1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #82 John Babich

Sunday, April 17, 2022

#82 John Babich - Brooklyn Dodgers

John Charles Babich

Brooklyn Dodgers

Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 185
Born: May 14, 1913, Albion, CA

Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1935; Boston Bees 1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941

Died: January 19, 2001, Richmond, CA (87)

Johnny Babich pitched professionally for 15 seasons, spending five years in the majors. His finest seasons came in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a 20-game winner in 1933 for the Mission Reds in and a 19-game winner in 1938 for the Hollywood Stars. In the majors, Babich appeared in 62 games for the Dodgers in 1934 and 1935, winning seven games each season. After a brief stint with the Bees in 1936, Babich spent three full years in the minors before returning to the big leagues with the Athletics. He enjoyed his best season in 1940, going 14-13 with a 3.73 ERA in 31 games for an Athletics team that would lose 100 games. His final action in the majors came in 1941 as he appeared in 16 more games for the Athletics.

Babich is credited with teaching the slider to many of his teammates. In 112 career major league games, he was 30-45 with a 4.93 ERA. He stayed in the game as a minor league coach for several years following his last year pitching in the minors in 1945.

Building the Set

March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Dean's House of Cards) - Card #49

I wrote about this show over at The Phillies Room, and admittedly the focus of my morning was putting a huge dent in the remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set. But shortly after entering the showroom floor, my attention was drawn to a table containing open binders with DeLong and Goudey cards from the 1930s. I thought this dealer would also have some Diamond Stars cards for sale, and my assumption was correct. I soon found a decent amount of Diamond Stars in a binder, in varying conditions, and from all three series of the set.

The backs of the cards had two prices listed - one fairly high and one relatively reasonable. The dealer, Larrie Dean, told me it was my choice which price I paid. Appreciating that sort of sense of humor, I set out to find three or four cards and I told Larrie I'd be opting to pay the lower of the two prices.

This Babich card was one of four cards purchased from Dean's House of Cards from Midlothian, Virginia. Based on the lower of the two prices on the back of the card, it cost me $30.

Variations Available

1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright ✅

2 - 1935 / blue back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / No Dodgers on uniform

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934. These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935. The Babich card for my set is the first of the three variations available. The third Babich variation, released in 1936, came after the pitcher had joined the Boston Bees, and the Dodgers team name has been removed from his jersey.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

I was surprised to see red pinstripes on Babich's Dodgers uniform on this card, but a quick check of the wonderful resource, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen, shows the Dodgers did in fact have pinstripes in 1935. Per Okkonen's illustration, the pinstripes were blue and Brooklyn was written across the chest and not Dodgers. The Brooklyn word mark, along with the piping around the neck, were red. And now you know.

The write-up on the back takes some liberties in calling Babich the "new pitching star" of the Dodgers. The tip explains it's best to pitch batters low and away until you figure out their specific weaknesses.

1935 Season

Babich had a tough season, going 7-14 with a 6.66 ERA in 37 appearances, including 24 starts. Casey Stengel's (#150) Dodgers finished with a 70-83-1 record, and in fifth place in the National League. Babich was the club's third most used starting pitcher behind Van Mungo (#19) and Watty Clark.