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. 

 

Orlando Martinez (#504)

I just realized today when looking at the back of this card that Orlando Martinez hadn't played in the major leagues since 1962, when he saw action in 37 games (mostly as a pinch-runner). I have to ask then, "Why does he have a card?" Also, my recollection was that his position on this card was "C-INF".

And what is it with Topps and Atlanta Braves' scrubs? Tommie Aaron had a card in the 1968 set despite not playing regularly since 1963, and with only 8 games in early-1965 since then. Jim Beauchamp (who we will see on this blog 2 posts from now) had a card in the 1967 set although didn't play in the majors in 1966. Ex-Braves' outfielder Dave Nicholson had a card in the 1969 set, yet his only time in the majors since 1966 was a 10-game stint in September 1967. 

Orlando "Marty" Martinez was signed by the (old) Washington Senators in 1960, and played seven seasons for the Senators/Twins in the minors. He was primarily a shortstop, but he also saw considerable playing time at 3B, 2B, and catcher, both in the minors and the majors. He also pitched 21 games in the minors, and 1 inning with the 1969 Astros.

After the 1966 season the Braves selected him in the Rule 5 draft. He played in 44 games in his rookie season, including 17 starts at shortstop.

In 1968 his playing time almost tripled, as he started 49 games at shortstop, 31 at 3B, 13 at 2B, and 6 behind the plate. He was truly valuable to the team that season. Too bad he only hit .230.

Martinez was traded to the Astros in December 1968 for 3rd baseman Bob Aspromonte. He continued in his role as backup infielder for the next 2 seasons, although playing much less than he did in 1968.

In '69 he mostly filled in at shortstop and left field, but also a few games at 3B and behind the plate. In 1970 he was mostly at SS and 3B.

In 1971 his playing time decreased even further. The Astros replaced shortstop Denis Menke with rookie Roger Metzger, who needed less time off than Menke did for the past 2 seasons.

After the '71 season, Marty was on his way to the Cardinals. He only played 7 games for St. Louis in 1972, and in late May was traded to the Athletics for outfielder Brant Alyea.

Two months later he was flipped to the Rangers (with 2B Vic Harris) for 1st baseman Don Mincher and infielder Ted Kubiak. 1972 was his last season in the majors.

He played for the Rangers' AAA and AA teams from 1973-80.

Martinez was also the interim manager for the Seattle Mariners for one game in 1986.

In the 1980s he was a coach and a scout for the Mariners, signing Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel, among others.

He passed away in 2007 at age 65.

10 Years Already? / Joe Moeller

Today marks the 10th anniversary of this 1967 blog (my first of many). I found Blogger a day earlier when I happened across this post on the 1969 set blog (which was run by someone else at the time). I made a non-anonymous comment there, but didn't actually have a blogger account at that time.

The next day I thought, "Hey, this is something I could really get into!" and signed up. Within a few days I had set up 3 blogs: this one, the 1968 set blog, and a 1960s Baseball blog.  The next month, a 1966 set blog soon followed, and a year later my 1963 and 1970 blogs launched. I was hooked!

I took ownership of the 1969 set blog from the previous owner in January 2012, after it had been idle for a few years.

Yes, it's a lot of blogs, but I have an interest in all the sets (well, not enough in the 1963 set, as you've probably noticed). At the 5-year mark I took a 12 month break, although at the time of my 5-year post, I wasn't sure if I would be returning.

A few months ago I was considering whether to take another break at this 10-year mark, but there's still a few projects I want to complete (1969 Final Cards, the remaining 5 team reviews, the '69 and '70 League Leaders) before I go on hiatus again. I have been slacking off this past summer, so what I thought I could finish by this week hasn't happened.

Although there's 160 unposted players and managers listed in my blog index, I am only planning on blogging around 100 of them. After that, who knows?

---

So who's the high-profile player I saved for my 10th anniversary post? (Oops!) Ok, Joe Moeller will have to do.

Joe Moeller was signed by the Dodgers in 1960. He had an 8-year career (1962-71), all with the Dodgers. He was primarily a relief pitcher, except in '62, '64, and '70.

