Final Card: Bruce Look

This is the first and last card for Bruce Look (#317). 

 

Look was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1964. After that season, the Dodgers selected him in the first-year minor-league draft. 

 

After the 1967 season the Twins selected him in the Rule 5 draft. As such, he was required to stay on the Twins’ roster for all of 1968.

Look got a 59-game look (see what I did?) by the Twins in ’68. Earl Battey had just retired, and Jerry Zimmerman (who started 81 games in 1967) was now 33 years old and limited to just 24 games (18 starts) in his final 1968 season. 

 

Who picked up the slack? John Roseboro was acquired from the Dodgers, starting 105 games in his first of 2 seasons with Minnesota. So that left Bruce as the #2 catcher for 1968. Of his 59 games, he only caught in 41 games, with most of his 29 starts coming in May and June.

 

He was one-and-done though, as Roseboro again started the majority of games in 1969 (making the All-Star team) while rookie George Mitterwald served as the backup. 

 

Bruce played 1969-71 back in triple-A – 2 seasons for the Twins, then splitting 1971 between the Yankees’ and the Brewers’ organizations. 

 

Look was traded to the Orioles after the '71 season, but chose to retire.

 

His brother Dean played briefly for the 1961 White Sox, then became an NFL official (calling the TD on Dwight Clark's "The Catch").

Final Card: Jon Warden

Jon Warden (#632) only pitched 1 season in the major leagues – for the World Champion Tigers in 1968. 

 

Warden was signed by the Tigers in 1966, and pitched in their farm system for 2 seasons, mostly as a starter. 

 

 

Jon made the Tigers’ squad at the start of the 1968 season, and was converted to a reliever. Until veterans Don McMahon and John Wyatt were acquired in mid-season, the Tigers’ bullpen was mostly rookies and 2nd-year men. 

 

Warden appeared in 28 games for Detroit, posting a 4-1 record. He was with the Tigers for the entire season, save for National Guard assignments. 

 

He only pitched once after August, as the team was battling for the AL title.  With so many relievers (including the veterans), management tried to hide him from the Kansas City and Seattle scouts, fearing he would be lost in the upcoming draft. The Tigers won the World Series, but their stashing of Warden backfired, as he was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft. 

 

An injury during spring training 1969 set him back, and he played all of 1969-70 for the Royals’ AAA team. 

 

Warden moved on to the Brewers' and Cardinals’ organizations in 1971, but never made it back to the majors. Retiring after the 1971 season, he attempted a comeback with the White Sox in 1974 but did not make the team. 

 

Since his playing career he has been a high school teacher and baseball coach, and a frequent attendee at the Tigers’ fantasy baseball camp. 

 

Warden's SABR page

 

Tom Burgmeier (#558)

Tom Burgmeier was one of the good, young pitchers selected by the Royals in the expansion draft prior to the 1969 season. I thought he began his career in the Angels' organization, but I learned today that he was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in the Fall of 1961.

After 2 ½ season on the Colts' farm he was released in June 1964, but picked up by the Angels the following month.

Tom made his major-league debut with the Angels in 1968. He did not have any baseball cards as an Angel, because Topps missed the boat on many of their young pitchers from 1966-68. A custom card can be found in this blog post. This late-series 1969 card, featuring the new Royals’ uniform is his rookie card.

Burgmeier pitched in 745 games over his 17-year career, all but 3 in relief. He was a key member of the Royals' bullpen from 1969-72, fashioning a 24-16 record in 190 games over those 4 seasons, with 27 saves. 17 of those saves were in 1971, and he led the 1972 team with 9 saves.

It all came crashing down in 1973. He pitched 6 games in the first month of the season, but spent the remainder of the year in the minors.

After the season he was traded to the Twins for a minor-leaguer. Tom pitched for the Twins from 1974-77, and led the team with 11 saves in 1975.

Granted free agency, he signed with the Red Sox in 1978, and spent the next 5 seasons in Boston. In 1980 he led the team with 24 saves, and was named to his only All-Star team.

