1965 Topps Red Sox Rookie Stars: Rico Petrocelli, Jerry Stephenson

After a few busy weeks, we are back with a rookie card from the 1965 Red Sox. Oddly both players made their debut in 1963. Both played in just one game. Then both spent the entire 1964 season in the minors.

**************************************************

When Rico Petrocelli returned to the big leagues in 1965 he was the opening day starting shortstop. He displaced Eddie Bressoud who represented the Red Sox in the 1964 All Star Game.  He hit a paltry .231 for the triple A Seattle Rainiers in 1964. But those numbers are misleading. Petrocelli was a top prospect and they were hoping he could become a switch hitter. Evidently, it didn't take. 

Petrocelli wasn't a Hall of Famer but he was a two time All Star and a fan favorite. His number 6 is retired by the Red Sox. Not in honor of him but rather Johnny Pesky. Bill Buckner also wore that number in the ill-fated 1986 World Series before that number was retired. Petrocelli was the starting shortstop for the American League in the 1967 and 1969 All Star Games. 

Topps didn't make All Star cards in 1967 (but I did, click here). Topps had a tendency to play fast and loose with the rules when it came to who appeared on the All Star cards in the '50s and '60s. I figured, since he was the starting shortstop in 1967 and 1969 and Topps had him on the 1970 All Star card, I should make this 1968 Topps All Star Card That Never Was for him.

**************************************************

Jerry Stephenson was a pitching prospect that was signed right after high school to a contract with the Boston Red Sox. It didn't hurt that his dad, Joe Stephenson was a former Major League catcher and coincidentally the scout for the Reds Sox that recruited him. In 1964 he was 6-4 for the Seattle Rainiers and led the Pacific Coast League with a 1.57 ERA. But he sustained an elbow injury that hampered his performance for the rest of his career. He played up until 1973 going back and forth to the minors. After he retired, he followed in his fathers footsteps and became a scout for the Red Sox.

Jerry had Topps cards from 1965-1969 on the Red Sox, then again in 1971 on the Dodgers. Since he was an original Pilot, his Card That Never Was is another 1969 Topps card. This time playing for Seattle.

**************************************************

This is a tough card to grade for me. I like this card. Rico Petrocelli was a Fenway hero, a solid performer until his retirement in 1976. It's not quite "binder worthy". It could be "trade bait" now that I know someone who collects all of the 1967 Red Sox. But I think this falls somewhere in between. I'll give it a 6 for "Guilty Pleasure" even though I don't feel guilty at all for liking this card. 

1969 Topps Athletics Rookie Stars: George Lauzerique, Roberto Rodriguez

The ebb and flow of the random number generator has once again gone from a rookie card of a Hall of Famer to a couple of pitchers that have a total of 91 Major League appearances between them. And just look at this card. Topps wasn't even trying with their crappy air brushing on this one. Why didn't they just use a crayon to scribble out the K.C. logo on their caps?

**************************************************

George Lauzerique made his debut in 1967 for the Kansas City A's. He was the starting pitcher and gave up 3 runs in 7 innings. All 3 runs in the loss to the Angels came on a three run homer by Bobby Knoop. In all he played in 23 games for the A's from 1967-69 before being traded to the Pilots after the 1969 season. He was part of a 4 player trade the sent him and Ted Kubiak to Seattle for Ray Oyler and Diego Segui.

He never actually played for the Pilots. By the time the 1970 season started, the Pilots had become the Brewers.  But I found this nice shot of him in a Pilots uniform from the Topps Vault and absolutely needed to use it for his Card That Never Was. His only other Topps card was also a 1970 card. It had him still as a member of the Oakland A's.

*************************************************

For Roberto Rodriguez this 1969 Rookie Stars card was not his first card. He also appeared on this 1968 A's Rookie Stars card with Darrell Osteen. Both players were hatless on this card so we were spared the awful airbrushing but Osteen is still in his Reds uniform. Don't worry Topps, I'm sure nobody noticed. Must have been nice having no competition.

After rookie cards in 1968 and 1969, the next Topps card of Roberto Rodriguez was in 1971 in a Cubs uniform. Rodriguez played for three teams in 1970. He began the season with the A's. He then went to San Diego for about a month before being dealt to the Cubs. After the 1970 season he was back playing minor league ball until 1974.

For his Card That Never Was, I filled in the vacant spot in his portfolio with this 1970 Topps card of him on the team he began the 1970 season with.

