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Ricardo Emelindo Joseph
Philadelphia Phillies
Third Base
Born: August 24, 1939, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1964; Philadelphia Phillies 1967-1970
Died: September 8, 1979, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (age 40)
Originally drafted by the Giants in 1959, Rick Joseph was selected by the Athletics in the December 1963 minor league draft and saw his first big league action with Kansas City in 1964. After two more years in the minor leagues, Joseph was selected again in the minor league draft, this time by the Phillies. He'd have his best year in baseball in 1967, batting .300 with 24 home runs and 96 RBIs for the Triple-A San Diego Padres, winning the Pacific Coast League MVP award. His minor league tear earned him a September call-up by the Phillies, and Joseph collected his first big league home run in the form of a walk-off, pinch-hit grand slam against the Dodgers on September 16, 1967.
He'd spend all of 1968, 1969 and 1970 as a bench player for the Phillies, his playing time peeking in 1969 with 64 starts at mostly third base. The Phillies dealt him to the White Sox in January 1971 and Joseph would spend three more years in the minor and Mexican leagues before retiring. In 270 major league games, Joseph batted .243 with 26 doubles, 13 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Originally drafted by the Giants in 1959, Rick Joseph was selected by the Athletics in the December 1963 minor league draft and saw his first big league action with Kansas City in 1964. After two more years in the minor leagues, Joseph was selected again in the minor league draft, this time by the Phillies. He'd have his best year in baseball in 1967, batting .300 with 24 home runs and 96 RBIs for the Triple-A San Diego Padres, winning the Pacific Coast League MVP award. His minor league tear earned him a September call-up by the Phillies, and Joseph collected his first big league home run in the form of a walk-off, pinch-hit grand slam against the Dodgers on September 16, 1967.
He'd spend all of 1968, 1969 and 1970 as a bench player for the Phillies, his playing time peeking in 1969 with 64 starts at mostly third base. The Phillies dealt him to the White Sox in January 1971 and Joseph would spend three more years in the minor and Mexican leagues before retiring. In 270 major league games, Joseph batted .243 with 26 doubles, 13 home runs and 65 RBIs.
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 23rd of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -12
There's a lot wrong with this card. Joseph played in 17 games for the Athletics in 1964, which means this photo is likely five years old and it's also the same exact photo used for Joseph's 1968 Topps card. The back of the card highlights his career year in 1967. Joseph would finally get to appear in a Phillies uniform on his 1970 Topps card.
Accuracy Index: Joseph's card loses points for the repeat photo (-4), the green and yellow Athletics jersey (-5) and the lack of a hat (-3).
The Phillies selected Joseph in the minor league draft on November 29, 1966 from the Athletics. As mentioned above, his successful campaign with the Padres in 1967 earned him a September call-up, and Joseph would remain on the Phillies' roster through the 1970 season. He played in 66 games for Gene Mauch's (#606) club in 1968, batting .219 and occasionally starting at first base in place of Bill White (#588) or at third base to give Tony Taylor (#108) a day off. Joseph got more playing time in 1969 as his former Padres' manager, Bob Skinner (#369), took over the club and wrote Joseph's name in the line-up more often. Joseph made 64 starts, including 50 starts at third base, at one point compiling a 16-game hitting streak. It was the longest hitting streak for a Phillies player all season. In 99 games overall, he batted .273 with 15 doubles, six home runs and 37 RBIs, by far his best season in the majors.
With Skinner gone in 1970, Joseph's playing time decreased again, and he'd make just 20 starts all season. In 71 games overall, serving mostly as a pinch-hitter, Joseph batted .227. On January 12, 1971, with young outfielder Greg Luzinski waiting in the wings, Joseph was dealt to the White Sox for reliever Darrell Brandon (#301). In 253 games with the Phillies, Joseph batted .245 with 24 doubles, 13 home runs and 64 RBIs, accounting for most of his career numbers.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #434
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1968-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #186
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 9 in the Beckett online database as of 6/9/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #434
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1968-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #186
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 9 in the Beckett online database as of 6/9/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Joseph was called up in late-August 1967 to provide infield depth after Richie Allen injured his wrist (with Tony Taylor taking over 3B for the final 5 weeks). When Allen returned in 1968, it was in left field, with Taylor starting at 3B for most games.
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