Senators Friday: Bill Fischer

1960 Topps

Bill began his career with the White Sox, was traded to the Seattle Pilots, then traded back to the White Sox. He made his major league debut in 1956, spending his first three years there as a reliever before being traded to Detroit with Tito Francona for Ray Boone and Bob Shaw. He had a 7.63 ERA with the Tigers in 23 games, so they left him exposed on waivers. Washington claimed him, and slotted him into the starting rotation.

He shone as a starter; in 1958 he only pitched three games with the Senators, but he pitched well, and stuck in the rotation in 59. He went 9-11 in 59, but it was a pretty lousy team, and his ERA was 4.28. Not amazing by the day’s standards, but it was a 92 ERA+, a huge improvement over a guy who was posting 50-level ERA+s previously and sitting at the back of the Nats’ rotation. He had some flashes of brilliance, too, dueling against Jim Perry on May 24th.

He returned in 1960, but dropped off, falling to a 4.91 ERA and an 81 ERA+ with the Nationals before they shipped him back to Detroit for Tom Morgan.

He bounced around until 1964, producing a career 45-58 mark with a 4.34 ERA, good for a 92 ERA+. Could be better, could be worse; he made for a decent, though not outstanding, end of the rotation guy. You could get a whole lot worse.

Senators Friday: Buster Narum

1966 Topps

Buster was another one of the Million Card Giveaway acquisitions, and I was completely unfamiliar with him before picking him up in one of my many trades back in August. Buster had a pretty short major league career; he debuted in 1963 with the Orioles, and was out of the majors by 1967, but he had a few good games on the way between those years, despite ending up 14-27 with a 4.45 ERA and an 81 ERA+. For example, on August 26th, 1964, he shut the Yankees down with a 5-hit shutout, the highlight of a year where he’d go 9-15 with a 4.30 ERA in an era of strong pitching.

1966 was his next-to-last year in the majors, and he only pitched three games, ending with a 21.60 ERA. So he was more common than common, but I still love this card, as it gets me one card closer to completing the 66 team set.

Senators Friday: Bennie Daniels

1962 Topps

Bennie Daniels joined the Senators in December, 1960, when the Pirates traded him, R C Stevens, and Harry Bright for Bobby Shantz; he was regarded as a retread, a failed prospect who had never made good on his promise. He made his debut at the second Griffith Stadium on April 15^th, losing 3-1 to the Indians. He went 7.1 innings and struck out 6 while walking 3, losing to Mudcant Grant, who had owned the Senators. Here’s a shot of Senators catcher Pete Daley tagging out Johnny Temple during that game:

The game was an apt preview of his 1961 season, as he would be a hard-luck loser, pitching well (a 3.44 ERA with a 1.245 WHIP for a 114 ERA+) and yet going 12-11. The Senators were not a good team.

1963 Topps

He went into 1962 as a pitcher who would split time as a starter and reliever, but regarded as having real promise to expand on the promise he had shown in 1961 and become a real breakout pitcher. Lots of people in the media tagged him as a pitcher to watch that year, and indeed was the opening day pitcher against the Tigers’ Don Mossi.

A Damned Handsome Man.

All in all, however, the year would be a disappointment: he ended up with a 7-16 record, 4.85 ERA, and 84 ERA+. He hung on with the Senators, though, pitching from 1961 to 1965, all told, ending his Senators career with a 37-60 record, 4.14 ERA, 1.351 WHIP, and almost 1 home run every game. 1965 was his last year with the team, at which point he seems to have dropped off the radar. I guess he retired? I don’t know, but my goal is to eventually have all the cards from his tenure with the team, just in the interest of completeness.

Washington Senators Friday: Bob Chance

1965 Topps

Bob may appear to be a Senators All-Star Rookie, but he team on the strength of a 1964 season in which he posted a .279/.346/.433 line as a 1B/OF for the Indians. For some reason, Topps added him to the team as a Senator. Odd choice, as the Indians didn’t trade him to the Senators until December 1^st, 1964, shipping him out with Woodie Held (heh) for Chuck Hinton, another Senator who’ll show up in the near-future.

