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David George Baldwin
Washington Senators
Pitcher
Born: March 30, 1938, Tucson, AZ
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, June 28, 1959
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1966-1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Chicago White Sox 1973
Dave Baldwin was a frequently used reliever for the Senators in the late-1960s, appearing in parts of six major league seasons. Originally signed by the Phillies, he spent five years climbing through their minor league ranks only to be sold to the Mets in early 1964. Baldwin finally found a home in the Senators' organization, signing with the club in July 1964, and making his big league debut two years later as a September call-up. Between 1967 and 1969, Baldwin relieved in at least 40 games for the Senators, appearing in a career-high 58 games in 1967. That was his best season in the majors, as he had a 1.70 ERA over 68 2/3 inning pitched with 12 saves. Baldwin appeared in 28 games for the Brewers in 1970, and made a brief comeback with the White Sox in 1973, appearing in three final major league games. For his career, Baldwin was 6-11 with a 3.08 ERA and 23 saves over 224 2/3 innings pitched.
Baldwin kept busy following his retirement from baseball, earning a Ph.D. in genetics and an M.S. in systems engineering. He published a baseball memoir entitled Snake Jazz, and has also published a collection of original poetry. His painting, "Fugue for the Pepper Players," is in the collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
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| Fugue for the Pepper Players |
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 89th 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 less than a dollar.
This photo used here and the photo used for Baldwin's rookie card in the 1968 Topps set were likely taken at the same time at Yankee Stadium. Baldwin's academic pursuits are highlighted with the cartoon on the back, and I have to imagine this is the only card in the set featuring a large cartoon dinosaur. The write-up shorts Baldwin a save, as his Baseball Reference page has him with six saves in 1968, and not five. He was second on the Senators behind closer Dennis Higgins (#441), who had 13 saves.
Accuracy Index: Baldwin's card scores a solid +5 for the accurate Senators depiction.
1969 Season
In his final season in Washington, manager Ted Williams (#650) used Baldwin in relief in 43 games with the pitcher going 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 66 2/3 innings pitched. He recorded four saves. On December 4th, he was dealt to the Seattle Pilots for George Brunet (#645), with Baldwin and the rest of his Seattle teammates becoming the Milwaukee Brewers shortly before the start of the 1970 season.
Phillies Connection
Baldwin pitched in the Phillies' system between 1959 and 1963, appearing in 108 games and going 20-16 with a 4.49 ERA. His best season came in 1960 when he was 9-5 between two minor league levels, appearing in 38 games and throwing three shutouts.
In his final season in Washington, manager Ted Williams (#650) used Baldwin in relief in 43 games with the pitcher going 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 66 2/3 innings pitched. He recorded four saves. On December 4th, he was dealt to the Seattle Pilots for George Brunet (#645), with Baldwin and the rest of his Seattle teammates becoming the Milwaukee Brewers shortly before the start of the 1970 season.
Phillies Connection
Baldwin pitched in the Phillies' system between 1959 and 1963, appearing in 108 games and going 20-16 with a 4.49 ERA. His best season came in 1960 when he was 9-5 between two minor league levels, appearing in 38 games and throwing three shutouts.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #231
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1968-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-DB
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 18 in the Beckett online database as of 11/5/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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