Back in the late-1970's, the very first 1959 Topps card I ever got
was of the player I'm posting today: pitcher Pedro Ramos, then of the
Washington Senators.
It always stuck with me because I have always loved that 1959 set,
and always remember walking out of the antique store with that card (I
only paid 25 cents for it).
Well a few decades later here I am, designing a "missing" 1970 Topps card for the former hurler from Cuba.
Take a look:
Ramos had some decent playing time in 1969, pitching in 43 games
and 72.1 innings, good for a 4-4 record with a 5.23 earned run average.
He split the season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and then the Cincinnati Reds.
The following year he pitched in four games for the Washington Senators before retiring for good at the age of 35.
His final numbers in the Majors were solid enough: 117-160, with a 4.08 lifetime E.R.A., 13 shutouts and 1305 strikeouts.
If you look up his stats on "Baseball-Reference.com" you'll notice a
ton of bold-face stats, the tell-tale sign of leading the league.
Sadly for Ramos, the 15 bold stats are mostly negative, as in
leading the league in losses four years in a row, most hits allowed
twice, earned runs once and home runs allowed three times.
In his 15-year career he generally played for second division
squads: Washington, Cleveland, N.Y. Yankees (during the lean years), so
the guy had to endure some lack of support.
But I never realized he made it to the 1970 season, so I'm glad I was able to design a card for him here since there's some small "connection" with him regarding card collecting on a personal level as noted earlier.
