Friday, July 9, 2021

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1977 STEVE STONE

Up on the blog today, let's go and give former Cy Young winner Steve Stone a do-over for his 1977 card since he was originally painted up with his upcoming team, the Chicago White Sox:

 
Stone spent the previous three seasons on the North Side of Chicago playing for the Cubs, winning 8, 12 and 3 games respectively between 1974 and 1976.
Funny enough, before his Cubs tenure he played one season with the White Sox in 1973, going 6-11 over 36 appearances with a 4.24 earned run average.
He'd have his best season yet in 1977 with the White Sox, winning 15 games against 12 losses, posting an ERA of 4.51 over 31 starts, with eight complete games.
He'd go on to win 12 more games in 1978 before finding himself in Baltimore for the 1979 season, where he'd go 11-7 with a 3.77 ERA over 32 starts.
Of course, the 1980 season was one for the ages, as he would come out of nowhere to win 25 games, make his only All-Star team, and eventually take home the A.L. Cy Young Award.
Along with the hefty win total he posted an ERA of 3.23 over 37 starts, with a shutout and 149 strikeouts in 250.2 innings of work.
However, sadly for him he would develop arm troubles during the 1981 season, and incredibly would see his Major league career end just like that, finishing 4-7 with a 4.60 ERA over 15 games, 12 of them starts, throwing only 62.2 innings.
All told, Stone finished with a record of 107-93 in 11 seasons, with a 3.97 ERA and seven shutouts over 320 games, 269 of them starts, and 1788.1 innings pitched.