Card Corner--Bert Campaneris

During the course of the summer, I'll be profiling baseball cards from two seasons that celebrate anniversaries this year: 1975 (30 years ago) and 1965 (40 years ago.) With that in mind, let's start with a rookie card from the 1965 season depicting a future American League All-Star.

Anyone who's read my work over the years knows about my affinity for the Oakland A's of the Charlie Finley era. While players like Reggie Jackson, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, and Rollie Fingers have achieved the iconic status that comes with Hall of Fame induction, other members of those A's remain lesser unknown and misunderstood. One of those players is Bert "Campy" Campaneris, who's best remembered for an ugly bat-throwing incident that marred the 1972 playoffs.

Yet, that incident was out of character for Campaneris, a quiet, shy man who usually played the game like a true professional. A native of Cuba, Campaneris had arrived in the major leagues in 1964 with the Kansas City A's, as a replacement for injured shortstop Wayne Causey. After an all-night, sleep-depriving plane ride, Campaneris arrived at the ballpark. The A's' equipment manager, regarding the 155-pound Campaneris as too frail to be a ballplayer, initially refused to give him a uniform. Campaneris surprised the doubting equipment manager by homering in his first major league at-bat on the very first pitch against Minnesota's Jim Kaat. Campaneris matched his inaugural at-bat by hitting a second home run against Kaat in the seventh inning. The dual home runs tied a modern day record for most home runs in a major league debut. The 22-year-old speedster also contributed a single, a stolen base, and an impressive running catch on a short pop-up into left field.

Separated from his mother, father, and seven brothers and sisters, who still lived in Cuba, the shy Campaneris had few American friends, no girlfriend or wife, and lived by himself in a small apartment near Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. Described as a loner by former teammate Jack Aker, Campaneris' plight garnered the attention of the several of the A's' veterans. Sensing his reserved nature, some of the A's attempted to incorporate Campaneris into the social atmosphere of the clubhouse. Campaneris remained reluctant, preferring to isolate himself from the team's social functions. Campaneris' tendency to stay to himself may have been caused by his problems with a new language. At first, Campaneris spoke such little English that teammate Diego Segui, a fellow Cuban who eventually became his best friend on the team, served as his interpreter for interviews with the media.

Although A's coaches had difficulty communicating with him, they quickly came away impressed with his speed and daring base-running style. "He's got guts," said Kansas City A's coach Gabby Hartnett during the 1964 season. "He's got the best pair of wheels I've ever seen. I saw a lot of great base stealers, including Max Carey, but I wouldn't rate any of them ahead of this kid." A's third-base coach Luke Appling, also a Hall of Famer, raved about Campy's baseball instincts, calling them "exceptional."

The language barrier forced a determined Campaneris to study pitchers on his own and develop base-stealing techniques by himself. In 1965, Campaneris led all American League base stealers with 51 thefts. Campy topped the 50-stolen base mark three straight seasons, before swiping 62 bases in 1968. At the plate, Campaneris hit consistently in the .260 to .270 range.

One element of his defensive play remained a particular concern, countering his ability to cover lots of ground on the left side of the infield. Although Campaneris' quick, scampering feet allowed him to make spectacular plays, often reaching grounders that other shortstops couldn't touch, he tended to bobble routine grounders because of his unsure hands. Campy made over 30 errors in three of his first four full seasons before settling down defensively in 1969. As with his base stealing, Campy improved his fieldwork through his self-imposed work ethic.

Campaneris wasn't satisfied with improvements on the field. He hoped to learn English to the point where he no longer would need bilingual teammates like Orlando Pena and Diego Segui to help him conduct interviews. He spent one winter with his second cousin, Angels outfielder Jose Cardenal, whose wife gave him lessons in the new language. Thanks in part to his improved skills in speaking English, Campaneris eventually met and married an American woman.

Any admiration for the self-made Campaneris seemed to become lost in the fall of 1972, during the American League Championship Series. Campaneris fired his bat at Detroit Tigers pitcher Lerrin LaGrow, who had hit Campy in the ankle with a fastball. Although every player on the A's believed LaGrow's pitch was intentional, having come at the orders of Tigers manager Billy Martin, who wanted to slow down the red-hot Campy, the A's' shortstop badly overreacted by hurling his bat at LaGrow. Luckily, LaGrow jumped out of the way of the bat, but the act of violence prompted a bench-clearing brawl and a much-deserved suspension for Campaneris. No member of the Tigers was more upset with Campy than Billy Martin, who proceeded to call the A's' shortstop "gutless."

Still, it was hard for anyone to stay mad at the usually mild-mannered Campaneris for long. As much as Martin despised Campaneris at the moment he hurled his bat toward LaGrow, the Tiger skipper respected the veteran infielder as a fiery, combative sparkplug who always hustled. Evidence of Martin's regard for Campaneris could be found in 1983, when Campy concluded his major league career with the Yankees. After a one-year layoff from major league baseball, Campy arrived at the Yankees' spring camp in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, completely uninvited. Knowing that the Yankees needed a middle infielder, Campaneris asked New York's manager for a playing job. The manager responded by challenging him to make the team. Campaneris proceeded to earn the final spot on the 25-man roster, and hit .322 as a backup second baseman and third baseman to Willie Randolph and Graig Nettles, respectively.

Who was the Yankee's manager at the time? It was a forgiving Billy Martin. And perhaps that's the part of the story that should be best remembered about Campy Campaneris.