Today, just for kicks, I want to post up my Montreal Expos version:
I can create cards for “Mudcat” all day long, and I can't really understand why Topps didn't include him in their 1970 set since he appeared in 41 games in 1969, posting an 8-11 record with a 4.42 earned run average in 114 innings of work, split between the Montreal Expos and St. Louis Cardinals.
He'd go on to pitch two more seasons, for both the Oakland A's and Pittsburgh Pirates before retiring at the end of the 1971 season.
Overall he put in a very nice 14-year career that saw him go 145-119 with a 3.63 ERA and 1267 strikeouts over 571 games and 2442 innings pitched.
His finest season was 1965 for the American League champ Minnesota Twins when he finished with a 21-7 record, the win total leading the league, as well as leading in winning percentage (.750) and shutouts (6).
But I also have to point out his incredibly underrated 1970 season.
That year, in what turned out to be his second to last in the Majors, Grant was used as a reliever, appearing in 80 games with the Pirates and A's, good for 135.1 innings, while posting fantastic numbers by season's end, going 8-3 with 24 saves and a sparkling 1.86 E.R.A.!
Not too shabby!
