Time
for another “nickname of the 1970’s” card, this time former relief
pitcher Clay Carroll of the Cincinnati Reds, who was (by my count) the
third player who had the “Hawk” moniker:
This makes my third “Hawk” nickname card, following a 1978 Andre Dawson
and a 1970 Ken Harrelson, easily making this the most popular alias in
this long-running thread.
Carroll get’s a 1973 template since he was coming off his amazing 1972
campaign that saw him set a National League record mark with 37 saves
while posting a 2.25 ERA over 65 appearances and 96 innings.
Those numbers were good enough to finish fifth in the Cy Young Race, as
well as a 13th-place finish for MVP, while making his second All-Star
team.
Since coming to the Reds in 1968 he did nothing but put in stellar
season after season, posting double-digit saves while posting records
like 12-6 in 1969, 10-4 in 1971 and 12-5 later in 1974.
Over his 15-year Big League career he would end up with a record of
96-73, with 143 saves and a very nice 2.94 ERA over 731 appearances and
1353.1 innings pitched.