Vintage Fridays: Duane Pillette, 1955 Bowman #244

Mail Day! By gum, it's been a while. I'm not the only old-timer who's returned to card blogging while housebound. Earlier this week, Max of the Starting Nine blog touched base to let me know that he had some odds n' sods to send my way. I jumped at the offer, and today a messy mix of stuff (Max's words, not mine) arrived by post. My absolute favorite card in the bundle was this 1955 Bowman card of Duane Pillette, the ace starter of the inaugural Oriole squad. There wasn't stiff competition for that title, as the card back notes that his team-best record was 10-14. Still, that's a .417 win percentage for a team that only won 35% of their games overall. His 3.12 earned run average (115 ERA+) was 12th best in the American League, to boot. There were several other cards in Max's package that I can't wait to share with you, so stay tuned.

Vintage Fridays: Billy Cox, 1955 Bowman #56

If the name Billy Cox rings a bell to you, it's probably due to his tenure with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Cox was an infielder for the Bums from 1948 through 1954, and he gained a reputation as an acrobatic and dependable third baseman in particular. Though he wasn't known for his offense - he batted .262/.318/.380 (85 OPS+) with a total of 66 home runs in 1,058 career games - he held his own with the bat in World Series play. Billy played for three pennant-winning clubs in Brooklyn, and although all three of those teams were defeated by the damned Yankees in the Fall Classic, he hit .302/.351/.453 in 15 total Series games. Unfortunately, the Dodger fan-favorite wasn't around in 1955 when Brooklyn finally toppled the Bronx Bombers, as he'd been traded to Baltimore the previous December along with pitcher Preacher Roe. The Orioles didn't give up much in the deal, sending a pair of minor leaguers and $50,000 to the Dodgers; of course, they didn't get much out of the trade either. The 39-year-old Roe, a former four-time All-Star, retired without throwing a pitch for the O's. Cox, age 35, batted just .211/.275/.314 in 53 games as an Oriole, homering three times and driving in 14 runs. In mid-June, the Birds agreed to a four-player swap with the Indians, Cox and Gene Woodling for Dave Pope and Wally Westlake. Billy chose to retire rather than switch teams again, so Baltimore sent $15,000 cash to Cleveland to complete the trade. Billy Cox returned home to Newport, PA, near Harrisburg, and tended bar. He died of cancer at age 58 in 1978.

Vintage Fridays: Matt Batts, 1955 Bowman #161

I'm getting married in three weeks, which has cut into my card-buying budget in a big way. It turns out that there are a few things that I prioritize above my hobby, and throwing a big ol' party to celebrate the fact that I somehow attracted a life mate is tops on the list. But I did have a chunk of Amazon rewards money, so I went vintage shopping earlier this week to scratch that itch. I filled a few needs in my 1956, 1959, and 1975 Topps sets and plucked a few oldie-but-goodie Orioles cards for good measure. One of those O's was a guy who never played a single game for the team, a curiosity that put this Matt Batts card near the top of my must-have list.

Batts, who has one of the most fitting surnames ever bestowed upon a ballplayer, was a part-time catcher for parts of 10 seasons (1947-1956). He also served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He spent the bulk of his big league career in Boston and Detroit, and peaked with the Tigers in 1953, setting career highs by playing in 116 games and hitting 24 doubles and six home runs and driving in 42 runs. Matt batted .278 that year, a few ticks above his .269 career average. The following season, he was diagnosed with hemhorraging stomach ulcers, which contributed to a downturn in performance and playing time.

It was December 6, 1954 that the White Sox traded Batts to the Orioles as part of a seven-player deal, one of many multi-player transactions that new manager Paul Richards made to overhaul Baltimore's roster. The veteran catcher didn't make it through spring training with his new club; he was sold to Cleveland's AAA team in Indianapolis on April 12. Matt later claimed that Richards sent him packing after he'd questioned the manager's instructions to throw underhand in a rundown drill. Whether that was Paul Richards' true motive or not, it makes for a funny anecdote.

Matt Batts retired from baseball in 1957 and moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife Arlene and their two daughters. The couple ran a successful printing business for many years, and eventually sold their business and retired to the Country Club of Louisiana. Matt passed away just last month at age 91.

Vintage Fridays: Bob Kuzava, 1955 Bowman #215

Bob "Sarge" Kuzava pitched for the Orioles in 1954, their first season in Baltimore after more than a half-century in St. Louis. That year, a 36-year-old radio announcer named Ernie Harwell also came to Charm City and started a six-year run as the team's play-by-play man. Of course, most baseball fans know him as the voice of the Detroit Tigers, a job that he held for more than four decades after leaving Baltimore. No matter who you root for, chances are that you've taken a liking to Ernie's low-key, folksy broadcasting style. The accolades he's received include the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting. He's also been enshrined in the Sports Halls of Fame in Michigan and Georgia, as well as the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame. At 91 years of age, Harwell is one of baseball's living treasures.

Sadly, Ernie announced yesterday that he has been diagnosed with incurable cancer of the bile duct and he had reached a consensus with his loved ones and doctors to not pursue treatment. At most, he expects to live for another year. But he's lived a long and full life, and if this article is any indication, he's accepting his fate with grace and aplomb. I wish him the best in the time he does have left. I'll wrap this post up with the Bible verse that Ernie quoted to kick off each baseball season:

"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." (Song of Solomon 2:11-12)

Vintage Fridays: Johnny Pesky, 1955 Bowman #241

Of all of the cards that I feature on this blog, one of my favorite genres is the "cameo". Guys that even die-hard Oriole fans might take a look at and say, "Wait a minute...he was on the team?". You have your Reggie Jacksons, guys who spent a single year in Baltimore and moved on to greener ($$$) pastures. Then there are the Ozzie Guillens, players who drifted in at the end of their careers and were gone in the blink of an eye. Rarest of all are the vets who didn't ever take the field for the O's, and yet made their way onto a card clad in orange and black. So today's card even caught me off guard.

I received a small box in the mail from David, the expert on all matters concerning Tribe Cards. Contained within was my booty for participating in his Scratch Card Tournament, an autographed Ryan Minor card that I've just got to post here soon, as well as a varied and delightful assortment of other Orioles cards. But my jaw actually dropped when I pulled out this fifty-three-year-old beauty. Not only did it represent my first 1955 Bowman card of any sort, it featured one of the most beloved members of the Red Sox in a (hastily airbrushed) Orioles uniform.

Say what?

Having done plenty of research on Orioles history, I could tell you without even looking it up that Johnny Pesky never played Game One for the Birds. The card back mentions his most recent season, split between the Tigers and the Senators. Sure enough, Baseball Reference tells me that the infielder who had a piece of Fenway Park named in his honor signed with Baltimore as a free agent in December of 1954, only to be released three days into the 1955 season without having played in a game.

Wouldn't you know it? The day after this treasure arrived in the mail, word came down that the Red Sox are set to retire Johnny's uniform number (#6). It's a small world indeed. So thanks to David for helping me discover a previously hidden (to me at least) chapter in Orioles history!

P.S.: Now that I've done a quick search for 1955 Bowman, I see that there are some more gems out there, including fellow almost-Orioles Preacher Roe (Brooklyn Dodgers hero) and the excellently-named Matt Batts. I might have to take a trip to eBay soon!