#285 - Ellie Rodriguez

Card fact: This is the seventh card in the set of a player posed in a catcher's crouch. I would have thought there would have been more by now.

What I thought about this card then: Believe it or not, this was a "dude looks like a lady" card. As a youngster, I thought Rodriguez looked girlish. Maybe it was because his first name was "Ellie" or maybe it was because the first time I saw this card it was owned by my friend Jennifer. I don't know. It's just what I thought at the time.

What I think about this card now: The cap reminds me very much of a cap I wore as a kid. But instead of the "A" on the cap, it had an "L.A." as in the old Los Angeles Angels. A well-meaning relative bought me a "Dodgers" cap that actually was a "Los Angeles Angels" cap, patterned after the Angels' caps of the 1960s. I didn't know any better at the time and wore it.

Other stuff: Ellie Rodriguez was coming off possibly his best year in the majors as he played in a career high 140 games and had a career high 395 at-bats in 1974. He came over to the Angels from the Brewers in an eight-player deal. Rodriguez was the semi-regular catcher for the Brewers. Before that he played for the expansion Royals and briefly with the Yankees.

Rodriguez ended his career as a back-up with the Dodgers in 1976 (his 1977 Topps card was the first Dodger I pulled that year). He is now a consultant and scout for the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Back fact: It seems rather odd that Topps chose Rodriguez for a card number that ended in "5." Those numbers were usually reserved for semi-stars.

Also, the Red Rooster has been featured on the blog already.

Other blog stuff: On this date in 1975, Ralph Kiner, Babe Herman, Earl Averill, Bucky Harris and Judy Johnson were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.