Today on the blog, we go and add catcher Manny Sanguillen to my long-running 1977 "N.L. Centennial" sub-set, celebrating the National League's 100th anniversary of 1976:
Sanguillen really gets overlooked when it comes to how well he
played during his 13-year career, all but 1977 spent with the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
This was a catcher who hit over .300 four times, with a high of
.328 in 1975, while also topping .280 another four times, before
retiring with a robust .296 career average.
I personally think he may have been ripped off a Rookie of the Year
in 1969 when he hit .303 with 62 runs scored and 57 runs batted in as a
rookie catcher, losing to the Dodgers Ted Sizemore (a STRONG argument
can also be made for Sanguillen's teammate
Al Oliver, who also could have won).
He was named to three all-star teams, and even garnered some MVP support in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 as a member of the Bucs.
A very nice career for a solid catcher during the 1970's who gets
forgotten among the Benchs, Fisks, Munsons and Simmons of the Majors…