#399 Ray Herbert - Philadelphia Phillies

Raymond Ernest Herbert
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  185
Born:  December 15, 1929, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers before the 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1950-1951, 1953-1954; Kansas City Athletics 1955, 1958-1961; Chicago White Sox 1961-1964; Philadelphia Phillies 1965-1966

Ray Herbert was a veteran of 14 big league seasons, finding his greatest success with the Athletics and White Sox in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  It wasn't measured until after his playing days were over, but Herbert had two top ten finishes in WAR in the American League, in 1960 and 1962.  In 1960, Herbert went 14-15 with a 3.28 ERA for the Athletics providing some stability to an eighth place team.  In 1962 with the White Sox, Herbert was named to his only All-Star Game and went 20-9 with a 3.27 ERA, earning a few MVP votes.  He was the winning pitcher in that All-Star Game following three innings of scoreless relief and it was to be the final A.L. win in the Midsummer Classic until 1971.

From the 1965 Phillies Yearbook

He led the league in shutouts in 1963 with seven.  He spent three seasons away from the majors during the prime of his career, one for service in the Korean War in 1952 and two seasons spent in the minor leagues (1956-1957) trying to regain his pitching form.  Herbert wrapped up his career with a pair of seasons with the Phillies.  After retiring, he returned to his original and hometown team, the Tigers, as their batting practice pitcher between 1967 and 1992.

Building the Set
June 8, 2020 from Fontana, CA - Card #104
Having acquired the last few cards in the set already, Al Downing (#598) and the Twins Rookie Stars card (#597), I continued working my way backwards, looking for the Don Landrum (#596) card.  I bid on a total of 10 cards for our set from buyer Your Card Connection, winning the Landrum card along with this Herbert card and two other Phillies cards I've already featured.  My winning bid for this card was $2.65, making it more expensive than the other two Phillies cards added - Gene Mauch (#489) and Jack Baldschun (#555).

The Card
Herbert is wearing a White Sox uniform in his photo.  The cartoon on the back is clever, showing Herbert white washing the number seven to represent his league-leading seven shutouts in 1963.

Phillies Team Set

Phillies Career/1965 Season
The Phillies acquired Herbert from the White Sox on December 1, 1964 with Jeoff Long for Danny Cater (#253) and Lee Elia.  Manager Gene Mauch (#489) was in need of additional starting pitching arms following his near abuse of pitchers Jim Bunning (#20) and Chris Short during the 1964 season.  Herbert served as the team's fourth starter to start the season behind Short, Bunning and Bo Belinsky (#225).  He finished with a 5-8 record over 25 games (19 starts) and a 3.86 ERA.  He was used almost exclusively as a reliever in 1966, appearing in 23 games (2 starts) and going 2-5 with a 4.29 ERA.  The Phillies released him on October 7, 1966, bringing his career to an end.

1954 Topps #190

1959 Topps #154

1962 Topps #8

1963 Topps #560

1966 Topps #121

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #190
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1954-1955, 1958-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RH

62 - Herbert non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/25/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
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.

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