Monday, June 24, 2024

#325 Jose Cardenal - Cleveland Indians


Jose Rosario Domec Cardenal
Cleveland Indians
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  150
Born:  October 7, 1943, Matanzas, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent, September 25, 1960
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1963-1964; Los Angeles Angels 1965; California Angels 1966-1967; Cleveland Indians 1968-1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970-1971; Milwaukee Brewers 1971; Chicago Cubs 1972-1977; Philadelphia Phillies 1978-1979; New York Mets 1979-1980; Kansas City Royals 1980
World Series Appearances:  Kansas City Royals 1980

Jose Cardenal was a speedy outfielder who hit for average and enjoyed an 18-year career in the big leagues with nine different teams.  He finished as the runner-up with the most stolen bases in the American League in 1965 and 1968, stealing a career-high 40 bases in 1968.  Well-traveled, he spent the most time with the Cubs, where he served as a regular corner outfielder between 1972 and 1977 while batting .296.  In 1973, Cardenal led the Cubs in batting average (.303), doubles (33) and stolen bases (19) and was named the Cubs Player of the Year by Chicago baseball writers.  

Over 2,017 career games, Cardenal hit .275 with 138 home runs, 333 doubles, 775 RBIs and 329 stolen bases, currently 131st on the all-time list.  After retiring as a player, Cardenal coached with the Reds (1993 and 2002-2003), Cardinals (1994-1995), Yankees (1996-1999) and Devil Rays (2000-2001).  He won three World Series rings as the first base coach for the World Champion Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / 
Card #312
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 20th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $2.

The Card / Indians Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Cardenal is shown wearing an Angels uniform, and I had to do a side-by-side comparison to make sure the photo used here isn't the same photo from his 1968 Topps card.  It's slightly different, but definitely taken at the same session.  Cardenal's #27 he wore with the Angels is poking through on his back.  The write-up on the back of the card notes his 40 stolen bases from 1968, and his finish as the runner-up in the league behind his cousin, Bert Campaneris (#495).

Accuracy Index:  Cardenal's card scores a -8 for the Angels uniform (-5) and blank hat (-3).

1969 Season
Cardenal was the everyday center fielder for the Indians in his second and final season in Cleveland.  In 146 games, he batted .257 with 26 doubles, 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.  His SABR biography notes he played well for manager Al Dark (#91), but "his moodiness" caused the Indians to decide to move on from him.  On November 21st, Cardenal was traded to the Cardinals for Vada Pinson (#160).

Phillies Career - Cardenal
The Phillies acquired Cardenal from the Cubs on October 25, 1977 for Manny Seoane.  Used primarily as a first baseman or a pinch-hitter, Cardenal backed up regular first baseman Richie Hebner (#82) throughout the 1978 season, appearing in 87 games and hitting .249.  He enjoyed his first postseason experience in that year's NLDS, going 1 for 6 over two games as the Phillies lost to the Dodgers.  Cardenal returned to a  similar back-up role in 1979, but his playing time diminished severely due to the newly acquired Pete Rose (#120).  He had appeared in just 29 games and was batting .208 when the Phillies sold him to the Mets on August 2, 1979, between games of a double header at Shea Stadium.  He was a member of the Phillies for the first game and switched to the Mets for the second game.

Cardenal was the last Phillies player to wear #1 before the team retired it during the 1979 season in honor of Richie Ashburn.  In 116 games with the Phillies, he hit .241 and his final big league at-bat came against the club with the Royals in the 1980 World Series.  In the decisive Game 6, Cardenal was the starting right fielder for the Royals and went 2 for 4.  In the 9th inning, he was stranded on first base when Tug McGraw (#601) struck out Willie Wilson to clinch the title.

1965 Topps #374
1968 Topps #102
1975 Topps #15
1978 Topps #210
1981 Topps #473

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #374
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1965-1981
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1989 Pacific Legends II #149
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  110 in the Beckett online database as of 6/3/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room

#324 Tigers Rookie Stars / #326 Gary Sutherland - Montreal Expos

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