Today we move into a new decade regarding my 1975 Topps "Cy Young
Award" sub-set based on the popular M.V.P. Sub-set of the same year.
1960 was not only the dawn of a new decade, but the dawn of a new
era in baseball, with new stars popping up and staking their claim to
fame in the sport.
The outright Cy Young winner that year ended up being a "new" name
of sorts, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vern Law, who guided the Bucs to
the World Series and an eventual shocking win against the heavily
favored New York Yankees on the now legendary Bill
Mazeroski home run in the seventh and final game.
Over in the American League, the people at SABR felt that relative
newcomer Jim Perry (brother of future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, and
eventual Cy Young winner himself in 1970) would have taken home the
award had there been winners in EAXCH league at
the time.
First up, my card design for the card as part of my imagined 1975 sub-set:
Although Vern Law was already beginning his ninth season as a
big-league pitcher when 1960 broke, it was only in the past two seasons
that he established himself as a solid starter, winning 14 and 18 games
respectively in 1958 & 1959.
He'd carry that success right into the 1960 season, ending up as
the anchor of the Pirate staff, going 20-9 with a 3.08 E.R.A., along
with a league-leading 18 complete games and 120 strikeouts with three
shutouts in 35 starts.
Personally, I think St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Ernie Broglio had a
better season on the mound, but it wouldn't be the first time that an
award was influenced by a team reaching the post-season (something they
say doesn't factor in awards voting).
Regardless, Law would end up a solid starter for the rest of his
16-year career, retiring after the 1967 season, all for Pittsburgh.
In the American League, it's fun to see a "rookie" card in this
card design, as Jim Perry finished second in 1959 for A.L. Rookie of the
Year, going 12-10 with a nifty 2.65 E.R.A. pitching for the Cleveland
Indians.
1960 would also be somewhat successful for him, ending the year
with an 18-10 record, the win total pacing the Junior Circuit, with a
high 3.62 earned run average and league-leading four shutouts and 120
strikeouts.
While those numbers don't seem to jump off the page, 1960 didn't have a pitcher in the American League who posted stellar stats.
Nowadays you could make an argument for Jim Bunning winning the award, even with a losing record of 11-14.
Besides that record, he had better numbers than other hurlers in
the A.L., based on his 2.79 E.R.A., 201 strikeouts and three shutouts.
But alas, we'll never know who would have won the American League
Cy Young, as the voting wasn't yet set up that way until 1967, where
there'd be a winner for each league.
Next up, 1961, which saw Whitey Ford win his only Cy Young Award,
while in the National League, Warren Spahn would have almost assuredly
taken home the award at the ripe old age of 40!
Keep an eye out for it…