Although he spent most of 1962 and all of 1964 with Los Angeles, he was back in the minors for all of 1963 and 1965. Joe returned to the Dodgers for all of 1966, but continuing the trend, he spent parts of '67 and '68 in the minors. Along the way, the Astros selected him in the Rule 5 draft after 1967 (hence his 1968 "Houston" card) but returned him to the Dodgers the following Spring.

Joe managed to stay with the Dodgers for all of 1969-71, but those were his final big-league days.

He pitched in the minors for the Padres and Phillies in 1972 and 1973, before retiring.


 I also have Joe's 1968 card:

and this "variation" that was the first post on my 1968 blog.

Andy Kosco (#366)

Andy Kosco was a spare outfielder (and sometime starter) for several teams from 1965-74, most notably the Twins and Yankees.

Kosco was signed by the Tigers in 1959. (I always assumed he started in the Twins' organization.) After 5 ½ seasons, and having flip-flopped between A and AA ball several times, the Tigers released him on June 3, 1964.

Three days later the Twins picked him up, and after spending the remainder of that season in single-A, he jumped to AAA ball in 1965, and by August he made his major-league debut with the Twins.

Andy spent the entire 1966 season with Minnesota, but only saw action in 57 games, as a pinch-hitter and #3 left fielder. He was back in triple-A for most of 1967.

In October 1967 he was purchased by the Athletics, but was lost to the Yankees a month later in the Rule 5 draft. Kosco got regular playing time (131 games) during his one season in the Big Apple, starting 93 games as the primary right fielder and another 23 starts at first base as Mickey Mantle's backup (in the Mick's final season).

Andy was traded to the Dodgers after the season for pitcher Mike Kekich. He played 2 seasons in LA, his best season coming in 1969 with 67 starts as the primary right fielder, and another 36 starts in left field.  He only hit .248, which may have contributed to his fall to #5 outfielder in 1970.

Kosco bounced around for the rest of his career. He spent 1971 with the Brewers (traded for pitcher Al Downing), and split the 1972 season between the Angels and Red Sox.

He was traded to the Reds prior to the 1973 season, and spent the first half in the minors. Andy was a part time player for Cincinnati for the second half of '73 and the first half of '74. In the closing months of the '73 season, he platooned in right field with Ken Griffey Sr.

Kosco’s final MLB game was on July 30, 1974. I wonder if he was injured during the 2nd half, because he has no minor-league record that season, and was released by the Reds in October.

 Kosco retired after playing for the Phillies' AAA team in 1975.

Tommie Reynolds (#487)

Tommie Reynolds was a journeyman outfielder for the Athletics, Mets, and others from 1963-72. Check out the huge gap between his first and last names. I think Topps planned to print "TOMMIE" (like they did on the card back) but changed their mind at the last minute.

It's also odd that his position is listed as "OF-1B", because he only played 2 innings at first base and that was in 1972.  (His first minor-league game at 1st base was in 1968.)

Reynolds was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1963, and made his major-league debut with 8 games that September. Tommie started the 1964 season with the A’s, but by early-May found himself back in the minors until a September call-up.

In 1965 he was with the team for most of the season (except for May and June) . He was the team’s #3 outfielder (behind Mike Hershberger and Jim Landis), starting 72 games in left field and another 7 games in right. Upon his return from the minors, Tommie started 68 of the final 92 games in left field.

With all that playing time during the 2nd half, it’s puzzling why he spent all of 1966 in the minors. Maybe it was his .237 batting average? Maybe his 1 home run? In any case, he was stuck in triple-A all year, until the Mets picked him up in the Rule 5 draft after the season.

Reynolds played in 101 games in ’67, but only had 136 at bats. As the Mets’ 4th outfielder he only starts 24 games. Repeating recent history, he played all of 1968 back in triple-A.

Almost 2 years from the date of his acquisition by the Mets, the Athletics “Rule-Fived” him again. He was back with the A’s (this time in Oakland) and in 1969 received the most playing time of his career (107 games, 315 at bats). He almost duplicated his playing time from the 1965 A’s, starting 71 games in left and 6 in right as the team’s #3 outfielder.

