Continued...
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-1965 Topps Ray Sadecki, signed. Ray was a solid starter and then reliever throughout his career, but nothing particularly remarkable. However, in 1964 (his fourth year in the Majors), he managed to win 20 games, going 20-11. He followed that up with an arm injury, two lackluster seasons, and (as a result) a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants. He did well as a swingman in 1967, developing a bunch of slow breaking pitches he could throw. In 1968, he did very well but had poor luck: a 12-18 record (the 18 losses led the National League), but with a 2.91 ERA and SIX shutouts. However, the league essentially figured him out the next year and he was never a full-time starter after that. Ray was shelled in the 1964 World Series to the tune of six runs in six and a third innings. Amazingly, he lost neither game he started; in fact, he won Game 1 as the Cardinals won 9-5. It proved critical, seeing as the World Series went 7 games that year and the Cardinals won in seven. In 1973, Ray again pitched in the World Series, this time as a long reliever for the New York Mets. In 4 games, he pitched 4 and 2/3rds innings, struck out six, gave up one run, and had a save. Dad remembers that with the Mets from 1970-1974, Ray was a good reliever, but a relatively poor starter. He retired in 1977 with a career won/loss record of 135-131.
-1965 Topps Dallas Green, signed. A solid long reliever for the 1960's Philadelphia Phillies, Dallas Green injured his arm part way through the 1964 season. He pitched in only 18 games after that and lost his effectiveness. However, Green gained notability not as a pitcher, but as a manager. In 1979, he inherited a struggling Philadelphia Phillies team and turned them around, winning a World Series in his first full season as a manager in 1980. He did well in the strike-altered 1981 season, but took a job as General Manager of the Chicago Cubs from 1982-1987. He took a job with the New York Yankees afterward and became one of their many managers during the 1980's. But it would be his managerial tenure over the New York Mets where he would gain infamy. He managed the 1993 and 1994 teams, also known as "The Worst Teams Money Could Buy." In 1995, while the Mets were somewhat competitive, there were concerns raised that Green was ruining the arms of his young pitchers, giving them pitch counts that even 1970's pitchers would have struggled under. In 1996, it all came to a head when the team's top three pitching prospects (Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher, and Paul Wilson, dubbed by the press as "Generation K") all blew their arms out. While Isringhausen would go onto a successful career, it would be as a closer, not a starter. Pulsipher never panned out. Wilson took years to recover from his injuries, and never fully did so. Thus, in 1997, Green was fired. The Mets, who had never really adhered to pitch counts, finally started that year.
-1965 Topps Bill Monbouquette, signed. The right-handed ace of the Boston Red Sox from 1960-1965, Bill Monbouquette won 20 games in 1963. He was also on three All-Star Teams during that period of time. He threw a fastball, slider, and curve, and his slider was often called the best in the American League during that 1960-1965 period. However, he hurt his arm in 1966 (probably as a result of throwing the high-stress slider so much) and couldn't adapt to not throwing the pitch. He was dealt to Detroit, where he struggled through 1966. In 1967, after only two games with Detroit, the Tigers cut him. He signed on with the New York Yankees, developed a changeup, and finally pitched well as a swingman. In 1968, however, he continued his downward spiral, likely as the result of decreased velocity. The Yankees dealt him to the Giants after an unsuccessful first half, and then he posted an equally unimpressive second half. After pitching in the Minors in 1969, the one-time ace was done. He was later a pitching coach with several teams, including the 1982 and 1983 New York Mets.
-1965 Topps Bill Wakefield, signed. The Mets are famous for never having a pitcher pitch a no-hitter during the regular season, but journeyman Bill Wakefield pitched one in Spring Training, 1964. Because the Mets were so bad and so desperate for pitching, it earned Wakefield a shot on the team. He did well, going 3-5 with a 3.61 ERA in 62 games (only four of which were starts) and 119 2/3rd innings pitched. Bizarrely, he never pitched another game in the Major Leagues. Considering he did well in the Minors from 1965-1967, I can't quite find a reason as to why he never again pitched in the Majors. Perhaps it was simply the sheer ineptitude on the Mets pitching coaching at the time (Rube Walker became the first Mets pitching coach to know what he was doing when Gil Hodges brought him aboard in 1968), because Wakefield never injured his arm to the best of my knowledge.
