Tuesday, July 22, 2014

MISSING IN ACTION-1973 BUZZ CAPRA

Here's another one of those "I found a nice photo and I'm gonna use it" deals: a 1973 "missing" Buzz Capra card.
Take a look:


Admittedly I can understand why Topps didn't have a card for Capra in their 1973 set, as "Buzz" only appeared in 14 games for the Mets, good for a 3-2 record with a 4.58 E.R.A. over 53 innings of work in 1972.
However there ARE guys who played less in '72 that were included in the '73 set, so what the heck, why not?
Besides, Capra is one of those interesting guys from the decade that had this ONE very good year, and that's it.
In 1974 Capra came out of nowhere and posted a 16-8 record with five shutouts and a league-leading 2.28 earned run average for the Atlanta Braves.
Those numbers got him some attention, as he finished ninth in Cy Young voting as well as 20th in M.V.P.
Sadly for him (and Atlanta), arm troubles derailed his career and he only played parts of the next two seasons before one last hurrah in 1977, appearing in 45 games, mainly in relief, and posting 139.1 innings before calling it a career.