Pedro Borbon (#358)

Pedro Borbon was a mainstay in the Big Red Machine’s bullpen from 1972-77, and led the team in saves in ’73, ’74, and ’77. Borbon pitched in 593 games in his 12-year career, starting only 4 games. He pitched in more games from 1970-78 than any other NL pitcher. This is his rookie card. 

Pedro was signed by the Cardinals in late 1964, but did not start playing until 1966. After 3 seasons with 3 different class-A teams, he was selected by the Angels in the Rule 5 draft in December 1968. 

Borbon played one full season (1969) with the Angels, pitching 41 innings over 22 games, then was traded to the Reds in the off-season (with pitcher Jim McGlothlin) for outfielder Alex Johnson and infielder Chico Ruiz.

He played most of 1970 and 1971 in the minors, only pitching 12 times for the Reds in the first half of 1970, and 3 games in September 1971. 

Pedro made the Reds on a full-time basis in 1972, and was 2nd to Clay Carroll in games and saves. In 1973 he posted a career-high 11 wins, while leading the staff in games and tied with Carroll with 14 saves. In 1974 he led the bullpen in games and innings pitched, and again collected 14 saves. 

For the next 2 seasons, Borbon maintained his high games and innings workload, although newcomers Rawly Eastwick and Will McEnaney picked up most of the saves. 

With McEnaney traded before the season, and Eastwick traded in mid-season, Pedro was the team’s top reliever in 1977. 

In 1978 he had a reduced role in the bullpen, although he posted an 8-2 record. In 1979 it was Borbon’s turn to go – traded to the Giants in June for outfielder Hector Cruz. 

He played for the Giants for the rest of that season, then was released just before the start of the 1980 season.  Pedro hooked on with the Cardinals at the end of Aptil, but after 10 appearances he was released at the end of May. 

Borbon appeared in 20 post-season games for the Reds from 1972-76, picking up 3 saves. 

Pedro was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame in 2010. He passed away in 2012 at age 65. 

His son Pedro Jr. pitched for the Braves, Blue Jays, and others from 1992-2003.  

 

"Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon… Manny Mota…Mota...Mota"

Joe Coleman (#127)

Joe Coleman Jr. was a starting pitcher for the Senators (1965-70) and Tigers (1971-76), then spent his last 2 ½ years bouncing around to 5 different teams.

Coleman (whose father pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics and others from 1942-55) was the Senators’ 1st-round pick in the June 1965 draft. He made his major-league debut that September, with 2 complete-game wins at age 18.

After spending much of 1966 back in the minors, Joe made the Senators on a permanent basis in April 1967. He started 22 games and posted 8 wins in his rookie season.

Coleman won 12 games in 1968 and 1969 – not bad for a perennially bad team. He also had an identical 3.27 ERA both years, and struck out 139 and 182 batters.

After an off-year in 1970, Joe was part of an 8-player trade with the Tigers. Coleman, along with shortstop Ed Brinkman, 3rd baseman Aurelio Rodriguez, and pitcher Jim Hannan were exchanged for pitchers Denny McLain and Norm McRae, 3rd baseman Don Wert, and outfielder Elliott Maddox. With McLain’s career crumbling, the Tigers got the better of that deal.

Joe put in 5 full seasons with Detroit, including winning 20, 19, and 23 games from 1971-73. He also struck out over 200 batters each of those seasons, and made the All-Star team in 1972.

In June 1976 he was sold to the Cubs, which started the slow unwinding of his career, as he bounced from the Cubs to the Athletics, Blue Jays, Giants, and finally the Pirates in 1979.

Coleman has been a minor and major-league pitching coach for the Angels, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and Marlins since 1980.

Joe Jr was the middleman in 3 generations of ballplayers. His son Casey pitched for the Cubs and Royals from 2010 to 2014.

Hal Lanier (#583)

For players that have been around for a while, I much prefer to post their ‘66, ‘67, ‘68, or ‘69 card, than their 1970 card. But I have so many cards queued up for 1967 to 1969, that some veterans are being pushed onto my 1970 list. (I don’t mind bypassing the ‘68 and ‘69 Astros and ‘68 Athletics – those cards are a mess.) 


Hal Lanier (whose father Max was a pitcher for the Cardinals and others from 1938-53) was signed by the Giants in 1961 and made his Giants’ debut in June 1964. He was named to the Topps All-Rookie team that year.

Originally a 2nd baseman, he was the team’s regular there from his debut in mid-June ‘64 through the 1966 season.

Hal swapped positions with Tito Fuentes at the start of the 1967 season, and was the Giant’s regular shortstop for the next 4 years, until he was replaced by rookie Chris Speier at the start of the 1971 season.

