In the N.L., two pitchers topped the voting for the rookie award, the Reds’ Pat Zachry and the Padres’ Butch Metzger, a starter and a reliever.
Beginning with the starter Zachry, how sweet it must have been to come up with the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds in 1976, post a record of 14-7 with a sweet 2.74 earned run average, while your team was steamrolling to their second straight championship with a sweep of the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Zachry appeared in 38 games, 28 of which were starts, and put in 204 innings of work for the champs, with 143 strikeouts and a shutout along with six complete games.
For Metzger, (who I admittedly had to use his actual 1977 card image since there was no other usable shot to use), he had an equally impressive debut season, appearing in 77 games for the Padres, posting 16 saves while going 11-4 with a 2.92 E.R.A.
Typical of the era, even though all of his appearances were out of the bullpen, he still logged 123.1 innings of work, striking out 89 batters while finishing a league-leading 62 games.
In the American League, we all know who took home the award, an icon of 1970’s baseball, Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, who became a cultural phenomenon on his way to a freshman record of 19-9 with a league=leading 2.34 E.R.A. and completing an astounding 24 of 29 starts!
Those numbers not only got him the rookie award, but also had him start the 1976 All-Star game for the A.L., while also finishing runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award.
Sadly for him (and Detroit), Fidrych developed arm troubles and could never reach that level of success in the Majors again, pitching parts of the following four seasons, winning only 10 more games before calling it a career.
Nevertheless, the mark he left on the game will never be forgotten, joining a select few who would become a symbol of an era beyond the scope of sports.
