Larry Hisle (#288)

Here is Larry Hisle's first solo card. He previously appeared on an NL Rookies card in 1968, and a Phillies Rookies card in 1969. Too bad Topps couldn't get a better picture of the centerfielder on their all-rookie team, who played the entire 1969 season with the Phillies.

Hisle's early major-league career followed that of teammate (and previous post subject) Don Money. Like Money, Hisle was handed a starting job in spring training 1968. They both made their major-league debut in the '68 season opener. Like Money, Larry faltered and was sent back to triple-A in late April. Like Money, Hisle re-booted his career in 1969, snaring a starting position vacated by a player lost in the expansion draft, and played well enough to earn a Topps all-rookie team slot.

Larry was signed by the Phillies in 1965, and began playing ball in 1966 with the Phillies' low-A team in Huron, SD. The following year he advanced to high-A Tidewater, where he clubbed 23 homers and hit .302 in 136 games. This earned him a (rushed) trip to Philly in 1968. After 7 games with the Phillies in '68, he was sent back to triple-A San Diego, where he finished the season with a .303 average but only hit 6 home runs.

Larry's big years with the Phillies were 1969 and 1970. He took over the starting center field job on opening day, and started 124 of the first 129 games there. Following that, he shared the position with veteran Johnny Briggs during the month of September.

1970 was a little less stable for Hisle. After starting the first 29 games in center, he moved over to right field while Oscar Gamble and others got their shot there. By mid-June, he was spending a lot of time on the bench, then strung together a series of starts in center field in July and again in August. By season's end, Larry logged more playing time than the other outfielders, but there were 5 players in the starting outfield rotation.

1971 brought a lot of change to the Phillies' outfield. Rookies Willie Montanez and Roger Freed won the center and right field jobs, so everyone else (Hisle, Briggs, Gamble, Ron Stone, and Byron Browne) was thrown into the left field mix. Hisle only played 36 for the Phillies that season, while playing 62 games in triple-A.

After the season, he was traded to the Dodgers for 1st baseman Tommy Hutton. Larry spent the entire 1972 season in the minors, then in late October was traded to the Cardinals, who flipped him to the Twins a month later.

Hisle's best years were spent with the Twins (1973-77), playing left and center fields. In 1977 he led the AL with 119 RBI, while batting .305 and hitting 28 home runs. He also made his first of two all-star appearances.

Larry was granted free agency after the 1977 season, and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. In his first season there he collected 600 at-bats, 34 home runs, 115 RBI, and an all-star appearance. The next 4 seasons he was relegated to part-time playing roles, retiring on May 6, 1982 after appearing in only 9 games.

Don Money (#645)

This is Don Money's 2nd card, and his first in a Phillies' uniform. Don's rookie card was in the 1969 set, where he appeared on a Phillies Rookie Stars card in a hatless photo from his Pirates' days. He is one of 2 Phillies who made the Topps all-rookie team in 1969 (along with center fielder Larry Hisle).

Money was acquired from the Pirates in December 1967 along with pitcher Woodie Fryman and two minor-league pitchers for veteran pitcher Jim Bunning.

Don's major-league debut came in April 1968. He was handed the starting shortstop job in spring training, but after a week or so, it became apparent that he was overmatched, and was sent down to triple-A in late April. (The same thing occurred for rookie teammate Hisle).

After the 1968 season, the Phillies lost all 3 of their major-league shortstops (Bobby Wine, Roberto Pena, and Gary Sutherland) in the expansion draft, clearing the way for Money in 1969. Don played 4 full seasons with the Phillies, making 503, 507, 482, and 590 plate appearances, respectively. He was the regular shortstop as a rookie, before sliding over to 3rd base at the start of 1970, making room for rookie Larry Bowa.

In 1971, he moved around a few times: to left field for the month of July, when the Phillies tried rookie John Vukovich at 3rd base, and over to 2nd base for the month of September, when rookie Greg Luzinski was called up and installed at 1st base for the balance of the season (causing 1st baseman Deron Johnson to move over to 3rd base).

Money was back at 3rd base for 1972, then moved on to the Brewers after the season, traded with pitcher Billy Champion and 3rd baseman John Vukovich for pitchers Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, and others. His 3rd base job in Philadelphia would be given to Mike Schmidt at the start of 1973.

Don spent his remaining 11 seasons with the Brewers, 4 as the starting 3rd baseman, then one as the 2nd baseman, before becoming a swingman and, finally, a backup. He made 4 all-star teams between 1974 and 1978, and retired following the 1983 season.

Final Card: Rick Joseph

This is the final card for Rick Joseph (#186), and his first Phillies' card featuring him in a Phillies' uniform. (His 1968 and 1969 Phillies cards use the same hatless closeup of Joseph in a Kansas City Athletics' uniform.)  Looking at this card reminds me that Joseph used to wear an inside-the-cap insert instead of a batting helmet (as did his teammate Tony Taylor).

Joseph was from San Pedro de Macoris, DR, the hotbed of major-league infielders, although he came before many of the big names of the 1970s and 1980s.

