#419 Ruben Amaro - Philadelphia Phillies

Ruben Amaro
Philadelphia Phillies
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 6, 1936, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1958; Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1965; New York Yankees 1966-1968; California Angels 1969
Died:  March 31, 2017, Weston, FL (age 81)

A 1964 Gold Glove winner for his fine defense at shortstop, Ruben Amaro played 11 seasons in the Majors, hitting just .234 but fielding well across the entire infield.  His Gold Glove season was also one of his top seasons at the plate as he hit career highs in batting average (.264) and RBIs (34) over 129 games, placing 21st in the N.L.'s MVP voting.  Over a career totaling 940 games, Amaro hit .234 with the Cardinals, Phillies, Yankees and Angels.

His father, Santos Amaro, was a star in the Cuban and Mexican baseball leagues for almost three decades spanning the late 1920s through the mid-1950s.  His son, Ruben Jr., played in eight big league seasons and was the general manager for the Phillies between 2009 and 2015.

Following his playing career, the elder Amaro served as a scout, coach or manager within the Phillies, Cubs, Tigers, White Sox and Astros organizations between 1972 and 2016.  He was the Phillies first base coach in 1980 and 1981, earning a World Series ring with the team in 1980.  Amaro was elected into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.

Building the Set
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #58

From the 1980 Phillies Yearbook

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 Amaro card.  I didn't track my original minimum bids, but I won this card for $3.25.  This was my "big ticket" card from the 11-card haul as $3.25 was the highest price paid for any one card.

The Card
This is Amaro's sixth and final Topps flagship card featuring him with the Phillies, and in my opinion it's his best.  It's his only Topps card to show him at least mimicking throwing a baseball, and since he's known best for his fielding I feel this in a more appropriate pose than having him stand with a bat.  Amaro's 1964 season saw him all over the infield with 79 games a shortstop, 58 games at first base, 3 games at second base and 3 games at third base.  He even played an inning in left field during the second game of a double header against the Cardinals on June 28th.

Phillies Team Set

Phillies Career/1965 Season
I had always assumed Amaro was a lifetime Phillie, not realizing he had been originally drafted by the Cardinals.  The Phillies acquired Amaro from St. Louis on December 3, 1958 for Chuck Essegian.  He spent the entire 1959 season playing for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and he made his Phillies debut on June 14, 1960.  He'd spend the next decade in the majors, not returning to the Phillies' minor league system until 1970 when he was trying to make it back to the big leagues following his release from the Angels in October 1969.

With the Phillies, Amaro split time at shortstop with Bobby Wine (#36) between 1960 and 1965 and had more games at short than Wine in 1960 and 1961.  In 1965, Amaro appeared in 118 games, starting 42 games at shortstop (to Wine's 119) and six games at second base.  He was traded to the Yankees on November 29th for Phil Linz (#369).

Amaro appeared in 668 games for the Phillies over six seasons and hit .234 with 135 RBIs.  After retiring as a player, Amaro had three different stints serving as a Phillies scout, coach and minor league manager between 1972 and 1982, 1999 and 2006, and finally between 2008 and 2009.  I've included his section from the 1980 Phillies Yearbook above, and I'm very curious as to what he had against Steve Martin.  When he passed away in 2017, I paid tribute to him with a post over at The Phillies Room.

1959 Topps #178

1961 Topps #103

1964 Topps #432

1967 Topps #358

1969 Topps #598

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #178
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1959, 1961-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature #74

70 - Amaro non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/24/20.

Sources:  
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:  #418 Johnny Edwards - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #420 Larry Jackson - Chicago Cubs