Today
we have a sort of extreme change of fortune, a career-capping “not so
missing” 1978 card for former pitcher Stan Thomas, who went from the
new, cellar-dwelling Seattle Mariners to the eventual World Champion New
York Yankees in 1977:
Thomas began the season as one of the original Mariners, appearing in 13
games and posting a record of 2-6 with an unsightly 6.02 earned run
average over 58.1 innings of work.
Then in the middle of the “Dog Days of Summer”, August 2nd to be exact,
he was sent to the Bronx “as part of a conditional deal” (whatever that
means), giving him the chance to pitch on a winning team.
What he’d end up doing is go 1-0 for the Yankees over three appearances,
all out of the bullpen, yet posting an ERA of 7.11 (yikes), over 6.1
innings of work.
Turns out that would be it for his Big League career, which began back
in 1974 with the Texas Rangers, leaving him with a career 11-14 record,
sporting an ERA of 3.70 over 111 games and 265.1 innings, with 17 starts
and nine saves thrown in.