Packing Up This Blog (fittingly, into a burlap sack)

As I mentioned in my 1967 blog post today, I am discontinuing my blogs. (Many would say "I thought you did already.")   When it becomes a chore rather than fun, it's time to leave.

I was nearing the end anyway, having only three other 1968 cards that I planned to post (Ramon Hernandez, Greg Goossen, and Jim Campanis), but I don't think anyone will miss them. 

This 1968 box photo reminds me of when I was collecting cards by-the-pack back in 1967-69.  I would band the cards for each team together, and have an "NL box" and an "AL box".  (Checklists and leaders would fit in wherever there was room.) 

Our local corner store would let us take empty boxes home if we bought the last pack(s) in it.

In 1968, I remember having so many duplicates that a 3rd box held 3 stacks of doubles.  Then in a 4th box were my stacks of triples, 4's, and 5's. I actually had a 5th box for 6's, etc, (which as I recall was mostly just Bud Harrelson cards).

Not all boxes had the playing cards pictured on the front panel, but I don't remember which series they were inserted in (I want to say 2nd thru 4th).

 

If you haven't seen it already, please scroll down to the end of the sidebar to read comments about the set that I wrote, and posted on Zistle some years ago.

George Culver (#319)

George Culver pitched for 6 teams over 9 seasons. In that time, he appeared in 335 games, mostly as a reliever. He was only a full-time starting pitcher during his first season with the Reds (1968), and once he left the Cardinals in June 1970, he never started another game.

He was originally signed by the Yankees in May 1963 (I did not know that). After that season the Indians claimed him in the first-year draft. 

Culver made his major-league debut in September 1966, pitching 5 games (9 innings). He led the Indians’ staff with 53 appearances during his rookie year in 1967, but was traded away to the Reds for outfielder Tommy Harper after the season. 

As mentioned, he was a starting pitcher in 1968, and posted career highs in wins (11), innings (226), and strikeouts (114). He also pitched a no-hitter against the Phillies that summer. The following year he moved to the bullpen, but also started 10 consecutive games in June and July. 

After the 1969 season he was on the move again, this time to the Cardinals for veteran pitcher Ray Washburn. He hardly had time to unpack when he was shipped off to the Astros in June for Jim Beauchamp and Leon McFadden. George found a home in the Astros’ bullpen for the next 2 ½ seasons, as a setup man for closer Fred Gladding. 

The Dodgers purchased his contract during spring training in 1973, but by August they put him on waivers, where he was claimed by the Phillies. 

Culver finished out his career pitching for Philadelphia for the last 2 months of ’73 and the first half of 1974. He was released at the end of June. 

He pitched the remainder of ’74 and part of ’75 for the Phillies’ AAA team, then finished up 1975 in Japan. George also made a few appearances for Phillies’ minor league teams in ’81, ’82, and ’85, but that was as a temporarily re-activated pitching coach. 

He spent 30 years as a minor-league manager and coach in the Phillies’ and Dodgers’ organizations.

 

Rookie Parade

A few weeks ago, I posted all the 1967 rookie stars cards. Today we have all the 1968 rookie stars cards. 

 

Comparison of the 2 sets: 

 

1967 set 

Total cards - 43 

Teams with 3 cards - 5 

Teams with 2 cards - 9 

Teams with 1 card - 6 

Mixed teams - 4 cards 

 

1968 set 

Total cards - 30 

Teams with 3 cards - Orioles 

Teams with 2 cards - 6 

Teams with 1 card - 12 

Teams with 0 cards - Giants 

Mixed teams - 3 cards 

 

There were 13 fewer rookie cards in the 1968 set, and no Giants card. What? Was Topps unaware of the phenom named Bobby Bonds? They whiffed on the Senators' Del Unser too. 

 

Of the 60 players pictured on these cards, only 3 were immediate stars (Johnny Bench, Jerry Koosman, and Stan Bahnsen). Bench and Bahnsen were the 1968 Rookies of the Year. Of course, Nolan Ryan would eventually join Bench as one of the only 2 superstars among these 60. 

 

Lou Piniella was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1969, and eventually Bob Moose, Bob Robertson, Hal McRae, Ron Reed, Mike Torrez, Jack Billingham, and Larry Hisle made significant contributions over their careers. But that's 12 out of 60 - not a very good percentage. (It may be typical though, because I remember a lot of stiffs among the 1967 rookie cards.) 

 

The Orioles must have curried favor with Topps, because they have 3 rookie cards for the 2nd consecutive year. (They also had two multi-player cards in 1967, while 9 teams had none.)   Sure, they were an exciting and successful team in the late-1960s, but these 6 players were nothing to write home about. 

