#65 Cesar Cedeno

Exciting pure potential on the rise, or what could have been...a five tool player who could do it all  inviting comparisons to being the new Willie Mays of the 1970’s....glove, arm. power wrapped around speed .... Biggest cheerleader was colorful and controversial manager Leo Durocher....from his mid season debut in 1970, each year showed growth and got better than the next.....then winter 1973 a fatal shooting with a female companion in the Dominican Republic....exonerated of charges on the basis she had accidently shot herself but Cedeno’s legacy was forever tainted.....Although Cedeno’s made the all star team, set personal high marks for home runs and RBI, and captured his third of five consecutive glove gloves, in 1974 his BA descended 50 points to .269.....subsequent years rolled by Cedeno resurrects his BA to near .300 level....but power and eventually speed both elude him and assign him the  journeyman tag....traded to Reds (best record in 1981) just to find the team in free fall.....solid numbers but lost playing time leading one to believe Astros may have got a better deal in the acquisition of Ray Knight....while age took its toll, briefly found lost youth as a late year pick up by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985 with OPS 1.20+....did poorly in playoff however demonstrating his capacity as a veteran force was fleeting....wrapped up playing as Dodger in 1986....dabbled in Mexican League, the ill fated senior league baseball....found more steady coaching in the low minors....under the radar.....remained a “star” with sheer talent but but never added the prefix “Super”.  

  

#66 Ray Corbin

One team player....body of work shows a bi-passing of AAA....was able win 16 games between A and AA ball in 1969.... plus a AA tally of 11 in 1970....called up but thrown to the wolves as the Twin’s relief pitching imploded  in 1971.....remained for 5 seasons in a Twins uniform.... enduring a downswing from contenders to years of mediocracy....never fully established in one role; fluctuating starter, fireman, and middle relief roles....averaged just over 12.67 starts and 12.33 games finished a year.....closest to a member of the starter rotation was 1972 with 19 starts and resulted in his best and most prolific season.....Crossed over in 1973 into the bullpen, leading the team in saves after Ken Sanders flopped and mid season call up Bill Campbell was not ready to be the prime closer.....Campbell takes over in September 1974 and does not relinquish....Corbin’s production suffered and was relegated to mop up work and outright release.      

    

#67 Red Schoendienst

Manager le Cardinals....Helmed a winner in 1967 and the runner up in 1968....A St Louis fixture born 25 miles east of Sportsman’s Park/Busch Stadium.....was signed during WW2 and received early discharge from military service due to injuries that could have ended his playing career....a solid star for post war Red Birds beginning 1945.... Baseball journey also took him to the Polo Grounds (NYG) and Milwaukee in the span of 19 years.....then another short stint back under the Gateway Arch to career cap and start apprenticing to become a Cardinal company man.... Took to coaching in 1963 staying in the Gateway to the West....reverted to playing status the same year allowed Red to garner a handful of last at bats.....took over the skipper job for Johnny Keane in a very unusual way....Johnny bolted for the NYY after defeating said Yankees in 1964 WS....Keane defected when it appeared that Leo Durocher was heir to be St Louis skipper (so much for job security even after taking the crown).....Leo  “the lip” hire never materialized opening the road for Red.....Schoendienst stayed 12 campaigns although his post World Series tenure was uneven....Let go after 1976.....Resurfaced in Oakland for 1977 as a coach.....was offered the top spot but declined due to Charlie Finley’s frequent intrusions....Returned to the Gateway city in 1979, to mentor hitting for skipper Ken Boyer.....Red’s employment continued despite Boyer’s pink slip.....Enter Whitey Herzog.....The Red and Whitey team jelled to into returning St Louis NL world championship status in 1982.....NL champs in 1985 and 1987....so close their relationship Whitey temporarily returned the managerial reigns to Red so that Herzog could scout talent in 1980....Succeeded Whitey in 1990 on an interim basis.....tallied up enough positives to be elected in Baseball’s HOF as a player via Veteran Committee in 1989....Lived to the age of 95. 

#68 Jim York

Short timer anywhere he played, splitting MiBL and the bigs.....Not an expansion pick but a #1 1969 amateur draft....Put in his best and only full MLB season with the 1971 edition of the KC Royals....5 wins, 5 loses, 2.90 ERA 3 saves.... Traded to Houston along with Lance Clemons for John Mayberry....advantage Royals who benefited from Mayberry maturity and power.....Houston got little out of him in 1972 but became a member of a bullpen by committee in 1973....racked up 6 saves tied for the club lead with two others....work load diminished in 1974 and 1975 but was able to lower ERA to more acceptable levels....still remained far down the Astro depth chart...sold to Yankees in anticipation of 1976.....mostly confined to NYY farm system but was able somehow win a game with no loses for the big club for his MLB swan season.....released and picked up by the White Sox in the closing stages of the season....was not able to win a job out of spring training 1977.  

#69 Roger Freed

Definition (cruelly) of a “never was”....or on more positive note: 4A player, too good for minors but couldn't transition into a regular status....Development:  after some time to get untracked, terrorized Baltimore’s farm system opponents....ran up great numbers in Stockton, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Rochester....awarded with the Topps Minor League Player of Year for 1970 with 24 jacks and hitting safely over one out three times......with a solid lineup in place in Oriole-land, was flipped to Phillies for a massive youth movement.... the anticipation being for the same offensive numbers as the minors taking place in the brand new Veteran’s Stadium....Fell far below expectations in 1971 result being only occasional power and a wildly disappointing.227 BA....Continued his struggles and so-so numbers the following year.....Freed is shuffled off to Cleveland for 1973....applied his swing exclusively in AAA ball....thereafter much traveled between several franchises; Reds, Expos, and a stint in Monterrey Mexico....A rule 5 draftee by St. Louis offered Freed what fleeting moments of success he could have had....via pinch hitting....Hit .398 in 83 at bats 1977....his total Cardinal batting average .306....St. Louis going with youth release Freed before 1980....returns to his happy hitting grounds, the upper minor leagues....as a career capper went yard  20 times between Phillies and Blue Jay AAA teams, giving him a career total of 143 at AAA....coached after playing....passed away young from a heart condition possibly brought on by an Appendicitis in 1996.

#70 Mike Cuellar

So good in his prime and unlikely success story....a true late developer aided greatly by the addition of a screwball to his pitching arsenal.....The Cuban born lefthander started in AAA Havana Sugar Kings then the Reds top affiliate....advanced employment was based on early press notices while he pitched for the President Batista Army club....one of the last players out of the country with the onset of the Castro regime, part of in 1960 AAA team forced to relocate mid season to Jersey City due to government travel restrictions  ....then majority of his 20’s were spent riding various buses of minor league teams (he was also loaned out to several other organizations)....strong stints in AAA Jacksonville gave Mike truncated service with the St. Louis Cardinals....exceeded rookie status in 1964 but excluded from WS play....Settled in with Houston 1965....put together decent years on the mound but mostly performed in obscurity.... high lights were finishing second in ERA 1966 and 16 wins good for 5^th circa 1967....Joining the Bird Hill Aces for 1969 was revelation to his career.....top notch coaching and excellent run support....Ascends as a Junior Circuit elite being the champion in 23 decisions and shares the Cy Young with Denny McClain.....Goes one win better in 1970 with 24......became the O’s workhorse....40 games started and 2 1/3 inning from 300....roll call of success goes as follows;  In 1971 collects 20 triumphs, 1972 and 73 twin 18 victories, 1974 a return to 20+ win status.....The Cuellar's career erosion starts in 1975 with 14 game tallies....completely empty in 1976 with 4-13 record complete with relegation to bullpen and a layoff for month of Sept....released; at age 40 tried a quick resurfacing as California Angel....shelled and immediately shelved after 3 innings.....Probably one of the most superstitious pitchers of all time....avoided stepping on the base line going into the Orioles dugout to name one....a more extensive list idiosyncrasies is in his SABR bio....second highest number of wins for left hander from 1969-74 falling one short to Fergy Jenkins.....settled in both Puerto Rico and Florida, continued with coaching and off the grid pitching appearances....passed away from stomach cancer in 2010.    

