#183 Don Shaw - Montreal Expos

Donald Wellington Shaw
Montreal Expos
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  February 23, 1944, Pittsburgh, PA
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Mets in the 35th round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1967-1968; Montreal Expos 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1971-1972; Oakland Athletics 1972

Don Shaw pitched in parts of five major league seasons, appearing in at least 35 games with the 1967 Mets, the 1969 Expos and the 1971 Cardinals.  Shaw emerged in 1967 as one of the Mets' more effective relievers, pitching to a 2.98 ERA and recording three saves for the 10th place team.  He'd spend most of 1968 pitching in the minors after suffering a spring training back injury, and was left unprotected for the 1968 expansion draft.  Chosen as the 40th overall pick by the Expos, manager Gene Mauch (#606) appointed Shaw as the franchise's first ever closer to start the season.  That role didn't last long.  Shaw struggled throughout the season, and was demoted to the minor leagues for most of August.

After spending 1970 in the minors and suffering a broken left hand, Shaw had one more successful season with the Cardinals in 1971.  His best season statistically, Shaw was 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 45 relief appearances and 51 innings pitched.  Shaw spent the 1973 season pitching for the Tigers' top farm team in Toledo before retiring from baseball.  In 138 games pitched, including just one start, Shaw was 13-14 with a 4.01 ERA and six saves.

Building the Set / Card #197
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.

The end of this haul is in sight?  This is the 120th 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 $1.25.

The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Shaw is wearing a Mets uniform here, with the photo likely taken at some point in 1967.  In one of the better cartoons yet to appear on the back of a card, Topps lets collectors know Shaw's hobby is water-skiing.  The write-up mentions his sinkerball, his excellent control and his skill as a ground ball inducing pitcher.

Accuracy Index:  Shaw's card receives a -8 for the Mets jersey (-5) and the blackened Mets hat (-3).

1969 Season
Shaw recorded the first win in Expos' franchise history, although not the way he would have preferred.  On opening day, April 8th, against his former team, the Mets at Shea Stadium, Shaw entered in the sixth inning with the score tied 6-6.  The Expos took the lead in the seventh and were ahead 11-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth.  Shaw imploded, allowing four runs, before Carroll Sembera (#351) entered to record the final out.  Shaw was credited with the win, with Sembera earning the save.

Shaw was 2-5 overall with a 5.21 ERA and just one save.  Mauch's decision to use Shaw as the team's closer was extremely short-lived, as he had only two save opportunities all season.

1967 Topps #587

1968 Topps #521

1970 Topps #476

1971 Topps #654

1972 Topps #479

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #587
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1967-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #449
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  22 in the Beckett online database as of 11/24/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

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