On
the blog today we have a “not so missing” 1976 card for a guy I already
produced 1977 and 1978 cards for, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick
Krueger, who got dissed by Topps on more than one occasion:
Krueger appeared in just two games for the Red Sox during their 1975
American League Pennant run, pitching to a 4.50 earned run average over
four innings, not factoring in a decision.
1976 would be his best season as a Big Leaguer, going 2-1 over eight
appearances, four of those starts, with a 4.06 ERA in 31 innings
pitched, even tossing a complete game, though he did walk 12 batters
while striking out 12.
After his one appearance 1977 season, he’d be back in 1978, making six
appearances for the Cleveland Indians while pitching to a 3.86 ERA over
9.1 innings, not factoring in a decision.
Turns out, that would be it for his Major League career, finishing up
with a record of 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA over 17 appearances and 44.1
innings pitched, with 20 strikeouts against 20 walks in parts of four
seasons.
Just interesting that he never even made an appearance on a multi-player rookie card anywhere along the way.