#276 Gary Wagner - Philadelphia Phillies

Gary Edward Wagner
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  185
Born:  June 28, 1940, Bridgeport, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, September 6, 1961
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1965-1969; Boston Red Sox 1969-1970

Gary Wagner pitched in parts of six seasons in the majors and his first big league season in 1965 was also his best.  He relieved in 59 games for the Phillies that year, a career-high, and was 7-7 with a 3.00 ERA and a team-leading seven saves.  Despite being one of the more successful relievers for the Phillies his rookie season, he spent almost all of 1966 and 1967 in the minors, before coming up again for a full season in 1968.  He made 44 relief appearances for Gene Mauch's (#606) club, and his eight saves were second on the team behind Turk Farrell's (#531) 12.  Wagner found himself back in the minors following a rough start to his 1969 season, and the Phillies dealt him to the Red Sox that September.  He'd pitch in 38 games for the Red Sox in 1970, his final year in the majors.

From the 1969 Phillies Yearbook

Wagner attempted comebacks with the Triple-A Expos and Red Sox affiliates in 1971, retiring after only 10 games.  For his career, he was 15-19 in 162 games pitched, with a 3.70 ERA and 22 saves.

Building the Set / Card #256
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, 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 179th 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 / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Topps used the same exact photo previously featured on Wagner's 1967 Topps card.  The back of the card references his shoulder woes (see below) and also features a seal to highlight his college degree in zoology.  Wagner attended Eastern Illinois University, and threw a no-hitter in his college pitching debut, which probably would have been a better highlight for Topps to go with over the zoology degree.

There's an unidentified Phillies coach making a cameo appearance behind Wagner on the card, and a player in mid throw hidden behind the name/position circle.  The player is visible on Wagner's 1967 Topps card, and if the photo was taken in 1965, that's popular Phillies pitcher Art Mahaffey, who wore #28, appearing on a baseball card three years after he had retired.

Accuracy Index:  Wagner gets a +1 since it's an accurate team depiction (+5) but with a photo seen before (-4).

1969 Season
Wagner struggled at the start of the season, pitching in nine games (including a pair of starts) and going 0-3 with a 7.91 ERA.  He had allowed 17 earned runs in his 19 1/3 innings pitched, earning him a demotion to the Triple-A Eugene Emerald at the end of May.  Wagner had a great season as a starter in Eugene, far away from the bottom dwelling Phillies.  In 20 games, including 15 starts, he was 11-5 with a 2.05 ERA, throwing nine complete games and five shutouts.  With the Red Sox hoping for a late season surge, Boston acquired him from the Phillies on September 6th in exchange for Mike Jackson.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't repeat the success he had found in the minors, going 1-3 with a 6.06 ERA for the Red Sox in six games over the final month of the season.

Phillies Career
The Phillies were optimistic heading into the 1965 season, as they had nearly missed a World Series appearance in 1964 following their epic September collapse.  Wagner was a big part of Mauch's plans, thanks in part to minor league pitching coach Cal McLish teaching him pitching strategies.  After his fantastic rookie season, Wagner developed a sore right shoulder at the start of 1966 and he wouldn't re-enter the Phillies plans until 1968.  He was a regular reliever in 1968, but as mentioned above, struggled at the start of the 1969 season, essentially ending his Phillies career.  Wagner had had enough of the back and forth to the minor leagues by then, and upset at this demotion, he had decided not to report if the Phillies had called him up again.  He never got a chance to test that threat, as the club dealt him to the Red Sox at the end of the 1969 season.

Wagner pitched in 118 games for the Phillies, making three starts, and was 11-15 with a 3.59 ERA over 210 2/3 innings pitched.

1966 Topps #151

1967 Topps #529

1968 Topps #448

1970 Topps #627

1971 Topps #473

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #151
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1966-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #437
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  16 in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room

#275 Vic Davalillo - California Angels / #277 Rod Hendricks - Baltimore Orioles