#30 Jim Bouton

This is the first of two 1965 Topps cards that I acquired via trades on Topps' Million Card Giveaway site, last year's version of the Diamond Giveaway. I entered a code card that was pulled from a pack of 2010 Topps, and was awarded a 1964 Topps Wade Blasingame. Since I already had Wade's 1965 card and the drab '64 design is one of my least favorite, I offered it up for trade for various 1965s that I needed. Someone took the bait, and I got Jim Bouton in return! I waited until the March 2011 deadline to order shipping on the batch of cards that I had unlocked and/or traded for, and they arrived six weeks later. As you can see, this one isn't in great shape, but it's certainly not the worst-kept specimen in my set.

Fun facts about Jim Bouton:

-Jim was born in Newark, NJ and attended Western Michigan University before signing with the Yankees in 1959.

-The young pitcher, known as "Bulldog", went 13-7 with a 2.97 ERA at AA Amarillo in 1961 and earned a spot on the big league team the following spring. As a rookie, he made 16 starts and 20 relief appearances, going 7-7 with a 3.99 ERA and 2 saves. He did not appear in the World Series vs. San Francisco.

-1963 was a breakout year for the sophomore, as he went 21-7 with 12 complete games and team bests in ERA (2.53) and shutouts (6). He took a hard-luck loss in Game 3 of the World Series, dropping a 1-0 decision to Dodger star Don Drysdale.

-Bouton followed up with an 18-13 mark and a 3.02 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 1964. He dazzled in the World Series, winning both of his starts and allowing 4 runs (3 earned) in 17.1 innings for a 1.56 ERA.

-His intellectual, sarcastic, and iconoclastic behavior frequently made him conspicuous in the clubhouse, and arm troubles in the mid-1960s made him expendable in the eyes of the Yankees. While pitching for AAA Seattle in 1968, he began throwing a knuckleball in order to be effective. He was to spend much of the 1969 season in the Pacific Northwest, but this time with the Pilots, a first-year club in the American League. Used mostly in relief, he went 2-1 with a save and a 3.91 ERA. He was traded to Houston for the stretch run and had a 4.11 ERA in 30.2 innings for the Astros.

-Of course, Bouton kept a running diary of that 1969 season, and it was published as "Ball Four". It was a best-seller and a groundbreaking look inside major league clubhouses. The "old-boys" network in baseball was furious, with players and executives alike feeling that he had abused trust and privacy and painted the sport and its people in an unflattering light. He put up a 5.40 ERA in 29 games with the Astros in 1970, and following the publication of his book, could not latch on with another team.

-Throughout the 1970s, Jim continued pitching in semipro ball. He got a minor league deal from Bill Veeck in 1977, and the following year the similarly free-thinking Ted Turner signed the knuckleballer. He made it all the way back to the big leagues in September 1978, making 5 starts for a bad Braves team. The 39-year-old went 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA, earning his only win with a single unearned run allowed in 6 innings on September 14 against the Giants.

-In parts of 10 seasons, he was 62-63 with 6 saves and a 3.57 ERA.

-He's had a varied and fascinating life outside of the lines. He wrote several more books, both fiction and non-fiction, and during the 1970s he dabbled in acting, co-starring in the 1973 film The Long Goodbye and co-writing and appearing in a short-lived 1976 sitcom based on "Ball Four". He also spent a few years as a sportscaster in New York and invented  several products including Big League Chew, bubble gum that was shaped and packaged like chewing tobacco.

-You can read more about Jim at his official website. By the way, he reconciled with Mickey Mantle shortly before the slugger's death in 1995, and the Yankees finally welcomed him back to Old Timers' Day in 1998.

#266 Bert Campaneris

Campy! Rookie Trophy! Did you know that his birth name is "Dagoberto"? That's pretty awesome. This sharp-looking card comes from Pirates fan Dan M. He also sent me some unmarked checklists as upgrades, and a few vintage Orioles to fill some needs. Thank you muchly, Dan!

Fun facts about Bert Campaneris:

-A native of Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba, Bert was a teenager when he signed with the Athletics in 1961.

-Bert had quite a debut on July 23, 1964, homering off of Jim Kaat in his first and fourth at-bats to become the second player ever to go deep twice in his first major league game. He finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, a steal, and a walk.

