Fun card to add to the "wthballs" virtual card collection, a "not
so missing" 1970 card for Gold Glove winning outfielder Cesar Geronimo,
who you may remember later on as part of the juggernaut "Big Red Machine
Cincinnati Reds teams of the mid-70's:
Geronimo
made his Big League debut with 28 games in 1969 with the Houston
Astros, hitting .250 with two hits over eight at-bats, including a
double.
Over the next two seasons he'd never really get any
full-time action with Houston, and that would all change when he was
part of the famous Joe Morgan trade before the 1972 season, sending him
to the rising Cincinnati Reds team.
Geronimo would flourish,
winning four straight Gold Gloves between 1974 and 1977, hitting as high
as .307 in 1976, and give the two-time World Champion Reds a solid
defender out in centerfield through the rest of the decade.
In
1981 he found himself in Kansas City, where he played through the 1983
season, never playing more than 59 games in any one season, retiring at
the age of 35.
All told, Geronimo hit .258 over 15 seasons,
with 977 hits in 3780 at-bats and 1522 games, winning two championships
with the Reds in 1975 and 1976, and the aforementioned four Gold Gloves
for his defensive prowess.
