Vintage Fridays: Al Pilarcik, 1959 Topps #7

By about 8:00 this evening, I felt as weary and disenchanted as Al Pilarcik looks in this photo. I had barely been home since 6:00 this morning, and Janet and I had been wandering through the mall for 90 minutes or so. (As an aside, I'm pretty sure it was 115 degrees inside of that place. I would've stripped down to my boxers, but that didn't go over well the last time.) On the plus side, we made a big dent in our Christmas shopping. If I'm not overlooking anyone, there are about folks left on the to-buy list. There have been so many errands and events over the past few weeks that I assumed we'd be woefully unprepared for the holidays, but we're keeping our heads above water. The tree is trimmed, the front porch is decked with garland and white lights, and Janet's baking sugar cookies as I type this. I can't believe that Christmas is just a week away, anyhow. I'm looking forward to it, including our now-standard week with my in-laws in North Carolina. As long as I can steer clear of any more shopping malls, that is.

Vintage Fridays: Whitey Lockman, 1959 Topps #411

On this date in 1959, the Orioles purchased the contract of Whitey Lockman from the St. Louis Cardinals. Earlier in the decade, Lockman (born Carroll Walter Lockman) had been a feature player for some strong Giants teams. He helped set the stage for Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" pennant-winning home run in 1951 by chasing Brooklyn starter Don Newcombe from the game with a double. He made his lone All-Star team in 1952, when he batted .290 with a .363 on-base percentage and scored 99 runs. Whitey was nearing the end as he came to Baltimore, and he appeared in only 38 games with the O's, batting 78 times with an underwhelming .217/.299/.261 line. On June 23, 1959, he was traded to the Reds for Walt Dropo. A year later, Cincinnati released him and ended his 15-year career.

I haven't spent much time lately working to complete my 1959 Topps set, but in paging through the binder to find Whitey, I was happy to see several completed pages. I'll share a scan of one such page below, featuring Lockman, Orioles Hall of Famer Moe Drabowsky (in a Cubs uniform), and an excellent Luis Aparicio/Nellie Fox combo card.

So much color, so many circles...some day I hope to see this set in its full 572-card glory.

Vintage Fridays: Bob Hale, 1959 Topps #507

Bob Hale commanded attention as a 21-year-old rookie with the Orioles in 1955, batting .357 in 182 at-bats after debuting in July. Though he stuck around for parts of seven big league seasons, he played sparingly afterward and was primarily a pinch hitter. Power wasn't really his game, as he hit only two career home runs. Of course, the first of those came against Hall of Famer Bob Lemon.

Hale was born in Sarasota, which is now the spring training home of the Orioles. If all goes well tomorrow, my sister and I might be booking a weekend in March to check out some Grapefruit League action. I'm looking forward to seeing Ed Smith Stadium and the rest of the complex, since my getaway to the O's previous spring home in Fort Lauderdale back in 2007 left me less than impressed. From what I've heard about the Sarasota digs, the difference is night and day. Besides, if it's half as cold here in Baltimore in March as it is now, I'll be glad to fly south for a bit.

Vintage Fridays: Jack Harshman, 1959 Topps #475

On September 23, 1958, Orioles pitcher Jack Harshman redefined the well-worn baseball cliche of "helping your own cause". In a sparsely attended Tuesday home game against the lowly Senators, the southpaw improved his record to 12-14 with a 3-2 complete-game victory. Just 6,478 fans straggled into Memoral Stadium that day, and they watched as Harshman spotted Washington a pair of runs on six total hits in the first two innings. But something clicked for the O's starter after that, and he permitted only three more hits in seven shutout innings thenceforth. For the game, Jack struck out nine Senators and walked none. Though he allowed nine hits in all, none went for extra bases.

