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William Pleis
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher
Born: August 5, 1937, St. Louis, MO
Acquired: Traded by Orlando (Florida State) to the Washington Senators for Rafael Enoa, Sergio Hebra and cash
Major League Teams: Minnesota Twins 1961-1966
Following the move by the Washington Senators to Minnesota, Bill Pleis was the winning pitcher in the first game the Twins ever won in their new home on April 22, 1961. Primarily a reliever, Pleis was a mainstay in the Twins bullpen for five-plus seasons. He appeared in at least 20 games with the club during its first five seasons, making it into a career high 47 games in 1964. He pitched an inning against the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series, allowing a home run to Lou Johnson in Game 4. Pleis was traded to the expansion Senators in February 1967. He'd play for the Hawaii Islanders in 1967 and then the Red Sox' top farm team in Louisville in 1968 before retiring as a player. For his career, Pleis was 21-16 over 190 games with a 4.07 ERA and 13 saves. He'd serve as a scout for the Astros and Dodgers for nearly 40 years between 1969 and 2006.
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| February 2, 2021 - After the snow storm |
February 16, 2021 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #233
Busy with my chosen profession, rarely leaving the house and anxiously awaiting the return of live baseball, I turned to eBay in early February for some cardboard therapy. I spent at least a solid hour one dreary afternoon browsing the current auctions of Greg Morris Cards from Los Angeles, as that dealer had broken down yet another mint 1965 Topps set for auction. Of the 20-plus cards I bid on, I ended up winning only five auctions and I feel I overpaid for these cards - although the cards are pristine. As the auctions wound down, and as the outbid notifications started to pile up on my phone, I upped my existing bids on 10 or so remaining auctions in the hope of coming away with something. This Pleis card was one of the five cards I won with a winning bid of $3.25.
The Card / Twins Team Set
This is Pleis' fourth and final appearance in a Topps set, and he signed reprints of this card for inclusion in the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set. The back of the card contains his full (and lengthy) minor league pitching statistics. As mentioned above, Pleis appeared in a career-high 47 games in 1964. Also getting a significant amount of work out of the Twins' bullpen was Jim Perry (#351) with 42 appearances along with Al Worthington (#216) and Gerry Arrigo (#39), who both had 41 appearances.
1965 Season
Pleis was back in the Twins bullpen for his last full season in the majors. In 41 games, he went 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 4 saves over 51 1/3 innings pitched. For the second season in a row, Pleis was the batting practice pitcher at the All-Star Game. The 1964 game had been held at New York's Shea Stadium, and the 1965 game was hosted at Pleis' home stadium in Minnesota - Metropolitan Stadium.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #124
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1962-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BP
18 - Pleis non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/18/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #121 Gene Alley - Pittsburgh Pirates
Previous Card: #121 Gene Alley - Pittsburgh Pirates
Next Card: #123 Frank Thomas - Philadelphia Phillies
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