He played his final 2 seasons (1983-84) with the Athletics. In 17 seasons, his teams never made it to the playoffs.

Joe Keough (#603)

This is Joe Keough’s rookie card. (I was sure he had a card in the 1968 set, but was unable to find one.) Joe is the younger brother of Marty Keough, who played for the Red Sox, Reds and others from 1956-1966.

Joe was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the 2nd round of the 1965 draft, right after they selected Rick Monday at #1 (and ahead of Sal Bando and Gene Tenace).   He played for their class A team in 1966 and 1967, then split the 1968 season between Oakland and their AA team.

Look at me – correcting Topps’ mistake with Keough’s bats/throws info back in 1969. 

Keough was drafted by the Royals with the 8th pick in the 1968 expansion draft.

Joe started 12 of the first 14 games in right field in the Royals’ first season, but soon found himself on the bench, and by late-May was back in the minors. He returned to the Royals in mid-July, but was mostly a spare outfielder.

In 1970 he was the 4th outfielder, backing up Lou Piniella and Pat Kelly at the corner spots. He missed the second half of the season due to a broken leg.

Joe was the team’s primary right fielder in 1971, starting 87 games there and another six games in center field.

Richie Scheinblum was acquired in 1972, and took over the right field spot (while also making the All-Star team), pushing Keough all the way down to #6 outfielder.

Joe was traded to the White Sox in February 1973 for outfielder Jim Lyttle, but only appeared in 5 games (with one at-bat) for the Sox. After a full season with Chicago’s AAA team, he was sold to the Twins in October 1973, but retired before 1974.

Keough passed away in September 2019 at age 73.

Final Card: Jose Herrera

This is the only card for Expos' outfielder Jose Herrera (#378). He had a very brief career (essentially just a few dozen games in '68 and '69). If I wasn’t on a mission to feature all the "final cards" in the 1969 set I probably would have passed over him.

Herrera was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1964. After 5 seasons in the minors (he did play 5 games in 1967 and 27 games in Aug/Sept 1968 for the Astros), the Expos selected him in the expansion draft.

Jose did not make the fledgling Expos' squad at the start of the 1969 season, but did play 47 games with them over the 2nd half of the season. This included 30 starts in the outfield and some pinch-hitting appearances.

1970 was a bust for him. He got one at-bat on Opening Day, then spent the rest of the season in the minors. In mid-June he was traded to the Brewers for pitcher John O'Donoghue.

In May 1971 Milwaukee shipped him out to the Tigers (with pitcher John Gelnar) for pitcher Jim Hannan. Herrera finished out the '71 season with the Tigers' AAA Toledo Mud Hens.

He wrapped up his career playing in Mexico from 1972-75.

Although he only had one Topps card, I found this custom card today on Pinterest:

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.

Bill Melton (#481)

Bill Melton was the White Sox' 3rd baseman from 1969 to 1975. He also played for the Angels and Indians. This is his rookie card.

Melton was signed by Chicago in 1964, and played in their farm system from 1964-68. Oddly enough, he also spent part of 1968 playing for the Yankees' AAA team. (I guess the Sox had two 3rd base prospects, and wanted each of them to get regular playing time?)

Bill made his major-league debut with 17 games in May 1968 (presumably that's what the card back is referring to), and another 17 games in September.

Melton held down the hot corner from mid-September 1968 through the 1975 season, except for missing the final 3 ½ months of the 1972 season.

His peak power years were 1970 and 1971, hitting 33 home runs in both seasons. Bill also made his only All-Star team in 1971.

After the 1975 season he was traded to the Angels for 1st baseman Jim Spencer. He was a spot player for California, splitting the DH duties with Tommy Davis and occasionally playing at the infield corners.

Melton moved on to the Indians after just 1 season with the Angels. He only got 133 at-bats over 50 games with the Tribe in 1977, his last appearance coming on August 30th.

He was granted free agency after the season, but did not play again.

Dock Ellis (#286)

This is Dock Ellis’ rookie card. He pitched for 12 seasons (1968-79), the first 8 with the Pirates. After that, he bounced around to 5 different teams in his last 4 seasons, including returning to the Pirates for the last 2 weeks of his career.

