Who is the man: Bert Campaneris enjoyed another consistent season as the A's starting shortstop in 1970. The one thing that made this season notable was that Campaneris hit 22 home runs, the only time in his 19-year career that he would reach double figures in home runs.
Can ya dig it: This is probably the most off-center card that I have in this set. There's barely any bottom edge.
Right on: "Dagoberto" is an awesome name that I've been aware of since the first year I collected cards.
You see that cat Campaneris is a bad mother: Campaneris is one of only five players to hit two home runs in his first major league game. He hit the first pitch he ever saw out of the park, off of Jim Kaat.
Shut your mouth: Campaneris was the prototypical 1960s/70s sparkplug, accumulating 649 stolen bases during his career. But his on-base percentage was lousy (.311 for his career) and he would have been lambasted on the internet if he played today.
No one understands him but his woman: Campaneris famously flung his bat at Tigers pitcher Lerrin LaGrow after LaGrow hit him with a pitch during the 1972 ALCS. Campaneris claimed after the game that he hadn't intended to hit LaGrow with the bat. "I just wanted to warn him not to do it again."
(A word about the back): The person who broke Campaneris' string as stolen base king between 1965-1970 was the Seattle Pilots' Tommy Harper, who stole 63 bases in 1969.
22 HR and 270 TB! - you can't see it on the back of this card but Bert never came anywhere remotely close to those numbers in any other season. If a player broke out like that today it would be difficult to convince people he wasn't a product of better living through chemistry.
ReplyDeleteFunny...I read this entry on the anniversary of his bat throw
ReplyDeleteHe should have thrown his bat at Billy Martin because I’m sure Lagrow was just following orders.
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