Mel M sends in this rather odd card. It’s Mike Ryba from the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s unusual in that Ryba is rated at both pitcher and catcher. He’s rated as a D1Y pitcher and a Catcher-5.
| Year | Tm | Lg | Age | Pos | G | GS | Inn | Ch | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | STL | NL | 32 | P | 2 | 1 | 16.0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1936 | STL | NL | 33 | P | 14 | 0 | 45.0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1936 | STL | NL | 33 | C | 4 | 2 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 1937 | STL | NL | 34 | P | 38 | 8 | 135.0 | 37 | 5 | 31 | 1 | 1 | .973 |
| 1937 | STL | NL | 34 | C | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 1938 | STL | NL | 35 | P | 3 | 0 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 1941 | BOS | AL | 38 | P | 40 | 3 | 121.0 | 42 | 10 | 30 | 2 | 3 | .952 |
| 1942 | BOS | AL | 39 | P | 18 | 0 | 44.1 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1942 | BOS | AL | 39 | C | 3 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 1943 | BOS | AL | 40 | P | 40 | 8 | 143.2 | 35 | 9 | 25 | 1 | 1 | .971 |
| 1944 | BOS | AL | 41 | P | 42 | 7 | 138.0 | 49 | 8 | 38 | 3 | 3 | .939 |
| 1945 | BOS | AL | 42 | P | 34 | 9 | 123.0 | 27 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 |
| 1946 | BOS | AL | 43 | P | 9 | 0 | 12.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 10 Seasons | P | 240 | 36 | 783.2 | 216 | 41 | 168 | 7 | 11 | .968 | |||
| 3 Seasons | C | 10 | 5 | 36 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| 10 Seasons | TOT | 250 | 41 | 783.2 | 252 | 74 | 171 | 7 | 11 | .972 | |||
I looked up his stats and that wasn’t uncommon for him. He did saw both sides of the battery in three separate seasons.
Ryba wasn’t a bad pitcher really. He had a career 52-34 record with a 3.66 ERA with the Cardinals and the Red Sox mostly in a relief role. It’s interesting to note that his catching duties were primarily starting gigs for both the Cards and the Sox. I can only presume that he was giving the regular catcher a break.
