Final Card: Dick Nen

Here's the last we saw of Dick Nen (#591). It's also the last time most of us thought about Nen, until years later when Robb Nen began pitching for the Marlins in the early 1990s. "I wonder if he...?" (Yes, he is.)

Dick Nen was signed by the Dodgers in 1961 and played 1st base in their farm system from 1961-64, while getting a 7-game cup of coffee with LA in September 1963.

After the 1964 season, Nen was one of FIVE players (along with pitchers Phil Ortega and Pete Richert, 3rd baseman Ken McMullen, and 1960 NL Rookie of the Year Frank Howard) traded to the Senators for pitcher Claude Osteen and infielder John Kennedy.

Dick played 82 games in the minors in 1965, but still managed to start more games at 1st base for Washington than their other 1st basemen (Bob Chance and Joe Cunningham). He shared the 1st base job for the next 2 seasons with Ken Harrelson (1966) and rookie Mike Epstein (1967), but played slightly less than either of them.

Nen was sold to the Cubs on April 3rd, 1968 and became Ernie Banks' backup for that season, starting 15 games at 1st, while giving Banks a late-inning rest in another 3 dozen games. He was sold back to the Senators after the season, and spent the next 4 seasons playing for their AAA team, although he returned to the big club for 6 games in June 1970.

Final Card (the bonus tracks): Pete Mikkelsen

So, I was browsing through my 1968 binder, pulling all the final cards I previously posted, for a "Final Cards Recap" post (like I did with the 1967 set). After 2 or 3 pages, I was thinking "hey, what about this guy...and that guy... and that guy?" 

I ended up with a list of 65 other players whose final card may have also been in the '68 set. After checking the Zistle database, I whittled the list down to 8 players (of which 3 are Cubs) that I missed the first time around. So here they are, the "bonus tracks".


Pete Mikkelsen's final card (#516) was in the 1968 set, despite the fact that he pitched over 150 games from 1969-72 as a member of the Dodgers' bullpen. Thanks, Topps!

Pete was signed by the Yankees in 1958, and played in the minors for 6 seasons, primarily as a reliever, but making many starts during the 1959-61 seasons. In his 9-year major-league career, Mikkelsen played 364 games, starting only 3 (in 1965).

His debut came in April 1964, and he appeared in 50 games, saving 12 as the Yankees' closer in his rookie season. After another season in the Bronx, Pete was traded to the Pirates for pitcher Bob Friend, who had been a key member of Pittsburgh's starting rotation for the past 15 seasons. Mikkelsen lasted just 1 1/2 seasons with the Bucs, and was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on August 4th, 1967.

The following April, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Jack Lamabe. Ok! Moving up from the Cubs to the World Champion Cardinals! Not so fast... Pete pitched 5 games for St. Louis in June, but spent the rest of the season in triple-A.

After the season, he was traded to the Dodgers for a minor-league pitcher. Pete spent his final 4 seasons working out of the Dodgers pen, and it was a productive 4 years. The righthanded Mikkelsen was the team's #2 reliever during his 4-year stay, just behind ace southpaw Jim Brewer.

Why did Topps leave him behind? 1969 is understandable (after spending most of '68 in the minors), but what about the other years? The GarveyCeyRussellLopes blog has done what Topps was unwilling to do.

Final Card: Cal Ermer

Today we have the last of the "final cards" in the 1968 set. In all, there were 42 final cards this year, down from 80 final cards in both the 1966 and 1967 sets. Coincidentally, the last card to be posted is that of the Minnesota Twins' manager (just like on my 1967 blog).

This is the final card for Twins' manager Cal Ermer (#206). Because his major-league playing career consisted of 1 game in 1947, this is also his rookie card.

Ermer played minor-league baseball from 1942 to 1951 (except for missing the 1943-45 seasons while in the Marines). Although mostly in the Washington Senators' system, he also played for the Giants, Tigers, and Philadelphia Athletics' organizations, but never progressed above the class-A level.

His one major-league appearance came on 9/26/1947, playing 2nd base for the Senators against the Philadelphia Athletics.

Cal's managerial career began as a player-manager for various class-B and D teams in the Washington Senators' farm system in '47, '50, and '51. From 1952-57, he managed the Sens' double-A team in Chattanooga.

After a year with the Tigers' AA team in Birmingham, he moved up to triple-A, managing the Pirates' team in Columbus for 2 seasons. In 1961, he managed the Yankees' top farm team in Richmond, where his charges included future major-leaguers like Tom Tresh, Don Lock, Phil Linz, Hal Reniff, Jake Gibbs, and Bill Short.

After coaching for the Orioles, Ermer was hired to manage the Twins' AAA team in Denver in 1965. Two and a half years later, he was promoted to the Twins, following the firing of Sam Mele on June 9, 1967. Cal was replaced after the 1968 season by Billy Martin.

Ever the organizational man, Ermer later managed the Twins' triple-A teams in Tacoma (1974-76) and Toledo (1978-84). After his managing days, he became a scout for the Twins.

Final Card: Eddie Stanky

This is Eddie Stanky's last card (#564). 1968 would be the last year in a 3-year gig as the Sox' manager.