 

The coveted Johnny Bench rookie card - but this is not the top rookie card in the set (see below). Lou Piniella and Bill Davis appeared on 4 and 5 rookie stars cards respectively. Eventually, Piniella made it big. Davis did not. 

 

The Tigers' George Korince is back again, after appearing on TWO rookie cards in the 1967 set.  Topps, please!

 

There it is - the Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan rookie card.  This may be the mother of all rookie stars cards, ever.

 

Except for ROY Stan Bahnsen (who also appeared on a 1967 Yankees Rookies card) this block is a whole lot of mediocre. I know specifically that the 2 Phillies shown each pitched 1 career MLB game.

The mixed-bag cards in the 7th series. Why didn't Topps just pair Ivan Murrell and Jim Ray on a Houston Astros Rookies card?

 

 

Topps, here's what the Giants Rookies card should have looked like:

http://whitesoxcards.blogspot.com/2011/02/cards-that-never-were-42.html 

 

Bill Dillman (#466)

Bill Dillman had cards in each Topps set from 1967-70. His rookie card was the only 1967 Rookie Stars card with red borders. (All the other 42 Rookie Stars cards had yellow borders.) In addition to having Orioles' cards in the '68 and '69 sets, his final card in the 1970 set shows him with the Cardinals.

I was all ready to write about Dillman being part of the 1967-69 wave of Orioles' pitchers (along with Tom Phoebus, Jim Hardin, and Dave Leonhard) that followed the 1964-66 wave of Dave McNally, Wally Bunker, and Jim Palmer, but when I looked him up in Baseball-Reference.com today, I was surprised to see that he only pitched 32 games for the O's, all in 1967 (when their "main" pitchers were all out with sore arms). 

 

The oddball "red rookie card" in the 1967 set:

In 1968, McNally rebounded to win 22 games, while Hardin and Phoebus won 18 and 15 respectively. With rookie Dave Leonhard joining the team that year, and Bunker sharing the #5 starter job with Gene Brabender, there was no room on the roster for Dillman, so he spent the next 2 seasons pitching for their AAA Rochester club. (It's surprising then that he had a card in the 1969 set.)

 

After the 1969 season he was purchased by the Cardinals, so Topps gave him one more chance. However, early in the 1970 season (having not played for the Cardinals) he was traded to the Expos for Carroll Sembera, and pitched in 18 games for Montreal from May to July, then it was back to triple-A for the rest of that season and all of 1971. 

 

Dillman finished out his career in 1972 with the Mets’ AAA team. 

 

Mike Hegan (#402)

This is Mike Hegan’s first solo card. He previously appeared on a late-1967 Yankees Rookies card. 

 

Hegan was the son of long-time Indians' catcher and Yankees' coach Jim Hegan. Mike was signed by the Yankees in 1961 and made his major-league debut in September 1964.

He was back in the minors for all of 1965 and most of 1966, but made the Yankees' squad in 1967. That was the year Mickey Mantle moved from center field to 1st base, so Hegan got into 68 games, mostly as a late-inning replacement for Mantle. 

 

Hegan spent all of 1968 back in triple-A (his job as Mantle’s caddie taken by the newly-acquired Andy Kosco). In mid-June he was sold to the Seattle Pilots' organization, but as they did not have any teams in place yet, he remained with the Yankees’ Syracuse team through the end of the season. 

 

He played for the Pilots in 1969, and was their primary right fielder. He also made the All-Star team that year (so the often-repeated statement that Don Mincher was the Pilots’ only All-Star is not correct). 

 

Hegan played for the Brewers until mid-June 1971, and 3 years to the day he was acquired, the team traded him to the Athletics. Mike was sold back to the Yankees in late-1974, and (appearing to re-trace his career steps) he was acquired by the Brewers in early-1975, where he remained as a bench player until he was released in July 1977. 

 

After his playing career, he was a commentator for the Brewers for 12 seasons, and then for the Indians for another 23 seasons. 

 

Hegan passed away in 2013 at age 71.

My Favorite 1968 Cards

1968 was the second year I collected baseball cards.

It seemed like the first series had a lot of players who were in the not-to-be-found 1967 high-numbered series. (Tom Seaver, Rod Carew, Brooks Robinson, Vada Pinson, Rocky Colavito, Al Ferrara, Cookie Rojas, and Juan Pizarro to name a few.) So I quickly had cards for those missing players. 

These were my favorite cards from that set.

Bobby Wine - I always liked this photo, but I'm not sure why.  Although I was a Phillies fan, I was not particularly a Bobby Wine fan, nor was he one of the team's top dozen or so players.

Gary Sutherland - I do know why I liked this card.  His rookie card in 1967 was in the high-numbered series, so I didn't get that until years later.  Plus, here's a kid only a few years older than my pre-teen self at the time, and he was IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES! Surely he would be the Phillies' "shortstop of the future", with only the aging Dick Groat and weak-hitting Bobby Wine to contend with.

NL ERA Leaders - Two Phillies among the league's top three!

Super Stars / Manager's Dream - These 2 cards were in the 6th or 7th series, and were 2 of the 3 multi-player cards in the 1968 set.  The players were from a mix of teams, which was a departure from Topps' usual multi-player cards.

NL Batting Leaders - In 1967, Tony Gonzalez had worked his way up from platoon left-fielder to every-day center-fielder, and finished with a .339 batting average. (In the late-60s, Phillies' fans had to find positives anywhere we could!)

Tom Seaver - I still don't have Tom Seaver's 1967 rookie card, so this was my first Seaver card. ROY, shiny trophy, what's not to like?

Denny McLain - I admit, I jumped on the Tigers' bandwagon sometime during the 1968 season, and followed McLain's trek to 30 wins and the World Championship.

Mickey Mantle - A favorite card of mine and 99.99% of all the other kids.

Don Shaw (#521)

Don Shaw pitched briefly for the Mets, Expos, and Cardinals from 1967-72. 

 

He was signed by the Mets in 1965, and made his major-league debut in April 1967. Don appeared in 40 games (all in relief) in his rookie season, and was the only lefthander in the bullpen.

Shaw spent most of 1968 in triple-A, with 5 of his 7 MLB games coming in September. 

 

He was selected by the Expos in the expansion draft, and pitched 34 games in relief, 1 start, and 7 games in triple-A. 

 

Don was in the minors for all of 1970, moving to the Cardinals’ organization in May. He returned to the majors in 1971, pitching 45 games out of the Cardinals’ bullpen. 

 

Shaw made 8 appearances for St Louis in 1972, then was traded to the Athletics in mid-May. After 3 games with the A’s, he was sent down for the remainder of the season. 

 

The following spring he was traded to the Tigers, but played all of 1973 in the minors before retiring. 

 

Ken Suarez (#218)

Ken Suarez was a backup catcher for the Athletics, Indians, and Rangers from 1966-73.

Suarez was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 and made his major-league debut in April 1966. He started 26 games as a rookie, behind regular backstop Phil Roof.

He made 22 starts in 1967 (still playing behind Roof) but had to compete with Dave Duncan (3 years younger than Suarez) for the #2 spot.

After the ’67 season he was selected by the Indians in the Rule 5 draft, and spend the next 2 seasons as the Tribe’s 3rd-string catcher.

In 1968 he was with the team for the whole season, but only played 17 games (1 start), with Joe Azcue and Duke Sims doing most of the catching. In ’69, he was behind Sims and rookie Ray Fosse, and spent part of the season in the minors.

After languishing in the minors in 1970, he returned to Cleveland in 1971 and saw his most action to date (50 games, 39 starts, 123 at-bats). Still, he was stuck behind All-Star and Gold Glove winner Fosse.

Ken was part of an 8-player trade with the Rangers after the 1971 season. He backed up Dick Billings in 1972 but started 88 games in 1973 (to Billings’ 67 starts). Unfortunately that was his last hurrah.

In 1974 the Rangers were going to go with rookie Jim Sundberg behind the plate, and after Suarez filed for arbitration he was traded back to the Indians for Chico Cardenas. He ended up sitting out the season due to contract issues, but in mid-September the Indians traded him to the Angels for Frank Robinson. (So in a year where he did not play, he was traded twice for ex-Reds’ All-Stars!) 

 

Bob Barton (#351)

Bob Barton was a journeyman catcher for the Giants and Padres. His only season as an everyday player came in 1971 with the Padres. 

Barton was signed by the Giants in 1959 and started out with the Class D Hastings (Nebraska) Giants. By 1963 he made it to the triple-A level, where he remained for another 5 seasons. He did get a cup of coffee with the Giants in September 1965. 

He began the 1966 season with the Giants, backing up starter Tom Haller. By mid-season he was demoted to triple-A Phoenix, with veteran 3B/C Ozzie Virgil called up to replace him. Barton alternated with prospect Dick Dietz and veteran Dick Bertell while at triple-A. 

