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The Rookie Parade - 1969 |
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HALL OF FAMERS |
Mr. October |
Topps Bats Men |
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Fingers began 1969-71 as a
starter but in all 3 seasons ended up in the bullpen. His career as a
reliever co-insided perfectly with the adoption of the Save as an official
statistic in 1969. Although best kno |
In 1969 - Bonds' first full season - the popular speedster reached the 30-30 club with 45 stolen bases and 32 home runs despite setting a major league record with 185 strike outs. The following seasons, Bonds reached 30-30 again, and bested his own strikeout record with 189. In 1973, Bonds narrowly missed becoming the game's first 40-40 player when he stole 43 bases and slugged 39 homers. Frequently batting lead-off, Bonds was the career leader with 35 leadoff homers before Henderson bested the mark. After 7 seasons with the Giants, Bonds moved to the Yankees in an even-up trade for Bobby Murcer. He played on a total of seven teams in his last seven seasons. In 1977 with the Angels, Bonds completed his 4th career 30-30 season - 37 HRs and 41 SBs along with 115 runs scored. The following year - splitting his time between the White Sox and Indians - Bonds' combined stats again went for 30-30, his 5th such campaign. In his ML debut in June 1968, Bonds became the only player in the 20th century to hit a grand slam on his first hit. Bonds passed away in 2003 but lived to see his son Barry eclipse his star. |
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Rookie of the Year - 1969 |
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Although better remembered as a Cardinal, Sizemore broke in with the Dodgers in 1969 and captured the NL Rookie of the Year award batting .271 in 159 games. He started the season at short stop, but moved to 2nd base when the Dodgers reacquired Maury Wills in June. Sizemore was traded to the Cardinals after the 1970 season in the Richie Allen trade. Speedster Lou Brock credits Sizemore's batting in the #2 slot for helping him break the single-season steal record in 1974. After a brief stop back in LA, Sizemore started at 2nd base for the Phillies' 1977 and 1978 Division Champions. |
Team Yearbooks of the era would always have a "On The Horizon" section toward the end that typically featured those perennial prospects that never quite made it to the Majors. In Lou Piniella's case, Topps trumpeted him as a "Rookie Star" in 1964 with the Senators and again in 1968 with the Indians. Lou was drafted by Seattle from Cleveland in the expansion draft but was considered so lightly that they traded him to KC for Steve Whitaker at the end of Spring Training. In Lou's case it wasn't the lack of talent - but rather his famous intensity that kept him from sticking. In 1969, he batted .282 with 68 RBIs and captured the Rookie of the Year award. He was traded after the 1973 season to the Yankees, where he went on to even greater fame as a clutch player and fiery manager. |
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DYNAMIC DUOS |
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A five-time All Star, Otis batted .151 in 1969 primarily as a defensive specialist and pinch-runner. Over the Winter, he was traded to the Royals in the deal that brought Joe Foy to Shea. Otis immediately blossomed in a full-time role - hitting .284 with a league-leading 36 doubles and 68 RBIs. In 1973, Otis rapped a career high 26 HRs and hit .300 with 93 RBIs. He starred for the Royals for 14 seasons before finishing in a part-time role in Pittsburgh. Foy lasted one season and then finished his career for the dreadful 1971 Senators. |
At 5' 5" and 148 pounds, Patek was the smallest ML player of his time. A 3 time All Star, Patek was an outstanding defensive short stop and base stealer. In 1980, Patek blasted three home runs into the netting in one game against the home-town Sox. For many years, he teamed with Cookie Rojas to provide the Royals the best double-play duo in the American League. |
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The Coaches Box |
The Hot Corner |
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Bruce Dal Canton was settled down to a career of teaching High School and coaching collegiate sports when the Pirates signed the 24 year-old to a contract in 1965. By 1966, the long-shot prospect was pitching in the majors. A classic long-man and spot starter, Dal Canton went a career best 9-4 in 1970 while helping Pittsburgh to the pennant. He moved along with Patek to the Royals before the 1971 season and pitched effectively as a starter for three of his four seasons. |
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A 6 time all-star, Nettles had
the perfect Yankee Stadium swing, not unlike Roger Maris a decade before.
