Pitcher Fernando...Rodriguez

Fernando (Freddy) Rodriguez pitched for a LONG time in the minors, from 1945 to 1962, and made a couple major league appearances with the Cubs and Phillies in 1958 and 1959.

His Baseball Reference page lists this transaction link:

• December 10, 1957: Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Tom Poholsky.
• Before 1959 Season: Sent from the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies in an unknown transaction.
• June 5, 1959: Purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)   

I was able to find how Freddy got from the Cubs to the Phillies...from the Roseburg, OR News Review of June 17, 1958...

"PORTLAND (AP) The Portland Beavers, currently resting in seventh place in the Pacific Coast League, Monday received outfielder Dave Melton from the Kansas City Athletics in return for pitcher Fernando Rodriguez. Melton was sent to Portland on option and Rodriguez was optioned to Kansas City's Intenational League farm club, Buffalo."

Melton evidently stayed under A's control, but Freddy was under BUFFALO control, albeit in the A's system. The next season, Buffalo became a Philadelphia affiliate, and Rodriguez went along with the ride. 

Melton returned to the A's in 1959.

Rodriguez and Melton pics stolen from www.ootpdevelopments.com

 

The A was for Astroth

Joe Astroth was a pretty solid part-time catcher for the A's of Philadelphia and Kansas City in the late forties and into the fifties. His throwing arm was obviously pretty good, in 1953 he threw out 72% of baserunners trying to steal and finished just below 50% for his career,

By the 1956 season, Astroth was pretty much done as a major league player. His Baseball Reference major league page shows a few games in Kansas City, but no transactions to explain his appearances in San Diego later that season, or in Buffalo (back in the A's system) in 1957-8.

We find one of the answers in the San Rafael, CA Daily Independent Journal of May 17, 1956...

"Kansas City Athletics—In addition to the Santiago and Valo moves, optioned pitchers Arnie Portocarrero to Birmingham of the Southern Assn., Art Ceccarelli to Columbus of the International League and Bill Harrington to San Diego of the Pacific Const league, and sold catcher Joe Astroth to San Diego."

So the move was not an option, it was a straight out sale to San Diego, an independent team at the time.

The next season, former-Illini Astroth ends up in Buffalo. From the Reading Eagle of Oct. 13, 1956... 

 

“San Diego of the Pacific Coast League sold three players today….Padre General Manager Ralph Kiner said he sold catcher Joe Astroth to Buffalo of the International League…”

A straight-up sale from a then-independent team back to the A's organization, AAA Buffalo. The article mentions that Cleveland was about to take over the Padres for their AAA team. Good to be able to wrap up the transactions for the former Illini athlete. 

Great Joe Astroth card pic from

www.tradingcarddb.com

 

John Werhas: Traded Halfway Across the World

John Werhas is an interesting fellow. A major athlete at USC, he didn't quite break into major league stardom, though he did have time with the Dodgers and Angels. His major league Baseball Reference page has just his first signing as a free agent with the Dodgers, and his subsequent trade to the Angels as transactions. He had a few more stops to go.

Somehow, he goes from the Angels in 1967, to the Phillies' San Diego AAA club in 1968. This article from the Buffalo Courier Express of March 15, 1968 does NOT help straighten things out:

In an article previewing the 1968 Buffalo AAA season: "Heading the list of candidates for the third base job is John Werhas.....Werhas, a third baseman most of his career, was purchased by the parent Washington Senators form the California Angels during the winter."

Well, that is wonderful. EXCEPT HE DIDN'T PLAY FOR BUFFALO THAT YEAR.

He went to San Diego, and then Hawaii in 1969. I haven't been able to find anything on those deals yet.

Then comes this for 1971 in the Times record of Troy, New York of Nov. 19, 1970..

"John Werhas, 32, an American Third baseman formerly with Los Angeles, California and the Pacific Coast league's Hawaii Islanders will play for the Central League's Taiyo Whales in 1911, Hie Japanese professional baseball club announced today."

This scanned article  from, I believe, a Honolulu newspaper, mentions Werhas was sold by Hawaii to Taiyo.

Werhas returned to the Hawaii club in a historical trade. From this SABR Asian Baseball Committee timeline entry:

'Former New York Yankee third-baseman Clete Boyer, now with the Pacific Coast Hawaii Islanders, is traded to the Taiyo Whales of Japan for John Werhas in what is billed as a “history-making deal … the first time that players were exchanged by American and Japanese teams.”

Werhas stayed with Hawaii until he was dealt to Eugene in a deal covered in the Joe Moeller blog entry last time.

Werhas is now a Senior Pastor at The Rock Community Church in Anaheim Hills, CA!

Gordy Coleman Traded to Get Coaching Experience

Gordy Coleman was a very productive player for the Reds during the early sixties, manning the first base bag after coming over from the Indians at the end of the 1959 season. He stayed with the Reds through the beginning of the 1967 season, as he slowed down at the plate while youngsters like Lee May and Tony Perez were starting to blossom.

He was sent down to the minors, to AAA Buffalo, but then finished the year at Spokane in the Dodgers chain, with no transaction listed. We find it in the Amsterdam (NY) Recorder of June 28, 1967...

"The Cincinnati Reds sold first baseman Gordy Coleman to Spokane of the Pacific Coast League on Tuesday (June 27)."

Well that is right to the point. Coleman spent the rest of the season as a bench/backup for Spokane player, but a player/coach as well, which set him up for his future employment back with the Reds..

The Spokane Daily Chronicle of Oct. 31, 1967     has an article "Coleman Gets New Red Job" that talks about how Coleman was looking forward to his new role as a coach for the Reds after "very capably" serving as a player-coach for Spokane!

Coleman from www.vintagecardprices.com

Cardinals Trade Rochester for Don Landrum

The site “On a Silver Diamond” is a brilliant history of the Rochester minor league team, and a site that I have used frequently in compiling the entries on this blog.

While searching around for information on Dick Ricketts, the former Cardinals pitcher/pro basketball player, I found where he went from Rochester and the Cardinals system in 1961 to Buffalo and the Phillies system in 1961.

Little did I know that the details in the move were pivotal in the history of Rochester baseball…

“Noticed by few that day was the Cardinal's acquisition of Buffalo outfielder Don Landrum, who had led the IL in several offensive categories. Former Wing infielder Bob Sadowski, who spent the remainder of the season in San Diego, was the player named to complete the trade. He was not, however, the sole player going to Buffalo. The bombshell came the next day, when the Cards announced that Jim Frey, Billy Harrell, Wally Shannon and Dick Ricketts would go to Buffalo to consummate the deal. The foursome would be allowed to complete their seasons in Rochester, but the deal, which took three regulars and a starting pitcher, loomed dark over prospects for the next season.” - "On a Silver Diamond"

Further reading in the articles shows how taken aback the Rochester franchise was by this move, and it certainly was a factor in their dropping a working agreement with the Cardinals…joining with the Orioles.

But what about the trade itself? It doesn’t show on Harrell, Shannon, or Ricketts’ pages, and Don Landrum's Baseball Reference page   has this:

September 19, 1960: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bob Sadowski.

Well, we need to add the “and players to be named later” and Ricketts, Frey, Shannon and Harrell to the list.

Of those four, Harrell never played for Buffalo. He was snatched up in December by Boston in a Rule V pickup. Ricketts, Frey and Shannon all finished with Buffalo over the next few seasons.

Ricketts from:www.vintagecardprices.com

Harrell from: www.tradingcarddb.com

Sadowski (not that one) from: www.ootpdevelopments.com

Landrum from comc.com

 

Shannon from: Amazon!