Saturday, March 14, 2020

#226 Yankees Rookie Stars - Elvio Jimenez / Jake Gibbs


Felix Elvio Jimenez
New York Yankees
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 6, 1940, San Pedro de Macoris, DR
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1964

Jerry Dean Gibbs
New York Yankees
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  November 7, 1938, Grenada, MS
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1962-1971

Elvio Jimenez played in one game in the Majors - a 13-inning game against the Indians on the last day of the 1964 regular season.  He started in left field, going 2 for 6 and collecting two singles off Luis Tiant (#145) and Tommy John (#208).  Jimenez played in a total of 17 professional seasons in the Yankees, Pirates, Senators and Reds systems, as well as parts of four seasons in the Mexican League in the early 1970s.

Jake Gibbs was the catcher who bridged the gap between Elston Howard (#450) and Thurman Munson for the Yankees.  In 10 seasons in the Bronx, Gibbs hit .233 over 538 games with 25 home runs and 146 RBIs.  He was the Yankees regular starting catcher in 1967 and 1968.  Following his playing days, Gibbs returned to his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, and coached their baseball team to the 1972 SEC championship.  He returned to the Yankees organization in 1993 as their bullpen catcher, and he managed the Tampa Yankees in 1994 and 1995.

Building the Set
December 26, 2019 from Cincinnati, OH - Card #36
My Mom did a little surrogate Christmas shopping for my Aunt Louise and Uncle Terry, both lifelong Yankees fans.  They were kind enough to give Doug four more cards for our set the day after Christmas - all related to the Yankees, and the first Yankees cards we've added.

Mom's baseball card dealer of choice is Dean's Cards, located in Cincinnati.  She came across Dean's through eBay purchases over the years.  Their website is easy to use and their sales people have always been helpful and friendly to her.  This card, along with the other five cards added on December 26th, were all purchased from Dean's Cards.

Heading into 2020, our small collection of 1965 Topps cards stood at 36 - enough to fill four full 9-pocket binder pages.

The Card
This is the rookie card for Jimenez, but Gibbs had appeared on cards already in the 1962 and 1964 Topps sets.  Jimenez's brother Manny is referenced on the back of the card, and Manny had more success in the majors than his younger brother, playing for seven years with the Athletics, Pirates and Cubs.  (Manny appears in Topps sets between 1962 and 1968, skipping 1965.)

Gibbs' bonus with the Yankees was $100,000, and he opted for a baseball career even though he had also been drafted by the Houston Oilers and the Cleveland Browns.  The Yankees presumably switched Gibbs' position to catcher in 1962 due to the anticipated retirement of long-time catcher Yogi Berra (#470) in a few years.

Yankees Team Set

1965 Season - Jimenez
Jimenez spent the entire season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, hitting .297 with five home runs and 54 RBIs.
1965 Season - Gibbs
Gibbs played in 37 games for the Yankees, making 15 starts behind the plate.  Howard and Doc Edwards (#239) were ahead of Gibbs on the catching depth chart.  Gibbs hit .221 with a pair of home runs and 7 RBIs.  He also appeared in 49 games for the Mud Hens, hitting .266.
1969 Topps #567
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Jimenez
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #226
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1965, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #567 (with Jim Shellenback)

7 - Jimenez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Gibbs
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #281
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1962, 1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature Series #37

43 - Gibbs non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
1962 Topps #281
1964 Topps #281
1966 Topps #117
1969 Topps #401
1971 Topps #382

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #225 Bo Belinsky - Philadelphia Phillies

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