Sandy Alomar (#561)

It's time for a high-numbered card.

Sandy Alomar was a second baseman who played for 15 seasons (1964-78) for the Braves, Mets, White Sox, Angels, Yankees, and Rangers.  This is his only card as a Met, the team he played the least amount of time for.

Alomar was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1960, and was a shortstop until switching over to 2nd base during the 1965 season. His major-league debut came in September 1964 with the Braves.

Sandy split the 1965 season between Milwaukee and their AAA team in Atlanta.

The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, but by early-June Alomar had moved on to Richmond, the new home of their triple-A team.

1967 was an unusual year for Alomar:
 - 2/25: sent to the Astros to complete an earlier deal (Eddie Mathews to Houston for Bob Bruce and Dave Nicholson).
 - 3/24: Traded to the Mets for Derrell Griffith.
 - 8/15: sent to the White Sox to complete an earlier deal (Ken Boyer to Chicago for J.C. Martin).

Sandy was always a bench player until the 2nd half of 1968, when he took over the Sox' 2nd base job.

Following his May 1969 trade to the Angels for Bobby Knoop, Alomar was the Halos' regular 2nd baseman for the next 4 ½ years, that string coming to an end in the closing weeks of 1973. While an Angel, he started 134, 152, 134, 150, and 103 games from 1969-73. He also made the 1970 All-Star team.

The Angels acquired 2nd baseman Denny Doyle from the Phillies in the 73/74 off-season, so Alomar rode the bench in 1974 until his contract was purchased by the Yankees in July. Sandy regained a starting job in the Big Apple for the rest of 1974 and all of 1975.

It was deja-vu all over again for him in 1976. The Yankees traded for Willie Randolph in the 75/76 off-season, so Alomar was back on the bench, although he did start a handful of games in July and Auguist.

Sandy was traded to the Rangers before the 1977 season, and spent his last two years as a bench player. He backed up 2B Bump Wills in '77 but rarely played the field in '78 and was used mostly as a pinch-runner (at age 34!). Alomar was released after the 1978 season.

Later, he was a coach for the Padres (1986-90), Cubs (2000-02), Rockies (2003-04), and Mets (2005-09).

His sons Sandy Jr and Roberto made their major-league debuts with the Padres while he was a coach there.

Dave Boswell (#575)

Twins’ pitcher Dave Boswell was included in the rare 7th series in the 1967 set. Although I collected the first 6 series in 1967, I didn’t get any 7th-series cards until the 1980s.

Boswell pitched for 8 seasons, the first 7 with Minnesota. Although he was a 20-game winner in 1969, he may be more well-known as the guy whose manager (Billy Martin, naturally) punched him out in a bar fight.

Dave was signed by the Twins in 1963, and made his major-league debut in September 1964 at age 19, pitching in 4 games.

In 1965 he pitched 27 games, but only made 12 starts. The next season he became a full-time starter, and won 12, 14, 10, and 20 games over the next 4 seasons. His 12-5 record in 1966 provided a league-leading .706 winning percentage.

Dave pitched in the 1965 World Series and the 1969 ALCS. An arm injury suffered during that ALCS caused him to miss much of 1970 and eventually shortened his career.

Dave only pitched in 18 games during 1970, and was released in April 1971. The same day, he was picked up by the Tigers, who were now managed by his 1969 Twins manager Martin. Boswell lasted with the Tigers until the end of May, and was released again.

The Orioles signed him on the same day, and he appeared in 24 innings over 15 games in the next 4 months. His last appearance came on September 17th, as Baltimore released him just before the start of the 1972 season.

 Boswell passed away in 2012 at age 67.

Steve Blass (#562)

Steve Blass was the Pirates' ace from 1968 to 1972. This is his high-numbered 1967 card.  Oddly enough, there are FOUR Pirates among the 47 cards that follow Blass' card in the 1967 set.

After winning 19 games in '72 and finishing 2nd in the Cy Young voting, Blass seemingly forgot how to pitch in 1973. That year, he led the NL with 12 hit batters (IN ONLY 88 INNINGS!), while compiling a 3-9 record and a 9.85 ERA. After pitching 5 innings in April 1974, his career was over.