-The young Campaneris made a stronger impact in his sophomore season, hitting .270 and leading the American League with 12 triples and 51 steals. It was the first of 6 stolen base crowns for him, and the first of 11 seasons with at least 34 swipes.

-On September 8, 1965, he became the first player to see time at all nine positions in a single game, as part of an attendance stunt. He pitched the eighth inning, alternating throwing lefty and righty depending on the handedness of the batter. He allowed a run on one hit and two walks and struck out Bobby Knoop. In the ninth, he moved to catcher with the A's trailing 3-1. Ed Kirkpatrick walked, stole second on Campy, and advanced to third on a fly ball. With two outs, Kirkpatrick and Tom Egan tried a double steal. On the relay back home, the ersatz catcher tagged the runner out, but was banged up in the resulting collision and left the game. K.C. rallied to tie the game, but lost 5-3 in 13 innings. Overall, Bert recorded putouts at first base, catcher, left field, and center field, muffed a flyball in right field, and walked, stole a base, and scored a run in four trips to the plate.



-Made the first of six All-Star teams in 1968, when he achieved career highs and league-best totals of 177 hits and 62 steals.

-In Game Two of the 1972 ALCS, he had three hits, two steals, and two runs. Detroit pitcher Lerrin LaGrow hit him on the ankle with a pitch in the seventh inning, and he responded by throwing his bat at LaGrow. Campy was ejected, and tussled with Tigers manager Billy Martin in the ensuing melee. He was fined and suspended for the duration of the series as well as the first seven games of the following season, but was permitted to play in the 1972 World Series.

-He surprisingly stole only 6 bases in 37 career postseason games. Was a part of the "Swingin' A's" that won three straight World Series, 1972-1974. In the 1972 Series win over the Mets, he batted .290 (9-for-31) with 6 runs scored, a triple, a homer, 3 RBI, and 3 steals.

-Bert spent a few seasons each with the Rangers and Angels late in his career, and retired after batting .322 in a reserve role with the Yankees in 1983. In parts of 19 seasons, he hit .259 with 79 home runs and 646 RBI. He once ranked 7th with 649 career steals, and is still 14th all-time today.

-He coached in Japan for the Seibu Lions in 1987 and 1988, and the club won championships in both seasons. He returned to the U.S. and played for the Gold Coast Suns of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989-1990, batting .291 with 16 steals in 60 games in his mid-40s.

-Bert now lives in Scottsdale, AZ, enjoys golf, and remains active with the MLB Players Alumni Association.

#207 Pete Rose

Uh-oh, Mad Max is back with another Hall of Famer! Frankly, I'm just happy to get back to one player per card. I've been stretching myself awfully thin, don't ya know. If you're keeping track of my progress in posting, this card arrived from Max in November 2009. But I really am closing the gap.

Fun facts about Pete Rose:

-Pete signed with his hometown Cincinnati Reds as a teenager in 1960.

-He won the Reds' starting second base job to begin the 1963 season and was named NL Rookie of the Year despite a somewhat tepid stat line: .273/.334/.371 (101 OPS+), 6 HR, 41 RBI, 13 of 28 success rate on steals. He did score 101 runs, and that was enough to beat out an underwhelming rookie crop headed by Ron Hunt (.272/.334/.396, 10 HR, 42 RBI).

-Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" for his all-out style of play, he soon established himself as one the premier contact hitters in the game. In 1965 he batted .312/.382/.446 with 35 doubles, 11 triples, 11 homers, and 81 RBI and led the league with 209 hits, the first of seven hit titles in his career. He was also named to the All-Star Game for the first of 17 times.

-Other league-leading totals for Pete included runs scored (4x), doubles (5x), batting average (3x), and on-base percentage (2x). He even won a couple of Gold Gloves for his play in right field in 1969 and 1970. He also tied Wee Willie Keeler's National League record with a 44-game hitting streak in 1978.

-His most famous (and infamous) on-field escapade came in the 1970 All-Star Game, when he raced around the bases on a Jim Hickman single and plowed into Indians catcher Ray Fosse to jar the ball loose and score the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Many fans and pundits hyperbolically claim that this incident stunted the 23-year-old Fosse's career, but that seems a bit much. Though he never again matched his numbers from that year (.307/.361/.469, 18 HR, 61 RBI), he did play for the rest of the decade and even picked up another All-Star nod and Gold Glove in 1971.