In 1967 the Giants decided to keep Dietz as Haller’s backup, and with another catching prospect (Don Bryant) slated to play for Phoenix, Barton was loaned out to the Cubs’ AAA team for most of the year.

 

Haller was traded to the Dodgers after the 1967 season, so Barton made the Giants on a full-time basis as the 3rd-string catcher (behind Dietz and Jack Hiatt). Bob played in 45 to 50 games each season, and started about half that many. He was almost never used as a pinch-hitter (whereas Hiatt not only pinch-hit, but played first base too). 

After the 1969 season, Barton was traded to the Padres along with pitcher Ron Herbel and 3rd baseman Bobby Etheridge for pitcher Frank Reberger. This was an immediate promotion to 2nd-string status. He started a third of the games behind the dish in 1970, with Chris Cannizzaro starting most of the other games. 

In 1971 Bob finally made it to the top, starting 111 games, while rookie Fred Kendall and Cannizzaro gave him some days off. He had career highs in at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, RBI, and walks. Topps even selected him for an “In-action” card in their 1972 set, although I’m not sure how this qualifies as “action":

 

Barton: “Hey, what’cha doin?” 

Guard: “Not much. What’choo doin?” 

Barton: “Not much.” 

 

It turned out, Bob was just keeping the spot warm for Kendall, who took over the starter’s job in 1972. In mid-June he was traded to the Reds for Pat Corrales, but did not play for the Reds (or in the minors) in the second half. 

After only catching 5 innings for the Reds in the first month of 1973 (hey, they had Johnny Bench!) he was released in mid-June. As in the previous year, he was idle for the remainder of the season. 

The Padres signed him in April 1974, and he played in 30 games as their 2nd-string catcher, then was released at the end of the season, ending his 10-year career. 

Barton passed away in 2018 at age 76. 

 

Frank Bertaina (#131)

Frank Bertaina had a rocky road with Topps up to this point:
1965 – Has his own card (#396)
1966 – Part of a 3-player Orioles Rookie Stars card (#579)
1967 – Not in the set
He returned to the Topps set for 1968-71.

Bertaina was signed by the Orioles in 1961 and began playing in 1962. He pitched in the Orioles' system for most of the next 6 years, getting a few games with the big club in '64 and '65, before really making the team in 1966. That year he pitched 16 games early and late in the season, while spending July and August in the minors.

(He looks like his name should be "Moe")

In late-May 1967 Frank was included in the trade that sent 1st baseman Mike Epstein to the Senators in exchange for pitcher Pete Richert. He started 17 of his 18 games for the Sens that season – part of the team's young staff that included Darold Knowles and Casey Cox (both 25), Barry Moore (24), Bertaina and Dick Bosman (23), and Joe Coleman (20).

In 1968 he made 23 starts as the #4 starter (and top southpaw) in the rotation, although his record slipped to 7-13.

In 1969 he found himself in the bullpen with only the occasional starting assignment. After pitching in 16 games, he was traded back to the Orioles in mid-June for a minor-league pitcher. Frank spent the remainder of the season in triple-A, only appearing in 3 games for the O's during a September call-up.

Bertaina was also relegated to triple-A in 1970, until a mid-August deal with the Cardinals. Frank pitched in his final 8 major-league games in the season’s last 2 months.

He retired after playing for the Cardinals' AAA team in 1971.

Bertaina passed away in 2010 at age 65.

Larry Haney (#42)

Check out the infamous 1968 and 1969 Larry Haney cards.
He’s right-handed! He’s left-handed! He’s ambidextrous!

Larry Haney was signed by the Orioles in 1961, and after 5 ½ seasons in the minors was promoted to Baltimore in late-July 1966. He played 20 games that season.

Over the first 100 games, The Orioles started Andy Etchebarren 86 times, Vic Roznovsky 12 times, and Camilo Carreon 2 times. (Charlie Lau was also on the roster, but by then he was only pinch-hitting.)

Haney was called up in time for game #101, and over the next 2 weeks he started 8 games, giving Etch some much-needed rest. Larry started 15 times over the final 60 games (with Roznovsky making 13 starts). Etchebarren started 32 games, including a 19-game stretch that included both ends of two doubleheaders. (What was the manager thinking?)

Anyway, in 1967 Haney took over as the #2 backstop, starting 45 games.

Haney missed the first half of 1968, with only 3 of his games coming before June 28th. He wasn't in the minors, so was either injured or nailed to the bench. Elrod Hendricks joined the team at the start of 1968, and with "Clank" Blefary also catching 38 games, Haney was relegated to 4th-string catcher.