He was one-and-done in Oakland though. The Angels acquired him in May 1970 and he played parts of the next 2 seasons with California.

After 1 season with the Brewers (1972), he played for their triple-A team from 1973-77 before retiring.

Reynolds was a coach for the Athletics and Cardinals from 1989-96.

Moe Drabowsky (#125)

Here is relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, fresh off his success in the 1966 World Series.

Drabowsky was signed by the the Cubs in 1956 as a bonus baby, and spent his first 4 seasons on the Cubs’ roster as a starting pitcher.

Although only appearing in 9 games in his first season, he pitched in 36, 22, and 31 games over the next 3 seasons, so he wasn’t the typical bonus baby who sat on the bench for his minimum required time and then went to the minors for some needed “seasoning”. Moe was 13-15 for the Cubs in 1957, and led the staff in starts, innings pitched, ERA, and strikeouts.

In 1958 his record slipped to 9-11, but he still led the starting pitchers in wins with that paltry number. The following season his record slipped even further to 5-10.

Drabowsky pitched most of the 1960 season out of the Cubs’ bullpen, but also found himself down with the Cubs’ AAA team in Houston for much of July.

The following pre-season he was traded to the Braves for shortstop Andre Rogers. Moe manned the Braves’ bullpen until mid-June 1961, when he was demoted to AAA for the 2nd consecutive season.

After the season, the Reds picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. After several months as a Reds’ starter in 1962 he was purchased by the Kansas City Athletics, and flipped back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen for the next 2+ seasons. He also spent part of the ’63 back in triple-A.

After making 5 starts at the beginning of the ’65 season, Moe was relegated to the bullpen until mid-June, then was sent to the minors for the remainder of the season. After the season he was purchased by the Cardinals, but a few weeks later was picked by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft (his 2nd Rule 5 move).

Drabowsky (by this time strictly a reliever) pitched for the O’s for the next 3 seasons, and was the game 1 hero in the 1966 World Series.


Taking over for starter Dave McNally, Moe pitched a no-hitter over the last 6 2/3 innings while striking out 11 and picking up the win. The Orioles went on to sweep the Dodgers with shutouts in games 2, 3, and 4. He also led the team in saves in 1967, and compiled an ERA of 1.60 in ’67 and 1.91 in ‘68.

After the ’68 season, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft (as was his O’s teammate Wally Bunker). While Bunker led the upstart Royals in wins (12) and innings pitched, Drabowsky led in saves (11) and also won 11 games. Moe began the 1970 season with the Royals, but returned to the Orioles via trade in June.

His 2nd stop in Baltimore was a short one, as he moved on to the Cardinals after the season. He pitched a season and a half for St. Louis, then was released in early August 1972. A week later the White Sox picked him up but released him in October, ending his 17-year career.

Drabowsky passed away in 2006 at age 70.

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: Orlando McFarlane

First, a commercial:

Last week, I signed up on the Zistle.com site, after reading about it on The Phillies Room blog. So far, I've got all my baseball cards from 1952-80, and all my football cards (1964-79) entered. Check it out using the link at the top of my sidebar.

Now, where was I..., oh yeah, Orlando McFarlane.


This is the final card for backup catcher Orlando McFarlane (#496), one of four players named Orlando in the 1967 set. McFarlane was signed by the Pirates in 1958, and toiled in their system though 1963 (although getting an 8-game cup of coffee in 1962). In 1960, he played at 3rd base more than as a catcher, and also saw action at shortstop.

In 1964 he spent the entire season with the Pirates, but only played in 37 games. The following season, he was back in the minors all year, but split his time between the Pirates' and Senators' farm teams.



After the 1965 season, he was selected by the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft. Orlando spent the entire 1966 season in Detroit as Bill Freehan's backup. Just before the 1967 season started, he was traded to the Angels, as we see on the back of this late-series card. (This trade happened so last-minute that Topps only included 1 Tigers' catcher (Freehan) in the 1967 set, while having 4 Angels' catchers!) He was ticketed as the 3rd-string catcher behind Bob Rodgers and Tom Satriano, but he must have been injured in mid-season, because he only played 12 games for the Angels (none after June 3rd) and no games in the minors.

