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Manuel Julian Javier
St. Louis Cardinals
Second Base
Born: August 9, 1936, San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1960-71; Cincinnati Reds 1972
World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1964, 1967-68; Cincinnati Reds 1972
Julian Javier was a mainstay in the Cardinals infield for over a decade, playing on two World Series winners in 1964 and 1967 and earning spots on two All-Star teams in 1963 and 1968. Javier was regarded as a top prospect within the Pirates' system and was dealt with a player to be named later to the Cardinals on May 27, 1960, for Vinegar Bend Mizell and Dick Gray. Javier was inserted into the starting line-up for the Cardinals as their second baseman the next day, making his big league debut. Known for his speed on the base paths, Javier stole a career-high 26 bases in 1962 while scoring a career-high 97 runs. In 1963, he replaced Bill Mazeroski (#335) on the National League All-Star roster and joined fellow Cardinals' infielders Bill White (#588) at first base, Dick Groat at shortstop and Ken Boyer (#379) at third base in an all-St. Louis infield starting line-up.
Julian Javier was a mainstay in the Cardinals infield for over a decade, playing on two World Series winners in 1964 and 1967 and earning spots on two All-Star teams in 1963 and 1968. Javier was regarded as a top prospect within the Pirates' system and was dealt with a player to be named later to the Cardinals on May 27, 1960, for Vinegar Bend Mizell and Dick Gray. Javier was inserted into the starting line-up for the Cardinals as their second baseman the next day, making his big league debut. Known for his speed on the base paths, Javier stole a career-high 26 bases in 1962 while scoring a career-high 97 runs. In 1963, he replaced Bill Mazeroski (#335) on the National League All-Star roster and joined fellow Cardinals' infielders Bill White (#588) at first base, Dick Groat at shortstop and Ken Boyer (#379) at third base in an all-St. Louis infield starting line-up.
Javier starred in the 1967 World Series, batting .360 (9 for 25) as the Cardinals defeated the Red Sox in seven games. Statistically, his finest season came in 1969 when he batted .282 with a .336 on-base percentage, while slugging 10 home runs and driving in 42 runs. Javier's final season in the majors was in 1972 with the Reds, and he played in his final games during that year's World Series against the Athletics. Javier batted .257 over 1,622 career games, with 722 runs scored and 135 stolen bases. He holds the Cardinals all-time record for games played at second base with 1,547, with Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst (#462) behind him with 1,429 games played. Javier's son, Stan Javier, played for 17 years in the majors with eight different clubs, spending parts of seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #435
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Javier's best season in the majors statistically. In 143 games for the Cardinals as their everyday second baseman, Javier made 136 starts with Dal Maxvill (#320) his most frequent double play partner at shortstop.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #35
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 79 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
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 143rd 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 / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Javier wore #25 during his time with the Cardinals, which is peaking through as he takes a practice swing behind the batting cage. On the back, the cartoon highlights his speed on the base paths while the write-up focuses on his success in the postseason. He'd return to the World Series one more time with the Reds in 1972, but Javier was 0 for 3 with a sacrifice bunt in four plate appearances as a pinch-hitter. There's an uncorrected error in the final sentence on the back, as Javier was an All-Star in 1963, not 1964.
Accuracy Index: Javier's card earns a +5.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Javier's best season in the majors statistically. In 143 games for the Cardinals as their everyday second baseman, Javier made 136 starts with Dal Maxvill (#320) his most frequent double play partner at shortstop.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #35
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 79 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#496 Larry Jaster - Montreal Expos / #498 Juan Pizarro - Boston Red Sox
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