353 - Steve Brye

About This Player
Steve Brye enjoyed nine seasons in the Major Leagues and seven of them with the Minnesota Twins.  Brye was drafted by the Twins in the first round (17th overall) of the 1967 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 1970.  He soon established himself in a platoon role in the outfield.  Brye had his finest season in 1974 in which he played 128 games in center field, hit .283 with 2 home runs and 41 RBI, and led all American League outfielders with a .997 fielding percentage.

Brye found himself in the middle of controversy surrounding the 1976 American League batting title.  The Royals' George Brett and Hal McRae and fellow Twin, Rod Carew were caught up on the batting race on the last game of the season in which the Twins played the Royals.  In the ninth inning, Brye misplayed a ball hit by Brett that resulted in an inside-the-park home run.  McRae in the next at-bat grounded out.  McRae alleged racism from the Twins and Twins' manager, Gene Mauch, angrily denied it.  Carew and Twins outfielder, Larry Hisle, both also black, denied any racism claims.

“No way. … If any error was involved it was mine. Gene Mauch had nothing to do with it. Gene told me to play in shallow. The last couple of innings I played deep not to allow a ball to get over my head and keep alive the possibility of a double play if a man got on base. I was indecisive. I didn’t get a good jump on the ball. All during the series balls I thought would fall in front of me were going over my head. Cookie Rojas was jammed and hit one over my head once. It’s tough to pick up the ball here because there’s a gray background, plus you don’t hear the ball off the bat that well. It’s a very dead sound. When I play center field, which I usually do, I follow the pitch and the sound of the bat has a lot to do with the way I react. Then after I ran in I stopped because I didn’t think I could get to the ball.”
- Steve Brye, after being told at the airport of McRae's accusations

For more information:

Minneapolis Star Tribune - October 4, 1976 - Brett wins batting title, McRae angry

After seven seasons with the Twins, Brye spent a season each with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates before playing his last game.

About This Card
So far in this blog, Brye's photo marks the fourth Twins card at Yankee Stadium Photo Day.

317 - Danny Cater

About This Player
Danny Cater enjoyed 12 seasons in the Major Leagues and three of those seasons with the Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed "Carter" because of the newspaper's tendency to add the extra "r" to his name, Cater made his big league debut with the Phillies in 1964.  Cater had spent time with the Phillies, White Sox, Athletics, Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals throughout his career playing at first base, left field and third base.

As a player, Cater had a reputation as an unassuming player.  From 1965 through 1971, Cater had over 500 plate appearances.  He was a good hitter at a time when batting averages were low finishing in the top ten in batting average three times and hitting a second-place .290 average in 1968 behind Carl Yastrzemski's league leading .301 average.  He was also known for his efficiency at the plate; manager Gene Mauch said of him during his rookie year, "he came up 10 times and saw 11 pitches."

For more information on Danny Cater:
"The Name is Carter-er, Cater" Sports Illustrated. May 19, 1969.

Cater played his final game in 1975.

"Cater, by the way, has the reputation of being able to figure out his batting average to four decimal places on his way down to first base." - Jim Bouton, Ball Four

About This Card
Danny Cater is shown wearing pinstripes, despite having been with Boston for the entire 1972 season.  Cater was traded to the Red Sox as part of a trade that sent pitcher Sparky Lyle to the Yankees.

377 - Gene Mauch MGR

About This Manager
Gene Mauch spent 26 seasons as a Major League manager with four different teams. After Mauch ended a nine-year playing career in 1975, he went on to manage the Minneapolis Millers, the Triple-A affiliate in the Red Sox organization.  In 1960, Mauch got his first big league managerial position with the Phillies after taking over for Eddie Sawyer, who resigned from the club after the opening game of the season.  After nine seasons with the Phillies, Mauch went on to become the expansion club Expos' first manager in 1969 and remain there for seven seasons.  Mauch went on to manage the Twins from 1976 to 1980 and the Angels in 1981 and 1982 and again from 1985 to 1987.

Mauch was a strong advocate for "small ball," which emphasized defense, speed and base-to-base tactics rather than power hitting.

Mauch is regarded as the winningest manager to never win a league pennant.  His 1964 Phillies finished in 2nd place in the National League and only one game back from the Cardinals.  His Angels teams in 1982 and 1986 won the American League West, but both lost in the ALCS.

Mauch died August 8, 2005 from lung cancer at 79.

About This Card
In addition to Gene Mauch, this card also features Dave Bristol (former Reds and Brewers who would later manage the Braves and Giants), Larry Doby (the first African-American to play in the American League), Cal McLish (former All-Star pitcher of 15 seasons) and Jerry Zimmerman (former Reds and Twins catcher).