Final Card: Jose Vidal

I've got 7 more cards to post before I can wrap up the "Final Cards" for the 1969 set (something I did way back in 2012 for the 1966, 1967, and 1968 sets), so let's get to it.

 

 

Jose Vidal (#322) had a very short major-league career: a few dozen games for the Indians from 1966-68, and 18 games for the Seattle Pilots in 1969. 

 

Vidal was signed by the Giants in 1958 (I learned something new today) and after one minor-league season was dealt to the Pirates. He spent 5 seasons in Class B, C, and D ball before advancing to Class A in 1963. Primarily an outfielder, Jose also played some 3rd base in '59 and '63. 

 

The Indians purchased his contract in September 1963, and moved him up to double-A the following season. He saw his most extensive playing time in 1965 and 1966, playing over 100 games each season for the Tribe’s AAA team in Portland. 

 

Although he hit well in the minors (40/162/.340 in 1963), he led his league’s outfielders in errors 3 times. 

 

He made his major-league debut with 17 games in September 1966. Initially used as a pinch-hitter, he also started 10 of the final 12 games, mostly in right field. 

 

Jose split his time in '67 and '68 between the Indians and Portland. Although only playing 16 and 37 games for Cleveland in those seasons, he must have been with the team for much of the time because after 100+ games in AAA for the previous 2 seasons, he only played 69 and 44 games in the minors. 

 

In early-September 1968, the expansion Pilots purchased his contract from the Indians. (This was a month before the expansion draft.) Vidal played only 18 games for the Pilots in 1969 (all in the first 4 weeks of the season), mostly as a pinch-hitter. On May 19th he was traded to the Yankees for outfielder Dick Simpson, but spent the rest of the year with the Yankees' AAA team in Syracuse. 

 

Jose played all of 1970 with Syracuse, and part of 1971 with the Tigers' AAA team in Toledo. He finished out that season in Japan, then played over 100 games per season in Mexico from 1972-75. 

 

Vidal passed away in 2011 at age 70. 

 

Final Card: Ron Willis

Ron Willis was a relief pitcher for the Cardinals and others for 5 (essentially 4) seasons from 1966-70. Willis was signed by St. Louis in 1961, and was an outfielder/3rd baseman for their class-D team that season, playing 65 games but also making 3 appearances on the mound, totaling 5 innings. 

In 1962 he converted to full-time pitching, and worked his way up the organizational ladder as a starting pitcher until converting to relief in 1966. He made his major-league debut in September 1966. 

 

Ron made the Cardinals at the start of 1967, and was a key member of the bullpen for the next 2 seasons, pitching in 65 and 48 games as the Cardinals marched to the NL pennant in those seasons. He appeared in 3 games in each of the 2 World Series. 

In 1969 he fell out of favor, as rookies Mike Torrez and Chuck Taylor, as well as the newly-acquired Dave Giusti and Mudcat Grant received more playing time than Willis. He also spent some time in triple-A, and by early-August was sold to the Astros. 

He only pitched 2 innings for the ‘Stros in the final 2 months, and was returned to the Cardinals in November. 

Ron began the 1970 season with the Cards’ double-A team, then was purchased by the Padres in mid-June. He pitched 56 innings over 42 games in the second half, his last appearance coming on September 29th. 

That was it for his pro career – not even minor-league ball after 1970. I wonder if he was injured in 1971’s spring training. After two (‘67, ‘68) and a half (‘70) good seasons, it seems odd that he would retire at age 26. 

Willis passed away in 1977 at age 34.

 

Ron Reed (#177)

This is Ron Reed’s first solo card. He appeared on a Braves Rookies card in the 1968 set.

Reed had a 19-year career (1966-84), mostly for the Braves and Phillies. He was a starting pitcher until his trade to the Phillies before the 1976 season.

Reed was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1965, and was also drafted by the NBA’s Detroit Pistons in 1965. He played basketball for 2 seasons while in the minors, then made his major-league debut with the Braves in September 1966. He pitched in 2 games that month, and 3 more in September 1967.

Ron made the All-Star team in his rookie season (1968). That’s a little surprising because his record by the end of June was just 8-4, he was the 3rd-best pitcher on the Braves’ staff, and the Braves were already represented by Hank Aaron and Felipe Alou. Digging deeper, I found that he struck out 10 batters in a game on 6/25, so maybe that sealed his All-Star berth.

Reed was the Braves’ #2 starter (behind Phil Niekro) for most of the next 4 or 5 seasons.

In May 1975 he was traded to the Cardinals for pitchers Ray Sadecki and Elias Sosa. After the season he was traded to the Phillies for under-performing spare outfielder Mike Anderson. What a steal for the Phillies!

Ron was the Phillies’ setup man in the bullpen (behind Tug McGraw) for the next 7 seasons. In 1979 he won 13 games, his first double-figure win season since his days as a starter.

As McGraw’s career began to fade in 1982, Reed was the top man in the bullpen, collecting 14 saves in 57 appearances. The following season he returned to the setup role when the Phillies acquired Al Holland.