But it wasn't Harshman's pitching that was the story of the game; it was his work at the plate. The native San Diegan had played a lot of first base in the minors (and a bit in the majors) before the Giants converted him to the mound in the early 1950s. He clubbed 192 home runs in 3,101 minor-league at-bats, a rate of one every 16.2 at-bats. It's a little bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but Frank Robinson's career rate in the big leagues was one homer per 17.1 at-bats. Anyhow, Jack went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and an RBI double against opposing starter Pedro Ramos to drive in all three Baltimore runs. The rest of the Birds' lineup was 3-for-27 with three walks, which brings to mind another old saying: "If you want anything done right, you've got to do it yourself."

Harshman's heroics helped him finish the 1958 season with six home runs, matching his career high. His batting line for the year was .195/.330/.427, giving him an above-average OPS+ of 113. On the other side of the ledger, he had a tough-luck record of 12-15 despite a team-leading 2.89 ERA (124 ERA+) and 17 complete games, with 4 saves to boot! The 30-year-old pitcher did get a few down-ballot votes in the American League MVP race as a consolation prize, the only time in his career that he received that honor. 1958 was his only full season in Charm City; the following year he was dealt to Boston and then selected on waivers by the Indians. He finished his career in 1960 with Cleveland, walking away with a career record of 69-65 and an ERA of 3.50 in parts of eight seasons. As a hitter he batted .179/.294/.344 with 21 home runs and 65 RBI in 521 plate appearances (424 at-bats). Just to save you the math, that's one home run every 20.2 at-bats. There aren't many big league pitchers who could do that today...if any.

Vintage Fridays: Hoyt Wilhelm, 1959 Topps #349

Today is the 49th birthday of former Oriole Jamie Moyer. After missing the 2011 season with Tommy John surgery, the veteran of 24 big league seasons intends to pitch again in 2012, and has already worked out for scouts from several teams. Nothing would make me happier than to see someone 20 years older than me on a major league roster next year. In honor of Jamie Moyer, here is a brief history of players who suited up for the Orioles in their forties.

1957: Dizzy Trout makes a brief comeback, pitching twice in relief for the O's at age 42, his first big league action since 1952.

1960: First baseman Bob "Rope" Boyd bats .317 in 88 trips to the plate at age 40. The club reacquires Dave Philley (also 40) in September and he bats .265/.342/.471 in 14 games.

1961: Philley bats 157 times in his age 41 season, struggling to the tune of .250/.293/.361.

1962: Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm turns 40 on July 26. In his final season in Baltimore, he goes 7-10 and leads the club with a 1.94 ERA and 15 saves. Traded to the White Sox the following winter, he sticks around for another decade and sets a record with 1,070 games pitched.

1970: Reliever Dick Hall earns a win with three spotless innings on his 40th birthday, September 27. It runs his record to 10-5 for the year with 3 saves and a 3.08 ERA. He adds seven scoreless frames during the postseason, helping the Birds to their second World Series win in five years.

1971: Hall slips to 6-6 with a 4.98 ERA and retires at season's end.

1977: The end of an era. Brooks Robinson hits the big 4-0 in May and hangs up his spikes later that summer, capping 23 seasons in orange and black. In 52 at-bats he ekes out a line of /149/.212/.255. He does give the fans one final thrill with a pinch-hit, walkoff three-run homer on April 19.

1992: Mike Flanagan had a memorable 1991 season, returning to the O's as an effective reliever and finishing the last game at Memorial Stadium. Camden Yards didn't treat him as well. At age 40, Flanny allowed 31 earned runs in 34.2 innings for an 8.05 ERA. Rick Dempsey made a surprise curtain call at age 42, appearing in 7 games in June and July and one more in September when the team was short-handed behind the plate. He had a hit and a pair of walks in 11 plate appearances.

1996: In another homecoming, the Orioles reacquire 40-year-old Eddie Murray in a midsummer trade with the Indians. He hits 10 home runs, including the 500th of his career, to help the team capture the A.L. Wild Card. The Birds bow out in the ALCS despite a .333/.429/.467 postseason batting performance by Eddie.

