Cesar Tovar Took a Well-Worn Off-Ramp
And collectors were the big winners
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1977 Topps Cesar Tovar (#408) - Card of the Day
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The New York Yankees have established a ton of traditions over the years, and whether the pinstripes make you long for the “Summer of George” or scream out, “Can’t Stand You!”, the game just wouldn’t be the same without Yankee lore.
One bit of that tradition that has served collectors well is the idea that, for stars of the game, all roads lead to Yankee Stadium…eventually. Indeed, New York has collected superstar and Hall of Fame players like they were World Series rings over the decades.
That’s no coincidence.
You can see that effect at play with the 1999 Yankees, where big names like Darryl Strawberry, Rogers Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Chili Davis, and Tino Martinez converged from other baseball locales to take a title.
Roll back to the 1977 champs, and you’ll find guys like Catfish Hunter, Don Gullett, Reggie Jackson, Paul Blair, and Mickey Rivers among the transplants.
Trace the franchise back through the ages (especially in the free agent era) to any given year, and you’ll find a long line of top-drawer stars who made their names elsewhere.
That’s been a boon for card collectors, even if it means adding more Yankees to our keeper lineups.
For example, step back a year from New York’s 1977 championship, and you’ll find a team similarly stocked (plus-or-minus) with outside help and ready to step into the fray of the 1976 Fall Classic against the Reds.
One of the guys who was with the team when they clinched the division title in late September was former Twins standout Cesar Tovar.
Tovar starred for Minnesota from 1966 through 1972, helping the team win the first two American League West division titles. He was something of a superutility guy, racking up regular at-bats time while splitting his time mostly between second base and all three outfield slots.
Though he never made an All-Star team, Tovar picked up MVP votes five straight seasons (1967 through 1971). He also led the A.L. in both doubles and triples in 1970 and in hits in 1971 while hitting a career-high .311.
All good things must come to an end, though, except for maybe Dexter, and so it was that the Twins traded Tovar to the Phillies after the 1972 season for Joe Lis, Ken Reynolds, and Ken Sanders.
After a season in Philadelphia, Tovar landed with the Rangers and A’s over the next few seasons through non-trade transactions. He was no longer at the top of his game by 1975, but he did log more ALCS playing time with Oakland. His slide on the field continued the next season, though, and the A’s released him in August.
Then, as night follows day, the Yankees came calling.
Tovar signed with New York on September 1, 1976 and played in three games for the Bombers that month. He hit .154 and was done in the majors, having joined New York too late to also join in their October postseason romp.
But Tovar’s future was uncertain enough that Topps included him in their 1977 set, as you see at the top of this post.
Since Tovar would spend 1977 through 1979 in the Mexican and Inter-American Leagues, but never return to MLB, this Topps number was also a career-caper:
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Tovar would go on to become a member of three Halls of Fame:
Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame (1996)
Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame (2003)
Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame (2022)
Unfortunately, all of those enshrinements were posthumous, as Tovar died in 1994.
But on a happier note for us today, Cesar Leonardo Tovar was born on July 3, 1940.
Ball Four Not Required…But Always Recommended
Tovar debuted for the Twins against the Yankees at Metropolitan Stadium on April 12, 1965. He relieved starting third baseman in the fourth inning and eventually delivered a Twins 5-4 victory with a walkoff single in the tenth inning. Before that, though, he picked up a single in his first big league at-bat in the fifth.
The victim? Jim Bouton, who’s classic Ball Four is always worth another read.
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