Blass was signed by the Pirates in 1960, and pitched in the minors from 1960-63. He made his major-league debut in May 1964, and pitched 24 games as a starter and reliever in his rookie season.

He returned to the minors for all of 1965, making 25 starts for AAA Columbus.

Blass returned to the Pirates in 1966, joining a rotation led by Bob Veale that also included rookie Woodie Fryman, Tommie Sisk, and long-time Pirate Vern Law. After 1967, Law retired and Fryman was traded to the Phillies, leaving Veale and Blass as the Bucs’ top 2 starters.

Blass became a full-time starter in 1968, winning 18 games and leading the NL with a .750 winning percentage. He followed that up with 16 wins in 1969. By now Dock Ellis had joined the squad, supporting Blass and Veale.

Steve won 15 games in 1971 and 19 in 1972, and pitched in 6 games in the ’71 and ’72 post-seasons, including 2 complete game wins in the ’71 World Series. During his 5 prime seasons with the Pirates (’68-’72) he struck out 652 while walking 368 – a 1.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In 1973, Blass came down with what became known as “Steve Blass disease” – an inability to find the plate. In 1973 he pitched 88 innings in 23 games, only striking out 27 while walking 84 (the same number he walked in 249 innings the previous season). His strikeout-to-walk ratio in 1973 was 0.32. His ERA also ballooned to 9.85.

After pitching just 1 game in April 1974, Blass spent the remainder of the season in the minors, trying to find his control. It never returned and he was released in January 1975.

Blass has been broadcasting Pirates’ games since the 1980s.

Wes Parker (#218)

Wes Parker played for 9 seasons (1964-72) and all for the Dodgers. He was the regular 1st baseman every season from 1965-72, making over 495 plate appearances every year (705 in 1970!) and won the Gold Glove award in his last 6 seasons.

I wonder why he retired after 9 seasons, at age 32? It seems he was still going strong. Maybe Night Owl knows the answer.

Parker was signed by the Dodgers and played only 1 season (1963) in the minors (split between A and AA). He debuted with the Dodgers in April 1964 and played in 124 games as a rookie, although only starting 47 games (28 at 1st base, 19 in the outfield).

In 1965, Wes began his 8-year stint as the Dodgers’ regular 1st baseman, with incumbent Ron Fairly moving to right field. Parker started the majority of the games there over that span (including every game in 1970). He also occasionally started in the outfield, with Fairly or others filling in at first base.

Parker won the Gold Glove award in his final 6 seasons, but curiously was never an All-Star. The fact that he was a corner infielder whose season-high homerun output was 13 probably affected his All-Star chances. He was named to the All-time Gold Glove team in 2007.

After retiring following the 1973 season, he broadcast Cincinnati Reds’ games for a year, then played in Japan in 1974.

Returning from Japan after 1 season, he began an acting career, appearing on (of course) The Brady Bunch and other TV shows. He returned to broadcasting from 1978-83.

Larry Dierker (#498)

Here is my slightly-out-of-register Larry Dierker card. (I don’t think I've ever noticed that before today.) I also noticed today that Larry jumped to the majors after only 1 season in the low minors.

Dierker was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1964 after pitching at UC Santa Barbara. After 9 games in Rookie-league ball, Larry made his debut with the Colts on his 18th birthday in September 1964. He struck out Willie Mays in his first inning pitched.

At the start of the 1965 season, he joined the newly-renamed-Astros' starting rotation, which included veterans Bob Bruce and Turk Farrell. (In the coming years, he would be joined by Dave Giusti, Mike Cuellar and Don Wilson.)

Dierker remained one of the Astros' top starters through the 1976 season (although missing much of 1973). He was the Astros' first 20-game winner in 1969, and an All-Star in '69 and '71. He had double-digit wins in 9 of his 12 seasons with the Astros, who always finished in the bottom half during his tenure.

After the 1976 season he was traded to the Cardinals for catcher Joe Ferguson. The Cards released him after only one season, ending his 14-year career.

From 1979 to 1996, Larry was a broadcaster for the Astros.

