#CardCorner: 1978 Topps Don Kessinger

Durocher encouraged the experiment early in the 1966 season, and Kessinger wound up with a .277 average against right-handers that season.

“He’s hitting to all fields, he’s bunting,” said Durocher, who had openly criticized Kessinger for being too relaxed at the start of the season. “He’s aggressive.”

In the field in 1966, Kessinger committed 35 errors but led all NL shortstops with 474 assists. It was the first of four times in a five-year stretch that Kessinger topped all NL shortstops in assists, peaking with an incredible 573 in 1968.

The 573 assists rank 10th all-time. Since the 1968 season, only Cal Ripken Jr. (583 in 1984) and Ozzie Smith (a big league record 621 in 1980) have more assists at shortstop in one season.

The Cubs lost 103 games in Durocher’s first season in 1966, but the future Hall of Fame manager turned things around a year later as Chicago improved by 28 wins to finish a surprising third in the National League. Kessinger, who hit .231 that season, was out of action in early July while serving a two-week stint in the Army Reserves – a span which coincided with a seven-game losing streak for the Cubs.

Kessinger made just 19 errors in 1967 en route to a .973 fielding percentage that was fourth among NL shortstops.

“I know one thing: Don had a tremendous year last season in the field,” Durocher told United Press International following the season. “He can really hound the ball. I know his average fell off, but I believe that was due to losing his timing while he served his two-week hitch in the Army.

“I don’t have any doubts about this kid’s hitting. I think he’ll be consistently around .270, and it could be more.”

Kessinger missed that mark in 1968, hitting .240 in the Year of the Pitcher. But his all-around play drew notice as he was named to his first All-Star Game and drew the starting assignment for the National League. The Cubs finished third once again, putting themselves in position for what appeared to be a great 1969 campaign.

But while Kessinger had his best season, the Cubs were left with heartbreak. Kessinger hit .273 with 181 hits, 38 doubles and 109 runs scored, once again starting the All-Star Game, earning his first Gold Glove Award with an NL-best .976 fielding percentage and eventually finishing in 15th in the NL MVP voting.

He set a new big league standard by playing in 54 straight games at shortstop without an error.

“You don’t really know how good he is unless you see him every day,” Cubs catcher Gene Oliver told the Clarion-Ledger. “Defensively, I’d take him over any shortstop in the league.”

The Cubs led the newly-formed NL East for much of the summer before losing 11 of 12 games in a September stretch that allowed the Mets to win the division.

Chicago finished second again in 1970 as Kessinger nearly duplicated his 1969 campaign with a .266 average, 100 runs scored, 168 hits, another All-Star Game start and another Gold Glove Award. But the aging Cubs seemed to have missed their championship window – and despite two more All-Star seasons from Kessinger in 1971 and ’72 (when he started his fourth All-Star Game), Chicago was unable to win the division.

Kessinger had what was for him a typical season in 1973 with a .262 batting average and league-leading totals in putouts (274) and double plays (109). But the Cubs fell below the .500 mark for the first time since 1966.

Kessinger continued his solid play in 1974 and 1975, earning his final All-Star Game selection in the former season and appearing in 140 games at shortstop in the latter – his 10th straight year with at least 140 games at short.

But with the Cubs entering a rebuilding phase, Chicago traded Kessinger to the Cardinals on Oct. 28, 1975 for pitcher Mike Garman and a minor leaguer. Kessinger, who as a 10-and-5 player had the right to block any trade, approved the deal to the team for whom he grew up rooting.

“I can do more to help a club now than at any time previously,” Kessinger told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch following the trade. “I know I can do anything on the field that I ever did.

“In the last two-and-a-half months of the (1975) season, I felt better at the plate than I ever did.”

But Kessinger hit just .243 in 1975. And while his 1976 season was similar – a .239 batting average with a .320 on-base percentage in 145 games – Kessinger knew his days in St. Louis were numbered due to the presence of top prospect Garry Templeton, who debuted with the Cardinals in August of 1976 and played most of the rest of the season at shortstop.

By 1977, Templeton was the Cardinals’ starter at short.

“You wait around all day, come to the ballpark and work hard in batting and infield practice and then wait all over again to get in the ballgame,” Kessinger told the Clarion-Ledger of his time with the Cardinals after Templeton took over the job. “All you can really do is tell yourself to be ready and handle it the best you can.”

On Aug. 20, 1977 – after appearing in just 59 games for the Cardinals that year – Kessinger was dealt to the White Sox for minor leaguer Steve Staniland. He appeared in 39 games down the stretch for the White Sox as Chicago completed a 90-72 campaign that saw them finish a surprising third in the AL West.

Kessinger regained his starting role in 1978, hitting .255 in 131 games – including 123 as the White Sox’s shortstop.

Then on Oct. 19, 1978, White Sox owner Bill Veeck announced that Kessinger would succeed Larry Doby as the White Sox’s manager while maintaining his status as a player.

At the time, player/managers were rare but not extinct, as Joe Torre had served as the Mets’ player/manager as recently as 1977. But the American League has not seen a player/manager since Kessinger, and only Pete Rose with the Reds from 1984-86 has been a player/manager in the National League in the years following Kessinger.

“It’s very difficult for me to replace Larry Doby,” Kessinger told the Associated Press. “It’s difficult for me to take over from a good friend. I didn’t solicit the job.

“I don’t know how much I’ll play. It all depends on what other players do. I expect the players to play hard. Those who don’t won’t play.”

The White Sox were gutted by free agent losses following their 90-win season in 1977 and finished 71-90 a year later. Kessinger skippered the team to 46 wins in 106 games before Veeck replaced him with future Hall of Famer Tony La Russa – who was managing the Triple-A Iowa Oaks – on Aug. 2, 1979.

“I think Sox fans would love for me to say I have a miracle with me that I brought from Iowa but I know that’s not going to be the case,” La Russa told the Associated Press the day he was hired. “I think sometimes a change of faces is helpful.”

Kessinger was removed from Chicago’s active roster – at his request – when he was dismissed as manager. He hit .200 in 56 games in 1979 but never played organized baseball again.

“I don’t really blame myself for what happened,” said Kessinger, who also told the Associated Press that he had no desire to manage again. “Nor do I think Bill Veeck blames me for what happened.”

Kessinger went on to become the head baseball coach at his alma mater in 1991, leading Mississippi to a 185-153 record over six seasons, including a 1995 NCAA Tournament berth. He stepped away from the job in the spring of 1996 to become an administrator at the university.