While still in high school, Ellis played semi-pro baseball on a team that included future major-leaguers Bob Tolan, Reggie Smith, Bob Watson, Roy White, Don Wilson, and Dave Nelson.

Ellis was signed by the Pirates in 1964 and made his major-league debut in June 1968. He started 10 of his 26 games that year.

Dock was a fixture in the Pirates’ starting rotation from 1969 through the 1975 season. He won 19 games in 1971, and made his only All-Star team that season. He also finished 4th in the Cy Young voting.

Ellis pitched a no-hitter against the Padres in June 1970, supposedly while under the influence of LSD. (Apparently, he lost track of what day it was, and only after taking the LSD did he remember he had to pitch that day.)

He appeared in the post-season for the Pirates from 1970-72, and in 1975.

After the 1975 season he was traded to the Yankees along with pitcher Ken Brett and 2nd baseman Willie Randolph for pitcher Doc Medich. (One Doc for another!) Doc won 17 games for the Yankees in 1976, and also pitched in the ALCS and World Series.

The following April he was traded to the Athletics, and on June 15th was flipped to the Rangers. Exactly 2 years later, he was traded to the Mets, but finished that season (and his career) back with the Pirates. (He played for 3 teams in '77 and again in '79.)

Ellis was granted free agency after the 1979 season, but found no takers.

After his playing career, Ellis (who had a drug problem since high school) cleaned himself up and became a counselor to drug addicts. He also appeared in the Pittsburgh-based movie "Gung Ho" (starring Michael Keaton) in 1986.

Ellis died in 2008 at age 63.

Elrod Hendricks (#277)

Here is Orioles’ catcher Elrod Hendricks’ rookie card. Hendricks played from 1968 to 1979. Although mostly an Oriole (in 3 separate stints), he also spent some time with the Cubs and Yankees.

Hendricks was initially signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, but was released after the 1960 season. More than a year later, the Cardinals signed him, but also released him in June 1963. After a stint in the Mexican League, Ellie found his way into the Angels' organization in August 1966.

After the 1967 season, the Orioles selected him in the Rule 5 draft. As a Rule 5 pick, Hendricks was guaranteed a spot on the major-league roster, and made his big-league debut in April 1968. He started 45 games behind the dish as the #2 catcher, working with incumbent Andy Etchebarren and OF-C Curt Blefary.

With Blefary traded away in the off-season, Ellie became the #1 catcher for the next 3 seasons, starting half the games, while Etchebarren and Clay Dalrymple divvied up the rest. Hendricks played in 17 post-season games for the O's from 1969-71, including 6 in the '71 World Series.

Rookie Johnny Oates joined the team in 1972 and caught most of the games that year. In August, Hendricks was traded to the Cubs for Tommy Davis, but after the season was returned to the Orioles.

1973-74 saw Hendricks relegated to #3 catcher behind Earl Williams (acquired in the off-season for Oates) and Etchebarren.

In 1975 Rod moved up a notch to #2 catcher, starting 64 games – 2 dozen less than newly-acquired Dave Duncan.

Hendricks alternated with Duncan for the first 6 weeks of the 1976 season, but was part of a 10-player trade in June that saw pitchers Ken Holtzman, Grant Jackson, and Doyle Alexander accompany him to the Yankees in return for catcher Rick Dempsey and pitchers Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan.

After a season and a half of inactivity (the Yankees DID have someone named Munson catching!), including much of '77 in triple-A, Hendricks was granted free agency and signed with ….. the Orioles!

Hendricks only saw action in 12 games in 1978 (mostly as a pinch-hitter), and was released the following Spring.

He was the Orioles' bullpen coach for 28 years (1978-2005), and was activated for 1 at-bat in September 1979.

Hendricks passed away in 2005 at age 64. Since his death, no Oriole has worn his #44.

I think it's comical that Baseball-Reference.com lists him as a "catcher and relief pitcher". Over his 12-year career, he caught 4573 innings, played 1st base for 36 innings, and pitched only 2 innings. 