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Al Oliver is best known for the scorching line drives hit to all fields. Over 18 season, Oliver rapped out 2,743 hits including a league leading .332 for the Expos in 1982. As a rookie, Oliver hit .285 with 17 HRs, good enough for a 2nd place tie behind ROY Ted Sizemore. He hit .312 in 1972, the first of his 7 seasons as an All-Star. In 1976, he finished at .323 - starting a run of 9 consecutive seasons above the .300 mark. In 1977, the Bucs traded him to Texas in the Bert Blyleven deal. In 1980, Oliver played in 163 games for the Rangers, earning career highs with 209 hits and 117 RBIs. At the time of his retirement in 1985, Oliver was in the top 50 all-time in Games Played, Hits, Total Bases, RBIs and Extra Base Hits. |
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In
1965, Major League Baseball instituted a National Amateur draft. In 1967,
the New York Mets decided against drafting the cocky slugger from Arizona
State, instead choosing catcher Steve Chilcott. The Athletics jumped at the
chance to draft Jackson with the 2nd pick. Jackson started the season at
Birmingham, batting .293 with 17 HRs. He had several brief call-ups with
the A's in 1967 - batting an inauspicious .178 in 35 games. The following
season Jackson played full-time when the A's moved to Oakland - batting
.250 and hitting 29 HRs in his official "rookie" season. In 1962, Topps
unveiled 'multi-player' rookie cards - and these cut-and-paste classics
were very unpopular - in my collecting circles anyway. In 1969, Topps was
able to showcase a 21 year-old Jackson on his own rookie card - an honor
which eluded most of the Hall of Famers of his generation. Jackson
generated winning at virtually every stop - three pennants and two world
titles in the Bronx after claiming three straight titles in Oakland. His
career 563 HRs are impressive but his mammoth swing - especially noticeable
during his 2,597 career strike outs - was even more memorable. Always the
hot dog, Jackson reportedly collected hundreds of his own rookie cards only
to have the cache destroyed in a fire. His 1969 Topps #260 rookie card is
very difficult to find well centered and without a tilt and is the straw
that stirs the drink for the entire 1969 set.
wn
as the closer for the early 70s A's dynasty, Fingers 1981 season when he
posted 28 saves and a 1.04 era cemeted his HOF credentials. Rollie was
awarded the AL Cy Young and MVP awards and the Brewers went to the World
Series. Fingers was inducted into the HOF in 1992.
Earl
Weaver managed the Orioles with intensity, flair and acerbic wit for 17
seasons. His .583 winning percentage ranks fifth all-time among 20th
century managers. Earl was elected to HOF in 1996.
The
quiet star of the A's dynasty, Rudi was a great fielder and clutch hitter
whose value is not measured in statistics. Despite hitting .264 over a 16
year career, Rudi was a 3 time All-Star. His clutch catch in the 9th sealed
the victory in Game Two against the Reds in the '72 Series and his home run
in the 7th inning of Game Seven held up as the deciding run as the A's won
the first of three straight titles. Rudi was sold to Boston but never
appeared for the Sox as Kuhn voided the deal.
Watson
hit a career high .324 in 1975 when he took over full-time at 1st base for
Lee May. A two-time All Star, Watson batted over .300 in six of his 11
seasons as a regular. He drove in over 100 runs in '76 and '77 and was the
Astros' all-time leader in hits and RBIs when he was traded to the Red Sox
in 1979. Later a GM for the Yankees, Watson earned some renown in 1976 when
he scored the 1 millionth run in Baseball history.
The
flamboyant Ellis started the 1971 All-Star Game after posting a 14-3 mark
at mid-season and lost - the only loss for the NL between 1963 and 1982. He
finished 1971 with 19 wins, a career high. Ellis moved to the Yankees with
Willie Randolph in the Doc Medich trade and in 1976, won the Comeback award
with a 17-8 record. He pitched a no-hitter against San Diego in 1970.
In
1969, May had already earned an All-Star berth and was the leading
candidate for Rookie of the Year when a mortar misfired and blew off part
of his right thumb while he was on Reserve Duty in August. Although May
returned and did win the TSN Rookie award. His brother Lee May was a top
slugger for the Reds and Astros.
Sparky
led the AL in saves in 1972 and 1976, and in 1977 becasme the first
reliever to win the Cy Young award. Lyle pitched 1391 innings over 16 major
league seasons - but never once started a game. His trade before the 1972
season even-up for Danny Cater ranks as one of the worst in Red Sox
history. Lyle posted 35 saves with a 1.91 ERA in '72 while Cater his .237
in Boston.
