#139 Tommy Carroll - New York Yankees

Thomas Edward Carroll
New York Yankees
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  186
Born:  September 17, 1936, Jamaica, NY
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, January 26, 1955
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1955-1956; Kansas City Athletics 1959

Signed as a bonus baby before the 1955 season, Tom Carroll was required to stay on the Yankees active roster for the entire year.  He appeared in only 14 games in 1955, batting .333 (2 for 6) as a pinch-runner or late-inning defensive replacement at shortstop.  He picked up his first hit on September 25th off Red Sox pitcher Frank Baumann, and was rewarded with a start at shortstop in the final regular season game for the Yankees, batting lead-off.  Carroll returned in 1956, appearing in 36 games and again used primarily as a pinch-runner.  After spending the 1957 and 1958 seasons in the Yankees' minor league system, he was dealt to the Athletics on April 12, 1959 with Russ Snyder for Mike Baxes and Bob Martyn.

Circa 1994

Carroll appeared in 14 games for the Athletics in 1959, and after another season in the minors in 1960 he retired from baseball at the age of 23.  He tallied 64 big league games and batted an even .300 (9 for 30).

Building the Set
March 26, 1994 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #124
This was a seemingly random purchase from Tommy's Collectibles in Winston-Salem, North Carolina during the spring semester of my sophomore year at Wake Forest University.  I paid $4 for the card, which would have been a small fortune to me back in 1994.  We added only 17 cards to our set during the lean year of 1994, with 7 of those arriving on Christmas day courtesy of Kit Young Cards.

My memory is fairly hazy, but I believe Tommy's Collectibles was located on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem in the general vicinity, if not in the same plaza, as Elizabeth's Pizza.  Maybe I wondered into Tommy's this March day after a slice at Elizabeth's?  While Tommy's is long gone, I was happy to quickly find Elizabeth's Pizza after a quick Google search.  That restaurant meant so much to me as a young college student, I took the picture above from their parking lot at some point during the spring of 1994.

The Card / Yankees Team Set
After three Hall of Fame Yankees in a row - Yogi Berra (#110), Phil Rizzuto (#113) and Mickey Mantle (#135) - we come back down to Earth somewhat with a non-Hall of Fame Yankees card.  Upon closer inspection, it looks as if there's a tiny bit of paper loss on Carroll's hat, but otherwise this card is pristine.  If I were in to card grading, I'd be tempted to see what grade this would receive.

The head shot is the same used for Carroll's 1955 Topps rookie card, and the action shot seems to show Carroll being forced out at second base during one of his many pinch-running appearances.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight his collegiate career at Notre Dame, his large signing bonus and his skills as a baserunner.

1956 Season

Still only 19 years old, Carroll appeared in 36 games and batted a very respectable .353 (6 for 17) off the bench.  He made just one start the entire season, on September 30th in the final regular season game, making it two years in a row he received his lone start on the final day of the year.  Batting 8th and playing third base, Carroll flew out in the second and singled to left off Red Sox pitcher Dave Sisler in the fourth.  He may have injured himself on the base paths as Jerry Lumpe replaced him at third to start the top of the fifth.  That was to be the last time Carroll would appear with the Yankees, and his final major league game until April 15, 1959 with the Athletics.

1955 Topps #158

1957 Topps #164

1959 Topps #513

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #158
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1955-1957, 1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-TC

8 - Carroll non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/9/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database