#533 Darrell Johnson

Darrell Johnson caught for seven different major league teams (if you count the Browns and Orioles as different clubs) over parts of six seasons. Only twice did he get into 40 or more games or get 100 at bats. But he apparently was gathering baseball acumen as he went since he ended up managing in the minors and majors rather successfully.

Johnson signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1949 and hit well as he made his way up the ranks of the St. Louis system. He made the Browns' roster in 1952 and after a slow start and demotion to the minors he came back and was in the starting line-up for a month or so but in July he was traded to the White Sox.

For the next four seasons Johnson was passed around through several organizations without returning to the majors. He came back in 1957 as a spare part on the Yankees' AL title team and remained there in New York for their 1958 championship. He didn't play in any post season games for the Yanks. But in 1961 he found himself in Cincinnati after stints with the Phils and Cardinals (where he was a player/coach) and he got to start in two games against the Yanks in the World Series. He did well, too, going two for four.

A very brief whirl with the Orioles in 1962 as player/coach was Johnson's last taste of a big league field... as a player. He jumped right into managing in the Orioles' chain in 1963 and piloted teams to titles in two out of four seasons. He worked for the Yankees for a couple of seasons. He moved over to coach for the Red Sox, served as pitching instructor and scout, and then managed in their chain before being named to manage in Boston in 1974. He took over that job as a replacement for Eddie Kasko and a year later he had the Sox in the World Series against the Reds in a Fall Classic for the ages.

But in July of '76 with his team three games under .500 Johnson was canned and replaced by Don Zimmer. The next season he became the first manager of the Seattle Mariners. He remained in that spot with a struggling expansion franchise until 1980 when he was replaced by Maury Wills.

Johnson's last managerial job came in July of 1982 when, in a nice little twist of baseball fate, he stepped in to finish out the season when Don Zimmer was canned as manager of the Texas Rangers. He went on to coach with the Mets and then was a part of their front office.

Johnson's story is really a fascinating one. His SABR bio is a good read and it includes background on his relationships with players and press. It also includes the story of how Johnson and Browns pitcher Cliff Fannin were a losing pitcher/catcher battery for a major and minor league team in the same day.

Darrell Johnson died in 2004. Of course that's Yankee Stadium behind Johnson on this off-center but otherwise very nice card. I'm going to miss these things.

The next 

 is the last

and then we are done.

#386 Jim Delsing

When this card was issued in 1959 outfielder Jim Delsing had played 806 of his 822 major league games, he hadn't been in the majors for two years, he was still a year away from returning to the bigs (briefly) and he had never taken the field in a Washington cap (and never would).

Also in his rearview was a unique moment that arose in August of 1951 when, as a member of the St. Louis Browns, he was called upon to pinch-run for Eddie Gaedel the 'little person' that owner Bill Veeck had his club use as a pinch-hitter. Delsing describes the whoe situation in his SABR bio thusly:

"Mr. Veeck owned St. Louis back in 1951, and he was always doing some promoting. This happened at a Sunday double-header on August 19, and between games they brought out a great big, huge cake. Out of the cake popped Eddie Gaedel, wearing a St. Louis Browns uniform, with 1/8 on the back. He gets out of the cake and walks over to the dugout. We knew nothing about it. We took a look at the lineup. I had a couple of hits in the first game, so I thought I would sure be playing." 

"I went up to Zack Taylor, who was manager, and he said, Cool it. You'll be all right.' Taylor had Frank Saucier leading off. When it came time for Saucier to bat, Taylor called him back, and told Gaedel to bat for Saucier. We all thought it was a joke, because Mr. Veeck used to do all kinds of promotions. Gaedel walked up to the plate, and the umpire said, You can't bat.' But Mr. Veeck had this all worked out. Gaedel reached in his pocket and pulled out a major league contract. So they had to let him hit. Bob Cain was the Tiger pitcher, and Bob Swift was the catcher. Gaedel had a strike zone that was about an inch and a half! He walked on four pitches, and Zack Taylor said to me, Now go run for Gaedel.' Then I knew what he was talking about, why I wasn't playing the second game."

That's Gaedel in the center of this picture and Delsing is #18 leaning against the pole to the left.

Delsing had begun his pro career in 1942 with a year of independent ball in his native Wisconsin. He was signed by the Cubs and played a minor league season in their chain before serving Uncle Sam for two years. Returning from the service Delsing found his contract had been obtained by the White Sox and he played for nearly three full seasons in the upper reaches of that team's system. He hit well enough to earn looks with the Sox at the beginning and end of the 1948 season.

