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Charles Oscar Hartenstein
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher
Born: May 26, 1942, Seguin, TX
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, May 28, 1964
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1965-68; Pittsburgh Pirates 1969-70; St. Louis Cardinals 1970; Boston Red Sox 1970; Toronto Blue Jays 1977
Died: October 2, 2021, Austin, TX (age 79)
Chuck Hartenstein's peak baseball years came at the collegiate level when he helped lead the Texas Longhorns to the College World Series in 1962 and 1963. As a minor league pitcher in the Cubs organization, Hartenstein pitched 18 innings in one game as a member of the Dallas-Forth Worth Spurs. A September call-up by the Cubs in 1965, his big league debut came as a pinch-runner on September 11, 1965. He'd pitch in five games for the Cubs in 1966, before joining their bullpen for the entire 1967 and 1968 seasons. Dealt to the Pirates in January 1969, Hartenstein would appear in a career-high 56 games, going 5-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 10 saves in 95 2/3 innings pitched. He'd pitch for three big league teams in 1970, before spending the next six seasons in the minor leagues.
Chuck Hartenstein's peak baseball years came at the collegiate level when he helped lead the Texas Longhorns to the College World Series in 1962 and 1963. As a minor league pitcher in the Cubs organization, Hartenstein pitched 18 innings in one game as a member of the Dallas-Forth Worth Spurs. A September call-up by the Cubs in 1965, his big league debut came as a pinch-runner on September 11, 1965. He'd pitch in five games for the Cubs in 1966, before joining their bullpen for the entire 1967 and 1968 seasons. Dealt to the Pirates in January 1969, Hartenstein would appear in a career-high 56 games, going 5-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 10 saves in 95 2/3 innings pitched. He'd pitch for three big league teams in 1970, before spending the next six seasons in the minor leagues.
Hartenstein joined the expansion Blue Jays during the 1976 offseason, and he'd appear in 13 games with Toronto in 1977 as a 35 year-old veteran, before his pitching career ended. He'd serve on the major league coaching staffs of the Indians (1979) and Brewers (1987-89), and was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. In 187 games, all in relief, Hartenstein was 17-19 with a 4.52 ERA and 24 career saves.
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
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 58th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $1.50.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Hartenstein is wearing a Cubs jersey here in a photo taken at the same time as the photo used for his 1968 Topps rookie card. The back of the card touts his golf game, his Double-A success, his excellent control and his slender build. Hartenstein had a dramatic, legendary baseball card transformation in the six years between his appearances in Topps flagship sets.
Accuracy Index: Hartenstein drops to a -8 for the Cubs jersey (-5) and lack of a hat (-3).
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was a banner year for Hartenstein. The Cubs traded him with infielder Ron Campbell to the Pirates on January 15th for outfielder Manny Jimenez. The primary closer for the Pirates, Hartenstein had one less relief appearance (56) than Bruce Dal Canton (#468), who appeared in 57 games.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #13
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1968-70, 1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #416
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 29 in the Beckett online database as of 5/13/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#595 Lee Maye - Cleveland Indians / #597 American League Rookie Stars
One of his team's key contributors in 1967, but not having a card in the 1967 set.
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