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Donald Ray Mincher
Seattle Pilots
First Base
Born: June 24, 1938, Huntsville, AL
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1966; California Angels 1967-1968; Seattle Pilots 1969; Oakland Athletics 1970-1971; Washington Senators 1971; Texas Rangers 1972; Oakland Athletics 1972
World Series Appearances: Minnesota Twins 1965; Oakland Athletics 1972
Died: March 4, 2012, Huntsville, AL (age 73)
Don Mincher was a veteran of 13 big league seasons, playing in the final seasons of both 20th Century Washington baseball teams and in the first seasons of their new locations in Minnesota and Texas. He was an All-Star in 1967 with the Angels, perhaps his best season, and the only Pilots player to appear in the All-Star Game in the team's sole year of existence in 1969. Mincher hit at least 20 home runs in five different seasons, reaching a career high in 1970 with 27. He drove in at least 70 runs in three different seasons. Mincher won a World Series ring with the Athletics in his final season in the big leagues, and he had a key pinch-hit in Game 4 of the 1972 World Series to help his team to victory. In 1,400 career games, Mincher batted .249 with exactly 200 home runs and 643 RBIs.
Mincher began his second career as a minor league executive in 1985, serving as the president and general manager of his hometown Huntsville Stars until 2001. While he never played for the club, the Stars, then an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, retired his #5 in 2008. He'd go on to serve as president of the Southern League until 2011.
Died: March 4, 2012, Huntsville, AL (age 73)
Don Mincher was a veteran of 13 big league seasons, playing in the final seasons of both 20th Century Washington baseball teams and in the first seasons of their new locations in Minnesota and Texas. He was an All-Star in 1967 with the Angels, perhaps his best season, and the only Pilots player to appear in the All-Star Game in the team's sole year of existence in 1969. Mincher hit at least 20 home runs in five different seasons, reaching a career high in 1970 with 27. He drove in at least 70 runs in three different seasons. Mincher won a World Series ring with the Athletics in his final season in the big leagues, and he had a key pinch-hit in Game 4 of the 1972 World Series to help his team to victory. In 1,400 career games, Mincher batted .249 with exactly 200 home runs and 643 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #264
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Building the Set / Card #264
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 187th 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 a little over $2.
Mincher is shown wearing an Angels jersey and hat, in a photo likely taken in 1967 and at the same time as the photo used for his 1968 Topps card. The cartoon became outdated following Mincher's appearance in the 1969 All-Star Game - see below. In the 1967 All-Star Game, he pinch-hit for pitcher Gary Peters (#34) in the eighth inning and singled off Bob Gibson (#200).
Accuracy Index: Mincher scores a -8 for the Angels jersey (-5) and logo-less hat (-3).
Inserts: Mincher is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set. It's basically the same photo used for his base card, except he's got his glasses on.
1969 Season
Mincher was the 2nd pick in the 1968 expansion draft, and the Pilots' overall #1 pick, selected from the Angels. The opening day first baseman for the Pilots, he'd start 118 games at the position and play in 140 games overall. Mincher and Mike Hegan (#577) were both selected to the All-Star Game, with only Mincher appearing in the game, pinch-hitting for Denny McLain (#150) in the fourth inning. Facing Gibson again, Mincher struck out.
1969 Season
Mincher was the 2nd pick in the 1968 expansion draft, and the Pilots' overall #1 pick, selected from the Angels. The opening day first baseman for the Pilots, he'd start 118 games at the position and play in 140 games overall. Mincher and Mike Hegan (#577) were both selected to the All-Star Game, with only Mincher appearing in the game, pinch-hitting for Denny McLain (#150) in the fourth inning. Facing Gibson again, Mincher struck out.
He batted .246 for the Pilots with a team-leading 25 home runs and 78 RBIs. Tommy Davis (#135) took the team RBI crown with 80. In January 15, 1970, before the Pilots moved to Milwaukee and become the Brewers, Mincher was dealt with Ron Clark (#561) to the Athletics for Mike Hershberger (#655), Lew Krausse (#23), Phil Roof (#334) and Phil Sanders.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #548
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots #10
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 67 in the Beckett online database as of 3/17/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #548
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots #10
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 67 in the Beckett online database as of 3/17/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#284 Expos Rookie Stars / #286 Dock Ellis - Pittsburgh Pirates
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