#75 Luis Aparicio - Chicago White Sox

Luis Ernesto Aparicio
Chicago White Sox
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160
Born:  April 29, 1934, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1956-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968-1970; Boston Red Sox 1971-1973

World Series Appearances:  Chicago White Sox 1959; Baltimore Orioles 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Known for his exceptional defense and base running skills, Luis Aparicio played for 18 seasons in the majors, primarily for the White Sox.  Ted Williams (#650) called him "the best shortstop he had ever seen."  Aparicio made his debut in 1956, winning the American League Rookie of the Year honors after batting .266 and leading the league with 21 stolen bases.  It was to be the first of nine straight years in which Aparicio led the league or tied for the league lead in stolen bases, and he eclipsed the 50 stolen base

1968 Topps #310

mark in four of those seasons.  Aparicio helped lead his "Go-Go" White Sox to the World Series in 1959, and he was American League MVP runner-up.  Dealt to the Orioles before the 1963 season, Aparicio's production declined slightly but his defensive skills didn't.  He reunited with the White Sox in 1968 and enjoyed a late career resurgence making three more All-Star teams in his late 30s with the White Sox and Red Sox.

Aparicio retired with 2,677 career hits, 506 stolen bases (currently 38th all-time) and a .262 lifetime average.  Upon his retirement, he was the all-time leader for hits, games played, assists and double plays by a shortstop, and his record nine Gold Gloves was matched by Omar Vizquel in 2001.  Derek Jeter broke his all-time hits record by a shortstop in 2009.  Aparicio was the first native Venezuelan inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, and his #11 was retired by the White Sox that same year.

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

Building the Set / Card #4
November 6, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Seventh Inning Stretch)

In early November 2021, 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.  We loaded our car on a Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area over the weekend, 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.

We had spent a little bit of time in the multi-level Seventh Inning Stretch, located adjacent to Doubleday Field, on Friday.  But on Saturday I wanted to dig in to their haphazard, loosely alphabetical, collection of baseball cards for sale on their second floor.  I spent close to 45 minutes going through the boxes, and this card was one of about a dozen cards I picked out among the glorious mess of cards covering all eras between early 20th Century the late 2010s.  This card cost $6 and was one of a pair of cards, along with the Ted Shows How card (#539), added to our not-yet-collecting 1969 Topps set.  We also added one card to my 1935 Diamond Stars set and a few low-priced cards for our future 1959 Topps set.

The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -12

Topps recycled the photo used for Aparicio's 1968 card here, featuring the shortstop hatless and wearing an Orioles jersey.  The cartoon on the back of the card highlights the nine years in a row Aparicio led the league in stolen bases.  The 6-man deal Topps references happened on November 29, 1967 with Aparicio, John Matias and Russ Snyder (#201) going to the White Sox, and Don Buford (#478), Bruce Howard (#226) and Roger Nelson (#279) heading to Baltimore.

Accuracy Index:  Aparicio's card scores a -12 for featuring him in an old uniform (-5), hatless (-3) and using a picture we've seen before (-4).

Inserts:  He's included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set and is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.  His Deckle Edge card features him in an Orioles uniform too, but Topps has added a SOX logo to his batting helmet.  Aparicio is one of 27 players to appear in both insert sets.

1969 Season
Traded back to the White Sox following the 1967 season as mentioned above, Aparicio was settling into his second full season in his reunion with his original team.  While the White Sox were not a good team in 1969, finishing with a 68-94 record and costing Al Lopez (#527) his job, Aparicio was the team's MVP.  In 156 games as every day shortstop, he batted .280 with 24 doubles, 51 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.  He collected his 2,000 career hit on May 15th off Tigers' pitcher Earl Wilson (#525).

1956 Topps #292

1959 Topps #310

1962 Topps #325

1970 Topps #315

1974 Topps #61

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #292
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1956-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps 206 (Wave 8)
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  1,010 in the Beckett online database as of 12/27/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
National Baseball Hall of Fame

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#74 Preston Gomez MG - San Diego Padres / #76 Norm Miller - Houston Astros