#406 Scott Sanderson

Card thoughts: Scott Sanderson was always one of my favorite Cubs. I remember this season, when he was perhaps the only effective Cubs starter.

The player: A local boy (in terms of the Cubs), as an amateur he pitched for the United States nation team, especially excelling the 1975 International Cup (ERA 0.60). After just one full season in the minors, Sanderson was called up to the Expos mid way into the 1978 season. His 4-2 record and 2.51 ERA augured great things for the young Sanderson.

But the next season, he lost his starting job for a bit, and was sent to the bullpen—a pattern that would repeat itself for the rest of his career. In 1980, with the Expos challenging the Phillies for the division title, Sanderson went 16-11 with a 3.11 ERA. He continued his strong pitching in the strike-shortened 1981 season (9-7 with a career best 2.95 ERA), but stamina was always an issue with Scott, and he tended to fade down the stretch. He also tended to give up home runs, and in 1982 he gave them up to three consecutive Giants on July 11th. Somewhat redeeming himself, he later hit a grand slam at Wrigley Field.

A collision with Bill Buckner at first (again, with a Cub), wrecked his knee in ’83, and began several injury filled years. But the Cubs didn’t know that at the time, and they sent their top third base prospect (Fritz Connally), first base prospect (Carmelo Martinez), and a serviceable reliever (Craig Lefferts) to the Padres as a part of a three team deal to acquire him. Sanderson spent great portions of 1984 and 1985 on the DL, but when he started, he was effective.

Finally healthy in 1986, he was not as effective with more exposure, and he was bounced from the rotation after going 7-11 with a 4.47 ERA. In relief, he was much more effective, putting up a 2-0 record with a 1.23 ERA. In 1987, 1988, 1989, the same story prevailed: Effective as a starter at first, then injury, then, losing his spot in the rotation. Even with an 11-9 record in 1989, Sanderson wasn’t allowed to start any games in the NLCS, reduced to a two inning relief stint in Game 4.

It was clear Sanderson needed a change of scenery. He left as a free agent in 1989, signed with Oakland, and started a three year renaissance in the American League. With the powerful A’s backing him, Sanderson won a career high 17 games, despite having 3.88 ERA while pitching in pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum. Despite being the #3 starter during the season, Sanderson would not get to start in either the ALCS or World Series that year, as Tony LaRussa elected to go with Matt Moore.

Seeing his options limited in Oakland, Sanderson next signed with the Yankees. Once again, a powerful offense masked some of his ineffectiveness. Despite going 16-10, and making the all-star team, Sanderson was still a pitcher with a high ERA, and a tendency to give up gopher balls. This was dramatically shown in 1992, when he gave up four straight home runs to Kent Hrbek, Shane Mack, Kirby Puckett, and Randy Bush to tie a major league record.

With a 4.93 ERA in 1992, and a long injury history, Sanderson found it hard to latch onto a club in 1993, but finally signed with the Angels, going 7-11 with a 4.46 ERA. The Giants picked him up late in the season after he was released, and he pitched better for them (4-2, 3.51 ERA in 11 starts), but his manager Dusty Baker seemingly had no confidence in him, as he was passed over as a starter on the final day of the season with the playoffs on the line in favor of rookie Salmon Torres.

Signing with the White Sox in 1994, he had an 8-4 record and a 5.06 ERA when the season ended early by the strike. Signing with the Angels, he was ineffective and injured in 1995 and 1996, his last two seasons. Sanderson managed to have a 19 year career, and won more (163) than he lost. In retirement, he has mostly worked as a sports agent, representing Frank Thomas, Josh Beckett, and Lance Berkman, among others.

Rear guard: Vic Saier was considered a slugger by 1910s standards. But by 1916, injuries had begun limiting his effectiveness (he was out of baseball at age 28 after suffering a bad leg injury). Wrigley Field was used (and built by) by the Chicago Whales before the Cubs moved in in 1916. Saier's RBI came on a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning off Al Schulz. It was the Cubs home opener at Wrigley that year. Coincidentally, the Cubs will be playing their 98th home opener there later this afternoon.

#384 Steve Trout

Card thoughts: Trout looks like a paunchy middle aged fantasy camp participant in this picture, as there is little to show that he’s an actual baseball player (save the striped pants). This was not the only card where Trout sported his poodle-fro to the fullest: He looks particularly hesher on his 1981 Topps card.

The player: Trout one of those guys that lazy broadcasters (like Joe Buck) like to describe in shorthand as a “flaky” lefty. Maybe flaky because the guy spouts things other than sports clichés when quizzed after games in the clubhouse, or perhaps because his nickname is “Rainbow.” Or maybe it was because he would challenge teammates to burrito eating contests when they were on the West Coast.

