Larry Jaster (#356)

Larry Jaster pitched for the Cardinals from 1965 to 1968, before finishing up his career with the Expos and Braves.

He was signed by St. Louis in 1962 and pitched for 4 seasons in the Cards' farm system, then made his major-league debut in September 1965. (The back of this card says "the young lefthander’s debut in the majors last season…", so Topps was off by 1 year.)

After struggling early-on in 1966, he spent most of May and June back in the minors before returning in late-June. Larry started his last 15 games, and ended up with a nice 11-5 record, led the league with 5 shutouts (all against the NL champion Dodgers), and finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting. The team’s rotation was led by Bob Gibson, then the other three (all with similar production) were Jaster, Al Jackson, and Ray Washburn. Jaster's edge was his age – 6 to 8 years younger than the other 2 guys.

Jaster looked to be a fixture in the rotation for years to come, but Steve Carlton (who made 9 starts in the last 2 months of 1966) and Dick Hughes (the 29-year-old rookie who seemingly came out of nowhere) soon passed him. Larry only started 23 of his 34 games (and was probably helped by the fact that Gibson missed 6 weeks with a broken leg) and by Labor Day (with Gibson's return) he was out of the rotation altogether.

With Jackson traded and Hughes in the bullpen, Larry was the #5 starter in 1968.  That didn’t save him from the expansion draft, where he was selected by the Expos. He had a dismal 1-6 record for an obviously bad expansion team, and was traded to the Braves in the off-season for pitcher Jim Britton.

Jaster began the 1970 season with Atlanta, but by late-June was sent down to AAA, where he played for the rest of 1970 and all of 1971-74 - his only further big-league time was 5 games with the Braves in September 1972.

After his playing career he was a minor-league pitching coach for the Braves and Orioles.

 ---

There were 490 single-player cards in the 1967 set. With Jaster's post, I have now featured all but 11 of those players on one of my blogs. The players from the 1967 set yet to be blogged are:

Sandy Alomar - 2B, Mets
Bob Barton - C, Giants
Jim Beauchamp - OF, Braves
Rob Gardner - P, Mets
Jim Gosger - OF, Athletics
Orlando Martinez - INF, Braves
Aurelio Monteagudo - P, Reds
Chico Salmon - INF, Indians
Carroll Sembera - P, Astros
Jim Stewart - INF-OF, Cubs
Chris Zachary - P, Astros

2015 Post-Season - Cardinals vs. Cubs

Here are the top stars from the 1967 World Champion Cardinals. The Cards clinched the NL pennant on September 12th that season, an amazing feat considering that Bob Gibson missed most of July and all of August with a broken leg.

The Cubs bested the Pirates in the Wild-Card game, and advance to the NLDS. I already posted their top players from 1967 but here is another batch, including stars Ken Holtzman and Randy Hundley.

Red Schoendienst (#512)

Continuing the theme from the last post, today we have 91-year-old Albert “Red” Schoendienst, a baseball lifer, first as a player for several teams from 1942 to 1963, then as a manager and coach for the Cardinals since his retirement as a player.

Red was signed by the Cardinals in 1942, and was a shortstop in their farm system from 1942-44. He made the Cardinals at the start of 1945, and was the team’s regular left fielder during his rookie season. He also led the league with 26 stolen bases that year.

From 1946 to 1956 Red was the Cardinals’ 2nd baseman. He was also their lead-off hitter for his first 4 seasons, before dropping to the #2 slot for the duration of his Cardinals’ tenure. He led the NL with 43 doubles in 1950, and made the all-star team every season from 1946-55 (except for 1947). He also played in the 1946 World Series.

Red began the 1956 as the 2nd baseman, then was traded to the New York Giants in mid-June for shortstop Al Dark (who we just looked at in the last post). Seven other players were involved in the deal, including outfielder Jackie Brandt going to the Giants.

A year and a day later, Red moved on to the Milwaukee Braves in exchange for 3 players, including Bobby Thomson, slugger of 1951’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. He manned the 2nd base post for the Braves in ’57 and ’58, and the team played the Yankees in the World Series both years, winning it in 1957. Schoendienst hit .278 and .300 in those two post-seasons.

Red missed almost the entire 1959 season with tuberculosis. He returned at the start of 1960, and started most games through July 1st. The Cardinals started Chuck Cottier in the 2nd game of the doubleheader that day, and stuck with him for the rest of the season, relegating Schoendienst to the bench for the rest of the season. He was released in October.

