NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JIM BIBBY

On the blog today we have a "not so missing" 1973 card for former pitcher Jim Bibby, who made his MLB debut in 1972 with the St. Louis Cardinals:

 

Bibby appeared in six games for the Cardinals, going 1-3 with a 3.35 earned run average in 40.1 innings of work, all starts.

After six appearances with the Cardinals to start off the 1973 season, Bibby found himself down in Texas, and would soon go on to throw a no-hitter for his new team on July 30th against the eventual World Champion Oakland A’s.
He would go on to have a nice 12-year career that saw him go 111-101 with a 3.76 earned run average over 340 appearances, 239 of which were starts, tossing 19 shutouts along the way.
His best seasons would be his back-to-back years with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 and 1980 that saw him go 31-10, leading the league in winning percentage both times, while being named to the National League all-star team in ’80 while finishing third in the Cy Young race.

DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1972 JIM BIBBY

On the blog today, we have a 1972 "dedicated rookie" for all-star pitcher Jim Bibby, who began his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972, while also getting a spot on a multi-player rookie card in the glamorous 1972 set:

 

Bibby put in 12 years in the Major Leagues, posting two seasons with 19 wins, 1974 with the Texas Rangers when he went 19-19 over a staggering 41 starts, throwing 264 innings, and in 1980 when he made his only All-Star team while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 19-6 with a 3.32 ERA over 35 appearances, finishing third in the Cy Young race at season's end.

By the time he was done after the 1984 season at the age of 39, he finished with a record of 111-101 over 340 appearances, with an ERA of 3.76, tossing 19 shutouts while picking up eight saves along the way, winning a championship in 1979 with the Pirates, the famed "We are family" squad led by the great Willie Stargell.

 

 

TRADED- 1975 JIM BIBBY

A while back I created a 1975 traded card for Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, reflecting his trade to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Jim Bibby.
Well today I send it back the other way with a traded card for Bibby (though he was sent packing along with two other players: Jackie Brown and Rick Waits and $100,000):

Bibby was coming off a season that saw him go 19-19, though his earned run average was an unsightly 4.74 over 41 starts, with five shutouts.
Nevertheless, he was the key in that trade for the Cleveland Indians as they sent their recent Cy Young winner South-West.
Bibby would perform well enough over his two-plus seasons with the Tribe, going 30-29 overall with a nice 3.36 ERA over 95 appearances, 63 of which were starts.
Funny enough Perry would produce relatively similar numbers for the Rangers before he was sent to the San Diego Padres to start the 1978 season. So no one really came out “ahead” on this one.
As for Bibby, he’d have his two best seasons in the Big Leagues when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 and 1980 when he went a combined 31-10, leading the league in winning percentage both years, while also getting named to his only All-Star game in 1980.
All told, by the time he retired after the 1984 season, he finished with a record of 111-101, with an ERA of 3.76 over 340 appearances, 239 of which were starts, along with 19 shutouts and eight saves over 12-seasons.

NO-HITTERS SPECIAL SUB-SET: JIM BIBBY. JULY 30TH, 1973

The next no-hitter up in my ongoing “No-Hitters through the 1970’s” thread is the first No-Hitter thrown for the Texas Rangers franchise, Jim Bibby’s gem on July 30th, 1973:

Fresh from coming over to the Rangers from the St. Louis Cardinals just under two months prior, Bibby faced the World Champion Oakland A’s at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium and proceeded to strike out 13 batters, though walking six, on his way to baseball history.
Relying on his fastball, Bibby outdueled Oakland’s ace Vida Blue, and even had Reggie Jackson state that in the ninth-inning, after striking out, “That’s the fastest ball I ever saw. Actually I didn’t see it. I just heard it”.
Bibby would go on to pitch well for the Rangers over the rest of the season, finishing up with a record of 9-10 for the hard-luck team, with an ERA at 3.24 with two shutouts over 23 starts.
He’d pitch through the 1984 season, ending up with a record of 111 and 101, winning 19 games twice (1974 and 1980), and being part of the 1979 World Champion “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates team.

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1973 "MISSING" JIM BIBBY

I had a “special request” recently to create a 1973 card for Jim Bibby, as a Texas Ranger, though he actually started the season as a St. Louis Cardinal.
Nevertheless, here you go:

If this was something I would have created for myself it would have been a Cardinals card, but to be honest I never even realized he wasn’t in the 1973 set to begin with. So let’s consider this a “traded” card of sorts.
After six appearances with the Cardinals to start off the 1973 season, Bibby found himself down in Texas, and would soon go on to throw a no-hitter for his new team on July 30th against the eventual World Champion Oakland A’s.
He would go on to have a nice 12-year career that saw him go 111-101 with a 3.76 earned run average over 340 appearances, 239 of which were starts.
His bests seasons would be his back-to-back years with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 and 1980 that saw him go 31-10, leading the league in winning percentage both times, while being named to the National League all-star team in ’80 while finishing third in the Cy Young race.