Saturday, February 20, 2021

#175 Bob Aspromonte - Houston Astros


Robert Thomas Aspromonte
Houston Astros
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  170
Born:  June 19, 1938, Brooklyn, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1956
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1956; Los Angeles Dodgers 1960-1961; Houston Colt .45s 1962-1964; Houston Astros 1965-1968; Atlanta Braves 1969-1970; New York Mets 1971

A strong defensive third baseman, Bob Aspromonte's claims to fame include being the first ever third baseman for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and for being the last Brooklyn Dodgers player to be active in the major leagues.  Aspromonte appeared in one game for the 1956 Dodgers as a September call-up and then wouldn't return to the majors until making the club's opening day roster in 1960.  Left unprotected in the 1961 expansion draft, Aspromonte was the third pick by the Colt .45s and he'd serve as the regular third baseman for the team until 1968.  He enjoyed his best season in 1964, batting .280 with career highs in both home runs (12) and RBIs (69).

Traded to the Braves before the 1969 season, Aspromonte saw his lone postseason play that year, going 0 for 3 against the Mets in the NLCS.  He retired with 1,103 hits, 60 home runs, 457 RBIs and a .252 average.  He threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Astros game on April 10, 2012, marking the club's 50th anniversary and he was in the inaugural class of inductees into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame in 2019.  Aspromonte's older brother Ken appeared in seven big league seasons between 1957 and 1963 with the Red Sox, Senators, Indians (twice), Angels, Braves and Cubs.

Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Belvedere, IL - Card #209
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.  I generally went hunting for first series cards, but this is one of several later series cards that snuck into my eBay cart.  This Aspromonte card was $1.25 and it's one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller mavmil from Belvedere, Illinois.

The Card / Astros Team Set
Due to the team's name and logo change for the 1965 season, Aspromonte is shown hatless like most of his teammates in the 1965 Topps set.  His fielding skills are highlighted on the back.  Aspromonte played 1,094 games at third base during his career which has him within the top 100 all-time (89th) among all third baseman.  He led the league twice in fielding percentage (1964, 1966) and his .960 fielding percentage for third baseman is currently 74th all-time.  Aspromonte, at card #61, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of three Astros in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

1965 Season
Aspromonte enjoyed another steady season as the regular third baseman for the Astros, batting .263 with 5 home runs and 52 RBIs.  On April 24, 1965, he became the first Astros player to hit a home run in the newly opened Astrodome, hitting a two-run home run off Pirates' pitcher Vern Law (#515) in the sixth inning.  His infield mates in 1965 included Walt Bond (#109) at first base, Joe Morgan (#16) at second base and Bob Lillis at shortstop.  The Astros finished in 9th place with a  record of 65-97.

1960 Topps #547
1963 Topps #45
1967 Topps #274
1970 Topps #529
1972 Topps #659

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #547
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #659

94 - Aspromonte non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/1/21.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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