After the season, Larry was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft. He started 15 of the first 50 games for the Pilots, but by mid-June was traded to the Athletics for 2nd baseman John Donaldson. He finished out the 1969 season with Oakland, but spent much of 1970-73 in the minors, mostly in the A's organization but also on the Padres' farm in 1972.

Haney returned to the majors with the Athletics from 1974-76. In '74, he shared the catching load with Ray Fosse and Gene Tenace. After playing sparsely in 1975, he and Tenace split the catching assignments evenly in 1976 (with Haney catching whenever Tenace played 1st base).

After the 1976 season, Haney was acquired by the Brewers. He started a third of the games in 1977 (backing up Charlie Moore), He was the team’s bullpen coach in 1978 but was activated for the final 2 weeks of the season.

Haney was a coach for the Brewers from 1978 to 1991, and continued to work for the team until 2006.

His son Chris was a pitcher for the Royals and others from 1991-2002.

The 1968 Tigers

The Tigers were the World Champions in 1968, beating the 1967 champion Cardinals in 7 games. In games 1 and 4, manager Mayo Smith sent his ace Denny McLain out to face Bob Gibson and lost both times. Meanwhile, Mickey Lolich won games 2 and 5. Smith switched it up and brought Lolich back early for a game 7 match-up with Gibson, and it paid off.

Another smart move by Smith was moving center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop for the World Series, thereby sending Ray Oyler's .135 bat to the bench in favor of right fielder Al Kaline.

Denny McLain started 41 games and posted a 31-6 record. He also struck out 280 batters, won the Cy Young and MVP awards, and made the All-Star team (obviously). In 1969 he again led the AL in wins (24) and collected another Cy Young award. Mickey Lolich's record was 17-9 in 39 games, with 197 strikeouts. More importantly, he was 3-0 in the World Series.

Earl Wilson won 22 games for the Tigers in 1967, and in fact was the team's Opening Day starter in 1968, but he slumped to a 13-12 record in 38 games. He lost Game 3 of the Series, the only game not started by McLain or Lolich. Joe Sparma rounded out the starting rotation, going 10-10 in 34 games.

These four were the core bullpen, all making 27 to 37 relief appearances. Pat Dobson pitched 47 games (37 in relief) and had 7 saves. John Hiller pitched 39 games, all but 12 in relief. He was the top lefthander in the 'pen. Daryl Patterson pitched 38 games in relief along with only 1 start. He collected 7 saves, tied with Dobson for the club lead. Fred Lasher chipped in with 34 games, all in relief.

John Warden pitched 28 games (all in relief) but only 37 innings. This was his only year in the majors. Veteran reliever Don McMahon was acquired from the White Sox on July 26th for Dennis Ribant. This was his 12th season in the majors, and his experience (and 2.02 ERA) helped out. His Tigers' record that year was 3-1 in 20 relief appearances.

In mid-June, the Tigers acquired reliever John Wyatt in exchange for Jim Rooker. Wyatt was the 1967 AL champ Red Sox’ closer the previous season, and appeared in 22 games for Detroit in the 2nd half. He was 1-0 in the 1967 Series, but did not play in the ’68 post-season. Dennis Ribant was acquired from the Pirates in the off-season, but after only 14 appearances was traded for McMahon.

Other pitchers seeing limited playing time were Les Cain (8 games from late-April to mid-June), Jim Rooker (2 games in early-July), and Elroy Face. After 15 seasons with the Pirates, Face was acquired on 8/31 but only pitched 1 total inning (over 2 games on 9/2 and 9/3).


Here are the starting 8 players. The Tigers had 9 legitimate starters, and they tried to fit 4 quality outfielders into 3 spots.

Bill Freehan was an All-Star every year from 1963-73, and again in 1975. He was also the Gold Glove catcher every season from 1965-69. Norm Cash was limited to 127 games in 1968, but still hit 25 homers, tied for 2nd on the team with Freehan.

Dick McAuliffe was an All-Star from 1965-67 (mostly at shortstop) but was the full-time 2nd baseman in 1968. He was the leadoff batter and led the AL with 95 runs scored. Pretty good for only batting .249. Ray Oyler started 70 games at shortstop, the most for any Tiger. He and his .135 batting average were always found in the #8 spot. (He must have been a terrific fielder!)

Don Wert started 147 games at 3rd base, and somehow made the All-Star team, despite his .200 batting average. Willie Horton led the team with 36 home runs and was 2nd in RBI (85). He started 137 games in left field.

