Gene Brabender (#289)

Here is Pilots' starting pitcher Gene Brabender, warming up in Yankee Stadium. I was surprised to see today that Gene only played for 5 seasons (1966-70). Although his first 3 seasons were with the Orioles (which is how I remember him), he was traded to the expansion Pilots seemingly minutes before the start of the 1969 season, and went on to lead the staff in wins, strikeouts, and most other pitching categories.

Brabender started out in the Dodgers' chain (I also didn’t know that) in 1961. After 3 seasons as a starting pitcher (mostly in Class D and Class A), Gene lost 2 seasons to military service, then was selected by Baltimore in the post-1965 Rule 5 draft.

He made the Orioles from the get-go in 1966, making his debut in May. Brabender pitched in 31 games as a rookie, all but one in relief.

Gene began the 1967 season back in the minors, getting the triple-A fine-tuning he missed earlier. Recalled in late-July, he started 14 games (completing 3) over the final 2 months of the season.  

In 1967, only Dave McNally remained a top-5 starting pitcher from the previous season's World Champion pitching staff that swept the ’66 World Series. (Injuries cut down Jim Palmer and Wally Bunker, and Steve Barber was traded away by mid-season. ) In their place were rookies Tom Phoebus and Jim Hardin, Brabender, and Pete Richert who was acquired from Washington.

Gene's last season with the O's was 1968. With McNally, Hardin, and Phoebus each making 35+ starts, Brabender was a swing man, only starting 15 of his 37 games.

In 1969 the Orioles acquired starting pitcher Mike Cuellar from the Astros. With Palmer once again healthy and reliever Dick Hall back from his 2-year stint with the Phillies, Baltimore's pitching staff was not only solid, but crowded. Gene was traded to the Pilots during the final week of Spring Training for utility man Chico Salmon. Brabender led the upstart Pilots with 13 wins, 139 strikeouts, 29 starts, and 202 innings pitched. He was also one of Jim Bouton's favorite subjects in his book Ball Four.

Gene's final season was 1970 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Other pitchers acquired in the off-season (such as Lew Krausse, Ken Sanders, Bob Bolin, and Dave Baldwin) surpassed him, cutting his workload down from 40 games in 1969 to 29 in 1970. Of course, having a 6-15 record and a 6.02 ERA probably had something to do with it.

Brabender was traded to the Angels in January 1971 for outfielder Bill Voss. His final card is in the 1971 set (as an Angel), but he played the entire season with the Angels' AAA team, the retired.

He passed away in 1996 at age 55.

Cesar Tovar (#25)

Here is Cesar Tovar, the Minnesota Twins' jack-of-all-trades. Tovar has played all 9 positions, including every position in a game on 9/22/1968. (The Twins were in 7th place, 26 games behind, so a publicity stunt was in order.) Tovar began the game as the pitcher, then moved around the diamond in sequence (C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, RF) playing 1 inning at each position.

That was the only time he played at P, C, and 1B, but he has played more than 75 games at each of the other positions. He was primarily a 2nd baseman until the arrival of Rod Carew in 1967, then moved to 3B and  the outfield.

Tovar was signed by the Reds in 1959. After 6 years in the minors he was traded to the Twins in December 1964 for pitcher Gerry Arrigo.

Tovar made his big-league debut in April 1965, but after 9 games was sent back to the minors for the rest of the season. He was recalled in September and saw action in 9 more games.

Cesar made The Show for good in April 1966. After riding the bench for the first 2 months, he started 73 games at 2nd base and 27 at shortstop as a rookie.

Rod Carew joined the squad in 1967, so that season Tovar split his time between center field (60 starts) and 3rd base (56 starts), as well as some time at 2B (31 starts).

In 1968 he was all over the diamond, but was the team’s primary 3rd baseman, with 68 starts there. Tovar had more plate appearances in 1969 than all but four other Twins, but was not the main player at any one position.

After the 1969 season, center fielder Ted Uhlaender was traded to the Indians in a 6-player deal, opening up a regular spot for Tovar in the 1970 lineup. Cesar continued as one of the Twins' top 3 outfielders in '71 and '72.

He was traded to the Phillies prior to the 1973 season for 3 suspects, and started 39 games at the hot corner for the Phillies that year, easing Mike Schmidt into his rookie season.

After only 1 season in Philly, Tovar spent his final 3 seasons bouncing around between the Rangers, the Athletics, and the Yankees.