Aurelio Rodriguez (#653)

Here is the rookie card for Angels’ 3rd baseman Aurelio Rodriguez. More accurately, it is the rookie card for Angels’ batboy Leonard Garcia, as Topps committed their biggest blunder since featuring Ken Hubbs (the Cubs’ former 2nd baseman who had been deceased for 2 years) on Dick Ellsworth’s 1966 card.

Blogger/custom-card-maker John from the "Cards That Never Were" blog has done what Topps failed to correct, with not only a card picturing the original A-Rod, but also the same card below with the batboy’s name.

This Angels’ post is going to break up the string of Pirates cards on my sidebar which I recently noticed, and which was entirely coincidental. (I thought about making a Pirates post to my 1970 blog before this new 1969 post, but then it wouldn’t have been all coincidental.)

Rodriguez began his professional career in the Mexican League in 1965, and was purchased by the Angels in 1966. He made his major-league debut at age 19 with the Angels in September 1967.

In 1968, incumbent 3rd baseman Paul Schaal started 56 of the first 58 games at 3rd (1 start by Rodriguez), but was beaned on June 13th and missed the rest of the season. Aurelio started 61 of the final 104 games at the hot corner, himself missing the entire month of August.

Schaal was lost to the Royals in the expansion draft, so Rodriguez became the team’s full-time 3rd baseman until late April 1970, when he and outfielder Rick Reichart were traded to the Senators for 3rd baseman Ken McMullen.

After the 1970 season, he was flipped to the Tigers in an 8-player trade, with shortstop Ed Brinkman and pitchers Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan accompanying him to Detroit in exchange for pitchers Denny McLain and Norm McRae, 3rd baseman Don Wert, and outfielder Elliot Maddox. A-Rod was the Tigers’ regular 3rd-sacker for the next 9 seasons, winning his only Gold Glove in 1976. (Hmm… I’m somewhat surprised to learn today that he was never on an All-Star team.)

He spent the last 4 seasons of his career (1980-83) bouncing around to the Padres, Yankees, Blue Jays (never playing for Toronto), White Sox, Orioles, and back to the White Sox. He was primarily a bench player in those years, with his only significant playing time coming with the White Sox in 1982.

Rodriguez was granted free agency after the 1983 season, but there were no takers. He returned to the Mexican Leagues as a player from 1984-85, and as a manager from 1985-99.

Like the only other two major league players named Aurelio, Rodriguez was killed in a car accident. He was struck by a car while walking the streets of Detroit in 2000, at age 52.

Joe Grzenda (#121)

Here is Joe Grzenda’s rookie card. Although he played in 20 games for the Kansas City Athletics in both 1964 and 1966, and a dozen games with the Mets in ’67, Topps didn’t see fit to include him until 1969.

My first recollection of Grzenda was in 1967, when I was at a Phillies/Mets game in Philadelphia. When I looked him up in Retrosheet.org today, I saw that it was on August 15th and was his first game of the season for the Mets. Joe pitched in both ends of a doubleheader that day. (I don’t remember any details of the game – only that I thought “Hey, this guy’s missing some vowels!”)

Grzenda was signed by the Tigers in 1955, and wallowed in their farm system as a starting pitcher for 9 years until he was released in July 1963. His only big-league time with the Bengals was 4 games in early 1961, for a total of 5 innings.

Joe got an invite to the Athletics for spring training 1964, and pitched in their organization for the next 3 ½ years. He played 20 games for Kansas City that summer, and another 21 in late 1966, but spent the balance of his time with their AA and AAA teams. By now he was strictly a reliever, both in the majors and minors.

The Mets purchased his contract on 8/14/67, and the next day he pitched in both ends of a doubleheader in Philly. After the season he was sold to the Twins, but spent the entire 1968 season in the minors.

1969 to 1972 were Joe’s only full seasons in the major leagues. They were also his only years with baseball cards. He pitched in 38 games for the Twins in ’69, as the left-handed short man out of the ‘pen.