Mickey Stanley was the Gold Glove center fielder from 1968-70, and 1973. He started 119 games in center, his first as a full-time regular. Jim Northrup alternated between right field (96 starts) and center field (45). His 90 RBI led the team. He also had 2 homers and 8 RBI in the World Series.


The subs (in order of at-bats):

Al Kaline was in his 16th season, and although an All-Star every season from 1955-67, he was limited to 102 games in 1968. Along with 67 starts in right field, he started 18 games at 1st base. He matched Northrup's 2 homers and 8 RBI in the Series.

Tom Matchick and Dick Tracewski were utility infielders who shared the shortstop job with Oyler all season. Jimmie Price was acquired from the Pirates just before Opening Day 1967, and started 35 games behind the plate.

Gates Brown was the Tigers' pinch-hitting specialist, batting .370 in 86 at-bats. He also started 16 games in left field. Veteran Eddie Mathews was in his 17th and final season. He only played in 31 games (mostly as a pinch-hitter) and missed most of June and all of July and August.

Wayne Comer played in 48 games over the final 4 months of the season, mostly as a pinch-hitter. Dave Campbell played 9 games in early-August.

Lenny Green played 6 games in late June then was released in early-July, ending his 12-year career. Bob Christian had 3 at-bats in a September call-up, then moved on to the White Sox after the season. Mayo Smith managed the Tigers from 1967-70, winning 91, 103, 90, and 79 games in that span.

Mike Marshall spent the entire 1968 season in the minors, posting a 15-9 record and 2.94 ERA as a triple-A starter. He didn’t even get a cup of coffee in September, despite picking up 10 saves in 37 relief appearances (with a 1.98 ERA) in his MLB rookie season in 1967.

This is George Korince's third Rookie Stars card in two years. (That's right folks, he had TWO Rookie Stars cards in the 1967 set!)


Transactions from the end of the 1967 season to the end of 1968: 

11/22/67 - Traded pitcher Fred Gladding to the Astros for Eddie Mathews.

11/28/67 - Traded pitcher Dave Wickersham to the Pirates for Dennis Ribant.

11/29/67 - Traded catcher Chris Cannizzaro to the Pirates.

04/03/68 - Traded pitcher Hank Aguirre to the Dodgers.

04/13/68 - Sold catcher Bill Heath to the Yankees.

04/22/68 - Signed pitcher Dick Radatz.

06/15/68 - Traded Jim Rooker to the Yankees for John Wyatt.

07/06/68 - Released Lenny Green.

07/26/68 - Traded Dennis Ribant to the White Sox for Don McMahon.

08/31/68 - Purchased Roy Face from the Pirates.

09/30/68 - Sold Bob Christian to the White Sox.

10/??/68 - Purchased Dennis Ribant from the White Sox.

10/15/68 - Lost Ray Oyler, Wayne Comer, and Mike Marshall to the Seattle Pilots.
10/15/68 - Lost pitchers Jon Warden, Bill Butler, and Dick Drago to the Kansas City Royals.

10/28/68 - Released Eddie Mathews.

11/04/68 - Traded pitcher Jack DiLauro to the Mets for catcher Hector Valle.

12/15/68 - Sold Dennis Ribant to the Royals.
.

Bill Landis (#189)

Although his debut came with one game in 1963, Bill Landis' rookie season was 1967, with the Impossible Dream Red Sox. This is his rookie card.  His only other card (in 1969) used the same photo.

Landis was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1961 (I did not know he was previously with the Athletics), and pitched one inning for them in the last weekend of the 1963 season. Otherwise, he spent 6 seasons in their farm system.

In November 1966 the Red Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft. He was on Boston’s roster for all of 1967, and had a rough start to his career.

Bill pitched in 18 games (all but one in relief) in his first season. He pitched in 7 games between 4/16 and 6/10, often for less than 1 inning per game. His ERA varied from 54.00 to 9.00 in the season’s first half.

After his June 10th appearance he was only used once until late-July. (The Sox had called up another rookie left-handed reliever in early July, who gave them better results.)

Landis settled down during his 7 appearances over the season’s final 2 months. He did not make the post-season roster for the Sox (nor did Lyle, which is surprising given his 2.28 ERA over 27 games).

Bill pitched 2 more seasons with the Red Sox, and was the 5th man in the bullpen both years, making 38 and 45 appearances. He came down with a sore arm late in the 1969 season, which would affect the remainder of his career.

He played the 1970 season with Boston’s AAA team in Louisville, then was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Bill McCool that winter.

