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. 

 

Chuck Dobson (#438)

Here's another last look at a Kansas City Athletics' player. I really like these A’s cards – it's sad to see the mess Topps created in the 1968 set after the team moved to Oakland.

This looks like a Spring Training shot, with palm trees behind the fence. His rookie card in 1966 (below) shows him in the same location.

Chuck Dobson was signed by the Athletics late in 1964. After one game in the Florida Instructional League that year and splitting the 1965 season between A and AA ball, he debuted with the Athletics at the start of the 1966 season. His first major-league appearance was to start Kansas City's final home opener on April 19th, where he collected his first career win.

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Dobson was one of several youngsters who made up the Athletics' starting rotation for the next few years. He teamed with Catfish Hunter, Blue Moon Odom, and (for the first few seasons) Jim Nash and Lew Krausse. In the early 1970s they would be joined by Vida Blue.

Chuck won between 10 and 16 games every season from 1966 to 1971. He missed all of 1972 due to elbow surgery, and spent all of 1973 in the minors, only pitching 1 game that year for Oakland (on 9/25).

Released by the Athletics during Spring Training in 1974, he hooked on with a Mexican League team until the California Angels came calling in late-June.

Although he pitched a few games for the Angels in '74 and '75, he spent most of 1974-76 pitching for their AAA team, before retiring.

Willie Davis (#160)

After more than 5 years and 750+ posts on my various blogs, there are still about a dozen all-star caliber players I have not featured yet. Willie Davis is one of those.

This is one of my poorer-conditioned ’67 cards. I remember that many of my early-series cards that year were won in a variety of “flipping” games, so the corners are not very sharp. I have replaced many of these over the past 20 years, and Davis is certainly a candidate for an upgrade.

Willie Davis was signed by the Dodgers in 1958, and made his major-league debut in September 1960. He started 21 of the last 22 games in center field, taking over the position from Tommy Davis (no relation).

In 1961 he started 84 games in the middle, and was backed up by Tommy. (T. Davis was a 3B/LF/CF swingman during the 1961 season, having not settled in as the Dodgers’ left fielder until 1962.)

Willie was the team’s everyday center fielder from 1962 through the 1973 season. During that time, he led the NL in triples twice (’62, ’70), made 2 All-Star teams (’71, ’73), and won a Gold Glove in 1972. Aside from catcher John Roseboro, Willie was the only other Dodgers’ regular that didn’t move around the field to a variety of positions.

After the 1973 season, Davis was traded to the Expos for pitcher Mike Marshall. He was only north-of-the-border for one season, moving on to Texas after 1974 for pitcher Don Stanhouse and infielder (and current Phillies’ manager) Pete Mackanin.

Davis was flipped to the Cardinals in June 1975, and moved on to the Padres after the season. San Diego released him after the 1976 season, and Willie played in Japan for the ’77 and ’78 seasons. [Wow – before today I thought he only ever played for the Dodgers!] 

Davis hooked on with the Angels during spring training in 1979, and played in 43 games (mostly as a pinch-hitter) that season. He wrapped up his career playing in Mexico in 1980.

Davis passed away in 2010 at age 69.

Juan Pizarro (#602)

Juan Pizarro appeared in the rare 7th series in the 1967 set. I didn’t get this card until the 1980s, so for a long time my only Pizarro cards were from 1968 (looking surly, with a hole in his shirt) and 1969 (a capless, big-head shot). I'm impressed that this isn't a capless card, since '67 was his first season with the Pirates.

Pizarro played for 8 teams over 18 years (1957-74). He was primarily a starting pitcher for his first 9 years (seasons spent with the Braves and White Sox). After that he was mostly a reliever (except for his 1971 season with the Cubs).

Juan was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1956, and after a full season in Class-A ball, he split each of the next 3 seasons (57-59) between the Braves and their AAA club. He was a swing man with the Braves, pitching behind Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Joey Jay, and Bob Buhl in the rotation, and closer Don McMahon in the ‘pen. Pizarro pitched 1 inning each in the ’57 and ’58 World Series.