He was traded to the Yankees prior to 1949 and was called up for a September look during which he hit .350 and impressed his teammates enough that they voted him a small World Series share despite his not being active for it.

He hit well to start the 1950 season for the Yanks but was traded to the Browns in June as part of a seven player deal. He was a regular in the Browns outfield putting up pedestrian numbers and was traded again, this time to the Tigers in August of 1952.

Three plus seasons as an everyday player for the Tigers was highlighted by his best season, 1953, when he hit .288 with 11 homers and 61 RBI. Subsequent seasons brought diminishing numbers and in May of '56 he was again traded, this time back to the White Sox. Over the next three years Delsing moved around the minors via a dizzying string of trades and purchases that saw him being the property of the Tigers (again), the minor league Houston franchise, the Senators (for a few months of the off-season between the 1958 and 1959 seasons) and finally the Kansas City Athletics where in 1960 he re-emerged in the majors for the last five weeks of the season. that was his last in uniform.

After baseball Delsing worked for the archdiocese of St. Louis for thirty years. He has a son who is a pro golfer and a grandson who played Major League Soccer.

For more of Jim Delsing and his interesting career (and he has some cool stories to tell) see his SABR bio or this interview done a few years back with the Missouri History Museum's magazine.

As noted Delsing never suited up for the Senators in a regular season game and his shot features a drawn "W" logo on his cap. I get the vague impression the this pic shows the left-centerfield area of Yankee Stadium in the background.

#540 Willy Miranda

Before the 'Mendoza Line' there might well have been the 'Miranda Line'. Willy Miranda was the prototypical 'good field/no hit' 50s shortstop. In 9 seasons he hit .221 with six homers. That's really not terrible but there are a couple of great quotes that show how Miranda's hitting prowess was viewed. 

These are from his Baltimore Sun obit:

A newspaper columnist wrote that Mr. Miranda was the only "Major Leaguer to hit three ways -- righty, lefty and seldom."Manager Richards fumed that Mr. Miranda couldn't hit a ball with any consistency until one afternoon in Cleveland, when he got three straight hits. When he was replaced by a pinch hitter, Mr. Miranda inquired as to why."You already have three hits and it defies logic to think you're going to get four," said Mr. Richards.

But there are also quotes, found in that same obit, that give a glimpse of how Miranda's glove was viewed:

He was called "Ringling Brothers" by Orioles' Manager Paul Richards, who said he had "the hands of a pickpocket."Gus Triandos, a catcher during those years, described Mr. Miranda as "flashy a phenomenon" whose arm was almost "abnormal for such a small guy.""Had he been able to hit, he would have been a greater player than he was," Mr. Triandos said yesterday from his home in San Jose, Calif."He was a wizard with a glove -- and you need a strong glove like his when you play the most demanding position on the field," said Orioles Manager Davey Johnson, who said Mr. Miranda's death was a "personal tough loss.""He was the best defensive shortstop I've ever seen and I've seen plenty," said recently retired Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda, who played ball with him in Cuba. "This guy could do it all."

In 1948 Miranda was signed out his native Cuba by the Washington Senators.  He later defected to the U.S. by hiding in the cockpit of a Pan Am airliner with the help of the crew. He helped Cuban nationals leave as part of the Mariel 'boatlift' in 1980. He received honors from the city of Baltimore in the mid 70s for rescuing a man from a burning house. Seems like he could do everything...except hit.

In his career he played for the Senators, White Sox, Browns/Orioles and Yankees. His two years as a regular came with the Orioles in 1955/56. He played two more seasons as a platoon player in Charm City. During the 12 months from October 1951 through October 1952 he was involved in four separate transactions that saw him bounce from the nats to the White Sox to the Browns and back again a few times. He ended his career with a couple of minor league seasons. He later managed in the Mexican League.

As is usually the case SABR is the go-to site for details on this most interesting player.

When I pulled this card for scanning I noticed that the Orioles logo appeared 'different'. 

Here is the logo from Gene Woodling's card. The red stitches are black on Miranda's card and the Bird's face is only partially colored. it appears this was consistent over all the '59 Miranda cards I've seen.

#232 Eddie Kasko

Jersey Boy Eddie Kasko enjoyed a three part career in the majors. Signed by the Browns in 1949 he spent tow years in the service and was traded twice before he debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1957. He stepped into a starting role that year and spent time at short, third and second as he did most each season of his career.

He hit a respectable.273 his rookie year but when his average slipped by 50 some points in '58 he was traded to the Reds. He played four solid seasons in Cincy, hit well, fielded well and made the 1961 All Star squad. He hit .311 in the 1961 World Series against that Yankees.

He was dealt to Houston for the 1964 season as they looked to solidify their defense and played for the Colt .45s/Astros through '65. His last year as an active player was in 1966 with the Red Sox. 

After his playing was over he went on to manage in the the Red Sox chain for several years before he succeeded Dick Williams as Boston's manager in 1970. His clubs finished third twice and then second twice but never could break through for a pennant.

Kasko remained with the Red Sox as a scout and  as the team's director of scouting and vice president, baseball development. He retired in 1994 and was elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.

I believe the Kasko is the first player to appear in this set who has an active Facebook page and Twitter account. Make of that what you will.

#385 Sherm Lollar

Sherm Lollar caught 1571 games in the majors beginning in 1946 with the team that signed him out of Pittburg State in Kansas, the Cleveland Indians. Add in more than 400 minor league games, any number of collegiate, exhibition, World Series (he played in two) and All Star games (he made 7 AL teams) and you have a guy who did a whole lot of squatting in his career.
And it was a very good if under-appreciated career. After his 26 game trial with the Indians in '46 he was traded to the Yanks. After two seasons during which he rarely got off the bench he was dealt to the St. Louis Browns where he blossomed into a first time All Star in 1950.
But it wasn't until a 1952 trade to Chicago's South Side that Lollar became a more consistent player and by the end of the decade he had collected three Gold Gloves, landed in the Top Ten in MVP voting twice and made the All Star squad six times in a span of seven years. With the 'Go Go Sox' of 1959 Lollar hit 24 homers (he had 22 in '58) and drove in 84 runs for the second year in a row.
A homer and 5 RBI against the Dodgers in the Series that season wasn't enough to help the White Sox become champs but Lollar had already earned a ring with the '47 Yankees. In that Series he went three for four with a pair of doubles as the Bombers defeated the Dodgers.
Lollar's playing time decreased as the '50s turned into the '60s and after the 1963 season he retired to coach in the majors and manage in the minors.
That makes it two red White Sox cards in a row. This one was also shot at Yankee Stadium (I know that scoreboard silhouette). Seems to me that Sherm is looking up at my Dad and me perched in our usual spot above and just to the left of home plate. He's smiling because he knows that I will be, as always, rooting against the Yanks. My Dad would laugh about that but I think is secretly pissed him off.
I believe, but can't substantiate,  that my first game at Yankee Stadium was in 1958. I KNOW it was a against that White Sox so maybe he really is looking up at us. Oh, Lollar may not get much love by later generations, but at least one writer thought a lot of him.

#340 Roy Sievers

First I need to apologize for giving Roy Sievers the brush-off when I posted his Baseball Thrills card from this set two years ago. That done I'll now try to give his his due with his regular card up in the queue. Fair enough?

In 1947 Sievers signed with his hometown St. Louis Browns and spent two very productive seasons in the minors before an auspicious debut with the Browns in 1949. His 16/91/.306 stat line earned him Rookie of the Year honors and he seemed on his way to stardom in the Gateway City. But it wasn't to be all roses for him. He struggled at the plate and with injuries before he re-established himself, at least to a point, in 1953.

He came oh-so close to being a Baltimore Oriole but he was dealt to the Washington Senators just a few months before the Browns transformed themselves into the Birds in 1954. That trade, btw, although almost understandable at the time (Sievers didn't appear to be capable of recapturing his rookie form), turned out to be a boon for Sievers and a bust for the Orioles.

He became the face of the Senators' franchise while the player sent to the Orioles, Gil Coan, never contributed much in his years' worth of games for Baltimore. Sievers meanwhile flashed the power he had showed in the minors and had six straight seasons for the Nats with 20+ dingers including a league leading 42 in 1957. He also led the league in RBI that year with 114. In his run with the Nats from '54 through '59 he had 176 homers and 565 RBI.

But he wasn't through. Traded to the White Sox in 1960 he put together two more 25+ homer/90+ RBI seasons. He moved over to the Phillies for three seasons and, until his numbers slid in 1964, had a nice run with them as well.

In July of 1964 Sievers was brought back to Washington and played for the expansion Senators until he was released in early 1965. In all he played on four All Star squads and finished in the Top Ten in MVP votes three times. After his playing days he coached for the Reds and managed in the minors before leaving the game to work for Yellow freight. A nice fan page has more on Roy Sievers including stories and quotes.

As you can see from this page Sievers is still active and making appearances.  Looks to be Washington's Griffith Stadium in the background. And the home Nats uni doesn't look airbrushed. Always nice to see a photo taken someplace besides Yankee Stadium.

Roy Sievers appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in May of 1958.