1997: Ah, Jesse Orosco. The Jurassic lefty appeared in 71 games, going 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA that was his lowest since 1989. At 40, he was just getting warmed up.

1998: Orosco strolled in from the bullpen another 69 times, posting a 4-1 record, a 3.18 ERA, and 7 saves. Nothing to see here.

1999: At age 42, Orosco showed some signs of wear. In 65 games, he had a 5.34 ERA. Of course, he only totaled 32 innings (19 ER), so earned run average isn't the most telling stat. He also struck out 35 batters, a rate of 9.8 per 9 innings. He broke Hoyt Wilhelm's record for games pitched, and went on to obliterate that mark by continuing to take the mound through 2003, his age 46 season. His record now stands at 1,252 games. Designated hitter Harold Baines is an All-Star at age 40, hitting .322/.395/.583 with 24 HR and 81 RBI in 104 games for the O's before a late-season trade to Cleveland. He slumps with the Tribe, but still finishes with his best power numbers in 15 years.

2000: Back for a third tour of duty, the 41-year-old Baines hits .266/.349/.437 with 10 home runs in 72 games. At midseason, he's traded to the White Sox, and retires a year later with his original team. Cal Ripken, Jr. blows out 40 candles in August and finishes an injury-plagued season at .256/.310/.453 with 15 HR and 56 RBI in 83 games.

2001: A lost season for the Orioles (98 losses) becomes a farewell tour for Ripken, who slumps to .239/.276/.361 with 14 HR and 68 RBI. A late-season diversion arrives in the form of 42-year-old Tim Raines, who is acquired from the Expos in October to play alongside his son, an O's rookie. Tim Sr. goes 3-for-11 with a home run and 5 RBI.

2004: Rafael Palmeiro turns 40 on September 24, and goes 0-for-4. It is part of a subpar season for the mustachioed one, as he bats .258/.359/.436 with 23 HR and 88 RBI. Fellow prodigal Oriole B.J. Surhoff also turns 40 in 2004, and produces a season of .309/.365/.420 with 8 HR and 50 RBI while missing over a month due to injury.

2005: Raffy doesn't make it to his 41st birthday in Charm City. Something about a B-12 shot, mumble mumble. Before all of that goes down, he does collect his 3,000th career hit, and finishes his time in the majors at .266/.339/.447 with 18 HR and 60 RBI in 110 games. Surhoff wraps up his career in 2005 as well, with a tad less infamy. In another injury-truncated season, he has a line of .257/.282/.356. Sidearmer Steve Reed gives the Orioles a third 40-year-old, but also sees his long career run aground with a 6.61 ERA in 32.2 innings of relief.

2006: 40-year-old Jeff Conine has a nondescript time of it in Baltimore: .265/.325/.401 before a late August trade to the Phillies.

Unsurprisingly, the O's haven't suited up a quadragenarian in the past five seasons, as they make a more concerted youth effort. I wouldn't expect them to break that streak this year, as much fun as it is to imagine Jamie Moyer rejoining the Birds 16 years after they last parted ways.

Vintage Fridays: Lenny Green, 1959 Topps #209

This is a pretty 1959-intensive week on this blog. I know I usually do the legwork around here, but I'm wondering if anyone else can tell me what that giant tower-like structure is behind Lenny Green. Is it the Space Needle? An exceptionally tall windmill? I just don't know. What I do know is that Lenny was a talented young player who had a solid career, but never put it all together during his time in Baltimore. In 1956, he led the single-A Sally League with a .318 average and 92 runs scored, and followed up with a .311 average at Vancouver the next year. In parts of four seasons with the O's, he had a .225 average and drove in 12 runs in 169 at-bats. He hit just two home runs as an Oriole, but one of those was an inside-the-park two-run homer that gave the Birds a 2-1 lead over the Yankees. It was April 26, 1959, and the O's eventually won 3-2 on the strength of a Hoyt Wilhelm five-hitter.

