OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 STEVE ROGERS

Today on the blog, we take a look at another image variation between Topps and their North-of-the-border OPC cousin, this time the 1977 cards for Montreal Expos ace Steve Rogers:

OPC version

Topps version

 

Easily we can see that while Topps used an older image of the pitcher, showing him without a mustache, OPC had an up-to-date image with the man how we remember him.

Just nicer photography overall.

Rogers, who would go on to play all 13 years of his career with the Montreal Expos, had himself a wonderful rookie campaign in 1973, finishing second in the league’s rookie of the year voting with a 10-5 record along with a microscopic 1.54 earned run average with three shutouts over 17 starts and 134 innings pitched.
I always felt he should have won the award over Garry Mathews actually, completing seven of his starts and giving up only 23 earned runs while striking out 64.
Of course Rogers would go on to become an all-star pitcher, having five such nods over his career, while finishing second in the Cy Young vote in 1982, then coming in fourth the following season.
Arm trouble cut his career somewhat short at the age of 35 in 1985, as he retired with a record of 158-152, pitching on some tough losing teams early in his MLB tenure.
Nevertheless, the man put in some stellar performances on a Big League mound, leading the league in shutouts twice, ERA in 1982, and ending up with 37 shutouts over 399 appearances.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. ERA

On the blog today, we move on to the National league and their top three ERA pitchers of 1978, displayed on a 1979 "expanded league leader" card:

We begin with New York Mets starter Craig Swan, who surprisingly put in a solid year for the cellar-dwelling Mets, leading the league with his 2.43 earned run average.

Though his record was only 9-6 over his 29 appearances, he did toss 207.1 innings, giving up only 56 earned runs while completing five games, including a shutout.

He'd follow that season up with another solid season, posting a record of 14-13 over 35 starts, with an ERA of 3.29 along with three shutouts and twn complete games, striking out a career-best 145 batters.

Sadly for him injuries began setting in, and aside from 1982 when he threw 166.1 innings, over the rest of his career he'd never throw more than 96.1, retiring in 1984 at the age of only 34.

In second place with a fin 2.47 ERA, Montreal Expos All-Star Steve Rogers, about as solid a starter in the game between 1973 and 1983 before injuries also derailed his career.

For Rogers, he gave the upstart Expos 13 wins against 10 losses, with eleven complete games and a shutout, throwing 219.1 innings.

Of course we know now that he would go on to become a top starter in the early-80's, taking home an ERA crown himself in 1982 with a 2.40 mark, winning 19 games and coming in as runner-up in the Cy Young Race.

In third place with a 2.54 ERA, St. Louis Cardinals starter and future A.L. Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich, who put in a very nice year for his new team after coming over from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Vuckovich was used as both a starter and reliever, appearing in 45 games, with about half of those starts, completing six games and tossing two shutouts on his way to 198.1 innings of work.

After two more solid years with the Cardinals, he'd find himself with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981, tying for the league-lead with his 14 wins during the strike-shortened season, then following that up with his Cy Young year, helping Milwaukee make it all the way to the World Series as he'd go 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA over 30 starts.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

On the blog today, we have a 1978 “expanded league leader” card celebrating the top three strikeout pitchers of the 1977 season in the National League, featuring three solid pitchers of the era:

 

We begin with Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who was an absolute BEAST in 1977, leading the league with 262 strikeouts, a career-best for him, while putting in a workhorse of a year for the Atlanta Braves.

Over the course of that year Niekro started 43 games, completed 20 of them, tossed 330.1 innings while going 16-20 with a 4.03 earned run average, tossing two shutouts while allowing 315 hits while walking 164 batters!

If you can believe it he’d top those innings pitched in each of the next two seasons, throwing 334.1 and 342 in 1978 and 1979 respectively, while winning 19 and 21 games, completing 22 and 23 as well.

Just the definition of “workhorse” while throwing his knuckleball on his way to the Hall of Fame, winning 318 games while striking out 3342 batters along the way, with 45 shutouts over 864 games in his 24-year career.

Behind him with 214 strikeouts in 1977, the pitcher who would go on to lead the league in K’s the following two seasons, Houston Astros fire-baller J.R. Richard, who matched his previous season’s strikeout total while winning 18 games along with three shutouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Richard would eclipse the 300-strikeout threshold in the 1978 and 1979, with 303 and 313 before a stroke during the 1980 season tragically cut his career short after a brilliant 10-4 start with a 1.90 ERA, including four shutouts.

The man was well on his way to a dominant decade in the 1980’s, now teamed up with Nolan Ryan who arrived in 1980 to form what could have been one of the great 1-2 pitching tandems of all-time.

In third place with 206 strikeouts, overlooked ace Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, who had a fine year in 1977 with 17 wins and a 3.10 ERA over 40 starts, completing 17 and tossing four shutouts.

Rogers would go on to post some solid years for the Expos into the 1980’s, winning as many as 19 games (1982) and even leading the league that year with a 2.40 ERA, and shutouts in 1983 with five.

A victim of some bad Expos teams in the early part of the 1970’s, he’d finish with a record of 158-152 over 13 seasons, with a very nice 3.17 ERA and 37 shutouts over 399 appearances, all for the Montreal franchise between 1973 and 1985.

 

A MISSING ROOKIE CUP- 1974 STEVE ROGERS

Next up on the “Missing Rookie Cup” line is a fix for the 1974 Steve Rogers card, when Topps decided to do-away with the cool rookie trophy:

Rogers, who would go on to play all 13 years of his career with the Montreal Expos, had himself a wonderful rookie campaign in 1973, finishing second in the league’s rookie of the year voting with a 10-5 record along with a microscopic 1.54 earned run average with three shutouts over 17 starts and 134 innings pitched.
I always felt he should have won the award over Garry Mathews actually, completing seven of his starts and giving up only 23 earned runs while striking out 64.
Of course Rogers would go on to become an all-star pitcher, having five such nods over his career, while finishing second in the Cy Young vote in 1982, then coming in fourth the following season.
Arm trouble cut his career somewhat short at the age of 35 in 1985, as he retired with a record of 158-152, pitching on some tough losing teams early in his MLB tenure.
Nevertheless, the man put in some stellar performances on a Big League mound, leading the league in shutouts twice, ERA in 1982, and ending up with 37 shutouts over 399 appearances.