-Rose had five top-five finishes in MVP voting, and won the award outright in 1973 when he hit a league-best .338 with 115 runs scored for the National League West champs.

-He was a member of six World Series teams, ending up on the losing side in 1970 and 1972 with the Reds and 1983 with the Phillies. His teams won it all in 1975 and 1976 (Reds) and 1980 (Phillies). He had a career postseason average of .321, which includes a .370 mark in the 1975 Fall Classic. He also reached base in that Series at a .485 clip and earned MVP honors.

-Pete joined the Expos in 1984, but an August trade allowed him to return to the Reds as a player-manager. While writing himself into the lineup on a regular basis, he was able to catch and pass Ty Cobb for the all-time hits record, breaking through with #4,192 on September 11, 1985 - a single off of San Diego's Eric Show. He retired as a player in 1986, having racked up 4,256 hits in parts of 24 seasons. He batted .303/.375/.409 with 160 home runs and 1,314 RBI, and his 746 doubles are second all-time to Tris Speaker's total of 792. His managerial record was 412-373 (.525) in parts of 6 seasons.

-Rose's son, Pete Jr., played pro baseball for an astonishing 21 years, finally retiring in 2009 with 1,877 hits and a .271 average in the minor leagues. However, his entire major league career consisted of an 11-game stint with the Reds in 1997. He went 2-for-14 with a pair of walks.

-Pete continued managing the Reds until being suspended by commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989. A lengthy investigation (the Dowd Report) had revealed that Rose had been gambling on several sports, including baseball. He accepted a lifetime ban from the game in exchange for MLB not formally finding him guilty. He remains banned to this day, and is therefore ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Even his confessions of guilt in subsequent years have been conditional (i.e., he's never admitted to betting on his own team, despite evidence to the contrary) and have been dismissed by many as self-serving and insincere. However, the WWE inducted him into the celebrity wing of their Hall of Fame in 2004, in recognition of his recurring appearances as a sacrificial lamb to hulking wrestler Kane at various Wrestlemania events. So he's got that going for him.

#3 AL Home Run Leaders: Harmon Killebrew, Boog Powell, and Mickey Mantle

I received this card as part of a generous gift from Dean of Dean's Cards. He also sent along some vintage Orioles that I needed, and all he asked for in return was a link exchange. You can check out his blog here. Thanks, Dean!

This is a bittersweet posting, coming the week after Harmon Killebrew's cancer-related death. But at least it allows us to celebrate his skills as a power hitter. In 1964, Harmon led the American League for the fourth time in his great career and the third straight season. He set a career high with 49 longballs, 30 of them coming before the All-Star break. He was hottest in May (12 HR in 26 games) and June (14 HR in 30 games). With 24 homers coming with runners on base, nearly half of his total four-baggers put crooked numbers on the board. He feasted on Boston pitchers, victimizing them 9 times in 18 games. Before all was said and done, he would win a fifth home run crown in 1967 (44) and a sixth in his MVP year, 1969 (49), retiring in 1975 with 573 career HR.

Orioles slugger Boog Powell was a distant runner-up with 39 homers, but that total represented a career high. He did lead the American League with a .606 slugging percentage in 1964, and probably would have given Harmon a run for his money if he hadn't missed 28 games with injuries in mid-June and late August. He made the most of the 21 games he did play in June, going deep 12 times that month. He drove in other runners with 18 of his homers, but somehow went hitless in 10 at-bats with the bases loaded. He feasted on the arms of the lowly Senators, clouting 10 round-trippers in 18 games against Washington. Boog retired after failing to hit a home run in 1977 with the Dodgers; still, he amassed 339 HR in his career. He reached double digits in homers in 14 straight seasons - every year in which he played at least 100 games.

The third-place finisher was Mickey Mantle with 35 homers; it was the last time he topped 30 in his legendary stint with the Yankees. With years of wear and tear beginning to take their toll, the 32-year-old played in 143 games, finishing with 115 less plate appearances than Killebrew. A four-time home run king, Mantle was remarkably consistent in 1964. He hit 16 balls over the fence at Yankee Stadium and 19 on the road. 17 came in the first half and 18 in the second half. After going homerless in eight April games, his totals for the following months were eight, seven, five, eight, and seven. 17 longballs came with the bases empty, and 18 with men on. His most frequent whipping boys were the Kansas City Athletics, whom he clobbered 7 times in 16 games. The Mick retired in 1968 with 536 career home runs, but there's no telling how many he would have hit with better health.

