Gamble was the Cubs' best prospect when he was traded to Philadelphia after the 1969
season with Dick Selma for Johnny Callison. His low batting average prevented him
from winning a job in his three years with the Phillies, despite flashes of power.
He had the last hit and the last RBI in Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium. Only
after his trade to Cleveland for 1973 did the lefthanded batter finally blossom.
As a platoon DH and occasional outfielder, he hit 20 HR in 390 at-bats.
After two
more solid seasons, Gamble went to the Yankees for Pat Dobson in December 1975. He
played right field, and helped New York to its first AL pennant in 12 years with
17 HR and 57 RBI in 340 at-bats. His wife, Juanita, sang the national anthem at Yankee
Stadium several times that season, including once before a playoff game. However,
the Yankee front office had her in tears when they forced Oscar to cut off his luxuriant
Afro, the largest in baseball. It added more than four inches to his height and sometimes
popped his batting helmet off.
Traded before the start of 1977 with LaMarr Hoyt,
then a minor leaguer, and $200,000 for the White Sox' Bucky Dent, Gamble had his
best season. He hit .297 with career highs of 31 HR, 83 RBI, 75 runs, and 22 doubles
(in 408 at-bats), and the White Sox contended, improving to 90-72 from 64-97 the
previous season. He opted for free agency after the season and signed a lucrative
deal with San Diego. Slowed by minor injuries, he hit only seven HR and was traded
to Texas after the season. He returned to the Yankees in August 1979 in a deal that
also sent Mickey Rivers to the Rangers. Gamble was hitting .335 at the time of the
trade, then caught fire. He hit .389 in his two months with the Yankees and finished
with a career-high .358 mark that was by far the best in the league. But Gamble's
274 at-bats weren't close to qualifying him for the batting title. He spent the next
five years in New York, finally accepting his career-long platoon role, and providing
vital lefthanded power. He helped the Yankees to their last two titles as they won
their division in 1980 and took the AL pennant in the 1981 strike season. In that
year's Eastern Division playoff, Gamble's two-run homer in the opener sparked New
York to a 5-3 victory, and he also homered in the 7-3 clincher over Milwaukee. He
hit .556 for the series, platooning with Lou Piniella at DH. In the LCS, he had only
one hit, but walked five times in 11 plate appearances and scored the second run,
after walking, of New York's 3-1 victory in
the opener. Gamble finished with a return
to the White Sox in 1985.
(SH)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»August 29, 1969:
Bill Hands pitches the Cubs to a 2–1 win over Atlanta and is helped by two spectacular catches by Oscar Gamble in the 9th. The Cubs lead stands at three 1/2 games.
»November 22, 1975: The Yankees trade P Pat Dobson to the Indians for OF Oscar Gamble. Gamble will have a fine year in New York before the Yankees reluctantly trade him in 1977.
»April 5, 1977: The White Sox trade SS Bucky Dent to the Yankees for OF Oscar Gamble, and minor league pitchers LaMarr Hoyt and Bob Polinsky, and an estimated $200,000. Gamble will have a fine season in Chicago and Hoyt will blossom into the ace of the White Sox staff in the early 1980's.
»August 1, 1979:
In an 8-player deal, the Rangers send OF Oscar Gamble, minor leaguer Amos Lewis, a former 1st pick in the 1978 draft, and two players to be named to the Yankees and finally acquire OF Mickey Rivers and three players to be named. Rivers had been traded to the Rangers in June but the deal fell through. Both of the players to be named with Gamble will make the majors: Gene Nelson and Ray Fontenot, something that can't be said for the three unnamed to Texas.
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