Jim Gentile Should Have Been a Big Head in 1962
But at least he landed on one Killer card
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1962 Topps Home Run Leaders (#53) - Card of the Day
It wasn’t easy for Jim Gentile to get noticed as a professional baseball player.
Sure, he got noticed by professional baseball — the vaunted Brooklyn Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season, after all. Back then, Gentile was still just 17 years old, a high school pitcher.
Dem Bums signed him for his mound prowess, but a year later, they moved him to first base.
Part of the problem was that Gentile had to change his focus from pitching to hitting, and on learning the nuances of first base as a pro.
A bigger problem was Gil Hodges. Already a fixture in Brooklyn by the time Gentile signed, Hodges was on his way toward becoming a legend. He also happened to be the Dodgers’ first baseman.
Young Gentile did all he could to change the calculus of the Dodgers blueprint, hitting 160 home runs while batting .290 three times over the next five seasons. That performance finally got him a quick call-up in September of 1957 — it lasted all of four games.
A 12-game big-league cameo in 1958 with the newly-minted Los Angeles Dodgers was followed by another full season in the minors in 1959. That October, the Dodgers won their second World Series, downing the Go-Go White Sox in six games.
Hodges hit .391 with a home run and five RBI in that Fall Classic after hitting 25 long balls during the regular season. Even at 35, he seemed like he was there for the long haul.
And so, late in October, the Dodgers finally cut ties with their wunderkind. General manager Buzzie Bavasi sent Gentile (and cash) to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later. That PTBNL wouldn’t be named until March 1960, and his name turned out to be Willy Miranda and Bill Lajoie.
The good news for Gentile was that 39-year-old Bob Boyd was the O’s first baseman in 1959, and he wasn’t blocking anyone other than maybe 36-year-old Walt Dropo. And so Baltimore manager Paul Richards dropped his new “prospect” into the 1960 Opening Day starting lineup.
And that’s pretty much where Gentile stayed all season long…and for three summers after that.
That first season in Baltimore, Gentile was 26 years old and hit the ground slugging, connecting for 21 home runs and 98 RBI to go along with his .292 batting average. That left him second in voting for American League Rookie of the Year, behind Ron Hansen and tied with Chuck Estrada.
At 27, Gentile hit his true prime in 1961…just in time to get buried in the New York hype of the day.
All Gentile did for the Birds that summer, as they rolled to 95 wins, was to hit .302 with 46 home runs and 141 RBI. That RBI total tied for the American League, one behind Orlando Cepeda for the major league lead.
The problem for Gentile was the other man who drove in 141 runs — Roger Maris of the Yankees. And, of course, Maris was busy making home run history as he and his Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle marched toward Babe Ruth’s single-season mark of 60.
In the end, Maris took the crown with 61, followed by Mantle with 54, then Gentile and Harmon Killebrew with 46.
Killer and Gentile had monster years, of course, and they were cardboard-rewarded for their efforts with cameos on the 1962 Topps HR leader card above.
But what of the RBI crown Gentile shared with Maris?
Well, Topps issued ten “leaders” cards in 1962, one for each league in two batting categories and three pitching categories: batting average, home runs, wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
The odd man out was RBI, even though that stat held so much weight with MVP voters, fans, and sportswriters for decades.
And, of course, Gentile was also an odd man out, the spotlight bouncing around his toes instead of bathing him in hobby fame.
Even with their 95 wins, the Orioles couldn’t do a lot to boost Gentile’s profile on the national scene, either, as they finished in third place in the American League behind both the Yankees and Tigers. The young-ish first baseman at least managed to finish third in MVP voting behind Maris and Mantle.
By the time Baltimore started winning pennants and World Series in 1966, Gentile was long gone, traded to the Kansas City A’s for Norm Siebern in November 1963.
And then to the Astros for Jesse Hickman and Ernie Fazio in June 1965.
And then to the Indians for Tony Curry in July 1966.
That would be Gentile’s final summer in the majors, and he never came close to his 1961 peak again. Still, he managed 33 long balls in 1962 and 20-plus in three other seasons.
All in all, in parts of nine big league campaigns, Gentile hit .260 with 179 home runs, 549 RBI, one league-leader card, and not nearly as much lasting fame as his talent and accomplishments deserved.
And today, Diamond Jim Gentile turns 90 years old.
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Looking Good Losing
That 1962 Topps set also brought collectors the first baseball cards of the brand spanking new New York Mets. Sometimes, as with the Al Jackson card above, that even meant a glimpse of the new/old hat logo that could have been mistaken for the old/old New York Giants logo in the right light — which means pretty much any light.
And never mind that Jackson lost 20 games that summer — he didn’t even “lead” the Mets in that category, thanks to Roger Craig’s 24.
For more on this card and the first-year Mets stink that still lingers, check out this now-long-ago post.
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Alright, it’s a Monday, which means there’s coffee to drink and miles of puns to go until we sleep. The good thing about that is, baseball — and especially baseball cards — always provide plenty of material for the cheesy stuff and to just help us through the week.
See you tomorrow, and thanks for reading.
—Adam