He left the booth to manage the Astros from 1997 to 2001, and in contrast to his playing career, the team finished FIRST in 4 of those 5 seasons. He was named Manager of the Year in 1998. During the 1999 season, he suffered a seizure which required brain surgery, and several months recuperation before returning to the team.

The Astros retired his number in 2002. Dierker returned to his old broadcasting job for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

As of this writing, Dierker still holds the Astros' team record for shutouts (25), complete games (106), innings pitched (2294), and games started (32), His 137 wins put him 3rd behind Joe Niekro and Roy Oswalt.

Pete Mikkelsen can't focus on the task at hand

Four years ago,  I posted Pete Mikkelsen's 1968 card on my '68 blog (which I thought is where I referred to having this odd 1967 card below). Thanks to the 'Search my Blogs' function, I found my comment was in this 1967 Pirates Team post. Anyway, I unearthed this card a few weeks ago. This was my first Mikkelsen card, acquired midway-through the summer of 1967.

Not only are there printing errors and about 47 creases, but at some point the card appears to have gotten wet, so it has a general mottled appearance.

Here he is after taking some muscle relaxers:

Hmm.. Pete "was the Bucs' number one stopper last season", but midway through the '67 season he was selected off waivers by the Cubs!  What have you done for me lately?

Here are 2 other oddball cards I have from back in the day.

Tony Perez (#476)

Here is Reds' RBI machine Tony Perez. By the time this card was issued in mid-summer, Perez had already moved over to 3rd base.

I just recently posted his 1966 card on another blog, so I won't repeat myself here. What I wanted to do was show the unusual Cincinnati Reds' uniform from that time period.

Besides the "vest look" (which was also used by the Indians, Athletics, and Pirates), look at his name. Unlike a "normal" uni, the player's name is UNDER the number. I wonder if any other team used this same layout?

Tommy Helms (#505)

Continuing the Reds' string of 7 Topps all-star rookies in 6 seasons, Tommy Helms snared the 3rd base position in 1966.

Helms was signed by the Reds in 1959, and played in their farm system for 7 seasons: the first 2 in class D, followed by 1 season each in B and A ball, then the last 3 (1963-65) at triple-A San Diego. Helms was almost exclusively a shortstop in the minors.

Tommy made his major-league debut in September 1964, appearing in 2 games. He also played in 21 games in 1965, including 7 consecutive starts at shortstop in early September (the only games Chico Cardenas didn't start all season).

Helms began his rookie season of 1966 as the regular 2nd baseman, starting the first 15 games there, while Pete Rose started at 3rd base. By game #18 they switched positions, and Helms started 113 of the final 143 games at 3rd base (with Deron Johnson and Chico Ruiz playing the rest).

Tommy won the Rookie of the Year award, getting 12 of the 20 first place votes. (The Astros' Sonny Jackson finished a distant 2nd with 3 votes.) In 1967, Helms switched to 2nd base (when Rose moved to the outfield), where he would remain for the rest of his career. He also went to his first of 2 consecutive all-star games.

After the 1971 season, Helms was part of a blockbuster trade, going to the Astros along with 1st baseman Lee May and utility infielder Jimmy Stewart for 2nd baseman Joe Morgan, shortstop Denis Menke, pitcher Jack Billingham, and outfielders Cesar Geronimo and Ed Armbrister.

After 4 seasons with Houston, he was traded to the Pirates for infielder Art Howe. Following his 1st season with the Pirates, Tommy was sold to the Athletics. What happened next seems very bizarre. Before the next season, the Athletics traded him BACK to the Pirates (with Phil Garner) for SIX PLAYERS (Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Rick Langford, Doc Medich and Mitchell Page). WHAAAT? Garner couldn't possibly have been THAT good!

The Pirates released Helms in June 1977, and he spent the remainder of the season with the Red Sox, before retiring.

After his playing career, Helms was a coach for the Reds (on Pete Rose's staff) and managed the team for part of the 1988 and 1989 seasons, during Rose's legal troubles.

Tommy is the uncle of former Marlins' 3rd baseman Wes Helms.

Randy Hundley (#106)

Randy Hundley nabbed the catcher's slot on the 1966 Topps all-rookie team, catching 149 games (144 starts) and playing more innings (1293) than any other catcher that season. He also collected 22 doubles, 19 homers, and 63 RBI. Other rookie catchers that year included Andy Etchebarren and Paul Casanova.

