Don Pavletich (#196)

Don Pavletich was the #2 man in the Reds’ 3-man catching corps in the 3 seasons prior to the arrival of Johnny Bench in 1968.

Pavletich was signed by the Reds as a bonus baby in late 1956. The bonus rules dictated that he remain on the big-league 25-man roster for 2 seasons. It appears the Reds got around this the same way Jim Pagliaroni’s team did – farm him out to the military for those 2 years. After appearing in only 1 game for the Reds in April 1957, Don spent the rest of that year and all of 1958 in military service.

He returned to baseball in 1959 and spent the next 3 seasons in the minors, save for 1 game with the Reds in April 1959.

Don played for the Reds from the start of the 1962 season through the end of the 1968 season. In ’62 and ’63 he was primarily used as the backup 1st baseman.

He was back in the minors for the first half of 1964 (possibly to work on his catching skills, because after his return he was used almost exclusively as a catcher by the Reds).

Pavletich started about 40 games per season from 1965-67 as Johnny Edwards' backup (with Jimmie Coker starting a dozen or so as the 3rd catcher).

On August 28th, 1967 Johnny Bench made his major-league debut, starting 26 of the final 32 games behind the plate. That was the end of the line for the Reds’ other 3 catchers. Edwards was traded in the off-season, Coker retired, and although Pavletich was the starting catcher for the first 5 games of 1968, those were his last starts as a Reds’ catcher. He played a bit at first base that year, but was traded to the White Sox after the ’68 season for pitcher Jack Fisher.

Don was a backup catcher for the White Sox for 1 year and the Red Sox for 2 years. After the 1971 season he was one of 6 players (with George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe LaHoud) sent to the Brewers in return for Tommy Harper, Lew Krausse, and Marty Pattin. (Seems like a lopsided trade!) 

Although Don has a card in the 1972 set featuring him as a Brewer, he never played for them, with his last game coming on 9/1/1971.

Dick Schofield (#474)

Here is Giants’ shortstop Dick Schofield. Back in the day, he went by the nickname “Ducky”. Current Washington Nationals’ outfielder Jayson Werth simply calls him “Grandpa”. (Many grandfathers try to impress kids by pulling a quarter out of someone’s ear. Schofield takes it to the next level by pulling a baseball out of his ear.)

Schofield played for 19 seasons (1953-71), mostly as a backup shortstop although he was his team’s regular SS from 1963 to 1965.

Dick was signed by the Cardinals in 1953 as a bonus baby, requiring him to stay on their roster for the entire season. He was with the Cards for all of ’53 and ’54, but seldom saw playing time. Schofield spent the bulk of the ’55 and ’56 seasons in the minors, getting the all-important “seasoning”.

He returned to the Cardinals in 1957, and finally got enough playing time to lose his rookie eligibility. Schofield was the team’s backup shortstop, behind Alvin Dark.

In June 1958 Schofield was traded to the Pirates for 3rd baseman Gene Freese and SS-P Johnny O’Brien. Dick spent the next 4 ½ seasons backing up Bill Mazeroski at 2B and Dick Groat at SS.

After the ’62 season the Pirates traded Groat, opening a full-time job at short for Schofield. Dick began a 3-year string as the starting shortstop – 2 seasons with the Pirates, and following a May 1965 trade to the Giants for infielder Jose Pagan, a 3rd season, which would be his last year as an every-day player.

Schofield began the 1966 season with the Giants, then played 4 months with the Yankees until winding up with the Dodgers for the season’s final 2 weeks. The following year he and another ex-Pirate (Gene Michael) alternated at shortstop as the Dodgers tried to find a way to replace the departed Maury Wills.

The Dodgers released him after the ’67 season, then he bounced from the Cardinals (1968) to the Red Sox (1969-70) before winding up his career in 1971 with the Cardinals and Brewers.

Besides his grandson Jayson Werth, his son Dick Schofield played shortstop for the Angels (and others) from 1983-96.

Lindy McDaniel (#496)

Here’s Lindy McDaniel’s card – a near mirror-image of the Joe Gibbon card we just looked at below. Giants’ pitcher? Check! Solid blue background? Check!

Lindy McDaniel pitched for 21 seasons (1955-75) for 5 teams. I identify him as a Giant because that’s where he was when I started collecting cards in 1967 and 1968, but he was only with San Francisco for 3 of his 21 seasons.

McDaniel was primarily a reliever during his career, starting only 74 of his 987 career games. He also collected 172 career saves. Lindy’s years as a starting pitcher were 1957 and 1958. After that, the bullpen was his home. From 1963 to 1972, he made only 3 starts.