He was traded to the Senators the following spring, and pitched in over 40 games in each of his 2 seasons there, the Nats’ final 2 years in Washington. Grzenda pitched the last inning of the last-ever Senators game, on 9/30/1971. After getting 2 outs the fans stormed the field to begin collecting souvenirs, causing the game to be forfeited.

After 1971, Joe didn’t make the move to Texas with the rest of his team – he was traded to the Cardinals for infielder Ted Kubiak, and played his final season with St. Louis.

Grzenda played in the minors in ’73 and ’74 before retiring.

Del Unser (#338)

Continuing our series on the Topps' All-Rookie Team... 

Besides appearing as the center fielder on the Topps All-Rookie team, this is Del Unser's rookie card. Among its other shortcomings, the 1968 Topps set was missing some key 1968 rookies: Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, Sparky Lyle, Andy Messersmith, Joe Rudi, and Del Unser all played significant roles for their teams that season. (Jackson and Lyle had actually played quite a bit in 1967 as well.)

Unser made his major-league debut on opening day 1968, and started 154 of the Senators' 161 games in center field that season.  Del was the team's leadoff batter for 148 of those starts. His first day off did not occur until May 25th.

Despite only batting .230 and hitting just 1 home run, Unser finished 2nd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

For more on Del Unser's career, check out this post on my 1970 Topps blog.

Bobby Cox (#237)

Bobby Cox had a 2-year playing career as the Yankees’ 3rd baseman from 1968-69, then went on to much greater success as the manager for the Braves and Blue Jays from 1978 to 2010. This is his rookie card, and his only card as a player.

Cox was signed by the Dodgers in 1959. After 6 seasons as a 2B/3B in the minors, he was drafted by the Cubs in November 1964. After only 1 season in the Cubs’ system, he was traded to the Braves for outfielder Billy Cowan.

Cox was in the Braves' system for 2 seasons, then was traded to the Yankees in December 1967 for backup catcher Bob Tillman. (One year earlier, the Yankees had traded their 3rd baseman (Clete Boyer) to the Braves.)

After Mike Ferraro started the first 13 games in 1968, Cox was installed at the hot corner in Yankee Stadium, which had been a revolving door since Boyer departed. He started 129 of the remaining 151 games at 3rd base. Although showing little offensive punch for a 3rd baseman (7 homers) and batting only .229, Cox somehow retained the starting job for the entire season, and was named to the Topps All-Rookie team for 1968.

Cox was essentially a one-year wonder, as in 1969 another Bobby (Murcer) returned to the Yankees after a 2-year stint in the US Army and was handed the 3rd base job. After starting all but 1 of the first 32 games at 3rd base, Murcer was moved to the outfield on May 13th. This left Cox and rookie Jerry Kenney to platoon at the hot corner for the rest of the season, with Cox getting 55 starts to Kenney’s 74.

That was it for Cox’ playing career. After batting only .215 in 85 games, he was ticketed to the minors for all of 1970.

Bobby’s managing career began right away, as he piloted various teams in the Yankees’ farm system from 1971 to 1976. In 1978 he became the manager of the Atlanta Braves for 4 seasons, then moved on to manage the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985.

Cox returned to the Braves’ job midway through the 1990 season, and stayed on through 2010. Along the way, he won the NL pennant in ’91, ’92, ’95, ’96, and ’99, and won the World Series in 1995.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, along with fellow managers Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre.

Hector Torres (#526)

Hector Torres was named as the shortstop on Topps’ 1968 All-Rookie team. The Astros were so high on him, that they traded the 1966 Topps All-Rookie shortstop (Sonny Jackson) to the Braves after the 1967 season to make room for Torres.

Hector was signed by the Giants in 1962, and after 4 seasons playing for the Giants’ class D, A, and AA teams, he was traded to the Angels in April 1966 for outfield prospect Dave Marshall (who we will see on this blog in 3 weeks).

Torres played the next 2 seasons for the Angels’ AAA team in Seattle, then was traded to the Astros for Jim Weaver in November 1967.

