Here's a card I've been meaning to create for some time, a 1982
"Career-Capper" for Ed Figueroa, one-time Yankee ace who wrapped up his
career with the Oakland A's:
Figueroa appeared in only two games for the A's in 1981, the final two of his nice eight-year Big League career.
Over
those two games he pitched to a 5.40 earned run average, not factoring
in a decision while giving up six walks against one strikeout.
While
he came up with the California Angels in 1974 and had a solid 1975
season with them when he won 16 games with a 2.91 ERA over 32 starts,
his best seasons were in Yankee pinstripes, when he posted three seasons
that saw him post win totals of 19, 16 and a career-high 20 between
1976 and 1978.
A solid arm in the bullpen for the
Championship Yankees, he quietly teamed up with Yankee aces Catfish
Hunter and Ron Guidry to help bring championship baseball back to the
Bronx.
Injuries hurt his career after that brilliant 1978
season, as Figueroa would win only seven games over the final three
years of his career.
By the time he retired, he finished with a
record of 80-67 over 200 games, with a 3.51 ERA in 1309.2 innings, with
12 shutouts and 571 strikeouts.
