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Jack Edward Baldschun
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher
Born: October 16, 1936, Greenville, OH
Signed: Signed as an amateur free agent by the Cincinnati Reds before the 1956 season
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1961-1965; Cincinnati Reds 1966-1967; San Diego Padres 1969-1970
Jack Baldschun began his nine-year career by pitching for five seasons with the Phillies between 1961 and 1965. Used strictly as a relief pitcher, Baldschun led the team in saves in 1962 (13), 1963 (16) and 1964 (21). He's widely acknowledged as one of the National League's premier relief pitchers of the early 1960s. He shared closer duties with Gary Wagner in 1965 before the Phillies traded him to the Orioles that December. A few days later, Baldschun was part of the blockbuster deal between the Orioles and Reds that sent Frank Robinson (#120) to Baltimore. Picked up by the Padres after two seasons with the Reds, Baldschun was second only to Frank Reberger with relief appearances for the expansion club with 61 to Reberger's 67. He appeared in 12 games for the 1970 Padres before being released in early April.
Baldschun had a career record of 48-41 with 60 saves and a 3.69 ERA.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my The Phillies Room blog.
Building the Set
June 8, 2020 from Fontana, CA - Card #103
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 Baldschun card and two other Phillies cards I'll feature in upcoming posts. My winning bid for this card was $1.99.
The Card
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| 1950-1969 Phillies Postcards |
Baldschun, at card #34, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Phillies in the set.
Phillies Team Set
Phillies Career/1965 Season
The Reds left Baldschun unprotected in the annual rule 5 draft and the Phillies selected him on November 28, 1960. Not only did he stay on the team's roster for the entire 1961 season, but he ran away with the team lead in pitching appearances with 65. His 3.88 ERA that year was a bright spot for a team that lost 107 games. Baldschun then settled into the closer's role for the Phillies in 1962, becoming one of manager Gene Mauch's (#489) favorite go-to pitchers. In his SABR biography, Mauch is quoted as saying, "He has a rubber arm, he makes the batters hit the ball on the ground, [and] he has the ideal temperament and confidence." He continued his closing duties with the Phillies over the next three seasons, including 1964 when the Phillies came within a game of winning the pennant.
In 1965, Mauch's confidence in Baldschun began to wane and Wagner topped him in the saves category with seven to Baldschun's six. The highlight of Baldschun's season came on June 7, 1965, when he made his 292nd career relief appearance for the Phillies, breaking the record previously held by Jim Konstanty. His record has since been surpassed by Ryan Madson, Tug McGraw (#533), Ron Reed, Rheal Cormier and Turk Farrell (#80), but his 333 career games with the Phillies still ranks 10th on their all-time list.
On December 6, 1965, Baldschun was traded to the Orioles for Jackie Brandt (#33) and Darold Knowles (#577). At that point he was the Phillies all-time saves leader, and his 59 saves with the club currently ranks ninth on their all-time list, tied with Billy Wagner.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1962-1967, 1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JB
34 - Baldschun 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
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.
Previous Card: #554 Chico Ruiz - Cincinnati Reds
Phillies Team Set
Phillies Career/1965 Season
The Reds left Baldschun unprotected in the annual rule 5 draft and the Phillies selected him on November 28, 1960. Not only did he stay on the team's roster for the entire 1961 season, but he ran away with the team lead in pitching appearances with 65. His 3.88 ERA that year was a bright spot for a team that lost 107 games. Baldschun then settled into the closer's role for the Phillies in 1962, becoming one of manager Gene Mauch's (#489) favorite go-to pitchers. In his SABR biography, Mauch is quoted as saying, "He has a rubber arm, he makes the batters hit the ball on the ground, [and] he has the ideal temperament and confidence." He continued his closing duties with the Phillies over the next three seasons, including 1964 when the Phillies came within a game of winning the pennant.
In 1965, Mauch's confidence in Baldschun began to wane and Wagner topped him in the saves category with seven to Baldschun's six. The highlight of Baldschun's season came on June 7, 1965, when he made his 292nd career relief appearance for the Phillies, breaking the record previously held by Jim Konstanty. His record has since been surpassed by Ryan Madson, Tug McGraw (#533), Ron Reed, Rheal Cormier and Turk Farrell (#80), but his 333 career games with the Phillies still ranks 10th on their all-time list.
On December 6, 1965, Baldschun was traded to the Orioles for Jackie Brandt (#33) and Darold Knowles (#577). At that point he was the Phillies all-time saves leader, and his 59 saves with the club currently ranks ninth on their all-time list, tied with Billy Wagner.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1962-1967, 1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JB
34 - Baldschun 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
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.
Previous Card: #554 Chico Ruiz - Cincinnati Reds
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