A local boy who had the luck to play with both Chicago teams (Don Pall and Phil Cavaretta are the only other local players  I can recall who did that), Trout was the son of famed starter Dizzy Trout, who won 170 games, mostly with the Tigers. Not only that, his grandfather worked for Bill Veeck, who owned both the Cubs and the White Sox 9although not at the same time).

As was the custom of the time, Trout “apprenticed” his first full year in the majors as both a starter and a reliever, having more success in the former role (10-6, 1.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio as a starter) than the latter. Given a more substantial role in 1980, he foundered, ranking fourth in the league in losses (16) and leading in hit barters (9).

A couple of mediocre years followed, with Trout ineffective due to injury and increasing wildness. The White Sox finally gave up on him after the 1982 season, completing a rare big trade with their crosstown rival Cubs, with #187 Scott Fletcher, Pat Tabler, Randy Martz, and Dick Tidrow going the other direction.

While Trout’s first season with the Cubs was unmemorable (except for his notable disdain for signing autographs), he was a key part of the Cubs pennant drive in 1984 when he, like many players on that team, had a career year, going 13-7 with a 3.41 ERA. He continued his strong pitching in the division series, winning Game 2.

Trout started strong in 1985, but a nerve condition in shoulder sent him to the DL—along with what was basically the rest of the starting rotation—for half of the season. Although he had a winning record and low ERA (3.39), storm clouds were ahead. Trout for the first time walked more (63) than he struck out (44), a curse that would plague him the rest of his career. Trout ‘s alarming increase in wildness was upping his pitch count so much, he was having a hard time going deep into his starts. So much so, that he was bounced from the rotation in the middle of the following year.

It seemed, however, that Trout was making a comeback in 1987. He started strong once again, going 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA. His last two starts with the Cubs were shutouts, before he was traded to the Yankees for three young pitchers who never did squat for the Cubs (although Bob Tewksbury went on to have a flukily good couple of years with the Cardinals in the early 90s).

With the Yankees, his control problems returned with a vengeance. In just 46 1/3 innings, Trout threw 9 wild pitches and walked 37. He couldn’t get past the sixth inning in any of his 9 starts.

Feeling burned, the Yanks essentially paid for Trout to go away, sending him to the Mariners with a cool million for three more young pitchers. The Seattle team foolishly elected to make Trout their Number 2 starter, and his first start for the team (2/3 of an inning pitched, 5 walks, 2 wild pitches) was an prelude to the rest of his season (31 walks, 7 balks(!), and 5 wild pitches in 56 1/3 innings with an ERA over 7).

Trout barely pitched in ’89 (and badly at that), before being released in June for good. In retirement, he’s managed a baseball camp, done some indy league coaching, and once coached a high school baseball team in Hawaii after answering an ad in the paper.

He still lives in the Chicago area (and has a very Rainbow-brite looking Website), and oddly enough the site lists his home address (a tiny bungalow in a working class area of Hammond, IN), so maybe Trout will sign your autograph now that he’s retired.

Rear guard: Chick Tolson was a mighty minor league slugger (career slugging percentage: .621) who found it hard to crack the lineup during a time when Cubs teams regularly hit above .280. His grand slam came off Pirates starter Ray Kermer, and he was pinch hitting for long forgotten reliever Percy Jones. Tolson would hit just 4 home runs in a 5 year career.

#355 Lee Smith

Card thoughts: Here’s Lee Smith, in all his tall-man glory. When I look at this card, I smile inwardly and think of all the joy I had as a youth, watching Smith dominate in the late innings.

The player:  One the most dominant closers of his era, Smith should be in the Hall of Fame.  He was also involved in one of the worst Cubs’ trades of all time.

Originally a starter in the minors, Smith was struggling with an ERA over 6 when his manager at Midland moved him to the bullpen. In that era, a bullpen gig was seen as a demotion, with little future. Disappointed, Smith briefly quit and played college basketball. But at the request of Hall of Famer Billy Williams, he accepted his role, and was called up at the end of 1980.

In 1981, Smith was on the team for good, but veteran Dick Tidrow was the closer. So he pitched mostly in middle relief, with a league average ERA. With Tidrow's move to middle relief in '82, Smith became the closer, and would remain a closer the rest of his big league career where owed most of his early success to Fergie Jenkins, who taught him the forkball and how to better use his slider.

His first big season as a closer was in 1983, when he led the league with 29 saves and had a 1.65 ERA, which turned out to be the lowest ERA in his entire career. He was named to the all star team, but got hit hard by the Americans. In the eighth inning, Smith gave up two runs, one earned.

In the next three seasons, Smith saved 30 games each year. Highlights during this stretch include recording one save and one loss in the 1984 ALCS, and pitching in the 1987 All Star Game, in which he earned the win by pitching 3 scoreless innings.