The Cardinals picked him up during spring training in 1961, and used him as coach and part-time player for the next 3 seasons. His final game as a player was in July 1963.

After the Cardinals’ 1964 World Series victory, manager Johnny Keane resigned to manage the Yankees, and Schoendienst was elevated to manager. The team went to the World Series in ’67 and ’68, winning in 1967. Red continued to manage the Cards through the 1976 season, then coached for the Athletics from 1977-78.

Red returned to the Cardinals in 1979, as a coach and later a special advisor to the GM. He also managed the team for a few dozen games at the end of the 1980 and 1990 seasons.

Schoendienst was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989 by the Veterans Committee. Soon afterwards, the Cardinals retired his #2 uniform.

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.

Cards Clubbers (#63)

Here's another of the 13 multi-player cards in the 1967 set. I think this was one of the last cards I got in 1967, as before the year was out, I completed the first 6 series (a/k/a low numbers), except for the Cardinals Team card.

I began collecting baseball cards in May 1967, and by that time the 3rd series was probably in the stores, so I had to trade with friends and otherwise scramble to complete the first 2 series.


Lou Brock and Curt Flood were 2/3 of the Cardinals' outfield during the mid-to-late 1960s. In 1967, they would be joined by Roger Maris, as the Cardinals made 2 consecutive World Series appearances (winning in 1967).

Curt Flood was the Cardinals' regular center fielder from 1958-1969, and won a Gold Glove every season from 1963-69. He was also the team's leadoff batter from 8/31/61 to 6/6/65, when Lou Brock took over the top slot in the order.

Lou Brock came to the Cardinals in June 1964, and played through the 1979 season. He was the teams' starting left fielder during that entire time, except for the first 23 games of the 1966 season, when he moved to right field as the Cards tried out the newly-acquired Alex Johnson in left.

From 1966 to 1974, Lou led the NL in stolen bases every season except 1970. He stole a career-high 118 bases in 1974. He also led the NL in runs scored in '66 and '71.

Both Brock and Flood finished with a .293 career batting average.

The 1967 Cardinals

July 2013 edit: Added team card at top, to appear in the sidebar thumbnails (like all the later team reviews)

I liked how my Phillies' post from early last week turned out, so I'm going to post some other teams in this format too. Today it's time for the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals clinched the NL pennant in mid-September, in spite of Bob Gibson missing 7 weeks with a broken leg.


Starting pitchers: Back in the day (and for all these years), I thought the Cardinals' rotation in 1967 was Gibson-Briles-Carlton-Washburn. Well, that's about what it was by the end of the season, but it started out as Gibson-Washburn-Jaster-Jackson, with Steve Carlton as the 5th starter. In early May, it was adjusted to Gibson-Washburn-Carlton-Hughes-Jackson, and in June, Larry Jaster had replaced Al Jackson as the 5th starter.

It appears that Ray Washburn missed 4 starts while on the DL in June/July, and Jim Cosman was called up take Washburn's starts.

In the July 15th game against the Pirates, a line drive off the bat of Roberto Clemente broke Bob Gibson's leg, and he didn't return until September 7th, missing 10 starts. The following day, Washburn returned to action, and the Cardinals also acquired relief pitcher Jack Lamabe from the Mets.

Nelson Briles was also moved from the bullpen (where he had been since the start of the season - making 35 appearances) to the starting rotation, replacing Gibson. When Gibson returned in September, Jaster was bumped from the rotation. So we end up with Gibson-Briles-Carlton-Hughes-Washburn.


Relievers: Southpaw Joe Hoerner was the team's closer, and along with Ron Willis and Hal Woodeshick, were strictly relievers. Al Jackson spent all of June to September in the bullpen, and Larry Jaster pitched in relief during most of May and September. Jack Lamabe was acquired from the Mets the day after Gibson's injury, and appeared in 23 games - all but 1 in relief.


Regulars: Except for Curt Flood missing 20 consecutive games in July, this starting 8 pretty much went wire-to-wire. I wonder if Mike Shannon was in the National Guard, because he missed several blocks of games in April, May, and August. (Shannon had been the team's right fielder prior to 1967, but switched to 3rd base upon the arrival of Roger Maris.) Tim McCarver and Roger Maris also got frequent days off, but Orlando Cepeda, Dal Maxvill, and Lou Brock all played over 150 games.


Primary subs: Phil Gagliano was the primary backup at 2B and 3B. It appears that Ed Spiezio was used mainly for pinch-hitting, and rarely entered a game as a defensive replacement. His few starts at 3B came mostly when Shannon was either out of the lineup or playing outfield in Flood's absence.

