Eddie Watt (#497)

Eddie Watt was the Orioles' closer from 1968 through the 1972 season. He pitched 411 games over his 10 seasons, all in relief except for 13 starts late in his rookie season.

Watt was signed by the Orioles in September 1961 and made his major-league debut in April 1966.

As a rookie, he appeared in 43 games, mostly in relief except for 13 starts from mid-July to mid-September. He returned to the bullpen for the final 2 weeks of the season, and stayed there for the remainder of his career. Eddie collected 102 strikeouts in his 1st year, 3rd on the team behind Dave McNally and Jim Palmer.

After another season under the wing of veteran Moe Drabowsky, Watt became the top man in the bullpen for the next 5 seasons. He led the team in saves in '68, '69, and '71, and was 1 behind the leader in '70 and '72.

In 1969 he fashioned a 1.65 ERA, and appeared in 7 post-season games between 1969-71. (The O's won their first World Series in his rookie year of 1966, but Baltimore swept the Dodgers in 4 games (including 3 complete game shutouts) so most of the bullpen didn’t even play that Fall.) 

After dropping to 3rd on the bullpen depth chart in 1973 (but with another post-season appearance), Watt was sold to the Phillies after the season, and pitched 1 year for Philadelphia.

The Phillies released him during spring training in 1975, and he was soon picked up by the Cubs, where he pitched only 6 games (the last coming in mid-June 1975) and finished the season with the Cubs' AAA team, then was released in early-September.

Watt pitched for the Padres’ AAA team in '76 and '77, and 2 games for their class-A team in 1978 before retiring.

Dave Leonhard (#674)

A few months ago, I offered up some 1968 Topps Playing Card inserts in trade for something on my want list (which is mostly made up of 1966 and 1970 high numbers). 

To date I have had one response, from blog reader Dave of Middletown, MD. Dave sent me four 1970 high-numbered cards in excellent condition, in return for a handful of 1968 playing cards. Here is the first of those four cards.


Dave Leonhard had a six-year career (all with the Orioles) from 1967 to 1972. I consider him to be in the “2nd tier” of Orioles’ starters of that era (along with Tom Phoebus and Jim Hardin), behind the “1st tier” of Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and even Steve Barber. (Let’s make Wally Bunker tier 1-A, losing points for lack of longevity.)

Leonhard was signed by the Orioles in 1963, and played 5 seasons in the minors. After winning the International League Pitcher of the Year award in 1967, he made his major-league debut in September.

Dave was a starter in the minors, and also during the 1968 season when the O’s were short on quality starters. (Palmer missed all of 1968 with a sore arm, Bunker was ineffective, and Cuellar had not yet arrived from Houston.)

With the return of Palmer and the acquisition of Cuellar for 1969, Dave was relegated to the bullpen, where he remained for the next 4 seasons. After pitching 94 innings over 37 games (3 starts) in 1969, Leonhard was limited to just 28 innings (over 23 games) in 1970, compiling a 0-0 record with a 5.08 ERA, and was rarely used during the second half.

That bought him a trip back to the minors in 1971, where he was once again used as a starter. Dave didn’t return to Baltimore until July 10th, and played in only 10 games for the Orioles that year.

In 1972 he played in only 14 games. His games were scattered throughout the season, and he didn’t play in the minors that year. It seems like he either spent a lot of time on the DL, or the last seat in the bullpen.

Dave’s final big-league game was on September 20, 1972. In June 1973 he was traded to the Angels for utility man Jim Hutto. Over the next 4 years, Dave bounced around from the Angels to the Cubs to the Expos, playing in AAA in ’73 and ’74, and in AA in ’75 and ’76.

Andy Etchebarren (#213)

Orioles’ catcher Andy Etchenbarren is also the catcher on our “Hangin’ at the bat rack” team. I was surprised to learn today how little he played for the O’s after 1967.

Andy was signed by the Orioles in 1961, and worked his way up their minor-league ladder from 1961 to 1965. His major-league debut came during the last week of September 1962, when he caught 2 games for Baltimore. He also played 5 games for the Birds in September 1965.

Etchebarren finally made the team at the start of the 1966 season. He was the starting catcher from day 1, replacing 1965’s trio of Dick Brown, Johnny Orsino, and Charlie Lau. Andy started 118 games behind the plate as a rookie, which would be his career high. Backups Vic Roznovsky and rookie Larry Haney started 25 and 15 games, respectively.

1967 was the only other season where he would play in over 100 games for the Orioles. He started 94 games that season, with Haney starting 45 games, and Roznovsky 22 times. Andy also made the all-star team in 1966 and 1967.

The arrival of rookie catcher Elrod Hendricks in 1968 put a serious crimp in Etchebarren’s playing time. Andy’s starts plummeted to 56 games (still ahead of Hendricks’ 45 starts). Also in the catching mix was outfielder Curt “Clank” Blefary. With the newly-acquired Don Buford installed in left field, Blefary started 38 games behind the plate, despite having never played the position before. (I thought defensive butchers only played catcher in school-yard pickup games!)

From 1969 to 1974, Andy played 2nd fiddle to a variety of catchers (Hendricks, Johnny Oates, Earl Williams), but started about 60 games each season.

1975 was the beginning of the end for Etchebarren’s career. He started 3 of the first 5 games, but then rode the bench until his mid-June trade to the Angels. Andy took over the starting job in late August, and in 1976 saw his playing time reach 102 games, his highest total since 1967. He and 1976's backup catcher Terry Humphrey switched places in 1977. Although Andy caught 80 games, only 44 were starting assignments.

Prior to the 1978 season, he was sold to the Brewers. He only played 4 games that season, the last on April 20th.

After his playing career, Etchebarren managed off-and-on in the Orioles’ farm system from 1984 to 2007. He also managed an independent Atlantic League team from 2009-2013.

1969 Post-Season Cards

1969 was the first season of divisional play, and Topps expanded their subset accordingly. Both '69 divisional series were 3-game sweeps, as the Orioles' and Mets' pitching easily overmatched their opponents.

The Mets went from last place to World Champions, winning the series with great pitching, timely hitting, and unbelievable outfield defense. They won it all in their 8th year of existence. Hey Pirates, who says rebuilding has to last forever?

The summary stats on the last card are so small as to be unreadable (even holding the card in your hand) so posting it sideways makes no difference.