Donald Hugh Ferrarese
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Left Height: 5'9" Weight: 170
Born: June 19, 1929, Oakland, CA
Acquired: Purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League), December 6, 1954
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960; Philadelphia Phillies 1961-1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1962
Born: June 19, 1929, Oakland, CA
Acquired: Purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League), December 6, 1954
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960; Philadelphia Phillies 1961-1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1962
As a starting pitcher for the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League, Don Ferrarese's 1954 season caught the attention of major league teams when he went 18-15 with a 3.74 ERA and 184 strikeouts over 250 innings pitched. Those wins, strikeouts and innings pitched marks would be the highest of his professional career. Debuting with the Orioles in 1955, Ferrarese would spend parts of the next eight seasons as a swingman for five different clubs. His best seasons came with the Indians in 1958 (3-4, 3.71 ERA in 94 2/3 innings pitched) and with the Phillies in 1961 (5-12, 3.76 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 138 2/3 innings pitched). He closed out his career with the Cardinals, appearing in 38 games, all in relief, in 1962.
From the 1961 Phillies Yearbook - Second Edition |
Building the Set
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #246
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego. The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey. It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot. We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #246
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego. The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey. It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot. We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.
Pictures from the Christmas of 2003 show us opening gifts at my Mom's house on December 26th, which has since become a tradition for us. So while the official set records indicate these nine cards were added on December 25th, it was most likely a day later I opened the cards while in Millville.
The Card / Orioles Team Set
Ferrarese's rookie card can be found in the 1955 Topps set, and it uses the same main photo as this card. A "2" can be seen on the back of his jersey in the action shot, but according to his Baseball Reference page, Ferrarese wore #46, #39 and #37 during his Orioles career. The first two cartoons on the back of the card highlight his minor league career, and the final panel predicts Ferrarese will "help the Orioles move up to the first division in '56." That didn't quite happen, as Paul Richards' club improved over its 1955 record, but still finished with a 69-85 record.
1956 Season
Phillies Career
On April 1, 1961, the White Sox sold Ferrarese to the Phillies. As mentioned above, this was one of his best big league seasons, despite the 5-12 record. Behind Art Mahaffey, Ferrarese was the best performing pitcher on the team's staff, as Gene Mauch's Phillies lost a near franchise-record 107 games. Only the 1928 Phillies and three teams from the 1940s lost more than that. The bullpen was used frequently during the season, with Frank Sullivan (#71), Ferrarese and Dallas Green seeing the most action. Ferrarese began the 1962 season in the Phillies bullpen, but after five appearances was dealt to the Cardinals for pitcher Bobby Locke on April 28th. In 47 games with the Phillies, including 14 starts, he was 5-13 with a 3.96 ERA.
He appeared in the 1961 Topps set as a member of the Phillies. His 1962 Topps card shows him wearing a Phillies jersey, but with his new team designation, the Cardinals.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #185
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1955-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #547
19 - Ferrarese non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/14/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #185
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1955-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #547
19 - Ferrarese non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/14/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #232 "Toby" Atwell - Pittsburgh Pirates / #278 Chet Nichols - Milwaukee Braves
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