As long as we're talking about '59 Topps, I would humbly suggest that you follow one of the newest card blogs on the scene. Fellow Orioles fan Bob (a.k.a. Commish), who has commented frequently here,  has nearly completed the 1959 Topps set and is blogging about each and every card. He offers some of his own memories about the players, highlights of their careers, and his opinions about the cards. It's a quick entertaining read, so check out '59 Topps: One F/G Card at a Time. Oh, and have a good long weekend!

Vintage Fridays: Bob Nieman, 1959 Topps #375

I'm going to conclude Four-Eyes Week with the first good bespectacled player the Orioles ever had, unless I'm overlooking someone. Given the quality of the team in those early years, I'm confident in my declaration. Bob Nieman was a professional hitter through and through. He hit for average, took walks, and had some pop. For a guy with a career batting line of .295 AVG/.373 OBP/.474 SLG and a 132 OPS+, he seems to have faded from memory. I suspect that he would be better-known if his career had been a bit longer; he attended college at Kent State University (a rarity for ballplayers in the 1940s) and got a late start. His first full season was with the Browns in 1952, when he was already 25. By 1960, he was through as a starting player and his career totaled 12 seasons in all.

Bob did his best to make up for lost time, however. In his debut with the Browns on September 14, 1951, he became the first player in big league history to homer in each of his first two at-bats. He proceeded to hit .284 with 82 doubles, 54 homers, and 239 RBI through the 1955 season, not a bad start at all. But it was a trade from the White Sox to the Orioles in early 1956 that seemed to push Nieman into a higher gear. In 114 games with the O's that year, he hit .322 with an absurd .442 on-base percentage (still a team record for a single-season OBP). Despite playing in only 74% of the club's games, he led them in every major offensive category except for home runs and RBI. His totals of 12 HR and 64 RBI trailed only slugging catcher Gus Triandos for the team lead, and he was a top-ten player in the American League in several categories. Bob finished seventh in A.L. MVP balloting despite playing most of the year for a 69-85 team.

After a "down" season in 1957 (.276/.363/.429; still good for a 123 OPS+), Nieman had a career year sidetracked by injury. He was batting .367/.449/.560 on June 2 when he was struck on the basepaths by a Bob Boyd line drive. The outfielder missed more than a month, but still finished with a line of .325/.395/.522, an OPS+ of 157, 20 doubles, 16 home runs, and 60 RBI in 105 games. The following season was both his last in Baltimore and his last as a regular. He left Charm City on a high note with a career-high 21 home runs as well as 60 RBI in 118 games. He batted .292/.367/.528 with a 146 OPS+, leading the team in slugging.

Bob was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 1960 season for the immortal Gene Green, who would play exactly one game in an O's uniform. He served as a pinch hitter and backup outfielder for the Cards, Indians, and Giants before playing one last season in Japan in 1963. His final stats as an Oriole (609 games): .301/.384/.486, 140 OPS+, 100 2B, 19 3B, 82 HR, 336 RBI. He has the seventh-best career slugging percentage in team history, the fifth-best on-base percentage and OPS, and the fourth-best adjusted OPS+. Not bad for a guy with something less than 20/20 vision.

Vintage Fridays: Baltimore Orioles, 1959 Topps #48

Could you picture Brooks Robinson in an Athletics uniform? Or Gus Triandos, or Milt Pappas, or Hoyt Wilhelm? It seems hard to imagine, but all of these scenarios very nearly occurred in 1959. At least, that's what former Baltimore Sun sports reporter Bob Maisel claimed.

My friend Ed recently gave me a stack of old magazines, game programs, newspapers, and other various Oriole artifacts. Among them was a game program from August 1987, which contained a series of "Untold Bird Tales" sponsored by USF&G Insurance. Maisel's story was about "the biggest trade never made". Here's his recollection verbatim:

"This is something that I wrote a story on back in 1959. But I'm sure it's forgotten now.

