Sometimes controversial but always colorful…..Known to miss a game with the Cubs in 1972 reportedly because crickets in his room had kept him awake at night.....A 18-year odyssey through the big leagues with 9 teams....one of the last Cuban players to freely leave the island to pursue a career in the U.S. before Fidel Castro put his foot down.... But he could play. He hit .275 lifetime with 138 homers and 1,913 hits. He was twice in the top 10 in batting average and over .300 twice; 8 times in the top 10 in stolen bases, twice each in hits and doubles….Defensively, he 3 times led his league in left field or center in assists, 2 times led in fielding percentage in left or center, 1 time led leftfielders in double plays..... Beginnings in the Giants organization….a traffic jam of quality Giant outfielders set Jose to the trade winds…..landed down the California coast in Anaheim his first regular employment….surprised skeptics with power and speed (329 Stolen Bases) coming from his diminutive size….An off season Cardenal washed up on the shore of Lake Erie at Cleveland put up fair numbers as in his earlier days….Toodle-oo-ed to St. Louis for Vada Pinson….put together his best season to date with a healthy .293 BA….offensive numbers benefited by evolving from traditional lead off to more of the meat of the batting order….Did not duplicate his output in 1971 and shipped to Milwaukee (deal involving Ted Kubiak)….was able to mildly steer his number up in Brewtown…..his split season quietly resulted in a career best 80 RBIs….Milwaukee tenure was short lived and was placed south of Wisconsin border with little bears of Chicago…..So begins a strong relationship…..Meat of his career was spent with the Cubs….fixture in the Wrigley outfield 1972-1976 hitting a robust .303…..career became more subdued starting 1977 initiating a trail of multiple cities as a bench reserve…..Philadelphia, Metropolitans, and KC Royals lay in wait over next three years…..released by the last-place Mets in August while hitting .167 appeared done….Picked up by KC and doubled his batting average…..added to the the WS roster for his one and only time….didn't go out in a blaze of glory starting out 0 for 10, but gave a good parting shot, on Oct. 21, 1980 getting 2 hits in his final at bats in the deciding game 6….Royals lost but made the climax interesting.….Post playing was a coach on 3 Yankee World Series Championship teams (96, 98, 99)….did garner a few far flung MVP votes but never named to an all star team….Still perceived as a Cubbie.
I think Cardenal had a "traded" card later in the 1972 set.
ReplyDeleteYes Mr. Cardenal was front and center. As cable TV gained momentum, became a fixture of WGN Cubs broadcasts. https://1972toppscountdown.blogspot.com/2013/12/751-755-traded-series.html
ReplyDelete