#61 Chris Cannizzaro - New York Mets

Christopher John Cannizzaro
New York Mets
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  May 3, 1938, Oakland, CA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent, June 21, 1956
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1961; New York Mets 1962-1965; Pittsburgh Pirates 1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1971; Chicago Cubs 1971; Los Angeles Dodgers 1972-1973; San Diego Padres 1974
Died:  December 29, 2016, San Diego, CA (age 78)

An original Met and an original Padre, Chris Cannizzaro built a 13-year career serving as a reliable, journeyman backup catcher.  His longest two stops came with the Mets and Padres and he was the first All-Star Game selection in Padres' franchise history.  In 740 career games, Cannizzaro hit .235 with 18 home runs and 169 RBIs.

Following his playing career, he served as the bullpen coach for the Braves between 1976 and 1978, and then he coached or managed in the Angels system in the early 1980s.  His son, also Chris Cannizzaro, played in the Red Sox minor league system for seven seasons between 1983 and 1989.

Building the Set
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #53

eBay can be a dangerous place during long work days in the winter, and on a long work day in early February I found myself once again browsing through listings from a 1965 Topps set break from Greg Morris Cards.  I again bid on 20 cards, placing my maximum bid on each of the 20 and then vowing not to go back and increase my bid if someone else came in over me.  I stuck to my vow, and came away with another 11 new cards for our set, including this Cannizzaro card.  I didn't track my original minimum bids, but I won this card for $0.91.

The Card
Cannizzaro first appears in the 1961 and 1962 Topps sets, but then he skips a few years before reappearing with this card.  Other than his years in San Diego, 1964 was probably his best year as the back of this card points out.  Cannizzaro appeared in 60 games, hitting .311, which was by far a career high for him.  Jesse Gonder (#423) was the primary catcher for the Mets, starting 82 games to Cannizzaro's 47.  Hawk Taylor (#329) started at catcher for the other 34 games.  Cannizzaro's average would have led the Mets had he accumulated enough plate appearances, but the true team title went to Ron Hunt (#285) who hit .303.

Mets Team Set

1965 Season
In April, Cannizzaro swapped his uniform number - #8 for #6 - giving up #8 to new catcher/coach Yogi Berra (#470) who signed with the club on April 27th.  Cannizzaro was the opening day and then regular catcher for the Mets throughout the 1965 season, and he struggled at the plate.  He entered the season as one of the few original Mets players still on the roster.  He hit .183 with no home runs and only seven RBIs all season, all while leading N.L. catchers in errors with 12.  Despite his struggles at the plate and with the glove, he still displayed a strong arm, leading the N.L. in caught stealing percentage with 52.5% of all attempted base stealers thrown out.  His year-long struggles led the Mets to trade him before the start of the 1966 season, and he was dealt to the Braves for Don Dillard on April 5, 1966.

1961 Topps #118

1962 Topps #26

1970 Topps #329

1972 Topps #759

1975 Topps #355

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #118
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1961-1962, 1965-1966, 1969-1972, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1975 Topps #355

38 - Cannizzaro non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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:  #60 Jim O'Toole - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #62 Jim Kaat - Minnesota Twins