On Dec 15, 1960 the Braves traded Pizarro to the Reds (with pitcher Joey Jay) for SS Roy McMillan. On the same day, the Reds flipped him to the White Sox for 3rd baseman Gene Freese. Juan played for the White Sox from 1961-66, and had his best seasons in 1963 (16 wins) and 1964 (19 wins). He made the all-star team in both seasons.
Juan became a nomad after the 1966 season. Traded to the Pirates for pitcher Wilbur Wood, he lasted with the Bucs until June 1968, when he was purchased by the Red Sox.

In April 1969 he was traded to the Indians with pitcher Dick Ellsworth and 1B-OF Ken Harrelson for catcher Joe Azcue and pitchers Sonny Siebert and Vicente Romo. Later that season he moved on to the Athletics, and to the Angels in early 1970.

Pizarro landed with the Cubs in July 1970, and stayed there for exactly 36 months – the longest stint in the 2nd half of his career. He returned to a starter’s role with the Cubs, although he spent part of 1971 and the first half on 1973 in the minors.

Juan played the 2nd half of the ’73 season with the Astros, then was released the following spring. He played in the Mexican League in 1974, until the Pirates signed him in late August.

Released after the season, he returned to the Mexican League for the ’75 and ’76 seasons before retiring.

Vic Davalillo (#69)

Vic Davalillo (currently age 78) is one of the 2 oldest living players from 1966 to 1970 that I have not yet featured on one of my blogs. He played for the Indians and five other teams in his 16-year career from 1963 to 1980.

Vic was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1958. After 4 seasons in their minor-league organization (mostly as a pitcher), he was purchased by the Cleveland Indians and converted to an outfielder.

After playing in the minors in 1962, Vic made his major-league debut with the Tribe in April 1963, starting every game in center field through June 12th. By that time he was hitting .304 and was a front-runner for AL Rookie of the year, but was hit by a pitch and suffered a broken wrist. He didn’t return to the lineup until mid-August, and finished his rookie season with a .292 batting average.

Davalillo was the Indians’ starting center fielder for the next two seasons, then shared the position with Chuck Hinton in ’66 and ’67. Back then, I didn't give Davalillo a second thought (probably because he was on the Cleveland Indians, and not named Sam McDowell), but he was 3rd in AL batting in 1965:

When the Indians acquired Jose Cardenal from the Angels prior to the 1968 season, Vic moved to right field, starting 43 games there until his mid-June trade to the Angels for outfielder Jimmie Hall. Davalillo started 66 games for the Angels, mostly in July and August. By September he was relegated to the bench.

In May 1969, Vic moved on to the Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Jim Hicks. With Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Vada Pinson manning the Redbirds’ outfield, there was little for Davalillo to do. Even the famous departure of Flood after the ’69 season didn’t help him, as the Cards acquired Jose Cardenal, who had taken away Vic’s playing time in Cleveland 2 years earlier. Davalillo rode the bench for his 1 ½ seasons in St. Louis, made 2 appearances as a relief pitcher, but also began his 2nd career as a go-to pinch-hitter.

In January 1971 he and pitcher Nelson Briles were traded to the Pirates for outfielder Matty Alou and pitcher George Brunet. He also played for the Athletics from August 1973 until his release in May 1974. Vic had played in the ’71 World Series with the Pirates, and also in ’73 with the A’s.

He then played ball in Mexico for the rest of 1974 and also in 1975-77. Normally, Mexico or Japan signals the end of the line for someone’s career, but that was not the case for Davalillo.

The Dodgers signed him in August 1977, and was a key pinch-hitter for them for the next 3+ seasons. The Dodgers were well-stocked with pinch-hitters during this time: Davalillo from the left side and Manny Mota (.313 with the Dodgers) from the right side. Vic hit .297 in 158 at-bats for the Dodgers (almost all as a pinch-hitter). Vic hit .333 in both the ’77 and ’78 World Series.

He was released after the 1979 season, and played part of 1980 back in Mexico before the Dodgers re-signed him in July 1980. After his final release following the 1980 season, he once again played in Mexico for the 1981 season.

