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John Dominic Boccabella
Montreal Expos
Catcher-First Base
Born: June 29, 1941, San Francisco, CA
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1963-68; Montreal Expos 1969-73; San Francisco Giants 1974
Signed as a first baseman, John Boccabella had trouble earning regular playing time in the Cubs line-up until manager Leo Durocher (#147) decided to convert him to a catcher. Boccabella caught his first games with the Cubs in 1966, and his added versatility saw him appear in 75 games that season with the Cubs as regular catcher Randy Hundley's (#347) back-up. His best years came later with the Expos, who had selected him as the 56th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. Boccabella was third in the catching depth chart behind Ron Brand (#549) and John Bateman (#138) his first year in Montreal, but he was the club's opening day catcher in 1970 and 1973. His best season came in 1973 when he batted .233 in a career-high 118 games, while also reaching career highs in home runs (seven) and RBIs (46).
The arrival of catching prospect Barry Foote in Montreal left Boccabella without a position, and he was dealt to his hometown Giants before the 1974 season. Boccabella was used sparingly in that final season, appearing in just 29 games. He batted .219 over his 12-year career, with 26 home runs and 148 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 118th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little over a dollar.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
This is the second appearance of the Expos' new uniform in the set, following Ty Cline (#442). The back of the card highlights his defensive versatility and his rookie of the year win in 1963 as a member of the Pocatello Chiefs in the Pioneer League.
Accuracy Index: Boccabella's card earns a +10 on the strength of an expansion uniform appearance.
1969 Season
Boccabella didn't see much playing time with Gene Mauch's (#606) club, appearing in 40 games and batting .105 with a pair of doubles and a home run. He made 19 starts behind the plate, with Brand starting 79 games and Bateman getting 64 starts.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #192
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1964, 1966-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #291
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Boccabella didn't see much playing time with Gene Mauch's (#606) club, appearing in 40 games and batting .105 with a pair of doubles and a home run. He made 19 starts behind the plate, with Brand starting 79 games and Bateman getting 64 starts.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #192
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1964, 1966-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #291
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#465 Tommy John - Chicago White Sox / #467 Tom Reynolds - Oakland Athletics
Bocca Bella mean "beautiful mouth" in Italian. The PA announcer at Wrigley used to have a lot of fun announcing his name.
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