 |
 |
Raymond Leroy Moore
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher
Born: June 1, 1926, Meadows, MD
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1952-1953; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Chicago White Sox 1958-1960; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1963
Died: March 2, 1995, Clinton, MD (age 68)
Not known for his control, Ray Moore still put together an 11-year big league career, winning 12 games as a starter with the Orioles in 1956 and serving as the first closer in Twins team history in 1961. He frequently had just as many walks as strikeouts each season, leading the league in 1957 with 112 bases on balls. In 365 career games, he tallied 612 strikeouts to 560 walks.
As a reliever and later a closer, Moore finished in the top ten for saves in the American League four times - 1955, 1960, 1961 and 1962 - and earned 47 saves over his career. Moore was a member of the 1959 White Sox team that won the A.L. pennant, pitching an inning in Game 6 and allowing a home run to the Dodgers' Chuck Essegian in the top of the 9th. The Dodgers would win the game, 9-3, and the World Series, 4 games to 2.
Building the SetOctober 3, 1988 in Millville, NJ - Card #66
This was one of three 1956 Topps cards my parents gave me for my 15th birthday, the others being Dean Stone (#87) and Jake Martin (#129). I'm 95% certain my Dad purchased these cards at a baseball card show held at our local Y.M.C.A. in August and then gave them to me a few months later. I was more focused on building our 1973 Topps set in the summer of '88, as those cards were more readily available and much cheaper. My allowance from mowing lawns only went so far.
We didn't get autographs from either of the show's guests, Spook Jacobs or Chris Short. I'm kicking myself now, over 30 years later, for not spending the $2 it would have cost me for an autograph and a picture with Short.
The Card
It's hard for me to tell if Moore is posing in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium or not. Not only is the head shot the same as his 1955 Topps card, it looks as if the action shot is taken from the same photo session as well. The photographer must have asked Moore to move his head a little for the two different poses.
It has to be hard for the people writing the backs of these cards to sometimes come up with three panels to fill. The final panel "celebrates" Moore's 10-10 record in 1955 and accurately points out that he appeared in 46 games, leading the pitching staff.
1956 Season
Moving in from the bullpen, Moore was the top starting pitcher for the Orioles in 1956. He started a team-high 27 games and finished with a 12-7 record and a 4.18 ERA. That's pretty good considering the Orioles finished in 6th place with a 69-85 record. His best stretch came after the All-Star break when he went 6-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 14 starts.
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #208
First Topps Card: 1955 Topps #208
Last Topps Card: 1963 Topps #26
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Crown Orioles #312
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1955-1963
32 - Moore non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/20/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #25 Ted Kluszewski - Cincinnati Redlegs / #87 Dean Stone - Washington Nationals
No comments:
Post a Comment