Vic's older brother Yo-Yo Davalillo played briefly for the Senators in 1953, and for the Reds' AAA team in Havana from 1955-60.

Jim Ray Hart (#220)

Jim Ray Hart played 3B/LF for the Giants from 1963 to 1973, and was their #3 power source behind Willie McCovey and Willie Mays during his best seasons (1964-68).

Hart was signed by the Giants in 1960, and played in their farm system from 1960 to 1963. He was primarily a 3rd baseman, but played only shortstop and outfield in 1961. In 1963, Hart was called up to the Giants twice: he started both games of a doubleheader on July 7th, and also started 5 consecutive games in mid-July.

Jim made the Giants’ squad at the start of the 1964 season. He took over the starting 3rd base job from veteran Jim Davenport, who had been the team’s regular 3rd-sacker from 1958 to 1963. As a rookie, Hart started 145 games at third, banged 31 homers, and collected 81 RBI along with posting a .286 batting average. That was good enough to finish a distant 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting (garnering 1 vote to Dick Allen’s 18 votes).

From 1964 to 1966, Hart remained the regular 3rd baseman, starting 145, 141, and 137 games over that 3-year span. Although his home runs dipped to 23 in 1965, he bounced back with 33 the following season. Jim also made his only all-star roster in 1966.

In 1967, his defensive short-comings came to a head. Although Hart began and ended the season at the hot corner, during July and August he was moved out to left field (forcing Jesus Alou to co-exist in right field with Ollie Brown) while the Giants worked out the veteran Davenport and rookie Bobby Etheridge at 3rd base. The defensive shuffling didn’t affect his bat, as he finished with more than 90 RBI for the 3rd consecutive season, while clubbing 29 homers.

His career began to wane in 1968. Jim split his time between his 2 positions that season, then only started 71 of his 95 games in 1969 – surprising since the Giants had lost outfielders Alou and Brown in the expansion draft.

Hart continued to lose playing time over the next several seasons, and spent the first half of the 1970 and 1971 seasons, and most of 1972 in the minors. He began 1973 with the Giants, but after 1 game was sold to the Yankees. Now in the AL, Hart was able to DH (which he did for 104 games). The Yankees assigned him to the minors in 1974, then released him in early June.

Jim played in Mexico for the remainder of 1974, and all of ’75 and ’76.

Byron Browne (#439)

Byron Browne was the 3rd outfielder on the Topps 1966 All-Rookie Team.

Browne was signed by the Pirates in September 1962. After one season (1963) in their farm system, he was selected by the Cubs in the first-year player draft. Byron played the next two seasons in the Cubs’ minor-league system, and clubbed 32, 23, and 24 home runs during his 3 seasons in the minors.

Browne made his major-league debut in September 1965, and then spent the entire 1966 season with the Cubs. He was the team’s primary left fielder as a rookie, making 66 starts there, double the number of starts by George Altman. On the downside, Browne led the NL with 143 strikeouts.

Byron played most of the next three seasons in the minors. In 1967, he only played 10 games with the Cubs, while spending most of the season in double-A. In May 1968 he was traded to the Astros, but only played 10 games for the Astros that season. The Cardinals acquired his contract in February 1969, but kept him in the minors for all but 22 games.

Browne’s big return to the majors came via a trade to the Phillies after the 1969 season (a/k/a the Curt Flood for Dick Allen trade). Browne spent all of ’70 and ’71, and part of 1972 with the Phillies. He was the Phils’ 4th outfielder in 1970, but saw his playing time steadily decrease over the next 2 seasons, until he was demoted to the minors during 1972.

Byron split the 1973 season with the Cardinals’ AAA Tulsa team, then played in Mexico for all of 1974 and part of 1975. He also returned to the Phillies’ AAA team for part of 1975.

George Scott (#75)

After 4 seasons in the minors, George "Boomer" Scott made his major-league debut on April 12, 1966. Thrown right into the fire, he played every game during his rookie season. After starting 3 of the first 4 games at 3rd base, he moved across the diamond and started all but two of the remaining games at 1st base.

