Today's blog post has a fun 1977 "Dedicated Manager" card for Bill Virdon, somewhat of a forgotten figure over the years as both a solid player and manager over a long MLB career:
Virdon
was about to start his second full season as skipper of the Houston
Astros in 1977, coming off a third place finish in 1976 with a record of
80-82.
He'd do one game better in 1977, finishing 81-81, good for another third place finish in the National League West.
He
would eventually spend eight years as manager of the Astros, having his
best season in 1980 when the Astros finished 93-70, finishing in first
place before losing to the eventual World Champion Philadelphia Phillies
in the N.L. playoffs.
Previous to the Astros gig, he managed
both the New York Yankees (1974 and 1975) as well as the Pittsburgh
Pirates (1972 and 1973), having good years for both teams but being let
go nevertheless.
After the 1982 season he moved on to the
Montreal Expos, where he managed them in 1982 and 1983 before being let
go mid-season after a 64-67 start.
All told as a manager,
Virdon finished with a record of 995 and 921, with two first place
finishes as well as a first place finish in the second half of the 1981
strike season debacle.
As a player he was equally as solid,
winning the Rookie of the Year in 1955 when he hit .281 with 17 homers
and 68 runs batted in for the St. Louis Cardinals, while picking up a
Gold Glove in 1962 for his defensive work out in centerfield for the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
Over his 12 year playing career spanning
1955 to 1968, Virdon hit .267 with 1596 hits in 5980 at-bats over 1583
games, scoring 735 runs while driving in 502.
