#151 Clay Dalrymple - Philadelphia Phillies

Clayton Errol Dalrymple
Philadelphia Phillies
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  December 3, 1936, Chico, CA
Acquired:  Obtained by the Milwaukee Braves from the Sacramento Solons (PCL) as part of a minor league working agreement
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1968; Baltimore Orioles 1969-1971

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1969

1969 Topps #151 - Orioles

Clay Dalrymple was the regular catcher for the Phillies throughout much of the 1960s, earning the job due to his handling of the pitching staff and his above average defensive skills.  Dalrymple led all catchers in assists and runners caught stealing in three different seasons (1961, 1963 and 1965).  He peaked offensively with the Phillies in 1962, hitting career highs with a .276 average, 11 home runs and 54 RBIs.  Dalrymple led the league with eight sacrifice flies in 1964, and had a front row seat for the team's collapse in September.  He was behind the plate on September 21, 1964 when Chico Ruiz (#469) stole home to give the Reds a 1-0 victory and begin the Phillies' 10-game losing streak.

Dalrymple saw his playing time decrease during his last few years with the Phillies, sharing catching duties with Pat Corrales (#382), Bob Uecker, Gene Oliver (#247) and finally Mike Ryan (#28).  A target of the Phillies' fans ire, Dalrymple requested a trade and was accommodated when the team sent him to the Orioles before the 1969 season.  Having come so close to the postseason in 1964, Dalrymple finally saw October action when the Orioles won the A.L. East pennant in 1969.  He was 2 for 2 with a pair of pinch-hit singles in the Series as the Orioles fell to the Mets in five games.  A broken ankle hobbled Dalrymple his final two years in the majors, and he retired following the 1971 season.

In 1,079 career games, Dalrymple batted .233 with 710 hits, 55 home runs and 327 RBIs.  For his career, Dalrymple ranks in the top 100 (98th) for double plays turned by a catcher with 79, and his 48.8% caught stealing percentage is currently 30th all-time.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #6
November 6, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Willis Monie Books)

Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November.  We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners.  The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable.  Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.

Having spent Saturday morning in the Hall and then having lunch again at Doubleday Cafe, we walked down Main Street one more time to see if there were any stores we had missed.  There was an old book store towards the end of Main Street and with some time to kill, I decided to have a look around.  Willis Monie Books has to be seen to be believed.  Thousands upon thousands of books dating back a few centuries to recent releases are haphazardly (but lovingly) stacked and piled and balanced among the multiple rows, aisles and nooks of this store.  In the foyer, outside the front door, I found an out of service rotating display case with old baseball cards in it and on top of that case were more stacks of books and a few 800-count boxes of loosely organized cards from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.  I probably spent well over a half hour pouring through the boxes, coming away with nine cards total from 1959, 1965 and 1969 and spending a grand total of $20.  This Dalrymple card was the only card I found for our not-yet-collecting 1969 Topps set, and it set me back $2.

The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -7

This is the first of two Dalrymple cards I'll be adding to our set, as the second is a variation showing him hatless and with the Orioles.  Topps made the unusual move in 1969 of updating both Dalrymple and Donn Clendenon's (#208) cards to show them with their newer teams.  The cartoon on the back is identical on both variations, but Topps updated the write-up on the Orioles version to mention Dalrymple's trade to Baltimore that January.

Accuracy Index:  Dalrymple's Phillies card scores a 3 - plus 5 points for the accurate Phillies uniform, but then minus 2 for featuring him on a team for which he didn't appear in 1969.

Update:  I'm updating this score.  Dalrymple drops to a -7, since he's wearing his former team's uniform (-5) and he's shown with a team he didn't play for in 1969 (-2).

1969 Season
The Phillies dealt Dalrymple to the Orioles on January 20, 1969, receiving outfielder Ron Stone (#576) in return.  Dalrymple was third on the Orioles' catching depth chart behind Elrod Hendricks (#277) and Andy Etchebarren (#634), appearing in only 37 games and making 23 starts behind the plate for the eventual American League pennant winners.

Phillies Career
Dalrymple played in the Braves' organization for the 1959 season, and was left unprotected in that offseason's rule 5 draft.  Selected by the Phillies in the draft on November 30, 1959, Dalrymple began the 1960 season as back-up to regular catcher Jimmie Coker.  He'd take over the position full-time in 1961, making the first of five opening day starts behind the plate, with his streak broken in 1966 by Uecker.  As mentioned above, he assumed a part-time role with the club beginning in 1966, and was dealt to the Orioles in January 1969.  In 1,006 games with the Phillies over nine seasons, Dalrymple batted .234, collecting 674 hits.

1960 Topps #523

1962 Topps #434

1964 Topps #191

1968 Topps #567

1971 Topps #617

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Leaf #143
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1960-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-CD
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  71 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room

#150 Denny McLain - Detroit Tigers / #151 Clay Dalrymple - Baltimore Orioles