Hundley was signed by the Giants in 1960, and caught in the minors for the next 6 seasons. He also played 2 games with the Giants in '64 and 6 games in '65. After the 1965 season he was traded to the Cubs with pitcher Bill Hands for pitcher Lindy McDaniel and outfielder Don Landrum.

Randy was thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie, stabilizing a position that employed 4 "regulars" in the previous season, but none who started at least 50 games. Hundley was a fixture behind the plate for 4 seasons, playing at least 149 games each season.

In 1970 he only played 70 games while missing all of late-April to mid-July. Hundley also missed the entire 1971 season, except for catching 8 games in May, and a pinch-hitting appearance in early April.

Randy returned to the lineup in 1972, and played over 100 games in each of the next 2 seasons. After the 1973 season, he was traded to the Twins for catcher George Mitterwald. Hundley began the season as the Twins' starter, but was soon replaced by rookie Glenn Borgmann, and only played a few games after mid-June.

The Twins released Hundley after the 1974 season, then he found work the following season as the Padres backup catcher.

In April 1976, Randy returned to the Cubs, but only played 13 games that season (all in April and May. His final season (1977) consisted of 2 games with the Cubs in September. After the season, he was released by the Cubs, ending his 14-year career.

Hundley's son Todd caught for the Mets and others from 1990-2003.

Mel Stottlemyre (#225)

Here's my first Mel Stottlemyre card. Mel was somewhat of a favorite player of mine as a kid, not because I liked the Yankees, or Mel in particular, but mainly because my earliest baseball glove that I can remember was a Mel Stottlemyre model, by Wilson. (In later years, I think I had (and still have) a Rod Carew glove.)

Mel was signed by the Yankees in 1961, and played in the minors for 3 1/2 seasons. After compiling a 13-3 record at triple-A Richmond for most of 1964, Mel made his major-league debut on August 12th, with a complete-game 7-3 victory over the White Sox. He also saw his only post-season action in 1964.

In his first full season (1965) Mel went 20-9 with a league-leading 18 complete games, while edging out long-time Yankees' kingpin Whitey Ford. His personal success didn't extend to the team, as the Yanks slipped from 1st place in 1964 to 6th place in '65.

Stottlemyre slumped to 12-20 in 1966, as the Yankees plummeted to the AL basement. They say a 20-game loser is a sign of a good pitcher, otherwise he wouldn't get the playing time.

Mel had some good seasons on a bad team. He won 20 games in '68 and '69, led the league with 24 complete games in '69, and made 5 all-star appearances between 1965 and 1970. Stottlemyre remained at the top of the Yankees' rotation from 1965-1973, winning in double figures each year.

In his final season (1974), he only appeared in 16 games, making his last appearance on August 16th, 10 years and 4 days after his debut.

After his playing career, Mel was a minor-league instructor for the Mariners for 5 seasons, and then a pitching coach from 1984 to 2008 for the Mets (10 seasons), Astros (2), Yankees (10), and Mariners (1).

Two of Mel's sons were also major-league pitchers: Todd (1988-2002 with the Blue Jays and others), and Mel Jr (1990 Royals).

Tom Kelley (#214)

Tom Kelley was a somewhat obscure pitcher for the Indians (mid-1960s) and Braves (early 1970s). One of the errors in the 1967 set is that on earlier versions of the 3rd series checklist, his card is listed as "Dick Kelley" (a Braves' pitcher also in the 1967 set).

Kelley was signed by the Indians in 1963, and was a starting pitcher in their minor-league system for 3 seasons, while also playing a few games with the Indians in '64 and '65. Tom was with Cleveland for the entire 1966 season, appearing in 31 games (7 as a starter). That was good enough to score a card in the '67 set:

Kelley was back in the minors for all but 1 game in 1967. In fact, he spent the rest of the decade with the Indians' double-A and single-A teams. (He must have had an injury. Does anybody get busted all the way down to single-A on merit?) In any case, Topps dropped him after 1967, and I thought I saw the last of him, until he resurfaced in the 1972 set.

