On the blog today, we go and give former pitcher Mike Kilkenny a career-capping "not so missing" 1974 card, closing out a five-year Big League career that began in 1969 with the Detroit Tigers:
Kilkenny
appeared in five games for the Cleveland Indians in 1973, not factoring
in a decision and getting hit hard, to the tune of a 22.50 ERA over two
innings of work.
The previous season he played for no less
than four teams: Detroit, Oakland, San Diego and Cleveland, combining to
go 4-1 over 29 appearances, with a 3.78 ERA over 64.1 innings.
Sadly
for Kilkenny, his best Big League season was his first, in 1969 with
the Tigers, when he posted a record of 8-6 with a 3.37 ERA, appearing in
39 games, 15 of those starts, and tossing four shutouts while saving
two.
The following year he did go 7-6 over 36 games, but had
his ERA balloon to 5.16, which was almost the same in 1971 as well when
it"dropped" to 5.00 over 30 appearances.
Overall, by the time
he retired, he finished with a record of 23-18, with a 4.43 ERA in 139
appearances and 410 innings pitched, striking out 301 batters while
stuck with those initial four shutouts in his rookie year.
