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Manuel Julian Javier
St. Louis Cardinals
Second Base
Born: August 9, 1936, San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1971; Cincinnati Reds 1972
Julian Javier was a mainstay in the Cardinals infield for over a decade, playing on two World Series winners in 1964 and 1967 and earning spots on two All-Star teams in 1963 and 1968. Javier was regarded as a top prospect within the Pirates' system and was dealt with a player to be named later to the Cardinals on May 27, 1960, for Vinegar Bend Mizell and Dick Gray. Javier was inserted into the starting line-up for the Cardinals as their second baseman the next day, making his big league debut. Known for his speed on the base paths, Javier stole a career-high 26 bases in 1962 while scoring a career-high 97 runs. In 1963, he replaced Bill Mazeroski (#95) on the National League All-Star roster and joined fellow Cardinals' infielders Bill White (#190) at first base, Dick Groat (#275) at shortstop and Ken Boyer (#100) at third base in an all-St. Louis infield starting line-up.
Javier starred in the 1967 World Series, batting .360 (9 for 25) as the Cardinals defeated the Red Sox in seven games. Statistically, his finest season came in 1969 when he batted .282 with a .336 on-base percentage, while slugging 10 home runs and driving in 42 runs. Javier's final season in the majors was in 1972 with the Reds, and he played in his final games during that year's World Series against the Athletics. Javier batted .257 over 1,622 career games, with 722 runs scored and 135 stolen bases. He holds the Cardinals all-time record for games played at second base with 1,547, with Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst (#556) behind him with 1,429 games played. Javier's son, Stan Javier, played for 17 years in the majors with eight different clubs, spending parts of seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics.
Building the Set
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
The cartoon on the back highlights Javier's steal of home during a game in 1964, winning the game for the Cardinals. I tried to find the specific game, but came up empty. Javier only stole nine bases in 1964, and had only one steal of home. That came in the September 15th game against the Braves. Javier's steal of home came in the third inning with Tony Cloninger (#520) pitching and Joe Torre (#200) behind the plate and the run cut the Braves lead down to 2-1. The Cardinals went on to win the game, 11-6, and Javier's steal really had no impact on the final outcome. Javier suffered back and hip injuries in 1964 that limited his World Series play to just one pinch-running appearance in Game 1.
1965 Season
Still limited by injuries, Javier appeared in only 77 games for the Cardinals, marking the only season between 1960 and 1970 in which he played in less than 100 games. He batted .227 with Phil Gagliano (#503) and Jerry Buchek (#397) filling in for the slumping infielder for most of the season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #35
78 - Javier non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/5/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
November 6, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Willis Monie Books) - Card #385
Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November. We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners. The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable. Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.
Having spent Saturday morning in the Hall and then having lunch again at Doubleday Cafe, we walked down Main Street one more time to see if there were any stores we had missed. There was an old book store towards the end of Main Street and with some time to kill, I decided to have a look around. Willis Monie Books has to be seen to be believed. Thousands upon thousands of books dating back a few centuries to recent releases are haphazardly (but lovingly) stacked and piled and balanced among the multiple rows, aisles and nooks of this store. In the foyer, outside the front door, I found an out of service rotating display case with old baseball cards in it and on top of that case were more stacks of books and a few 800-count boxes of loosely organized cards from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I probably spent well over a half hour pouring through the boxes, coming away with nine cards total from 1959, 1965 and 1969 and spending a grand total of $20. This Javier card was one of five cards added to our 1965 set, and it set me back $2.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
The cartoon on the back highlights Javier's steal of home during a game in 1964, winning the game for the Cardinals. I tried to find the specific game, but came up empty. Javier only stole nine bases in 1964, and had only one steal of home. That came in the September 15th game against the Braves. Javier's steal of home came in the third inning with Tony Cloninger (#520) pitching and Joe Torre (#200) behind the plate and the run cut the Braves lead down to 2-1. The Cardinals went on to win the game, 11-6, and Javier's steal really had no impact on the final outcome. Javier suffered back and hip injuries in 1964 that limited his World Series play to just one pinch-running appearance in Game 1.
1965 Season
Still limited by injuries, Javier appeared in only 77 games for the Cardinals, marking the only season between 1960 and 1970 in which he played in less than 100 games. He batted .227 with Phil Gagliano (#503) and Jerry Buchek (#397) filling in for the slumping infielder for most of the season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #35
78 - Javier non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/5/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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