After a year on the bench, Lanier was sold to the Yankees before the 1972 season. He played his final 2 seasons as a utility infielder for New York.

Hal then had a long coaching career with the Cardinals, Phillies, and others, and also managed the Astros from 1986-88 (winning the NL West in ’86). In recent years he has managed independent minor-league teams.


From 1966:

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Final Card: Jose Tartabull

Here is the final card for outfielder Jose Tartabull (#481). Jose is back on the team he began his career with, after 3 seasons with the Red Sox.

Tartabull was signed by Giants in 1958. After 4 seasons in the low minors, he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in December 1961 and was immediately promoted to the big leagues at the start of 1962. (I’m guessing the 1962 Athletics were a much worse team than the 1962 NL Champion Giants, so opportunities abounded for a prospect!) 

In 1962 and 1963 Tartabull shared the center field job evenly with aging veteran Bobby Del Greco.

Del Greco moved on after 1963, so you would think Tartabull would be upgraded to full-time center fielder. Wrong! Ex-Cubs backup Nelson Matthews was acquired in the off-season and started 150 games in the center garden, relegating Jose to just 9 starts in 1964 (none after 7/31). He spent most of the season as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement in left or center.

1965 was more of the same, except that this time it was long-time White Sox’ outfielder Jim Landis imported to man center field. Tartabull started 51 games that year, but also played in triple-A for almost 100 games.

From 1963 to 1966, the Athletics employed a revolving door in the outfield, with 11 different players getting the most innings at the 3 outfield slots. Only Mike Hershberger held a position more than 1 season (RF: '65-'66).

It seemed like Tartabull found a home in 1966, starting every game in through May 20th. Not so fast – after a few weeks on the bench he was traded to the Red Sox (with pitcher John Wyatt) for pitcher Ken Sanders and outfielder Jim Gosger. Jose’s time in Boston was highlighted by a throw that gunned down a runner at home plate in a late August 1967 game, preserving a Red Sox win. (The Sox won the AL pennant by one game that year.)

After 2 ½ seasons as the Sox’ 4th outfielder, he was traded back to the Athletics in May 1969. Jose played parts of ’69 and ’70 and all of ’71 in the minors, then retired after playing in Mexico during 1971.

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Tartabull’s son Danny played for various teams for 13 seasons beginning in 1984 (14 seasons, if you count the 3 games for the Phillies at the start of the 1997 season, before he milked a season-long stay on the disabled list with a stubbed toe!)

Here's something currently on Danny Tartabull's Wikipedia page (apparently his gold-bricking was not limited to 1997!):

"Tartabull is currently a fugitive from justice. A warrant was issued for his arrest on May 12, 2012 after he failed to appear for a 180-day jail sentence, and is on the Most Wanted List for Los Angeles County Child Services Department. He has been named the top deadbeat dad in Los Angeles after allegedly failing to pay more than $275,000 in child support for his two sons."

Del Unser (#336)

Here’s centerfielder Del Unser, perusing the bat rack. (Actually, it looks more like the perennial second-division Senators “borrowed” a shopping cart from the local A&P for their bats.)

Unser came up with the Senators in 1968 and immediately took over the center field position, starting 153 games in his rookie season. He finished a distant second place in the Rookie of the Year voting to Yankees’ pitcher Stan Bahnsen.

Unser was drafted by the Twins in June 1965 and by the Pirates in January 1966, but did not sign. He was the Senators’ #1 pick in the June 1966 draft, and played the remainder of that year and all of 1967 for the York (PA) White Roses, the Nats’ double-A team.

The following season he jumped to the majors out of spring training, and was Washington’s starting center gardener for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. After starting the first 11 games in 1970, Del was relegated to the bench for much of the season, only starting 21 games after April 27th, as Ed Stroud took over his position.

In 1971 Unser was back in the driver’s seat, starting 2/3 of the games in center, while the newly-acquired Elliot Maddox starting most of the other games.

Del was traded to the Indians after the 1971 season in an 8-player deal, but only lasted 1 season in Cleveland. A year later he was traded to the Phillies for outfielders Oscar Gamble and Roger Freed. [Oh, how I LOVED this trade back then! The Phillies were getting a bona fide center fielder in exchange for two stiffs that had worn out their welcome. It was one of the first deals by Paul Owens, who had taken over as Phillies’ GM in June 1972.] 

Pushing 1971-72 center fielder Willie Montanez over to right field, Unser manned center field for the Phillies during the ’73 and ’74 seasons. After 1974, he was traded to the Mets (with reliever Mac Scarce and catching prospect John Stearns) for reliever Tug McGraw and 2 backup outfielders. (Obviously, McGraw made major contributions for the next half-dozen seasons.)

