Tom Tresh (#289)

Tom Tresh was one of the Yankees' regular outfielders in the mid-1960s (along with CF Mickey Mantle and RF Roger Maris). Like Mickey Mantle before him, and Bobby Murcer after him, Tresh was a shortstop in the minor leagues, but primarily played the outfield in the majors. Later in his career (mid-1968), Tresh switched to shortstop.


He was called up to the Yankees in September 1961, and was the American League rookie of the year in 1962, while mainly filling in at shortstop for Tony Kubek (who missed much of the season due to military obligations).

In 1963, he began in his usual leftfield position, but took over centerfield from June 7th until September 2nd, while Mantle was out. He then returned to left field, and stayed there until switching over to shortstop in June 1968. (Tresh did play 3B for about 2 months in mid-1966, when the Yankees moved 3B Clete Boyer to shortstop.)


In June 1969, he was traded to the defending world champion Tigers, and was their shortstop for the remainder of the season. Tresh was released just prior to the 1970 season.

Chris Short's first card

This is Chris Short's rookie card (#395). Yes, in 1967, this veteran of 8 years, 87 wins, and 988 strikeouts finally got a Topps baseball card! I don't know the story behind it, I just assume that he never signed a contract with Topps. (The same was true for Maury Wills. 1967 was his first Topps card, although Wills appeared on a Fleer baseball card in the early 1960s.)

Back in 1967, this was my favorite Phillies card. I'm not sure why - maybe the bright red windbreaker worn under his shirt, maybe the cool swagger he had.



I thought it was odd that Short threw left, but batted right (the rarest of the throws/bats combinations).

Short was the Phillies' left-handed ace during the 1960s. His best seasons were '64, '65, '66, and '68. He only pitched 10 innings in 1969 due to a back injury, and was never the same after that. By 1971 he was used more and more as a reliever, and in his final season with the Phillies (1972), he appeared only in relief. Chris wrapped up his career in 1973 with the Brewers.

Short suffered an aneurysm in 1988, lapsing into a coma until passing away on August 1, 1991 at age 53.

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.

Final Card: Dick Groat

For the next several days, my 3 card blogs will take on a Phillies and Yankees flavor, as we gear up for the World Series.


Dick Groat is best remembered as the Pirates shortstop of the 1950s and early 1960s (including appearing in the 1960 World Series). He never played minor-league baseball, as the Pirates signed him right out of Duke University in June 1952, and immediately put him on the roster.

(Groat was a star basketball player at Duke. In 1952, he played for the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons.)

After the 1962 season, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Don Cardwell and infielder Julio Gotay. After 3 seasons with the Cardinals (including another World Series championship in 1964), he was traded to the Phillies along with 1B Bill White and C Bob Uecker for P Art Mahaffey, OF Alex Johnson, and C Pat Corrales.



This is Groat's final card. He spent the early part of 1967 on the Phillies' disabled list, and in late June was sold to the Giants, where he finished out the season.

Groat accumulated over 2100 hits in 18 seasons. Good thing he could hit, because his career fielding percentage was only .961, including 5 seasons of 30 or more errors.

Final Card: Smoky Burgess

When I first got this card (#506) way back in 1967, I thought "This guy looks too old and fat to play baseball!" Well, photos can be deceiving, because he's (only!) 40, and after checking his stats today, I see that he didn't really catch too often after 1964 (26 innings in 1965, 5 innings in 1966, none in 1967). He was a clutch pinch-hitter in 1965 and 1966, (but not so good in 1967, which probably explains why that was his last season).



Smoky started pro baseball in the Cubs farm system in 1944. He made several stops (including the PCL Los Angeles Angels) before making the Cubs team in 1949. In October 1951 he was traded to the Reds, and within 2 months was traded to the Phillies for (among others) catcher Andy Seminick. In early 1955 the Phillies traded him back to the Reds for (among others) Andy Seminick!

Before the 1959 season he was traded (along with 3B Don Hoak) to the Pirates for Andy Seminick OF Frank Thomas and others. Burgess played for the Pirates in the 1960 World Series.

The White Sox claimed him from the Pirates in September 1964. As I mentioned at the top, the White Sox used him almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, not as a catcher. He was released after the 1966 season, re-signed before the 1967 season, and released again after the season.

Smoky is one of only 3 players with 1967 cards to have his MLB debut in the 1940s (along with Curt Simmons and Joe Nuxhall, although Nuxhall retired prior to the 1967 season).

He finished with a .295 batting average in 18 seasons. Not a bad career!

Final Card: Jack Sanford

Jack Sanford (#549) played minor league baseball from 1948-1954. After military service in 1955-56, he joined the Phillies in September 1956. The following year, he compiled a 19-8 record, led the league with 188 strikeouts, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Only 2 Phillies have won that award since (Dick Allen in 1964, and Ryan Howard in 2005).

After one more season with the Phillies, he was traded to the Giants, where he spent the next 6 1/2 years as a top starter. In 1962, Sanford won 24 games to lead the Giants to the World Series.

In August of 1965, he was sold to the Angels, where he remained until mid-1967. On June 15th, he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics for outfielder Roger Repoz. His last game was on August 6th, and he was released on August 15th, ending his career.