On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1972 card for former catcher Rick Stelmaszek, who made his MLB debut in 1971 with a handful of games with the Washington Senators in their last season of play before relocating to Texas as the Rangers:
Stelmaszek
went 0-for-9 at the plate over six games while putting in time behind
the plate for the Senators before spending all of 1972 in the Minors.
He'd make it back to the Big Leagues in 1973, going on to appear in seven games
for the now relocated franchise before a trade in May sent him to the
Angels.
He’d appear in 22 games for California, one of the MANY catchers the Angels seemed to have at that time, batting .154 for them and a combined .143 between the two organizations.
It was a short-lived tenure with his new team, and he would find himself playing for his hometown Chicago Cubs by the time the 1974 season opened up, playing in 25 games and batting .227 with 10 hits over 56 at-bats while filling in behind the plate.
Those would actually be the last Big League games for Stelmaszek, though he would toil in the Minors for another four years, each year for a different organization, retiring as a player after the 1978 season.
All told, he finished with a .170 batting average, with 15 hits over 88 at-bats in 60 lifetime games, driving in 10 runs while scoring four himself.
He’d appear in 22 games for California, one of the MANY catchers the Angels seemed to have at that time, batting .154 for them and a combined .143 between the two organizations.
It was a short-lived tenure with his new team, and he would find himself playing for his hometown Chicago Cubs by the time the 1974 season opened up, playing in 25 games and batting .227 with 10 hits over 56 at-bats while filling in behind the plate.
Those would actually be the last Big League games for Stelmaszek, though he would toil in the Minors for another four years, each year for a different organization, retiring as a player after the 1978 season.
All told, he finished with a .170 batting average, with 15 hits over 88 at-bats in 60 lifetime games, driving in 10 runs while scoring four himself.
