 |
 |
Rutherford Eduardo Salmon
Cleveland Indians
Outfield
Born: December 3, 1940, Colon, Panama
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1964-1968; Baltimore Orioles 1969-1972
Died: September 17, 2000, Almirante, Panama (age 59)
Chico Salmon was a versatile super-utility player who played for nine seasons for the Indians and Orioles, appearing in the 1969 and 1970 World Series with the Orioles. After bouncing around the Senators, Giants, Tigers and Braves organizations, Salmon began his big league career with the Indians, and he'd go on to play in a career high 126 games in 1966, driving in a career high 40 runs. He was left unprotected by the Indians in the 1968 expansion draft and was selected as the 11th pick by the Pilots. But after spending spring training with the Pilots, Salmon was dealt to the Orioles on March 31, 1969 for Gene Brabender and Gordy Lund.
He arrived in Baltimore just in time for the team to win three A.L. pennants in a row, winning it all in 1970. He went 0 for 2 in the 1969 World Series but had a pinch-hit in his lone at-bat in the 1970 Series, sparking the Game 2 rally that would propel the Orioles to a come from behind victory over the Reds. The Orioles would go on to win the Series in five games. Salmon played in 658 games, hitting .249 with 31 home runs and 149 RBIs.
Building the Set
August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #151
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards. We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show. The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6. I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series. With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set. We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day. This Salmon card was $1.
The Card / Indians Team Set
Salmon appeared on a Rookie Stars card in 1964 with Gordon Seyfried, and this is his first solo Topps card. He won his Pacific Coast League batting title hitting .325 as a third baseman and outfielder for the Denver Bears in the Braves' system. Salmon is the second player born in Colon, Panama we've added to the set. Hector Lopez (#532) was also born in Colon and his card entered our collection in May.
1965 Season
Salmon appeared in 79 games for the Indians, hitting .242. He didn't join the club until May as he was serving a six month stint in the U.S. Army Reserve. His SABR biography details Salmon's time with the Army Reserve as curing his genuine fear of ghosts, but replacing that fear with a intense fear of snakes. Salmon played all over the field in 1965, making 16 starts at first base, a start at second base, 4 starts at third base and 3 starts in left field. Most of his appearances though came as either a pinch-hitter or as a pinch-runner.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #499
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1964-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1972 Topps #646
42 - Salmon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/4/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #104 2nd Series Checklist 89-176
Next Card: #106 Gene Oliver - Milwaukee Braves
No comments:
Post a Comment