Though I have always loved the original Topps release for Drago that year, I did come across this image of him as an Oriole.
Drago split the 1977 season with the California Angels and Baltimore Orioles, posting a 6-4 record with a 3.41 earned run average over 49 games, all out of the ‘pen.
He’s put together a nice 13-year career between 1969 and 1981, finishing up with a 108-117 record, along with a 3.62 ERA over 519 games, 189 of them starts.
His best year was easily his 1971 season with the Kansas City Royals when he went 17-11 with a 2.98 ERA and four shutouts over 34 starts and 241.1 innings pitched.
That effort even got him a fifth place finish in the American League Cy Young race as he led the Royals staff to a second place finish in only their third season in the league with a 85-76 record.
I like the idea of going back and seeing where Topps produced a player’s card in the team he was ABOUT to start playing with, rather than who he finished the previous year’s season with, and recreating a card to show the latter instead of the former.
Already have a bunch lined up so keep an eye out for them over the next few months here on the blog!