After a few seasons with the Mets and Expos, Unser returned to the Phillies in 1979, this time as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire. He played in over 90 games each in ’79 and ’80, but started less than a third of them. His value was now in his timely hitting (.298 in 1979). After 2 more seasons with the Phillies, Del retired after the 1982 season.

Unser has worked off-and-on for the Phillies since then, most notably as a batting coach and minor-league instructor.

Del’s father Al was a catcher for the Tigers and Reds in the mid-1940s.

Maury Wills (#595)

Here is Maury Wills' first Topps card as a Dodger. Although Wills made his major-league debut on June 6, 1959 and was the Dodgers' regular shortstop from 7/4/1959 to 12/1/1966, Topps did not issue a card for him until the 1967 set, and by then he was the Pirates' 3rd baseman.

Maury was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1951 season. Baseball-Reference.com says that he played for the Hornell, NY Dodgers in 1951, as well as in 1952. As such, he was in the Dodgers' system several years before future Pirates' teammate Roberto Clemente.

What I didn't know until today is that Wills spent the 1957 season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization (playing for Seattle in the PCL), and was traded to the Tigers and back to the Dodgers during the 1958-59 off-season.

 
Wills took over the Dodgers' shortstop job from Don Zimmer midway through the 1959 season, and went on the lead the NL in stolen bases every season from 1960-65, including 104 in 1962 and 94 in 1965. He also led the league in triples in 1962, and was named the NL MVP that season.

After the 1966 season he was traded to the Pirates for shortstop Gene Michael and 3rd baseman Bob Bailey. After two seasons in Pittsburgh, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos. Wills was the expansion team's regular shortstop for the first two months, then was traded back to the Dodgers (with outfielder Manny Mota) for outfielder Ron Fairly and infielder Paul Popovich.

He reclaimed the starting shortstop job, which in the 2 1/2 seasons he was away, was manned by such luminaries as Gene Michael, Dick Schofield, Nate Oliver, Tommy Dean, Zoilo Versalles, Ted Sizemore, and Billy Grabarkiewitz. Maury remained the starter until he was replaced by Bill Russell in late-April 1972.

Wills was released after the 1972 season, ending his 14-year career. He later managed the Seattle Mariners for parts of 1980 and 1981.

Astros Rookies: John Mayberry Sr. / Bob Watkins

While filling in for the injured Shane Victorino, the Phillies' John Mayberry Jr collected THREE doubles during today's 14-1 thrashing of the Atlanta Braves. Let's look at his Pop's rookie card...




John Mayberry Sr. was the Astros' #1 pick in the 1967 draft. Although he hit 44 homers in the minors during 1968-69, he was stuck there for 5 seasons, while the Astros changed 1st basemen every year: Eddie Mathews ('67), Rusty Staub ('68), Curt Blefary ('69), Bob Watson & Joe Pepitone ('70), and the cruelest cut of all, an aging, out-of-position Denis Menke ('71). I think when they prefer Menke over a slugging youngster, you pretty much don't fit into their plans.

Mayberry was traded to the Royals in December 1971, and spent the next 6 seasons as their starting 1st baseman. During spring training in 1978, he moved on to the Blue Jays, where he manned 1st base for another 4 seasons. John split his final season (1983) between the Blue Jays and Yankees.


Bob Watkins? As is so often the case with these rookie cards, one player makes it big while another fades away. Watkins' big-league career consisted of 15 innings with the Astros in 1969. He pitched in their farm system from 1966 through 1971.

Ed Spiezio (#718)

Here's the last of the five 1970 cards (all high numbers!) I received from Deans Cards a few months ago. Poor Ed Spiezio - he went from back-to-back trips to the World Series with the Cardinals in '67 and '68, to the expansion Padres in 1969. At least he was getting some playing time now!

Spiezio was signed by the Cardinals in 1963, and spent 4 seasons in the minors. Beginning in 1965, he began to play a good number of games in the outfield, as well as his usual 3rd base position. Ed also played in several dozen games with the Cardinals from 1964 to 1966.



In 1967, Ed finally made the team for the entire season. He was primarily used as a pinch-hitter, but also saw action at 3rd base or the outfield, especially when the regulars were injured or away on National Guard duty. (He was rarely brought into a game in late innings for defensive purposes, that was Phil Gagliano's job.) Ed also appeared in the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox.

Spiezio played the same role in 1968, but less often. His playing time that year was about half of his 1967 action. Once again, he appeared in the World Series, this time against the Tigers.

After the season, Ed was traded to the expansion Padres for pitcher Dave Giusti. Spiezio was the team's starting 3rd baseman from day 1 until he was replaced by Garry Jestadt in late August 1971.

In July 1972, Ed was traded to the White Sox, and retired after the season.

Ed's son Scott was an infielder for the Athletics, Angels, and others from 1996-2007.