With incumbent shortstop Jackson departed for Atlanta, Torres won the starting shortstop job as a rookie, and except for the first half of May and a week in June, Hector started almost every game through the end of August.

This gave the ‘Stros a new-look infield, with Rusty Staub moving in from his outfield post to play 1st base, Denis Menke (acquired from Atlanta for Jackson) playing 2nd base since Joe Morgan missed all but the first week with injuries, and rookie Dave Rader sharing the hot corner with long-time 3rd-sacker Bob Aspromonte.

Torres racked up 128 games, 466 at-bats, and 104 hits as a rookie. It was by far the high point of his career. He wouldn’t see regular action again until 1975 with the Padres. 

With the return of Morgan in 1969, long-time Braves’ shortstop Menke moved across the diamond to shortstop, relegating Torres to the bench and to triple-A for the next 2 seasons.

After the 1970 season, Hector was traded to the Cubs for shortstop prospect Roger Metzger. Although Torres managed to stay in the majors for the entire season, he was stuck behind Don Kessinger, and only started 11 games at shortstop.

In April 1972 he was traded to the Expos, then found himself back with the Astros exactly 1 year later. Torres spent the entire 1973 season backing up Metzger in Houston. Hector was traded to the White Sox after the 1973 season, but spent all of 1974 in the minors.

Just prior to the 1975 opener, he was sold to the Padres. Torres started about 1/3 of the games at shortstop for the Padres in ‘75, and had career highs in batting average (.259) and RBI (26). He backed up Enzo Hernandez again in 1976, receiving slightly less playing time than the previous season.

Hector was traded to the Indians in December 1976, who flipped him to the Blue Jays during spring training in 1977. Torres started 55 games at shortstop for the expansion Blue Jays, more than rookie Bob Bailor or the other 3 players used there.

That was Hector’s final season in the majors. He played for the Jays’ and Pirates’ AAA teams in 1978 before retiring.

Ken Boswell (#402)

Ken Boswell was one of two 2nd basemen named to the Topps All-Rookie Team in 1968. He was the Mets’ regular 2nd baseman from 1969-1972, and played his final 3 seasons with the Astros.

Boswell was signed by the Mets in 1965, and played 3 seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut in September 1967.

He began the 1968 season as the team’s starting 2nd baseman, but shared the position with veteran utilityman Phil Linz, each making 67 starts. It appears that may Ken may have been on the DL from late June until late August, because he played in no major- or minor-league games during that time.

With Linz retiring after the 1968 season, Boswell took over as the primary 2nd baseman, starting about 90 games per season there from 1969-72. (3B/2B Wayne Garrett picked up most of the remaining games.) Ken hit .333 in the 1969 ALCS vs. the Braves and also in the World Series vs. the Orioles.

After the 1972 season, the Mets acquired 2nd baseman Felix Millan from the Braves, relegating Boswell to a bench role. Ken only started 14 games in '73 and 46 in '74.

He was traded to the Astros following the 1974 season for outfielder Bob Gallagher, and spent his final 3 seasons as a backup 3B-2B behind Doug Rader (’74), Enos Cabell (’76), and Art Howe (’77).

Dave Nelson (#579)

With this post, every team has now been represented at least twice on this blog. Last October (see opening comments here), I discovered that there was a huge disparity in the representation of each team on each of my blogs (in addition to the many 1967 and 1970 Phillies’ cards). 

I set out nine months ago to balance each team on each blog. The goal of a minimum of 8 cards per team for the 1967 blog was met with the Jim Ray Hart post back in May. In the next 3 to 5 weeks, I will also meet these goals: 1966 (6 per team), 1968 (7 per team), and 1970 (1 per team).


Dave Nelson was one of two 2nd basemen named to the 1968 Topps All-Rookie team. After sharing the 2nd base job as a rookie, he spent most of 1969 on the bench, then was traded to the Senators in the off-season, where he spent 6 seasons, finally nailing down an everyday job when they moved to Texas in 1972.

Nelson was signed by the Indians in 1964. After 4 seasons in the minors, he made his major-league debut in April 1968.

