Monday, July 2, 2012

"Jumbo" Jim

This player had played his final major league game by the time this card appeared:

Card #509 -- Jim Nash, Philadelphia Phillies

This card shows some light signs of airbrushing, the result of a midseason trade that sent him to the Phillies. The Phillies released him during the 1973 preseason; he signed with Oakland and spent all of that season in the minors before calling it quits.

For Nash, the A's trial was a full-circle move, as he originally came up in 1966 while the club was still in Kansas City. The A's were a sub-.500 team that year, but Nash went 12-1 in 18 games and racked up a 2.06 ERA, which would have given him second place in the league if he'd racked up enough innings to qualify. He matched his 12-win total the next year; unfortunately, he matched it with 17 losses. A 13-13 showing in 1968 and 8-8 mark in '69 but him on the trading block, and he was a Brave in 1970.

After two and a half years with the Braves and a half season in Philadelphia, it was over. As for his nickname? At 6-foot-4 and weighing 240 pounds, there's not a lot of downside to calling him "Jumbo."

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