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Richard Allen Dietz
San Francisco Giants
Catcher
Born: September 18, 1941, Crawfordsville, IN
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent, June 3, 1960
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1966-1971; Los Angeles Dodgers 1972; Atlanta Braves 1973
Died: June 27, 2005, Clayton, GA (age 63)
Dick Dietz played in eight big league seasons, mostly with the Giants, and was a National League All-Star in 1970. Dietz came up in 1966, and he'd assume the role of regular catcher Tom Haller's (#310) back-up in 1967, winning a spot on the 1967 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. He shared catching duties in 1968 with Jack Hiatt (#204) and Bob Barton (#41), and Dietz was behind the plate when Gaylord Perry (#485) no-hit the Cardinals that September 17th. Finally a regular, he'd serve as the opening day catcher for the Giants for three seasons between 1969 and 1971. Named a reserve to the National League All-Stars by manager Gil Hodges (#564), Dietz replaced Johnny Bench (#95) in the top of the seventh in the All-Star Game, leading off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Catfish Hunter (#235). The home run sparked a rally to tie the game, with the National League winning in the 12th inning after Pete Rose (#120) barreled over Ray Fosse (#244) at home plate. Dietz was on deck and can be seen guiding Rose into the plate and congratulating him after the play.
Dick Dietz played in eight big league seasons, mostly with the Giants, and was a National League All-Star in 1970. Dietz came up in 1966, and he'd assume the role of regular catcher Tom Haller's (#310) back-up in 1967, winning a spot on the 1967 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. He shared catching duties in 1968 with Jack Hiatt (#204) and Bob Barton (#41), and Dietz was behind the plate when Gaylord Perry (#485) no-hit the Cardinals that September 17th. Finally a regular, he'd serve as the opening day catcher for the Giants for three seasons between 1969 and 1971. Named a reserve to the National League All-Stars by manager Gil Hodges (#564), Dietz replaced Johnny Bench (#95) in the top of the seventh in the All-Star Game, leading off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Catfish Hunter (#235). The home run sparked a rally to tie the game, with the National League winning in the 12th inning after Pete Rose (#120) barreled over Ray Fosse (#244) at home plate. Dietz was on deck and can be seen guiding Rose into the plate and congratulating him after the play.
Building the Set / Card #269
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 penultimate (!) 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 about $1.25.
The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Topps goes with the minor league accolades for the back of Dietz's card, highlighting his .354 average in 1963 to go along with 35 home runs. I'm not so sure about Topps' comment on Dietz's defense. Despite limited playing time, he finished in the top three for errors in four straight seasons between 1968 and 1971. He also finished in the top three in passed balls during that timeframe, leading the league in both 1970 and 1971. Baserunners appeared to run wild when Dietz was behind the plate, as he lead the league in stolen bases allowed in 1968 and 1970, with 92 base stealers successful against him in 1970.
Accuracy Index: Dietz scores a +5 for the accurate depiction in a Giants uniform.
1969 Season
Dietz appeared in 79 games for the Giants, making 69 starts behind the plate, more than the 57 starts by Hiatt or the 33 starts by Barton. He batted .230 for the season with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. Dietz was third in the league for errors by a catcher and also third in the league for passed balls.
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First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #341
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1967-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #2833
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 50 in the Beckett online database as of 3/23/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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