196(9) At A Time - Page 44

#383 - Casey Cox After making only four appearances in 1968, Cox pitched in 52 games for the Senators in 1969. He worked mainly out of the bullpen, but did start 13 games. He had a nice record of 12-7 and an equally nice ERA of 2.78. That was his career season, as he never again had a winning record.



#384 - Larry Shepard This is a nice spring training shot of the Pirate's skipper. Shepard led the Pirates in 1968 and 1969. The '69 team had four game improvement of the '68 team, but Buc's management wasn't satisfied with that and he was fired with five games remaining in the season. He would never manage in the majors again, though he would coach with the Reds and Giants



#385 - Orlando Cepeda The Baby Bull was obtained by the Braves in a late March trade with the Cardinals for Joe Torre. His 1968 numbers dropped significantly from his MVP season of 1967 and the Cardinals were trading him while he still had some value. For the Braves in 1969 he hit .248 with 22 homers and 88 RBI's, decent numbers, but not MVP numbers.



#386 - Jim McGlothlin The Angels were hoping McGlothin would improve over his 10-15, 3.54 ERA season in 1968. The good news – his ERA dropped to 3.18. The bad news...his record was even worse than in '68, 8-16. The Angels traded him after the season.



#387 - Bobby Klaus Klaus spent all of 1966 – 1968 with the Padres. Unfortunately, they were the PCL Padres. He was a fan favorite and signed with the expansion Padres, but never saw any action. His last big league game was in 1965.



#388 - Tom McCraw I remember McCraw being the Sox first baseman, but by 1969 he was only a part-time player, splitting time between first base and the outfield.



#389 - Dan Coombs This card gives us our first clear look at the Astro's hat. Coombs' career seemed to be looking up after making 40 appearances for the Astros in 1968. But he pitched in only eight games in 1969 and was sold to the Padres after the season.



#390 - Bill Freehan So, who is #51 in the background? The Tiger catcher was at the peak of his career in 1969. He was in the middle of a ten year All Star run and a five year gold glove streak. He finished second in MVP voting in 1968, after finishing third in '67. He had ok numbers in '69, 16 HR and 49 RBI, but they were down from the previous year. The rigors of catching were starting to take a toll.



#391 - Ray Culp This is the only Cub on the page (and he's pictured in a Cubs uniform with the red C on the hat airbrushed off), and in typical Cub fashion, he had a great year after the Cubs let him go. In 1967 with the Cubs he was 8-11 and after the season, he was traded to Boston for the immortal Bill Schlesinger (a guy who never played a game for the Cubs). Culp turned things around in Boston and went 16-6 in '68 and made the All Star team. He was just as good in '69, going 17-8. Boy, the '69 Cubs sure could have used him at the back end of the rotation!



Overall Set Totals (player cards only)
Hall of Famers - 25
Hatless - 94
Airbrush - 83
Cubs (includes past, present, or future) - 55