MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 JUAN PIZARRO

Here’s a “missing” card for a guy who had a FEW missing spots during the decade, long-time Major League pitcher Juan Pizarro, who finished up the 1973 season with the Houston Astros:

Pizarro appeared in 17 games split between the Chicago Cubs and Astros, going 2-3 with a bloated 7.24 earned run average over 27.1 innings, all but one out of the bullpen.
He’d go on to appear in seven more games in his career, as a Pittsburgh Pirate in 1974, thus closing out a very respectable 18-year stint in the big leagues, finishing up with a 131-105 record along with a 3.43 ERA in 488 appearances, 245 of them starts.
His best seasons were back-to-back for the Chicago White Sox in 1963/64 when he won 16 and 19 games with ERA’s of 2.39 and 2.56 respectively, giving him his only two all-star berths.
Previously, I have also created missing 1970 and 1973 cards for him, and if I can find a decent enough image of him with the Pirates from 1974, I’ll whip up a “not really missing” ’74 edition as well.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JUAN PIZARRO

Here’s a guy who had a FEW “missing” cards during his long career, pitcher Juan Pizarro.
Today I tackle the “missing” 1973 edition:

I recently posted my 1970 creation for Pizarro about a week ago, and have him slated for both a 1974 AND a 1975 card (if I can only find a photo of him with his final stint with the Astros and Pirates!).
Pizarro appeared in 16 games for the Cubs in 1972, mainly as a guy out of the bullpen, and posted a 4-5 record with a 3.94 earned run average in 59.1 innings.
He’d go on to pitch 18-years in the Major Leagues, finishing with a 131 and 105 record with a nice 3.43 ERA and 17 shutouts, along with 28 saves over 488 games.
His peak years were with the Chicago White Sox between 1961 and 1964, being named to two all-star teams an having two years with a sub-3.00 ERA and a 19-win season in 1964.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 JUAN PIZARRO

Here’s a “missing” card from the 1970 Topps set that I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time: a Juan Pizarro edition as an Oakland A’s player:

The reason it took so long for me to accomplish this was because I could never find an image of him in an Oakland uniform in color, so I resorted to some Photoshop work and came up with what you see here for the long time hurler.
I really don’t know why Pizarro was omitted from the 1970 set since he appeared in 57 games for both the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and A’s, good for 99.1 innings of work and a 4-5 record with seven saves.
He’d even go on to pitch for another five seasons before hanging up the spikes for good in 1974.
With a successful career as both a starter and a reliever, Pizarro was a two-time all-star who won as many as 19 games in a season (with the White Sox in 1964), and posted an ERA of 2.39 (in 1963), while appearing in 488 games in his 18-year career.
Just a nerd-bit here: Pizarro was the very first 1971 Topps card I ever got as an obsessed newbie collector by the late-70’s as a ten year old trying to get at least ONE card for every set going back in time.
Anyway, all told Pizarro fashioned a nice career that saw him go 131-105 with a nbice 3.43 earned run average and 17 shutouts, along with 28 saves between 1957 and 1974.

THEN AND NOW #32: JUAN PIZARRO 1972

Today's "Then and Now" subject is a guy who put together a nice 18-year career, former pitcher Juan Pizarro.

Check out my card design:

Pizarro's best years were with the Chicago White Sox between 1961 and 1964 which saw him primarily as a starter, winning 61 games with two seasons of sub-3.00 E.R.A.

1964 was easily his best season, as he posted a 19-9 record with a 2.56 earned run average, four shutouts and 162 strikeouts over 33 starts.

From 1965 until his last season in 1974 he was used mainly as a lefty out of the bullpen, pitching for no less than seven teams: White Sox, Pirates, Red Sox, Indians, A's, Cubs and Astros.

By the time he retired he finished with a 131-105 record, with a 3.43 E.R.A., 17 shutouts, 28 saves and 1522 strikeouts over 488 games, 245 of which were starts.

Although he pitched into the 1974 season, Pizarro's last Topps card was in 1972, that's why I used the 1972 template here.

But I'll be designing a couple of "missing" cards for Pizarro in the near future so keep an eye out for them.