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Stanley Raymond Bahnsen
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: December 15, 1944, Council Bluffs, IA
Drafted: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1966, 1968-71; Chicago White Sox 1972-75; Oakland Athletics 1975-77; Montreal Expos 1977-1981; California Angels 1982; Philadelphia Phillies 1982
A workhorse early in his career and appropriately nicknamed "Bahnsen Burner," Stan Bahnsen was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1968 before going on to have his most success with the White Sox in the early 1970s. Bahnsen was 17-12 with a 2.05 ERA in 267 1/3 innings pitched in his rookie campaign, earning him nearly unanimous rookie accolades. He'd suffer a sophomore slump in 1969, and he wouldn't fully regain his rookie form until a trade to the White Sox before the 1972 season. Bahnsen won 21 and 18 games respectively for Chicago in 1972 and 1973, making over 40 starts each season. Wear and tear started showing in the mid-1970s, and Bahnsen gradually shifted to a full-time relief role after a few seasons in Oakland and then moving on to the Expos in 1977. He'd pitch in more games for the Expos (204) than any of the other five teams he'd appear with in the majors, bolstering their bullpen for five seasons.
Bahnsen's last action in the majors came in 1982, as he pitched in seven games with the Angels and his final eight big league games with the Phillies as a September call-up. He was 146-149 lifetime, with a 3.60 ERA in 574 games pitched. Bahnsen struck out 1,359, threw 73 complete games, including 16 shutouts, and had 20 career saves.
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| 2015 Chachi Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s #4 |
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)
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. My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table. I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2. I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4.
I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop. This was the 23rd of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 58th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Bahnsen shared Rookie Stars cards in the 1967 and 1968 Topps sets, and this is his first solo baseball card, which is appropriate given his Rookie of the Year accolades. The back of the card highlights his rookie season success, and notes only Mel Stottlemyre (#470) had more wins on the Yankees than Bahnsen, with 21.
Accuracy Index: Bahnsen's card earns a +5.
1969 Season
From Bahnsen's SABR biography, written by John Gabcik:
For the 1969 season, Major League Baseball enacted two major changes in an attempt to adjust what was perceived as a disproportionate advantage to pitchers - the height of the mound was lowered from 15 to ten inches, and the strike zone was officially tightened. Bahnsen, who at times had difficulty controlling his curve, and whose fastball had benefited from the higher mound, was skeptical. "I don’t like the lower mound, but the smaller strike zone doesn’t bother me since I’m not a spot pitcher," he told The Sporting News. Bahnsen knew himself well. He struggled with the lower mound throughout 1969, as his record dropped to 9-16 and his ERA almost doubled. A significant factor, given the times, was that Bahnsen tended to tire in later innings. He completed only five of his 33 starts, a performance that magnified the weakness of the New York bullpen.
Bahnsen began the 1982 season in the Angels' bullpen, pitching relatively well in five of his seven outing with the club. But the team released him on May 14th, and the Phillies picked him up two weeks later on May 31st. Bahnsen spent the summer with the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers, then the Phillies' top farm team, and was 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA in 23 games and 46 innings pitched. Surprisingly, with the team still somewhat in a pennant race, he was called up in September and pitched better than expected. In his final eight games in the majors, Bahnsen had a 1.35 ERA, allowing two earned runs in 8 2/3 innings pitched. Looking at the bWAR of every Phillies' reliever used in 1982, only Ron Reed (2.6) (#177) and Bahnsen (0.6) had scores above zero.
He'd start the 1983 season with the team's new Triple-A team in Portland, struggling mightily with a 11.37 ERA in 25 1/3 innings pitched. At some point, the Phillies cut ties with Bahnsen, ending his career.
Bahnsen is perhaps best remembered by Phillies fans as the pitcher who surrendered Mike Schmidt's 48th home run of the 1980 season, leading the Phillies to the National League East division title. Audio of that blast, featuring Andy Musser's call, can be found here.
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First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #93
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1967-82
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2002 Upper Deck Vintage Special Collection Game Jersey #S-STB
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 82 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room
The Phillies Room
#379 Ken Boyer - Los Angeles Dodgers / #381 Ed Kranepool - New York Mets
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