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Gus Triandos
Philadelphia Phillies
Catcher
Born: July 30, 1930, San Francisco, CA
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1953-1954; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1962; Detroit Tigers 1963; Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1965; Houston Astros 1965
Died: March 28, 2013, San Jose, CA (age 82)
A slugging catcher who enjoyed his best seasons in the late 1950s, Gus Triandos was a three-time All-Star who hit 167 career home runs over his 13-year career. Triandos enjoyed his best years with the Orioles between 1955 and 1962, hitting at least 17 home runs in five seasons. His best season statistically came in 1958 when he hit a career high 30 home runs and drove in 79 runs. That was also the season he was named the starting catcher for the A.L. All-Stars, ending the eight-year reign of the Yankees' Yogi Berra (#470). It was the Yankees who had originally traded Triandos away to the Orioles in November 1954 as part of a blockbuster 17-player trade.
Triandos was also known for his defense behind the plate, leading the A.L. in the caught stealing category in both 1957 and 1959, and finishing in the top ten for fielding percentage as a catcher in three different seasons. After a year with the Tigers in 1963, he was traded to the Phillies where he shared catching duties with Clay Dalrymple (#372). After a 24-game stint with the Astros in 1965, Triandos retired and served as a part-time scout for the Dodgers in the mid-1970s. He was elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1981, the fifth member enshrined following Brooks Robinson (#150), Frank Robinson (#120), Dave McNally (#249) and Boog Powell (#560).
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #56
The Card
This is Triandos' 11th and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, as he appeared in each set between 1955 and 1965. He's listed as a Phillie on his 1964 Topps card, but he's pictured wearing a Tigers uniform. His 1965 Topps card is his sole mainstream baseball card to actually picture him in a Phillies uniform. The back of the card has a note that Triandos played first base and third base in the minor leagues. In the majors, Triandos caught 992 games, appeared at first base in 168 games and played exactly one inning at third base in one game in 1955.
Phillies Team Set
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| Bunning's perfect game - Triandos is behind the plate wearing #9 |
On December 5, 1963, Triandos was traded to the Phillies from the Tigers along with Jim Bunning (#20) for Don Demeter (#429) and Jack Hamilton (#288). It turned out to be a fairly lopsided trade in favor of the Phillies as Bunning would go on to add to his Hall of Fame career numbers. Triandos was behind the plate on Father's Day 1964 when Bunning threw his perfect game, collecting a pair of hits, driving in two runs and scoring a run. Wearing #9, Triandos quickly got out of the way following the final strikeout of Bunning's masterpiece as his teammates mobbed the mound.
He shared catching duties in 1964 with Dalrymple, with Dalrymple starting 110 games to Triandos' 52. Following the historic Phillies collapse of 1964, Triandos was back as Dalrymple's back-up to start the 1965 season. When the Phillies decided they wanted to get a better look at young catching prospect Pat Corrales (#107), Triandos was sold to the Astros on August 20th. In 103 games with the Phillies, Triandos hit .226 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.
With the Astros, Triandos played the final 20 games of his career, hitting .181 (13 for 72) with a pair of home runs and 7 RBIs. His final home run came on August 4th against the Cardinals' Curt Simmons (#373).
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #64
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1955-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1986 TCMA All-Time Baltimore Orioles #6
75 - Triandos non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/17/20.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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: #247 Wally Moon - Los Angeles Dodgers
Next Card: #249 Dave McNally - Baltimore Orioles
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