying Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career homers. He tied the record on opening day 1974 in Cincinnati, and broke the record during the Braves’ first home game.

After 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in November 1974 for outfielder Dave May. Hank played his final 2 seasons as the Brewers’ DH (full-time in ‘75, and part-time in ’76). He finished with 755 career home runs.

After his playing career, Aaron became a front-office executive with the Braves.

Hank's younger brother Tommie was his teammate from 1962 to 1971.