Monday, December 20, 2010

#503 Phil Gagliano

#503 Phil Gagliano
Wow, what is that building behind Phil Gagliano? It looks like an oceanfront hotel. Very impressive.

Fun facts about Phil Gagliano:

-A native of Memphis, TN, Phil signed with the Cardinals at age 18 in 1959.

-His brother Ralph was an infielder in the Indians farm system. He appeared in one game for Cleveland as a pinch runner in 1965. His only card was #501 in the 1965 set, putting him on the same page as Phil in my binder.

-After a ten-game debut with the Cards in 1963, Phil appeared in 40 games the following year, batting .259  in the majors before spending the second half in the minors.

-He saw time at second base, third base, and both corner outfield positions in 1965, appearing in a career-high 122 games and batting .240 with 8 home runs and 53 RBI.

-From 1963-1969, he was reunited with Tim McCarver, a former high school teammate at Christian Brothers High in Memphis.

-Gagliano hit 14 career home runs, and the only pitcher he victimized twice was Hall of Famer Juan Marichal!

-After spending parts of his first eight big league seasons in St. Louis, Phil was traded to the Cubs in mid-1970 and then to the Red Sox a few months later. In 1971, he batted .324 overall in 68 at-bats for Boston, including .364 (8-for-22) with five runs and seven RBI as a pinch hitter.

-He continued his pinch-hitting excellence in 1972 with a .346 average (9-for-26) in those situations, with 10 RBI.

-Switching leagues in 1973, Gagliano went 15-for-41 with 10 walks as a pinch hitter for a .366 average and .490 on-base percentage. Oddly enough, these three seasons were statistical outliers, as he batted only .201 (with a .322 on-base percentage) in 333 career pinch-hit situations.

-The Reds released Phil in October 1974 to bring an end to his career. In parts of 12 seasons he hit .238 with 14 home runs and 159 RBI.
#503 Phil Gagliano (back)

2 comments:

  1. That hotel (?) appears in a couple of Cardinals cards and I'm assuming it's in St. Petersburg where they used to train. I happened to be in St. Pete recently but couldn't identify the building, maybe it's gone.

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  2. Doug - Thanks for your input! It would be a shame if that building was gone. But as comedian Eddie Izzard says, Americans tear down our history.

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