On the blog today, we add Hall of Famer Jim Palmer to my 1970 "In-Game Action" thread, part of what will be a 50-card, two-part set, with Series One just released:
Palmer
was coming off a 1969 season that saw him come back from a season and a
half injury hiatus in 1967 and 1968, almost curtailing his career at
only 20 years of age.
His
1969 season saw him go 16-4, leading the league with his .800 winning
percentage, while completing 11 of 23 starts, with six shutouts and 123
strikeouts.
On
August 13th of the 1969 season, he crowned his comeback with an 8-0
no-hitter against the up-and-coming Oakland A's at memorial Stadium,
improving his record to 11-2 at that time.
From there, all the man did was top 20-wins in eight of the next nine
seasons, winning three Cy Young Awards, the first American League
pitcher to do so, helping the Orioles to another championship in 1970,
eventually finishing with a career 268-152 record along with a brilliant
2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts before he was done in 1984.
Easily
the premier pitcher in the American League for the 1970's, I always
paired him up with New York Mets great Tom Seaver as my favorite hurlers
from the decade for their respective leagues as a kid.
