#121 Joe Grzenda - Minnesota Twins

Joseph Charles Grzenda
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  June 8, 1937, Scranton, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1961; Kansas City Athletics 1964, 1966; New York Mets 1967; Minnesota Twins 1969; Washington Senators 1970-1971; St. Louis Cardinals 1972

Died:  July 12, 2019, Covington Township, PA (age 82)

Beginning in 1955, side-arming lefty Joe Grzenda (pronounced greh-ZEN-duh) pitched for six seasons in the Tigers' minor league system before seeing big league action in four games for Detroit in early 1961.  He'd spend two more full seasons in the minors, returning to the majors in May 1964 with the Athletics.  Grzenda would bounce back and forth between the majors and minors from 1965 through 1968, finally sticking with a big league bullpen in 1969 with the Twins.  He'd find his most success pitching out of the Senators' bullpen in 1970 and 1971, earning a record of 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA and 11 saves over 95 appearances.  He was the final pitcher for the Senators in 1971 before their move to Arlington, Texas, and he returned to Washington in 2005 to take part in the Nationals' opening day ceremonies when baseball returned to D.C.

Grzenda's final major league action came with the Cardinals in 1972, and he had a 5.66 ERA in 30 relief appearances and 35 innings pitched.  For his career, Grzenda was 14-13 with a 4.00 ERA and 14 saves.

Building the Set / Card #157
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 80th 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.

The Card / Twins Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

This is Grzenda's rookie card and he's wearing a Mets jersey in the photo.  The cartoon on the back highlights his 1958 season, when he was 16-7 for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.  The write-up on the back speaks to his longevity in professional baseball and his last appearances in the majors with the Mets in 1967.

Accuracy Index:  Grzenda is hatless (-3) and wearing a Mets jersey (-5).

1969 Season
Grzenda pitched in 38 games for the pennant-winning Twins, going 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and three saves.  He was one of manager Billy Martin's (#547) two left-handed relief options out of the bullpen along with closer Ron Perranoski (#77).  Grzenda's only postseason action came in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Orioles.  He pitched 2/3 of an inning in an 11-2 blowout loss, retiring the only two batters he faced.

1970 Topps #691

1971 Topps #518

1972 Topps #13

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #121
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1969-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #13
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  16 in the Beckett online database as of 10/24/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#120 Pete Rose - Cincinnati Reds / #122 Ron Fairly - Los Angeles Dodgers