Landis pitched only 10 innings for the Cards' AAA team in 1971 before retiring.

John Donaldson (#244)

John Donaldson played 6 seasons from 1966-1970, and in 1974, all for the Athletics except for playing the 2nd half of 1969 with the Seattle Pilots.

Donaldson was signed by the Twins before the 1963 season, and drafted by the Kansas City Athletics after his first season. He played in the Athletics’ farm system for the next 3 seasons, initially as a shortstop until making the switch to 2nd base in 1966.

John made his major-league debut in late-August 1966, playing 15 games over the final weeks of the season.

After starting the 1967 season in AAA, he joined the Athletics in early-June and started 100 of the final 110 games at 2nd base, pushing incumbent Dick Green over to a 3rd base rotation with Danny Cater and Sal Bando.

In 1968 he started 81 of the first 103 games at 2B, then was replaced by Green and only made 9 more starts for the rest of the season, including three at 3rd base.

Donaldson found a seat on the bench in 1969, his only start coming in the first game of a May 30th doubleheader. On June 14th he was traded to the Seattle Pilots for backup catcher Larry Haney. He returned to regular playing time with the hapless Pilots, starting 91 of the final 107 games.

In mid-May 1970, the Brewers traded him back to the Athletics for shortstop Roberto Pena. John returned to the backup role he had from mid-‘68 to mid-‘69.

Donaldson didn’t make the team in 1971, and spent the next 3 years in the minors – bouncing to the Tigers, Orioles, and Padres, but never playing for any of them.

He was released by the Padres in April 1974 and signed with the Athletics. He spent most of his final season in the minors, but did play 9 games for the Athletics in April and May, and one in October.

Rob Gardner (#219)

This is Rob Gardner’s first card as a member of the Chicago Cubs. I first became aware of him when I got his Mets’ card in the 1967 set.

Gardner was signed by the Twins in 1963 (I did not know that.) After the ’63 season, he was selected by the Mets in the first-year draft.

Rob made his major-league debut with the Mets in September 1965. He appeared in 41 games (17 starts) for the Mets in 1966, more than twice as many games as he played in any other season. 1966 was the only year he did not spend any time in the minor leagues.

He began 1967 in triple-A, then was traded to the Cubs in mid-June (with catcher JOhn Stephenson) for pitcher Bob Hendley. Rob pitched in 18 games for the Cubs over the second half.

Gardner was traded to the Indians during Spring Training 1969 for pitcher Bob Tiefenauer. He spent most of 1968 and all of 1969 in the minors, only appearing in 5 games for the Tribe in September 1968.

He was traded to the Yankees in June 1969 for catcher Johnny Orsino, but only played 1 game for the Yanks in September 1970.

New York traded Ron to the Athletics in early-April 1971 for Felpie Alou, but 6 weeks later he was traded back to the Bronx for Cury Blefary. He played 20 games for the Yankees in ’72, but spent most of ’71 and ’72 in the minors.

After the 1972 season he was traded BACK to Oakland, this time for MATTY Alou.

He was sold to the Brewers in May 1973, but after 10 games was returned to the A’s in July.

Gardner played for the Tigers’ AAA team in 1974 and the Yankees’ AAA team in 1975 before retiring.

Ron Herbel (#333)

Ron Herbel looks determined to not finish with a 4-5 record for the 3rd straight year. (He didn't – his 1968 record was 0-0! He did get back to 4 wins in 1969 though.)

Herbel was signed by the Giants in 1958, and made his major-league debut in September 1963. He was a member of the Giants’ rotation from 1964-67. His best season was 1965, posting career highs in wins (12) and strikeouts (106).

(Why would Topps abbreviate San Fran one way on 4 lines, then change to another way?) 

Ron shifted to bullpen duty for the Giants in 1968 and 1969, but only pitched 43 innings in 1968.

After the 1969 season he was traded to the Padres with catcher Bob Barton and 3rd baseman Bobby Etheridge for pitcher Frank Reberger. Ron notched 9 saves with San Diego, then on September 1st he moved on to the Mets. He led the National League in 1970 with 76 appearances.

In December he was flipped to the Braves for 3rd baseman Bob Aspromonte. Herbel was the 11th man on Atlanta’s pitching staff in 1971, and was released the following spring.

He was picked up by the Twins but spent 1972 playing for their AAA team, never to return to the majors.

A notoriously bad hitter,  his .029 career batting average is the lowest in major-league history for a player with at least 100 at-bats.

Herbel passed away in 2000 at age 62.

