Random Topps Card of the Day: 1958 Topps #396 Dutch Dotterer

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, December 22, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1958 Topps #396.
• Player Name, position, team: Dutch Dotterer, catcher, Cincinnati Redlegs.
• Major League Debut: September 25, 1957.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1957 stats (Nashville, AA-Southern Association): 129 Games, 455 At Bat, 82 Runs, 138 Hits, 29 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 79 RBI, .303 B.Avg; 673 PO, 57 A, 11 E, .985 F.Avg.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Reds as a Free Agent before the 1950 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Dutch reminds a lot of people of the great Moe Berg because he also speaks several foreign languages. He batted .272 in his first pro season with Lockport in the Pony League."
• Commentary: First of all, "Pony League" should have been written as PONY League for it stands for "Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York," (Lockport, NY). Remember the fuss that was made when Gary Pettis' brother wound up on his 1985 Topps card? Well, for Henry John Dotterer's 1961 card (which would also be his final Topps card), it wasn't "Dutch" depicted on the card, but his brother Tommy Dotterer, who was in the Reds' minor league system at the time the card was produced. After three years in the Reds/Redlegs' minor league system, Dutch joined the US Navy and served during the Korean War. Upon his return, he returned to the Reds' organization, and finally made it to the big club in 1957. Although Dotterer made it onto the Reds' roster in 1958, Dutch spent most of the season with the Reds' AAA team in Seattle, returning in September. He appeared in 11 games that year, hit for a .250 average with 1 home run and two rbi's to his credit. He would remain the Reds' backup catcher until the end of the 1960 season. He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in October that year, and then was left exposed for the 1961 expansion draft. He was selected 12th player selected (24th overall) by the Washington Senators. After appearing in seven games for the Senators, he would play for the Syracuse Chiefs, the minor league team in his hometown before calling it quits for good in1963. Dotterer made the most of his after-playing career. He became a bilingual education teacher at a high school in Santa Ana, California (hey, if you can speak "several foreign languages," why not teach?), then opened a bookstore in Syracuse when he "retired" from teaching. He was an incredible speaker, who could go on and on about topics ranging from his travels through baseball, and his time in the Navy (where he became friends with a young slugger from the Army named Willie Mays). Henry John Dotterer passed away on October 9, 1999, at the age of 67 due to complications from diabetes.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $4.00-$8.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2005 Topps #597. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1958 Topps #315 Bob Friend

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, January 20, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1958 Topps #315.
• Player Name, position, team: Bob Friend, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: April 28, 1951.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1957 stats (Pirates): 40 Games, 277 IP, 14-18, .438 Pct, 273 Hits, 121 runs, 104 ER, 143 SO, 68 Walks, 3.38 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent before the 1949 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his fourth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "The ace of the Pirates pitching staff, Bob is one of the most widely sought players in the league. He came up to Pittsburgh after only one year in the minors, spent at Waco and Indianapolis, where he combined 14 wins."
• Commentary: There is something about that red background that really makes the black and gold of Bob Friend's Pirate cap and jersey really stand out.  And he looks like he lives up to his last name to his teammates and off the field.  But against opposing batters, he was anything but a friend.  The true definition of a workhorse pitcher, up-to-this-point in his career, Friend led the league in ERA (2.83 in 1955), games started (42 and 38 in '56 and '57 respectively), innings pitched (314.1 and 277 in '56 and '57 respectively), and batters faced (1315 and 1148 in '56 and '57...you get the idea).  He was an All-Star (in 1956) and an MVP candidate (in 1955 and 1956).  So what does he do in 1958?  Have the best year of his career...that's what.  Friend finished the year with a spectacular 22-14 record, led the league in games started (38), completed 16 of them, had an ERA of 3.68, struck out 135 batters, went to his second All-Star Game, finish third in the Cy Young balloting, and sixth in the MVP race.  After a sub-par year in 1959, he rebounded the next season with an 18-12 record and his third and final trip to the All-Star Game.  The Pirates won the World Series in 1960, but Friend could not crack the tough Yankees lineup, going 0-2 with an ERA of 13.50 (9 earned runs in 6 innings of work).  In 15 seasons with Pittsburgh, Friend had a cumulative record of 191-218, an ERA of 3.55, 161 complete games, 35 shutouts, 1682 strikeouts, and had a WHIP of 1.292.  He was traded to the Yankees after the 1965 season, and although his time with the Bronx Bombers was brief, his stay in New York lasted throughout the season as his contract was bought by the Mets in the middle of June.  He was released by the Mets upon the end of the season, his final in the majors.  He is presently the only player to lose more than 200 decisions while winning less than 200 of them (finished with a 197-230 record).  It didn't help that during his tenure with the Pirates that the Bucs finished in last place five times.  His cards have surfaced in Topps' Heritage Buyback program since 2008, and he's had autographed cards appear in products like 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites and 2011 Topps Lineage.  Friend and his family still reside in Pittsburgh.  He served as the Allegheny County controller for eight years, worked his way up to vice president at an insurance brokerage firm.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $5.00-$10.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM..

