Ron Perranoski (#197)

Here is relief pitcher Ron Perranoski, shown on his last card as an LA Dodger. After the 1967 season, he was traded to the Twins with catcher John Roseboro and pitcher Bob Miller for pitcher Mudcat Grant and shortstop Zoilo Versalles. 

(This deal looks like a steal for the Twins. Versalles was the 1965 AL MVP, but was a bust in his one season with the Dodgers. After 1968, he was lost (read: unloaded) to the expansion Padres. Even the Padres didn’t keep him – he was flipped to the Indians for a career minor-leaguer before the ’69 season. Grant only pitched one season for the Dodgers, while the 3 new Twins each had several productive seasons in Minnesota.) 


After pitching for Michigan State University (where one of his teammates was Dick Radatz), Ron was signed by the Cubs in 1958. He spent 2 seasons as a starting pitcher in their farm system, then was traded to the Dodgers in April 1960 for infielder Don Zimmer.

After a season on the Dodgers’ farm, Perranoski made his major-league debut in April 1961. During his 7 seasons in LA, he led the league in appearances 3 times (’62, ’63, ’67). In 1963, his 16-3 record gave him a league-leading .842 winning percentage. He also had a career-low 1.63 ERA that season.

Ron led the Dodgers in saves every season from 1962 to 1965, and again in 1967. He also pitched in the World Series in ’63, ’65, and ’66.


After his trade to Minnesota, Perranoski continued to perform well. Pitching behind veteran Al Worthington in 1968, he then became the Twins’ closer in ’69 and ’70, leading the team in saves both years. Ron also pitched in the ALCS in 1969 and 1970.

On July 30th, 1971 he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers, and pitched the rest of that season and the 1st half of 1972 in Detroit, before getting his release exactly one year later.

A week later (August 7th) the Dodgers picked him up for the remainder of the 1972 season. Perranoski finished his career by pitching for the Angels in 1973. He was released in October 1973, although he hadn't pitched since mid-June.

Perranoski pitched in 737 games over his 13-year career, all in relief except for 1 game during his rookie season. 

After his playing career, he was the Dodgers’ minor-league pitching instructor from 1973-80, and their major-league pitching coach from 1981-94. Since then, he has held various positions for the rival Giants.

Norm Cash (#540)

Norm Cash was the Tigers’ slugging 1st baseman for 15 years from 1960 to 1974. In 1961, he led the AL in hits and batting average.

Cash was signed by the White Sox in 1955, and played 2 seasons for their class D Waterloo (Iowa) White Hawks in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (also known as the III, Three-I, or Three-Eye League).

Norm missed the 1957 season while in military service, then split the 1958 season between the White Sox and their AAA team in Indianapolis.

After a full season with the Sox in 1959, Cash was traded to the Indians (with 3B-OF Bubba Phillips and catcher Johnny Romano) for outfielder Minnie Minoso, catcher Dick Brown, and pitchers Don Ferrarese and Jake Striker.

Norm had no time to get settled, as Cleveland flipped him to the Tigers a week before the 1960 opener for 3rd baseman Steve Demeter, who would spend 19 years in the minors while only playing 15 games in the majors. WHAT A STEAL FOR THE TIGERS!

While Demeter’s major-league career was over on May 6, 1960, Cash went on to play 15 seasons as the Tigers’ starting 1st baseman. His 193 hits and .361 batting average led the AL in 1961. He also threw in 41 homers and 132 RBI that season.

Cash hit 30 or more homers in ’61, ’62, ’65, ’66, and ’71, and was an all-star in ’61, ’66, ’70, and ’71. He also hit .385 with 5 RBI in the 1968 World Series, and hit .267 vs. Oakland in the 1972 ALCS.

Midway through his final 1974 season, he split the 1st base duties with long-time Tigers’ catcher Bill Freehan.

Cash never wore a batting helmet during his career, having been grandfathered-in after helmets became mandatory in 1971.

After retirement, he played a few seasons of professional softball, and later broadcast Tigers’ games.

Cash drowned in northern Lake Michigan on October 12, 1986 at age 51, after slipping off a dock on Beaver Island and hitting his head.

Tony Oliva (#50)

Tony Oliva was a hitting machine who played for 17 seasons – all with the Minnesota Twins.

He was signed by the Twins in 1961, and played 3 seasons in the minors, where he batted .410, .350, and .304. After cups of coffee with the Twins in ’62 and ’63, Tony made the team in 1964, and became the Twins’ regular right fielder for the next 8 seasons (starting 140 or more games every season from 1964-70).

In his rookie season, he led the AL with a .323 batting average. He also led in runs (109), hits (217), doubles (43), and total bases (374). He also hit 32 home runs (his career best). Tony was named AL Rookie of the Year, and finished 4th in the MVP voting. He made his first of 8 consecutive all-star appearances.

Olivia followed up his rookie season by leading the AL in batting in 1965, this time with a .321 average, while also collecting the most hits (185). He finished 2nd to teammate Zoilo Versalles in the MVP voting. Although he only hit .192 (5-for-26) in the ‘65 World Series vs. the Dodgers, he hit a home run in game 4 off Don Drysdale.