The Indians released him after the 1969 season, and he was signed by the Braves in May 1970. After another season in the minors. Kelley was in the Atlanta's starting rotation for the 1971 and 1972 seasons. A 5-7 record in 1972 sent him back to the minors the following season. He pitched for the Braves' AAA club for 3 seasons, and wrapped up his career in 1976 playing for the Mets' AAA Tidewater team.

Final Card: Johnny Lewis

Johnny Lewis (#91) played four seasons in the mid-1960s, mostly for the Mets. His only season as a regular was in 1965, when he manned the Mets' right field post. After that season, Cleon Jones joined the team and it was goodbye Johnny.



Lewis was signed by the Tigers in 1959, but was traded to the Cardinals in the same year. He played in the Cardinals' farm system until making his major-league debut with St. Louis in April 1964. He split the '64 season between the Cardinals and their AAA team in Jacksonville. After the season, he was traded to the Mets for pitcher Tracy Stallard.

Johnny was the Mets' everyday right fielder in 1965, playing 100 games there and another 40 games in center field. He also socked 15 home runs, but only bat .245.

In 1966 the Mets acquired veteran outfielder Al Luplow from the Indians, who, along with Larry Elliot took most of the playing time in right field. With Ron Swoboda a fixture in left field, and rookie Cleon Jones in center, Lewis was relegated to the bench as a 5th outfielder and pinch-hitter. He also played 71 games down in Jacksonville.

The Mets obtained left fielder Tommy Davis from the Dodgers before the 1967 season, so Lewis was toast. Johnny played most of the season in Jacksonville, and only 13 games with New York, the last coming on June 11th. He wrapped up his professional career with the Phillies' AAA team in San Diego.

Final Card: Ron Campbell

Program Note: I recently acquired the 1969 Topps Blog from its previous owner. Be sure to check it out, and add it to your sidebars. (You may also want to add my 1963 and 1970 blogs to your sidebars, if you haven't already done so.)


This is the final card for Cubs' utility infielder Ron Campbell (#497). It also happens to be his rookie card. Ron is one of several in the 1967 set whose career ended before the 1967 season. I wonder if anyone else had their rookie card issued after their major-league career was over?



Ron was signed by the Cubs in 1960, and played 11 seasons (1960-70) in the minors, mostly with the Cubs' organization, but his last 2 seasons in the Pirates' system. In the minors, Campbell played 3rd base about 85% of the time, but also saw action at 2nd base and shortstop.

He made his major-league debut on September 1, 1964, and played about 2 dozen games with the Cubs in each of 1964 and 1966, and only 2 games in 1965. Probably the arrival of rookie infielder Paul Popovich in 1967 made Campbell's presence unnecessary on the major-league roster. Of course, with Ron Santo, Don Kessinger, and Glenn Beckert as the starters, extra infielders by any name weren't really necessary!

Check out Wrigley Wax's post on Ron Campbell.

Final Card: John Werhas

"INFIELD"... Is there anything that screams "short-timer" more than "INFIELD"? (other than "INF-OF", of course)

This is the final baseball card for John Werhas (#514). Werhas was signed by the Dodgers in 1960, and after 2 seasons in the low minors, he spent 5 seasons with the Dodgers' triple-A Spokane team, mostly as a 3rd baseman. During this time, he also played 29 games in 1964 and 4 games in 1965 with the Dodgers.

1967 was John's first full season in the major leagues. It would also be his last major-league season. After 7 games with the Dodgers, on May 10th he was traded to the Angels for outfielder Len Gabrielson. Werhas appeared in 49 games for the Angels in 1967, mostly as a backup 3rd baseman to Paul Schaal.



After spending the 1968 season with the Phillies' triple-A San Diego Padres, John played 2 seasons with the Angels' triple-A Hawaii team. He missed the 1971 season, then was back for 2 more seasons in Hawaii (by now the Padres' triple-A team).

Mel Queen (#374)

Here's a position combination rarely (if ever) seen at the major-league level. Mel began as a 3rd baseman and outfielder, and didn't begin pitching until 1966, his 2nd full season in the big leagues.

