On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1977 card for former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kevin Kobel, who made it back to a Big League mound in 1976 after a year in the Minors, battling injuries:
Kobel
appeared in just three games during the Bicentennial 1976 season,
getting hit hard out of the bullpen to the tune of an 11.25 ERA over
four innings.
He spent all of 1975 in the Minors, though only
appearing in seven games for Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League,
dealing with injuries.
In 1974 he was a full-time Brewers
starter, playing in 34 games with 24 of those starts, going 6-14 with
three complete games and two shutouts, throwing 169.1 innings and
finishing up with a 3.99 ERA.
After another Minor League
season in 1977, he was back on a Major League mound in 1978 as a New
York Met, having a nice season that saw him appear in 32 games, starting
eleven, and posting a sweet 2.91 ERA over 108.1 innings, with a record
of 5-6.
He'd have a decent 1979 season, going 6-8 for the Mets
with a 3.51 ERA over 30 appearances and 161.2 innings before he found
himself splitting the 1980 season between the Majors and Minors,
appearing in only 14 games for the Mets and getting lit up to an ERA of
7.04 over 24.1 innings of work.
Turns out it would be the last
action he'd see in the Majors before spending the 1982 season in the
Pittsburgh Pirates organization with no success, retiring soon after.
All
told, Kobel appeared in 115 games between 1973 and 1980, going 18-34
with a 3.88 ERA over 476 innings pitched, completing five and tossing
three shutouts, starting 64 games.
