Bob Wiesler Walked Back to the Yankees

Bob Wiesler was a pitcher in the fifties for the Yankees and Senators, best known for being a roommate of Mickey Mantle and for his ability to walk opposing batters.

For his 6-season major league career and over 241 innings, the lefty walked 218 batters while striking out just 113. In 1956 alone his stats would make any SABRmetrician cry: over 123 innings, he walked 112, striking out 49, and giving up 141 hits for a shocking 2.057 WHIP, a 3-12 record and an ERA of  6.44. Even for a bad, bad Senator team, that was bad.

Wiesler's Baseball-Reference page lists a single multi-player trade for his transactions after his initial signing by the Yankees, which sent him from the Yanks to Washington.

However, Wiesler's career continued until the 1961 season, and saw him go from the Senators to the Yankees system again, followed by the Twins and Angels in 1961.

He goes from the Senators to Richmond (Yankees system) in both 1957 and 1958, and I cannot find these deals anywhere. But he is certainly Yankees property again by 1959, as he is in spring training with the big club, sent to Richmond in an article from the News-Herald from Franklin, PA of April 2, 1959:

 “The New York Yankees today returned first - baseman Frank Leja, shortstop Rod Kanehl and pitcher Bob Wiesler to their Richmond farm club in the International League.”

Wiesler stayed with Richmond until just before the 1961 season, when he headed back to the former original Senators, now the Twins, and their Syracuse AAA club. From the Progress-Index from Petersburg, Va of April 11, 1961:

“The Vees did some cutting yesterday, and among those sent away was veteran lefthander Bob Wiesler, who was sold to Syracuse. He has been with the Vees since 1957.”

"Vees" was short for Virginians, the Richmond team nickname.

Wiesler's return to the Senators/Twins system was short-lived, one two-inning, 3-walk, 5-hit, 4-earned-run performance. From the Syracuse Post-Standard of April 25, 1961:

 “The Syracuse Chiefs began "Operation Shakeup'' yesterday by releasing Pitcher Bob Wiesler.”

Weisler finished the season at Dallas-Fort Worth, an Angels minor league team, but I could not find the signing date.

If anyone can fill in the blanks for Wiesler's moves between Richmond and Washington, let me know!

Wiesler photo stolen from http://www.tradingcarddb.com

Some 1963 Mets: Duke Carmel, Ted Schreiber, Chico Fernandez

The 1963 Mets were terrible, just not quite as terrible as the 1962 team. They finished 51-111, dead last, 48 games out.

The cast of characters changed a bit. They added not one but TWO Dukes, Snider and Carmel. Snider performed pretty well, considering, with an OPS+ well over 100, but Carmel....not so bad for him, really, at 94 OPS+.

Carmel bounced around quite a bit, with the Cardinals picking him up several times. His Baseball-Reference page lists many of the deals, with a couple of unknown deals I couldn't dig up. One that I DID find was an unlisted side trip for Carmel in 1965 to the Giants organization.

In 1965, Carmel was inexplicably drafted by the Yankees and after originally not making the team in spring training, was brought in after a Yankee injury. After going 0-for-8 with 5 strikeouts, Carmel was back in Buffalo and the Mets' minors. Soon he went to the PCL in this deal found in the Schenectady Gazette of July 27, 1965:

“Oufielder Duke Carmel of the International League Buffalo Bisons was sold outright Monday by the New York Mets to Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League…”

 
Tacoma was a Giants AAA team then. In 39 games with Tacoma, Duke hit just .204 so it was back to Buffalo for Carmel. From the Schenectady Gazette of Sep. 15, 1965:

“Duke Carmel, an outfielder for Buffalo in the International Baseball League before he was sold to Tacoma, Wash., in the Pacific Coast League, rejoined the Bisons Tuesday.”

“Carmel went to Tacoma on a conditional sale July 26….”

Evidently Carmel's performance did not meet the conditions.

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Ted Schreiber was an infielder that came up as a Boston prospect before a Rule V draft landed him on the Mets. He didn't hit particularly well. even for a Met at the time, and 1963 was his only season in the majors.

In 1963 he went to Buffalo, where he would stay until partway through the 1965 season. Though the deal isn't listed on Schreiber's Baseball-Reference page,  he is sent to the Oriole AAA team in Rochester in this deal I found in the Democrat and Chronicle of Aug. 7, 1965:

“The Red Wings won a ball game, 10-5; got a ball player, Ted Schreiber; and all but nailed down the Red Wing won-lost championship for pitcher Billy Short last night.”

“Schreiber, a Buffalo Bison infielder, has been purchased through the courtesy of Baltimore Oriole money for the Rochester infield.”

Schreiber finished his career after that season was over.

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Chico Fernandez was a veteran shortstop who started for the 1961 Tigers, one of the best teams to not make the playoffs. They had the unfortunate luck of having that year (101-61) the same time the Yankees had their best team of the sixties.

Fernandez was a Dodger prospect that bounced to the Phils, Tigers and then the Mets in 1963. No longer hitting or fielding well enough to stick with the Mets, he was dealt to the White Sox according to his Baseball-Reference page.

The ChiSox sent Fernandez to their AAA in Indianapolis, but Fernandez goes back to the Detroit minors and finishes the season at Syracuse in a deal not chronicled.

While I couldn't find the complete details in a newspaper article of the time, this later article from the 

March 23, 1965 Indianapolis Star does give us a bit of the picture:

“Two outfielders on the Lynchburg roster who began drilling with Indians are veterans Jesse Queen and Jim Koranda. The Indians obtained Queen near the end of the 1964 season as part of the transaction which sent Chico Fernandez to Syracuse.”

So we can figure that Fernandez was sent to Syracuse for Queen, and that there might have been other parts in the deal. If you find it, let us know!

Carmel (top) and Fernandez (bottom pic) lifted from 

www.centerfieldmaz.com

Schreiber pic from 

www.baseball-birthdays.net