Final Card: Pedro Gonzalez

This is the last of 5 consecutive cards for Pedro Gonzalez (#424).

Pedro was signed by the Yankees in 1958, and spent the next 4 full seasons in their farm system, strictly at 2nd base until 1962, when he also played a significant amount of games at 3rd base and shortstop, as well as in the outfield.

Gonzalez made his major-league debut in April 1963 with the Yankees, but with Bobby Richardson starting 150 games at 2nd base, Gonzalez spent most of the season in triple-A. He made 4 starts at 2nd for New York, mostly in September.

In 1964, Pedro spent the entire season with the Yankees, and saw action in 80 games, more than any substitute except Phil Linz and Hector Lopez. He saw more action at 1st base than any other position.



In May 1965, Gonzalez was traded to the Indians for backup 1st baseman Ray Barker. He was the staring 2nd baseman for all but one game between May 30th and September 20th. (Cleveland has started the season with a keystone combo of Larry Brown and Dick Howser. Gonzalez replaced Brown, but by mid-season, Brown moved over to short to replace Howser. To complete this circle, Howser started most of the games at 2B after September 20th.)

Pedro was the regular 2nd baseman again in 1966, but rarely played after August. Howser, Chico Salmon, and rookie Vern Fuller each started a dozen or so games at 2nd base in place of Gonzalez.

His playing time was further reduced in 1967, as he only played in 80 games, while making 55 starts. His regular 2nd base job only lasted from May 9th to June 23rd. Cleveland started the season with rookie Gus Gill at 2B, while fellow rookie Vern Fuller took over the job as of July 19th.

Pedro's last major-league game was on September 27, 1967. He spent the next 4 seasons playing in the minors for the Indians, Cardinals, and Pirates.

Final Card: John Sullivan

This (#568) is the last of John Sullivan's three Topps baseball cards. He first appeared on a Tigers Rookies card in 1965. In 1966, his card portrayed him as a Tigers' catcher. This year, he moves on to the Mets. Coincidently, all three of John's cards were in the rare 7th series (a/k/a high numbers). In my neighborhood, the 7th series was not sold in stores, so my first knowledge of Sullivan was when the Phillies signed him as their 3rd-string catcher during the 1968 season.

Sullivan was primarily a minor-league catcher, logging 1201 games over 13 seasons in the bush leagues, while playing only 116 big-league games over parts of 5 seasons. John was signed by the Tigers in 1959, and moved up their farm system ladder from 1959 to 1965. After a cup of coffee in both 1963 and 1964, he played in 34 games for Detroit in 1965, although spending part of the season at triple-A Syracuse.



1966 is a mystery. The record shows he played the entire season with the Athletics' triple-A team in Vancouver, although still Tigers' property, because after the 1966 season the Mets selected him from the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft.

1967 was the high point of Sullivan's career. Not only was it the only season where he managed to stay out of the minor leagues, but he worked his way up to SECOND string catcher, behind Jerry Grote. (Although Topps printed a card for John Stephenson as a Mets' catcher, Stephenson played only for the Cubs in 1967.) Sullivan played in 65 games in '67, the most of any season.

In February 1968, the Phillies purchased his contract and stashed him at triple-A San Diego. Although playing most of the season in the minors, he did get into 12 games with the Philadelphia. (I guess since the Phillies already had Mike Ryan on board, they didn't need another Irish catcher!) His final major-league game was on August 7th.

During spring training 1969, the Phillies swapped him to the Orioles for another backup catcher - Vic Roznovsky. Sullivan would kick around the minors for 4 more seasons, with the Orioles (1969) and the Royals (1970-72).

Ex-players with cards

Many posts ago, I mentioned players who were active during the 1967 season who did not appear on a Topps card.

Today I'm showing the opposite, which is the 11 players who appeared on (full) cards in the 1967 set, even though their last major league appearances were in 1966, either because of retirement, injury, or a permanent minor-league demotion.



