In one brief month this winter the ballplayers on the following pages suddenly learned that they would be opening the new season in different uniforms. Each has something to prove, and their new teams are betting that people will pay to see them try. For Roger Maris [right] it is the chance to be born again, for Don Mincher and Jimmy Hall the opportunity to shoot at the right-field fence in Anaheim, for Floyd Robinson another crack at .300, for Ed Mathews those needed at bats as he searches for four homers to reach 500.
The most bewildering of the off-season trades transferred left-hander Jim O'Toole from the pitching-poor Reds to the pitching-rich White Sox.
More reasonably, the Angels gained much-needed hitting power by obtaining sluggers Don Mincher [in glasses] and Jimmie Hall from the Twins.
The once all-powerful Yanks have taken to leaning heavily on relative unknowns. Third Baseman Charlie Smith [left] was acquired from St. Louis.
Even more important to the Yankee future are promising youngsters like Bill Robinson, last year an outstanding star on a Braves' farm team.
Now 33, First Baseman Norm Siebern joins the Giants, his fifth major league club but his first in the National League. Norm is "bench strength."
Hard-throwing Ray Culp was a disappointment in Philly, but optimistic Leo Durocher sees great days ahead now that Culp is with Leo's Cubs.
Second Baseman Bernie Allen starred briefly for Minnesota, then faltered on slumps and injuries. The Senators hope he will find the touch again.
The Twins gave up a lot for Dean Chance, baseball's best pitcher in 1964. Back in form, Chance could mean victory for Minnesota.
Floyd Robinson, a solid .300 hitter, slumped to .265 and .237 and was traded. A big bat with Chicago, he's one of the crowd at Cincinnati.
Third Baseman Cletis Boyer was stunned when the Yankees traded him, but his superior fielding could help lift Atlanta toward the pennant.
The Phillies have more new faces than anyone else. From the Yankees they took volatile Pedro Ramos [above], who could anchor their bullpen.
A bigger catch for the Phils is left-hander Dick Ellsworth from the Cubs, who won 50 games in three years, then fell to 8 and 22 last season.
After 15 years with the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta, Ed Mathews moves on to Houston as an aging balance wheel for Astro youth.
Twice batting champion with the Dodgers before breaking an ankle, Tommy Davis is the big man on his club again, though the club is the Mets.
The Dodgers, shorn of Koufax, Wills and Tommy Davis, came up with Ron Hunt from the Mets, a combative infielder who can fire up a ball club.
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