THEN AND NOW #37: LINDY McDANIEL 1975

Today I go ahead and give long time relief pitcher Lindy McDaniel a "Then and Now" card.

Check it out:

McDaniel put in a nice 21-year career in the Major Leagues, collecting a 141-119 record with 174 saves over 987 games.

He just missed becoming the second pitcher all-time to reach 1000 appearances, where he could have joined Hoyt Wilhelm in the exclusive club.

He pitched for five organizations during his career: the Cardinals, Yankees, Giants, Cubs and Royals before retiring after the 1975 season.

In 1960 he put in a heck of a year, finishing third in Cy Young voting as well as fifth in MVP balloting, based on his 12-4 record with a sparkling2.09 earned run average with a league-leading 27 saves over 65 games and 116.1 innings pitched.

He'd also lead the league in saves two other times, in 1959 with 16 and in 1963 with 22 as a member of the Cubs.

In 1970 he actually posted his career high, now with the Yankees, of 29 saves, along with a 9-5 record and a 2.01 E.R.A.

Certainly a fine career that deserves a bit more attention that it gets these days.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 LINDY McDANIEL

Regardless of the fact that he played his last game in 1975, I feel that long time reliever Lindy McDaniel should have had a card in the 1976 Topps set.

So I went and designed one myself, check it out:

McDaniel was closing out an excellent 21 year career that saw him come up as a 19-year old phenom in 1955 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Over the next 21 years McDaniel would go on to lead the league in saves three times, winning percentage once, and even finish in the top-3 and top-5 in Cy Young and M.V.P. voting respectively in 1960 when he went 12-4 with a 2.09 earned run average and 26 saves.

In 1975, at the age of 39, McDaniel was pitching for the Kansas City Royals and had a great final year on the mound, going 5-1 with a 4.15 E.R.A. over 40 games and 78 innings of work.

I think that playing time warranted a card for a guy who, at the time of his retirement was second all-time in game appearances for a pitcher, with 987, just short of joining Hoyt Wilhelm as the only two hurlers to appear in that many games.

All told, McDaniel went 141-119 with a 3.45 E.R.A., with 172 saves pitching for the Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Royals.

A very nice career indeed.

I'll be designing a "Super Veteran" card for him in my "Then and Now" series for sure…so keep an eye out for it.

AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC CARD: 1971 LINDY McDANIEL

The 1971 Topps Lindy McDaniel (#303) card has always been another of my favorites from the set.
For me, it always seemed like the perfect "classic" baseball photograph with McDaniel on the mound at the "old-OLDER" Yankee Stadium in 1970.
Besides the fact that the black-bordered 1971 set always looks nice, the photo is perfectly cropped to show the in-game action and the vastness of the stadium behind him.
There were a few Yankee players that were given an awesome card in this set. Earlier on this blog I profiled the Ron Woods and Thurman Munson cards, and in the future I plan on posting on the Roy White issue as well.
Just a nice card that reflects the era it was snapped in very well.
As for McDaniel, he had a nice 21 year career in the big leagues, proving himself mainly as a reliever. He lead the league in saves three times and finished with 172 in his career.
1970 was arguably his finest year in the Majors, as he appeared in 62 games for the Yankees, with a 9-5 record and 29 saves to go along with a nifty 2.01 E.R.A.
At the time of his retirement after the 1975 season, he was second all-time (behind Hoyt Wilhelm) in game appearances by a pitcher with 987.

About as "classic" a photo as you can get...

RANDOM QUICKIE...

Anyone else out there ever think that Lindy McDaniel's baseball glove on his 1970 Topps card looked comically over-sized?
I swear I keep flipping back and forth, as if it's some optical illusion. But right now I am sure it looks humongous!
Take a look...

Is it me, or is his glove HUGE!?