Reed pitched in 21 post-season games for the Phillies between 1976 and 1983.

In the 83-84 off-season he was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Jerry Koosman, Reed pitched 1 season with Chicago, and was released the following spring.

Frank Johnson (#227)

Frank Johnson had a very short career (1966-71, all with the Giants). The record shows 6 seasons, but in three of them he only played 15, 8, and 7 games. Most of his major-league playing time came in 1968 and 1970.

He's one of several Giants' prospects (along with Bobby Etheridge and Bob Schroeder) who couldn’t  wrest a job away from the likes of Ken Henderson, Hal Lanier, Tito Fuentes, or an aging Jim Davenport.

Johnson joined the Giants' organization in 1961, and played in their farm system from 1961-67, at 3rd base and the outfield. He had a few games with the Giants during September call-ups in '66 and '67.

 The cartoon says he played for the Cubs!

Frank was with the Giants for all of 1968. He played 67 games, often as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner, but also started 30 games at 3rd base (mostly in May and June). He only hit .190 (with 7 RBI) that season, so guess where he was the next year?

Sunny Phoenix! After 7 games with the Giants during the 1st month of 1969, Johnson played 1B, 3B, and OF for the Giants' AAA team for the rest of the year. Not even a token September game with the big club.

Frank got a 2nd chance with the Giants in 1970, playing 67 games (again!). He made 24 starts in left field, backing up Henderson. This time he hit .273 with 31 RBI – much better than in 1968.

Johnson played 32 games during the first half of 1971, then was sent down to the minors for the rest of the season. Some guy named Dave Kingman took his place, and you know the rest.

Frank played in Japan in 1972, then back with the Giants' and Padres' AAA teams from 1973-75.

Bob Watson (#562)

This is Bob Watson’s rookie card. It’s his only card that includes “catcher” as a position. (The back tells us he is transitioning from a catcher to an outfielder.)

Watson was signed by the Astros in 1965, and played 2 seasons (1965-66) in class-A ball as a catcher/outfielder. In 1967 and 1968, he played first base and outfield for the Astros’ AA and AAA teams. It’s surprising to see now that his card describes him as a C-OF, since he did no catching in either 1967 or 1968. 

Watson played 1 game with the Astros in 1966 and 6 games in 1967, but didn’t get significant playing time with the Astros until playing 45 games from mid-May to the end of July 1968, mostly as the starting left fielder.

Then it was back to AA and AAA ball for the rest of 1968 and most of 1969, where he was primarily a catcher. He did get into a few games in April 1969, and again during a September call-up.

Bob made the team at the outset of the 1970 season, but didn’t get regular playing time until mid-June, when he took the regular 1st base job away from Joe Pepitone. Watson started about 2/3 of the remaining games at 1st base, with rookie John Mayberry starting the rest.

Watson was a regular for all of 1971, except for missing a few weeks in July. He started half the games in left field, and a few dozen more at 1st base.

With the acquisition of Lee May from the Reds, Watson was strictly the left fielder from 1972-74. After May's departure, Bob moved back to 1st base permanently beginning in 1975.

During his time with the Astros, Bob made two All-Star teams ('73, '75) and hit a career-high 22 home runs in 1977.

Watson's last start for the Astros was on May 25, 1979. A few weeks later he was traded to the Red Sox for 2 minor-league pitchers. He played the remainder of that season with Boston, and after being granted free agency at season's end, signed with the Yankees.

Bob played 2 seasons (1980-81) as the Yankees' 1st baseman, including a combined 17 games in the post-season. In April 1982 he was traded to the Braves for a minor-leaguer, and played his final 3 seasons as a backup 1st baseman for Atlanta.

After retiring, he was a hitting coach, and then the GM for the Astros and Yankees from 1993-97. He then worked in the commissioner’s office until 2010.

Final Card: Dooley Womack

Here is Horace Guy “Dooley” Womack – the oldest living player from 1966-70 that I have yet to feature on my blogs. We last saw Dooley here, sharing a rookie card with Bobby Murcer in 1966.

Womack's late-season card (#594) is one of the first Astros' cards to show the cap logo since the 1967 set.

Dooley was signed by the Yankees in 1958, and played a looooong time in the minors (8 years) before making his major-league debut in April 1966.

He started 1 game during his rookie season, but his other 192 games over a 5-year career were all in relief. 1967 was his best season, leading the Yankees with 18 saves (in 65 games).

In 1968 Dooley was back where he was in ’66 – just another Joe in the bullpen. After the 1968 season, Womack was traded to the Astros for backup outfielder Dick Simpson.

In late-August 1969, he was traded to the Seattle Pilots for ex-Yankees teammate Jim Bouton.  He was returned to the Astros after the 1969 season, but by December was traded to the Reds for outfielder Jim Beauchamp.

Womack played most of 1970 for the Reds’ AAA team, then was acquired by the Athletics in mid-August. He only appeared in 2 games over the final 6 weeks. That was the end of his short, 5-year career.

