Paul Aaron Lindblad
Oakland Athletics
Pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6'1" Weight: 185
Born: August 9, 1941, Chanute, KS
Signed: Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1965-67; Oakland Athletics 1968-71; Washington Senators 1971; Texas Rangers 1972; Oakland Athletics 1973-76; Texas Rangers 1977-78; New York Yankees 1978
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1965-67; Oakland Athletics 1968-71; Washington Senators 1971; Texas Rangers 1972; Oakland Athletics 1973-76; Texas Rangers 1977-78; New York Yankees 1978
World Series Appearances: Oakland Athletics 1973; New York Yankees 1978
Died: January 1, 2006, Arlington, TX (age 64)
A lefty relief specialist, Paul Lindblad was a workhorse throughout his 14 major league seasons. Lindblad came up with the Athletics in 1965 and found a regular spot on their pitching staff in 1966. For 12 straight seasons between 1966 and 1977, he appeared in at least 36 games, topping the 60-game appearance threshold five different times. Dealt to the Senators in May 1971, Lindblad would move with the team to Arlington in 1972 and he was the Rangers' most dependable pitcher in their inaugural season. He led the league that year with 66 appearances and had a 2.62 ERA and nine saves in 99 2/3 innings pitched. Returning to Oakland in 1973, he won a pair of World Series rings with the Athletics in 1973 and 1974.
Died: January 1, 2006, Arlington, TX (age 64)
A lefty relief specialist, Paul Lindblad was a workhorse throughout his 14 major league seasons. Lindblad came up with the Athletics in 1965 and found a regular spot on their pitching staff in 1966. For 12 straight seasons between 1966 and 1977, he appeared in at least 36 games, topping the 60-game appearance threshold five different times. Dealt to the Senators in May 1971, Lindblad would move with the team to Arlington in 1972 and he was the Rangers' most dependable pitcher in their inaugural season. He led the league that year with 66 appearances and had a 2.62 ERA and nine saves in 99 2/3 innings pitched. Returning to Oakland in 1973, he won a pair of World Series rings with the Athletics in 1973 and 1974.
Lindblad hit career highs in appearances (68) and innings pitched (122 1/3) in 1975, and went 9-1 with a 2.72 ERA. His final few seasons were spent with a second stint with the Rangers and with the Yankees, with whom he won another World Series ring in 1978. His final appearance in the majors came in Game 1 of the 1978 World Series, eventually won by the Yankees in six games. Lindblad was 68-63 lifetime with a 3.29 ERA in 655 games pitched. He had 64 career saves. He'd return to baseball as a minor league pitching coach with the Brewers between 1987 and 1993.
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 105th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little less than $1.
The Card / Athletics Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is only the second card in the set so far to feature an Athletics player with the relatively new "A" logo on the cap. Reggie Jackson's (#260) iconic rookie card was the first. The write-up on the back of the card explains how Lindblad had shifted into a full-time relief role. The shutout mentioned was his only career shutout, and it came on July 16, 1967 at White Sox Park. Finally, the cartoon mentions Lindblad being used as a pinch-hitter. It happened three times between 1966 and 1967, with the pitcher going 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Accuracy Index: Lindblad's card scores a +5.
1969 Season
The Athletics used Lindblad in a swing role in 1966 and 1967, and the 1969 season was the first in which he was a full-time reliever. In 60 games, which tied him for the team lead with Rollie Fingers (#597), Lindblad was 9-6 with a 4.14 ERA in 78 1/3 innings pitched. He saved nine games, second on the team to Fingers, who had 12 saves.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #568
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1966-79
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2002 Upper Deck Vintage Special Collection Game Jersey #S-PL
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 59 in the Beckett online database as of 11/14/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#448 Bob Tolan - Cincinnati Reds / #450 Billy Williams - Chicago Cubs