 |
 |
Arnesta Joe Gaines
Houston Astros
Outfield
Born: November 22, 1936, Bryan, TX
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1960-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1964; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965-1966
Joe Gaines began his big league career as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter with the Reds, spending the entire 1962 season on the team's roster as a back-up to Wally Post and Frank Robinson (#120). In December 1962, he was dealt to the Orioles and he'd spend the 1963 season as Boog Powell's (#560) back-up in left field. Gaines wouldn't receive regular playing time until a June 1964 deal sent him to Houston. With the Colt .45s, Gaines settled into their everyday right fielder role, batting .254 in 89 games during the second half of the 1964 season. He was the club's opening day right fielder in 1965 during the Astros first ever game in the Astrodome. Gaines struggled at the plate, batting just .227 while appearing in a career-high 100 games. He'd play 11 more games for the Astros in 1966, spending most of that season with the team's Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. Gaines would play professionally for three more seasons, including a partial year in Japan, before retiring.
In 362 major league games, Gaines batted .241 with 21 home runs and 95 RBIs.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #482
We added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #482
We added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.
This is it! This is the 94th and final card added from Uncle Dick's, and after this there's just one more major card to go before I'm completely caught up, at least with our December Philly Show purchases. I was fairly ambitious documenting these purchases and I was able to compose posts for five cards a week, beginning way back on January 13th with the Tony Oliva (#340) card. The ongoing MLB owner's lockout and the lack of any spring training games gave me a little more spare time than usual in February and March. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Astros Team Set
Topps wasn't able to completely obscure the Oriole on the left sleeve of Gaines' jersey, and he'd need to wait until the 1966 Topps set to appear in an actual Astros uniform. The cartoon on the back highlights a fairly obscure aspect of Gaines' career, referring to the fact he didn't commit any errors while playing in 26 games for the Wausau Lumberjacks in 1956.
1965 Season
As mentioned above, Gaines was the Astros' opening day right fielder and he'd start just 37 games at the position, losing playing time to Rusty Staub (#321) and Staub's more reliable bat. He appeared in 100 games overall, with 36 appearances as a pinch-hitter. In his pinch-hitting role, Gaines batted .250 (8 for 32) with three home runs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #414
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1962-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JG
21 - Gaines non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
After securing Doug's Jim Thome autograph, I returned to Uncle Dick's and their neon green shirts, pulled up a chair, and settled in. Over the course of 45 minutes or so, I found another 79 cards needed for our set, including this Gaines card which was a little less than $4 after the dealer discount. I was surrounded by six or seven other seated collectors, all who looked similar to me, with a touch of gray, focused on their individual quests. I wiped out Uncle Dick's two 1965 Topps commons binders, paid for my haul and then retreated to a table with Doug to update our checklist.
The Card / Astros Team Set
Topps wasn't able to completely obscure the Oriole on the left sleeve of Gaines' jersey, and he'd need to wait until the 1966 Topps set to appear in an actual Astros uniform. The cartoon on the back highlights a fairly obscure aspect of Gaines' career, referring to the fact he didn't commit any errors while playing in 26 games for the Wausau Lumberjacks in 1956.
1965 Season
As mentioned above, Gaines was the Astros' opening day right fielder and he'd start just 37 games at the position, losing playing time to Rusty Staub (#321) and Staub's more reliable bat. He appeared in 100 games overall, with 36 appearances as a pinch-hitter. In his pinch-hitting role, Gaines batted .250 (8 for 32) with three home runs.
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #414
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1962-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JG
21 - Gaines non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
No comments:
Post a Comment