#71 California Angels

Hopes were high on the wings of Angel’s strong showing in 1970 going 86-76....1971 resulted in an inverse record of 76-86 and a documented cancerous clubhouse debacle.....Trailblazer of AL westward expansion circa 1961....better than average records out of the gate for an expansion team (3^rd place and 10 GB for pennant)....but after the early stars burnt out the franchise fell behind the AL pack.....became known as being pitching strong, hitting deficient....The traces of the early aces show up on the backside....Dean Chance’s 1.65 ERA and shutout marks still stand today but the bulk of team pitching marks are the making of the soon to be 1972 import, Nolan Ryan....Other Angel record holdovers are Clyde Wright 22 wins in 1970 (subsequently tied with Ryan)....Sandy Alomar still holds at bats in a season mark along with being tied with several others for most games....All other team leader marks are set by players after the year 2000.....Angels fortunes have been enhanced by the advert of free agency.....but the team has also endured more than its share of tragic deaths, Chico Ruiz, Mike Miley, Lyman Bostock, Donnie Moore, Dick Wanz, and Nick Adenhart.....Angels are a tough go in playoffs, only one World Series win to show in ten post season appearances.....Sixty one years of activity the franchise’s cumulative W-L record continues to hover at or near the .500 mark.....Team has had five name changes with Los Angeles Angels being used twice, at the team's inception in 1961 and the present day....most significant position player, Mike Trout.....most team career wins Chuck Finley.

#72 Bruce Kison

Youngest pitcher in 1971 October classic...and possibly its most clutch performer....took over for a hapless Luke Walker in game 4....unfazed did not allow a run in 6 innings allowing the Bucs to come back....Stayed in Steel town through the 1979 season, collecting another championship ring.... not effective in this fall classic with ERA of 108.00 but was very helpful in the effort to take the NL East chipping in 13 wins for the “We are family” crew..... swan song for the Bucs, leaves for free agency....departed with an excellent ERA of 3.49 over nine summers....Lands with the Halos for 4 seasons....Curtailed by injuries first two years, was able to reach 10 wins in the next two....did stellar work in the 1982 AL playoff in a losing effort.... last year in Anaheim was 1984.....next and final year was spent in Boston....both were truncated affairs of insignificant work.... tall and slender, effective if healthy but output was diminished by being continually hurt......body of work shows 115 wins versus 88 defeats... personal best was 14 victories....  seasons usually were north of a .500 win % over the course of a 15 year career.....once fought Mike Schmidt on the field...bit of a mismatch....give him points for bravery.....went into coaching after leaving the mound....hobbies in the off season included stamp collecting....passed away of cancer in 2018.

#73 Steve Huntz

Well traveled utility Infielder.....could hit for some power but struggled with sustaining an acceptable batting average at the MLB level....bandied about, employers include Orioles who originally signed him, Giants who kept him over a winter, White Sox twice, Dodgers serving two years in AAA, Cardinals with whom he made his debut, and two stints with the Padres representing the bulk of his MLB work....went yard 16 times at baseball highest level but yielded only a .206 BA.....most homers in one season 11 for the Padres in 1970....finished baseball playing with two years on the shores of Hawaii in AAA.  

#74 Cecil Upshaw

The first ten years of the Atlanta Braves were difficult to gage....big swings in wins and losses plus a career altering injury....but the good years are highly correlated with the fortunes of this solid submarining fireman who improved each year from his debut in 1966....it was family affair, teammate George Stone was a cousin.....a driving force in the 1969 Braves edging out the Giants for a berth in the first NLCS saving 27 games....Then it happened....at the very start of the 1970, Cecil had a freak index finger injury on a basketball hoop....unnecessarily Upshaw was demonstrating roundball skills that made him a two sport star.....result severe thumb damage; amputation was considered and the season was lost....Infused with determination came back for 1971....a 17 save effort allowed the Atlanta Tribe to inch above .500....1972 was more difficult, as the Braves’ player union representative, he was focused negotiations in the early season strike....wins, saves, ERA regressed....1973 started even worse and was ushered out of Atlanta for Houston (being traded was the usual fate of many early 1970’s player representatives) culminating his worst seasons a pro.....1974 found Cecil plying his trade on the shores of Lake Erie for the tribe and in Yankee pinstripes....result was an odd juxtaposition, lowered ERA by nearly 2 runs a game but only had one win next to six loses....after four cities in two years, settles into the Southside of Chicago for his last season in a diminished role, mostly mop up for lost games....released before 1976 season.....  While he found success in the plastics industry post baseball, Upshaw was pivotal in extending pension benefits for players....also pressed for changes in scoring of saves helping his own cause....Passed away at young age of 52.