Bob Tolan was primarily used as the backup CF/1B, and for pinch-hitting, but played corner outfield occasionally. Alex Johnson was Maris' backup in right field, and was used as a pinch-hitter as well. He rarely played left or center field.


Other subs: Johnny Romano was the backup catcher early on, but even though he was on the team all season, he rarely played after the first week in June.

Dave Ricketts appears to have been with the team the entire season, but went 22 days without an appearance in late July, so maybe he was "DL-ed" to make room for an extra pitcher. He was strictly used as a pinch-hitter until late June, when he began getting time behind the plate.

Ed Bressoud was acquired from the Mets just before the start of the season, and was the backup shortstop, while getting the occasional start.

This late-series card shows Ted Savage as a Cub, but he began 1967 with the Cardinals, then was sold to the Cubs on May 14th. Before that, he had made 9 pinch-hitting appearances, but did not play in the field.

After examining the Cardinals' roster day-by-day, there doesn't appear to be any way to fit these 26 players (everyone above except Cosman and Lamabe) on the roster at the same time, but the records in Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.com imply that all 26 were active prior to Savage's exit.


Others: Mike Torrez pitched in a few games in September. (2B Steve Huntz and SS Jimy Williams also played a game or 2 in September.) It seems like "Al" Schoendienst has managed/coached/mascotted the Cardinals since time began! Brock and Flood were top-notch outfielders. Pat Corrales did not play for the team in 1967. (Who needs a 4th catcher?)


Team and rookie cards: (Ignore Jim Shellenback.) Also check out the 1968 Cardinals Team card, which includes 1967 stats.


Post-season:
The Cardinals finished the season with 26 postseason-eligible players (all but the demoted Jim Cosman and the traded Ted Savage). Who was the odd man out? It's hard to say, because 10 pitchers and only 13 position players saw action in the World Series. Al Jackson, Alex Johnson, and Johnny Romano did not play in the series, but 2 of them must have been on the roster. We can probably assume Johnson was on the team as the 5th outfielder, but did the Cardinals go with 11 pitchers, or 3 catchers? I'm guessing 11 pitchers, based on Romano having only played 2 games after July 23rd.


Do you have a favorite team you'd like me to post next? I know there are Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, and Orioles fans out there. I'll take requests, otherwise I think the Red Sox (as AL champs) will be next.
.

Cardinals Rookies: Jim Cosman / Dick Hughes

This is the only rookies card (#384) for the Cardinals in 1967.

Jim Cosman played in the minor leagues from 1963 to 1971 for 4 organizations (primarily the Cardinals, but also the Mets, Reds, and Cubs). His only major-league action was 1 game in '66, 10 games in '67 (all for St. Louis), and 1 game in 1970 with the Cubs.



Dick Hughes was a little more successful. He was signed by the Cardinals in 1958, and spent 9 seasons in the minors (mostly with Cardinals' teams) before making his major-league debut in September 1966 at age 28.

Although he only played in the major leagues for 3 seasons, he was a key member of the Cardinals' pitching staff in both 1967 and 1968, as they went to the World Series in both years. In 1967, Dick was a starter for most of the season, while in 1968 he pitched mainly in relief. His last major-league game was in game 6 of the World Series.

In 1969, he played 15 games for the Cardinals' class-A team in St. Petersburg, FL, and then his career was over. (It seems like this may have been an unsuccessful rehab assignment.)

Final Card: Johnny Romano

Johnny Romano (#196) was a catcher in the 1960s, mostly for the White Sox and Indians.

Romano was signed by the White Sox in 1954, and played in their minor-league system for 5 years. His major-league debut came in September 1958, when he played 4 games for the White Sox.

In 1959, Johnny started 34 games, as the backup to Sherm Lollar. After the season, he was traded to the Indians with first baseman Norm Cash for catcher Dick Brown, outfielder Minnie Minoso, and 2 other players.

In 1960, Romano started 88 games behind the plate, more than 3 times as many starts as any of the other 3 catchers used that season. In '61 and '62, he had a better grip on the starter's job, starting 140 and 128 games during those seasons.

