Next up on my "1976 Project" for "Reader Jim" is former relief
pitcher Jim Kern, who was left out of the set even though he appeared in
a multi-player rookie card the previous year.
Take a look:
Kern should have had a card in the '76 set since he appeared in 13
games, good for 71.2 innings, pretty much evenly split between the
bullpen and starts.
He posted a 1-2 record with a 3.77 earned run average and 55
strikeouts, setting off a decent 13-year career which actually saw him
as one of the game's more reliable relief pitchers between 1976 and
1979.
His finest season was easily 1979, which saw him post a 13-5
win-loss record with 29 saves and 136 K's in 143 innings of work, ALL in
relief for the Texas Rangers.
That stellar season got him a fourth place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as an 11th-place finish in M.V.P. consideration.
Sadly, arm trouble set in the following season, and even though he
managed to stick around on Major League mounds until the 1986 season, he
was never the same pitcher again.
Nevertheless Kern did finish with a 53-57 career record, with a
fine 3.32 E.R.A., 88 saves and 651 strikeouts in 416 games and 793.1
innings.
Over those seasons he played for six teams: Indians, Rangers, Brewers, White Sox, Reds and Phillies.