sunday morning target dodgers - one flap down edition

here's another sheet of cards from the 1990 target dodgers set.  let's get down to business.

george boehler

boehler didn't pitch for brooklyn until he joined the robins for the 1926 season - the last of his big league career that began in 1912.  he didn't spend all 15 years in between in the majors, however, as he spent a few full seasons in the minor leagues where he won over 20 games 7 times (including 38 in 1922). at any rate, he was 1-0 for the robins in 10 appearances in 1926.

jack burdock

burdock actually joined the brooklyn ballclub in 1888, a couple of years before they joined the national league.  he spent the next two years managing in the atlantic league, but returned to the grooms in 1891, their second year in the senior league.  he went 1 for 12 with a walk in three games, but earned a card in this set.

wes ferrell

ferrell was a two-time all-star who also finished second in the mvp voting in 1935 behind hank greenberg.  he was a good hitting pitcher (perhaps that's why a photo of him with a bat was used on his card) who retired with a .280 batting average.  ferrell signed with the dodgers as a free agent in 1940, but pitched in just one game for the team after which he was released. that followed his first appearance fot the dodgers in which he struck out as a pinch-hitter.

len gabrielson

gabrielson finished his major league career with 3-plus seasons as a dodger.  acquired in a trade with the angels during the 1967 season, gabrielson actually led the 1968 dodger team with 10 home runs.  year of the pitchers, indeed.

jack jenkins

jenkins grew up in virginia, so it must have been a thrill for him to break into the major leagues with the washington senators in 1962.  he was just 19 at the time, and the first team he faced was the other local squad - the baltimore orioles.  pitching in baltimore, jenkins struck out the first batter he faced, but later gave up a couple of home runs.  he relieved in another game at new york, and then got a start against the red sox in boston. he pitched a complete game, but it was of the 8.1 inning variety as the bosox walked off on a home run.  jenkins appeared in four games for the senators in 1963, and then didn't appear in the majors until 1969 when the dodgers purchased his contract and called him up.  he made just one appearance for the blue, pitching a perfect inning in relief against the astros on september 30.  the last batter he faced was hall of famer joe morgan, who was retired on a comebacker.  the following year, jenkins pitched in the dodgers' minor league system and he also found himself on a 1970 topps card, sharing space with bill buckner, but he never made it back to the big leagues.

lou johnson

sweet lou was acquired by the dodgers in 1964 from the tigers for larry sherry.  he didn't appear in the majors as a dodger until 1965, however, but helped the team win the world series by hitting .296 with a couple of home runs against the twins.  johnson also led all dodger regulars with four hits in the 1966 world series against the orioles.  he continues to be involved in the dodger community by making appearances for the team at various functions and signing autographs before select home games.

candy lachance

lachance was considered to be a good fielder, and was moved from catcher to first base after being called up by the grooms in 1893.  he played mostly first for brooklyn through 1898, amassing a .290 average in 559 games.  after one season with the cleveland blues in 1901, lachance played for the boston americans (later known as the red sox) and was a member of their 1903 team that won the first world series.

jeffrey leonard

leonard never got to trot around the bases with one flap down as a dodger.  the undrafted free agent was signed by the club in 1973 and made his debut as a dodger in september of 1977.  he was 3 for 10 with a triple and a walk in that time, but didn't hit a home run.  leonard was dealt to houston the following year for joe ferguson.

gus mancuso

mancuso began his career with the cardinals in 1928, and was the backup catcher on their pennant winning teams of 1930 and 1931 - they were world champs in the latter.  from there he went to the new york giants where he was the primary catcher on their 1933 world championship team, as well as their 1936 and 1937 pennant winning clubs, although he missed a fair amount of the '37 season due to injury.  the cubs traded for mancuso in december of 1938 and dealt him to the dodgers a year later.  in his one year in brooklyn, mancuso hit .229 in 60 games and the club decided they needed a different catcher.  so, in december of 1940, they sent mancuso to the cardinals in exchange for mickey owen.  sure, the dodgers would win the pennant in 1941, but owen would famously be unable to catch the third strike with two outs in the 9th inning of game 4 of the world series, allowing the yankees to rally and win a game that they should have lost.

jack perconte

perconte may be best known in these circles as the other guy on fernando valenzuela and mike scioscia's 1981 topps rookie card.  he had a couple callups with the dodgers, first in 1980 and again in 1981, but the team decided that steve sax was their second baseman of the future and so included perconte in the rick sutcliffe trade with the indians that followed the 1981 world series.