Joe Nuxhall is the dean of this group. His major-league debut was at age 15 with the Reds in 1944. He retired following the 1966 season, and went on to a long career as a Reds' broadcaster.

Felix Mantilla's career was spent primarily as a backup for the Milwaukee Braves, and a starter for the Red Sox. Traded to the Cubs prior to 1967, he was injured in spring training, then released after coming off the DL. He was recently featured on the 1965 Topps blog.

Terry Fox' last big-league action was with the Phillies in 1966. He spent the 1967 season with the Phillies' triple-A team in San Diego before retiring.




After 3 seasons with the Tigers, George Smith was traded to the Sox, and was their regular 2nd baseman in 1966. Rookie Mike Andrews took over in 1967, leaving Smith without a job in or out of Boston.

Derrell Griffith spent parts of 4 seasons (1963-66) with the Dodgers. After the 1966 season, he was traded twice (to the Mets and the Astros) but never made the team. The back of his card notes that he was sent to triple-A on March 24, 1967 (never to return).

Larry Elliot had cups of coffee with the Pirates in '62 and '63, then stuck around as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Mets in 1964 and 1966. That was the extent of his major-league career.

Ron Campbell kicked around for parts of 3 seasons (1964-66) as a utility infielder for the Cubs.




Don Dennis was a reliever for the Cardinals in 1965 and 1966. He was traded to the Sox in the off-season for catcher Johnny Romano, but never played in the majors again. Chicago didn't get gypped, as Romano didn't play much in '67 (his final season) either.
A few months ago, the Dinged Corners blog had a poll for best forehead ever. I think Don Dennis will have to replace Dave "Forehead" Morehead as the clear-cut winner!

Gil Blanco spent all of 1965 with the Yankees, and the last half of 1966 with the Athletics. That is all!

Bill Hepler was a one-year wonder, compiling a 3-3 record in a full season with the Mets in 1966.

Jim Barbieri played 6 1/2 seasons in the minors before finally making it to the majors with the Dodgers for part of 1966. He played in the Little League World Series in 1954.

The 1967 White Sox

And now, the 1967 Chicago White Sox:

The White Sox had a good team in the mid 1960s, but were lost in the hype given to the 1st place clubs. The Sox finished in 2nd place in 1963 (10.5 behind the Yankees), 1964 (1 behind the Yankees), and 1965 (7 behind the Twins). They finished in 4th place in 1966 and 1967, trailing Boston by only 3 games in 1967.


Here are the starting pitchers, in order of starts and innings pitched. Gary Peters was 16-11 with 215 strikeouts, while Joel Horlen was 19-7 with a 2.06 ERA. Tommy John chipped in with 10 wins, while Bruce Howard started 17 of his 30 games, but fashioned a poor 3-10 record.


Here are the 5th starters and long relief men. Surprisingly, the opening day starter was John Buzhardt, but by the end of April, he was out of the loop, replaced by Jim O'Toole, who lasted in the rotation until the beginning of July. After that, Fred Klages and Wilbur Wood took their turns as the 5th starter. Cisco Carlos joined the rotation in late August and took a regular turn for the rest of the season.


Bob Locker appeared only in relief, and led the staff with 77 games. Wilbur Wood came over from the Pirates in the off-season and was used primarily in relief in 1967. (Wood and O'Toole were the only lefties in the bullpen.) Don McMahon was acquired from Boston on June 2nd for Jerry Adair. He pitched 91 innings in 52 games while compiling a 5-0 record. 44-year-old knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm compiled a 1.31 ERA in 89 innings of work.


Others haunting the pitching staff: Dennis Higgins made 9 relief appearances for a total of 12 innings. Rookie Roger Nelson relieved in 5 games, but spent most of the season in triple-A. Jack Lamabe made 3 relief appearances, and was shipped out to the Mets in late April. He later hooked on with the Cardinals and appeared in the World Series. Aurelio Monteagudo was signed on July 15th, made 1 start, and was promptly released on July 22nd.


