Rene Lachemann (#157)

This is Rene Lachemann’s first solo card. It’s one of a handful of 1966 cards that appear to have been painted, rather than photographed. It’s also the same picture Topps used on the 4-player Athletics Rookies card in the 1965 set.

I much prefer his 1967 card (below), but this 1966 blog was short on Athletics, so here he is.

Wow, I am REALLY surprised to see how little major-league playing time Lachemann had! 92 games in 1965, only 7 games in 1966, NO games in 1967, and 19 games in 1968. Even having 4 new expansion teams in 1969 couldn’t keep him in the majors.

After working as the Dodgers' batboy from 1959-63, Rene was signed by the Athletics in 1964, and played in the minors every season from 1964-72. Early on, he was mostly a catcher, but during his 1969-72 stint with Oakland’s AAA club in Iowa, he was primarily a 1st baseman while also playing 3B, outfield, and a few games behind the plate.

He started 54 games as a rookie in 1965 (playing behind Bill Bryan), but it was all downhill after that. Was it his .227 batting average? His 57 strikeouts in 216 at-bats? Still, he hit 9 homers and collected 29 RBI – not bad for a part-time rookie catcher.

Lachemann began his managing career in 1973. After stints in the minors with the Athletics and Mariners from 1973-80, he managed the Mariners from 1981-83, the Brewers in 1984, and the Marlins from 1993-96. He also managed the Cubs for 1 game in 2002. His final skipper’s job was with the Rockies’ AAA team in 2009.

Lachemann’s brother Marcel was a pitcher for the Athletics from 1969-71, and managed the Angels from 1994-96.

Ken Henderson (#39)

Ken Henderson played outfield for 16 seasons from 1965-1980. His first 8 seasons were with the Giants, then he spent the last half of his career with 6 teams, most notably the White Sox.

I will always remember him as a Giants' spare outfielder, because that was his status when I started collecting cards, but he finally won a full-time job with the Giants from 1970-72, and the White Sox and Braves from 1974-76.

Henderson was signed by the Giants in June 1964, and made his major-league debut at age 18 in April 1965. Ken spent all of 1965 as the Giants' 5th outfielder, but played most of 1966-68 back in the minors.

After starting outfielders Ollie Brown and Jesus Alou were lost in the expansion draft, Henderson stuck with the Giants for good at the start of 1969. Although he was the team's #2 outfielder in terms of total innings played that season, he was a corner-outfield swing man, backing up Bobby Bonds in right field and splitting the left field starts with Dave Marshall.

Marshall was traded to the Mets after the 1969 season, enabling Henderson to be the team's primary left fielder for the next 3 seasons.

After the 1972 season, he was traded to the White Sox. Ken was a backup outfielder in 1973, but became the every-day center fielder for the next 2 years, starting 159 games there in '74 and 136 games in '75. (This is news to me!) 

After that it was on to the Braves, where he spent 1 season as their right fielder, having been exchanged for Ralph Garr.

The rest of Henderson’s career was a series of whistle stops as a bench player: 1977 with the Rangers, 1978 with the Mets and Reds, 1979 with the Reds and Cubs, and then wrapping up his career in 1980 with the Cubs, until getting his release in July.

I'm really surprised that Henderson played any seasons as a regular. 1974 was his career year with 602 at bats, 76 runs, 176 hits, 35 doubles, 5 triples, 20 home runs, 95 RBI, 66 walks, and a .292 batting average in 162 games.

Gerry Arrigo (#357)

Gerry Arrigo was a spot starter for the Reds from 1966 to 1969. Prior to that he pitched for the Twins. What I didn’t realize until today was that Gerry began the ’66 season with the Reds, was sold to the Mets in May, and returned to the Reds 3 months later.

Arrigo was signed by the White Sox 1960, but the selected by the Twins in the first-year draft after that season. He pitched in the Twins’ farm system from 1961-63, also making a few appearances each year for the Twins.

In 1964 he spent a full season with Minnesota, appearing in 41 games. His 12 starts ranked him 6th among the Twins’ starting pitchers that season.

After the season he was traded to the Reds for prospect Cesar Tovar. It appears he played most of the 1965 season with the Reds, except for the month of August when he pitched 9 games for their triple-A team.

As mentioned earlier, Gerry played the bulk of the 1966 season (essentially) on loan to the Mets. He pitched 42 innings over 17 games for New York, and only 3 games for the Reds.

In 1967 Arrigo appeared in 32 games, as the #4 man in the Reds’ bullpen (well behind closer Ted Abernathy).

Gerry found himself in the Reds' starting rotation for all of 1968, the only season where he was primarily a starter. He fashioned a 12-10 record in 205 innings while starting 31 games (all career highs).