**************************************************

I'm trying to find some redeeming quality to save this card from the spokes, but I'm coming up empty. The picture quality is poor. The airbrushing is atrocious. And ultimately, the players were not, by any definition, "Rookie Stars".  They were both solid minor league pitchers with winning records. Both players had brief major league careers. But the best I can say about this card is that it made your Schwinn Sting-Ray sound like a motorcycle. I give it a 1. Put it in your spokes.

1970 Topps Royals Rookie Stars: Al Fitzmorris, Scott Northey

*******************************************

While researching Al Fitzmorris, I have found a few interesting facts. First he was originally signed by the White Sox in 1965 as an outfielder. Batting only .227 as a minor leaguer, he decided to covert to pitcher.

Second, although he led the Carolina League with 214 strikeouts in 1968, he was not a strikeout pitcher in the majors. He averaged just 3.2 strikeouts per 9 innings over his career. In 1974 he pitched a complete game shutout without a single strikeout or walk. He gave up just 3 hits, all singles, one each in the 1st, the 5th and the 8th.

Third he was selected twice in an expansion draft. In 1968 he was left unprotected by the White Sox and picked by the Royals. In 1976 he was drafted again. This time by the Toronto Blue Jays only to be traded to the Indians for catcher, Alan Ashby and first baseman, Doug Howard.

For his Card That Never Was, I chose a 1975 Hostess design. In 1975 Fitzmorris had a number of career highs including 16 wins and 11 complete games.

********************************************

For Scott Northey this was his first of 2 rookie cards. The second was this 1971 American League Rookie Stars card with A's outfielder Bobby Brooks and Brewers Outfielder Pete Koegel.

Northey was the son of MLB journeyman Ron Northey. Ron played on the Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds and White Sox from 1942-1957 and later a coach for the Pirates from 1960-1963.

Like his 1970 Topps card-mate Fitzmorris, Scott Northey was originally signed by the White Sox as an outfielder in 1965 and also picked by the Royals in the 1968 expansion draft. Also like Fitzmorris, he was called up from the Royals' AAA Omaha team in September.  That is where the similarity ends. After Northey's "cup of coffee" in September of 1969, he never made the show again. He played minor league ball until 1972 despite being depicted on rookie stars cards in bot 1970 and 1971.

For his Card That Never Was, I chose to give him his own 1969 Topps card to commemorate this original Royals only MLB season.

********************************************

This card contains two September Call-ups from the Royals inaugural season. Fitzmorris was a solid pitcher for parts of 10 seasons. Northey on the other hand just struck out too much. He had 19 strikeouts in just 20 games including one 4 strikeout game. I may have graded a bit on the generous side but I gave this card a 4 because it contains 2 original Royals so for someone somewhere, this would qualify as a "set filler".

1966 Topps Athletics Rookie Stars: Paul Lindblad, Ron Stone

On this episode of Rating the Rookies we are looking at a 1966 Topps Rookie Stars card featuring Paul Lindblad and Ron Stone of the Kansas City Athletics. 

******************************

After 3 solid minor league seasons in A, AA, and AAA, Kansas City called up Paul Lindblad in September of 1965 and he never looked back. Initially a starter, Lindblad found a home in the bullpen. He pitched at the Major League level from 1965-1978. He was with the Kansas City A's which moved to Oakland. In 1971 he was dealt to the Washington Senators which moved to Texas. He was traded back to the A's then was signed again by the Rangers and eventually finished his career with the Yankees.

He was the Game 3 winner of the 1973 World Series.  He came in the 9th inning of a 2-2 game. When the A's went up 3-2 in the 11th, Rollie Fingers came in to close it out. He also was one of 4 pitcher to combine for a no-hitter in 1975. It was the final game of the 1975 season and the A's had long since clinched a playoff spot. Manager, Al Dark had his ace, Vida Blue on a short leash. Vida pitched 5 no-hit innings and got the hook. The Oakland bullpen followed up with a perfect 6th inning by Glenn Abbott, a perfect 7th by Lindblad and a perfect 8th and 9th by Fingers. The A's beat the last place Angels by a score of 5-0.

Paul Lindblad had Topps cards every year from 1966-1979 and represented every city he played in except Washington. His 1971 card showed him in Oakland and his 1972 card was an air-brushed Rangers card. So for his Card That Never Was, I created this 1971 card of him on the Senators. 

******************************

Ron Stone had a solid 1965 season hitting 16 homers and 67 RBIs playing for the Orioles minor league clubs. The A's took a chance on him and picked him up in the Rule 5 Draft. This required them to play him at the big league level or return him to Baltimore.  After 26 games and only 22 plate appearances, he was returned to the Orioles.