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1982 Topps #513. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1958 Topps #462 Gary Geiger

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, December 30, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1958 Topps #462.
• Player Name, position, team: Gary Geiger, outfielder, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: April 15, 1958.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1957 stats (Rochester - AAA-International): 100 Games, 238 AB, 34 Runs, 53 Hits, 3 2B, 3 #B, 9 HR, 24 RBI, .223 B.Avg, 168 PO, 8 A, 3 E, .983 F.Avg.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Cardinals as a Free Agent before the 1954 season. Drafted by the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft, 12/02/1957. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Gary is one of three center-fielders the indians are carrying this year, and his terrific throwing arm has won him a shot at third base.  The one thing that seems to be certain of him is that he belongs somewhere in the lineup."
• Commentary:  Yes, many of the photos used in the 1958 Topps set were headshots.  But for those players with action shots I have to ask, "What was the point was of cutting out the entire background, and cropping the player in a solid colored background?"  This isn't 1955 Topps, where the concept worked (at least there was a headshot AND an action shot utilized in that design).  This card was shortprinted in the final series of the 1958 product.  Why?  According to the Number One Source in the Hobby, "All-Star Cards of Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle were triple-printed, the cards they replaced (443, 446, 450, 462) on the printing sheet were hence printed in shorter supply than other cards..." If this happened today, a certain blogger who has been taking his talents to twitter lately would be screaming bloody murder.  There are two cartoons with captions relating to Geiger.  The first indicates that Gary switched to the outfield from pitching.  He was signed as a pitcher, but as the Cardinals had a ton of pitching prospects, Gary was asked to move to the outfield.  He happily obliged.  The second says that he's a smooth-stroking singles hitter.  Gary Geiger played in the majors for 12 years.  It is said that if he could have been one of the best players in the league if he wasn't so injury prone. In 1958, Geiger played in 91 games, hitting a home run and driving in 6 rbi's.  As he had experience as a pitcher, he also pitched in one game that year, going two innings, striking out two batters, and allowing only one run in a 7-4 loss to the Orioles.  This would also be his only year with the Indians as he was traded by the Indians with Vic Wertz to the Red Sox for Jim Piersall. More of Geiger's story can be found at the SABR Biography Website.  Gary Geiger passed away on April 24, 1996 from cirrhosis of the liver.  He was 59 years old.  Geiger's cards have been used in the Topps Heritage buyback program since 2008, the year Heritage honored the 1959 Topps set.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $10.00-$20.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM..

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1998 Topps #32. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The Last of the Million Card Giveaways.

By the time this post comes to the blog, I will be out celebrating New Year's Day with the family. With that in mind, I thought that besides the Card of the Day, I thought I'd share some final Million Card Giveaway results on this humble, little blog.

What should be the final three codes I get before Topps switches over to the Diamond Giveaway, here is what Topps' randomizer gifted to me:

zxdT6x78L: 1958 Topps Gene Baker #358


C5pkwR6Mr: 1986 Topps Paul Molitor #267


hzcwHGG4B: 1983 Topps Kirk Gibson #430


This total means I have 55 cards in my virtual binder. I do plan on redeeming the cards that I don't have (anything from 1975 and older). Otherwise, I've heard horror stories about the condition of some of these cards, so I'm a bit leery about doing this.

On a totally unrelated note, when will Topps announce their #59 on their Topps 60 countdown??? It's been more than a week since the Schmidt RC was announced as #60!!! Oh well.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1958 Topps #349 Murry Dickson

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, October 3, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1958 Topps #349.
• Player Name, position, team: Murry Dickson, pitcher, Kansas City A's.
• Major League Debut: September 30, 1939.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1957 stats (A's): 14 G, 74 IP, 5-3, .625 PCT, 87 Hits, 41 Runs, 34 ER, 29 SO, 25 Walks, 4.14 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Cardinals as a Free Agent before the 1937 season. Signed with the Athletics as a Free Agent 01/28/1958. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Dickson's third regular Topps card (total includes regular cards only). The key design element to the 1958 Topps set was that instead of the usual player photo, each player's headshot or posed action shot was cropped and placed in front single color backgrounds. This led to some very interesting pictures thanks to some very creative photo editing (missing bats, missing arms...you get the idea). All this before the invention of Photoshop. But I digress. Murry Dickson (yes, his name is M-U-R-R-Y...not a typo) was an pitcher who excelled in whatever role was thrust upon him. The bio on the back above the cartoon even indicated that he was "a supple-armed workman, who could start or relieve..." A 20 game winner with the Pirates in 1951, he was named to the NL All-Star team a couple of years later. After his second stint with the Cardinals, he signed with the Kansas City A's. And in the late 1950's through the 60's, that only meant one thing...that sooner or later, he'd be on the express to New York to play for the Yankees. And sure enough, his stay with the A's didn't last as he was traded to the Bronx, just in time to help the Bombers win the 1958 World Series. And sure enough, in 1959, the A's bought his contract from the Yankees. The circle was complete. In 1958, Dickson had a combined record of 10-7 with a decent 3.27 ERA. He started 11 of the 33 games he pitched, completed three of them, finished seven more as a reliever (two saves). Dickson struck out 55 in 119.1 innings pitched. He finished his career with the A's in 1959 and has a career record of 172-181 with 3.66. You know, many people don't take much stock anymore with wins and losses. And apparently in Dickson's time, that may have also been the case. Because during his stay with the Pirates, he was an MVP candidate twice...but he lost 21 games in 1952 and finished ninth in the MVP voting. The following year, he lost 19 games, but was an All-Star. If nothing else, it showed that he was a reliable pitcher. His major league service was interrupted when he joined the US Army and fought in WWII in 1942-43. He even has a card in the 2007 Topps Distinguished Service set. Not a base card, but a cut auto (a 1 of 1).
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $4.00-$8.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM. (You have to stop by and visit them now. They just announced that they are allowing more people to enter the museum at one time.)

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH312. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1958 Topps #22 Hal Naragon

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, July 11, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1958 Topps #22.
• Player Name, position, team: Hal Naragon, catcher, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: September 23, 1951.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1957 stats (Indians): 57 G, 121 AB, 12 R, 31 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, .256 AVG, 179 PO, 14 A, 2 E, .990 F. AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed by the Indians as a Free Agent before the 1947 season. Bats: left, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Naragon's third regular Topps card. The 1958 set was not necessarily unique with the use of cropped photography, but in the way that it was presented. Whereas the 1957 Topps set showcased the entire photograph, the 1958 set design cropped the entire background, leaving just the picture of the featured player in a colored background (whether it be red, blue, yellow, green, etc). Now cropping the photo may not be new to Topps (see 1954 Topps), but this kind of work could lead to missing elbows, bats, hands (as was the case on some 1958 Topps cards). But I digress. Hal Naragon was the Tribe's back up catcher (to Jim Hegan in the 1950's). And he was a rather decent catcher who could have caught on with other teams. But as he was a native Ohioan (from Barberton, OH, roughly 30 miles or so south of Cleveland), he stayed with the local club. Now the back of his card shows only two lines of stats (his previous year and lifetime stats) to make way for large cartoon snapshots of Naragon's career. Now for a role player who never played more than 57 games a season at the time, Topps really had to get creative to make Naragon look good to the many kids opening packs of 1958 Topps Series 1 cards and never heard of the guy. To wit: one cartoon depicts a really large batter hitting one out, and the caption reads "In 1955, Hal had a big year with a lusty .323 average." What it doesn't mention is that this was accomplished with him seeing 57 games worth of action, with 41 hits in 127 at bats. The second cartoon shows a catcher nose to nose to his pitcher with the words, "He's a fine fielder who knows how to handle hurlers." No arguments there. A career .991 fielding average shows that he's excellent with the glove. Hal went on to coach for the Twins and then the Tigers in the 1960's. And 50 years later, appeared in Topps' salute to the 1959 and 1960 Topps sets with an autograph cards inserted into both products.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $6.00-$12.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2007 Topps #572. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama