The Nitty Gritty Catchers Card of the Day!

Sorry I never posted the third Card of the Day last night… I tried, but I was just TOO TIRED. I have got 4 hours of sleep and I am super energized, SO here is the Nitty Gritty Card of the Day. It comes from the 1965 Topps set, card #61 of ORIGINAL New York Mets catcher Chris Cannizzaro. I was hoping to find another catcher wearing a mask, but those aren’t easy to find, if you want more of them, check out this link to a Night Owl post from April 2009 that covers all the mask action you could ever ask for…The back of the card has a cartoon wearing a mask, so that helps. The cartoon celebrates Cannizzarro being an American Association All Star in 1959. 10 years later he was a National League All Star (but didn’t play) for the San Diego Padres in 1969. Cannizzaro led the ’64 Mets with a .311 batting average in 60 games. From 1962 to 1965 with the Mets he only allowed 61 stolen bases (in 249 games) gunning down 56% of would be stealers. He spent the entire seasons of 1966-1967 in AAA, but returned to the majors with the Pirates in 1968. He was traded to the expansion San Diego Padres before the 1969 season and represented them as an All Star. The Padres only won 52 games and didn’t have many bright spots, CC was a veteran leader who knew all about being on a horrible expansion team. He caught the majority of their games and handled a pitching staff of future stars like Joe Niekro and aging veterans like Johnny Podres. From there he spent time as a part time catcher with the Cubs and the Dodgers, but returned to San Diego for his final season in the big leagues in 1974. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to vote for the greatest catcher of ALL TIME. 45 years LATER.