Monday, July 11, 2022

#455 Norm Siebern - Baltimore Orioles


Norman Leroy Siebern
Baltimore Orioles
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  200
Born:  July 26, 1933, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1956, 1958-1959; Kansas City Athletics 1960-1963; Baltimore Orioles 1964-1965; California Angels 1966; San Francisco Giants 1967; Boston Red Sox 1967-1968
Died:  October 30, 2015, Naples, FL (age 82)

Norm Siebern was a veteran of 12 major league seasons, a four-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner and a two-time World Champion with the Yankees.  Siebern was a back-up for the Yankees in 1956 when they defeated the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series.  He assumed regular left fielder duties for the club in 1958, winning his Gold Glove and batting .300, with the Yankees defeating the Braves in the World Series.  Traded to the Athletics in December 1959 as part of the Roger Maris (#155) deal, and moved to first base, Siebern enjoyed his best season in 1962, attaining career highs in batting average (.308), home runs (25) and RBIs (117).  He went to his final All-Star Game in 1964 as a member of the Orioles, and also led the league that season with 106 walks.  Siebern finished up his playing career as a back-up first baseman and pinch-hitter playing in four more seasons with the Orioles, Angels, Giants and Red Sox.  He appeared in 33 games for the pennant-winning Red Sox in 1967, collecting a pinch-hit in Game 1 of the 1967 World Series.

For his career, Siebern played in 1,406 games, batting .272 with 1,217 hits, 132 home runs and 636 RBIs.  He'd serve as a scout for the Braves and Royals after retiring as a player, and appear at a number of Yankees Old Timer's games.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #514
This is the 30th 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 Siebern card was $4 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 / Orioles Team Set
Siebern wore #4 during his time with the Orioles and his uniform number is visible here.  The write-up on the back of the card points out his career-low batting average of .245 in 1964, but also highlights his league-leading 106 walks.  That had been the Orioles single-season record, but it's since been broken by a number of players including Bobby Grich, Eddie Murray and Ken Singleton.  Singleton's 1975 total of 118 walks is currently the Orioles' top mark.  Finally, Siebern's college basketball career is highlighted as is the fact Tigers' infielder Jerry Lumpe (#353) had been one of his teammates.

1965 Season
Siebern saw his playing time decline as the Orioles went with a young Boog Powell (#560) at first base for stretches of the season.  Siebern made 67 starts at first base (to Powell's 58 starts) and appeared in 106 games overall.  He batted .256 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs for the third place Orioles.  As a pinch-hitter, Siebern batted just .071 (2 for 28) with no extra base hits.  On December 2nd he was dealt to the Angels for outfielder Dick Simpson (#374).

1958 Topps #54
1959 Topps #308
1962 Topps #275
1966 Topps #14
1968 Topps #537

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #54
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1958-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature Series #63

87 - Siebern non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/22.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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