Tony hit .307 in 1966, but finished 2nd to triple-crown winner Frank Robinson. Oliva picked up his only Gold Glove award in ‘66. Oliva hit .289 in both 1967 and 1968, but had a league-best 34 doubles in ’67.

The next 2 seasons he was back over .300, hitting .309 and .325, while leading the AL in hits and doubles in both ’69 and ’70. Tony hit .385 in the 1969 ALCS, and .500 in the 1970 ALCS.

In 1971 Oliva was limited to 126 games, but lead the league in batting a 3rd time with a career-high .337 average. He also led the AL with a .546 slugging percentage.

Knee injuries hampered Tony for the remainder of his career. He missed all but 10 games of the 1972 season, and when he returned, it was strictly as a designated hitter. He was the team’s full-time DH from 1973-75, and a part-time player in his final season (1976).

I was surprised to see that his career batting average was only .304 (the effect of his last few seasons under .300).

Oliva was a hitting coach for the Twins in the late 1980s.

Angels in the Outfield: Eight is Enough

Unlike today, back in the 1960s Topps made cards for about 24 to 26 players per team, plus 1 to 3 rookie stars cards per team. For the Angels, the breakdown by position is a little strange.

There were EIGHT outfielders with cards in the 1967 set. (The Angels also had eight outfielders in the 1968 set, and seven in the 1966 set.) Along with 8 outfielders, Topps featured FOUR Angels' catchers in the '67 set. This left room for only 4 infielders.
 

Here they are in order of 1967 games played in the outfield:
Rick Reichardt (138), Jimmie Hall (120), Jose Cardenal (101), Jay Johnstone (63), Bubba Morton (61), Len Gabrielson (1, then traded to the Dodgers in May), Ed Kirkpatrick (1), Jim Piersall (1, then retired in early May).

The Angels also acquired Roger Repoz from the Athletics, who played 63 games in the outfield.

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.

Jim "Catfish" Hunter (#369)

Here is my first card for Jim “Catfish” Hunter. It’s a nice spring training shot, much better than the rather plain photo from 1966, or the ridiculous capless head shots in the ’68 and ’69 sets.

Catfish was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964, and became the last "bonus baby".  (The bonus baby rule became moot with the advent of the amateur draft.) They immediately sent him to the Mayo Clinic to correct a foot injury due to a hunting accident a year earlier.

Hunter never played in the minor leagues, and made his major-league debut at age 19 in early May 1965. Catfish joined the starting rotation permanently 2 months later, and finished his rookie season with a record of 8-8.

In 1966 the Athletics’ starting rotation was rebuilt, with Hunter now joined by Lew Krausse, Blue Moon Odom, Jim Nash, and Chuck Dobson, all in their early 20s. Hunter made more starts (25) than any other A’s pitcher.

The rotation stayed the same in 1967, although Odom and Krausse both alternated between the rotation and the bullpen. Hunter became the team’s ace, leading the staff in wins (13), starts (35), innings (259), and strikeouts (196).

1968 was the Athletics’ first season in Oakland, and Hunter marked the occasion by twirling a perfect game on May 8th against the Minnesota Twins. [Earlier this year, my daughter got me this book about the 20 perfect games pitched in MLB history. So far, I have read the chapters on Jim Bunning and Jim Hunter. I learned from the book that A’s outfielder Joe Rudi (who had played 19 games in 1967) was just recalled from the minors, and was playing his first game of the 1968 season that day. He made a critical defensive play to preserve Hunter’s perfecto.]

Hunter and his rotation mates chugged along for the next few seasons, although Nash and Krausse were traded away after the 1969 season.

In 1971, Catfish was eclipsed by rookie Vida Blue, who won 24 games while striking out 301, on his way to winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards. Hunter did his part, winning 21 games (a feat he would repeat in ’72 and ’73), as the A’s made it to the ALCS, only to be swept by the Orioles.

Hunter continued pitching for the A’s through the 1974 season. The team won the World Series for 3 consecutive seasons (1972-74), and Catfish led the AL in wins (25) and ERA (2.49) in 1974, and won the Cy Young award.

Catfish was granted free agency after the 1974 season, due to owner Charlie Finley botching a provision in Hunter’s contract. He was approached by all the other teams (except the Giants), and signed a 5-year contract with the Yankees for over 3 million dollars – the largest contract at the time.

In his first season with New York, he again led the AL in wins (23), and also in complete games (30), while finishing 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. After going 17-15 in 1976, Hunter’s workload and performance dropped off over the next 3 seasons due to arm injuries. He was also diagnosed with diabetes early in 1978.

He retired after the 1979 season, at age 33. After his playing career, he returned to his farm in North Carolina, hunting and raising various crops. He was also a spokesman for diabetes awareness.

In early 1998, he was diagnosed with ALS, and died at age 53 on September 9, 1999, a month after falling at home and hitting his head on concrete steps.

***

My brother (who I’ve referred to several times on this blog) was diagnosed with ALS early in 2012. He continues to battle this disease, and his mobility and speech have been severely impaired. I will be visiting him tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.