-1965 Topps Bill Rigney, signed. A long-time manager with mild success, Bill Rigney was perhaps most famous as Leo Durocher's replacement as manager of the New York Giants in 1956 (who promptly nose-dived under Rigney). He lasted until mid-way through 1960, when the now-San Francisco Giants fired him. That didn't deter the Los Angeles Angels from picking him up in 1961, where he became the franchise's first manager. He managed them all the way through 1969. In 1970, he was named manager of the Minnesota Twins, and that was the year he got his only first place finish. In 1971, the team started underperforming and halfway through 1972, Rigney was gone. His last shot as a manager came with the 1976 San Francisco Giants, whom he managed to a 74-88 record. He retired after the season. As a player, Rigney spent his entire career with the New York Giants (1946-1953). He was a light-hitting middle infielder (usually a second baseman) who hit well enough in 1948 that he somehow made the NL All-Star Team. He played only one full season afterward and was used sparingly from 1950-1953.
-1965 Topps Dal Maxvill, signed. Dal Maxvill was famous for two things: horrid hitting and incredible fielding. Although he only won one Gold Glove Award (1968), the shortstop/second baseman probably deserved quite a few more. A career .217 hitter, he was still playing every day solely because of his glove. His peak constituted the 1966-1971 seasons. When the Cardinals dealt him to the Oakland A's in mid 1972, the A's were less willing to put up with his awful hitting. In mid 1973, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but then came back to the A's as a utility infielder in mid 1974. He played briefly in 1975, then coached in the New York Mets organization, and then finally was the St. Louis Cardinals General Manager from 1985-1994. He holds two interesting records. The first was one of futility...he went 0-for-22 in the 1968 World Series, which is the most at-bats without a hit that anyone has ever had in a World Series (he would go 8 for 70...that's a .114 batting average...in the post-season). He also hit his only career grand slam on April 14, 1969 off pitcher Larry Jaster of the Montreal Expos. Aside from hitting a career-high two homeruns that season, it was also the first Major League homerun ever hit in Canada.
-1965 Topps Ed Roebuck, signed. Ed Roebuck was notable during his career that lasted from 1955-1966 for being developed as a relief pitcher. In the 1950's only a handful of pitchers were developed to be relievers rather than starters, though many guys developed as starters wound up pitching in relief. Ed, who was famous for his diving sinkerball, pitched in the 1955 and 1956 World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In four games, he gave up just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings pitched. Although a 1966 arm injury forced him to retire, Ed had been one of the National League's best relievers during his career.
-1965 Topps Ron Kline, signed. Ron Kline came up in 1952 at the age of 20 and retired in 1970 at the age of 38. He missed 1953 and 1954, but the left-hander was one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pitching prospects whom Branch Rickey had touted so highly. Kline, unlike Bob Friend and Vern Law, was dealt before the 1960 season to the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he'd been solid as a starter, the Cardinals converted him into a swingman. As he passed through three teams within the next couple years (the Angels, Tigers, and Senators), it was becoming apparent that while Ron was a good starter, he'd make a great reliever. From 1963-1966, he was the closer for the Washington Senators. The Twins picked him up in 1967, where he had a sub-par year, but then had a fantastic 1968 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had an arm injury in 1969, kicked around with the Pirates, Giants, and Red Sox, and pitched with a fourth (the Atlanta Braves) in 1970. He threw, over the course of his career, a fastball, a slider, a curve, a knuckleball, and a changeup. Because he would touch his cap, belt, and shirt in an effort to distract the batter just before he went into his windup, opposing managers often accused him of doctoring the baseball, something which he may or may not have done.
-1965 Topps Herman Franks, signed. Herman Franks was a "Quad-A" catcher from 1939-1949; that is, he was good enough for AAA ball, but not quite good enough for the Majors. Although good defensively, he struggled to hit breaking pitches. However, his mark would come as a manager, not a player. With truly rotten luck, he managed the 1965-1968 San Francisco Giants to four straight second-place finishes when they were probably the best team in the National League each season on paper. Losing twice to St. Louis, he would have won two division titles (1967 and 1968) had they existed. He was then given the 1977 Chicago Cubs to manage. There, he proved to be somewhat lackluster, and lasted only part way into the 1979 season before he was canned. In 1981, he was the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs, but only lasted that one season. But there, despite only being a GM for one season, he made one of the best trades in history (for his own club, anyway). He dealt infielder Ivan DeJesus to the Philadelphia Phillies for fellow infielder Larry Bowa. But, noting that DeJesus was significantly younger, he asked the Phillies if he could have one Minor League player that particularly impressed him. The Phillies saw little in the player, who'd briefly been called up in 1980, and agreed. You may have heard of that player; his name was Ryne Sandberg (inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 31, 2005).
