#12 Jose Cardenal

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.

#755-757, #751 Traded Series

First of all Merry Christmas....The next 4 are in a bundle (I was going for 7 but too hard downloading card images)….The last Traded Card series of the 1972 set…The original player card may have been featured on the original 72 Topps blog…I’ve referenced the blog for each card…what I will add is the historical significance of the trade…There two famously big trades here...but let's start with ...

#757 Jose Cardenal

http://1972topps.blogspot.com/2009/01/12-jose-cardenal.html

The Trade:  December 3, 1971: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jose Cardenal.

Historically significance:  a good trade for the northsiders but with problems, Cardenal becomes a regular with the Cubs logging in 821 games and a .291 batting average… …problem it comes during a decline in the Cubs fortunes… Jose becomes a big fish in a small pond…the trade is even for both teams, albeit a shorter benefit for Brewers who get the prime of Jim Colborn’s career…Colborn wins 20 for the Brewers in 1973, which for the Brewers a pitching feat rarely accomplished.

Next Up #756 Rick Wise for #751 Steve Carlton 

Lopsided, yes…and mystifying in its player for player simplicity… Wise does OK he does what he typically does wins 16 games in two consecutive seasons…he doesn’t breakdown…he is a Cardinal rep in the all star game in 1973…he had a long career ending in 1982…but he is not Carlton who becomes a Philly legend winning 241 games over 15 years…wins 27 games on team that won 59 games, 30 complete games on a team where next highest number was three … A book was written about that season... The list of seasonal and career accomplishments are too numerous to mention…Topps makes much Wise’ hitting a factor in the trade…turned out for a career Carlton hit .201 for the Phillies, 9 hr, 119 RBI…Wise hit .182 in a Cardinal uniform.   

FOR

Historic Steal #755 Jim Fregosi  original card is here

http://1972topps.blogspot.com/2009/06/115-jim-fregosi.html

Sometimes cited as the second biggest one side trade in baseball history…slated to be the Mets franchise long search for a consistent third baseman trades that transpired into costly trades….apparently the Mets failed to notice the diminished production and playing time in 1971… Now the cost:  one Nolan Ryan which all pretty much all that needs to be said, to add insult to there were some add ins pitcher Don Rose, catcher Frank Estrada and LeRoy Stanton, a serviceable outfielder for Halos …In reality, Fregosi’s first year with the Mets are almost identical to his last year in California…Next season he’s on the same track and by early July is shipped off to Texas…In Texas he does better in a limited role… keep looking Mets.