McDaniel was signed by the Cardinals in 1955 as a bonus baby, and as such he went directly to the majors. He only appeared in 4 games that first season (all in September), but in 1956 he appeared in 39 games, compiling a 7-6 record.

Lindy joined the starting rotation in 1957 and fashioned a 15-9 record. He struggled in 1958, and was sent to the minors from late-August to early-September – his only time on the farm.

After starting his first 4 games in 1959 (and posting a 1-3 record), McDaniel returned to the bullpen, where he would stay for the rest of his career (except for the occasional spot start). He appeared in over 60 games each in 1959 and 1960, and led the NL in saves both years. Lindy also finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting in 1960.

After the 1962 season, he was traded to the Cubs (with pitcher Larry Jackson and catcher Jimmie Schaffer) for pitcher Don Cardwell, outfielder George Altman, and catcher Moe Thacker. Lindy led the league with 22 saves in his first season in Chicago, but was not as successful in ’64 and ’65.

The Cubs traded him to the Giants after the ’65 season (with outfielder Don Landrum) for pitcher Bill Hands and catching prospect Randy Hundley. McDaniel spent 2 ½ seasons by the Bay until he was traded to the Yankees in July 1968 for pitcher Bill Monbouquette.

Lindy was a workhorse during his 5 ½ seasons in Yankee pinstripes, posting an ERA under 3.00 in four of those seasons. He went 12-6 in his last season with the Yankees.

After the 1973 season, he was traded to the Royals for outfielder Lou Piniella. He wrapped up his long career with 2 seasons in Kansas City.

Al Kaline (#410)

This is the last of 5 cards donated to this blog by Deans Cards a few months ago. (Dean has also contributed some 1963 and 1970 cards to the cause.)

I first became aware of Al Kaline back in 1967, although at that time I thought his name was pronounced Al Ka-LINE (like the battery). I also knew back then that he never played in the minor leagues. Since I've started blogging here, I've learned that Sandy Koufax, Dick Groat, and Billy O'Dell also never played in the minors. (Has anyone EVER included Sandy Koufax and Billy O'Dell in the same sentence?)

One thing I DID learn recently about Kaline (while researching teammate Charlie Maxwell) is that Al spent several seasons as the Tigers' center fielder.



Kaline was signed as a bonus baby by the Tigers in 1953, and spent his entire 22-year career (1953-74) with Detroit. He appeared in 30 games as a rookie, making his debut on June 23rd. Al only started 4 games that season, and none until September 16th.

Starting in 1954, Kaline became a fixture in the Tigers' outfield, and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting that season. He also won a gold glove 10 times between 1957 and 1967, and was an all star every season from 1955 to 1967, and again in 1971 and 1974.

As I mentioned above, I always thought Kaline played only right field during his prime. He was the team's regular in right field from 1954-58, 61-64, and 67. In 1959 and 1960, he started most of the games as the center fielder. From 1965-66, he split his time almost evenly between center and right. From 1968-70, Al played mostly right field but also started many games at 1st base. He wrapped up his career in 1974 as the Tigers' full-time designated hitter, playing 144 games there and none in the field.

Kaline played in the 1968 World Series against the Cardinals, batting .379. He finished with a .297 lifetime batting average, and led the American League in batting in 1955, finished 2nd in 1959, 1961, and 1963, and finished 3rd in 1966 and 1967.

Al was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Final Card: Joey Jay

Joey Jay (#406) arrived in the majors in 1953 with the Milwaukee Braves. He pitched for them through the 1960 season (the last two as a regular starter).

After the 1960 season, he was traded to the Reds for shortstop Roy McMillan. Jay won 21 games in each of his first 2 years with Cincinnati (leading the league in 1961), and was a mainstay in the Reds rotation through 1965. Midway through the 1966 season, he was traded to Atlanta. The Braves released him after the season, ending his major-league career.


In most record books, this is the end of Joey Jay's story.


As I said in my 1960s blog, my introduction to major-league baseball was attending a Phillies game in early 1967. At that game, I bought a Phillies yearbook (and over the rest of that season, probably memorized it!) I was sure that I recalled a Joey Jay page in that book.

Only in the last few months have I found the baseball-reference.com minor-league statistics pages. There (and elsewhere) I learned that Joey Jay did indeed get a non-roster tryout with the Phillies in the 1967 pre-season, but didn't make the team. He spent the year with the Phillies single-A club in Tidewater, VA before retiring after the season.

Final Card: Sandy Koufax

What better way to start off this blog than with the best player from 1966? (Take that, F. Robby!)



Koufax retired at age 30, following the Dodgers' appearance in the 1966 World Series. In his final season, he compiled a 27-9 record, with 27 complete games, while pitching 323 innings!

As a testament to Koufax's final season, I offer exhibits A, B, and C: