Showing posts with label 1970. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1970. Show all posts

Friday, May 24, 2024

#292 Luis Aparicio - Chicago White Sox


Luis Ernesto Aparicio
Chicago White Sox
Shortstop


Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160
Born:  April 29, 1934, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1956-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968-1970; Boston Red Sox 1971-1973
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Known for his exceptional defense and base running skills, Luis Aparicio played for 18 seasons in the majors, primarily for the White Sox.  Ted Williams (#5) called him "the best shortstop he had ever seen."  Aparicio made his debut in 1956, winning the American League Rookie of the Year honors after batting .266 and leading the league with 21 stolen bases.  It was to be the first of nine straight years in which Aparicio led the league or tied for the league lead in stolen bases, and he eclipsed the 50 stolen base mark in four of those seasons.  Aparicio helped lead his "Go-Go" White Sox to the World Series in 1959, and he was American League MVP runner-up.  Dealt to the Orioles before the 1963 season, Aparicio's production declined slightly but his defensive skills didn't.  He reunited with the White Sox in 1968 and enjoyed a late career resurgence making three more All-Star teams in his late 30s with the White Sox and Red Sox.

Aparicio retired with 2,677 career hits, 506 stolen bases (currently 38th all-time) and a .262 lifetime average.  Upon his retirement, he was the all-time leader for hits, games played, assists and double plays by a shortstop, and his record nine Gold Gloves was matched by Omar Vizquel in 2001.  Derek Jeter broke his all-time hits record by a shortstop in 2009.  Aparicio was the first native Venezuelan inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, and his #11 was retired by the White Sox that same year.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 25, 2000 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #292
Continuing a decade-long tradition, this was the "big" card under the tree on Christmas morning from Santa Claus, via my Dad by way of Kit Young Cards.  The early 2000s were a strange time for me, and looking back on pictures from this era I don't really recognize myself.  It's as if a majority of what happened from the late 1990s to the early 2000s is something I vaguely remember from a story I had read, and not something I actually lived through.  I have a few blurry and rushed photos from Christmas morning 2000, but nothing worth sharing and nothing that jogged my memory of having opened a present from my parents to find this Aparicio card.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Kudos to Topps for rushing a card for Aparicio into the set's fourth and final series.  He had made his major league debut on April 17, 1956 and Topps must have been determined to get a card of the American League's best new rookie in its set.  The jumping action photo was seemingly a favorite pose for Topps photographers back in the day, especially for infielders.  The cartoons on the back of the card highlight Aparaicio's quick ascent to the White Sox starting line-up due mainly to his stellar defense and his speed.

Given this is a rookie card for a Hall of Famer, it's no surprise Topps has reprinted the card numerous times.  By my unofficial tally, there are eight different reprints available, including three with on-card autographs.

1956 Season
On October 25, 1955, the White Sox traded Chico Carrasquel (#230), a four-time American League All-Star shortstop, with Jim Busby (#330) to the Indians for outfielder Larry Toby (#250).  The White Sox knew Aparicio was ready for the majors, and their confidence in him was so high they made the shocking move of dealing away Carrasquel.  Aparicio did not disappoint.  He started 151 of the White Sox 154 games at shortstop, leading the league in assists, putouts, double plays, but also errors.  Aparicio received 22 of 24 first place votes in the postseason Rookie of the Year voting, with Rocky Colavito and Tito Francona receiving the remaining two votes.

1959 Topps #310
1962 Topps #325
1965 Topps #410
1970 Topps #315
1974 Topps #61

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #292
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1956-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Topps Allen & Ginter #345

1,036 - Aparicio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/24.

 Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog
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Friday, May 22, 2020

#98 Camilo Pascual - Washington Nationals


Camilo Alberto Pascual
Washington Nationals
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 20, 1934, La Habana, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1954-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1966; Washington Senators 1967-1969; Cincinnati Reds 1969; Los Angeles Dodgers 1970; Cleveland Indians 1971

If not for Camilo Pascual, the Senators/Twins teams of the late 1950s/early 1960s would have lost a lot more games than they actually did.  Pascual was a mainstay in those teams' pitching rotations, making at least 25 starts in 11 different seasons between 1956 and 1967.  He was named to seven All-Star teams and was a 20-game winner in 1962 and 1963.  Pascual led the A.L. in complete games in 1959, 1962 and 1963 and in shutouts in 1959, 1961 and 1962.  He struck out over 200 in a season four times, leading the league in that category in 1961, 1962 and 1963.  He finished in the top four in ERA in the A.L. in four different seasons.  Pascual holds the record for opening day strikeouts, having fanned 15 Red Sox on opening day in 1960.  Ted Williams (#5) described Pascual's overhand curveball as the "most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years."

The Twins, who had moved from Washington, traded Pascual to the expansion Washington Senators in December 1966, giving him the distinction of having pitched for both versions of the expansion Senators teams.

Over his career, Pascual pitched in 529 games and had a record of 174-170 with a 3.63 ERA.  His 2,167 career strikeouts currently ranks him 68th on the all-time list.  Following his playing career, Pascual served as Gene Mauch's pitching coach for the Twins between 1978 and 1980.  He also worked as a scout for the A's, Mets and Dodgers and he was the scout who recommended the A's sign Jose Canseco.  Pascual was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2012.

July 14, 2012 - Tony Oliva inducts Pascual into the Twins Hall of Fame
Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #7
This Pascual card was one of the Original 44.  I last told the full story of the Original 44 in the Pedro Ramos (#49) post and by the time I get to the next card from the Original 44 - Ed Mathews (#107) - it might be time for me to repeat the story again.  The Cardinals, Indians and Senators were the teams best represented in that original haul as there were six cards from each of those teams added to our set.

The Card
The same photo was used for this card and Pascual's 1955 Topps rookie card.  On the back, the middle panel does a great job of highlighting the varied repertoire in Pascual's pitching arsenal.  Along with his fantastic curveball, Pascual also threw an effective, and at times unhittable, fastball.

Nationals Team Set

1956 Season
As a 22-year-old in his third full season, Pascual went 6-18 with a 5.87 ERA over 39 games and 27 starts.  He led the A.L. in home runs allowed with 33.  The Senators lost 95 games with Pascual's 18 serving as a career low-point for the pitcher.  Chuck Stobbs (#68) with 15 losses, Bob Wiesler (#327) with 12 losses and Pedro Ramos (#49) with 10 losses trailed Pascual in that category.

Following the season, Pascual helped lead the Cienfuegos Elephants of the Cuban winter league to a championship season by going 15-5 and pitching 16 complete games.

1955 Topps #84
1959 Topps #413
1962 Topps #230
1965 Topps #255
1970 Topps #254
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #84
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1955-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #255

133 - Pascual non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/28/20.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Friday, August 30, 2019

#60 Mayo Smith MG - Philadelphia Phillies


Edward Mayo Smith
Philadelphia Phillies
Manager


Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  183
Born:  January 17, 1915, New London, MO
Drafted:  Drafted by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Detroit Tigers in the 1944 Rule 5 draft.
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1945
As a Manager:  Philadelphia Phillies 1955-1958; Cincinnati Reds 1959; Detroit Tigers 1967-1970
Died:  November 24, 1977, Boynton Beach, FL (age 62)

Mayo Smith spent almost four decades in organized baseball, first as an outfielder in the Tigers, Reds, Athletics and Yankees system between 1933 and 1952, and then as a manager for the Phillies, Reds and Tigers between 1955 and 1970.

Smith's sole year as a player in the big leagues came in 1945 when he hit .212 over 73 games for the Athletics.  He was named the manager of the Phillies in October 1954 at the age of 39, replacing the outgoing Terry Moore.  The Phillies never finished above fourth place in his 3 1/2 years at the helm, and he was fired in mid-1958.  Smith briefly managed the 1959 Reds before getting fired again mid-season.

He found his most success as manager of the Tigers for four seasons, leading the Tigers to a World Series title in 1968.  The Cardinals had taken a commanding three games to one lead in that series, but the Tigers won three in a row to take the title.  Smith was named A.L. Manager of the Year in 1968 and would manage the Tigers for two more seasons.  He was fired following the 1970 season and replaced by Billy Martin (#181), having gone 363-285.  After a single season as a scout for the Oakland Athletics in 1971, Smith officially retired from baseball.

Building the Set
October 1, 1987 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #49
My notes indicate we bought this card at Hummel's in Bridgeton, NJ a few days before my 14th birthday.  We acquired three Phillies card that day - Smith, Murry Dickson (#211) and Frank Baumholtz (#274) and I don't know how much we paid for the trio.  My memories of Hummel's are hazy at best, but I seem to recall it was a large building with a sprawling liquor store on the first floor and a baseball card shop on the second floor.  With baseball card stores booming in the mid to late 1980s, we'd often take a ride to one of the four or five local card shops we were lucky enough to have near us.  October 1st was a Thursday, so it's strange to me that we would have made the 20 minute or so drive to Hummel's on a week night after work and school.  My approaching birthday might have contributed to the motivation for the trip.

I tried to find Hummel's on Google Maps and sure enough a liquor store came up, but not the one I remember.  I remember a bigger builder, with the second floor, and this clearly isn't it.


The Card
We're through 60 cards in the set, and Smith is only the second Phillies card to appear.  All other teams have had at least three cards up to this point, with the Athletics and Pirates leading the way with five cards each.  Mayo is the first of four subjects in the set with the last name of Smith with two Hals (#62 and #283) and an Al (#105) coming up.

I can only assume the photographer asked Smith to give his best "get down and slide" sign for the pose found here.  And kudos to the artist responsible for the back three panels of this card, as there clearly wasn't a lot of material with which to work.  While the back also indicates Smith was a lefty, his Baseball Reference page indicates he threw right-handed.

Smith is one of only two manager cards featured in the 1956 set, along with Walter Alston (#8).  I've always been curious as to why Smith was chosen as a subject along with the well-known (and successful) Alston instead of any other Major League manager.  Here's a list of all the managers who could have had cards in the 1956 set, in order of each team's finish from the 1955 season.  No offense to Smith, but there's a few better candidates than him in this list:

  • Dodgers - Walter Alston
  • Braves - Charlie Grimm (1955-56) or Fred Haney (1956)
  • Giants - Leo Durocher (1955) or Bill Rigney (1956)
  • Phillies - Mayo Smith 
  • Reds - Birdie Tebbetts
  • Cubs - Stan Hack
  • Cardinals - Eddie Stanky (1955), Harry Walker (1955) or Fred Hutchinson (1956)
  • Pirates - Fred Haney (1955) or Bobby Bragan (1956)
  • Yankees - Casey Stengel
  • Indians - Al Lopez
  • White Sox - Marty Marion
  • Red Sox - Pinky Higgins
  • Tigers - Bucky Harris
  • Athletics - Lou Boudreau
  • Orioles - Paul Richards
  • Senators - Chuck Dressen
1956 Season
Returning for his second season as manager of the Phillies, Smith guided the team to a 71-83 record and a fifth place finish in the National League.  The team performed well for most of the season, climbing to just one game under .500 as late as August 8th.  Despite the rough year, Smith was given a one year extension following the season and he'd hang on to manage through all of 1957 and half of the 1958 season.

Phillies Career
Smith's record as Phillies manager was 264-282-2, and his best season came in 1957 when the Phillies battled at the top of the division until mid-July.  That team finished that season right at .500 with a 77-77 record.  The play was much of the same at the start of the 1958 season, and the Phillies reached a winning record on July 12th at 39-38.  However, the team lost eight of their next nine games and Smith was fired on July 22nd.  Whiz Kids manager Eddie Sawyer was brought back to replace Smith, his second managerial stint with the club.

Smith received two mainstream baseball cards to mark his time with the Phillies, in the 1955 and 1956 Topps sets.  He also appears in the 1956, 1957 and 1958 Jay Publishing Phillies sets, as well as in the oddball 1956 Topps Pins and 1956 Topps Hocus Focus sets.  He's also in the rare 1955 Felin's Franks Match the Phillies set, which according to my edition of the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards, may not have actually been released.

1955 Topps #130
1967 Topps #321
1968 Topps #544
1969 Topps #40
1970 Topps #313
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #130
First Topps Card (as a manager):  1955 Topps #130
Last Topps Card (as a manager):  1970 Topps #313
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1970 Topps #313
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1955-1956, 1967-1970

26 - Smith non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/3/19.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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