#365 Jim Gentile - Kansas City Athletics

James Edward Gentile
Kansas City Athletics
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  210
Born:  June 3, 1934, San Francisco, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958; Baltimore Orioles 1960-1963; Kansas City Athletics 1964-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Cleveland Indians 1966

Originally signed by the Dodgers as a pitcher, Jim Gentile converted to a first baseman and spent eight seasons in the Dodgers' system unable to get any regular work in the majors.   Gil Hodges (#99) was the regular first baseman for the club, and while Gentile turned in several highly successful seasons in the minors, he was promoted only briefly in 1957 and 1958.  Only after a trade to the Orioles following the 1959 season did Gentile reach his full potential.  He was an American League All-Star three seasons in a row between 1960 and 1962.  Gentile's career year came in 1961 when he batted .302 with 46 home runs and a league-leading 141 RBIs, finishing third in the MVP voting behind Roger Maris (#155) and Mickey Mantle (#350).

Gentile was dealt to the Athletics following the 1963 season, and he'd play as their regular first baseman for two seasons.  He'd finish his major league career with the Astros and Indians, serving mainly as a left-handed bat off the bench.  In 936 major league games, Gentile batted .260 with 179 home runs and 549 RBIs.  He spent two seasons playing for the Phillies top farm team in San Diego and a final season, in 1969, with the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan.  Gentile returned to baseball to manage a few independent league teams in the early 2000s.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #494
This is the tenth 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.  This Gentile card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October.  So get used to seeing this passage on the blog!  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 / Athletics Team Set
The back of the card celebrates his 208 minor league home runs, a dubious accomplishment considering he likely would have been in the majors and starting for most any other team than the Dodgers.  For his career, Gentile ended up 245 minor league home runs.  His grand slam record is also mentioned.  Gentile hit five grand slams in 1961, including two in the Orioles game on May 9th against the Twins.  His record stood until Don Mattingly hit six grand slams for the Yankees in 1987.

1965 Season
Gentile began the season as once again the regular first baseman for the Athletics.  After 38 games, and tied for the league lead in home runs with Mantle with 10, Gentile was traded to the Astros in early June.  The Athletics received Jesse Hickman and Ernie Fazio in return.  In Houston, Gentile started 62 games at first base, sharing the position with Walt Bond (#109).  Gentile batted .242 with just seven home runs and 31 RBIs.

Phillies Connection
Gentile signed with the Phillies before the 1967 season and spent two season playing for their then top farm team, the San Diego Padres.  He went to spring training with the Phillies, but never got a promotion back to the big leagues.  In 99 games with the Padres in 1967, Gentile batted .236 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs.  In 1968, in 78 games, he batted just .185 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.  Following the 1968 season, and given the opportunity to play in Japan for more money, Gentile requested and was granted his release from the Phillies.

1960 Topps #448

1961 Topps #559

1962 Topps #290

1963 Topps #260

1966 Topps #45

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #448
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1960-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JGE

84 - Gentile non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/5/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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