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Albert Lee Stange
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher
Born: October 27, 1936, Chicago, IL
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams: Minnesota Twins 1961-1964; Cleveland Indians 1964-1966; Boston Red Sox 1966-1970; Chicago White Sox 1970
World Series Appearances: Boston Red Sox 1967
Died: September 21, 2018, Riverview, FL (age 81)
Primarily a relief pitcher throughout his 10-year big league career, Lee Stange's best season came during the Impossible Dream pennant chase for the 1967 Red Sox. Stange began his career within the Senators/Twins organization and he made his major league debut during the third game of the Twins' existence in 1961. Starting 20 games in 1963, and appearing in 32 games overall, Stange was a 12-game winner. He was dealt to the Indians in June 1964, with 1965 being his only full season in Cleveland. On June 2, 1966, Stange was traded with Don McMahon (#616) to the Red Sox for Dick Radatz (#663) and he'd join the Boston pitching staff as a swing man. Stange and Gary Bell (#377) each started 24 games for the Red Sox in 1967, second only to Jim Lonborg's (#109) 39 starts. Stange was 8-10 with a 2.77 ERA in 35 games, throwing 181 2/3 innings, again second on the staff to Lonborg. Improbably reaching the World Series, Stange pitched two innings in Game 3, allowing an unearned run. The Cardinals would defeat the Red Sox in seven games.
Died: September 21, 2018, Riverview, FL (age 81)
Primarily a relief pitcher throughout his 10-year big league career, Lee Stange's best season came during the Impossible Dream pennant chase for the 1967 Red Sox. Stange began his career within the Senators/Twins organization and he made his major league debut during the third game of the Twins' existence in 1961. Starting 20 games in 1963, and appearing in 32 games overall, Stange was a 12-game winner. He was dealt to the Indians in June 1964, with 1965 being his only full season in Cleveland. On June 2, 1966, Stange was traded with Don McMahon (#616) to the Red Sox for Dick Radatz (#663) and he'd join the Boston pitching staff as a swing man. Stange and Gary Bell (#377) each started 24 games for the Red Sox in 1967, second only to Jim Lonborg's (#109) 39 starts. Stange was 8-10 with a 2.77 ERA in 35 games, throwing 181 2/3 innings, again second on the staff to Lonborg. Improbably reaching the World Series, Stange pitched two innings in Game 3, allowing an unearned run. The Cardinals would defeat the Red Sox in seven games.
Stange would pitch for three more seasons with the Red Sox and White Sox, retiring following the 1970 campaign. In 359 games, Stange was 62-61 with a 3.56 ERA and 718 strikeouts over 1,216 innings pitched. He'd serve as the major league pitching coach for the Red Sox (1972-1974, 1981-1984), Twins (1975) and Athletics (1977-1979). Stange remained in the Red Sox system through the early 1990s as a minor league pitching coach.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #179
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
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 102nd 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.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The photos used for Stange's 1968, 1969 and 1970 Topps cards were likely all taken at the same time at Fenway Park. The back of the card refers to his elite relief status and team-leading save tally in 1968. Per Baseball Reference, Stange actually had 12 saves in 1968 and not 11. I like the cartoon representation of a Senators player wearing tuxedo tails and having a big, bushy mustache.
Accuracy Index: Topps is on a roll, and this is the fourth +5 in a row I've added to our set. The Clay Dalrymple (#151) variation card coming up is about to break the streak.
1969 Season
In his final full season with the Red Sox, Stange was 6-9 with a 3.68 ERA in 41 games, including 15 starts. The fifth starter job went to Stange, Ray Jarvis or Vicente Romo (#267) throughout the season for Dick Williams' (#349) third place club.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1962-1971, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Fleer ProCards #1615
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 56 in the Beckett online database as of 11/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
In his final full season with the Red Sox, Stange was 6-9 with a 3.68 ERA in 41 games, including 15 starts. The fifth starter job went to Stange, Ray Jarvis or Vicente Romo (#267) throughout the season for Dick Williams' (#349) third place club.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1962-1971, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Fleer ProCards #1615
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 56 in the Beckett online database as of 11/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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