Ok, so here's a "missing" 1976 card for a guy I wouldn't consider
necessarily missing for the set because of lack of playing time in 1975,
but since I created the card for my ongoing project with "Reader Jim",
I'm posting it up here.
Take a look at my 1976 Dave Pagan card:
For the 1975 season Pagan pitched in 13 games for the Yanks,
without a decision and a 4.06 E.R.A., one save and 18 strikeouts over 31
innings of work.
The following year he'd get traded to the Baltimore Orioles, before
getting drafted in the expansion draft and becoming one of the
"original" Seattle Mariners in 1977.
At the tail end of 1977 he'd pitch in one game for the Pittsburgh
Pirates, which creates a bit of a photo "white whale" for me since I
want to create a "missing" 1978 card for him as well (hint hint to
anyone out there who has a usable photo of him as
a Pirate).
That one game for Pittsburgh would be the last of his career, as
he'd pitch in the Pirates' Minor League system for the next two years
before hanging them up.
Overall he had a five-year career, finishing with a 4-9 record,
along with a 4.96 E.R.A., one shutout, four saves and 147 K's over 232.1
innings of work spread over 85 games.
One last note on Pagan: he hails from the relatively remote town of Nipawin, Saskachewan, Canada.
Check out the location! As far as a baseball player goes, man that is remote!
A good friend of mine lives in Winnipeg, manitoba, and the Winters
there are insane. THIS town of Nipawin is a few hundred miles NORTH of
that! So I can't even imagine what it's like up there…