#348 Chico Fernandez

Cuban-born Humberto 'Chico' Fernandez spent six seasons in the Brooklyn Dodgers' system beginning in 1951. Moving up the ladder he had hopes of replacing Pee Wee Reese as shortstop but in his 34 games with the big club in 1956 he didn't hit much. The Dodgers traded him to the Phils and he became their starter at that spot for two seasons. In 1957 he had a career best .262 average.

His numbers tumbled in 1958 as his average dropped by 30+ points. In limited duty in 1959 he continued to lose traction. A trade to the Tigers revived his career if not his average but he did handle the shortstop job regular in Detroit for three seasons. He hit 20 homers in 1962 having never hit more than six at any level prior (and never again approached double digits).

His BR Wiki page has the following tidbit: on May 8, 1963, he had the distinction of being traded twice in the same day. He was dealt by Detroit to the Milwaukee Braves, who then swapped him to the New York Mets.

Fernandez finished up his big league career with a stint with the Mets in 1963 but continued to play professionally in Mexico, Japan and back here stateside in the high minors through 1968. He worked for 20 years after baseball as an insurance agent for Met Life. He passed away in Florida last summer at the age of  84.

His is not the only Phillies player on a yellow card but it is the only one on which the yellow logo sits on the yellow background. That bugs me for some reason.

#199 Don Blasingame

Known as 'Blazer' Don Blasingame was a hard-nosed, hustling infielder over two decades in the majors and Japan. He began his career with St. Louis and played for the Giants, Reds, Senators and Athletics. He caught a nice break in April of '61 when the Giants dealt him to the Reds and he went on to play in the World Series that year. It was his only postseason appearance. 

After 12 seasons stateside he went to Japan where he extended his career by playing three years then coaching and managing. He became the third American to pilot a Japanese team. His dugout career in Japan lasted through 1982.

In 1958 Blasingame saw his numbers slip a bit from the previous season but he made the NL All Star squad. It was his only All Star experience and he flew out to center pinch-hitting for Warren Spahn in the game. 

WikiFacts:  "For all those years Blasingame and his wife and children spent half the year in Japan and half in the United States. After it was all over, Blazer said living in Japan was a good experience. “We lived in an international community. The kids made friends from all over the world that they still hear from.”15 The Blasingame youngsters learned to speak fluent Japanese." -From his SABR bio