Quote:
Originally Posted by rlumpkin1@tampabay.rr.com
Hello. Are there any known photo's of Jack Baldschun in an Oakland A's Uni? I seen him listed on there 1969 Spring Roster.
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Topps or not, the existence of Baldschun would seem plausible. This is from his SABR biography:
By 1969 Baldschun appeared out of a job. Although he was still technically Cincinnati’s property, in February, at the request of the Oakland A’s, the Reds, who planned to release Baldschun, granted him a 30-day trial with Oakland; 1969 was an expansion year and the A’s had lost several pitchers to the new Seattle Pilots franchise, so Oakland was in desperate need of bullpen help.
In Arizona, despite pitching well for Oakland, Baldschun was the last player cut. Later, Oakland manager Hank Bauer, who’d been the Baltimore manager when Baldschun briefly became an Oriole, told the press that he’d wanted to keep Baldschun, but that owner Charlie Finley wanted to go with youth. On the afternoon of a spring-training game against San Diego, Bauer told Padres manager Preston Gomez that he was being forced to cut Baldschun, but that he thought the right-hander could help the Padres. So Gomez contacted Cincinnati, confirmed that Baldschun was available (he’d been released), and signed the veteran pitcher. The bargain-basement move was a boon for both Baldschun and San Diego, as he appeared in 61 games and won seven times for the expansion franchise.