 He put together a few more solid seasons in the minors before being traded to the Phillies in 1969.  During this time Topps include him on 2 more Rookie Stars cards. One along with Frank Peters on the Orioles in 1968 and for the Phillies in 1969 with Bill Wilson. On both cards Topps used the same air-brushed image of him in an A's uniform.

He was picked up by the Phillies in 1969 for veteran catcher Clay Dalrymple. There he became a cautionary tale about reading too much into spring training performance.  He was labeled "Palm Tree Stone" by teammate, Larry Bowa. "He'd hit about .600 every spring then disappear on opening day. You didn't see him again until the next February."  

The Phillies used him mostly as a utility outfielder and pinch hitter. He played this role until 1972 when he spent July and August back in the minors. He was called up again in September but didn't get a single hit in 8 opportunities and began the 1973 back in the Phillies minor league system.  For his Card That Never Was, I created this 1973 Topps card to capture "Palm Tree" Stone's last spring training with the Phillies. 

******************************

This rookie card produced a solid relief pitcher who played in 2 World Series and pitched a perfect inning as part of a 4-man no-hitter. It also was the first (and only air-brush-free) of 3 rookie cards for "Palm Tree" Stone. While this is by no measure an essential card, I'm going to label it "Set Filler" and give it a 4.

1970 Topps Senators Rookie Stars: Jim Miles, Jan Dukes

Our random number generator brought us another card from 1970. This time it is #154, Senators Rookie Stars.

**********

For Jim Miles, this would not be his first rookie card.  He was included on a high number multi-team rookie stars card in 1969. It would be his last card however. He was a September call-up in 1968. He pitched in 3 games for a total of 4.1 innings giving up 6 runs. His 1969 campaign wasn't much better. He threw in 10 games for a total of 20.1 innings giving up 14 runs.

 Although he would never return to the Majors, he remained in the Senator/Rangers organization through 1972. Since he already had one card that was issued after his MLB career was over, I went the other direction. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1968 Topps card from his 1968 call-up.

**********

Jan Dukes pitched a total of 20 innings over his short MLB career. He had short stints in 1969 and 1970 with the Senators and again in 1972 with the Rangers. This was Jan Dukes one and only baseball card. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1971 Topps card for him.

**********

Two pitchers accounting for a total of 2 cards in the Topps catalog. Both rookie cards. 44.2 innings between the 2 of them, 26 earned runs, 3 losses and zero wins. I think we can call this card a total bust. Put it in your spokes.

1967 Topps White Sox Rookie Stars: Lee Elia, Dennis Higgins, Bill Voss

Lee Elia played a total of 95 big league games. 80 on the South side of Chicago in 1966 and 15 on the North side in 1968. He hit a meager .203 lifetime, yet he appeared on Topps cards in 1966, 67, 68 and 69. 

He likewise had a couple of short stints as a manager. He was the Cubs skipper in 1982 and the first part of the 1983 season. In 1987 he replaced John Felske as the Phillies manager 61 games into the season. In 1988 he was similarly dismissed just before the end of the season. Although his managerial career was just as dismal as his playing career, he still appeared on 3 more Topps. Oddly the only season he managed all 162 games was 1982 a year in which Topps didn't make manager's cards.

For Lee Elia's Card That Never Was I chose a 1982 Donruss design. Donruss was the only one of the big three that included manager cards at all in 1982, but they did not include one for the Cubs.

He had a record of 238-300 in parts of 4 seasons and never finished higher than 4th place in the division. He was best known for one of the greatest, profanity-laden rants ever recorded. A local DJ used to open his show every morning with the bleeped-version of this tirade. And every time I heard it, I couldn't help but laugh. Below I posted a YouTube video of his infamous rant. The publisher of this video even included his baseball cards, so I felt it was perfect for this site. Just a heads-up, this is not the bleeped version, it is loaded with F-bombs. Very NSFW.

In 1966 the White Sox pitching staff led the American League in ERA with a team ERA of 2.68. The next best were the Twins with 3.13. As a rookie on that staff, Dennis Higgins had a 2.52 ERA and struck out 86 batters over 93 innings, mostly in relief. After a 1967 season plagued with eye injuries he was dealt to the Senators in a six-player trade. During the 1969 season for the Senators, Higgins won a career high 10 games and had 19 saves. It was his 13th saves in 1968 that landed him on this Card That Never Was. I created this one for my other blog and have included it here:

Bill Voss was a September call-up in 1965. Although the outfielder had only 6 hits in 33 at bats one of them was a homer off Denny McLain. Voss spent most of 1966 and 1967 in the White Sox farm system. When he returned in 1968 he didn't even hit his weight but was given a second rookie card.