Topps did something neat with the leaderboard on the back, listing each of the 25 American Leaguers who hit at least 20 home runs, and then accounting for all of the grand slams hit in 1964. As you can see, Boston's Dick Stuart and Chicago's Pete Ward tied for the lead with three grannies apiece. Surprisingly, Red Sox catcher Bob Tillman and A's center fielder Nelson Mathews were the only others to hit more than one grand slam.

#597 Twins Rookie Stars: Joe Nossek, Dick Reese, and John Sevcik

And so we come to the penultimate card in the 1965 Topps set, which also happens to be the last card in the awesome bundle sent by Max. Thanks again, Max! Looking forward, I have less than 40 cards waiting in the queue to be posted. Believe it or not, that's a great deal of progress! I might even be caught up by the end of the summer...

Fun facts about Joe Nossek:

-A Cleveland native, Joe attended Ohio University and signed with the Twins in 1961.

-His Minnesota teammates called him "Coffee and Juice" because he ate so sparingly.

-Made the Twins' Opening Day roster in 1964 at age 23, but was sent back to the minors in May after seeing action in seven games, with six coming as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.

-Joe spent the entire 1965 season in the big leagues, hitting .218 in 87 games as a reserve with 2 home runs and 16 RBI.

-He started five out of seven World Series games for the Twins in 1965, manning center field in place of All-Star Jimmie Hall. Went 4-for-20 (.200), which includes a pinch single off of Don Drysdale in Game Four.

-Nossek was traded to the Athletics in May 1966 and appeared in 87 games for K.C., hitting .261 with a home run and 27 RBI.

-His average fell to .205 in 1967, and he played only 22 big league games afterward, including one final at-bat in 1970 for the Cardinals. In parts of 6 seasons he hit .228 with 3 home runs and 53 RBI.

-After hanging up his spikes, Joe managed the Brewers' Class A Danville Warriors in 1972. The club went 73-52 and won the Midwest League championship.

-He spent a few decades coaching for the Brewers (1973-1975), Twins (1976), Indians (1977-1981), Royals (1982-1983), and White Sox (1984-1986, 1990-2003). He has also done scouting for the Astros.

-Also got a brief run as interim manager of the White Sox in early 2000 when regular skipper Jerry Manuel was indisposed.

Fun facts about Dick Reese:

-Better known as "Rich", Reese was born in Leipsic, OH and signed with the Tigers in 1962.

-Debuted with the Twins in September 1964, weeks shy of his 23rd birthday. Totaled only 27 games in his first three major league seasons.

-Set personal bests in 1969 with a .322 average, .513 slugging percentage, 24 doubles, 16 home runs, and 69 RBI.

-Had five different games with four hits in 1969. Went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs on August 13 in a 5-2 win over the Yankees, and followed with singles in each of his first three at-bats in the next game before flying out to center field in his final trip to the plate.

-Also reached double-digit homers in 1970 and 1971, but his peripheral numbers slipped, with his average plunging to .219 in the latter year.

-Tied a big league record with three pinch hit grand slams in his career. The first of these came on August 3, 1969 in the bottom of the seventh against Baltimore's Dave McNally. It came with the Twins trailing 1-0, and was the decisive blow in halting McNally's 17-game winning streak.

-He was on the other end of history as well. On May 8, 1968, he struck out looking as a pinch hitter for the last out of Catfish Hunter's perfect game. On September 27, 1973, he was the record-breaking 383rd strikeout victim of Nolan Ryan in the Angel hurler's final appearance of the season.

Split the 1973 season, his last, between the Tigers and Twins. In parts of 10 seasons he hit .253 with 52 home runs and 245 RBI.

-His birthday is September 29. The only two players born on that day with more career home runs are Rob Deer (230) and Warren Cromartie (61).

-Got into the distilling business, retiring in 2003 as CEO of Jim Beam Brands, headquartered in the Chicago area.

Fun facts about John Sevcik:

-A native of Oak Park, IL, John attended the University of Missouri before signing with the Twins in 1964.

-His twin brother James was an outfielder who also signed with the Twins in 1964. He played pro ball for four seasons, never rising above Single A.