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-1965 Topps Felix Mantilla, signed. A slugging infielder for the Boston Red Sox who was known both for his poor fielding and abrasive personality, Felix was a utility infielder for the Milwaukee Braves from 1956-1961. However, he had talent, and the 1962 Mets were thrilled when the Braves left him unprotected in their expansion draft. He actually did pretty well in what would be his first full season, batting .275 with a .330 on-base percentage, hitting 11 homeruns, scoring 54 runs, and driving in 59 (kinda hard to drive in anybody when you're batting at the top of the order and the hitters in front of you, not counting Richie Ashburn, can barely get on base). Although he did well, he only led the Mets in one category: sacrifice flies (7). When the Mets traded him to the Boston Red Sox for Tracy Stallard, Pumpsie Green, and Al Moran, it was perhaps the first halfway decent trade they would make. While Moran and Green were essentially detritus, Stallard was a good pitcher. After three very good seasons with Boston from 1963-1965, he just kinda fizzled, playing only one more Major League season with the relatively poor Houston Astros.
-1963 Topps Bobby Bragan, signed. A utility player with the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1940-1948 (1945 and 1946 were lost to military service), Bobby was certainly a character, if not that impressive a player. A notorious umpire baiter and one of the game's greatest clowns, Bobby holds the interesting distinction of being the only American to manage a Cuban Winter League team to a championship, which he did with the 1953-54 Almendares Scorpions. Although he initially refused to play with 1947 Brooklyn teammate Jackie Robinson, when he witnessed the hatred that was spewed toward Robinson and apologized, the two became very good friends. In fact, two later black ballplayers would later credit Bragan with their success. As manager of the Milwaukee Braves, Bragan noticed that Hank Aaron had speed on the basepaths, but rarely stole bases. That all changed in 1963, when Bragan, then a Braves coach, told Aaron that he could be a far more dangerous player if he took advantage of his speed. After all, he'd stolen 21 bases in 1961, but Aaron's previous manager, Birdie Tebbets, had told him to cut back. Aaron remained a legitimate base-stealing threat through 1969, after he had a leg injury. As a Dodgers coach in 1959 Spring Training, he saw young Maury Wills fooling around in the batting cage batting left-handed. Noting that Maury was hitting pretty well, he worked with him that spring on how to switch-hit, explaining that he was much faster out of the batter's box from the left side of the plate. Wills credited Bragan with helping him perfect his left-handed swing. A long-time manager in both the Majors and Minors, he was instrumental in getting baseball back to his adopted home town of Fort Worth, TX. As a publicity stunt, he managed his team, the Fort Worth Cats, for a single game in 2005. At age 87, he became the oldest professional manager in history. He'll be 91 this October 30 and is still in good health.
-1964 Topps Jerry Buchek, signed. A so-so middle infielder with the 1960's St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, Jerry Buchek appeared in the 1964 World Series. He was one of many to appear on the Mets' list of "future star" third basemen that went nowhere.
-1964 Topps Jim O'Toole, signed. One of three good pitchers on the early 1960's Cincinnati Reds, left-hander Jim O'Toole peaked from 1960-1964, when he, Joey Jay, and Jim Maloney were all interchangeable as the ace of the Cincinnati Reds. In 1965, he suffered an arm injury and was never the same. He threw a fastball, a slider, a drop curve, and a three quarter curve that broke away from left-handed hitters. Some have said that he hurt his arm by fooling around with the last pitch, taking him out of his normal arm slot.
-1964 Topps Billy Pierce. A pitcher who probably threw 100 mph with the Chicago White Sox in the 1950's, Billy Pierce is often mentioned as a guy not in the Hall of Fame who should be. While he won 211 career games, the argument against him is that he pitched 18 years to do so. However, he was on seven All-Star teams. In the postseason, he posted a career 1.89 ERA and was often considered a "big game pitcher."
-1965 Topps Mets Rookie Stars Jerry Hinsley signed/Gary Kroll signed. My computer has all of a sudden started running slowly, so I'll make this quick. Hinsley was a good prospect with the Mets, but the pitching coaches in the organization really had no idea what they were doing. Hence, they probably ruined Hinsley's arm. They did the same with Gary Kroll, although he experience more success in the Majors.
-1965 Topps Jim Grant, signed. Jim "Mudcat" Grant was the ace of the 1960's Minnesota Twins. A left-hander, he threw a good fastball, curve, slider, and changeup.
-1965 Topps Jesse Gonder, signed. Gonder was a good-hitting catcher with some power, although he couldn't field. His promising career effectively came to an end in mid 1965 after a violent collision at home plate.
-1965 Topps Chuck Estrada, signed. Estrada was a very promising pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles in the early 1960's (1960-1963) when he suffered an arm injury in the middle of the 1963 season. After that, he was never the same pitcher and started having all sorts of problems with his arm. He ended his career in 1967, pitching garbage relief with the hapless New York Mets. He was a very successful pitching coach after his career had ended, though. Okay, now I'm going to see why my computer is so slow; I'll be back.
