 |
 |
Don Lee Blasingame
Washington Senators
Second Base
Born: March 16, 1932, Corinth, MS
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1955-1959; San Francisco Giants 1960-1961; Cincinnati Reds 1961-1963; Washington Senators 1963-1966; Kansas City Athletics 1966
Died: April 13, 2005, Fountain Hills, AZ (age 73)
Don Blasingame played 17 years of professional baseball, with 12 seasons in the major leagues and 3 more seasons in Japan in the late 1960s. He found the most success early in his career as the every day second baseman for the Cardinals between 1956 and 1959, taking that position over from future Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst (#556). He earned MVP votes in 1957 when he hit .271 with career highs in home runs (8), RBIs (58), runs scored (108) and stolen bases (21). Blasingame was an All-Star in 1958. In 1960, Blasingame married Sara Cooper, the daughter of Walker Cooper, a teammate of Blasingame's with the Cardinals in 1956 and 1957.
After a brief stint with the Giants, Blasingame became the regular second baseman for the Reds, playing in the 1961 World Series against the Yankees, before Pete Rose (#207) took his starting job in 1963. He played two and a half seasons with the Senators and 12 games with the Athletics before heading to Japan. Blasingame played for the Nankai Hawks between 1967 and 1969, and later served as a coach in Japan between 1970 and 1978. He'd go on to manage the Hanshin Tigers (1979-1980) and the Hawks (1981-1982) before returning to the U.S.
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #192
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller njlionsfan from Clinton, New Jersey. This Blasingame card was $1.50.
The Card / Senators Team SetThis is Blasingame's 10th and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and I'm surprised by that. He appeared in 129 games in 1965 and another 80 games in 1966 so his inclusion in either the 1966 or 1967 Topps sets wouldn't have been unwarranted. The cartoon on the back highlights his 11-year-old Texas League batting average from 1954. The write-up below that at least mentions his All-Star Game selection in 1958. Blasingame's .267 average for the 1964 Senators was second only to Chuck Hinton's (#235) .274 average among qualified batters.
1965 Season
In Blasingame's last season as an every day player in the majors, he appeared in 129 games and started 95 games at second for the Senators. Ken Hamlin saw most of the remaining action at second, starting 62 games. Blasingame hit only .223 with 47 runs scored and 18 RBIs.
Phillies Connection
Blasingame worked in the Phillies' minor league system between 1989 and 1998. According to the 1998 Phillies Media Guide, Blasingame had been the team's Field Coordinator for the Phillies minor league system with his title being revised to Coordinator of Instruction in 1998. His son, Kent Blasingame, played for two seasons in the Phillies minor league system in 1994, with Single-A Clearwater, and in 1995, with Double-A Reading.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #309
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1956-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #84
 |
| 1995 Reading Phillies Team Issue #29 |
December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #192
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller njlionsfan from Clinton, New Jersey. This Blasingame card was $1.50.
The Card / Senators Team Set
1965 Season
In Blasingame's last season as an every day player in the majors, he appeared in 129 games and started 95 games at second for the Senators. Ken Hamlin saw most of the remaining action at second, starting 62 games. Blasingame hit only .223 with 47 runs scored and 18 RBIs.
Phillies Connection
Blasingame worked in the Phillies' minor league system between 1989 and 1998. According to the 1998 Phillies Media Guide, Blasingame had been the team's Field Coordinator for the Phillies minor league system with his title being revised to Coordinator of Instruction in 1998. His son, Kent Blasingame, played for two seasons in the Phillies minor league system in 1994, with Single-A Clearwater, and in 1995, with Double-A Reading.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #309
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1956-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #84
Given his long tenure in Japan, Blasingame also appeared on a number of Japanese baseball card issues.
57 - Blasingame non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/3/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #20 Jim Bunning - Philadelphia Phillies
57 - Blasingame non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/3/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #20 Jim Bunning - Philadelphia Phillies
Next Card: #22 Charlie Smith - New York Mets
No comments:
Post a Comment