Womack played for Oakland’s triple-A team in 1971 before retiring due to a rotator cuff injury.

Final Card: Lee Elia

It’s been awhile since I’ve featured a player’s final card on this blog, and there are about 20 more to go. (The “Final Card” series has long been finished on my 1966, 1967, and 1968 blogs.) 

Lee Elia (#312) had a brief and uneventful playing career in Chicago (1966 with the Sox, and 1968 with the Cubs).

Elia was signed by his hometown Phillies in 1958, and played 6 seasons (1959-64) in their farm system (the last 3 years at the AAA level). After the 1964 season he and outfielder Danny Cater were traded to the White Sox for veteran pitcher Ray Herbert.

Lee spent another season in the minors, then made his major-league debut in late-April 1966 with the White Sox. Although playing some games in the minors that season, he was with Chicago for most of the year, and made 64 starts at shortstop, including 48 consecutive starts from 5/28 to 7/9. (Ron Hansen began the season starting the first 23 games at short, then didn’t play again for the rest of the season because of a back injury. The team filled in with Al Weis, then Elia, and then for the final 3 months, mostly Jerry Adair with a few starts by Elia.)

With Hansen back in the saddle in 1967, Elia was back in the minors for the entire season, playing shortstop first for Indianapolis, then following his purchase by the Cubs, for Tacoma.

Lee’s 2nd and final season in the majors was a non-factor, as he played in 15 games scattered throughout the 1968 season, mostly as a pinch-hitter. He also played in triple-A that year.

He played only 20 games in the minors in 1969 for the Cubs and Yankees, then didn’t play again until 16 games in 1973 for the Phillies’ AAA team. That would be his final season as a player.

After his playing career Elia managed in the Phillies’ organization for a few seasons, then was the Phillies’ bench coach from 1980-81. He followed Dallas Green to Chicago after the 1981 season and managed the Cubs in 1982 and 1983. Returning to the Phillies as a coach for 1985-87, he also managed the team in ’87 and ’88. He subsequently held various coaching and scouting jobs with the Phillies and others.

Don Bosch (#578)

This is the first Expos player on this blog, so I wanted it to be a late-series card with the player in their new uniform, not an capless photo from their previous team. That he is a little-known player is a bonus.

This is the second of Don’s 3 baseball cards. His rookie card was in the 1968 set, where he had his own card as a New York Met. He also appeared as an Expo in the 1970 set.

Don Bosch was signed by the Pirates in 1960, and played 7 season in their farm system. He made his big-league debut for the Pirates with 3 games in September 1966. After the season, he and pitcher Don Cardwell were traded to the Mets for pitcher Dennis Ribant and C-OF Gary Kolb.

Bosch was with the Mets for 2 seasons, and was their backup center fielder, behind Cleon Jones in ’67 and Tommie Agee in ’68. He also spent a significant part of both seasons in the minors.

The Expos purchased Don from the Mets 2 days after the expansion draft in October 1968. 1969 was the only season that Bosch did not spend time in the minors, although he didn’t play after July 9th. It was also his last season in the majors. He was #3 on the center field depth chart behind Adolfo Phillips and Ty Cline. In addition to making 21 starts in center, Don also pinch-hit in another 2 dozen games.

Bosch began the 1970 season with Montreal’s AAA team, then was traded to the Astros in late June for future Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall. Don played the remainder of the season with Houston’s AAA team, then retired after the season. He finished with a .164 career batting average over 146 games.

Nolan Ryan (#533)

Look how young Nolan Ryan is on this card! This is back when he had 139 career strikeouts.

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John Morris (#111)

Here is the first Seattle Pilots' card to be featured on this blog. John Morris was one of several pitchers who came up through the Phillies' farm system in the mid-1960s, but only got a cup of coffee there before being shipped elsewhere. (Guys like Morris, Joe Verbanic, and Fergie Jenkins - you know, pitchers of that ilk!)

Morris was signed by the Phillies back in 1960, and was a starting pitcher in their farm system for 5 seasons (missing the '63 season with injuries). In 1966 he was converted to a reliever, and made his major-league debut in July that season.

John appeared in 13 games (for 13 innings) during the second half of the season, then it was back to triple-A San Diego for the entire 1967 season. On 12/15/67, Morris was sent to the Orioles as the player to be named later for pitcher Dick Hall, who was acquired by the Phillies one year to the day earlier.

John languished in triple-A for the 1968 season, then was taken by the Pilots as the 52nd pick in the expansion draft. He pitched in 6 games for Seattle in April, but still was evidently not ready for prime time, and spent most of the season at double-A Indianapolis. Morris spent the entire 1970 and 1971 seasons with the (by now) Milwaukee Brewers, and was one of the team's top 3 relief pitchers in '71.

After the '71 season, John was traded to the Giants for 2 minor-leaguers. He spent the next 3 seasons up and down (mostly down) with the Giants and their AAA team in Phoenix. The Giants released him in March 1975, ending his career.

Morris also had cards in 1971 (Brewers) and 1975 (Giants).