The White Sox' regular lineup was a collection of mix-and-match players at multiple positions. The only players starting more than 80 games at any one position were Ron Hansen (151 at SS), Tommie Agee (124 in CF), Tom McCraw (112 at 1B), and Don Buford (94 at 3B).

Although rookie Duane Josephson started 16 fewer games at catcher than J.C. Martin, he missed a month in mid-season, so it's safe to assume that he was the #1 catcher. McCraw started most of the games at 1B, except for 2 stretches in late July and late August. Although Jerry Adair started the first 15 games at 2B, Wayne Causey soon replaced him as the regular, with occasional starts by Buford at 2B. Hansen's card designates him as "Infield", but he started 151 games in 1967 (all at shortstop) and played no other position.

Switch-hitting Don Buford started 94 games at third base, and another 39 at 2nd base. Although Pete Ward was the Sox' regular 3rd baseman from 1963-65, he spent 1967 as the primary left fielder (71 starts) and backup 1st baseman. In 1966, Agee was the AL rookie of the year, an all-star, and won a gold glove. He followed that up with another all-star appearance in 1967, but was traded to the Mets following the season. Ken Berry started 125 games in the outfield, primarily in right field.


The White Sox carried 4 catchers, although Smoky Burgess was only used as a pinch-hitter. J.C. Martin caught in 96 games, but only 69 as the starter. Jerry McNertney saw a lot of action as the 3rd string catcher. Ken Boyer was acquired from the Mets on July 22nd, and started 32 games at 3B as well as seeing action at 1B.


Walt Williams played in more games (104) than any of the other non-regulars. He was primarily used as a backup left fielder and pinch-hitter. Ed Stroud began the season with the Sox, then was traded to the Senators on June 15th for Jim King. King was sent to the Indians on July 29th for Rocky Colavito.


Other assorted subs: Jerry Adair began the season as the starting 2B, but was traded to the Red Sox for Don McMahon. Dick Kenworthy was a backup 3rd baseman for the White Sox in 1967 and 1968, and according to Baseball-Reference.com, was never in the Mets' organization. Al Weis played less than in any of his previous 4 full seasons with the White Sox, and was traded to the Mets in the off-season.

Bill Voss and Buddy Bradford each appeared in less than 25 games. They shared a rookie card in the 1968 Topps set. Utility man Jimmy Stewart was purchased from the Cubs on May 22nd. (The next day, they returned the favor by selling Lee Elia to the Cubs.) Sandy Alomar joined the Sox on August 15th, as part of the earlier trade for Ken Boyer. SS Rich Morales played in 8 games, but wouldn't become a contributor until 1969.


William "Moose" Skowron Jr was shipped out to the Angels on May 6th, after just 8 pinch-hitting appearances. Future starting catcher Ed Herrmann made his debut on September 1st. Ward and Buford were the team's power hitters (a relative term in Chicago). Eddie Stanky was in the middle of his 3-year stint as the Sox' manager. (He also managed the Cardinals from 1952-55.)


Don Dennis and Jim Hicks spent 1967 at triple-A Indianapolis (as did Elia, until he was sold to the Cubs on May 23rd, who assigned him to AAA Tacoma.)


Finally, the rookie cards. Marv Staehle spent most of 1967 in AAA but appeared in 32 games for the White Sox as a backup 2B-SS. Lou Piniella was never on the White Sox, but in the late 1960s if you had 3 rookie cards in your hand, chances are one of them had Piniella on it!



Transactions from the end of the 1966 season until the end of 1967:

10/12/66 - Traded pitcher Juan Pizarro to Pittsburgh for Wilbur Wood.

12/14/66 - Traded catcher John Romano to St. Louis for Don Dennis and Walt Williams.

12/15/66 - Traded OF Floyd Robinson to Cincinnati for Jim O'Toole.