Romano and Joe Azcue (acquired from Kansas City early in 1963) shared the starting job for the 1963 and 1964 seasons. At the close of the 1964 season, Johnny went back to the White Sox as part of a 3-team, 8-player deal:

Rocky Colavito - Athletics to Indians
Cam Carreon - White Sox to Indians

Tommie Agee - Indians to White Sox
Tommy John - Indians to White Sox
Johnny Romano - Indians to White Sox

Mike Hershberger - White Sox to Athletics
Jim Landis - White Sox to Athletics
Fred Talbot - White Sox to Athletics

Romano was the undisputed starting catcher for the Sox during 1965 and 1966. After the season, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Don Dennis and outfield prospect Walt "No-Neck" Williams. Although he stuck around all season, Johnny only played in 24 games during his 10th and final season.

Well, that wraps up the 1967 cards for veterans with 10 or more years who retired in the late 1960s. (I still have another week to go on the 1968 blog.) You can see the entire list here.

Final Card: Hal Woodeshick

In his final six years, Hal Woodeshick (#324) went from expansion-team draftee (twice) to pitching in the World Series.

Woodeshick was signed by the Phillies prior to the 1950 season, and played one year of minor-league ball for them. After the season, he was traded to an unaffiliated minor-league team. A year later he was acquired by the New York Giants organization.

After 1 year with a Giants' farm team, the 1953 and 1954 seasons are unaccounted for in his Baseball-Reference.com record. Was he injured? Was he in the military? Usually, Baseball-Reference.com will document military service, but not missing seasons due to injury. Woodeshick's Wikipedia page says he was in the military. In any case, he returned to the Giants' farm system in 1955.



After the 1955 season, Hal was drafted by the Tigers, and spent most of 1956 and all of 1957 in the Tigers' farm system. He appeared in 2 games for Detroit in September 1956. Hal was acquired by the Indians in 1958, and divided his time between the majors and triple-A.

In May 1959, Woodeshick was traded to the (old) Washington Senators, and finally got some decent playing time. He appeared in 31 games in 1959 and 41 games in 1960.

Following the 1960 season, the Senators moved to Minnesota, but unfortunately for Hal, he did not, as the expansion Senators selected him off the Twins' roster. His punishment would be short-lived, as he was traded to the Tigers in June for infielder Chuck Cottier.

Just as Woodeshick was counting his blessings for having escaped from an expansion team, the upstart Houston Colt .45s purchased him from the Tigers after the 1961 season!

With Houston, Hal was the #4 starter behind Turk Farrell, Ken Johnson, and Bob Bruce, starting 26 of his 31 games in 1962. In 1963, he compiled an 11-9 record with 10 saves as Houston's closer. In 1964 he appeared in 61 games and picked up 23 saves.

1965 was a different story altogether. After appearing in 27 games (32 innings), he was traded to the Cardinals on June 15th for pitchers Mike Cuellar and Ron Taylor. (This seems like a win-win. The Astros get Mike Cuellar, and Woodeshick not only escapes Houston, he goes to one of the top NL teams.)

Woodeshick took over the closer's role with the Cardinals, appearing in 51 games while collecting 15 saves in the 2nd half of 1965. The following season, the emergence of Joe Hoerner and Nelson Briles pushed Woodeshick down 2 slots in the bullpen.

With the addition of Ron Willis and Jack Lamabe, Woodeshick only pitched 36 innings in 1967, with his final appearance coming on September 4th. He pitched 1 inning in game 6 of the World Series.

Lou Brock (#285)

My labels in the sidebar tell me that I've not been paying enough attention to the Athletics, Cardinals, Giants, or Senators. This is particularly troublesome with the Cardinals, since they were world champs in 1967, so...

Lou Brock was one of many stars on the 1967 Cardinals team. Bob Gibson was the league's dominant pitcher. Orlando Cepeda crashed numerous homeruns. Brock, besides batting leadoff and stealing a gazillion bases, was voted a starter in the all-star game, pushing Willie Mays to the all-star bench after 14 straight all-star starts from 1957 to 1966!

Brock started in the Cubs system in 1961, and was traded to the Cardinals in June 1964 in a 3-for-3 deal which included pitcher Ernie Broglio going to the Cubs.



The back of this card mentions that "Out in right field, Lou is a pitcher's best friend." Although Brock played right field during his time with the Cubs, he was almost exclusively a leftfielder during his years with the Cardinals. His only significant time in right field for the Cardinals was starting the first 23 games there in 1966.

The card backs never include stolen bases, so since that was Brock's forte, let's check this out. From 1966 to 1974, Brock led the league in stolen bases 8 of the 9 seasons.

Lou retired after the 1979 season (at age 40), still an every day player right up to the end of his career.

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)