Paul Richards, the former Orioles manager, was a great innovator. And one night in 1959, he and Jack Dunn, an Orioles vice president, were having a big meeting with the officials of the Kansas City ball club. It was after a night game out in Kansas City, and it was right before the trading deadline. They had to make this deal by midnight, or that was it.

I was out there covering the team. And some of my sources told me, 'You'd better hang around. Crazy Richards has agreed to trade his entire 40-man roster for Kansas City's.'

Apparently, it was all agreed. It just hadn't been signed yet. They were going to completely exchange rosters. Each man thought he was getting the better end of the deal.

But in the middle of the meeting, the Kansas City owner got a phone call from his wife that took him out of the room for a few minutes. And when he came back, he had doubts. He said, well, maybe I'll keep Roger Maris. And then Richards said, well, maybe I'll keep Brooks Robinson And the whole deal fell apart.

But it almost happened. According to people who were in the room, it was all but done. If the Kansas City owner hadn't gotten that phone call, I think they would have made the deal."

So what are the odds that things actually unfolded in the manner described above? Well, Richards certainly had a reputation for wheeling and dealing. He had barely settled into his position with the O's when he pulled the trigger on a blockbuster 17-player trade with the Yankees in November 1954. Shortly after his death in 1986, Sports Illustrated eulogized him and mentioned the rumored Orioles/Athletics roster swap...but claimed that it was during the 1961 season. The July 1989 issue of Baseball Digest includes an article about trading that places the date in 1955. A book on the history of the Kansas City A's claims that it almost happened twice - in June 1956 and again in the spring of 1958 - and that it was Richards who balked first, preferring to keep Brooksie. A John Eisenberg column from 2003 gives the 1956 date, and says that K.C. refused to part with Maris and Clete Boyer. These variations in the date and other basic facts suggest that the anecdote is apocryphal.

Another cause for skepticism? This March 1983 Baseball Digest article, which claims that Paul Richards tried to trade his entire 40-man roster AND $5 million to the Braves for their 40-man roster when he was GM of the Astros in 1964! It's curious that the article makes no mention of Richards being involved in a similar proposal back in his Baltimore days, isn't it?

I also noticed that the "Richards tries to trade entire roster" rumors didn't seem to crop up until the 1980s, well after the fact. I went an extra mile and searched the Baltimore Sun archives, finally uncovering a June 16, 1956 article that discusses trade talks with the A's that had fallen through the previous day. No players are mentioned by name, much less any talk of entire rosters being switched. The bulk of the article concerns rumors of unrealized deals with the White Sox; here, specific players are named. The hottest rumor had shortstop Willie Miranda and catcher Hal Smith going to Chicago in exchange for second baseman Nellie Fox and outfielder Jim Rivera. I'd link to the article, but to view the entire article I had to purchase a PDF that I can only access for 90 days.

So sure, it's fun to navel-gaze and conceive of a radical overhaul of two different franchises, with Roger Maris taking aim at the seats in Memorial Stadium and Ralph Terry taking the place of Milt Pappas. But hindsight suggests that the Orioles were better off keeping their talented young building blocks anyway. Just remember: although truth may be stranger than fiction, sometimes a story can be too good to be true.

Vintage Fridays: Gus Triandos, 1959 Topps #568

This magnificent fifty-year-old All-Star card of Gus Triandos has lost a bit of its luster. Back in the early 1960s, some towheaded little scamp wanted an easy and affordable way to display his favorite cards. Ultra-Pro binder sheets were just a wonderful fevered dream at that time, so he took his mom’s dumb old photo album and pulled out all those boring pictures of his little sister, and inserted his cardboard treasures in their place. But how to make them stay in place? Luckily, the ‘rents had a roll of Scotch tape lying around! Little Junior didn’t give much thought to the effects that adhesive, combined with six decades of exposure to the elements, might have on his collectibles. After all, some of those words sound vaguely sciencey, and that’s the kind of junk they make you learn in school! So here we are, far into the future, and his card has fallen into the possession of a grown man with a full-time job and a mortgage who has too much time on his hands and is obsessing about those yellowed corners that aren’t even sticky any more.