earl robinson

robinson played for the dodgers in his rookie year of 1958.  he appeared in 8 games and was 3 for 15 with a walk and then spent the next two seasons with the dodgers' triple-a affiliates.  after that, robinson had his contract purchased by the orioles, and he found some success at the big league level in baltimore during the early 1960's.

cotton tierney

tierney finished his 6-year major league career with a season in brooklyn in 1925.  previously a second baseman for the pirates, phillies, and braves, the robins used him mostly at third base.  he hit .257 in 93 games and was sent to minneapolis of the american association the following year. he must have kept in touch with former teammate zack wheat, because they opened a bowling alley together a few years later.  baseball reference also notes that tierney played in over 90 road games in 1923 as a result of being traded from the pirates to the phillies.

chris van cuyk

van cuyk pitched for the dodgers from 1950-52, the three seasons immediately following his brother johnny's three year run with the club.  chris was 7-11 with a 5.16 era in that time, although his career had begun with a complete game victory over stan musial and the cardinals in july of 1950.  thanks to the timing of his career, chris got a card in the 1952 topps set, and he seemed pretty happy about it.

ed vande berg

left-handed reliever vande berg was acquired by the dodgers after the 1985 season for the catcher of the team of my youth, steve yeager. straight up.  vande berg had been used by the mariners as a reliever (save for 17 starts in 1984), and he continued that role from the dodger bullpen in 1986.  pitching in 60 games, vande berg was 1-5 with a 3.41 era and was only given the opportunity to save a game once (he failed to hold the lead in an extra inning game against the reds).  after the season, vande berg was released by the dodgers and he signed with the indians as a free agent.  there wasn't much of a trade legacy for steve yeager, was there?

hack wilson

wilson was only one season removed from his record 191 rbi when the cardinals traded burleigh grimes to the cubs to acquire him.  however, before the 1932 season could begin, saint louis flipped wilson to the dodgers.  he did pretty well in '32, hitting .297 with 23 homers and 123 rbi, but his numbers slipped in 1933, and he was released by the team during another disappointing season in 1934.

see you next week (most likely) with another sheet...

the evolution of the left fielder, part 1

i'll start the left fielder evolution in the mid-50's with world series hero sandy amoros.  i'm starting there essentially because that's when baseballreference starts to differentiate the outfield positions on their team pages.  i'm lazy.

sandy amoros (1954-1956)

that 1955 topps card is sandy's rookie card, although he was a veteran of the negro leagues and debuted in the majors in 1954.  he's best remembered for his catch of a yogi berra fly ball that turned into a double play in game 7 of the 1955 world series, but amoros hit a home run in that series, and had an ops of 1.113.  unfortunately for amoros, he didn't do as well in the 1956 series, managing just one hit in 19 at bats.

gino cimoli (1957)

cimoli took over in left for the 1957 season, and made a splash.  by the way - i appreciate his 1958 card shown above because it looks like topps got rid of his bat for some reason.  cimoli established career highs in many categories during 1957, his first full season, and even made the all-star team.  he hit 10 homers, batted .293 and drove in 57 runs while playing 80 of his 142 games in left.  in the all-star game, cimoli appeared as a pinch hitter for pitcher larry jackson and struck out against billy pierce.  it was his only career all-star game appearance.

in 1958, cimoli shifted to center field and jim gilliam came from the infield to cover left.

jim gilliam (1958)

in total, gilliam only played 70 games in left field in 1958, but that was more games than anyone else.  the dodgers used a total of 13 different players out there in their first year in los angeles, including gil hodges, don zimmer and the previous year's left fielder, gino cimoli.  i am guessing noone was too comfortable playing in the short porch of the coliseum.

gilliam actually played all three outfield positions, as well as second and third, in 1958.  he made just one error in left, and had 5 assists from the position.  he also scored 81 runs and finished 19th in the league mvp voting.  in 1959, gilliam went back to being an infielder, so once again, a new face showed up in left field.

wally moon (1959-1961)

moon (and his fantastic unibrow as displayed on this 1959 topps card) had been acquired during the offseason in a trade with the cardinals for the aforementioned cimoli.  he took over in left and stayed there for three seasons - good seasons, in fact.  in 1959, moon led the league in triples and made the all-star team as the starting left fielder (he went 0 for 2 with a walk in the game).  he also finished 4th in the league mvp voting and helped the dodgers win their first world series title in los angeles.  in 1960, moon won a gold glove for his play in left (he had 14 assists), and in 1961, he hit .328 (4th best in the league) and led the league with an obp of .434.

moon began the 1962 season as the dodgers' starting left fielder, but moved to first base in late april to make room for 23-year old tommy davis. 

