Up on the blog today, we have a 1977 "not so missing" card for former Montreal Expos pitcher Bill Atkinson, who made his Big League debut during the 1976 campaign with four appearances:
Atkinson
didn't pick up a decision in his first go around in the Majors,
pitching five innings of scoreless ball with four strikeouts and a walk.
He'd
have a nice 1977 season that saw him go 7-2 over 55 appearances out of
the bullpen, with a 3.35 ERA and seven saves in 83.1 innings.
His
1978 season was pretty good, going 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA over 29
appearances and 45.1 innings, with three saves and 32 strikeouts, again
out of the bullpen
In 1979 he had a very good partial season,
appearing in 10 games for Montreal and going 2-0 with a brilliant 1.98
ERA over 13.2 innings, but for some reason that was it for his Major
League career, pitching in the Chicago White Sox Minor League system for
the next four years without getting another shot in the Big Leagues.
He
retired from Pro Ball after the 1983 season, still only 28 years of
age, with a very nice 11-4 career record, with a 3.42 ERA over 98
appearances and 147.1 innings, saving 11 games and striking out 99
batters.