This is why I don’t obsess about condition when it comes to vintage cards. Think of how dull this card’s backstory would be if Junior had snuck it into Dad’s fireproof document box instead.

Vintage Fridays: Charley Beamon, 1959 Topps #192

Happy 75th birthday to Charley Beamon, a high school teammate of Frank Robinson and one of the first black pitchers in Orioles history. I hope you don't get cheated out of birthday gifts by thrifty friends and relatives, Chuck.

I hope that you've all had as restful and enjoyable a Christmas as I have. For those non-Christians among my readership, I hope your Friday was just tops. After a leisurely morning of exchanging gifts with my folks, I got to sit down to an early dinner with the extended family (my sister and her husband, and my aunts, uncles, and cousin). Later in the evening, we did our Secret Santa gift exchange and watched the first half of the Chargers-Titans game. It was a festive and warm day, and best of all, I didn't have to leave home. Having heard my parents' horror stories about being dragged from family gathering to family gathering in their youth, I've always been grateful that I was allowed to remain stationary on this holiday - the better to play with my new toys.

And what of those new toys? I did pretty well this year. My big gift was a Garmin GPS, so that I can meet my girlfriend for dinner in Annapolis without circling around the same few blocks aimlessly for half an hour...not to mention getting away from Camden Yards without winding up on the light rail tracks! I also scored season two of 30 Rock on DVD, A Hard Day's Night on CD, Bill Simmons' "Book of Basketball", and a few snazzy silk ties to wear to work (had to incorporate an old man gift in there somewhere). Oh, right, and the baseball card stuff. I received complete factory sets of 2000 Topps and 2005 Topps, as well as a $25 gift certificate to Dave and Adam's Card World. That should keep me busy for a while...

Now I'm wrapping up Christmas 2009 by watching the fine Yuletide film, A Muppet Christmas Carol. Good times.

Vintage Fridays: Jerry Walker, 1959 Topps #144

While it's true that I write this blog each day (and another blog a few times a week) with no expectation of income, there are those who say that a job well done is its own reward. Of course, that doesn't mean that I will turn down the occasional perk that comes my way. About a week ago, I heard from Dean Hanley, founder and proprietor of Dean's Cards, an online hobby shop that seems to maintain the personal touch of the best brick and mortar shops (Dean has ten employees other than himself). Dean's recently gotten into the blogging game himself, so naturally he wanted to exchange links. I was happy to do so anyway, but he went above and beyond the call of duty by offering to send me some vintage Orioles off of my want list free of charge!

First, I had to register for a free account at Dean's site, but that was quick and painless. In all, he sent 13 cards (my favorite number), all in pretty good condition. Of course, the patriotic-looking Jerry Walker rookie pictured above was part of the shipment. They shipped quickly, and came packaged with a nifty marble coaster that featured images of some early 1900's cards of some of the game's greats. While I've never ordered from Dean's Cards before, I will certainly keep the link handy the next time I've got some cash burning a hole in my pocket and I get that familiar itch for the good old cardboard stuff. I'd recommend that you do the same.

I'm sure some crank out there will say that I've "sold out", but if a baker's dozen of semi-stars and commons from 1957-1974 is enough to buy me out, then I'm a cheaper date than most, haha. Thanks again, Dean!

Vintage Fridays: Billy O'Dell, 1959 Topps #250

Did you know that the foul lines in Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium used to be wooden slats painted white? Well, they were, and that proved crucial in a 2-1 win over the White Sox on May 19, 1959.

