 |
 |
Manuel de Jesus Sanguillen
Pittsburgh Pirates
Catcher
Born: March 21, 1944, Colon, Panama
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, October 2, 1964
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1967, 1969-76; Oakland Athletics 1977; Pittsburgh Pirates 1978-80
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1971, 1979
If not for Johnny Bench (#95), Manny Sanguillen would be picked by many baseball experts as the best National League catcher in the early 1970s. Sanguillen played in 13 big league seasons, all but one of those with the Pirates, and was a member of six pennant-winning Pirate teams throughout the decade. He played a key part in helping Pittsburgh to a World Series title in 1971, and he'd win his second World Series ring as super utility player in 1979. Sanguillen assumed the Pirates' starting catching duties in 1969, and his best season came in 1971 when he was named to the first of his three All-Star Game appearances. He batted .319 that season with 26 doubles, seven home runs and 81 RBIs, a career best. Sanguillen batted .379 (11 for 29) in the 1971 World Series, won by the Pirates in seven games over the Orioles, and his hit total was second in the series behind only Roberto Clemente (#50) with 12. He was scheduled to join Clemente on the 1972 New Year's Eve flight to Puerto Rico that crashed, claiming Clemente's life, but Sanguillen had misplaced his car keys, missing the flight.
If not for Johnny Bench (#95), Manny Sanguillen would be picked by many baseball experts as the best National League catcher in the early 1970s. Sanguillen played in 13 big league seasons, all but one of those with the Pirates, and was a member of six pennant-winning Pirate teams throughout the decade. He played a key part in helping Pittsburgh to a World Series title in 1971, and he'd win his second World Series ring as super utility player in 1979. Sanguillen assumed the Pirates' starting catching duties in 1969, and his best season came in 1971 when he was named to the first of his three All-Star Game appearances. He batted .319 that season with 26 doubles, seven home runs and 81 RBIs, a career best. Sanguillen batted .379 (11 for 29) in the 1971 World Series, won by the Pirates in seven games over the Orioles, and his hit total was second in the series behind only Roberto Clemente (#50) with 12. He was scheduled to join Clemente on the 1972 New Year's Eve flight to Puerto Rico that crashed, claiming Clemente's life, but Sanguillen had misplaced his car keys, missing the flight.
Sanguillen led the league with 51 runners caught stealing in 1974, and he'd bat a career-high .328 in 1975. On November 5, 1976 he was dealt to the Athletics (with cash) for the services of manager Chuck Tanner. The Pirates would re-acquire Sanguillen in April 1978, and he'd settle into a back-up, utility role over the final three seasons of his big league career. In 1,448 games, Sanguillen batted .296 with 205 doubles, 65 home runs and 585 RBIs. The popular former Pirate could be found at PNC Park at Manny's BBQ in recent years, and the Pirates inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2024.
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 14th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 14th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $3 after the dealer discount.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is a great card and the photo works well with the 1969 Topps design. Sanguillen appeared in 30 games for the Pirates in 1967, leading Topps to give him his rookie card in their 1968 set. The back of the card highlights his .328 average in 1966 with the Carolina League's Raleigh Pirates and his strong throwing arm. Sanguillen finished in the top five among catchers for assists in five different seasons, leading the league with 72 assists in 1971.
Accuracy Index: Sanguillen's card scores a solid +5.
1969 Season
Jerry May (#263) was the Pirates' opening day catcher, but Sanguillen soon replaced him in the line-up, ultimately making 107 starts behind the plate to May's 50. Sanguillen batted .303 with 21 doubles, five home runs and 57 RBIs. His only blemish for the season is that he led all National League catchers with 17 errors. Sanguillen was behind the plate for Bob Moose's (#409) no-hitter against the Mets on September 20th, one of his proudest accomplishments in the majors.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #251
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1968-81
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps Archives Movie Poster Cards #MPC-1
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 131 in the Beckett online database as of 10/10/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#508 Moe Drabowsky - Kansas City Royals / #510 Rod Carew - Minnesota Twins
No comments:
Post a Comment