Rick was signed by the Giants in 1959, and after 5 seasons was selected by the Athletics in the minor-league draft. He made his major-league debut with Kansas City in 1964, playing 17 games as a corner-infeld reserve. After that, it was back to the minors, including a half-season in the Tigers' chain, before being returned to the Athletics' farm.
 

The Phillies drafted him after the 1966 season, and he spent most of 1967 with their triple-A San Diego Padres team, which was more like an old-age home for ex-major-leaguers than a launching pad for future prospects. Joseph was called up to Philadelphia in late August when 3rd baseman Richie Allen's season was ended by a hand injury. Joseph spent the next 3 seasons with the Phillies as a backup at 1st base and 3rd base, behind the likes of Allen, Bill White, and Deron Johnson.

Rick was traded to the White Sox on January 14, 1971 for pitcher Darrell Brandon. Joseph spent the 1971 season with the Padres' AAA team in Hawaii, then wrapped up his career playing in triple-A for the Braves and Pirates in 1972, and in Mexico in 1973.

Joseph passed away in September 1979 from diabetes, at age 40.

Final Card: Jeff James

This is the last of two Topps cards for Jeff James (#302).  In 1968, the Phillies injected some youth into their pitching rotation. Veteran pitcher Jim Bunning was traded to the Pirates for Woodie Fryman, and James replaced aging veteran Dick Ellsworth as the #5 starter.

James was signed by the Phillies in 1960, and was a starting pitcher in their farm system for 7 seasons (1961-67), finally making it to triple-A in 1967, where he compiled a 13-5 record.

Jeff made his major-league debut in mid-April, and was with the Phillies for the entire 1968 season. Pitching in 29 games, his 13 starts came mostly in July and August. His spot in the starting rotation was taken over by fellow rookie Jerry Johnson for the rest of the season.

James was back in triple-A for most of the 1969 season (compiling a 13-10 record), and only returned to Philadelphia in September, when he pitched in his last 6 big-league games.

Jeff pitched the '70 and '71 seasons in triple-A before retiring. He passed away in 2006 at age 64.

Mike Ryan (#591)

Today we have Phillies' backup catcher Mike Ryan. Although 1970 was Mike's 3rd season with the Phils, it was his first card featuring him in a Phillies uniform. It seems like Topps took it's time getting new photos for players that changed teams, preferring to stick with hatless photos well beyond their expiration date:

1967 Bob Buhl
1967 Bob Uecker
1967 Don Lock*
1968 Don Lock
1969 Don Lock
1968 Woody Fryman*
1969 Woody Fryman
1968 Turk Farrell
1969 Turk Farrell
1968 Mike Ryan*
1969 Mike Ryan
1968 Rick Joseph
1969 Rick Joseph

* These could be excused as their first season with the Phils, except that Topps was able to get Dick Hall in a Phillies uniform in 1967, his first season with the team.

But I digress....

I first became casually aware of Mike Ryan by his 1967 card while a member of the AL champion Red Sox. After the season, the Phillies acquired him in exchange for pitcher Dick Ellsworth and catcher Gene Oliver. (The same day, they also traded Jim Bunning for 4 players, including Woody Fryman and Don Money.)

Great! I thought. After plodding along the previous season with a platoon featuring aging veterans Clay Dalrymple, Bob Uecker, and Gene Oliver, we're finally getting a young, up-coming catcher. Not so fast... Ryan platooned with Dalrymple for the '68 season, then took over as the regular backstop in 1969 when Dalrymple was traded to the Orioles. Although a great defensive catcher, Ryan couldn't hit a lick. (I guess that's implied when someone is referred to as "a great defensive catcher").

After one season at the controls, Mike returned to the bench in 1970, since former all-star and 2-time World Series champion Tim McCarver was acquired in the Dick Allen trade prior to the season. However, Ryan got a break when McCarver broke his hand on a Willie Mays' foul tip on May 2nd. Mike actually DID get a "break" later that same inning: breaking HIS hand while applying a tag at home plate. (The Phillies used 2 minor-league catchers and a hastily-reactivated bullpen coach to fill in for the next few months.)

Ryan caddied for McCarver through June 1972, then played behind John Bateman for the remainder of that season. In 1973, rookie Bob Boone took over as the #1 catcher. The team had acquired veteran Tom Haller from the Tigers to mentor Boone, but when Haller refused to report, they kept Ryan on for one more season.

After playing for the Pirates in his final season (1974), Mike returned to the Phillies as a minor-league coach for a few seasons, then as their major-league bullpen coach from 1980-1995.

Deron Johnson (#125)

In case you haven't noticed, I've recently been using my blogs to present a card for each of the 66 players (having a card) who played for the Phillies from 1966-1969. I'm about 2/3 of the way there, with most of the remaining cards to be posted on the '69 and '70 blogs. (The 1970 Phillies cards have more players in Phillies' caps than the 1969 set.)  

Deron Johnson was acquired by the Phillies in 1969. His big bat was the reason Phillies' 1st base prospect Greg Luzinski moved to left field when he came up in 1971.