1969 would be his last season with Cincinnati. He started 16 of his 20 games, but only played 1 game prior to June 1st that season.

After the ’69 season he was traded to the White Sox (also learned THAT today) for outfielder Angel Bravo. He played for the Sox during the first 2 months of 1970, but spent the rest of the season with their AAA team.

Arrigo retired after pitching the 1971 season for the Braves’ AAA team.

Jim Merritt (#97)

Jim Merritt pitched for 11 seasons – 4 with the Twins, 4 with the Reds, and (I didn’t know this until today) 3 with the Rangers. I always think of him as a Twin because that’s where he was when I started collecting cards, but he had his greatest success with the Reds.

Merritt was signed by the Dodgers (the 2nd thing I learned about him today!) in 1961. He went 19-8 for the Dodgers’ class-D team in Erie, PA, but apparently that wasn’t enough to protect him from the minor-league draft. He was selected by the Twins after the ’61 season.

Jim spent the next 3 seasons in the Twins’ farm system, making his major-league debut in August 1965. He made 2 relief appearances in the ’65 World Series vs. the Dodgers.

Merritt was a key member of the Twins’ starting rotation from 1966-68, and was one of 6 pitchers named Jim on their staff in ’66 and ’67.

In November 1968, he was traded to the Reds for shortstop Chico Cardenas. Jim won a career-high (at the time) 17 games in 1969, and topped it the following season with 20 wins. He also made his only All-Star team in 1970, and finished 4th in the NL Cy Young voting. That year he also pitched 2 games in the post-season.

As seems to be the custom with Reds’ pitchers in those days (Gary Nolan, Wayne Simpson, Wayne Granger, Jim Maloney, Sammy Ellis, etc, etc.) Merritt came down with arm troubles (in his case, an elbow injury), and compiled a horrendous 1-11 record in 1971. He was moved to the bullpen after an 0-8 start, and won his lone game in August.

Jim followed that up with a 1-0 record in only 4 games in 1972, while spending most of that season with AAA Indianapolis.

After the 1972 season he was traded to the Rangers for backup catcher Hal King. Merritt pitched 2 full seasons with Texas (5-13 in 35 games in ’73, 0-0 in 26 games in ’74) and was released in July 1975 after only 5 appearances.

Jim Brewer (#158)

I learned something new today – Jim Brewer pitched 3-plus seasons for the Cubs before joining the Dodgers in 1964.

After 4 seasons under the wings of veteran relievers Ron Perranoski, Bob Miller, and Phil Regan, Brewer spent 6 more seasons as the top man in the Dodger bullpen.

Brewer was signed by the Cubs in June 1956. He spent 5 seasons in the Cubs’ farm system as a starting pitcher (except for his first season), and made his big-league debut with 5 games in late-July 1960.

Jim was with the Cubs for all of 1961, starting 11 of his 36 games. His 1-7 record and 5.82 ERA earned him another year in triple-A (1962). That season he only pitched in 6 games for the Cubbies. Although Brewer was a triple-A starter in 1962, when he returned to the majors for good in 1963, he would be a reliever for the rest of his career (except for part of 1967).

He was the only lefthander in the Cubs bullpen in 1963, compiling a 3-2 record in 29 games. After the season he was traded to the Dodgers for Dick Scott, a 9-year minor-league pitcher whose major-league career totaled 9 games. What a steal!

Brewer worked in the Dodgers’ bullpen behind Perranoski and Miller for the next 4 seasons. In 1966 the Dodgers added Regan, who was also ahead of Jim in the pecking order.

After the 1967 season, the Dodgers traded Perranoski and Miller to the Twins, and in early ’68 Regan was sent to the Cubs, leaving Jim as the #1 reliever. Brewer appeared in over 50 games for each of the next 6 seasons, collecting 15, 20, 24, 22, 17, and 20 saves. In ’71 and ’72 his ERA was under 2.00, and he also made his only All-Star team in 1973.

The Dodgers acquired Mike Marshall before the 1974 season, which greatly cut into Brewer’s workload. (Marshall led NL pitchers with ONE HUNDRED SIX games (all in relief), and saves (21) that season, and won the Cy Young Award.) Brewer only pitched 39 innings over 24 games, with no saves.

In July 1975 Jim was traded to the Angels for relief pitcher Dave Sells. Brewer pitched 21 games for the Angels in ’75 and 13 games in ’76, his last coming on May 24th. He retired in 1976, closing out his 17-year career.

In 1987 Brewer died at age 50, after suffering injuries in a car crash.

Pete Ward (#25)

Pete Ward played from 1962 to 1970. Primarily a 3rd baseman, he also played some outfield and 1st base. Until tonight, I thought he had only played for the White Sox, but he was with the Orioles for his first season, and the Yankees for his last.

Ward was signed by the Orioles in 1958 and played five seasons in the minors before making his big-league debut in September 1962 with 8 games for the Orioles.

Prior to the 1963 season he was traded to the White Sox with pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, shortstop Ron Hansen, and outfielder Dave Nicholson for shortstop Luis Aparicio and outfielder Al Smith.

Pete won the 3rd base job as a rookie, starting the first 154 games at the hot corner (with September rookie all-up Don Buford starting the final 8 games). Ward finished with 22 HR, 84 RBI and a .295 average, and finished 2nd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind teammate Gary Peters.

In 1964, he nearly duplicated his rookie batting feats (23/94/.282), but his power and average faded in 1965 and he never reached his 63-64 numbers again. Ward was the regular 3rd baseman again in ’64 and ’65, but only played 84 games (including 57 starts in the outfield) in 1966.

He returned to full-time status in 1967, but was the team’s primary left fielder. He started 71 games in left and 35 games at 1st base, but only 13 starts at 3B.

In 1968 Pete returned to 3rd base, making 73 starts at there until Bill Melton took over the position in September. Like the year before, Ward was also Tom McCraw’s backup at 1st base.

After batting only .216 in 1968, Ward lost a starting position in 1969, getting only 199 at-bats in 105 games, his lowest totals since his 1962 cup of coffee.

Pete was traded to the Yankees for pitcher Mickey Scott after the 1969 season, and was used mostly as a pinch-hitter in 1970. He was released during Spring Training in 1971.

He managed in the Yankees’ system from 1972-77, and for other teams in ’80 and ’81.

Dean Chance (#340)

Here is Dean Chance’s last card as a member of the California Angels, complete with wax or gum residue at no extra charge.

Dean’s best season was 1964, when he won the Cy Young award (back then there was only 1 award, not 1 per league) and led the AL in wins (20), ERA (1.65), shutouts (11), complete games (15), and innings pitched (278). He also had 207 strikeouts.

Chance was also an all-star in 1964 and in 1967, his first season with the Twins. In ’67 he won 20 games and was the league leader in starts (39), complete games (18) and innings pitched (283).

Chance was signed by the Orioles (I did not know that) in 1959, then after 2 seasons in their low minors, he was selected by the expansion Washington Senators in the December 1960 draft. That same day he was flipped to the expansion Angels for reserve outfielder Joe Hicks. Dean pitched for the Angels’ AAA team in Dallas-Fort Worth in 1961, and made his major-league debut on 9/11/61.

In 1962, the 21-year-old rookie led the 2nd-year Angels with 14 wins, remarkable since he spent most of May and all of July in the bullpen. Chance finished 3rd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind the Yankees’ Tom Tresh and Angels’ teammate Bob Rodgers.

Dean won 13 games in 1963, then had his monster season in 1964, as described above. After 2 more seasons at the top of the Angels’ rotation (15 and 12 wins), Chance was traded to the Twins after the 1966 season for 1st baseman Don Mincher, pitcher Pete Cimino, and outfielder Jimmie Hall. (The Angels later sent shortstop Jackie Hernandez to the Twins to complete the trade.)

After his big season in 1967, he leveled off at 16-16 in 1968. In 1969 Chance missed all of June and July with a back injury, and finished with a 5-4 record in only 88 innings (20 games) in his final season with the Twins.

In December 1969 he was traded to the Indians (with 3rd baseman Graig Nettles, pitcher Bob Miller, and outfielder Ted Uhlaender) for pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Dean was 9-8 for Cleveland while starting 19 of his 45 games, then was sold to the Mets in mid-September.

The Mets traded him to the Tigers during spring training 1971, and his spent his final season as a swing man for Detroit, compiling a 4-6 record in 31 games (14 starts) in only 89 innings.

After his retirement, he formed a company that operated games of chance (!) booths at carnivals and state fairs in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, he started a boxing association and managed several fighters.

Don Mincher (#388)

Don Mincher began his career with the White Sox (I learned something new today!) in 1956. After 4 seasons on the Sox’ farm (where he hit a total of 60 home runs), Don was traded to the (old) Washington Senators (with catcher Earl Battey) for veteran 1st-sacker Roy Sievers on April 4, 1960.

Mincher started the first 20 games for the Senators in 1960, but with his batting average in the .230s by mid-June, he was sent down to the minors for the rest of the season, returning only for the last 2 weeks in September.

The Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, and “Minch” was with them to start the season. This time, he only made it to the Memorial Day doubleheader before he and his .188 batting average were demoted to triple-A Buffalo.

Don returned to the big leagues to stay in 1962, although he only played in half the Twins’ games in ’62 and ’63. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter in 1962, but started 20 games at 1st base when Vic Power needed a break. In 1963, he only made 2 starts during the first half, but started 55 of the final 75 games at first base.

In 1964, Power only started 7 games (and was shipped out in June), but Mincher had to contend with ex-rightfielder Bob Allison, who set up shop at first base in ’64 when rookie Tony Oliva joined the team as the everyday right fielder. Don only managed 65 starts to Allison’s 90, but appeared in another 55 games as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement.

Don began to establish himself in 1965. Although he only started 5 games before mid-June (Harmon Killebrew was this year’s first baseman), Mincher started most of the games after that, when Killebrew began alternating between 1st and 3rd, then Harmon missed all of August and half of September with an injury. Mincher was the team’s primary 1st baseman, although with only 89 starts. In the ’65 World Series, Don only hit .130 while playing in all 7 games.

Don’s last year with the Twins was 1966, when he set new personal highs in games played (139), games started (118), hits (108), and doubles (30), although his homer total dipped below 20. After the season, he was traded to the Angels (with pitcher Pete Cimino and outfielder Jimmie Hall) for 1964’s Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance, and reserve shortstop Jackie Hernandez.

Mincher spent 2 seasons with the Angels. In 1967, he rebounded in most offensive categories, and made his first of 2 all-star appearances. He slumped the following season, and was left unprotected in the expansion draft.

The Seattle Pilots made him their 2nd pick in the expansion draft, and he was their regular 1st baseman. He was also the clean-up batter until late-July, when he was dropped to the #5 slot. Don was the Pilots’ only all-star game representative.

In January 1970, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Lew Krausse and Ken Sanders, catcher Phil Roof, and outfielder Mike Hershberger. Mincher was Oakland’s first baseman for 1970 and the first month of 1971. In early May, he was traded to the Senators for 1st baseman Mike Epstein. Mincher was back in Washington, making him one of only 8 players to have played for both Washington Senators franchises.

In July 1972, Don’s team (now the Texas Rangers) traded him back to Oakland for infielders Vic Harris and Marty Martinez. With Epstein entrenched as the regular, Mincher was mostly used to pinch-hit, and got 2 at-bats in the 1972 post-season. He retired after the season.

In March 2012, Mincher died at age 73, in his birthplace of Huntsville, Alabama.

Togetherness (Lee May / Darrell Osteen)

I just noticed this last week:

Has this ever happened before or since?  Even Bill Davis, the Indians' rookie 1st baseman who famously appeared on FIVE rookie stars cards in the 1960s, managed to get a different dance partner each time.

The life and times of Lee May have already been covered here.

Darrell Osteen was signed by the Reds in 1962, 5 years after they signed pitcher Claude Osteen (who until today, I thought was his brother). Darrell pitched in the Reds' farm system from 1962-67, and made a few appearances with the Reds in '65, '66, and '67.

After the 1967 season, he and outfielder Floyd Robinson were traded to the Athletics for pitcher Ron Tompkins. Osteen missed the 1968 and 1969 seasons, but pitched in 3 games for Oakland in 1970, while spending most of 1970 and all of 1971 in the minors with the A's and Yankees.


I'm starting a rumor that Osteen, miffed when he couldn't stay with Lee May in Cincinnati, demanded a trade to another organization:

Osteen now takes his place among Bill Davis, Lou Piniella and Ron Stone in the 3+ Rookie Stars club.

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: Chuck Dressen

Time for a manager's card!

Back in the day, I had heard the name Charlie Dressen (probably from listening to Richie Ashburn and By Saam ramble on during Phillies' broadcasts), but since he wasn't managing in 1967 (my first year of collecting baseball cards), I didn't know anything about him, other than he was one of the "old-time" managers (like Jimmie Dykes, Birdie Tebbetts, Leo Durocher, Danny Murtaugh, etc).

Earlier this year, I began collecting 1966 cards, and bought some from DeansCards.com. This card was among the bunch:



Since he was the Tigers' manager in 1966, and the Tigers finished the '66, '67, and '68 seasons in 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place respectively, I wondered "Why would the Tigers replace Dressen prior to the 1967 season?" I learned that he had a heart attack prior to the 1965 season, and a second one during the 1966 season. Dressen passed away in August of 1966.

The card back alludes to a long playing and managing career, but obviously can only skim the surface. I'll let this Wikipedia page tell the story (where we also learn he was an NFL quarterback in 1920).