#437 Chico Cardenas - Cincinnati Reds

Leonardo Lazaro Cardenas
Cincinnati Reds
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  160
Born:  December 17, 1938, Matanzas, Cuba
Acquired:  Sent from Tuscon (Arizona-Mexico League) to the Cincinnati Reds in an unknown transaction before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1960-1968; Minnesota Twins 1969-1971; California Angels 1972; Cleveland Indians 1973; Texas Rangers 1974-1975

Nicknamed "Chico" or "Mr. Automatic," Leo Cardenas was a five-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner in 1965 and one of the best fielding shortstops of the 1960s.  No one else played more games at shortstop in the National League than Cardenas between 1964 and 1966, and he was regularly among the league leaders in all defensive categories.  A lifetime .257 hitter, Cardenas played for 16 seasons and tallied 1,941 career games with 1,843 appearances at shortstop.  He accumulated 1,725 hits, 285 doubles, 118 home runs and 689 RBIs.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #69
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held on the bottom floor of the Valley Forge Casino on the final day of February.  This was our first baseball card show of 2020 and the fourth show we've attended in Valley Forge since March 2019.  I did a post over at The Phillies Room with a few pictures of Doug taken with some of the show's autograph guests.  We ended up adding 23 cards to our set.

This Cardenas card was from an initial batch of 17 commons and semi-stars purchased from John's Sports Cards within the first hour of our arrival.  I didn't track each individual price of the cards purchased, but this card was from a half-price binder and the 17-card lot cost me $50 total.  John's table has been located in the back right of the showroom floor for as long as we've been going to these shows, and I know I've bought a bunch of vintage Topps cards from him in the past including cards needed for my 1971 Topps set.  He's one of those dealers who you can't help but remember, probably because he genuinely seems happy and to be enjoying what he's doing.  Doug and I would come back to him later in the show for a few major purchases for our set, and I'll eventually feature all cards added in upcoming posts.

The Card
For all of his Topps cards issued in the 1960s, "Chico" is used as Cardenas' first name.  It switches over to "Leo" beginning with his 1970 Topps card until his last Topps card issued in 1976.  The cartoon on the back celebrates his .333 batting average in the 1961 World Series against the Yankees, but it should be noted he went 1 for 3 in three pinch-hitting appearances.  His lone hit was a double off the Yankees' Luis Arroyo in the ninth inning of Game 3.  Cardenas was stranded at second and the Reds lost, 3-2.

Reds Team Set

1965 Season
Cardenas was the regular shortstop for the Reds, starting 155 of their 162 games and missing only seven starts in early September.  Tommy Helms (#243) filled in for him during those seven games.  Pete Rose (#207) was his primary double play partner, as Rose started all 162 Reds games.  Cardenas hit .287 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs for a Reds team that finished fourth in the National League.  As mentioned above, Cardenas won a Gold Glove for his stellar defense at shortstop.

1960 Topps #119

1962 Topps #381

1970 Topps #245

1973 Topps #522

1976 Topps #587

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #119
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1960-1973, 1975-1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1986 TCMA All-Time Cincinnati Reds  #7

102 - Cardenas non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/13/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

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:  #436 Don Elston - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #438 Harry Walker MG - Pittsburgh Pirates