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Kenneth Lee McMullen
Washington Senators
Third Base
Born: June 1, 1942, Oxnard, CA
Signed: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1965-1970; California Angels 1970-1972; Los Angeles Dodgers 1973-1975; Oakland Athletics 1976; Milwaukee Brewers 1977
Ken McMullen struggled early in his career at the plate and with the glove, but improved enough in both areas to spend parts of 16 seasons in the majors. McMullen was the opening day third baseman for the Dodgers in 1963, but a batting (and fielding) slump saw him back in the minors early that season. Traded to the Senators in a seven-player trade in December 1964, McMullen was again given the chance to start and was the regular third baseman for Gil Hodges' (#564) (and later Ted Williams' (#650)) team between 1965 and 1969. The late 1960s were the most productive for him and his career year came in 1969 when he batted .272 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs. McMullen had also worked on his fielding and turned himself into one of the better third baseman in the league.
He'd spend three full seasons with the Angels, traded to the club in April 1970. Following the 1972 season, he was on the move again, this time back to the Dodgers, in the trade that sent Frank Robinson (#250) to the Angels. McMullen would see his only postseason action with the Dodgers in 1974, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the NLCS against the Pirates. He'd settle into a pinch-hitter/designated hitter role over the final seasons of his career with the Dodgers, Athletics and Brewers. In 1,583 career games, McMullen batted .248 with 156 home runs and 606 RBIs. His .961 fielding percentage at third base is currently 72nd all-time.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #307
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was McMullen's career year. Leading all Senators' players with a 5.9 bWAR, he was the Senators and manager Williams' top player. McMullen made 151 out of 162 starts at third base, appearing in 158 games overall. He reached career highs in runs (83), hits (153), doubles (25), RBIs (87), walks (70) and OBP (.349).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #338
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 15th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The photo for this card and McMullen's 1968 Topps card were likely taken at the same session. The cartoon on the back highlights his league-leading 38 double plays as a third baseman in 1967. Frank Howard (#170) more than doubled McMullen's home run total from 1968, 44 to 20. And Howard led the club with 106 RBIs with McMullen coming in second with 62.
In what is just pure coincidence, McMullen is card #319 in both the 1965 and 1969 Topps sets.
Accuracy Index: McMullen's card scores a solid +5.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was McMullen's career year. Leading all Senators' players with a 5.9 bWAR, he was the Senators and manager Williams' top player. McMullen made 151 out of 162 starts at third base, appearing in 158 games overall. He reached career highs in runs (83), hits (153), doubles (25), RBIs (87), walks (70) and OBP (.349).
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #338
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
This card also has an uncorrected error on the back. It shows pitching columns instead of batter columns.
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