How Bob Oldis Missed His Opportunity To Face Satchel Paige In The Major Leagues

Bob Oldis only played in seven games during his 1953 rookie season with the Washington Senators, yet one almost perfect game stands out in his mind nearly 70 years later. 

On June 25, 1953, Oldis was in the starting lineup against the St. Louis Browns. Making only his second major league start, he played flawlessly. He went 3-3 at the plate with an RBI, and threw out the lone baserunner who dared to steal that day. 

Most rookies would have been elated with that type of performance, but something about that game didn't sit right with the young catcher. With the Senators down 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Oldis was due to bat third in the inning. 

Pitching in relief for the Browns was the ageless Satchel Paige. Undaunted by his presence, the first two batters were able to get on base with a walk and a single. This set the stage for Oldis, who was swinging a hot bat that day, to be the hero ... or so he thought. 

As he approached the top steps of the dugout, Oldis represented the winning run. After battering starter Harry Breechen for three hits, the tap on the shoulder from manager Bucky Harris wasn't what he expected. Instead of words of encouragement, Harris let him know outfielder Carmen Mauro would be taking his place at the plate. 

Dejected, Oldis returned to the dugout to watch Mauro hit a pop-up to third base, and Gil Coan finish the game by hitting into a 4-6-3 double play. He never was able to test himself against Satchel Paige in the majors, as he was sent down a short time afterwards.

When the 93-year-old was reached recently via a letter to his Arizona home, I asked if he was upset with Harris' decision to remove him for a pinch-hitter against Paige.

"Yes!" Oldis wrote. 

He later had his chance to face Paige in the minor leagues during the 1958 season when he played for the Richmond Virginians and Paige hurled for the Miami Marlins; however, seven decades later it is the meeting they didn't have that stands out in his memory. 

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Baseball Happenings Podcast | Emily Kless Topps Communications Manager Talks 2021 Topps Series 1 Baseball

 

 

Emily Kless, Topps Communications Manager, joined the Baseball Happenings Podcast to discuss the 2021 Topps Series 1 Baseball release, as well as the ensuing Virtual Rip Party on February 9, 2021, which features Hall of Famers, celebrities, and the top breakers celebrating Topps' 70th anniversary. 

Click here to listen to the interview with Kless on the Baseball Happenings Podcast.

 

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2020 Topps Allen And Ginter Chrome Baseball | Box Break And Review

Topps give a chromium upgrade to the Allen and Ginter baseball card series with the 2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Chrome Baseball set. The 300 card set features an array of current stars, legends, and pop culture icons that annually draw a wide range of collectors to the set. 

2020 Topps Allen And Ginter Chrome Base Set and Parallels

The chrome finish gives the Allen and Ginter cards a premium look, making for an attractive play on the original set. Produced in limited quantities as compared with the regular 2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Baseball set, Topps mixes in colored refractors and rare autographed cards to spice up the action.

2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Chrome Chris Paddack Green Parallel

Topps has also taken the inserts and made them mini versions, which include parallels of the entire set (these have refractors too), as well as the Booming Cities, Buggin Out, and Safari Sights sets. 

2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Chrome Baseball Box Break

 

2020 Topps Allen and Ginter Chrome Baseball Autographs

The autographs are the toughest to chase, averaging one per case. The 29 signers for the set include the recently deceased Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Derek Jeter, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Mike Trout.

Coming in around $180 per box, some might find the price is a little heavy; however, the cards really pop and the lure of pulling a rare autograph might just be enough for collectors to take a shot on a box.

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Flavio Alfaro | 1984 USA Olympic Baseball Team Shortstop Dies At 59

Flavio Alfaro - 1985 Topps Baseball Card

Flavio Alfaro, a shortstop on the 1984 USA Olympic Baseball team died on January 27, 2021 after a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 59. The announcement was made on Facebook by a high school classmate.

Alfaro played at the College of the Canyons before transferring to San Diego State University in 1983. His steady defensive play attracted the attention of the United States Olympic Team and coach Rod Dedeaux. He batted .389 in five games for Team USA in 1984. Topps gave him an iconic card in their 1985 set, which also included Mark McGwire's famed Team USA card.

Flavio Alfaro - 1984 USA Olympic Team

The Atlanta Braves drafted Alfaro in the fourth round of the 1984 MLB Draft. After batting .193 in one season with their Class A team in Durham, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Rick Cerone for future Hall of Famer Ted Simmons. During the offseason, he had a dispute with Brewers management over the minor league level where he would be placed. Instead of accepting their assignment, Alfaro retired. He became the first player from the 1984 USA Olympic team to retire from professional baseball.

After his baseball career, he worked as a salesman and farmer in Sacramento. 

I am saddened to hear about the passing of Flavio Alfaro. He was a great teammate. I have great memories from that summer of 1984. RIP Flavio https://t.co/t9lfhK0P6D

— Don August (@DonAugust38) January 28, 2021

Flavio Alfaro 1984 Team USA Media Guide

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Hank Aaron - 'I Had To Teach That Kid Something' | Davey Johnson's Favorite Story

Hank Aaron (l.) and Davey Johnson (r.) with Bowie Kuhn

Davey Johnson spent three glorious seasons alongside Hank Aaron on the Atlanta Braves from 1973-1975. Playing with Aaron as he surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record, Johnson witnessed many of the hardships Aaron faced as he pursued the historical mark. 

Watching Aaron chase baseball's cherished milestone, Johnson also secured his own place in the record books alongside the future Hall of Famer. In 1973 along with Darrell Evans, they all reached the 40 home run plateau, becoming the first trio of teammates to accomplish the feat in the same season. 

Even though Johnson was a three-time All-Star and World Series champion with the Baltimore Orioles, he soaked up Aaron's lessons in their time together. He credited Aaron, who died this week at 86, for teaching him how to hit one of the nastiest pitches in baseball. 

“Playing with Henry Aaron and [I watched] him really make the game look easy,” Johnson said during a 2010 interview. “Henry hit whenever he wanted to. I saw so many times things he would do that just were impossible to do. He taught me how to hit a left-hander’s slider off the plate [inside] fair. He did it all the time. … Most normal human beings with the ball slider in, you have to hit it over the dugout over there, but he would be able to hit it fair.” 

After Aaron seized his place as MLBs all-time home run leader in 1974, the Braves usually rested him after flying to the West Coast. Johnson recalled how the legend made an exception from his rest day after he read some incendiary remarks by a opposing rookie pitcher. 

 “We were going to San Francisco from Atlanta,” he said. “When [we] traveled all night, Henry wouldn’t play the next day. 

“Well the next day, he read the paper and a guy named [John] 'Count' Montefusco said in the paper, ‘Why I gotta face this Atlanta club? I’d rather face a good hitting club.’ Henry went to [Eddie] Mathews and said, ‘I’m in the lineup, I’ve gotta teach this guy a lesson.’ He had a wicked slider. I remember two guys were on. Henry’s up, first inning, he looked for his best pitch. He threw him a low and away slider and Henry hit it over the left field wall and came in and said, ‘I had to teach that kid something.’” 

[Ed. Note - Aaron hit the home run in the second inning as the lead off batter facing Montefusco in a September 18, 1974, game.]

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