Friday, August 11, 2023

#258 Art Ditmar - Kansas City Athletics


Arthur John Ditmar
Kansas City Athletics
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  April 3, 1929, Winthrop, MA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1954; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1956; New York Yankees 1957-1961; Kansas City Athletics 1961-1962
Died:  June 11, 2021, Myrtle Beach, SC (age 92)

Art Ditmar pitched in nine seasons in the majors, all with the Athletics or Yankees.  He was the Athletics' starting pitcher on September 19, 1954, the franchise's final home game at Philadelphia's Shine Park before their move to Kansas City in 1955.  He'd lead the league with 22 losses in 1956, a year in which he pitched a career-high 254 1/3 innings.  Ditmar was dealt to the Yankees in February 1957 in a massive 13-player deal that saw the Yankees also add Bobby Shantz (#261) and Clete Boyer.  With the Yankees, Ditmar settled in as a swingman and fifth starter, winning 13 games in 1959 and 15 games in 1960.  He appeared in the World Series with the Yankees in 1957, 1958 and 1960, starting Games 1 and 5 in 1960 against the Pirates.  Ditmar was hit hard in both starts, not lasting through the first inning in Game 1 and getting pulled in the second inning of Game 5, as the Pirates would win the Series in seven games.

Ditmar returned to the Athletics for the final two seasons of his career, and he'd retire in early 1963 after not making the Yankees' squad as a non-roster invitee in spring training.  In 287 games pitched, including 156 starts, Ditmar was 72-77 with a 3.98 ERA and 552 strikeouts over 1,268 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 2, 2000 from Raleigh, NC - Card #219
I went nuts and bought 16 cards for our 1956 Topps set on this day at the Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show in Raleigh.  My records show the 16 cards set me back $55 which I would have considered to be a small fortune back then.  I hadn't yet moved back north yet, so I was still living in Raleigh at this time planning for my eventual escape.  I would have provided my Dad with an updated checklist following this show as he was back in New Jersey.

The Card / Athletics Team Set
Ditmar's rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card.  The first cartoon panel on the back of the card refers to Ditmar as the "No. 2 man on the A's pitching staff in '55," and I'm assuming the top pitcher was Alex Kellner (#176).  Ditmar was 12-12 with a 5.03 ERA in 1955 over 22 starts.  Kellner made 24 starts and was 11-8 with a 4.20 ERA.  The final cartoon panel references his education at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Ditmar would receive his bachelor's degree in 1962 and would later return to the school as their basketball and baseball coach.

1956 Season
Ditmar was a workhorse for the Athletics, and as mentioned above, he threw 254 1/3 innings in 44 appearances, including 34 starts.  He was 12-22 with a 4.42 ERA for the last place Athletics, making 14 more starts than the next closest starting pitcher - Lou Kretlow, who started 20 games.  He threw 14 complete games, including a pair of shutouts, which made him the key to the 13-player deal the Yankees swung with the Athletics following the season.

1955 Bowman #90
1957 Topps #132
1959 Topps #374
1961 Topps #510
1962 Topps #246

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #90
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1956-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-AD

50 - Ditmar non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/11/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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