-After batting .284 with a .385 on-base percentage at Class A Wisconsin Rapids in his first pro season, John made the big leagues as Minnesota's third catcher. He appeared in a dozen games, collecting a single hit in 16 at-bats (.063).

-That lone big-league hit was a double off of the Orioles' Wally Bunker on September 28, 1965.

-Sevcik played out the rest of his pro career in the minor leagues, hanging on for six more years and finishing with a minor league average of .266 and 22 homers and 196 RBI.

-As of 2005, he was living in San Antonio and working as an executive for Jim Beam. I wonder if Rich Reese got him in?

#577 American League Rookie Stars: Darold Knowles, Richie Scheinblum, and Don Buschhorn

I'm pretty sure this is the only three-team rookie card in the set.  Topps was clearly trying to fill out the set by the time they got to the seventh and final series.

Fun facts about Darold Knowles:

-Darold was born in Brunswick, MO and attended the University of Missouri before signing with the Orioles in 1961.

-He appeared in five games with Baltimore in 1965, but was hit hard.  Was vastly improved in 1966, when he went 6-5 with a 3.05 ERA and a team-leading 69 appearances and 13 saves for the Phillies.

-Knowles was traded to the Senators prior to the 1967 season. In four full seasons in Washington, he never posted an ERA higher than 2.70.

-Made his only All-Star team in 1969, when he went 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA and 13 saves in 53 relief appearances.

-Had an odd statistical season in 1970, posting a 2-14 record out of the bullpen with a 2.04 ERA. He ranked third in the American League with 27 saves, a career high.

-Posted a personal-best 1.37 ERA for the 1972 Athletics while serving as a setup man for Rollie Fingers, and also notched 11 saves. A late-season thumb injury kept him out of the World Series.

-Despite starting only eight games in his career, he did hurl a shutout: on August 14, 1973 he scattered six hits and five walks to blank the Red Sox despite striking out just one batter. The A's won 1-0 on a sixth-inning squeeze by Dick Green that was mishandled by hard-luck Boston starter Bill Lee.

-Pitched in his only Fall Classic in 1973, but made it count. He became the only pitcher in major league history to appear in seven games in a single World Series, notching two saves and only allowing one unearned run in six and one-third innings as the A's outlasted the Mets.

-Also pitched for the Cubs, Rangers, Expos, and Cardinals in the late 1970s. He retired after being released by St. Louis in May 1980. In parts of 16 seasons he was 66-74 with 143 saves and a 3.12 ERA.

-Darold has coached for the Cardinals (1983) and Phillies (1989-1990). In recent years, he's been a minor league pitching instructor in the Pirates and Blue Jays organizations.

Fun facts about Richie Scheinblum:

-A native of New York City, Richie attended Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus and signed with the Indians in 1964.

-Had a very brief cup of coffee with the Indians at age 22 in 1965, and also had short stints with the Tribe in 1967 and 1968.

-Began the 1969 season on the Cleveland roster, but endured an 0-for-34 start to the year. He finished the season with a .186 average and 13 RBI, spending most of the year as a pinch hitter.

-Spending most of the 1971 season at AAA Denver, Richie was named the American Association MVP. He hit .388/.490/.725 with 25 home runs and 108 RBI.

-Joined the Royals in 1972 and became the team's everyday right fielder. It was his only season as a regular, and he made the All-Star team by hitting .300 with a .383 on-base percentage.

-He began the 1973 season relegated to the Reds bench, but gained the Angels' starting right field job following a June trade and hit .328 with a .417 on-base percentage in 77 games in California.

-Reached base all six times he came to the plate on July 28, 1973, going 5-for-5 with an intentional walk, a double, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBI as the Angels romped to a 19-8 win over the Royals.

-Scheinblum split the 1974 season between the Angels and Royals, and finished with a six-game run with the Cardinals. He hit only .183 in what would prove to be his final big league season. In parts of 8 seasons, he batted .263 with a .343 on-base percentage, 13 home runs, and 127 RBI.

-Capped his career with a two-year stint with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan, batting .295/.349/.468. He was the first player to homer from both sides of the plate in one game in the Japanese league.

-After his baseball career ended, Richie opened a jewelry store in Anaheim. Eventually he settled in Palm Harbor, FL and worked for a company that applied logos to clothing items.