tommy davis (1962-1964)

davis had placed 5th in the 1960 nl roy voting and had been playing all three outfield positions with a little third base thrown in the mix during his first two years in the league.  in late april of 1962, walter alston stuck him in left field and let him take root.  the result was two of the greatest seasons in dodger history.  davis won back-to-back batting titles, hitting .346 in 1962 and .326 in 1963.  his 230 hits and 153 rbi in 1962 are still a dodger single season record.  for his efforts, davis made the all-star team both years, and finished 3rd and 8th in the mvp voting, respectively.  in the 1962 all-star games, he was a combined 0 for 5 as the starting left fielder for the national league.  in 1963, he again made the start and was 1 for 3 with a walk and scored the winning run for the nl squad.  later that year, davis hit .400 in the 1963 world series, helping the dodgers sweep the yankees and win their second title in 5 seasons. 

davis had a down year in 1964, hitting just .275 but still drove in 86 runs.  an injury in the 1965 season opened the door for another left fielder to take over.
lou johnson (1965-1967)

lou johnson stepped in after tommy davis injured his ankle early in 1965, and helped the dodgers get to the world series.  sweet lou  was acquired by the dodgers in april of 1964, but didn't play for the big club until 1965.  as davis' replacement, johnson hit .259 with 12 home runs and played good defense, helping stabilize the outfield.  the dodgers made it back to the world series, where johnson hit 2 home runs, including the game 7 solo shot that gave koufax the only run he needed to beat the twins and give the dodgers another championship.  johnson had a better year in 1966, and again helped the dodgers get to the world series, although they were swept by the orioles that year.  in 1967, he hit .270 while playing just 81 games in left, and was dealt to the cubs after the season ended.

len gabrielson (1968)

the dodgers had acquired gabrielson from the angels during the 1967 season.  he played a scant 57 games in left field for the dodgers in 1968, but that was more than any of the 8 other players the dodgers put out there.  they used wes parker, jim lefebvre, jim fairey, ted savage, al ferrara, cleo james, willie crawford, and even had rocky colavito for a short time in left.  in another strange twist to the season, gabrielson wound up leading the team with 10 home runs that year.  year of the pitcher, indeed. 

after the season, buzzie bavasi went to the padres, and al campanis took over as general manager.  he made a deal to bring some stability back to the position, landing manny mota from the expos.

manny mota (1969-1970, 1972-1973)

mota wasn't acquired until june, but still played more games as the dodgers' left fielder in 1969 than anyone else.  he hit .323 as a dodger, and then followed that up with a .305 campaign in 1970.  in 1971, mota split time between left and right to make way for willie crawford, but wound up reclaiming the starting left fielder job towards the end of the season.  in 1972, he hit .323 and earned some mvp votes.  he hit .314 and made the all-star team in 1973.  it was the lone all-star appearance of his career, and he pinch hit (not for pedro borbon) for dave giusti and grounded out.  while mota still played more games in left than any other dodger in 1973, he was easing into a platoon/pinch-hitting role that season. 
willie crawford (1971)

local prep star willie crawford was technically the dodgers' primary left fielder in 1971, although he and mota both appeared in 63 games there (crawford made 55 starts to mota's 47).  he and mota were also pretty close in 1969 (56 games/45 starts for willie to 64/54 for mota).  in 1971, crawford was only 24 even though it must have seemed he had been around forever - he had debuted in 1964 as a 17-year old - and he hit .281 with 9 homers and 40 rbi.  he would be moved to right field on a more permanent basis, so we'll see more of him when i get to the evolution of the right fielder someday.

that's all for part 1; be on the lookout for some sweet bill buckner eyebrows in part 2, coming soon.

len gabrielson through the mail success!

posting that 1967 topps len gabrielson (and sweet sketch card) that mark sent me earlier today reminded me that i had received a signed card from gabrielson earlier this year.  here it is, his 1970 topps card in all of its ttm success glory:

a second generation major leaguer, gabrielson played for the dodgers for most of the 1967 season, and all of 1968, 1969, and 1970, although the number of at bats he got varied from year to year.  despite it being the 'year of the pitcher', he set career highs in doubles, home runs, and rbi in 1968 when he played in 108 games.  in fact, his 10 home runs that year were the most by any player on the dodgers.  in addition, his .270 batting average was second best on the dodgers that year, next to tom haller's .285 mark.

in 1970, gabrielson saw limited action and hit just .190 in what would be his final season in the big leagues.  while he made an out in his final two at bats, his third to last plate appearance resulted in a game tying single in the bottom of the 9th against the giants.

thanks len!