In 1968 McFarlane spent most of the season with the Angels' triple-A team in Seattle, but did play 18 games for the Angels. That would be his last major-league action, as not even the creation of 4 expansion teams could keep him in the majors. During 1969 and 1970, he played for the Angels' and Mets' triple-A teams.

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).

Final Card: Jim King

Here is the final card for Jim King (#509). After playing the past 6 seasons for the Senators, Jim spent his last year (1967) playing for three teams. He's one of 5 players to play for more than 2 teams in 1967 (along with Jim Landis, John Buzhardt, Jack Lamabe, and Ken Harrelson).

Jim began playing minor-league ball in 1950 with the independent Vernon (TX) Dusters in the class-D Longhorn League. Prior to the 1951 season, he was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals and spent the next 4 seasons with their minor-league teams. After the 1954 season, the Cubs selected him in the rule 5 draft.

He made his major-league debut in April 1955, and was the Cubs' regular right fielder that season. The following year, he was the backup in left and right field.



The next few years seem like wasted seasons for King. In April 1957 he was traded back to the Cardinals, but spent most of the year in triple-A. In 1958 he was traded twice: in April he went to the Giants and divided his time between San Francisco and their triple-A team in Phoenix, then in July he was traded to the independent Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 1960 (while still playing for Toronto) he became the property of the Cleveland Indians. After the season the expansion Washington Senators drafted him from the Indians.

In his first 2 seasons with the Senators, he shared right field with Gene Woodling and also subbed in left field. In 1963 and 1964, Jim was Washington's everyday right fielder. In 1965 and 1966 his playing time decreased, as he began sharing right field again, with Willie Kirkland in 1965 and Fred Valentine in 1966.

King began the 1967 season as the regular right fielder, but soon lost out to the newly-acquired Cap Peterson. On June 15th he was traded to the White Sox for outfielder Ed Stroud. Six weeks later he was traded to the Indians for outfielder Rocky Colavito. The White Sox and Indians used him mainly for pinch-hitting duties.

Jim was released by the Indians after the season, ending his 11-year career.

Final Card: Jim Owens

Since 1967 high-number cards weren't sold in my area, I had never heard of Jim Owens until well into the 1980s, when I finally got this card.

Jim Owens (#582) began pro ball in 1951 at age 17 in the Phillies' farm system, starting with Bradford (PA) in the class-D Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York league. The next year, he pitched for the Miami (Oklahoma) Eagles in the class-D Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri league. In 1953, he pitched for the Terre Haute Phillies in the class-B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa league (also referred to as the Three-I, or sometimes Three-Eye league). One benefit from researching these players while blogging is discovering all the outposts that had minor-league baseball back in the 1950s. This is the first card I remember having "Terre Haute" listed!



After 3 more seasons at triple-A, Owens made the Phillies to stay, but missed the 1957 season for military service. (It seems odd that Owens would be in military service in 1957. For all the other players that I've encountered who have missed time in the 1950s, it's always been in the 1951-1954 Korean War period.)

After his military service, Owens only appeared in 1 game in 1958 for the Phillies, and in no minor-league games, so I'm going to assume that his military service extended into 1958.

In 1959, Jim was the #2 starter behind Robin Roberts, and posted a 12-12 record. In 1960, Owens ranked #4 in games started by Phillies' pitchers, and dropped to #5 in 1961. In 1962 he was a spot starter, pitching only 69 innings.

Owens was traded to the Reds following the 1962 season for second baseman Cookie Rojas. He played only one season with Cincinnati, splitting time with their triple-A team, and was a rule 5 draft pick by the Astros following the 1963 season.

Jim played the 1964-1967 seasons with the Astros, primarily as a reliever. He appeared in 48, 50, 40, and 10 games during those 4 years. His last appearance was on June 20th, and was released on July 14, 1967, ending his 12-year career.