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Roger Lee Craig
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher
Born: February 17, 1930, Durham, NC
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1955-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1961; New York Mets 1962-1963; St. Louis Cardinals 1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965; Philadelphia Phillies 1966
As a Manager: San Diego Padres 1978-1979; San Francisco Giants 1985-1992
A few decades before he was a successful manager for the Giants, Roger Craig pitched in parts of 12 seasons, experiencing the move of the Dodgers to the West Coast and suffering through the futility of the first fews years of the Mets' existence. Craig went to six World Series (four as a player), winning rings with the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers, the 1964 Cardinals and as a coach with the 1984 Tigers. Spending equal time as a starter and a reliever, Craig went 74-98 in 368 career appearances and owned a 3.83 career ERA. He lost 46 games over two seasons with the expansion Mets.
Following his playing days, Craig taught his signature pitch, the split-finger fastball, to several pitchers including Jack Morris, Mike Scott and Milt Wilcox. He served as a pitching coach for the Padres (1969-1972), Astros (1974-1975), Padres again (1976-1977) and Tigers (1980-1984). In 1985, he was named manager of the Giants and he led the 1989 Giants to their first World Series appearance in 27 years. Craig's leadership and unique rallying cry, "Humm Baby" weren't enough to defeat the Athletics in the 1989 series interrupted by 10 days as a result of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #570
The Card / Reds Team Set
It's hard to tell if Craig is wearing a Dodgers, Mets or Cardinals jersey here. Topps used pictures of him in a Mets uniform for his 1963 and 1964 cards, and pinstripes are visible on his jersey there. There doesn't appear to be any neck piping, and Craig looks older than the Dodgers photo last used for his 1962 Topps card. I'll guess he's wearing a Cardinals jersey here.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #570
This is the 86th 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. After our 51 card haul from Uncle Dick's, and with more card spending budget still in place, I set out to find another dealer with a binder of 1965 Topps cards with reasonable prices. I had purchased cards from Sports Cards Plus before, finding the last few cards needed for our 1971 Topps set from this dealer back in December 2019.
Settling in, we found 37 cards needed for our set with an average price per card working out to around $6. The lot, including this Craig card, consisted mostly of semi-stars and team cards. After paying for this mini haul, we were officially 13 cards away from a complete set, with one more purchase coming to end the day.
The Card / Reds Team Set
It's hard to tell if Craig is wearing a Dodgers, Mets or Cardinals jersey here. Topps used pictures of him in a Mets uniform for his 1963 and 1964 cards, and pinstripes are visible on his jersey there. There doesn't appear to be any neck piping, and Craig looks older than the Dodgers photo last used for his 1962 Topps card. I'll guess he's wearing a Cardinals jersey here.
The cartoon says Craig lost five 1-0 games in 1963, which is unfortunately accurate. Craig was 5-22 in 1963 for the Mets, with the pitcher losing 1-0 games five times, and losing a 2-0 game to the Phillies as well.
1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Cardinals traded Craig with outfielder Charlie James (#141) to the Reds for pitcher Bob Purkey (#214). This was to be Craig's last full season in the majors, and he'd make 40 relief appearances for the Reds, going 1-4 with a 3.64 ERA and three saves.
Phillies Career
On April 11, 1966, Craig was released by the Reds at the end of spring training, signing with the Phillies that very same day. Craig made his first appearance for the Phillies on opening day against the Cardinals, coming on to relieve Chris Short in the 10th after Short had pitched 9 2/3 innings. Craig pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and was the recipient of the win when John Herrnstein (#534) singled home Dick Allen (#460) with the eventual winning run in the 12th.
Used solely as a reliever, Craig appeared in 14 games for the Phillies, going 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA. The 36-year-old Craig was released by the club on July 23rd, ending his big league career. Craig received a Phillies card in the 1966 Topps set, but the photo used is the exact same photo used for Craig's 1962 Topps card, when he was with the Mets. Craig signed reprinted versions of his 1966 Topps card for inclusion in the 2015 Topps Heritage set.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19): 1956-1958, 1960-1966, 1974, 1979, 1986-1992
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RC
158 - Craig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/21/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Cardinals traded Craig with outfielder Charlie James (#141) to the Reds for pitcher Bob Purkey (#214). This was to be Craig's last full season in the majors, and he'd make 40 relief appearances for the Reds, going 1-4 with a 3.64 ERA and three saves.
On April 11, 1966, Craig was released by the Reds at the end of spring training, signing with the Phillies that very same day. Craig made his first appearance for the Phillies on opening day against the Cardinals, coming on to relieve Chris Short in the 10th after Short had pitched 9 2/3 innings. Craig pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and was the recipient of the win when John Herrnstein (#534) singled home Dick Allen (#460) with the eventual winning run in the 12th.
Used solely as a reliever, Craig appeared in 14 games for the Phillies, going 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA. The 36-year-old Craig was released by the club on July 23rd, ending his big league career. Craig received a Phillies card in the 1966 Topps set, but the photo used is the exact same photo used for Craig's 1962 Topps card, when he was with the Mets. Craig signed reprinted versions of his 1966 Topps card for inclusion in the 2015 Topps Heritage set.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19): 1956-1958, 1960-1966, 1974, 1979, 1986-1992
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RC
158 - Craig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/21/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
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