Stanky was born in Philadelphia in 1915 (and became known as "The Brat from Kensington", later shortened to "The Brat"). Eddie played minor-league baseball from 1935-1942, and made his big-league debut in 1943 as the Cubs' regular 2nd baseman. He split the 1944 season between the Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers, then held down the starting 2nd base job for the Dodgers (1945-47), Boston Braves (1948-49), and New York Giants (1950-51).  In 1945 he led the National League in runs and walks.

After the '51 season, he was traded to the Cardinals, spending 2 seasons there as a player-manager before becoming the full-time manager in 1954 and 1955.

After leaving the Cards' manager post in 1955, he spent one season managing the Giants' AAA team in Minneapolis in 1956, then spent several years in a player-development role for the Cardinals. He resurfaced in 1965 as a minor-league manager for the Mets.

Stanky was hired by the White Sox before the 1966 season, and remained there until his firing after 79 games in 1968. The team finished in 4th place in his first 2 seasons, and were in 8th place (18 1/2 games back) at the time of his firing.  They should have kept him, as the team finished the season 36 games behind the Tigers.

After his firing, he coached college baseball in Alabama, then made a 1-game interim manager appearance for the Texas Rangers in 1977.

Don Wilson (#77)

Like Gary Nolan, Don Wilson was a notable rookie in 1967 that was not included in the 1967 Topps set.

Wilson was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1964, and pitched 3 seasons in the minors, making his big-league debut on September 29, 1966.

Don joined the Astros' starting rotation as a rookie in 1967, compiling a 10-9 record in 31 games. He was a top-4 starter in each of his seasons with the team (1967-74). Early on, Wilson was behind veterans Mike Cuellar, Dave Giusti, and Larry Dierker.

By the end of the 1960s, Cuellar and Giusti were gone, leaving Dierker and Wilson at the top of the rotation. 1971 was Don's best season, going 16-10 with 180 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA in 268 innings. He also made his only all-star appearance that season, pitching 2 innings. [Interesting note: both teams only used 4 pitchers in the '71 all-star game.]

Wilson tragically died in January 1975, at age 29 of carbon monoxide poisoning. The incident occurred at his home, and also claimed the life of his son. This was one of several deaths of current or former Astros players.

Gary Nolan (#196)

This is Gary Nolan's rookie card. I've always wondered why he wasn't included on a Reds Rookies card in the 1967 set. Checking his minor-league stats tonight, I found that he was the Reds' #1 pick in the 1966 draft, and played that season in the class-A Northern League. Ok, Topps probably doesn't rush to include players with only low-level minor-league experience on their cards, I get that.

But, he made the Reds' starting rotation from the beginning of the '67 season, struck out 12 Dodgers in his 2nd big-league game, and by the end of April, had pitched 4 games, striking out 33 while walking only four. Didn't Topps consider bumping someone off a yet-to-be-issued 7th-series "NL Rookies" card in favor of Nolan? What about the dubious Norm Gigon?

Gary finished his rookie season with a 14-8 record over 226 innings, with 206 strikeouts and 62 walks. He came in 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Tom Seaver and Cardinals' pitcher Dick Hughes.

Although he mostly played for the Reds in '68 and '69, he spent some time in the minors (including a stint in single-A in 1968) with arm issues. Nolan was hack to full speed in 1970, going 18-7 in 250 innings as the Reds' ace, on a staff that also featured 20-game winner Jim Merritt.

1971 and 1972 were also fine years for Gary, as he again sat on top of the rotation, along with rookies Don Gullett ('71) and Ross Grimsley ('72'). In 1972 Nolan compiled a 15-5 record and a 1.99 ERA, although mid-season injuries forced him to miss some time, including the all-star game. He missed almost all of the next 2 seasons with injuries, pitching 2 games for the Reds in '73 and 2 games in the minors in '74.

Gary staged a comeback in 1975, compiling identical 15-9 records in '75 and '76, and pitched in his 3rd and 4th World Series. After getting off to a slow start in 1977, he was traded to the Angels in June. Injuries cropped up again, limiting him to only 5 games with the Angels.

California released him in January 1978, and the next month he was picked up by the Brewers, who also released him a month later, ending his 10 year career.

AL Batting Leaders (#2, 4, 6)

NL Pitching Leaders? Check! NL Batting Leaders? Check! Now it's time for the AL Batting Leaders. After several seasons buried in the 3rd series, the League Leaders cards are front and center (#1 - #12) in the 1968 (and 1969) set.

1967 was the season of the Yaz. Like Frank Robinson one year earlier, Yastrzemski won the triple crown and led his team to the World Series. Unlike Robby, Yaz' team didn't win, nor did he finish ahead of all others in home runs. Lost in the hype is the fact that Harmon Killebrew was tied for the lead in homers.


Four AL players finished with a .300 or better average.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but the following season, only Yastrzemski would accomplish that, with a .301 average.   Following that, the mound was lowered, 40 minor-league pitchers were given major-league jobs (expansion), and Bob Gibson was asked to go easy on the batters.

 

As usual, the same 5 or 6 players seem to fill the 9 spots on these leader cards.

 

Yaz was one-and-done in the late-1960s' home run derby, while Killebrew and Frank Howard would make multiple appearances on these cards.