4/26/67 - Sold Jack Lamabe to the Mets.

5/06/67 - Traded Moose Skowron to California for Cotton Nash.

5/22/67 - Purchased Jimmy Stewart from the Cubs.

5/23/67 - Sold Lee Elia to the Cubs.

6/02/67 - Traded Jerry Adair to Boston for Don McMahon.

6/15/67 - Traded Ed Stroud to Washington for Jim King.

7/15/67 - Signed Aurelio Monteagudo as a free agent.

7/22/67 - Released Aurelio Monteagudo.

7/22/67 - Acquired Ken Boyer and a player to be named from the Mets for a player to be named.

7/29/67 - Traded Jim King and a player to be named to Cleveland for Rocky Colavito.

8/11/67 - Sold John Buzhardt to Baltimore.

8/15/67 - Acquired Sandy Alomar from the Mets as part of the Ken Boyer trade.

10/13/67 - Sold Jim Hicks to St. Louis.

10/16/67 - Released Smoky Burgess.

10/26/67 - Sent Marv Staehle to Cleveland to complete the Rocky Colavito trade.

11/27/67 - Sent J. C. Martin to the Mets to complete the Ken Boyer trade.

11/29/67 - Traded Don Buford, Bruce Howard, and Roger Nelson to Baltimore for SS Luis Aparicio and OF Russ Snyder.

12/15/67 - Traded Tommie Agee and Al Weis to the Mets for OF Tommy Davis and P Jack Fisher.


Next team review: Los Angeles Dodgers
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Here a poll, there a poll...

I've caught the poll bug after reading and voting for White Sox Cards' Hall of Fame. I've added polls to several of my baseball and football card blogs. You can use this post to comment on the selections, or to offer up other choices.


Coming later tonight: The 1967 White Sox review.

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Ron Santo (#70)

WILL THIS GUY EVER MAKE IT INTO THE HALL OF FAME?

Many months ago, I had a discussion with Wrigley Wax, where I said that I (like many others, I suspect) overlooked the impact of Cubs' outfielder Billy Williams. To a lesser extent, the same is true of Ron Santo. Why? Probably a number of reasons, including playing in Ernie Banks' shadow, the Cubs having bad teams in the 1960s, the presence of so many headline-grabbing power hitters back in the day (Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, McCovey, Killebrew, Yastrzemski, etc, etc).

A few months ago, the MLB Network ran a Prime 9 episode on the greatest player at each position in the 1960s. Before watching it, I assumed that several players would be slam-dunks (Sandy Koufax, Brooks Robinson, etc..). I was shocked to learn that neither of those 2 were selected. RON SANTO was selected by MLB Network as the greatest 3rd baseman of the 1960s! On closer review, it's not that surprising. Santo was a notch below Robinson defensively, but although always edged out of the home run crown by Mays, Aaron, or McCovey, Santo was an RBI machine for most of his career.



Ron Santo was signed by the Cubs in 1959, and spent the year playing double-A ball. After 71 games with the Cubs' triple-A Houston team in 1960, Santo made his major-league debut on June 26th. He took over the 3rd base job from Don Zimmer, starting 94 of the final 96 games there in 1960.

Santo was a workhorse for the Cubs. He played 160 or more games in 7 of the 8 seasons from 1962 to 1969. His most productive seasons were from 1963 to 1970, when he tallied 98 or more RBI 7 times, cracked 30+ home runs 4 times, and led the league in walks 4 times. During that time, he made 6 all-star appearances and collected 5 gold gloves.

Although his numbers began to slip from "Santo standards" beginning in 1971, he still made the all-star team 3 more times as a Cub. Santo moved across town to the White Sox for his final season in 1974. With the Sox, he played 47 games as the DH, 39 games at 2nd base, and 28 games at 3rd base.

Following his playing career, Santo was a broadcaster for the Cubs for the past 20 years. He passed away in early December 2010.