AIRBRUSHING THROUGH THE 1970'S: 1973 ANDY MESSERSMITH

Let's go and take a look at another airbrushing gem from the 1970's today, this one the 1973 card for former All-Star pitcher Andy Messersmith, who made his was "cross-town" from the California Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Not much to it here, just an airbrushed collar trim and a crayon-like hat that isn't the worst we've seen by any measure.

Messersmith would have a wonderful career by the time the mid-70’s were in full swing, having won 20-games for the second time in his career in 1974 when he posted a 20-6 mark along with a nice 2.59 earned run average and 221 strikeouts.
He’d finish second to teammate Mike Marshall and his historic season out of the bullpen for the Cy Young Award, and would also take home the first of two straight Gold Gloves.
In his seven seasons as a big league pitcher at that point, Messersmith’s highest season E.R.A. was 3.01, which he had in 1970 while with the California Angels.
In every other season in the Majors he posted E.R.A.’s under 3.00, and would finish his career with an amazing 2.86 mark after twelve years, with a record of 130-99 and 1625 strikeouts with 27 shutouts before injuries forced him to retire at the age of only 33 in 1979.
An underrated pitcher who sadly never got to play out his career to it’s fullest, he certainly maintained a top-notch level when he was healthy.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Next in my on-going "expanded league leaders" thread for the 1970's, we move on to the National League's top three strikeout artists for 1974, shown on a 1975 league-leader card:

 

We begin with one of the greatest, Hall of Fame lefty Steve Carlton, who led the N.L. with his 240 K's in 1974, his second of what would end up being five strikeout titles over his 24 year career.

Carlton would top 200 strikeouts in a season eight times in his career, with a high of 310 during his "all-world" campaign that saw him take home the first of his four Cy Young Awards.

By the time he was done with the Majors, he'd finish with 4136 strikeouts, behind only Nolan Ryan over baseball's long history.

In second place with 221 strikeouts, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Andy Messersmith, who had a really great year in 1974 and would have been the Cy Young winner if not for teammate Mike marshall rewriting the relief pitcher record books.

For Messersmith, in addition to his 221 K's, he led the league with 20 wins and a 1.098 WHIP, also taking home the first of his two straight Gold Gloves to go along with a very nice 2.59 ERA.

In third place with "only" 201 strikeouts, quite possibly my favorite pitcher of all-time, Tom Seaver, who still managed to make it seven straight seasons of 200 or more K's.

In what was a down year for "Tom Terrific", he posted a record of 11-11 with a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts, tossing five shutouts while logging 236 innings of work.

He'd come right back in 1975, taking home his fourth strikeout title with 243 K's, following that up with yet another league-leading total in 1976 with 235.

I was in absolute awe of this man as a burgeoning baseball nut at that time, wishing beyond all that he was suiting up for my beloved Yankees instead of the cross-town Mets.

Anyway, there you have it! Next week, the American League's top strikeout pitchers.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. WINS

On the blog today, we move onto the National League’s top winning pitchers for 1974 in my 1975 “Expanded League Leaders” card in my long-running thread:

 

 

For 1974 we had two pitchers tied for the top spot in wins with 20, Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves.

For Messersmith, it was a banner season for the righty, as he’d finish second behind record breaking teammate Mike Marshall for the league’s Cy Young Award, based on his 20-6 record, with a very nice 2.59 ERA and 221 strikeouts for the N.L. Champs.

Tied with Messersmith with 20 wins, the great knuckler Phil Niekro, who had himself his second 20-wins season, and first since 1969, as he’d go 20-13 over 41 appearances, all but two starts, leading the league with his 18 complete games and 302.1 innings pitched.

He would also complete six games, toss a shutout, and strikeout 195 batters while also picking up a save, which all would get him a third place finish in the Cy Young race at season’s end.

In third place with 19 wins each, Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Don Sutton and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, with Sutton going 19-9 over 40 starts, with five shutouts and 179 strikeouts, and Billingham going 19-11 for his second straight 19-win season, while also posting an ERA of 3.94 over 36 appearances, with three shutouts and 103 strikeouts, good for a sixth place finish in the Cy Young race.

Four solid starters putting in good seasons for their respective teams.

Next week, we take a look at the American league’s top winners of 1974!

See you then!

1975 IN-ACTION: ANDY MESSERSMITH

Next in line for an “In-Action” card for the 1975 set is the 1974 All-Star game starter for the National League, Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Messersmith was having a wonderful career by the time the mid-70’s were in fully swing, having won 20-games for the second time in his career in 1974 when he posted a 20-6 mark along with a nice 2.59 earned run average and 221 strikeouts.
He’d finish second to teammate Mike Marshall and his historic season out of the bullpen for the Cy Young Award, and would also take home the first of two straight Gold Gloves.
In his seven seasons as a big league pitcher at that point, Messersmith’s highest season E.R.A. was 3.01, which he had in 1970 while with the California Angels.
In every other season in the Majors he posted E.R.A.’s under 3.00, and would finish his career with an amazing 2.86 mark after twelve years, with a record of 130-99 and 1625 strikeouts with 27 shutouts before injuries forced him to retire at the age of only 33 in 1979.
An underrated pitcher who sadly never got to play out his career to it’s fullest, he certainly maintained a top-notch level when he was healthy.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #41: 1972 ANDY MESSERSMITH

Time to give former all-star pitcher Andy Messersmith a "missing" In-Action card in the 1972 set.

Here you go:

Messersmith had a very interesting abbreviated career which saw him go 130-99 with a sparkling 2.86 earned run average, 27 shutouts and 1625 strikeouts, all in only 2230.1 innings pitched and 344 games in twelves years.

Of those twelve years, four were actually partial seasons, so we're really looking at an eight-year career that was very productive!

Going on those eight full seasons between 1969 and 1976, Messersmith posted two 20-win seasons, one in the American League with the Angels and one in the National League with the Dodgers, a 19-win season, six seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, and three seasons of 200+ strikeouts.

Along the way he won two Gold Gloves, was named to four all-star games, and finished fifth or higher in the Cy Young race three times.

Sadly, injuries pretty much halted his career at the age of 31, now with the Atlanta Braves, and by 1979 he was retired for good at 33.

Nevertheless he was one of the exceptional arms of the decade, easily overshadowed by the likes os Seaver, Carlton, Palmer et al.