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Minervino Alejandro Rojas
California Angels
Pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 170
Born: November 26, 1933, Remedios, Cuba
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: California Angels 1966-68
Born: November 26, 1933, Remedios, Cuba
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: California Angels 1966-68
Died: March 23, 2002, Los Angeles, CA (age 68)
Minnie Rojas pitched professionally in 10 different seasons, spending two years pitching in Mexico and parts of three years with the Angels. Rojas came up with the Angels in 1966 as a 32-year-old rookie, and was one of the more effective relievers in the league. In 47 games that season, he was 7-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 10 saves. His career year came in 1967 when Rojas was 12-9 with a 2.52 ERA in 72 games with a league-leading 27 saves. Rojas won The Sporting News Fireman of the Year honors in the American League following the season, and finished 24th in the league's MVP voting.
His success was short-lived, as arm injuries limited his output in 1968 to 38 appearances and six saves. Rojas would attempt a comeback with the Angels in 1969, pitching with their top farm team in Hawaii, but the injuries were too much to overcome and he'd retire from baseball. In 157 big league games, Rojas was 23-16 with a 3.00 ERA in 261 innings pitched and 43 career saves. Rojas and his family were involved in a tragic and deadly auto accident in 1970, leaving the former pitcher partially paralyzed.
Minnie Rojas pitched professionally in 10 different seasons, spending two years pitching in Mexico and parts of three years with the Angels. Rojas came up with the Angels in 1966 as a 32-year-old rookie, and was one of the more effective relievers in the league. In 47 games that season, he was 7-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 10 saves. His career year came in 1967 when Rojas was 12-9 with a 2.52 ERA in 72 games with a league-leading 27 saves. Rojas won The Sporting News Fireman of the Year honors in the American League following the season, and finished 24th in the league's MVP voting.
His success was short-lived, as arm injuries limited his output in 1968 to 38 appearances and six saves. Rojas would attempt a comeback with the Angels in 1969, pitching with their top farm team in Hawaii, but the injuries were too much to overcome and he'd retire from baseball. In 157 big league games, Rojas was 23-16 with a 3.00 ERA in 261 innings pitched and 43 career saves. Rojas and his family were involved in a tragic and deadly auto accident in 1970, leaving the former pitcher partially paralyzed.
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Here we go again! On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the first of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was less than a dollar.
Between 2021 and 2024, spread over four different baseball card shows, I purchased 467 of the 664 cards needed for our 1969 Topps set from Uncle Dick's, or a little over 70% of the set.
The Card / Angels Team Set / Accuracy Index +3
This is the final of three Topps flagship set appearances for Rojas, and all three cards are somewhat similar. The write-up on the back alludes to the arm trouble that would derail Rojas' career. The cartoon highlights his big league debut on May 30, 1966, in which Rojas got the start and pitched 5 1/3 innings against the Indians. He'd allow a solo home run to Fred Whitfield (#518), with Dean Chance (#620) entering in relief for the Angels and converting a 3 2/3 inning save.
Accuracy Index: Rojas' card drops to a +3, as the uniform is accurate (+5), but he didn't pitch with the Angels in 1969 (-2).
1969 Season
Rojas appeared in 15 games with Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican league, and 12 games with the Hawaii Islanders, the Angels top farm team. He was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 12 games and 18 innings pitched for the Islanders. As mentioned above, his arm troubles were too difficult to overcome and Rojas would retire from baseball without returning to the Angels.
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First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1967-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #502
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 11 in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#501 Tony Gonzalez - San Diego Padres / #503 Larry Brown - Cleveland Indians
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