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Douglas Lee Rader
Houston Astros
Third Base
Born: July 30, 1944, Chicago, IL
Signed: Signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent before 1965 season
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1967-1975; San Diego Padres 1976-1977; Toronto Blue Jays 1977
As a Manager: Texas Rangers 1983-1985; Chicago White Sox 1986; California Angels 1989-1991
Doug Rader played 11 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Astros, and is best known for his stellar defense at third base. Nicknamed "The Red Rooster" due to his thick red hair, Rader won a Gold Glove five seasons in a row (1970-1974) and he led all National League third baseman in fielding percentage in 1970 and 1975. Rader took over regular third base duties for the Astros partway through the 1968 season, usurping the incumbent, Bob Aspromonte (#542). From 1969 through 1975 he was the team's opening day and everyday third baseman, appearing in at least 150 games in in five of those seven seasons. His best year offensively came in 1970 when Rader batted .252 with a career-high 25 home runs and 87 RBIs. He'd reach his career-high in RBIs with 90 in 1972. Rader was dealt to the Padres following the 1975 season, and he'd play his final two years in the majors with the Padres and expansion Blue Jays. Rader batted .251 in the majors with 155 home runs and 722 RBIs.
He'd later serve on the major league coaching staffs of the Padres (1979), White Sox (1986-1987, 1997), Athletics (1992) and Marlins (1993-1994). He'd manage the Rangers between 1983 and 1985, serve as an interim manager for the White Sox for two games in 1986, and manage the Angels between 1989 and 1991. In 806 games managed, Rader had a record of 388-417.
Doug Rader played 11 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Astros, and is best known for his stellar defense at third base. Nicknamed "The Red Rooster" due to his thick red hair, Rader won a Gold Glove five seasons in a row (1970-1974) and he led all National League third baseman in fielding percentage in 1970 and 1975. Rader took over regular third base duties for the Astros partway through the 1968 season, usurping the incumbent, Bob Aspromonte (#542). From 1969 through 1975 he was the team's opening day and everyday third baseman, appearing in at least 150 games in in five of those seven seasons. His best year offensively came in 1970 when Rader batted .252 with a career-high 25 home runs and 87 RBIs. He'd reach his career-high in RBIs with 90 in 1972. Rader was dealt to the Padres following the 1975 season, and he'd play his final two years in the majors with the Padres and expansion Blue Jays. Rader batted .251 in the majors with 155 home runs and 722 RBIs.
He'd later serve on the major league coaching staffs of the Padres (1979), White Sox (1986-1987, 1997), Athletics (1992) and Marlins (1993-1994). He'd manage the Rangers between 1983 and 1985, serve as an interim manager for the White Sox for two games in 1986, and manage the Angels between 1989 and 1991. In 806 games managed, Rader had a record of 388-417.
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 79th 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 $1.25.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index +2
I'll go out on a limb and say Rader is wearing an Astros uniform here, as Topps had a picture of him in uniform for his 1967 rookie card. This picture and the picture used for his 1968 Topps card are very similar and were taken at the same time. The back of the card describes Rader's quick ascent through the minor leagues, and the 153 hits while a member of the Amarillo Sonics of the Texas League in 1966 are the most he ever had in a season. The write-up also mentions his ability to play first base, an experiment abandoned once Rader proved himself to be a Gold Glove caliber third baseman. He had 36 games at first in 1967 and then just 10 appearances at the position between 1968 and 1970.
Accuracy Index: Rader scores a +2 for the Astros (probably) jersey (+5) and the tilted up hat, obscuring the Astros (probably) logo (-2).
1969 Season
This was Rader's first full year as the Astros' regular third baseman. He batted .246 with 11 home runs and 83 RBIs for the fifth place club, managed by Harry Walker (#633). His fellow infielders most frequently were Curt Blefary (#458) at first base, Joe Morgan (#35) at second base and Denis Menke (#487) at shortstop.
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First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #412
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1967-1978, 1983-1985, 1989-1991
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game Nickname Greats #NG-RA
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 87 in the Beckett online database as of 10/23/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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