Fun facts about Joe Gaines:
-Bryan, TX native Arnesta Joe Gaines signed with Cincinnati in 1956 at age 19.
-Had a few cups of coffee with the Reds in 1960 and 1961.
-1962 was his first full season in the majors, but Joe received only 60 plate appearances in 64 games. He started only two games, and hit .231 overall.
-The Orioles traded for Gaines that offseason, and he was a valuable part-timer in 1963. He posted a career-high .286 average in 126 at-bats with 6 home runs and 20 RBI.
-On April 14, 1964, his pinch homer off of Chicago's Gary Peters tied the game 3-3 in the seventh inning. The O's tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth to win.
-A mid-1964 trade to Houston allowed Joe to start regularly. He reached personal bests with 8 home runs and 36 RBI while batting .246.
-After slumping to .227 in 1965, he played only 11 games in Houston the following year before being sent to the minors.
-Gaines spent the last three years of his career with various AAA teams. In parts of seven seasons in the majors, he batted .241 with 21 home runs and 95 RBI.
-Loved to face: Claude Osteen (.462/.533/.846). Hated to face: Chris Short (.067/.125/.100).
-Later in life, Joe worked as a clothing salesman.
I'm curious as to how you find out these little facts about the players' later lives (e.g., Gaines was a clothing salesman). They are fascinating, but how do you do it?
ReplyDeleteI had the 1966 Joe Gaines card. I really cool card showing Astro uniform and logos. So I remember him. What I didn't realize was that 65 set split the team card set with "Houston" and "Astros" on the front pennant. I wonder if the 65 Houston Pennants are more valueable.
ReplyDeleteMarc - Thanks, haha. I'm at the mercy of Baseball Reference's Bullpen wiki for the personal info.
ReplyDeleteAnon - As far as I know, the "Houston" pennants are not any more valuable. The first few series had "Houston" because the team had dropped the Colt .45s name. The last few series had the "Astros" pennants after the new name had been selected.