Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Brewers Auto Round-Tripper Pt. 2

The Dodgers and Astros have moved on (yea!), the Cubs have the series advantage (gross!), and the Yanks and Indians will play a winner-take-all tomorrow night (DEAR GOD CLEVELAND PLEASE WIN!)... in the spirit of play-off mania, how about some more recent Brewers/Pilots TTM additions!




John O’Donoghue came to the Pilots in an ever-rare late April trade with the Orioles. In 1965, he had been an All-Star with the A’s (in a season in which he would eventually lose 18 games). He was a decent bullpen option for the Pilots and stayed with the team after their move to Milwaukee. His son, with the same name, pitched for the Orioles briefly in 1993. This card is part of the Renata Galasso “Only Year” Pilots set.

Most Impressive Pilots/Brewers Stat: 2.96 ERA in 1969.


John Donaldson was a career Athletic, save for a 95-game hitch with the Pilots in 1969. A no-bat infielder, he came to the Pilots mid-season for Larry Haney after a dreadful start that saddled him with a .077 batting average. He was sent by the Brewers back to the A’s as a minor leaguer the next May for Roberto Pena.

Most Impressive Pilots Stat: Seven hits during a hot week in mid-June that raised his average from .074 to .184.


Garry Roggenburk’s name is a little hard to read on this card, but it’s there. Just as he was a little bit invisible as a Pilot, getting shut out by both Topps and in the Galasso set. He was a mid-level reliever for three teams over five years, ending his career with the Pilots and recording a 4.44 ERA over 24 innings. Like Jack Heidemann, who will show up later in this series, he became a real estate appraiser after his Big League career.

Most Impressive Pilots Stat: Threw a complete game against the Angels on July 8, allowing one run and five hits.


Jim Bouton is easily the most famous of any player to wear the Pilots colors. His diary of the 1969 season became the classic baseball book ‘Ball Four’ and generated most controversy than nearly any sporting book before or since. Despite being a former All-Star and a regular bullpen man with the Pilots, he never got a Topps card with Seattle. I got this one signed via TTM, with a reasonable $5 fee paid to Bouton.

Most Impressive Pilots Stat: 5+ million books sold.

1 comment: