#7 Dale Long

Here's a challenge for someone with time on their hands....make a flowchart depicting lefty first baseman Dale Long's travels through all the baseball organizations he was a part of. Here is his transaction listing from Baseball Reference:

• May 1945: Traded by Middletown (Ohio State) with Kenneth Braden (minors) to the Cincinnati Reds for Dick Oder (minors) and Joseph Turczak (minors).
• June 1947: Released by the Cincinnati Reds.
• June 1947: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 24, 1948: Drafted by the Detroit Tigers from the Boston Red Sox in the 1948 minor league draft.
• December 5, 1949: Drafted by the New York Yankees from the Detroit Tigers in the 1949 minor league draft.
• November 16, 1950: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the New York Yankees in the 1950 rule 5 draft.
• June 1, 1951: Selected off waivers by the St. Louis Browns from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• December 5, 1951: Purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the St. Louis Browns.
• May 1, 1957: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates with Lee Walls to the Chicago Cubs for Gene Baker and Dee Fondy.
• April 5, 1960: Purchased by the San Francisco Giants from the Chicago Cubs.
• August 21, 1960: Purchased by the New York Yankees from the San Francisco Giants.
• December 14, 1960: Drafted by the Washington Senators from the New York Yankees as the 28th pick in the 1960 expansion draft.
• July 11, 1962: Traded by the Washington Senators to the New York Yankees for Don Lock.
• August 2, 1963: Released by the New York Yankees.

Bottom line is that he played ten seasons for six different clubs and for years was known as the guy who homered in eight consecutive games in May 1956. That record has since been matched by Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. but never exceeded.

I recall as a kid how that dinger streak impressed the hell out of me and my friends and we coveted Dale Long cards as if he was a star. 1956, in addition to being the year he made headlines for that run of homers as a Pirate, was his best season in the majors. He had 27 home runs and 91 RBIs while hitting .263 and making the NL All-Star Game.

He sandwiched better batting average seasons around that '56 campaign and hit 20 homers or more a total of three times. He appeared in two World Series with the Yankees, 1960 and 1962 when he won a title. Interestingly he was a mid-season pickup by the Yankees in both of those seasons. 

#37 Mike McCormick

Does he look familiar? He should if you looked at yesterday's posted player. This is indeed Ray Monzant and NOT Mike McCormick. Topps got the photo wrong. As Joe Shlabotnik pointed out in a comment on the Monzant post Baseball Reference's Wiki page says the two looked very much alike. You be the judge:

In both of these that's McCormick on the left.

I can see it. I suppose I can even forgive Topps the fact that Monzant threw right handed while McCormick was a lefty.

Anyway Mike McCormick had a 16 year career that began as a 'bonus baby' signee of the Giants in 1956. That meant that he mostly kept a bullpen chair occupied that season. He got into 24 games in '57 and his career was off and running. He had double digit wins for four straight years but was hampered by arm problems in 1962.

He saw limited action that year and was not involved in the '62 Series against the Yankees. The Orioles traded for him but in two seasons there and two more with the Senators he never could shake his problems. The Giants gambled and won big by trading for him in 1967. He won 23 games and the Cy Young Award.

McCormick pitched through 1971 in the majors without ever duplicating the success he had in 1967. He spent two seasons in the minors at the end of his career but that didn't lead to a big league job.

In 1958 McCormick established himself in the Giants' rotation with 28 starts. He went 11-8 but his other numbers don't reflect an above .500 pitcher. He had a 4.59 ERA and a WHIP that topped 1.40 but two seasons later he was the league's best starter.

Nothing special about the card other than the obvious, the uncorrected error. So to give McCormick his due I'll post my favorite card of his (by far), the 1965 Topps.

#264 Jack Sanford

Jack Sanford was coming off a terrific rookie season when this card was being pulled from packs. As a 27 year old in 1957 he went 19-8 for a Phils club that played exactly .500  baseball. He led the league with 188 K's (and 12 WP, not the last time that would happen). He made the All Star squad and grabbed R-O-Y honors.

He had been a rookie but he was no kid. He'd pitched for seven seasons in the Phils' chain and done a military service hitch. His numbers fell off in 1958 and the Phils traded him to the Giants for Ruben Gomez and Valmy Thomas. He had an solid career in San Francisco and helped them win the 1962 pennant winning 24 games. He pitched three games in the World Series that year going 1-2 but his work exceeded that W/L record. He pitched a shutout in Game Two over the potent Yankees and pitched well in the deciding seventh game as well.

As always SABR has a really well done bio posted for Sanford. A lengthy but worthwhile read.

I like the red/blue combo Topps used. It shows off the Phillies' logo well. My copy is in pretty good shape. I had to re-scan it a few times while making calibration adjustments because the orange-ish tone to the red background  keeps looking 'mottled'. I never did get it to reflect how the card looks in hand.