How About a Hit for Your Pitcher Dupree?

And maybe some bling from your keystone Tito?

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1977 Topps Rookie Pitchers (#491) - Card of the Day

Sometimes, when things go right, you just have to leave well enough alone and count your blessings.

You know, like the first-time gambler who hits the jackpot on his first pull of the one-armed bandit and walks away from the floor forever.

Or the child star who brings an iconic role to life, forever becoming part of mainstream culture, and then never acts again.

Or Mike Dupree.

For starters, Dupree seemed destined to pitch for a 1969 expansion team, drafted twice by the Royals and once by the Padres. That last one, in January 1973, stuck.

And that made all the difference when it came to Dupree’s dalliance with perfection a few years later. Because, if Dupree had signed with the hometown Royals (he was born in Kansas City), he never would have gotten the chance.

See…

After three years in the Padres minor league system, Dupree got the call to the bigs in April 1976. Manager John McNamara found a use for the right-hander in the bottom of the seventh against the Dodgers on April 13.

Dupree’s job was to hold a 7-1 lead handed to him by Brent Strom. He kept most of that padding intact, giving up a run on two hits that inning.

It was enough to stay in the game, even with the pitcher’s batting slot coming up in the eighth. Batting third in the inning, with Hector Torres and Fred Kendall already down before him, Dupree delivered a two-out single off Charlie Hough.

That was the start of a mini rally, with Johnny Grubb walking and Tito Fuentes driving in Dupree before Willie Davis struck out.

From there, Dupree pitched a scoreless eighth, then gave up one in the ninth and loaded the bases before Butch Metzger relieved him with one out. Two more runs scored, one on an error, and all charged to Dupree.

It was a rough way to start a big league career, but Dupree got 11 more chances through May 19 before the Pads bounced him to Triple-A Hawaii, where he’d spend the rest of the season. And all of 1977. And 1978. And 1979.

In fact, Dupree never did make it back to the majors. And what’s more, he never again came to bat in the majors after that debut outing on April 13, 1973.

So, even though his MLB pitching line stands at 0-0 with a fairly shocking 9.19 ERA, his batting line is unblemished: 1-for-1 with a run scored.

That first (and only) run with the Padres was enough to catch Topps’ attention, though, and they included Dupree in their 1977 set on a rookie card that rounded out its four-man rotation with Dennis Martinez, Craig Mitchell, and Bob Sykes.

Truth is, Dupree was scouted as a pitcher and outfielder out of Fresno City College, and the Padres drafted him with the idea that he’d be an infielder. And he hit well throughout his minor league career, racking up a .293 batting average to go along with 10 home runs and 131 RBI in 484 games on the farm.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp must have been paying attention to that batting line, because they brought Dupree to Japan for the 1980 season. He hit .266 with 10 dingers and 40 ribbies in 127 games during his only season in the Japan Central League.

Not quite perfect, but not too shabby, either.

Today, Mike Dupree turns 71 years old.

Tito’s Clutch Style

The inning before Fuentes drove in Dupree, he clubbed a single off Burt Hooton that scored Dan Spillner and Gene Locklear. It was a strange turn of events because, in the span of those two frames, Fuentes drove in three runs — one-twelfth of his eventual 36 on the season.

Not only that, but two of the runs came from the feet of hurlers, though Spillner didn’t throw a pitch in this contest. Instead, he pinch-ran for Willie McCovey…who pinch hit for pitcher Brent Strom.

And Locklear didn’t take the field, either, replaced by Fred Kendall when the Padres took the field in the bottom of the seventh.

But, hey, Tito always did have a certain flair, as evidenced by his 1977 Topps card. Read all about the secrets that card holds right here.

—

Alright, that gets us over the hump of this week, although this week doesn’t really have a hump thanks to the holiday on Monday.

So we’re sort of playing a best-of-four. And if we end up tied, with two good days and two bad, we can always lump them in with next week — best-of-nine, 1903 World Series-style!

For now, I have to go try and find my mustard suit so I can be Tito Fuentes in the side yard for a game of catch.

Thanks for reading.

—Adam