Tommie Sisk (#441)

Tommie Sisk played for 9 years (1962-70), mostly as a starting pitcher for the Pirates.

Sisk was signed by the Pirates in 1960, and was a starting pitcher in their farm system for 3 seasons. He also played a few games with the Pirates in late July, and again in late-September 1962.

In 1963 and 1964, Tommie worked out of the Bucs’ bullpen, along with Al McBean and the veteran Elroy Face. Sisk appeared in 57 and 42 games over that span.

He began the 1965 season in the bullpen, but by late-July Sisk was moved to the starting rotation, replacing Joe Gibbon. His final 12 games that season were all starts.

Tommie was primarily a starting pitcher for his final 3 seasons in Pittsburgh. By this time, veterans Bob Friend and Vern Law were winding down, and Bob Veale had taken over as the staff ace. Veale, Sisk, Steve Blass, and rookie Woodie Fryman formed the core of the rotation. Sisk won 10 games in ’66 and 13 in ’67 (with 11 complete games), but an off-year in 1968 probably made him expendable, and the following March he was traded to the expansion San Diego Padres.

After 1 season in the Padres’ bullpen, Sisk was traded to the White Sox. He played in 17 games with the ChiSox through mid-June, then was traded to the Indians for pitchers Bob Miller and Barry Moore.

Tommie’s last major-league action was with the Sox, as the Indians assigned him to their triple-A team for the rest of the season. Sisk pitched for the Expos’ AAA team in 1971 before retiring.

Johnny Podres (#468)

“Hey! What gives? Your 'on-deck' sidebar said that Dean Chance was next in the rotation!” 

Yes that’s true, but I got wind that the "$30 a Week Habit" blog was going to link here tomorrow for his ’59 vs. ’66 card set faceoff, so I wanted to put my best foot forward, in a shameless attempt to curry favor with the voters. (Sorry, Commish!)

Dean Chance was a good pitcher, but the capless/airbrushed 1966 Angels cards are atrocious to look at, so I’m trotting out Pods to save the day. Even though I have already featured his 1967 and 1969 cards on my other blogs, I’ll justify this post by mentioning that this is his final card as a Dodger.

This is my favorite of my 3 Johnny Podres cards, maybe because his sad-dog look is more evident than on his ’67 and ’69 cards, or maybe just because he is pictured as a Dodger. (Podres retired after the 1967 season, and wasn’t in the 1968 set.)

Al Ferrara (#487)

Here is Al Ferrara's 1966 card. I have already reviewed his career when I posted his 1967 card, so I won't go into much of that here.

I usually don't post multiple cards of the same player, but this card has such a great pose, one usually reserved for catchers watching a pop-up (sometimes referred to as "looking up to God").

Maybe Al is trying to determine if today's game will be rained out. Or maybe he's saying "Hey Skip, the Giants have sent a surveillance blimp over our practice field!" 

Ferrara played in the Dodgers farm system from 1959-65, and for the Dodgers for part of 1963, and again from 1965-68.  After missing all but 2 games in '68 with a broken leg, he was selected by the expansion Padres, and was a regular for them from 1969-70. He split the 1971 season between the Padres and the Reds, before retiring.

Al currently works in the Dodgers' community relations department.

Final Card: Chris Krug

Chris Krug (#166) played 10 seasons in the minors, but spent very little time in the Show. His 60 games with the Cubs in 1965 enabled him to score a card in Topps' 1966 set.

Krug was signed by the Cardinals in 1958, and caught in their minor-league system for 7 seasons. In all that time, he only played 10 games at the triple-A level. After the '64 season, the Cubs selected him in the minor-league draft.

He split the '65 season between the Cubs and their double-A team in Dallas-Ft Worth. Making his major-league debut on May 30th, Chris alternated at catcher with Vic Roznovsky and Ed Bailey.

That was his only significant playing time in the majors, as he was back in the minors for all but 10 games in 1966. In November he was traded to the Angels, who assigned him to their triple-A Seattle team until releasing him in June 1967.

Krug was out of baseball in 1968, but resurfaced for 8 games with the expansion San Diego Padres in April and May 1969, before getting his final release.