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Eugene Mathew Brabender
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher
Born: August 16, 1941, Madison, WI
Signed: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1966-68; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970
Died: December 27, 1996, Madison, WI (age 55)
Given the nickname "Lurch" by teammate Jim Bouton during his one year pitching for the Seattle Pilots, Gene Brabender spent five seasons in the majors. Brabender missed two full seasons while in military service in 1964 and 1965, then earned a spot in the Orioles' bullpen as the club was on its way to winning the American League pennant. He was 4-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 31 appearances during that season, but did not appear in the four-game sweep over the Dodgers in the World Series. He spent two more seasons with the Orioles before a trade sent him to Seattle right before the start of the 1969 season. Brabender had his career year with the Pilots, going 13-14 with a 4.36 ERA in 40 games overall and 29 starts. He led the club in games started, complete games (seven), innings pitched (202 1/3) and strikeouts (139). His success waned and injuries mounted with the team's move to Milwaukee, as Brabender was 6-15 with a 6.02 ERA in 29 games for the 1970 Brewers.
He was dealt to the Angels at the start of 1971, but injuries caught up with him and Brabender was out of baseball by 1972. For his career, he was 35-43 in 151 games, with a 4.25 ERA and 440 strikeouts over 620 2/3 innings pitched.
Given the nickname "Lurch" by teammate Jim Bouton during his one year pitching for the Seattle Pilots, Gene Brabender spent five seasons in the majors. Brabender missed two full seasons while in military service in 1964 and 1965, then earned a spot in the Orioles' bullpen as the club was on its way to winning the American League pennant. He was 4-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 31 appearances during that season, but did not appear in the four-game sweep over the Dodgers in the World Series. He spent two more seasons with the Orioles before a trade sent him to Seattle right before the start of the 1969 season. Brabender had his career year with the Pilots, going 13-14 with a 4.36 ERA in 40 games overall and 29 starts. He led the club in games started, complete games (seven), innings pitched (202 1/3) and strikeouts (139). His success waned and injuries mounted with the team's move to Milwaukee, as Brabender was 6-15 with a 6.02 ERA in 29 games for the 1970 Brewers.
He was dealt to the Angels at the start of 1971, but injuries caught up with him and Brabender was out of baseball by 1972. For his career, he was 35-43 in 151 games, with a 4.25 ERA and 440 strikeouts over 620 2/3 innings pitched.
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 69th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.
The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index -7
Brabender wore #32 throughout his big league career, and the number can be seen on the front of his jersey here as he poses in Yankee Stadium. The back of the card gives Brabender's origin story, including how he came from the Dodgers' organization when a scout spotting him pitching for his Army team.
Accuracy Index: Brabender's card loses points since he's wearing his former team's uniform (-5) and he didn't play for the Orioles in 1969 (-2).
1969 Season
On March 31st, Brabender and Gordy Lund were traded to the Pilots for infielder Chico Salmon (#62). He began the season in the Pilots' bullpen but soon got the chance to start in late April and he'd remain in the starting pitching rotation for the rest of the season. Bouton's book is full of anecdotes centering around Brabender, who was appointed judge of the team's kangaroo court for the season. After he was dealt to the Astros, Bouton discovered it was Brabender who had pulled several practical jokes on him, including nailing his shoes to the clubhouse floor.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #579
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1966-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots #43
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 28 in the Beckett online database as of 9/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#392 Bob Burda - San Francisco Giants / #394 Pilots Rookie Stars