Unser
was the Sporting News AL rookie of the Year in 1968 despite hitting only
.230 with 30 RBIs. As the Senators' everyday centerfielder, Unser led AL
outfielders in assists, double plays and total chances. In 1969, he
improved to .286 until the tutelage of Ted Williams. From '72 to '75, Unser
played for the Indians, Phils and Mets - in fact he was the key in the
trade that moved Tug McGraw out of Shea. He hung around as a defensive
specialist through 1982.
Messersmith
was coming off a 20-6, 2.59 season in 1974 when he announced he was playing
the 1975 season without a contract and declaring himself a Free Agent.
After Peter Seitz ruled for the players, the Reserve Clause was dead and
the era of Free Agency was on. A 4-time All Star, Messersmith finished with
a career record of 130-99 and ERA of 2.86.
As
a rookie, Gentry went 13-12 for the Miracle Mets primarily as the 4th
starter behind Seaver, Koosman and Cardwell. He tossed 7 innings of
shut-out ball against the Orioles in the Mets 5-0 victory in Game Three.
Following the 1972 season, Gentry was moved to the Braves in the Felix
Millan deal. A short time later an elbow injury ended his career at the age
of 29. 
A
three-time minor league HR champ, Robertson broke in with the Bucs in 1969,
hitting .208 with 1 dinger. The following season he improved to .287 with
27 HR and 82 RBIs. In 1971, he hit 3 home runs in a game (4 in the series)
against the Giants in the NLCS and then hit two more HRs in the World
Series against the Orioles. Soon after Robertson had knee surgery and
became strictly a part-time player.
Taken
with the last pick in the 1969 expansion draft, Gaston batted a
disappointing .230 with 2 HRs. The following year Gaston hit .318 with 29
HRs - earning the berth as the Padres AS representative. After his 10 year
career ended in 1978, Gaston moved into coaching. In mid-1989 he took over
the helm of the Blue Jays - ultimately leading them to back-to-back World
titles in 1992-93.
Nettles
played outfield for his three seasons with the Twins - Killebrew had 3rd
base nailed down. When he moved to the Indians in 1970 he moved to 3rd
permanently. In 1971 he set the AL record with 412 assists and 54 DPs.
After the 1972 season he moved to the Bronx where he achieved his greatest
stardom. Graig led the league in HRs with 32 in 1976 but slammed 37 and
knocked in 107 the following season as the Yankees won the Series. His
finest moments came in Game 3 of the 1978 Series when he thwarted the
Dodgers with four thrilling plays in the field.
Cox
signed for a $40k bonus in 1959 and spent the next 7 seasons in the Dodger
farm system. He moved to the Yankees from Atlanta in the Clete Boyer deal
and made his ML debut in 1968. He was named TSN all-star 3rd basemen
despite hitting only .229. Knee problems forced an early retirement in 1971
but Cox returned to the dugout, managing Atlanta from 1978-1981 and then
leading Toronto to their first division title in 1985. Lured back to
Atlanta in 1986, Cox has piloted the Braves to an amazing 13 consecutive
division titles - making him a strong candidate as a HOF manager.
Richie
Hebner earned a modicum of fame in the late 60s for his off-season
occupation - he was a grave digger. In 1969 he led all NL rookies with a
.301 average. In 1973 he hit a career high 25 home runs while batting .271.
After playing regularly for the Pirates for 8 seasons, Hebner moved to the
Phillies and started for two consecutive division winners. After the
arrival of Pete Rose in Philly, Hebner moved to the Mets, Tigers and
ultimately the Cubs - where he batted .333 as the primary pinch hitter for
the Division winning Cubs.
One
of the All-Time great baseball cards, the "rookie" card of Aurelio
Rodriguez doesn't feature the slick fielding rookie but rather the Anaheim
batboy. Topps never acknowledged or corrected the error. Despite being the
premier fielding 3rd sacker of his day, Aurelio had the misfortune to play
at the same time as Brooks Robinson - he won his only gold glove in 1976
when Brooks was reduced to part time. Rodriguez hit 19 home runs and drove
in 83 runs in 1970 playing for California and Washington. After the season,
he moved to Detroit in the disastrous trade that moved the slick glove man
(along with equally good Ed Brinkman) for a free-falling Denny McLain among
others. Rodriguez was a regular in Detroit for almost a decade.