The Tribe used 4 guys at 2nd base that season, with Nelson and Vern Fuller each starting about 50 games. Veteran utilityman Chico Salmon started most games for the first 2 months, then it was Fuller’s turn for awhile. Dave didn’t get extended playing time until mid-July, then started 50 of the final 72 games at 2nd base.

In 1969 the Indians acquired former MVP and all-star shortstop Zoilo Versalles, and the Z-man alternated at 2nd base with Fuller for most of the season, leaving Nelson with bench duty. Dave made 24 consecutive starts beginning on July 24th, but that was it.

After the season, Nelson and pitcher Horacio Pina were traded to the Senators for pitchers Barry Moore and Dennis Higgins. Dave spent parts of ’70 and ’71 in the minors, and was the Nats’ regular 3rd baseman for the 2nd half of 1971 and all of 1972.

In 1973, Dave switched back to 2nd base, and made his only all-star squad that year. He was the starting 2nd baseman for 1973, 1974, and the first 2 weeks of 1975, until he was replaced by Lenny Randle.

After the ’75 season, Nelson was traded to the Royals for Nelson (Briles, that is). Dave spent the next 2 years backing up Frank White at 2nd base, and retired following the 1977 season.

Following his playing career, Nelson was a coach for the White Sox (1981-84), and an instructor for the Athletics, Expos, Indians, and Brewers (1986-2006). Currently, he is a broadcaster for the Brewers.

Gary Holman (#361)

Gary Holman was the 1st baseman on the 1968 Topps All-Rookie Team. Back in the day, I considered him interchangeable with another backup short-time 1st baseman featured on a "green team".

Holman was signed by the Dodgers in 1964. After one season with LA’s class-A teams in Salisbury, NC and Santa Barbara, CA, Holman was plucked by the Senators in the first-year minor-league draft. Gary spent 2 seasons in AA followed by 1 season in single-A ball, then jumped up to triple-A in 1968.

He made his major-league debut with the Senators in late-June 1968. I wondered today why Topps anointed him the All-Rookie 1st baseman, because he only got 98 at-bats spread over 75 games, and made only 12 starts in his rookie season – 3 at 1st base and 9 in the outfield. [A quick check of Baseball-Reference.com gave me my answer – there were no other rookie 1st basemen in 1968 that played more than 8 games.]

Holman was back with the Senators to start the 1969 season, but with Mike Epstein starting 2/3 of the games at 1st base (and Frank Howard moving in from left field to start the rest) there was no room for Holman. After appearing in 41 games (mostly as a pinch-hitter) he was sent back to the minors in mid-June, never to return. His major-league career consisted of 51 calendar-weeks on the Senators’ roster.

Gary finished out the ’69 season with triple-A Buffalo, then retired after the season.

Earl Weaver (#516)

Here is long-time Orioles' skipper Earl Weaver. Weaver never played in the big leagues, but had a long career as a minor-league 2nd baseman with the Cardinals (1948-53), Pirates (1954-56), and Orioles (1957-60).

He eased into managing during his final seasons as a player (1956-59), then was a full-time manager in the Orioles' chain from 1961 to 1967.

Earl took over the reins in Baltimore midway through the 1968 season, replacing Hank Bauer. The Orioles had won the World Series in 1966, but struggled for the next 2 seasons, mostly because of injuries to their starting pitchers.

The O's returned to glory in Earl's first full season, winning the AL Pennant in 3 straight years (1969-71), and winning it all in 1970. Earl also guided the team to the 1979 pennant, but narrowly missed the 1983 World Championship, as his 1st tenure as manager ended after the 1982 season.

Weaver returned to the skipper's chair for most of 1985 and all of 1986, before retiring again. Earl was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Weaver passed away on January 19, 2013 (the same day as Stan Musial's passing) while on an Orioles' cruise in the Caribbean. He was 82.  Fellow blogger John Hogan from the "Cards That Never Were" blog marked the occasion with a custom 1968 card of Weaver.

