Scott Veatch comes through with a very interesting card which could just as well work for Weird Card Wednesday, too. It’s 1964 Bob “Savvy” Saverine. Saverine was 23 years old but was already in his fifth year in baseball by the 1964 season with the Baltimore Orioles.
Savvy Bob was primarily a middle infielder but did manage to play two games in center field. I’ll give Saverine this… he must have been fast. In 46 games and 34 at-bats, he scored 14 runs. Obviously, he was used as a pinch runner. At the plate, he hit only .147 with four singles and a double. He also walked four times and stole three bases.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Totals | 46 | 38 | 34 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | .147 | .237 | .176 |
We have another situation where APBA placed the speed numbers in high profile dice rolls. Saverine’s 1964 card has two 11s but they are placed at 11 and 33. He has a 15-39 where you would normally expect the steal numbers.
Saverine walked four times in 38 PA but oddly, he has a 45-30. In fact, he has no 14s on his card at all. APBA card error?
Savvy grounded into two double plays in ‘64. For that, he gets six 24s on his card including an unusual 13-24.
Ugly numbers: 25-13, 13-24, 45-30
Saverine had a passable year for the Senators in 1966 when he hit .251 with 5 HR and 54 runs scored. It seems it was his sestiny to be used as a pinch runner for most of his career.
No 14’s very rare indeed. I just noticed that Gene DeMontreville of the 1903 Senators does not have one either.
I wonder if APBA felt that the possibility of a result that a (W) pitcher would be enough. I also noticed there is no J rating on the card. Was this common for this era of card making?