Today
we have a “not so missing” 1977 card for former pitcher Buddy Schultz,
who came up with the Chicago Cubs though you may remember him from his
tenure later on with the St. Louis Cardinals:
Schultz was in his second MLB season in 1976 when he appeared in 29
games, throwing 23.2 innings and posting a record of 1-1 with an earned
run average at 6.08.
Over the Winter he’d be traded to the Cardinals for Minor Leaguer Mike
Overt, and he’d play for St. Louis the final three years of his career,
going a combined 12-8 over that time with an ERA around 3.00, appearing
in 133 games with three of them starts.
Injuries would derail his career, causing him to retire after the 1982
season while in the Minors, causing him to finish his Major League
tenure with a very nice 15-9 record over 168 appearances, sporting an
ERA at 3.68 over 240 innings, striking out 193 batters while collecting
12 saves.
Very good numbers!
Today’s
blog post has a “not so missing” 1976 card for former pitcher Buddy
Schultz, who made his Major League debut in 1975 with the Chicago Cubs:
Schultz was a September call-up at the age of 24 and produced a 2-0
record over six appearances with an earned run average of 6.35 over 5.2
innings of work.
He’d pitch for the Cubs in 1976, making 29 appearances and going 1-1
with another 6.00+ ERA in 23.2 innings of work before moving on to the
St. Louis Cardinals in 1977.
He’d fare much better for the Redbirds, going 6-1 over the 1977 season
with a very nice 2.32 ERA over 40 appearances and 85.1 innings pitched,
also making three starts along the way.
He’d spend the next two years with St. Louis, going 6-7 combined with an
ERA hovering around 4.00 over 93 games, all out of the bullpen, before
playing out his pro career in the Minor Leagues through the 1982 season
before retiring.
All told, Schultz went 15-9 in his MLB career, sporting a 3.68 ERA over
168 appearances and 240 innings of work between 1975 and 1979.
Today
I wanted to focus on the 1978 card for former St. Louis Cardinal’
pitcher Buddy Schultz, with its typical 1970’s Topps paint-job:
Nothing terribly out of the ordinary as far as airbrush jobs went for
the era, however I never understood why it was even necessary since
Schultz played with the Cardinals in 1977, appearing in 40 games with 37
of them out of the bullpen, pitching a total of 85.1 innings.
As a matter of fact he had a very nice season for St. Louis, going 6-1
with a 2.32 earned run average! So why wouldn’t Topps have an image of
him suited up in the Cardinals uniform?
Odd.
As for Schultz, he would pitch five years in the Majors, appearing in
168 games with his only starts being the aforementioned three in 1977.
He’d finish his career with a nice 15-9 record, along with a 3.68 ERA
over exactly 240 innings pitched, with 12 saves and 193 strikeouts.
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