Despite Smith’s success, the Cubs felt he was getting too fat, and that was putting too much pressure on his knees. I think they believed Smith was a year away from being washed up and didn’t value a consistent closer like they should’ve. So GM #231 Jim Frey, in his infinite wisdom, sent Smith to the Red Sox for #210 Calvin Schiraldi (who Frey hilariously compared to a young Lee Smith) and #181 Al Nipper. I still remember how angry I was at this trade. Very soon, I was proved correct.

Far from being washed up, Smith would pitch another decade and rack up another 300 saves.  With the Red Sox, Smith was not as dominant as with the Cubs, but he did save 58 games over three seasons. But the Red Sox, like the Cubs, became convinced that Smith’s ballooning weight would lead to injury, so they dealt him in 1990 to the Cardinals for Tom Brunansky. The move back to the NL reinvigorated Smith, and he led the league in saves in 1991 (47) and 1992 (43). In the former year, he was second in Cy Young award voting.

Although Smith had saved 43 games again for the Cardinals in 1993 (which made him the all-time saves leader), they were well out of the division race and his ERA was 4.50. So, he was sent to the Yankees for almost nothing. His entire Yankee career lasted eight games before he became a free agent. Smith signed with Baltimore, where he led the league in saves again (33), and pitched in his last all star game (he gave up a game-tying two run double to Fred McGriff).

At 37, Smith signed with the Angels where he saved the same number of games as years he had lived. But that would be his last year as a dominant closer, as his knees finally gave out. Short stints with the Reds and Expos ended his career.

When he retired, Smith was the all-time saves leader who, it could be argued, was the best reliever for much of his era Although he has gotten about 50% of the vote each time he’s up for the Hall of Fame, the Hall consistently undervalues the closer (only Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Bruce Sutter, Rich Gossage and #185 Rollie Fingers are in.) Smith’s career is certainly on par with theirs.

Smith coached the South African national baseball team in 2006, and is the minor league roving pitching instructor for the Giants.

Rear guard: Here's Smith's first Topps card. He looks pensive.

The "Talkin Baseball" items for long running franchises are fun, because it is almost always some player you've never heard of. There's actually a card of Mertes, where he looks a bit like actor Ed Helms. Nicknamed "Sandow", Sam's home runs were likely of the inside-the-park variety,  Mertes actually had good power for the time, with a career slugging percentage just a tick below .400. 

In 1900, Mertes hit 7 homes and drove in 60 runs while stealing 38 bases. He was a greater success with the New York Giants, where he twice drove in over 100 runs.

#330 Rick Sutcliffe

Card thoughts: Nice 80s style white-boy afro, Sutcliffe! His red hair (looks brown in this picture) earned him the nickname “The Red Baron.”

The player: The most consistent starter on the Cubs before (and at the beginning of) the Greg Maddux era, Sutcliffe was considered a malcontent with both the Dodgers and Indians, which got him moved around a bunch, despite showing great talent. It was only when he reached the Cubs, did Sutcliffe become the pitcher hinted at as a young Dodger. One of the things that always annoyed me about Sutcliffe was his deliberation on the mound, and penchant for the fake to third, throw to first move that never worked.

At 6’7”, Sutcliffe was unusually tall for the time. Appearing in a handful of games from 1976-1978, he was finally given a chance to start regularly, and went 17-10 in 1979, winning the Rookie of the Year award. But the next two years were a disaster, as he and #291 Tommy Lasorda feuded as his Era kept rising, and he was bounced from the rotation.

The Dodgers had had enough of Sutcliffe and his surly ways, and he was exiled to Cleveland for journeyman utility man Jorge Orta. The change of scenery did wonders, and Sutcliffe went 14-8 with a league leading 2.96 ERA. He also gave up the least hits per 9 innings, although he did have a propensity to issue walks that persisted throughout his career (he was in the top ten in walks five times).

Although his ERA rose almost two points, the Indians of 1983 were a solid offensive team, and he got good run support which upped his win total by three to 17. Sutcliffe also made his first all star team (although he did not pitch).

 But his inconsistency plagued him again, and he started 1984 by going 4-5 with an ERA above 5 in his first 15 starts. The Cubs were seriously contending for the first time since the early 70s, but they didn’t have a big game pitcher in their rotation. By giving up much of their future (Pat Tabler, Mel Hall, and especially Joe Carter would be core hitters for the Indians for years to come), they landed Sutcliffe. And what a deal it was. He only had one of the most remarkable starting runs ever, going 16-1 in 20 starts, and winning another game in the NLCS, hitting a home run in Game 1 as well. Sutcliffe easily won the Cy Young Award, getting 100% of the first place votes on the ballot.