Bob knocked 14 home runs and had 75 RBI as a 23-year-old rookie in 64, with his best game coming on June 7^th, the first game of a double-header against the Senators, no less. He went 4-for-5 with 2 solo homers and an intentional walk. An intentional walk when he had solo homers? How weak was that Indians lineup? Pretty weak, as it turns out; Chance placed second on the team overall with 75 RBI and was second in OPS behind the catcher, John Romano.

A portly fellow.

Romano was 0-for-6 in that game.

Unfortunately, Chance was a one-year wonder. His stats nosedived in 65, dropping to .256/.317/.362. He went from a .780 OPS (a serviceable, useful player – think a Shane Victorino) to a .678 OPS (bottom-of-the-lineup numbers, Nick Punto at 1B). He only played in 72 games, sharing time with Dick Nen, who was basically the same player. He also spent 18 games at AAA Hawaii, returning there in 66 as well. He played 31 games in the Majors in 66, dropping to a .481 OPS.

He’d spend most of 1967 at AAA Hawaii, hitting .273/.351/.422, a not too mean feat in the PCL, which favors hitters. He got another shot at the majors in 67, playing in 27 games and hitting .214/.340/.476. Despite bit better than the few previous years, his counting stats sucked, and so he spent the entirety of 1968 at AAA Buffalo, where he hit .293/.344/.519, a marked improvement. California picked him up in the Rule 5 Draft at the end of 68; he played 5 games with the Angels, and was done.

So what was Bob’s impact on the Senators? What grand conclusions can we draw from his journey? Not much, unfortunately. He was another player who seemed more solid than he really was, struggled with his weight, and declined rapidly after a good rookie season.

But he still has a place in Senators and Indians history, and I’d hope that might be enough for a guy like him. Oh, and his son, Tony Chance, would go on to be a top prospect for the Pirates in the late 80s.

He’s a whole other kettle of fish that we’ll get to one day.

Washington Senators Friday: Sam Mele

 

1952 Topps

 

Ah, my first 1952 Topps card. Hopefully not to be my last. And yes, it’s not pretty or in great condition, but I really treasure this card. But who is this Sam Mele? Well, baseball-reference has an actual photo of the guy:

So I’d say Topps’ artists got it pretty much right. Sam joined the Senators in 1949 and hit .242/.288/.337, pretty ugly for someone who played 1B and corner outfield.

Overall, Sam hit .269/.332/.413 in his years with the Senators, from 1949 to 1952, good for a 101 OPS+. If he was a fourth outfield type, that wouldn’t be too bad, but it appears he was used as a starter, so he wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire.

In the end, though, I’m glad to have this card in my collection. Notch another Senator I’d never heard of before!

Washington Senators Friday: Cass Michaels

1951 Bowman

I’ve really been in the mood for vintage lately. As much as I like modern cardboard, there’s something about the older stuff that has a certain poetry to it. It’s a combination of being a chronicle of the history of the game that I was never around to witness and the stories that the cardboard has to tell. It’s why I regularly read the vintage sportscards blogs and drool over some of the stuff I see in other peoples’ posts. I used to think I couldn’t have this stuff, that it was too expensive, but I’ve since learned that it’s only as expensive as you make it. While the pristine old stuff is nice to look at, I think I might actually prefer old cards that look like this Cass Michaels card. What secrets does it bear from its nearly 50 years of existence?

I can get information on Cass Michaels the man, and even a legit picture. He was born in 1926, making him 25 when this card was issued. He made his major league debut at an absolutely insane 17 years old. Can you even fathom that? It’d be like Bryce Harper jumping straight to the majors. I know he came from the White Sox in 1950, part of a trade with Bob Kuzava and Johnny Ostrowski for Al Kozar, Eddie Robinson and Ray Scarborough. None of those names mean anything to me now, but I’m sure they will in the future.

The second baseman hit .250/.345/.322 in his 106 games for the Nationals in 1950, somewhere a little below average for a second baseman in that day and age. He hung around for 1951, then was traded away in 1952.

See, I can know all that, but I have no way of knowing who pulled this card first, and what it may have gone through in its path to my collection. It’s the possibilities that intrigue me and make me love vintage cardboard.

