#9 1968 A.L. Pitching Leaders - McLain / McNally / Tiant / Stottlemyre

Beginning in 1961, Topps started including league leader cards in its sets and there are 12 league leaders cards kicking off the 1969 Topps set.  League leader cards can be found at the beginning of each Topps set issued in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969.

Building the Set / Card #560
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 first of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the first of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $3 after the dealer discount.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Orioles Team Set / Indians Team Set / Yankees Team Set

This is the only League Leaders card in the set featuring four players.  Given the rarity of 20-game winners in today's game, it's still incredibly impressive to turn this card over and see 31 wins next to Denny McLain's (#150) name.  No one else was even close to him.  Dave McNally (#340) won his 22nd game on the penultimate day of the 1968 season, giving him sole possession of the card's middle panel.  

Luis Tiant (#560) and Mel Stottlemyre tied for third place with 21 wins each.  Tiant won his 21st in Indians' Game 160 on September 25th, and Stottlemeyre (#470) reached his 21st win in Yankees' Game 159 on September 24th.  There was enough room on the back of the card to highlight each American League pitcher with at least seven wins in 1968.  The eight tied with six wins, and omitted from the back of the card due to space constraints, were Steve Barber (#233), Gene Brabender (#393), Jim Lonborg (#109), Sparky Lyle (#311), Juan Pizarro (#498), Pete Richert (#86), Diego Segui (#511) and Joe Verbanic (#541).

#8 1968 N.L. ERA Leaders / #10 1968 N.L. Pitching Leaders

#470 Mel Stottlemyre - New York Yankees

Melvin Leon Stottlemyre
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  178
Born:  November 13, 1941, Hazleton, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1964-74

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1964
Died:  January 13, 2019, Seattle, WA (age 77)

As a 22-year-old rookie in 1964, Mel Stottlemyre went 9-3 with a 2.06 ERA over the final few months of the season, helping the Yankees win their fifth consecutive pennant.  In his only World Series action as a player, Stottlemyre started Games 2, 5 and 7 of the 1964 World Series, throwing a complete game victory in Game 2, but losing the decisive Game 7 to the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#200).  He was a 20-game winner in 1965, 1968 and 1969, leading the league in complete games with 18 in 1965 and 24 in 1969.  Stottlemyre was a five-time All-Star, starting the 1969 game against the Cardinals' Steve Carlton (#255).  He retired as a player following the 1974 season having pitched in 360 games, and compiling a 164-139 record with a 2.97 ERA, 152 complete games and 40 shutouts.  He struck out 1,257 batters over 2,661 1/3 innings pitched.

Stottlemyre would next begin a long career as a minor and major league pitching coach, coaching at the big league level with the Mets (1984-93), Astros (1994-95), Yankees (1996-05) and Mariners (2008).  He won a World Series ring with the Mets (1986) and four with the Yankees (1996, 1998-00) while serving under manager Joe Torre (#460).  His sons Mel, Jr. and Todd also pitched in the majors.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #414
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 122nd of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little less than $2.

The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

There have been fewer repeat photos the further along we get into the set, and this card is no exception to that trend.  Stottlemyre is shown posing in his home Yankee Stadium with a mystery teammate (or coach?) photo bombing the photo underneath the pitcher's glove.  The cartoon refers back to his appearance in the 1968 All-Star Game, in which he pitched a third of an inning, striking out the only batter he faced.  What's more impressive is the one batter he struck out was Henry Aaron (#100), leading off the eighth.  The write-up on the back discusses his hitting skills.  Stottlemyre batted .160 for his career, with 14 doubles, six triples, seven home runs and 57 RBIs.

This is one of 23 cards available in the set's fifth series available as either "yellow letter" or "white letter" variations, with the yellow letter variations being more prevalent.  This is the more prevalent yellow letter variation with Stottlemyre's last name printed in yellow.

Accuracy Index:  Stottlemyre's card scores a +5.

Inserts:  Stottlemyre is included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set and is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.  He's one of 27 players to appear in both insert sets.

1969 Season
In one of his best seasons, Stottlemyre was 20-14 with a 2.82 ERA in 39 starts.  He finished 24 of those starts, leading the league, and threw three shutouts.  He was the losing pitcher in the All-Star Game, giving up three runs (two earned) in his two innings of work, with Johnny Bench (#95) hitting a two-run home run off him in the second inning.  Stottlemyre was the ace of the Yankees' staff and a bright spot in a season in which his team finished in fifth place in the American League East with only 80 wins.

1965 Topps #133

1966 Topps #350

1968 Topps #120

1972 Topps #325

1975 Topps #183

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-MS
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  159 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#469 Chico Ruiz - Cincinnati Reds / #471 Ted Savage - Los Angeles Dodgers