The next card in line in my on-going "expanded league leaders" sub-set is the A.L. 1974 strikeout leaders card:
Of
course we begin with the great Nolan Ryan and his record breaking 1973
campaign, when he broke the MLB strikeout record by one, with 383 K's.
Ryan
was beginning his insane run at the record books, reaching 300+
strikeouts for the second straight year, in what would be five times out
of six seasons between 1972 and 1977.
In addition to the
strikeouts, he reached 20 wins for the first time in his career with 21,
while posting a 2.87 ERA and four shutouts over 41 appearances, 39 of
those starts.
Behind him with 258 strikeouts is another future
Hall of Famer, Minnesota Twins ace Bert Blyleven, who reached 200+ K's
for the third of what would be six seasons between 1971 and 1976.
Blyleven
also reached 20 wins, the only time he would do so over his long
career, tossing a league-leading nine shouts and posting an ERA of 2.52
over 40 starts.
Incredibly, after his 1976 season, he wouldn't
reach 200-K's again until 1985 when he'd lead the A.L. with 206 in a
season split between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins.
In
third place in the American League with 241 strikeouts in 1973, is
another California Angels pitcher, Bill Singer, who had a great first
season with his new team.
Coming over from the Los Angeles
Dodgers, Singer posted his second 20-win season, going 20-14 over 40
starts, with a 3.22 ERA and two shutouts, and helping set a new Major
League record for strikeouts by teammates with Nolan Ryan, an astounding
624 between the two.
The record would stand until almost
30-years later when two dudes by the name of Randy Johnson and Curt
Schilling would seemingly strike everyone out in 2001, reaching 665 K's
between them.
Well there you have it! The three top strikeout pitchers in the American League for 1973, expanded on a 1974 League Leader card.
