Monday, July 11, 2016

MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 ROY FACE

Here’s a “missing” 1970 card that also acts as a “career capper” for former relief pitching great Roy Face, who closed out an excellent 16-year career in 1969:


Face appeared in 44 games for the Montreal Expos in their inaugural campaign, posting a 4-2 record with five saves and a 3.94 earned run average over 59.1 innings of work.
Not bad for a 41-year old!
He played the first 15 years of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he made a name for himself as a great pitcher out of the bullpen, leading the National League in saves three times, games pitched twice and winning percentage once.
Of course the season he led the league in winning percentage was his magical 1959 season when he went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 57 games, earning him the first of his three all-star team nods.
For his career, Face finished with a 104-95 record, with a 3.48 ERA and 191 saves, a great number considering the era he pitched in, over 848 appearances, which was high up there at the time of his retirement.
On February 20th of this year Face celebrated his 88th birthday, and we wish him many more!! Cheers!