Good day all!
Been
a while since I spotlighted an airbrushing gem of the 1970's here on
the blog, so I thought we'd take a look at the 1974 Mike Caldwell
masterpiece:
Not the worst paint job, certainly not the best either.
Coming
up with the San Diego Padres in 1971, Caldwell put in three years with
the team before finding himself "up the road" in San Francisco before
the 1974 season, so Topps managed to create this beauty before the cards
went to press.
He would have his first
successful year that season, posting a record of 14-5 and a 2.95 ERA over 31
appearances, 27 of them starts, tossing two shutouts.
He’d struggle over the next two years before starting the 1977 season with the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in 14 games as a reliever before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two Minor Leaguers on June 15th.
In Milwaukee he would find his groove, going on to pitch seven-plus years for the “Brew Crew”, posting double-digit win totals six times including his magnificent 1978 campaign, which saw him go 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA over 34 starts, completing 23 of them and tossing six shutouts.
If it were not for a man named Ron Guidry that season, Caldwell would have taken home the American League Cy Young Award, finishing second while also finishing twelfth in the MVP race.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Caldwell ended up with a career 137-130 record along with a 3.81 ERA in 475 appearances, 307 of them starts, with 23 shutouts, 18 saves and a brilliant 1982 World Series performance in a losing cause when he went 2-0 over three games, posting a 2.04 ERA including a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He’d struggle over the next two years before starting the 1977 season with the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in 14 games as a reliever before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two Minor Leaguers on June 15th.
In Milwaukee he would find his groove, going on to pitch seven-plus years for the “Brew Crew”, posting double-digit win totals six times including his magnificent 1978 campaign, which saw him go 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA over 34 starts, completing 23 of them and tossing six shutouts.
If it were not for a man named Ron Guidry that season, Caldwell would have taken home the American League Cy Young Award, finishing second while also finishing twelfth in the MVP race.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Caldwell ended up with a career 137-130 record along with a 3.81 ERA in 475 appearances, 307 of them starts, with 23 shutouts, 18 saves and a brilliant 1982 World Series performance in a losing cause when he went 2-0 over three games, posting a 2.04 ERA including a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals.
