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Gus Triandos
Baltimore Orioles
First Base
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'3" Weight: 205
Born: July 30, 1930, San Francisco, CA
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1953-1954; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1962; Detroit Tigers 1963; Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1965; Houston Astros 1965
Died: March 28, 2013, San Jose, CA (age 82)
A slugging catcher who enjoyed his best seasons in the late 1950s, Gus Triandos was a three-time All-Star who hit 167 career home runs over his 13-year career. Triandos enjoyed his best years with the Orioles between 1955 and 1962, hitting at least 17 home runs in five seasons. His best season statistically came in 1958 when he hit a career high 30 home runs and drove in 79 runs. That was also the season he was named the starting catcher for the A.L. All-Stars, ending the eight-year reign of the Yankees' Yogi Berra (#110). It was the Yankees who had originally traded Triandos away to the Orioles in November 1954 as part of a blockbuster 17-player trade. I first wrote about that trade with the Bob Turley (#40) card here.
Triandos was also known for his defense behind the plate, leading the A.L. in the caught stealing category in both 1957 and 1959, and finishing in the top ten for fielding percentage as a catcher in three different seasons. After a year with the Tigers in 1963, he was traded to the Phillies where he shared catching duties with Clay Dalrymple. After a 24-game stint with the Astros in 1965, Triandos retired and served as a part-time scout for the Dodgers in the mid-1970s. He was elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1981, the fifth member enshrined following Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Dave McNally and Boog Powell.
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| Christmas Eve 2004 |
Building the Set
December 25, 2004 from San Diego, CA - Card #257
This is the fifth of six cards my Dad gave me for Christmas in 2004, and I've already covered the cards for Andy Carey (#12), Bob Kennedy (#38), "Windy" McCall (#44) and Johnny O'Brien (#65). My Dad never told me how much he paid for the six cards he ordered from Kit Young Cards in San Diego. Kit Young was a favorite of my Dad's, and I can picture him making the long distance call to California with a dollar amount in mind for this purchase.
And only after researching and composing this post did I realize I've been saying Triandos' name wrong my whole life. I've always pronounced his last name "Trinidos" like the country Trindad, completely omitting the "A."
The Card
Triandos had his rookie card in the 1955 Topps set, and this card borrows the same main picture. The action shot shows Triandos in a Yankees uniform, wearing the #26 he wore in 1953 and 1954 with his original team. Triandos wore #11 during his time with the Orioles.
With Hal Smith (#62) the regular catcher for the Orioles, Triandos moved to first base in 1955 after being acquired from the Yankees. He played 103 games at first, and still managed to catch 36 games as the back-up to Smith. He ran away with the team lead in home runs with 12, with Dave Philley (#222), Cal Abrams and Hoot Evers finishing a distant second place, all tied with six. His 65 RBIs topped the 52 from Smith.
1956 Season
Triandos resumed his duties behind the plate in 1956 and the Orioles traded away Smith on August 17th. In 131 games, Triandos hit .279 with 21 home runs and a career high 88 RBIs. Working with manager Paul Richards, Triandos became one of the best catchers in the league, both from a defensive and offensive standpoint.Phillies Career
On December 5, 1963, Triandos was traded to the Phillies from the Tigers along with Jim Bunning for Don Demeter and Jack Hamilton. It turned out to be a fairly lopsided trade in favor of the Phillies as Bunning would go on to add to his Hall of Fame career numbers. Triandos was behind the plate on Father's Day 1964 when Bunning threw his perfect game, collecting a pair of hits, driving in two runs and scoring a run. Wearing #9, Triandos quickly got out of the way following the final strikeout of Bunning's masterpiece as his teammates mobbed the mound.
He shared catching duties in 1964 with Dalrymple, with Dalrymple starting 110 games to Triandos' 52. Following the historic Phillies collapse of 1964, Triandos was back as Dalrymple's back-up to start the 1965 season. When the Phillies decided they wanted to get a better look at young catching prospect Pat Corrales, Triandos was sold to the Astros on August 20th. In 103 games with the Phillies, Triandos hit .226 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.
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| Bunning's perfect game - Triandos is behind the plate wearing #9 |
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #64
First Topps Card: 1955 Topps #64
Representative Phillies Card: 1965 Topps #248
Last Topps Card: 1965 Topps #248
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1986 TCMA All-Time Baltimore Orioles #6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1955-1965
75 - Triandos non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/30/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
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.
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Order Collected: #65 Johnny O'Brien - Pittsburgh Pirates / #160 Billy Pierce - Chicago White Sox
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