Fun facts about Don Buschhorn:

-Don was born in Independence, MO and signed with the Athletics out of high school in 1964.

-After pitching only 15 minor league games, he was promoted to the big leagues, making his debut on May 15, 1965 against the Twins. He got the start, gave up two runs in five innings, and was saddled with the loss in a 2-0 game.

-Buschhorn stayed in the majors until early August, appearing in 12 games with a 4.35 ERA in 31 innings. It was his only exposure to the major leagues.

-He pitched in the minors for the Athletics through 1969, going 21-27 with a 4.11 ERA.

#574 Roy Sievers

There's a little snow on the mountain for venerable veteran Roy Sievers, who would have been 37 when this photo was taken. Bonus fun fact: Roy was only two and a half years younger than his manager in Washington, Gil Hodges!

Fun facts about Roy Sievers:

-A St. Louis, MO native, Roy signed with the hometown Browns as a teenager in 1944.

-Made the major leagues in 1949 at age 22, and won Rookie of the Year honors with a team-best .306/.398/.471 batting line and 91 RBI. He also belted 16 home runs.

-He struggled mightily in his sophomore season, later claiming that Browns coaches had tried to tinker with his swing. He barely played over the next two seasons due to injury, and was traded to the Senators after hitting .270 with 8 home runs in 92 games in 1953.

-Though Sievers batted just .232 in 1954, he walked 80 times and paced the Senators with 24 home runs and 102 RBI. It was the first of nine consecutive 20-homer seasons for him.

-Had his career year in 1957, batting .301/.388/.579 with a league-leading 42 home runs and 114 RBI. He made the second of his four All-Star teams, and was third in MVP voting. He later joked to Ted Williams that the "Splendid Splinter" had cost him the Triple Crown; Williams had outhit him by a mere 87 points.

-Roy hit 10 walk-off home runs in his career; only six players have ever had more.

-Among his brushes with fame: He was Tab Hunter's batting double in the movie version of "Damn Yankees", and during his time with the Senators was then-Vice President Richard Nixon's favorite player.

-He is one of four players to hit pinch grand slams in both the American and National Leagues. Went deep off of Cleveland's Johnny Antonelli on June 21, 1961 in a 15-3 White Sox rout; two years later, he victimized Cincinnati's Bill Henry in a 10-4 Phillies victory. The rest of the unlikely list: Jimmie Foxx, Kurt Bevacqua, and Glenallen Hill.

-Was also a member of the White Sox and Phillies in the second half of his career, and returned to Washington late in 1964. The Sens released him the following year. In parts of 17 seasons, he hit .267 with a .354 OBP, 318 home runs, and 1,147 RBI.

-Spent the 1966 season coaching for the Reds, and then managed for four seasons in the minors for the Mets and Athletics. He later worked for Yellow Freight Company in St. Louis, and has been enjoying retirement since 1986. He wore a Browns uniform in old-timers' games for several years.

#570 Claude Osteen

You don't see many Claudes in baseball. The last was Claude Jayhawk Owens, a catcher for the Rockies in the mid-1990s. However, he went by Jayhawk, or simply "J". It's the same story for Blue Jays pitcher Claude Lee "Butch" Edge (1979), and Mets and Brewers pitcher Claude Edward "Skip" Lockwood (1969-1980). In fact, Claude Osteen was the most recent major leaguer to go by that name. This has been "Know Your Claudes".

Fun facts about Claude Osteen:

-Claude was born in Caney Springs, TN. He signed with Cincinnati in 1957 before his 18th birthday.

-The Redlegs gave him a couple cups of coffee in his first pro season, and he allowed one run in three relief appearances.

-Osteen never did crack the Cincinnati rotation, and was traded to the Senators in late 1961. Still in his early twenties, he became a dependable starter for the bottom-dwelling Washington club. In three-plus seasons in D.C., he went 33-41 with a 3.46 ERA; that included a team-leading 15-13 record with a 3.33 ERA and 13 complete games in 1964.

-He was dealt to the Dodgers prior to the 1965 season, with Frank Howard heading to the Senators. The lefty wasted no time entrenching himself in the L.A. rotation, putting up sub-3.00 ERAs (2.79, 2.85) and a total of 34 wins in his first two years with the club. He would ultimately post double-digit wins in each of his nine seasons as a Dodger.

