On the blog today, a career-capping "not so missing" 1978 card for former pitcher Joe Hoerner, who played out the last of his Big League action with eight games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977:
Hoerner
didn't pick up a decision over those eight games as a 40-year-old
reliever, posting an ERA of 12.71 over 5.2 innings of work.
That ERA was NOT a good sign of the solid 14-year career he'd put in
the big leagues, as he'd finish with a 2.99 figure over 493 appearances
and 563 innings pitched.
Between 1963 and 1977 he'd play for the Colt 45's (Astros),
Cardinals, Phillies, Braves, Royals, Rangers and Reds, and took home a
championship in 1967 while with the Cards in St. Louis.
A true man out of the 'pen, he never started a Major League game,
with all of his 493 appearances coming in relief, and he'd go on to
finish with 98 saves with a high of 17 in 1968, his finest season, as he
also went 8-2 with a sparkling 1.47 ERA over
47 games for the National League champ St. Louis Cardinals.