By the time this card was issued, Sutcliffe, along with the rest of the Cubs starters, were coming off a year marred by injuries. He only started 20 games and won 8 while battling a pulled hamstring. Healthy the following season, he suffered through his worst campaign, going 4-15 for a terrible Cubs squad.

But in 1987, he righted the ship again, leading the league in wins (18), earning him his second all star appearances (and winning the Comeback Player of the Year award). This time he got into the game, and pitched a scoreless third and fourth inning in relief of #268 Mike Scott. A mediocre 1988 season was followed in 1989 by a 16-11 record, as Sutcliffe once again had a chance to pitch in the post-season. He had a no-decision in his only NLCS start, giving up three runs in six innings.

The injury bug pretty much destroyed his 1990 season. Sutcliffe had shoulder surgery in May, and probably should have sat out the year. In his five starts in August and September, he got progressively worth, going from effective to terrible by his final start, when he only got two outs while giving up four runs.

The shoulder still hadn’t fully healed the next year, and by the end of May, Sutcliffe had been bounced from the rotation, as he had trouble going more than five innings.  With the Cubs going nowhere, Sutcliffe sat out June and July, trying to rest his shoulder. He was so discouraged by his poor minor league rehab starts, he considered quitting. But he finished a lot stronger than he started, and his ERA dropped in each of his 10 comeback starts to rest at a semi-respectable 4.10.

The Cubs, believing they could no longer rely on Sutcliffe’s health, allowed him to leave as a free agent. Signing with the Orioles, Sutcliffe amazingly led the league with 36 starts, and had a respectable 16-15 record, despite a high ERA. For this surprising return to durability, he won his second Comeback Player of the Year award. The return to form was short lived and high ERAs (5.75 in 1992, and 6.52 in 1993) eventually led to his retirement.

Sutcliffe has had a long career as a TV color man, starting with the Padres and now with ESPN. In an infamous incident, Sutcliffe was getting drunk with actor Bill Murray at a Padres game when he was invited into the broadcasting booth. He proceeded to sound remarkably like Will Ferrell’s Harry Caray impression, as he rambled on about George Clooney, African relief missions, and gushing admiration of his successor, Mudcat Grant. 

Rear guard: For his first shutout, Sutcliffe bested Bill Bonham of the Reds 2-0. He struck out one and walked four.

#308 Ray Fontenot

Card thoughts: I have no memory of this player, despite the fact he pitched 2 seasons with the Cubs. Maybe because he wasn’t too memorable (although some Cub fans may have had their memories triggered by Mike Fontenot (no relation) arrival in 2007).  His real first name is “Silton.”

The player: The rare Cajun in the majors, Fontenot was considered a strikeout artist in the minors, but injuries limited his effectiveness in the majors.

Fontenot was drafted by the Rangers, but only pitched rookie ball with them before being thrown in as part of the Oscar Gamble-Mickey Rivers trade in 1979. He made his Yankees debut in replacement of future friend and francophone Ron Guidry, who was injured. He only gave up one run in his debut, and went on to have a promising rookie campaign, going 8-2 in 15 starts, three of which were complete games. As the fifth starter/long reliever in 1984, Fontenot regressed a bit, but still sported a nice strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also was suspended that season for throwing at Juan Beniquez and instigating a bench clearing brawl.

Along with #284 Brian Dayett,  Fontenot was traded to the Cubs for #157 Ron Hassey, #94 Rich Bordi, Henry Cotto and Porfi Altamirano. At the time, it was believed this was a badd deal for the Yankees, as Dayett was believed to be a star in the making, and the players the Cubs sent to the Yankees were no great shakes. But it turned out to be a deal where no one came out ahead, and in the end was inconsequential to both teams fortunes.

Fontenot was coming off a really bad season for the Cubs when this card was issued. He went 6-10 with a 4.36 ERA. He gave up an incredible 23 home runs (5^th in the league), about one every seven innings.  Bothered by a sore shoulder, he started the next year in the minors, and when he came back up he was put in the bullpen. But Fontenot was wild (four wild pitches, a .706 fielding percentage, and 21 walks in 54 innings) and the Cubs found a sucker, I mean trading partner, for Fontenot near the end of the season, although they only received washed up reliever #285 Ron Davis and a minor leaguer in their exchange with the Twins.

Fontenot wasn’t much better for the Twins, although he did appear on his last Topps card, a Twins cap airbrushed above what is obviously a Cubs road jersey.

In 1987, he spent the entire season with AAA Tuscon, and retired from pro ball at the end of the year at the young age of 29.

Rear guard: In the old days, when pitchers were men, they completed games if they were pitching well enough to. Note that Fontenot's first shutout came a month into his career. No worrying that if he "lost" the game in the late innings, he'd be scarred for life.

Fontenot allowed a runner per inning (6 hits, 3 walks) and only struck out 1, but he still got the 5-0 win against the Rangers for his first shutout.