Dick Kelley (#203)

Dick Kelley was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, and made his major-league debut on April 15, 1964. In that game he had the misfortune of giving up 4 earned runs while facing 5 batters (2 hits, 3 walks) but recording no outs, so his zero innings pitched resulted in the dreaded ERA of "infinity".

He spent the rest of the 1964 season in triple A, then returned to pitch 2 innings on the final day of the season. His no-hit/no-runs/no-walks performance LOWERED his ERA for the season to 18.00.

Aside from the rocky 1964, Kelley pitched 6 more seasons in the majors (1965-71). In 1966 and 1969 he was primarily a starter, and a reliever for the other years. (He missed the 1970 season.)

Kelley divided his time between the Braves and their AAA team in '65 and '66.

He pitched 98 innings for the Braves in both 1967 and 1968, but that was not enough of an impression to keep him off the expansion draft list. The Padres selected him in the post-1968 draft.

Dick started 23 of his 27 games for the Padres in 1969, and posted career-highs in innings (136) and strikeouts (96). He must have been injured in 1970, because he did not play for the Padres, and only played 1 game for their triple-A team.

Kelley returned to the Padres in 1971 as a reliever, and made 48 appearances (a career high) in his final season.

He pitched 9 games for the Rangers’ AAA team in 1972, before retiring.

Kelley passed away in 2001 at age 51.

Ed Stroud (#31)

This is Ed Stroud’s first solo card.  He previously appeared on a White Sox Rookies card (with Walt Williams) in the 1967 set.

Stroud began his career in the White Sox organization in 1963. His nickname of “Streak” was due to his stealing 74 and 72 bases in his first two minor-league seasons! After 4 seasons in the minors, he made his Sox debut in September 1966.

In mid-June 1967 he was traded to the Senators for veteran outfielder Jim King. (The first of King's two trades that season.) It was a good move for Stroud, who was stuck behind Tommie Agee, Ken Berry, Pete Ward, and rookie Walt Williams in the Sox’ outfield.

Ed played 79 games in center field over the 2nd half of the ’67 season, sharing the starts with Hank Allen.

In 1968, rookie Del Unser took over the center field job, so Stroud moved over to the right field mix with Cap Peterson, Fred Valentine, and others. Ed led the pack with 52 starts. He also played in left field occasionally when Frank Howard was at first base.

The arrangement in 1969 was much the same as in ’68, except now Ed had Lee Maye above him in the pecking order.

1970 was a career year for Stroud. Unser was limited to 100 or so games, and half of them were in right field for some reason. Ed was the primary center fielder that year, starting 95 games. He had career highs in hits (115) and stolen bases (40).

All that quality play in 1970 got him a ticket out of Washington, as he was traded back to the White Sox for 1st baseman Tom McCraw during spring training in 1971. Stroud played in 50+ games over the first half (rarely starting) and by midseason he was back in the minors, and retired after the season.

Stroud passed away in 2012 at age 72.

Steve Whitaker (#383)

Here is outfielder Steve Whitaker, in his last season as a Yankee.

Whitaker was one of a long line of Yankees' outfielders (along with Roger Repoz, Bill Robinson, Roy White, Bobby Murcer, and Jerry Kenney) who were touted as, if not the next Mickey Mantle, then the next Roger Maris or surely the next Tom Tresh. (Only White and Murcer panned out for the Yankees. )

Whitaker was signed by the Yankees in 1962, and played in the minors from 1962-65. He bashed 27 homers in ’64 and 24 in ’65. He also hit 20 homers in 1966 before his August call-up to the Yankees.

In 1967 he started 108 games in the outfield (mostly in right field, replacing the traded Maris), but only hit 11 home runs while batting at a .243 clip.

Steve split the 1968 season between the Yankees and triple-A, then was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft.

During spring training in 1969, he was traded to the Seattle Pilots for disgruntled rookie Lou Piniella (who went on to win the Rookie of the Year award). Whitaker didn’t fare as well as Piniella. He couldn’t find regular work with the expansion team, and was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, while also spending all of August back in triple-A.

After the 1969 season he and outfielder Dick Simpson were traded to the Giants for pitcher Bob Bolin. He only played 16 games for the Giants (the last on May 9th) and played the remainder of 1970 for the Giants’ AAA team.

Whitaker played for the Padres’ AAA team in Hawaii in '71 and '72 before retiring.

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Having not collected baseball cards in 1970 or 1971, I lost track of Whitaker's career after 1969 until today, because by the time I was buying cards again in 1972, Steve had retired. His final card is in the 1971 set.