Dan Dobbek Washington Senators
Career: He was a highly touted power-hitting outfield prospect when he signed with the Senators in 1955. He was a three-sport star in his hometown on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and attended Western Michigan before turning pro. He didn't disappoint the Nats when he hit 23 homers in each of his two full seasons in the minors and got a September call-up in 1959.
His career was seriously affected by an injury to his shoulder when he ran into an outfield fence in K.C. in 1961. He hung on for a couple more seasons in the minors and then was out of the game.
In 1960: This was his only complete major league year and he served as the Senator's fourth outfielder and #1 pinch-hitter. He played in over 100 games and had nearly 300 plate appearances while hitting .218 and banging out 10 homers.
Off The Charts: From Baseball Reference's Bullpen page for Dobbek..."The Boston Red Sox didn't want to pitch to Dan on April 22, 1960, as he tied a major league record when he received three intentional bases-on-balls in one game."
He moved along with the Senators when they became the Twins in 1961, and he hit the first Grand Slam in the team's history.
The Card: This is his second 'rookie star' card. He had one in the 1959 set.
I looked up Dobbek's game logs on Baseball Reference... to see why the heck they'd intentionally walk a guy with a .218 batting average. Looks like it was only the 3rd game of the season and the game before he hit a home run. Still funny that they'd be scared to pitch to the guy.
ReplyDeleteSide note... according to the site the Red Sox walked him 4 times that game... but only 2 were intentional.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=dobbeda01&t=b&year=1960
I wonder where the BR Bullpen page writers got their info. And now that I looked at the game it seems he only had TWO walks total? Weird.
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