Andy Messersmith (#296)

Here is Andy Messersmith's rookie card. He had a 12-year career as a starting pitcher for the Angels, Dodgers, and others, but may be best remembered as one of the players who finally broke through to free agency.

Messersmith was drafted by the Tigers in 1965, but did not sign. He was the Angels’ #1 pick in the 1966 draft, and played 2 ½ seasons in the minors. Andy pitched for the Angels’ AAA team in Seattle in 1966 and the first half of 1968, and with double-A El Paso in 1967.

He made his major-league debut at age 22 on July 4th, 1968. Andy entered the game with 2 outs in the 2nd inning, with the score 9-4 in favor of Detroit, and the Angels already having burned through FOUR PITCHERS before him. He pitched 5.1 innings in his debut, with the final score showing Tigers 13, Angels 10.

Messersmith didn’t join the starting rotation until September, and started his last 5 games in his rookie season. In 1969, he was a swing man in April, then permanently joined the rotation on May 9th. He finished with a 16-11 record in his first full season, but also led the AL with 16 wild pitches.

After an off-year in 1970, Andy compiled a 20-13 record in 1971, and made his first of four all-star squads (his only one as an Angel). Messersmith played one more season with the Angels, then was traded to the Dodgers (with 3rd baseman Ken McMullen) for outfielder Frank Robinson, pitcher Bill Singer, infielders Bobby Valentine and Billy Grabarkewitz, and pitcher Mike Strahler.

Andy had 3 good seasons in LA, including 20-6 in 1974 (leading the NL in wins) and 19-14 in 1975 (leading the league with 321 innings pitched and 7 shutouts). He also won Gold Glove awards and made the all-star team in ’74 and ’75.

In March 1976, he and pitcher Dave McNally were granted free agency in a landmark case which eliminated baseball’s reserve clause, one year after Catfish Hunter became the first free agent.

Andy signed with the Atlanta Braves, and after wearing #47 with the Angels and Dodgers, he was given #17 with the Braves. In place of his last name, the word “CHANNEL” appeared on his back (because Braves’ owner Ted Turner’s WTBS superstation was carried on channel 17 in Atlanta).

Messersmith had an ok season in 1976 (11-11, and an all-star berth), and an off-year in 1977 (5-4, 4.40 ERA). The Braves sold him to the Yankees in December 1977, but Andy missed all but 22 innings of the 1978 season due to injuries. Following his release, he was signed by the Dodgers but pitched only 11 games (the last on June 1st) before the Dodgers released him in August.

Messersmith’s career ERA of 2.86 is the 5th lowest since 1920, behind Hoyt Wilhelm, Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, and Jim Palmer.

After retirement, Andy coached college baseball.

Final Card: Joe Schultz

This is the first and last card for Joe Schultz (#254), manager of the 1969 expansion Seattle Pilots.

Anyone who has read Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" (and has Schultz's 2 favorite expressions tattooed on their brain), probably remembers Joe as an overmatched boob (a trait somewhat reinforced by this card), but while I was watching replays of the 1968 World Series a few years ago on the MLB Network, I was reminded that Schultz was the 3rd base coach for the 3-time NL pennant-winning (and 2-time World Champion) Cardinals.

That he was in a key coaching position for a team as good as the Cardinals indicates that he had something going for him (unless the good-old-boy network was working overtime).

Joe was a backup catcher during his playing days. He played in the Cardinals' organization from 1932 to 1939, all in the minors. He was with the Pirates from 1939 to 1942, mostly in the minors, but a few games in the majors.

He played in the majors for the St. Louis Browns continuously from 1943-1948 (except for spending most of '44 in the minors).

After his playing career, Joe managed in the minors from 1950-62 (the last 5 seasons in the Cardinals' organization), then joined the St. Louis coaching staff as their 3rd base coach from 1963-68.

After his 1-year stint with Seattle, he coached 3rd base for the 1970 Royals, and the 1971-76 Tigers. He managed the Tigers for the remainder of the 1973 season following Billy Martin's firing.

Joe's father (Joe Sr.) played in the majors from 1912-25. Schultz Jr. passed away in 1996 at age 77.