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Carroll William Sembera
Montreal Expos
Pitcher
Born: July 26, 1941, Shiner, TX
Signed: Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1965-1967; Montreal Expos 1969-1970
Died: June 15, 2005, Shiner, TX (age 63)
Nicknamed "Pencil" due to his slim build, Carroll Sembera pitched in parts of five seasons for the Astros and Expos. All but one of his 99 career appearances were out of the bullpen, and his lone start came in his second big league game against the Cardinals on October 3, 1965, the final game of the Astros' inaugural season in the Astrodome. Sembera went 5 1/3 innings in that game and was bested by Bob Gibson with Gibson (#200) winning his 20th of the season. He appeared in 24 games in 1966, a career-high 45 games in 1967 and then spent all of 1968 in the minor leagues. Left unprotected by the Astros, Sembera was a rule 5 draft pick by the expansion Expos in December 1968. He'd appear in 28 games for Montreal over two seasons and was traded to the Cardinals in May 1970, although he'd never pitch in the majors for that club. Sembera was 3-11 lifetime with a 4.70 ERA in 139 2/3 innings pitched, recording six saves. Following his retirement, Sembera served as a scout for the Major League Scouting Bureau and the Seattle Mariners.
January 17, 2023 from Greg Morris Cards - Los Angeles, CA
On the evening of January 8th, I found myself sitting in Terminal C of the Philadelphia International Airport waiting to board my flight to Dallas. Earlier that day, I had enjoyed watching our oldest son Doug at a winter track meet as he pole vaulted for his high school. I was in a good mood despite the the fact that like most flights that day, my flight had been delayed. This was for a work trip, and I was doing my best to stay positive and keep myself in the post-holiday happiness hangover that had lingered into the year's second week. eBay seller Greg Morris Cards, based out of Los Angeles, somehow seems to post cards from various vintage baseball card set breaks on a weekly basis, with the cards typically all in fantastic condition. With time to kill, knowing that bidding on baseball cards was a surefire good mood sustainer, and having only 40 cards so far for our 1969 Topps set, I pleasantly passed the time by bidding on 62 commons, all with no previous bidders, and all ending within the next 30 hours.
The next afternoon, while on a break at our work conference in the Hilton Anatole, I checked on the auctions, noting I had been outbid on a few, but was still the high bidder for most of the 62 cards. That night, as auctions were close to ending, and as I was enjoying a few adult beverages at the fine Rodeo Goat establishment across the street from the Hilton, my Apple Watch began vibrating every few seconds as I was outbid on dozens of auctions. When the dust had settled, I had won 24 new cards at an average price of about $2.50 per card. This Sembera card was $2.22, and arrived a week after I had made the return trip home from Dallas.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
I had no knowledge of Sembera as a former major league pitcher until I bid on this baseball card in January 2023. It's rare for me to come across a card I've never seen before featuring a player I've never heard of before. This is his last Topps card, and he's likely wearing an Astros uniform. On the back of the card, the Topps' cartoonist went for the low-hanging fruit here, drawing a pencil to highlight Sembera's nickname.
Accuracy Index: Sembera scores a -8 since he's hatless (-3) and wearing an Astros uniform (-5).
1969 Season
Sembera split the season between the Expos and their Triple-A team, the Vancouver Mounties. He had made the Expos' opening day roster, appearing with the team in games until his demotion in early June. Sembera would come back up as a September roster addition. With the Expos, he was 0-2 in 23 games with a 3.82 ERA and a pair of saves. With the Mounties, Sembera appeared in 37 games and was 6-4 with a 2.45 ERA and he easily led the club with 15 saves.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #539
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1966-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #351
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 12 in the Beckett online database as of 2/4/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#350 Richie Allen - Philadelphia Phillies / #352 Paul Schaal - Kansas City Royals
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