Washington Senators Friday: Jim Piersall

1962 Topps

Jim Piersall is probably best known for having mental health issues that surfaced on the field (and having a movie made about it), but he was a lot more than that. He was an All-Star who enjoyed a decent, if not spectacular, career. 1962 was kind of the beginning of the end for Jim, though, as he hit .244/.301/.329 for the Senators that year after hitting .322/.378/.442 in 1961. His career would never really reach the heights that they had before, and he was out of baseball by 1967 after years of declining play.

The most interesting thing about this card is that Jim only played one and a half seasons as a Senator, starting in 1962, and yet he was depicted as a Senator in the set. I’m guessing that’s a result of having the series later in the year. Also, holy crap, that is one hairy chest.

Washington Senators Friday: Tim Cullen

1970 Topps

Tim Cullen had a fairly short career, most of it as a Senators player. When he appeared on this card, he had just hit .209/.253/.249 in 1969. That’s a .502 OPS. Ewww. His WAR was -1.3 that season. It speaks a lot of the quality of the Senators infield that he got 123 games in 1970 after that performance, hitting .214/.301/.279, oddly quite the improvement. Even for a second baseman in his era, though, he wasn’t very good, and was released after the team became the Rangers. In another oddity, he was traded in February 1968 he was traded to the White Sox but then traded back to the Senators in early August 1968. I guess the Senators just couldn’t get enough of him?

I do like this card, though. It’s the combination of the old-school batting helmet, which you don’t see on these cards very often, and the style of dress in the background. Pretty cool.

Washington Senators Friday: Dick Bosman & Pete Craig

1967 Topps

That is one beaten card. But I wanted to take a look at this pair today, to see where their careers diverged. Let’s start with Dick Bosman.

Dick had been 2-6 with a 7.62 ERA in 13 games 1966, so of these 2, it looked like he might have the shorter career, but he ended up hanging on for 11 seasons, lasting up to the 1976 season. He stayed with the Senators up through their 72 move to Texas, then got dealt to the Cleveland Indians with Ted Ford for Steve Dunning. He ended up with a career 82-85 record, a 3.67 ERA, 757 Ks in 1591 innings, and an 8.8 WAR, putting him well outside the top 1,000 players to ever play. Of course, he ended up being a major league pitching coach later, coaching for the White Sox (1986-1987) Rochester Red Wings (1988-1991),  Orioles (1992-1994), and Rangers (1995-2000). He’s been a coach in the Rays’ system since 2002.

Pete Craig, in the meantime, he of the cab-door ears, had already been in the league since 1964 when this card was issued, and wouldn’t pitch in the majors in 1967. In fact, he wouldn’t pitch in the majors in any year after 1966. His major league career consisted of six games, an 11.50 ERA, and a 0-3 record with a -1.7 WAR. I have no idea what happened to him after that, but we have this small capsule of his career here.

Washington Senators Friday: Karl Olson

1957 Topps

You’re looking at a man whose career was almost over at this point. Ole was signed as a free agent in 1948 by the BoSox, and would end up debuting with the team in 51 after start with “C” level San Jose and working his way up through the system. He wasn’t a particularly hard hitter until the 50 season, when he hit 23 home runs with AA Birmingham. He only played in five major league games in 51, then spent the entire 52 season in the military before coming back up with the Sox in 53. He would never be a full-time major leaguer, though. In fact, this card, representing his 56 season, would be the year he played the most games in the majors with 106.

Before that, though, he played in 101 games in 1954, hitting .260/.293/.344 with 1 home run for a 67 OPS+. He spent little time with Boston in 55 before getting traded with with Al Curtis, Dick Brodowski, Neil Chrisley, and Tex Clevenger to the Washington Senators for Bob Porterfield, Johnny Schmitz, Tom Umphlett, and Mickey Vernon. At least one of those names meant something. Washington gave him a shot in 56, and he didn’t produce much, hitting .246/.305/.329 for a 71 OPS+ and a -1.8 WAR. Understandably, the Senators didn’t stick with him very long in 57, and the Red Sox purchased him then flipped him to Detroit, where he finished the year and was done.

The Baseball-Reference bullpen also informed me that he hit into 2 triple plays in 279 career games and 681 at bats, the fastest player to 2 triple plays in history. Ollie Beard hit 2 in 331 career games and Chubby Dean hit 2 in 1047 at bats.

So here’s to you, Karl Olson. Where are you today?