Boomer (he was "Boomer" long before that blowhard on a national sports network was "Boomer") finished the season with a .245 average, 27 homers and 97 RBI, while leading the AL with 152 strikeouts, and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting.

He had similar playing time in 1967, but his average jumped to .303, while his homers (19) and RBI (82) were down. He also cut his strikeout total to 119, and won his first of 8 gold gloves. Scott was 6 for 26 in the World Series that year.

George played 6 seasons with the Sox, and was primarily their 3rd baseman during the '69 and '70 seasons (the only 2 years from 1967-76 that he didn't win a gold glove).

He was traded to the Brewers after the 1971 season (with pitchers Jim Lonborg and Ken Brett, catcher Don Pavletich, and outfielders Billy Conigliaro and Joe Lahoud) for pitchers Lew Krausse and Marty Pattin, outfielder Tommy Harper, and ex-Phillies farmhand Pat Skrable. (Wow, that deal seems so lopsided!)

George played 5 seasons as the Brewers' 1st sacker, then returned to the Red Sox (along with outfielder Bernie Carbo) for 1st baseman Cecil Cooper. After 2 1/2 seasons back at his old 1st base post in Fenway Park, Scott was traded to the Royals in June 1979.

After 2 months in Kaycee, and 1 month with the Yankees, George's major-league career was over. He played in the Mexican League from 1980-1984.

Final Card: Ruben Gomez

Ruben Gomez (#427) was a starting pitcher for the New Your Giants during the 1950s, and later had 2 tours of duty with the Phillies. Gomez had a Topps card every year from 1954 to 1961, then not again until this final card in 1967. Somehow, he got this late-series card on the strength of being on the Phillies roster for a few weeks in April.

After playing for several seasons in Canada, Gomez was signed by the (old) Washington Senators in 1950 and assigned to their Havana, Cuba minor-league team. In mid-1951, he was returned to his previous team.

After the 1951 season, he was drafted from his Canadian team (this time by the Yankees) and assigned to their Kansas City farm team. In mid-1952 he was released.

Finally the yo-yo stopped. Gomez was signed by the New York Giants in January 1953 and spent 6 seasons as one of their starting pitchers. In 1954 he won 17 games.



After the 1958 season, San Francisco traded him to the Phillies for pitcher Jack Sanford. After Gomez left the Phillies, his career crashed and burned. What happened? Maybe he was injured, or maybe it was just being on a bad team.

Ruben spent all of 1959 with the Phillies but only pitched in 20 games (half in relief). He spent most of 1960 and all of 1961 in the minors.

In 1962 he was traded to the Indians, and then to the Twins. When Minnesota released him before the 1963 season, he was quickly re-signed by the Indians, but spent the entire season in the minors.

Before the 1964 season, the Indians shipped him to the Mexican League, where he played for the next 4 seasons, except for a brief stint with the Phillies in April 1967.

Ruben Amaro (#358)

Ruben Amaro primarily played for the Phillies from 1960 to 1965, where he and Bobby Wine shared the shortstop position. (Amaro also played some 1B, while Wine played some 3B.)

After the 1965 season, he was traded to the Yankees for utility infielder Phil Linz. The back of Amaro's card says that the Yankees acquired Amaro to replace the retired Tony Kubek at shortstop. If all it took to acquire Amaro was a utility infielder, I'm wondering how good he really was at that point. In any case, that plan was delayed by a year due to an injury to Amaro. Clete Boyer and Horace Clarke shared the shortstop duties in 1966.



After 3 seasons in New York, he was sold to the Angels, where he played primarily as a pinch-hitter before being released at the end of the 1969 season.

Amaro was re-signed by the Phillies and played in their minor-league system in 1970 and 1971, before becoming a coach for the Phillies.

Today, he's probably basking in his son Ruben Jr's recent success. After taking over as the Phillies GM after the 2008 season, Amaro Jr fleeced the Indians for pitcher Cliff Lee, and has the Phillies back in the World Series.