He played in Mexico in '77 and '78, and for his hometown Caracas, Venezuela in the Inter-American League in 1979.

Tovar passed away in Caracas in 1994 at age 54. He was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Final Card: Jerry Adair

Here is the final card for Jerry Adair (#525), not counting his appearance as a coach on Athletics’ manager Dick Williams’ card in 1973. Adair had his own card every year from 1961 through 1970.

Adair was a 2nd baseman for the Orioles, White Sox, Red Sox, and Royals from 1961 through 1969. He had a few cups of coffee from 1958-60, and played a few games in his final season of 1970 before getting his release in early May.

Jerry was signed by the Orioles in September 1958 out of Oklahoma State University, and with the minor league season already completed, he played 11 games with the Orioles that month.

In ’59 and ’60 he played 1 season in AA and AAA (respectively), mostly as his team’s regular shortstop. Coincidentally, he made 638 minor-league plate appearances each season, and played a few games with the O’s each year.

Adair made the Orioles' squad at the start of the 1961 season, and started 96 games at 2nd base, to Marv Breeding’s 62 starts. (Breeding had been the incumbent for the previous season, starting 151 of the team’s 154 games.)

In 1962 he slid over to shortstop, starting 103 games there because Ron Hansen missed much of the season due to military service. Jerry still managed 29 starts at 2B.

The Orioles acquired shortstop Luis Aparicio from the White Sox prior to the 1963 season, so Adair was back to his 2nd base home for 100 starts, with Bob Johnson (newly-acquired from the Senators) starting 45 times.

Jerry started almost every game for Baltimore in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, rookie Dave Johnson won the 2nd base job out of spring training, and Adair (having only played 17 games so far) was shipped out to the White Sox in mid-June for pitcher Eddie Fisher. With regular shortstop (and former Orioles’ teammate) Ron Hansen missing the 2nd half of ’66 with a back injury, Adair once again filled in for Hansen.

In June 1967 he was traded to the Red Sox for reliever Don McMahon, and helped Boston get to the World Series, filling in for shortstop Rico Petrocelli, 3rd baseman Joe Foy, and 2nd baseman Mike Andrews. Jerry started 78 games over the 2nd half of the season, and started the first 4 games of the World Series.

Adair played all of 1968 with the Red Sox, but in a utility infield role. His only extended string of starts came in August, filling in for Petrocelli for several weeks. After the season, he was left unprotected for the expansion draft and was selected by the Royals.

He was the primary 2nd baseman for the upstart Royals in 1969, starting 105 games from day 1 until mid-September, when ex-Dodger Luis Alcaraz (who had spent most of the season in AAA) took over.

Jerry missed much of spring training 1970 with family issues, so the Royals began the season with Alcaraz at 2nd base. Adair started a few games in late April but was soon released, ending his 13-year career.

He played in Japan in 1971, then coached for the Athletics and Angels from 1972-75.

Adair passed away from cancer in 1987, at age 50.

John Bateman (#417)

Here is Expos’ catcher John Bateman under the Daytona Beach palm trees during spring training, possibly practicing gunning out runners (maybe the slow-footed Ron Brand?) [I was at the Expos' spring training in Daytona in 1974, but by then Bateman had retired.] 

Bateman and Brand were the top 2 catchers for the Astros for several seasons, then both were selected by the Expos in the expansion draft after the 1968 season. I think this is an interesting photo, not a typical vanilla pose, nor is he looking up in the sky for a popup like on some catchers’ cards.

Bateman was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1962, and after just one season in the minors he became the Colts’ #1 catcher in 1963, starting 111 games behind the dish.

He opened the ’64 season as the starting catcher, but by mid-June rookie Jerry Grote was catching more games than John. By late-July, Bateman was sent back to triple-A and didn’t play another game for Houston until mid-September.

In 1965, Grote was in the minors for the entire season, while Bateman was back with the big club. However, Rule 5 pickup Ron Brand got 94 starts to Bateman’s 38 (with veteran Gus Triandos picking up the scraps).

Bateman was the clear #1 backstop in ’66 and ’68, while sharing the duties with Brand in ’67.

The Expos selected John with their 3rd pick in the expansion draft (and also selected Brand with their next-to-last pick). Bateman started 136 and 133 games behind the plate in his 2 full seasons with Montreal.

