Monday, November 25, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 HAL DUES

Up on the blog today is a “not so missing” 1978 card for former Montreal Expos pitcher Hal Dues, who made his MLB debut with six appearances during the 1977 season:


Funny enough, the image used for this card is almost exactly like the one for his 1979 card that Topps actually put out, that I had to compare side by side to be sure I wasn't duplicating.

Seems he liked this pose!
Over those six appearances, he posted a record of 1-1 with an earned run average of 4.30 as a 22-year-old, with four of those games being starts, over 23 innings pitched.
He’d have a very nice 1978 season which saw his record of 5-6 betray his ERA of 2.36 over 25 appearances, 12 of those starts, throwing 99 innings and pitching a complete game while also picking up a save.
Seems like injuries curtailed his Big League tenure, as he would spend all of 1979 in the Minors, appearing in only 12 games split between Double and Triple A ball before making it to the Majors in 1980.
In what turned out to be his last taste of the Big Leagues, Dues appeared in six games for Montreal during the 1980 season, going 0-1 over 12.1 innings pitched, posting a bloated 6.57 ERA.
He would play another two seasons in the Minors for the Montreal organization, but would retire from pro ball after the 1982 campaign, ending up with a career 6-8 record over 37 appearances, with a nice 3.08 ERA in 134.1 innings pitched.