On the first Deron Johnson card I got (1967), his position was listed as "INF-OF", a designation usually reserved for utility schmoes like Jim Stewart, Frank Kostro, and Jim Barbieri. Johnson was clearly not a utility player, but was a regular at 3 different positions (1B-3B-LF) in rapid succession, and led the NL with 130 RBI in 1965.

Johnson was signed by the Yankees in 1956 and played 5 seasons in their minor-league system, the last 3 in triple-A. Deron started as an outfielder, but in his last 2 minor-league seasons, played as much at 3rd base as in the outfield. He made his major-league debut in September 1960, and played a half-dozen games at 3rd base that season.

Johnson began the 1961 season with the Yankees, but after only playing in 13 games (3 starts) by mid-June, he was traded to Kansas City (as many Yankees were in those days) with veteran pitcher Art Ditmar for pitcher Bud Daley. Johnson spent the remainder of 1961 as a swing man between LF, RF, and even some 3B, playing in 83 games for the Athletics. He missed most of the 1962 season while in military service, playing only 17 games that season (almost all in August).

The Cincinnati Reds purchased Johnson in April 1963, and he spent the entire season at triple-A San Diego (maybe for a refresher course on "good baseball" after almost 2 years in Kansas City?). Anyway, he led the PCL with 33 home runs and was the league's all-star 1st baseman.

Beginning in 1964, Johnson turned in 4 solid seasons as a regular with the Reds. Playing 1st base for all of '64, 3rd base in '65, and left field for '66, he appeared in 140+ games per season, and had a monster year in 1965, leading the NL with 130 RBI in 159 games. 1967 was his last season with the Reds. With Tony Perez, and now Lee May joining the team, Johnson's playing time slipped to 108 games as he shuttled between 1st base and 3rd base.

After the season he was traded to the Braves for a bag of beans pitcher Jay Ritchie and outfielders Mack Jones and Jim Beauchamp. After one season in Atlanta, he was sold to the Phillies.

With Dick Allen already at 1st base, Johnson alternated between left field and 3rd base, before taking over at 1st base following Allen's off-season trade. Deron had two excellent seasons in '70 and '71, clubbing 27 and 34 home runs along with 93 and 95 RBI.

Injuries limited him to 96 games in 1972, and in May 1973 he was traded to Oakland for a minor-league catcher. Johnson played 4 seasons in the American League as the designated hitter and sometimes first baseman for Oakland, Milwaukee, Boston, and Chicago before being released in June 1976.

He later coached for several teams, including the Phillies and Angels. Johnson died of lung cancer in 1992 at age 53.

Jim Bunning (#403)

Jim Bunning returned to the Phillies in 1970, after a 2-year hiatus. He was the team's opening-day pitcher in 1971, the first-ever game at Veterans Stadium.

Bunning was signed by the Tigers in 1950 and pitched in the minors for 7 seasons (1950-56). In those last 2 seasons, he also pitched 15 games for the Tigers.

1957 was Jim's first full season in the majors, and he marked the occasion by winning 20 games, leading the AL with 267 innings pitched, and making his first of 7 all-star appearances. Bunning starred for the Detroit for 6 more seasons, twice leading the AL with 201 strikeouts.

After the 1963 season he was traded to the Phillies with catcher Gus Triandos for outfielder Don Demeter and pitcher Jack Hamilton.

Jim was the Phillies' ace for the next 4 seasons, winning 19 games 3 times. During his 1st season in Philly, he pitched a perfect game against the Mets on Fathers' Day. He won 17 in his final season, then moved on to the Pirates for 4 players, including pitcher Woody Fryman and shortstop prospect Don Money.

After two off-years in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, Bunning returned to the Phillies for 2 seasons before retiring after the 1971 season at age 39. (The Phillies would acquire Steve Carlton months later.)

Bunning spent some time managing in the Phillies' farm system before entering politics. He was a congressman, then a US Senator from Kentucky from 1987 to 2011.



With this post, all Phillies' planets are aligned:

Normal orbits will resume shortly, except for this 1970 blog, which will feature Phillies for the next few posts.

Final Card: John Roseboro

This is the last card for long-time Dodgers' catcher John Roseboro (#655). John was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952, and played in their minor-league system from 1952 to 1957, except for missing the 1954 season while in military service.

Roseboro made his major-league debut in June 1957. He got into 35 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers, as the 3rd-string catcher behind veterans Roy Campanella and Rube Walker. John took over the #1 spot for the 1958 season (the team's first season in Los Angeles) due to Campanella's automobile accident. Roseboro remained a fixture behind the plate for 10 seasons in Los Angeles, making the all-star team 3 times as a Dodger.

After the 1967 season, John was traded to the Twins (along with relief pitchers Ron Perranoski and Bob Miller) for pitcher Jim Grant and shortstop Zoilo Versalles. After 2 seasons as the Twins' starting catcher (and another all-star appearance), John was released after the 1969 season.

The Senators picked him up in the off-season, and 37-year-old Roseboro spent 1970 as the Sens' 3rd-string catcher behind Paul Casanova and Jim French. His last game was on August 11, 1970, and he was released a week later, ending his 14-year career. Besides catching 1476 games, he also played 6 games at 1st base, 2 at 3rd base, and 5 in the outfield.