The game was a classic pitcher's duel, pitting Chicago's one-time 20-game winner Billy Pierce against 27-year-old Billy O'Dell, who was on his way to a second straight All-Star Game. Both clubs were off to a good start: the White Sox, who were 21-12, would eventually win the American League pennant, while the young O's were 19-14. Baltimore eventually faltered, but laid the foundation for a surprising 89-win season the following year.

In the bottom of the second inning, Pierce got the first two Oriole batters out before walking second baseman Billy Gardner (lots of Billys in this game!). That brought O'Dell to the plate. The pitcher wasn't much of a threat with the bat (.125 career average), but on this occasion he sliced the ball about 120 feet down the first-base line. It struck the wooden plank squarely and bounced all of the way over the head of Pale Hose right fielder Al "Fuzzy" Smith. By the time Smith chased the ball down and threw it in, Gardner and O'Dell had circled the bases. It was the strangest of home runs, the second (and last) round-tripper that O'Dell ever hit, and it won him the game. He allowed just one run in seven innings, and reliever Jerry Walker closed out the 2-1 victory.

As far as home field advantage goes, that's a little more interesting than just having a short right field porch, eh Yankees fans?

Vintage Fridays: George Zuverink, 1959 Topps #219

I'm running late to meet an old friend and kick-start a busy weekend, so I'll leave the floor open to discussion. Boy, don't those new "Baltimore" road jerseys look sharp? So far, we're 2-1 in them and leading Pink Hat Nation 8-5 in the fifth inning tonight. Fingers crossed, folks...

Vintage Fridays: George Bamberger, 1959 Topps #529

This is one of the oldest Orioles cards that I own, in addition to two cards from 1957 and a handful from 1958 and others from 1959. It depicts righty George Bamberger, who had been out of the major leagues since 1952. That's right; George had waited until he was 27 to get the call from the New York Giants, and was hit hard in seven games in 1951 and 1952 (12.00 ERA, 3 baserunners allowed per inning). His long absence from the bigs is no mystery in such context. He spent the remainder of 1952 through 1955 toiling in the Pacific Coast League for the Oakland Oaks, and the still-developing Orioles obtained him prior to the 1956 season. Despite being picked up by the O's, Bamberger bided his time at the team's PCL affiliate in Vancouver for three seasons. When he led the league in ERA (2.45) and tied for tops in shutouts (5) in 1958, George finally had his contracted purchased by the Birds.

Armed with knowledge of Bamberger's purchase, Topps was able to squeeze him into one of their higher-numbered, later-year releases. The palm tree in the background is a good hint that this shot was taken at Spring Training. I love the zipper on the jersey, as opposed to buttons. George's expression is hard to mine; perhaps it's relief that he's finally back at the age of 35, after six and a half long years in the minor leagues. If so, that relief would be short-lived. By the time this card was produced, Topps had to scramble to add a note to the card back indicating that he'd been sent back to Vancouver in May. The reason? Again, we let the numbers tell the story: three games, eight and one-third innings pitched, seven runs allowed on fifteen hits for a 7.56 ERA. George did manage to notch his only major league save by closing out a 7-5 win over Washington on April 19. But it wasn't enough to keep him around. After he allowed two runs to the Red Sox without recording an out three days later, he was sold back to Vancouver for $12,500. He would never pitch in the major leagues again.

But George Bamberger would leave his imprint on baseball in other ways. He returned to the Orioles in 1968 as Earl Weaver's pitching coach, a position he'd hold for the next decade. His pitchers would win twenty games eighteen times, and would also net four Cy Young Awards (three by Jim Palmer and one by Mike Flanagan). Finally, the Milwaukee Brewers hired George as their manager. He oversaw the beginning of the first boom period for the Brew Crew, as "Bambi's Bombers" hit the ball hard and won over 90 games in each of his first two seasons. As a rookie skipper, he was voted Manager of the Year. He initially retired after the 1980 season for health reasons, and later returned to pilot the Mets and then the Brewers once more, but had little success.

You can say this for Bambi, though: he never gave up.