-Claude one-hit the Giants on June 17, 1965, permitting only a Jack Hiatt single in the second inning. He did walk 5 batters, but retired 11 in a row to end the game.

-Was a hard-luck pitcher in World Series play. In Game Three of the 1965 Series, he blanked the Twins on five hits to help Los Angeles begin its climb from a 2-0 Fall Classic deficit. Three days later, he had a chance to clinch the title, but exited after five innings trailing 2-0, with one run unearned as a result of a Dick Tracewski error. He was tagged with a loss, as the final was 5-1 Twins. A year later, he again got the ball in Game Three with the Dodgers in a 2-0 hole. This time he allowed only three Orioles hits in seven innings, but one of those was a solo home run by Paul Blair. It was the only run of the game, with the O's winning 1-0 en route to a sweep. So Osteen has a 1-2 Series record with a 0.86 ERA!

-Claude was a three-time All-Star: 1967 (17-17, 3.22 ERA), 1970 (16-14, 3.83), and 1973 (16-11, 3.31).

-His finest season was 1969, when he went 20-15 with a 2.66 ERA and career highs of 16 complete games and 7 shutouts.

-The Dodgers traded him to the Astros prior to the 1974 season in exchange for Jimmy Wynn, who powered L.A. to the World Series in '74. Osteen split the year between Houston and St. Louis, and concluded his career with the White Sox in 1975. In parts of 18 seasons, he was 196-195 with a 3.30 ERA.

-After retiring, he served as a pitching coach for several major and minor league teams, including the Cardinals, Phillies, Rangers, and Dodgers.

#553 Astros Rookie Stars: Dan Coombs, Jack McClure, and Gene Ratliff

Yipes, it's a three-for-one! That's what I get for waiting around while Blogger righted itself over the weekend. Worth noting: I believe this is the first appearance of the Astros' cap logo in this set.

Fun facts about Dan Coombs:

-Dan was born in Lincoln, ME and starred in baseball and basketball at Seton Hall University. He signed with the Colt .45s in 1963.

-Houston called the 6'5" lefty up to the big leagues in September 1963 after he won 10 games in Single-A. He appeared in one game, giving up a run in one-third of an inning.

-After six appearances as a long reliever with the Colts in 1964, Coombs started a game during the team's final series of the season in Los Angeles. On October 2, he scattered 6 hits and 2 walks in 5 scoreless innings to earn his first career win.

-Had a so-so season out of the Houston bullpen in 1965, putting up a 4.79 ERA in 26 games. Appeared in only eight games total over the following two seasons.

-Dan appeared in a career-high 40 games for the Astros in 1968, going 4-3 with 2 saves and a deceptive 3.28 ERA. It was the famous "Year of the Pitcher", so he actually came in higher than the leaguewide mark of 2.99. While he didn't give up many runs, he allowed 10 hits per 9 nine innings and had an underwhelming 1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

-After getting hit hard in an eight-game cameo in 1969, the southpaw was dealt to the Padres. San Diego utilized him chiefly as a starter, giving him 27 turns in the rotation in 1970. He had a career year, going 10-14 with a team-low 3.30 ERA (121 ERA+) and completing 5 games. He allowed 12 home runs in 188.1 innings.

-Twirled his only career shutout on May 9, 1970, two-hitting the host Expos in a 6-0 Friars win. In that game, he did not allow a hit over the final five innings.

-He was not much of a hitter, averaging .140 at the plate in the majors. He struck out six times in seven at-bats against Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, but made the last one count. On April 16, 1971, he doubled in his team's only run against Gibson. Unfortunately, St. Louis touched up Coombs for 6 runs in less than 3 innings and he took the loss.

-The Padres shipped Coombs back to the minors in 1971 after a rocky start, and it ultimately marked the end of his big league career. In parts of 9 MLB seasons, he was 19-27 with a 4.08 ERA.

-After his playing days, Dan coached baseball at G.C. Scarborough High School in Houston, TX.

Fun facts about Jack McClure:

-This one's a quickie; Jack played three minor league seasons and never made the majors.

-He was born in Asher, OK, and as near as I can tell, he signed with Houston in 1964 at age 18.

-His nickname was "Kid".

-McClure split his first pro season between Single-A Modesto and AA San Antonio, hitting .258 in 66 games with a .342 slugging mark.

