Final Card: Garry Roggenburk

This is the final card for Garry Roggenburk (#581). Garry was signed by the Twins in 1962 and was assigned to the class-D Erie (PA) Sailors, where his teammates included future big-leaguers Jim Merritt, Joe Foy, and Ted Uhlaender. He started all 18 of his appearances that season, fashioning a 13-4 record. After only 1 season in the minors, he made the Twins in 1963, debuting on April 20th. With the Twins, he mainly worked out of the bullpen, only starting 2 of his 36 games.

Garry missed the entire 1964 season with injuries. When he returned, he split each of the next 2 years between Minnesota and their triple-A Denver team. During those seasons, he was a relief pitcher except for his minor-league stint in 1966.



In early September 1966, Garry's contract was sold to the Red Sox. Although he had a card in the 1967 Topps set, he spent the entire season in the minors, missing Boston's trip to the World Series.

The 1968 and 1969 seasons were a repeat of 1965 and 1966, only the cities changed. Roggenburk spent part of each season with the Red Sox and part in the minors. The only change of pace was that in June 1969 he was sold to the expansion Seattle Pilots. He pitched 24 innings over the final half of that season for the Pilots, both as a starter and reliever.

Back on Topps' Radar: Jerry Stephenson

Jerry Stephenson (#519) appeared on baseball cards in 1965 and 1966, but not in 1967. He returns to the Topps card set in 1968.

Stephenson was signed by the Red Sox in 1961, and pitched 3 years (1962-64) as a starter in the minors before making the Red Sox team in 1965. Jerry remained on the team for the entire season, starting and relieving a total of 15 games.

In 1966, he started 11 of his 15 games (as one of 6 pitchers used in the back of the rotation behind Jim Lonborg, Jose Santiago, and Earl Wilson). Jerry also spent some time with triple-A Toronto.



Stephenson spent most of 1967 with Toronto, but also appeared in 8 games for Boston during the regular season, as well as pitching in the World Series. 1968 was not only his last year with Boston, but would also be his last full season in the majors. He was used mainly in long relief (23 games, 68 innings).

Stephenson was released by the Red Sox on April 17, 1969, and signed by the expansion Seattle Pilots on the same day. Appearing in only 2 games for the Pilots, he spent most of the season with their AAA club in Vancouver.

Jerry was traded to the Dodgers prior to the 1970 season, but only played 3 games for Los Angeles. He was a starter for the Dodgers' AAA teams (Spokane, then Albuquerque) from 1970 to 1972, before becoming their closer in 1973, his final season in baseball.

Final Card: Sandy Valdespino

Sandy Valdespino (#304) appeared on Topps cards in 1965 and 1966, but since he spent most of 1966 in the minors, he didn't have a card in 1967. Now he's back for one last card.

Sandy was signed by the (old) Washington Senators in 1957. He spent 8 seasons in Senators'/Twins' minor-league system (including the last 5 in triple-A) before making his major-league debut with the Twins on April 12, 1965.

In his rookie season, Valdespino was 10th in at-bats among Twins players, which was tops among non-starters. (For all practical purposes, the Twins had 9 "starters" that season, because of the triangle of Don Mincher at 1B, Rich Rollins at 3B, and Harmon Killebrew at 1B-3B.) Valdespino was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and backup left fielder.

In 1966, Sandy's value to the team plummeted, as rookies Ted Uhlaender, Cesar Tovar, and Andy Kosco all found more playing time than Valdespino. In fact, he played more games at triple-A Denver (72) than he did with the Twins (52).



Sandy spent the entire 1967 season with the Twins, but was relegated to the bench. Although he played in 99 games, only 9 of them were outfield starts. The rest were pinch-hitting appearances or backup duty in left field. After the season, the Braves selected him in the rule 5 draft.

1968 was his only season with the Braves, but he played 2/3 of his games that season with triple-A Richmond. After the season, Atlanta traded him to the Astros for pitcher Paul Doyle, a 10-year minor-league veteran with no major-league experience.

After splitting the season between Houston and triple-A Oklahoma City, Sandy was traded to the Seattle Pilots on August 30, 1969 (with Danny Walton) for Tommy Davis. Valdespino played 20 games with the Pilots at the end of 1969, and although he played 8 games with the relocated Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, he spent most of that season in the minors, first in Portland Oregon, then in Omaha (after being sold to the Royals in July).

Sandy saw some brief action with the Royals in 1971, but spent most of that season and all of 1972 with the Royals' triple-A team in Omaha.

His final major-league games was on September 28, 1971, but he never appeared on a baseball card after 1968.

Back on Topps' Radar: Diego Segui

I haven't posted any of these recently. Diego Segui (#517) had baseball cards in every season from 1963 to 1975 except for 1967.

Segui was signed by the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 1958 season, but released in early April. He caught on with the Tucson Cowboys, an independent team in the class-C Arizona-Mexico league. At the end of the 1958 season, he was acquired by the Kansas City Athletics.

Diego spent the next 3 seasons in the Athletics' farm system before making his major-league debut in April 1962. For his first 2 seasons, he was a starter and reliever. In 1964, he was primarily a starter. His 35 starts led the Athletics staff. Unfortunately, his 17 losses was the most in the American League. In 1965, he returned to a combined starting/relieving role.

(at least Topps used green to airbrush his cap!)

Two days after the 1966 opener, Segui was sold to the Washington Senators. By the end of July (after 21 appearances), the Nats traded him back to Kansas City for pitcher Jim Duckworth. However, he was relegated to triple-A for the rest of the season (hence, no 1967 baseball card!)

In 1967 Diego started 7 games in triple-A, and appeared in 36 games for Kansas City (only 3 starts). Segui was strictly a reliever in 1968, making 52 appearances as the #2 man in the bullpen behind "closer" Jack Aker.

Segui was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the 1969 expansion draft. (Later in the draft, the Pilots also plucked Aker from the A's bullpen.) Segui led the Pilots in saves (12), games (66), winning percentage (.667), was second in wins (12) and 1st among relievers in innings (142). His fine performance earned him a ticket out of Expansionville as he was traded back to the Athletics in December 1969 (along with shortstop Ray Oyler) for infielder Ted Kubiak and pitcher (and frequent Topps' "Rookie Star") George Lauzerique.

After winning 10 games for the Athletics in each of 1970 and 1971, Segui was shipped to the Cardinals midway through the 1972 season. After 1 1/2 seasons in St. Louis, Diego moved on to Boston in a 6-player deal.

He spent the 1974 and 1975 seasons in the Red Sox' bullpen, and was released in spring training in 1976. The Padres signed him, but kept him in triple-A all season.

Segui wrapped up his 15-year career in 1977 with the Mariners.

His son David played for the Orioles and other teams from 1990-2004.