These 5 Baseball Cards Must Be in the Front Row
If they can claw their way out of the commons bin, at least
We must be living under a good sign because, for the second week in a row, we get to celebrate the birthday of a former Reds’ catcher!
Last week, Alan Knicely led us into the “Land of the Side-Switchers.”
And this time around, we get to raise a glass of melted bubble gum to Dann Bilardello, who turns 65 today. More on Bilardello in a bit, but for now, you should know that Baseball Reference lists one of his comps as…Bob Uecker.
What better theme for a baseball birthday party than one inspired by Mr. Baseball, right?
So here are your party favors — baseball cards of five catchers who show up in Uecker’s Similarity Scores.
Let’s head for the front row!
1963 Topps Doug Camilli (#196)
Camilli’s big league batting line is eerily similar to Uecker’s, each man hitting within a point of .200 in 700+ at-bats, each popping fewer than 20 home runs, and neither stealing a base. Camilli never even attempted a steal, though, while Uecker got nabbed three times.
Heck, they even share the distinction of sitting and watching while their teams won World Series in 1963 (Camilli) and 1964 (Uecker). Neither man played in a Fall Classic.
On defense, their career fielding percentages were likewise within a point of each other, and their tally of catching innings differed by a mere ten frames.
And if you’re looking for an unbreakable hobby bond between these two, try this one on for size: that 1963 Topps baby up there is not Camilli’s rookie card.
His real rookie card? Yeah, it’s this one…
1965 Topps Angels Rookies (#486)
There would have been a certain lyrical quality to a battery of “Rogan to Egan” — but it didn’t happen. Not in the majors, anyway, though Pat and Tom were teammates in the minors for a while. So maybe.
But even though Egan falls into the Uecker-Bilardello stratosphere when it comes to career batting achievements, he managed to stick in the big leagues for parts of ten years — ten more than Rogan.
Not only that, but Egan hit 10 homers in 85 games for the 1971 White Sox and uncorked 22 long balls in his career. In this crowd, that makes him a veritable Babe Ruth. Or maybe it was Babe Phelps.
1983 Topps Traded Orlando Mercado (#71T)
When I started collecting for real in 1983, Mercado quickly became a constant companion in my hobby quest and an early embodiment of a “common” in baseball card terms.
He had a lot going for him in that regard.
First, he toiled for the lowly Seattle Mariners, who never won anything except a chance at 100 losses.
Second, Mercado hit like a common (or worse), not cracking .200 until his third season (1984) and ending up with a very Uecker-esque career batting line of .199 with 7 HR and 45 RBI in parts of eight seasons.
And third, of course, Mercado showed up in packs with the frequency of gum dust. Heck, he was in packs I dreamed about, packs I never even knew existed. He was everywhere.
On the plus side, Mercado did look good in his inset pics, sort of glamorous, so there was always the chance he might boost his hobby profile with a movie role someday.
Mercado also had the distinction of being traded for fellow catcher Donnie Scott, who himself clubbed to the tune of .217, 7 HR, 43 RBI in parts of just four seasons. Ralph Kiner, that one.
1984 Topps Dann Bilardello (#424)
Our birthday celebrant is actually a bit of a hedge on this list.
See, while Uecker shows up low on the list of Bilardello’s top ten comps via the Baseball Reference Similarity Scores, the Reds catcher doesn’t reciprocate. That is, Bilardello is not one of Uecker’s top ten matches.
Funny how that sort of thing works, huh? Part of what makes Six Degrees of Dan Driessen so fun, unpredictable, frustrating, and rabbit-hole-enticing.
Anyway, Bilardello was an early face of the Reds for me, making his debut on April 11, 1983, exactly the time baseball was breaking into the full throat of its siren song to me.
Heck, maybe Bilardello is to blame for all these years of cardboard ramblings. He certainly contributed to memories that fuel them.
Hanging around the Riverfront through 1985, with some minor-league breaks thrown in, Bilardello was Cincy’s primary catcher that first summer (1983). That must have been heady territory for a young catcher, given that Johnny Bench was still on the roster and still in the lineup about half the time.
For his part, Bilardello hit .238 with nine dingers and 38 RBI, all career highs for anything resembling a full season. In total, he went .204/18/91 in parts of eight big league seasons.
Behind the plate, Bilardello was one of the more solid guys on this list, and that especially went for his runner-killing arm — he actually led the National League by throwing out 41.5% of would-be thieves in 1984.
1985 Donruss Tom Nieto (#596)
Nieto was unusual for this group because his rookie cards were sort of sought after in 1985. That wasn’t necessarily due to his status as a prospect — moreso the fact that every rookie card was hot stuff in 1985.
This was the year after Don Mattingly came out of nowhere to turn anonymous RCs into the biggest chase in the history of the hobby. You never know who might be next. Might even be Tom Nieto.
As it turned out, it wasn’t Tom Nieto. But his 1985 Donruss card is still a pretty nifty catcher issue, even if you can’t see his face. Sort of expected for great catchers cards.
Among the big three card companies, 1985 Donruss was perceived by most collectors to be the most scarce, as had been the 1984 set. And the black borders just felt really special, almost stately.
As for Nieto himself, he became Darrell Porter’s primary backup with the 1985 Cardinals, hitting .225 with no home runs but 34 RBI in 288 plate appearances. That made him kind of the Tom Herr of home plate. That was also a falloff from his 1984 debut performance: .279 with three homers and 12 ribbies in 93 plate appearances.
Nieto did get into a game in the NLCS and two in the World Series, going a combined 0-for-8 with a couple of walks.
In all, Nieto played parts of seven big league seasons, batting .205 with five home runs and 69 RBI.
—
None of these guys parlayed their careers behind and at the plate into the same sort of fame that Uecker did, but they all achieved at least some degree of hobby fame.
Some, like Bilardello, will be forever linked with an era in team history, for better or worse. Others, like Egan, will be scarcely remembered as the years continue to roll past.
Such is life and baseball and baseball cards.
Who are some Uecker-esque players from your past that always bring back baseball memories, good or bad? I’d love to hear your picks.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam