Hrabosky was already entrenched as one of the premier relievers of the Senior Circuit when he was traded to the Royals for Mark Little and Buck Martinez on December 8th.
He’d go on to play two seasons for K.C., performing very well with 31 saves and a combined 17-11 record, finishing 84 games.
But after the 1979 season he’d be on the move again, heading to the Atlanta Braves where he would pitch the last three seasons of his career, developing arm problems and retiring at the end of 1982.
He would finish a very nice 64-35, with a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves over 545 appearances and 722 innings pitched between 1970 and 1982, finishing in the Top-5 in NL Cy Young voting in both 1974 and 1975.
Of course, the mark he really left on the game were his insane antics, psyching himself up on the mound like a madman with his back to the batter before he spun around in an apparent rage.
Classic stuff from one of the real characters of 1970’s baseball!
