Vintage Fridays: Mike Adamson and Roger Freed, 1971 Topps #362

Rookies? Yes. Stars? Not so much. Mike Adamson had the rare honor of being drafted in the first round twice: 18th overall by the Phillies in 1965 out of high school, and first overall by the Orioles in the secondary phase of the 1967 draft after a stopover at USC. Within a month of the draft, he debuted in Baltimore, but got battered in three appearances and was sent to Rochester. That was the pattern again in 1968 and 1969 - success at AAA, and rough sledding in brief stints in the majors. After posting a 4.36 ERA and 1.44 WHIP while splitting 1970 between starting and relieving duties with the Red Wings, he really backslid in 1971, allowing 102 hits in 74 innings in stops at Rochester, AA Dallas-Fort Worth, and Milwaukee's AAA Evansville club. Having put up a 7.91 ERA that season, Adamson walked away from pro baseball at age 24.

Roger Freed's stock was high entering the 1971 season. As part of a loaded Rochester squad that included Don Baylor and Bobby Grich, Freed was the 1970 Player of the Year for the International League. He earned those honors with a .334/.427/.561 triple slash, 24 home runs, and a league-best 130 RBI. The O's rewarded Freed with a September callup, and he saw action in four games, collecting two hits and three walks in 17 trips to the plate. Those would be his only four games as an Oriole, with his path to the majors blocked by Frank Robinson, Don Buford, Paul Blair, Merv Rettenmund, and Baylor. That December, the Birds dealt him to the Phillies for Grant Jackson and a pair of reserve outfielders. Freed scuffled in two seasons in Philadelphia, batting .222/.321/.335 with a dozen homers and 55 RBI in 191 games. He spent the rest of his career as a journeyman, passing through the Indians, Reds, Expos, and Cardinals organizations, and even spending 1975 in Monterrey, Mexico. He briefly found a role in St. Louis as a pinch hitter and backup first baseman to Keith Hernandez. In 95 plate appearances in 1977, he batted .398/.463/.627, and was 9-for-23 off the bench. Roger's overall performance in 1978 was less impressive (.239/.297/.370 in 101 PA), but he excelled again in a pinch (11-for-29 as a PH). Freed passed away in 1996 at age 49 due to a heart condition.