After the season he was dealt to the Angels. He fared better in California, hitting .255 over the next 2 seasons.  After being traded to the Brewers for the 1971 season he played on 3 different teams in 1972, the Milwaukee, Oakland and St. Louis. For his Card That Never Was I created a 1972 Topps Traded card of him with on the A's.

Although his career ended in a Cardinals uniform in 1972, he did appear on a 1973 card. It was the infamous Joe Rudi card that features 3 Oakland A's players, none of them Rudi. It shows Gene Tenace crossing the plate and being greeted by Voss and Marty Martinez  

**********

Once again this card appeals to me for no good reason. It could be Voss's inclusion on an infamous card of my childhood. It could be the inexplicable fact that Topps put 3 players on this rookie card while the others from 1966 only had 2.  It could be because the Sox are my team. Who am I kidding? It is Elia's rant. To this day, it makes me smile. I give it a 6 for "Guilty Pleasure".

1969 Topps Royals Rookie Stars: Steve Jones, Ellie Rodriguez

The 1969 Royals Rookie Stars card came with Ellie Rodriguez's name spelled 2 different ways. If you believe the price guides, the misspelled "Rodriquez" is worth 20 times the corrected version. The truth is the both cards seem to be priced similarly on eBay and COMC.

Steve Jones was a minor league veteran when the Royals selected him with the 10th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. He played minor league ball in the Twins, White Sox ans Senators organizations. He was called up by the Sox in late 1967. He played 11 games in 1967 for a record of 2-2. In February of 1968 he was dealt to the Senators in a 6 player trade. He pitched for the big league club in only 7 games but was 12-8 with their AAA team in Bufalo. He saw slightly more action for the expansion Royals but still split time with the farm team. 1969 would be his final MLB season and the only year in which Topps made a card for him. For his Card That Never Was, I put him on his own 1968 card. 

Ellie Rodriguez was the Yankees 3rd string catcher when he was taken with the Royals 13th pick in the expansion draft. He became the Royals opening day catcher and their sole representative at the 1969 All Star Game. He never got into the game. In 1970 he became back-up to Ed Kirkpatrick and after the season the Royals would trade him to the Brewers for another back-up catcher, Carl Taylor. Rodriguez would work his way back into the starting line up. He would again be the team's sole representative at the All Star Game. This time it would be for the Brewers in 1972, but once again he would never leave the bench. I had already made a Card That Never Was of Ellie Rodriguez for my other blog, click here. It seems appropriate to include it here as well.

And now for my grade. Steve Jones was a bust, while Ellie was a two-time All Star (well, sort of). Despite who was a bust or who was kinda good for a while, the card itself is unique because it is a rookie card from an expansion team and it has 2 versions. The error card with Rodriguez's name misspelled and the corrected card. Some sucker is gonna want it. I give it a 5 for "trade bait". 

1962 Topps Rookie Parade Infielders: Bernie Allen, Rich Rollins, Phil Linz, Joe Pepitone

The random number generator was kind to us this time. This card is from Topps' first series that included multi-player rookie cards. Not only that but it included some genuine All Stars. It also featured 2 players each from just 2 teams, the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. 

**********

Bernie Allen finished 3rd in the Rookie of the year voting in 1962 behind Tom Tresh and Buck Rodgers. He was also voted to the 1962 Topps Rookie All-Star Team, which meant that his sophomore card would get that cool trophy thing on it. After the end of the 1966 season the Twins would trade Allen to the Senators for closer Ron Kline. This would open up second base for a young rookie named Rod Carew.

After 5 seasons in Washington, Allen was traded to the Yankees. He was a utility infielder in New York in 1972 and most of 1973. In August 1973 he was purchased by the Expos. His final Topps card was in 1973. For his Card That Never Was, I created a 1974 Topps career-capper depicting him on his final team.

**********

As I said earlier, this card included some genuine All Stars. Rich Rollins was the starting third baseman in the 1962 All Star game. He would play for the Twins until 1969 when the Pilots chose him in the expansion draft. In Seattle he was relegated to back up third baseman. Although he would follow the team to Milwaukee, he was cut early in the 1970 season. He was signed by the Indians and would finish the season and his career in Cleveland.

Rollins is another player for whom I had already made a Card That Never Was on my other blog. This one is from the 1963 Topps All Star series that never was:

**********

Phil Linz is probably best known not for his baseball playing but his harmonica playing. For those of you that haven't read about "The Harmonica Incident" by reading "Ball Four" or many other accounts, I'll give a brief recap. 

