Final Card: Carroll Sembera

Carroll Sembera pitched for the Astros and Expos from 1965 to 1970. This is his final Topps card (#351). 

Sembera was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1961, and played 4 seasons (1962-65) in their farm system before making his major-league debut with 2 games in September 1965. He was mostly a starting pitcher for those 4 seasons.

 

He split the 1966 season between the Astros and their AAA club in Oklahoma City, but was only used in relief by both teams. 

 

Carroll was with the Astros for all of 1967, making 45 relief appearances (2nd on the team behind Dan Schneider). 

 

In 1968 the Astros completely revamped their bullpen, replacing 1967 members Schneider, Barry Latman, Sembera, Dave Eilers, and Larry Sherry with John Buzhardt, Danny Coombs, and rookies Jim Ray, Tom Dukes, and Steve Shea. As such, Sembera toiled in triple-A all season, starting about two-thirds of his games. 

 

After the season he was selected by the Expos in the Rule 5 draft (not the expansion draft). He began the season with Montreal, but by early-June was demoted to the minors, where he remained until his September recall. 

 

In 1970, once again he started the year with the Expos, but after his first outing his ERA was 81.00. He pitched in 4 more games, but this time didn’t make it to May. 

 

After 2 games with triple-A Winnipeg, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Bill Dillman. The Cards kept him in triple-A for the rest of 1970 and all of 1971, before trading him to the Reds. 

 

He finished his career with the Reds’ AAA team in 1972. 

 

Carroll was a scout for the Mariners for eleven years after his playing career. 

 

Sembera passed away in 2005 at age 63.