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Denis John Menke
Milwaukee Braves
Shortstop-Second Base
Born: July 21, 1940, Bancroft, IA
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, May 27, 1958
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1962-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1967; Houston Astros 1968-1971; Cincinnati Reds 1972-1973; Houston Astros 1974
Died: December 1, 2020, Tarpon Springs, FL (age 80)
Denis Menke used his versatility in the infield to his benefit in 13 big league seasons. Primarily a shortstop, Menke also spent a significant amount of time at third, second and first base. His best season statistically came early in his career when he batted .283 with a career-high 20 home runs in 1964 as the every day shortstop for the Braves. Menke would follow the Braves to Atlanta in 1966 and depart for Houston following the 1967 season. He was named to the 1969 and 1970 National League All-Star teams while the regular shortstop for the Astros. In November 1971, Menke was part of the eight-player blockbuster deal that sent him, along with Joe Morgan (#16), to the Reds. Menke would see his only postseason action as a player with the Reds, as his team clinched the National League West pennant in 1972 and 1973. He'd return to Houston for a final season in 1974 before retiring as a player with a .250 lifetime average, 1,270 hits, 101 home runs and 606 RBIs.
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| 1992 Medford Phillies #14 |
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #503
This is the 19th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders. Much to my pleasant surprise, they had. This Menke card was $2 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.
Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October. It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.
The Card / Braves Team Set
This is the third "SS-2B" position combo I've added to our set, along with Jim Davenport (#213) and Jim Stewart (#298). The cartoon on the back highlights the five positions - second base, third base, shortstop, first base and left field - Menke played as a rookie in 1962. The narrative below the cartoon highlights his improved 1964 statistics. His 20 home runs were behind Henry Aaron (#170) who had 24, Eddie Mathews (#500) with 23 and Rico Carty (#305) with 22. Joe Torre (#200) tied Menke for fourth place on the club with 20.
1965 Season
Menke missed significant playing time in 1965 due to injuries, including side effects from a violent home plate collision on May 13th against the Pirates in which he collided with catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#265). He appeared in only 71 games, a career-low for him with the exception of his first and last seasons in the majors. Menke made only 42 starts at shortstop with Woody Woodward (#487) getting most of the starts in his absence. Menke batted .243 for the season with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
Menke was named new Phillies manager Nick Leyva's hitting coach in November 1988, a month after Leyva had been hired by the club. Menke would outlast Leyva, who was fired in April 1991 and replaced by Jim Fregosi (#210). With Fregosi at the helm, the Phillies struggled mightily for a few seasons but then shockingly won the National League pennant in 1993. The team would ultimately fall to Joe Carter and the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series, but Menke was the hitting coach who oversaw a potent Phillies line-up with the likes of Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra and Dave Hollins. Menke's tenure as Phillies' hitting coach came to an end when Fregosi was ultimately fired following the 1996 season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #597
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1962-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #58
100 - Menke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/1/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #326 Dwight Siebler - Minnesota Twins
Previous Card: #326 Dwight Siebler - Minnesota Twins
Next Card: #328 Eddie Fisher - Chicago White Sox
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