1972 was a different story. Veteran utilityman John Boccabella caught most of the games early-on, with Bateman only making 5 starts in mid-May.

On June 14th, he was traded (inexplicably straight-up) to the Phillies for catcher Tim McCarver. (!?!?!?) A few years ago, I asked long-time Philly sportswriter Stan Hochman if he recalled the circumstances around that trade. Why would the Phillies possibly trade a quality catcher in McCarver for Bateman, who on his best days was merely serviceable? Especially in the midst of Steve Carlton’s magical 27-10 season? Who messes with that chemistry? And for what? Hochman couldn’t recall the reasons for the trade.

Bateman finished up his career with the Phillies in the summer of ’72, and was released the following spring. He played with The King and His Court softball team from 1977-80.

Bateman passed away in 1996 at age 56.

Final Card: Bob Christian

Bob Christian (#51) had a brief career with the White Sox in 1969 and part of 1970.

Christian was signed by the Yankees in 1964 as a 3rd baseman, then after that season was selected by the Tigers in the minor-league draft. Bob played in the Tigers’ farm system for the next 4 seasons (playing mostly 3rd base, then moving to 2nd base due to a sore arm), culminating with a 3-game cup of coffee with the Tigers in September 1968.

After the ’68 season, he was purchased by the White Sox and split the 1969 season between the White Sox, their AAA team, and the National Guard. Bob played 39 games with the Sox that season, briefly in June, then was recalled in early August, and started almost every game in left field during September.

Instead of picking up where he left off, the 1970 season was a bust. Christian only played 12 games for Chicago, all in April and May, and almost all as a pinch-hitter. He played the final 4 months of that season in the minors, then was released.

Bob played in Japan for the 1971 and 1972 seasons.

He passed away in February 1974 from leukemia, at the age of 28.

Gil Hodges (#394)

Gil Hodges was the long-time slugging first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After his playing career, he managed the Senators and the Mets, including the Miracle Mets of 1969. Surprisingly, he is NOT in the Hall of Fame.

Hodges was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943. He played only 1 game that season (the Dodgers’ final game), then lost 2 seasons while in military service. (He was an anti-aircraft gunner in the Pacific.) In 1946, he played his only season in the minors.

Gil joined the Dodgers in 1947, and was a backup first baseman and catcher that season. He began the 1948 season as the regular catcher, then on June 29th, he moved to first base (with rookie Roy Campanella taking over behind the plate) and the Dodgers had their 1st-sacker for the next decade plus. He was an 8-time all-star, and topped 40 homers twice.

After the 1961 season, the Mets selected Hodges from the Dodgers in the expansion draft. At age 38, Gil was a role player in New York. Hodges’ final game as a player was on May 5, 1963. Two weeks later he was traded to the Senators for outfielder Jimmy Piersall and retired to become Washington’s manager, replacing Mickey Vernon.

Hodges managed the Senators though the 1967 season (finishing 10th, 9th, 8th, 8th, and 6th in his 5 seasons there). In October 1967 he was traded to the Mets for pitcher Bill Denehy. (Does this make him the first manager traded TWICE for players? I know that Chuck Tanner was traded once for a player.)

Gil managed the Mets for 4 seasons, before his untimely death in 1972. Hodges had the good fortune of coming to the Mets at the start of the Tom Seaver-Jerry Koosman era, and guided the team to a World Series championship in 1969.

Hodges passed away following a heart attack suffered just after a round of golf with other Mets’ coaches during spring training 1972. He was 47.

Why is he not in the Hall of Fame?

Ike Brown (#152)

Here is Ike Brown’s rookie card. He also appeared in the 1971 to 1974 sets.

One thing that I learned about Ike a few years ago while researching somebody for these blogs (maybe Elston Howard or Ernie Banks) was that Ike Brown also played in the Negro Leagues. This surprised me, because although I had his 1972 card back in the day, I knew he wasn’t in the 1967 to 1969 Topps sets, so I assumed he would have been too young.

Brown is the last player from the Negro Leagues to have made it to the major leagues. To recap, in addition to the well-known alumni to have played in the majors in the 1960s (Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Minnie Minoso), others were Junior Gilliam, George Altman, John Wyatt, Sam Bowens, Al Smith, and Ike Brown.

After Brown played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1961, he was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1962 and spent 7 ½ years in their farm system as a shortstop and third baseman, before making his major-league debut in June 1969.