While in Chicago a few players bought harmonicas. Linz while on the bus to O'Hare airport, opened his and started practicing. Using the pamphlet that came with the harmonica, he began playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Manager Yogi Berra yelled "Shove that harmonica up your ass!"  Linz, unable to hear above his own playing asked Mickey Mantle what Yogi said. Mantle replied "Play it louder."  Berra came at him, swatted the harmonica away, and hit Joe Pepitone in the knee.

Several sports journalists saw it as a sign that Yogi had lost control of the team. This despite all evidence to the contrary. Leading up to "the incident", the Yanks had just been swept in a 4 game series by the White Sox and were 4.5 games back in the A.L. They would go on a 40-13 run for the remainder of the season and win the pennant. Nonetheless, Yogi was fired after losing the World Series in 7 games.

Linz was traded traded to the Phillies after the 1965 season. He would finish his career in a Mets uniform at the end of the 1968 season. He only appeared as a Met on the 1968 Topps card that showed him in Yankee pinstripes and no cap. So here he is in all his Mets glory on a 1969 Topps Card That Never Was:

**********

Joe Pepitone played in 3 All Star Games from 1963-1965. He was the AL's starting first baseman in 1963. He was also a 3 time Gold Glove winner. He spent 8 years on the Yankees before being traded to the Astros after the 1969 season for former Rookie of the Year, Curt Blefary.  Midway through the 1970 season he was purchased by the Cubs. He would play on the North Side until early in the 1973 season, when he was traded to the Braves for Andre Thornton. Atlanta released him just one month later. Pepitone went to Japan to finish the 1973 season. He played for the Yakult Atoms but in 49 plate appearances failed to hit his weight.

Once again, I had already created a Card That Never Was for Joe Pepitone on my other blog. This one was part of another All Star series that never was. Here is a 1964 Topps All Star Card That Never Was to commemorate Pepitone's only ASG start in 1963:

**********

This card has the regional appeal of having 2 each player from both the Twins and the Yankees. In addition, there are genuine All Stars on this card, and all of the players had solid Major League careers. Even if it wasn't a high-number card from the 1962 set, I would still deem it "Binder Worthy", I give it a 7.

1964 Topps Colts Rookie Stars: Steve Hertz, Joe Hoerner

Steve Hertz was signed as an 18 year old by the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. He labored in the farm system from 1964-1969 but did come up for cup of coffee with the Colts in early 1964. Hertz remain involved with the sport well after his playing days were over. He managed at the high school level then junior college level in Miami amassing 778 JUCO victories. He even coached the Tel Aviv Lightning in the Israel Baseball League.

Impressive as all that is, the thing that fascinated me while researching Steve Hertz is that he had only 4 plate appearances in 5 games. He had 3 strikeouts, no hits, no walks, was not hit by a pitch, never stole a base, yet he scored twice. His first run came against the Cubs. He popped up to Lou Brock in left field. When Brock dropped the ball Hertz ended up on 2nd base. He scored on another error. Ernie Banks mishandled a Rusty Staub grounder to first base. His second run came as a pinch-runner against the Phillies. He filled in after Al Spangler drew a base on balls. A passed ball, 2 walks and a single later, Hertz was crossing the plate for the second and last time in his short career.

Year   Age  Tm Lg G PA AB R H RBI SB BB SO   BA HBP IBB
1964    19 HOU NL 5  4  4 2 0   0  0  0  3 .000   0   0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2015

Although his MLB career was anything but giant, I created this 1964 Topps Giant Card That Never Was to honor a player with some of the strangest MLB stats I have come across.

**********

Joe Hoerner was originally signed by the White Sox in 1957 before being taken by the Colts in the 1961 minor league draft. He remained primarily a minor league pitcher with the exception of 1 game in 1963 and 7 in 1964 for Houston. The Cardinals picked him up via the Rule 5 Draft in 1966. He immediately assumed the role of closer, finishing 39 games and  earning 13 saves. He would help the Cardinals to the World Championship in 1967. In 1968 he would have his best year going 8-2 with a 1.47 ERA. He would also have 17 save, the 2nd most in the NL.

He was traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season as part of the infamous Curt Flood for Dick Allen trade in which Flood refused to report which ultimately led to free agency. He was the Phillies sole representative at the 1970 All Star game but never left the bull-pen. He continued pitching through the 1977 season with the Phillies, Braves, Royals, Rangers and Reds. He would finish his career with a record of 39-34 with 98 saves and an ERA of 2.99.

For his Card That Never Was I am going to re-use a 1969 Topps League Leader card I made for Cards That Never Were in recognition of his statistically best MLB season.

**********

As usual, I found the stories behind these players more interesting than the card itself. But for that same reason I have to give it a 4 "Set Filler".