"Sudden Sam" McDowell is the next player up in the ongoing "1976 Project" for Reader Jim.
Though I created a 1975 card for him using the same photo, I had to
relent and use the image again, cleaned up and improved, for the 1976
version.
Take a look:
McDowell really should have had a card in the 1975 set, that is a
no-brainer. But a 1976 edition would be more of a "Career Capper",
closing out a brilliant, if not tumultuous, 15-year career that saw him
lead the American League in strikeouts five times,
while also pacing the league in walks issued in equal amounts.
He'd finish with 141 career wins along with a 3.17 earned run average and 2453 strikeouts, with two 300+ seasons under his belt.
In 1970 he posted his only 20-win season, and in 1965 he led the
A.L. with a 2.18 ERA, but it was those strikeouts, as in 325 in 1965,
304 in 1970, 283 in 1968 and 279 in 1969 that made him stand out of the
pitching crowd.
A six-time all-star, his career was sadly derailed when he hit 30
years of age, pitching for the Giants, Yankees and Pirates, never
topping more than six wins in any season.
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...