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James Ivan Roland
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher
Born: December 14, 1942, Franklin, NC
Signed: Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Minnesota Twins 1962-64, 66-68; Oakland Athletics 1969-72; New York Yankees 1972; Texas Rangers 1972
Died: March 6, 2010, Shelby, NC (age 67)
For parts of ten seasons, Jim Roland served as a lefty long-man out of the bullpen, enjoying his best years with the Athletics in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Originally a starting pitcher, Roland pitched perhaps the best game of his career on May 19, 1964, earning the win in a 12-inning effort against the Yankees. His best season came in 1969 in Oakland, when he set career highs in wins (five), ERA (2.19), appearances (39), innings pitched (86 1/3) and strikeouts (48). Nagging injuries hampered him towards the end of his career and after spending the 1972 season with the Athletics, Yankees and Rangers, he retired at the age of 29. Roland went 19-17 over 216 games during his career, pitching to a 3.22 ERA with nine saves and 272 strikeouts.
For parts of ten seasons, Jim Roland served as a lefty long-man out of the bullpen, enjoying his best years with the Athletics in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Originally a starting pitcher, Roland pitched perhaps the best game of his career on May 19, 1964, earning the win in a 12-inning effort against the Yankees. His best season came in 1969 in Oakland, when he set career highs in wins (five), ERA (2.19), appearances (39), innings pitched (86 1/3) and strikeouts (48). Nagging injuries hampered him towards the end of his career and after spending the 1972 season with the Athletics, Yankees and Rangers, he retired at the age of 29. Roland went 19-17 over 216 games during his career, pitching to a 3.22 ERA with nine saves and 272 strikeouts.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #319
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 / Twins Team Set / Accuracy Index -7
1969 Season
On February 24th, the Twins sold Roland to Oakland and as mentioned above, this was Roland's career year. He was the top lefty out of the Athletics' bullpen, going 5-1 over 39 appearances. Roland with Rollie Fingers (#597) provided a key lefty-righty option for manager Hank Bauer (#124), with the Athletics still a few years away from their early to mid-1970s dynasty.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #522
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1963-65, 68-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1972 Topps #464
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 31 in the Beckett online database as of 7/1/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / 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 27th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little less than $1.
The Card / Twins Team Set / Accuracy Index -7
Roland was already a member of the Athletics' bullpen when collectors found this card in the spring and summer of 1969. Collectors had also already seen a similar pose from Roland on his 1968 Topps card. The cartoon on the back references the $50,000 signing bonus Roland received from the Twins when he graduated high school in 1961.
Accuracy Index: Roland's card receives a -7, as he didn't play for the Twins in 1969 (-2) and he's shown wearing his former team's uniform (-5).
1969 Season
On February 24th, the Twins sold Roland to Oakland and as mentioned above, this was Roland's career year. He was the top lefty out of the Athletics' bullpen, going 5-1 over 39 appearances. Roland with Rollie Fingers (#597) provided a key lefty-righty option for manager Hank Bauer (#124), with the Athletics still a few years away from their early to mid-1970s dynasty.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #522
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1963-65, 68-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1972 Topps #464
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 31 in the Beckett online database as of 7/1/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#335 Bill Mazeroski - Pittsburgh Pirates / #337 Marty Martinez - Houston Astros
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