Mel Queen was signed by the Reds in 1960, and spent 4 seasons (1960-63) in their farm system as an outfielder and third baseman. His major-league debut came on April 13, 1964. He spent all of 1964 with the Reds as their 5th outfielder. After spending most of the 1965 season as a triple-A outfielder, he returned to the Reds in 1966.


(Mel is so new to pitching in 1967 that Topps doesn't have his pitching record.)

Mel began 1966 as an outfielder, but made 7 pitching appearances for the Reds. After 1966, Queen no longer played the outfield, but in addition to his 31 pitching appearances, he was used many times as a pinch-hitter in 1967. He compiled a 14-8 record as a starter in 1967.

In 1968 Mel only pitched in 5 games, and spent most of 1969 in the minors. (I don't know what his situation was, but the Reds seemed to have many sore-armed pitchers in the late 1960s.)

After the 1969 season, he was sold to the Angels, where he pitched almost exclusively in relief for 3 seasons. His last major-league game was in July 1972, and he spent the remainder of that season with the Angels' triple-A team.

Queen's father pitched for the Yankees and Pirates in the 1940s and 1950s, and Mel is the brother-in-law of former Red Sox' and Phillies' pitcher Jim Lonborg.

Dennis Ribant (#527)

Dennis Ribant only played for 6 seasons, but managed to squeeze 6 teams on his resume in that short time.

He was originally signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1961. In August 1964, the Braves traded Ribant to the Mets for pitcher Frank Lary. (The Mets got Lary back the following March.) Dennis played a dozen or so games for the Mets in each of 1964 and 1965.

Ribant's first full season in the majors was 1966, and he compiled a record of 11-9. This was the first time a Mets' pitcher ever finished with a winning record! As a reward (actually, it was a reward to leave the Mets in those days) he was traded to the Pirates after the season for pitcher Don Cardwell.


(I just noticed that his won-loss records at Denver in '63 and '64 on the back of his card don't match those found on Baseball-Reference.com.)

Ribant's only season in Pittsburgh was 1967, as he was traded to the Tigers after the season for pitcher Dave Wickersham.

This began a hectic final 2 seasons for Ribant. In 1968 he pitched for both the Tigers and the White Sox. After the season, the Tigers purchased his contract back from the White Sox, but two months later they sold him to the Royals. During spring training 1969, the Royals sold him to the Cardinals. In the span of 16 months, he was with 6 teams!

In 1969, he played for the Cardinals and the Reds. This was his last season in the majors.

In February 1970, the Reds sold him back to the Pirates, but he remained in the minors for 1970-1973, playing in the Pirates, Padres, and Phillies organizations.

Also check out Ribant's 1969 card.

John Stephenson (#522)

John Stephenson was a backup catcher who came up with the Mets in 1964.

This year, his card is in the high-number series, so there's an updated message that he was sent down on April 10th (opening day minus 1). In fact he didn't play for the Mets at all in 1967. On June 17th, he went to the Cubs as the throw-in in the Bob Hendley for Rob Gardner trade. He was released by the Cubs in April 1968, and quickly signed by the Giants. However, he spent most of 1967 to 1970 in the minors, before making a few appearances for the Giants in 1969 and 1970, and some more regular playing time with the Angels in 1971 to 1973.

John is most remembered (in the Philly area anyway) as striking out to wrap up Jim Bunning's perfect game on Father's Day in 1964. Local myth is that he said he would "get" Bunning for that.



You can also see his 1966 card here.
.

Jim Hicks (#532)

Jim Hicks - In 1964, 1965, and 1966 he had zero, 19, and 26 at-bats respectively. He's a candidate for my "Why does he have a card?" series, but something else trumps that.

Here we see his 1967 card, where he's taking some healthy swings for the camera (a few inches from Johnny Romano's head).



This is a "high-number" card, so the back includes an update that he was sent down on April 4th. In fact, Hicks spent the entire 1967 season at triple-A Indianapolis. Based on his sparse pre-1967 career, maybe Topps should have replaced his high-number card with another player who had more significant playing time in early 1967 (like Lenny Green or Tony Horton).


Two years later, he appears on a Cardinals Rookies card. Apparently, Topps forgot that Hicks was already shown on a full card!



(apologies to Packaddict for stepping into his 1969 turf)