Brown remained with the Tigers for the rest of the 1969 season, and all of 1970 to 1973. In ’69 and ’70, he was the team’s backup 2nd baseman (behind Dick McAuliffe). After 1970, he was primarily used as a pinch-hitter.

1974 was Brown’s last season in baseball. He played 2 games with the Tigers in early spring, then spent the rest of the season in the minors.

When he retired after 1974, only Aaron remained among active ex-Negro League players.

Brown passed away in May 2001 from cancer, at age 59.

Final Card: Paul Edmondson

Here is the only Topps baseball card for pitcher Paul Edmondson (#414). By the time this card was issued, Edmondson was already deceased, a victim of an automobile accident.

Paul Edmondson was signed by the White Sox in 1965 out of Cal State Northridge. He pitched in the low minors in 1965, then missed the 1966 season while in military service.

Paul returned to the Sox in 1967, pitching in the low minors, including the Florida Instructional League. In 1968, Paul was pitching in the FIL, but also in double-A and triple-A.

He began the 1969 in the minors, but was promoted to the White Sox in June, making his major-league debut against the Angels on June 20th. What a debut! He pitched a 2-hitter, winning 9-1. Edmondson pitched in 14 games during his rookie season, making 13 starts.


On Friday February 13, 1970, Edmondson was driving in the rain along the California coast near Santa Barbara, when his car crashed into oncoming traffic, killing him and his passenger. He was 27.

Final Card: Juan Rios

In the last post, I commented that Juan Rios’ card also had an “at the bat rack” pose, because I could see that card in my mind’s eye, since it was one of the few cards from this set that I had back in 1970. 

When I went to my 1970 binder to pull the card for this follow-up post, I noticed a total of NINE players (including Tony Taylor) who Topps snapped at the bat rack. That’s enough for an entire lineup, so… since you’ve already met the 2nd baseman (Taylor), here now is Juan Rios, the shortstop for the “Hangin’ at the Bat Rack” team! 


Juan Rios (#89) had a brief major-league career – 87 games for the 1969 expansion Royals, to be exact. By the time this card came out, Juan was back in the minors, where he would stay until retiring after the 1974 season. This is his final baseball card.  He also appeared on a Royals Rookie Stars card in 1969.

Rios was signed by the Mets in 1965, but didn’t begin playing until 1966. He was a shortstop in the Mets’ chain for 3 seasons, until he was selected by the Montreal Expos in the December 1968 Rule 5 draft.

The following March, he was sold to the Royals. Juan was with Kansas City for the entire season, as the backup middle infielder behind 2nd baseman Jerry Adair and shortstop Jackie Hernandez. Rios managed to start 43 games (2B-30, SS-10, 3B-3), and played in another 44 as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement.

In 1970, that role was filled by rookie Rich Severson, so Rios returned to the minors, where he played for the Royals’, Brewers’, Yankees’, Twins’, and White Sox’ organizations. He also pitched in 3 games during the 1973 season.

Rios passed away in August 1995, at age 53, in his birthplace of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Billy Wilson (#28)

Billy Wilson was one of several so-so pitchers promoted by the Phillies from their farm system in the 1969-71 time period. This is Wilson's first solo card, but he appeared on Phillies Rookie Stars cards in the 1967 and 1969 set.

Wilson was signed by Philadelphia in 1961 (wow, I didn't realize he went that far back!) and played minor-league ball for EIGHT seasons before making his major-league debut in April 1969. Billy was a starting pitcher from 1961-63, but was converted to a reliever in 1964. He didn't reach the triple-A level until 1966, then regressed to AA in '67 before spending the entire 1968 season back in triple-A.

Wilson played his entire major-league career (1969-73) with the Phillies, pitching in 179 games (all in relief) and compiling a 9-15 career record. Along the way, he spent about a dozen games back in the minors in 1970 and in 1971.

In 1971, he played 1/3 of an inning at 3rd base, as manager Frank Lucchesi brought in another pitcher to face 1 batter before returning Wilson to the mound. (The Phillies made a similar move in 2011 with Cliff Lee.)

Following the 1973 season, Wilson was traded to the Brewers for veteran reliever Frank Linzy, but  was released by Milwaukee in spring training. He caught on with the Phillies' AA team in Reading, PA for his last pro season in 1974.

Wilson passed away on 8/11/1993 at age 50.

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.

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.