-At Single-A Durham and AA Amarillo in 1965, he hit a cumulative .267, again with little power (2 HR, 2 3B, 12 2B). However, he was boosted to .284 with a .401 OBP in 58 games at Amarillo.

-The last record of Jack as a pro is a 10-game stint at Class A Cocoa in 1966; he went 2-for-32 (.063).

-In parts of 3 seasons, he hit .252 and slugged .322 in 176 games.

Fun facts about Gene Ratliff:

-A native of Macon, GA, Gene signed with the Colt .45s in 1964 out of high school.

-Believe it or not, Gene played even fewer pro games than Jack McClure, totaling 106 in the minors and 4 in the majors.

-In 3 seasons of Rookie and Class A ball, Ratliff batted .199 and slugged an anemic .268.

-Improbably, he did have two cups of coffee with the Astros in 1965. In two pinch-hit appearances in May and another two in August, he was 0-for-4 with a golden sombrero: four strikeouts. He can take heart in knowing that he's not even close to the career hitless record for a non-pitcher: that goes to ex-Indian Larry Littleton (1981) and former Cardinal Mike Potter (1976-1977), each of whom went 0-for-23 in the big show.

-However, Gene is believed to hold the record for most at-bats by a non-pitcher, all resulting in a strikeout.

#527 Jeff Torborg

I scheduled this card to post on Thursday, but it got lost in the ether during the Terrible Blogger Outage. Please excuse its lateness...I'm sure it's just an optical illusion, but the left side of Jeff Torborg's chest protector looks much wider than the right.

Fun facts about Jeff Torborg:

-Jeff was born in Plainfield, NJ and attended Rutgers University, then signed with the Dodgers in 1963. It's been reported that his signing bonus was a lofty $100,000.

-His .537 batting average and 1.032 slugging percentage in 1963 set Rutgers school records. They retired his #10 in 1992.

-He played only 64 minor league games before debuting with Los Angeles in May 1964. He saw action in only 28 games as a rookie third-string catcher behind Doug Camilli and starter Johnny Roseboro, and hit .233 with 4 RBI.

-He was best-known as a player for catching three no-hitters: Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Bill Singer's 10-strikeout gem in 1970, and Nolan Ryan's first career no-no in 1973. Only current Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek (with four) has caught more in major league history.

-Jeff drove in a career-high four runs on July 30, 1970, fueling a 7-3 win over the Expos. His three-run homer off of Dan McGinn was the only round-tripper the catcher hit that year, and he added a run-scoring single later in the game.

-He probably didn't mind riding the bench when Jim Kaat was pitching, having gone 0-for-12 against the 283-game winner.

-Torborg spent seven seasons as a part-timer in L.A., and another three years with the Angels. He batted only .214 for his ten-year career (1964-1973), never topping .240 in a season. He totaled 8 home runs and 101 RBI.

-He got into coaching, serving on the big league staffs of the Indians and Yankees. More recently, he was a TV analyst for MLB games on FOX and the Braves' regional broadcasts.

-Jeff got his first crack at managing when he was tapped to replace Frank Robinson as Indians skipper in 1977. He went 157-201 in parts of three seasons before being supplanted by Dave Garcia in July 1979. After spending a decade as a Yankee coach, he took the helm of the White Sox in 1989. A year later, he oversaw a huge turnaround from 69-92 to 94-68, finishing in second place behind the juggernaut Athletics. Jeff was named 1990's American League Manager of the Year. Chicago slipped to 87 wins in 1991, after which the Mets lured the manager to the N.L. He lasted little more than a year, as "The Worst Team Money Could Buy" lost 90 games in 1992 and dropped 25 of their first 38 the next season before the ax fell. He also posted losing records as the Expos' interim manager in 2001 (47-62) and in a brief tenure with the Marlins in 2002-2003 (79-83, 16-22). Overall his managerial record was 634-718, a .469 winning percentage.

-His son Dale has the most interesting resume in the family. He played first base at Northwestern University and for parts of two seasons (1994-1995) in the low minors with the Mets. He spent the rest of the decade as a professional wrestler with the encouragment of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage, and was best known for a stint in the now-defunct WCW as the Kiss Demon. After suffering a knee injury, he returned to baseball as a trainer for his father's teams in Montreal and Florida, and has been the minor league conditioning coordinator for the White Sox since 2004.