1962 Topps Lee Stange

In 1962 Topps had the multi-player "Rookie Parade" cards in the  7th and final series. But they still had several individual cards with the designated "1962 Rookie" star emblazoned on the front of the card. Most of these stars were yellow but there were a few that were white, like this one. Another inconsistency of the 1962 set that is shown on this card is the variations on the team name for the Twins. In some cases Minnesota Twins was spelled out in its entirety. in other cases it was abbreviated as Minn. Twins or as in this case Min. Twins. 

Originally signed by the Washington Senators, Lee Stange made his debut in 1961 with the relocated Minnesota Twins. He pitched for the Twins, Indians, and Sox both Red and White. He was used both as a starter and in relief over his 10 big league seasons. He was slightly better in the starting role than in relief. As a starter he was 47-44 with a 3.41 ERA, In relief he was 15-17 with 21 saves and an ERA of 3.87. After he retired he was employed as a pitching coach in the Red Sox, Twins and Athletics organizations.

In September of 1964 Stange became just the 10th Major League pitcher to strike out 4 batters in one inning.  He struck out Senators center fielder Don Lock, who advanced to first on a passed ball. He then struck out Willie Kirkland, Don Zimmer and John Kennedy. The 5th place Indians beat the 9th place Senators 9-0 in front of a crowd of 2,540.                                                                                                       Stange had Topps cards every year from 1962-1971 and even had a couple cards from his coaching career.  He appeared as a coach on the 1973 and 1974 Red Sox managers cards. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1963 Fleer card for him. In 1963 Stange had a career high 12 victories.

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While never an All-Star, Lee Stange had an overall winning record for his 10 year MLB career. He had 62 wins and 61 losses and an ERA of 3.56. Normally, I would grade this a 4, "Set Filler", but his status as an original Minnesota Twin bumps him (barely) to a 5, "Trade Bait".