#33 Wayne Causey - Atlanta Braves

James Wayne Causey
Atlanta Braves
Infield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  December 26, 1936, Ruston, LA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 4, 1955
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1961-1966; Chicago White Sox 1966-1968; California Angels 1968; Atlanta Braves 1968

As a bonus baby signing by the Orioles in 1955, Wayne Causey spent the first 2 1/2 seasons on the team's big league roster, playing sparingly.  He appeared in 135 games overall for the Orioles, seeing the most action in his first season as an 18-year-old, when he made 41 starts for the team at third base.  With Brooks Robinson (#550) coming up, Causey's time with the Orioles ultimately came to an end and he'd next play in the majors with the Athletics in 1961.  With the Athletics, he enjoyed his best seasons in 1963 and 1964 as the team's regular shortstop, earning MVP votes in both seasons.  He batted a career-high .281 in 1964 and led the league with 265 times on base, but struggled somewhat defensively, finishing third in the American League with 25 errors.

Causey retired following the 1968 season after serving as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter for the White Sox, Angels and Braves.  In 1,105 career games, he collected 819 hits, batting .252 with 35 home runs and 285 RBIs.

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

Building the Set / Card #92
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 15th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index -10

The statistics on the back contain Causey's entire professional output, as he played in his final game on September 20, 1968.  As noted on the back, the Braves had purchased Causey from the Angels on July 29, 1968, after he had been with the Angels for a little over a week.  He appeared in 16 games for the Braves, batting .108 (4 for 37) and receiving five starts at second base.

Accuracy Index:  Causey loses points for being hatless (-3), wearing a White Sox jersey (-5), and for not actually playing with the Braves in 1969 (-2).

1969 Season
There's a brief biography found in the Baseball Reference Bullpen indicating Causey joined the expansion Royals in 1969 as a ticket manager and later a scout.

1962 Topps #496

1963 Topps #539

1966 Topps #366

1967 Topps #286

1968 Topps #522

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #496
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1962-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #8
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  41 in the Beckett online database as of 5/15/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#32 Sammy Ellis - California Angels / #34 Gary Peters - Chicago White Sox