On the blog today,
we move on to the American League and the top three pitchers in regards
to earned run average for the 1977 season, displayed on an “expanded
league leader” card:
We begin with young
power-pitching stud Frank Tanana, who was building an impressive career
in just a couple of seasons in the Big Leagues, leading the American
League with his 2.54 ERA for the California
Angels.
Still only 23 years
of age, the man was already a strikeout king in 1975 with his 269 K’s, a
19-game winner the following year, and now an ERA leader along with a
league-leading seven shutouts in 1977.
He’d continue this
into 1978 when he posted 18 wins, though his strikeouts decreased from
205 in 1977 to 137, a sign of things to come.
In 1979 he’d appear
in only 18 games, with arm trouble settling in, but he managed to
successfully turn his pitching style into one of “pitcher” instead of
“flamethrower”, incredibly putting in another 15
years in the Major Leagues, retiring in 1993 with 240 wins and 2773
K’s, along with 34 shutouts over 638 games.
In second place with
a 2.72 ERA in 1977, a pitcher who seemed to be in second place in many
categories over the decade, Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, who put in
another “typical” Blyleven-esque season with
14 wins, five shutouts and 182 strikeouts, the first time he didn’t
reach 200 in over seven years.
Another absolute
stud from that era who was grossly overlooked, thanks in part because of
pitching at the same time as guys named “Seaver”, “Palmer” and
“Carlton”, among many others.
Blyleven also
pitched more than 20 years in the Majors, finishing up in 1992 after 22
years, with 287 wins and 3701 strikeouts, along with 60 shutouts and a
very nice 3.31 ERA.
In third place with a
2.77 ERA in 1977, yet ANOTHER pitcher who played for over 20 years, the
great Nolan Ryan, who put in a staggering 27 seasons under the Big
League sun!
His 1977 season was
another successful one for the “Ryan Express”, posting 19 wins along
with a league-leading 22 complete games and 341 strikeouts, giving him a
third place finish in the Cy Young race, one
of three such finishes over the course of his career.
By the time he was
done in 1993, all he did was post 324 wins over 807 appearances, with a
3.19 ERA and 61 shutouts, with an astronomical 5714 strikeouts over 5386
innings. Just insane.
What a trio of pitchers here! Perhaps a record for total number of years shown on a three-panel card!
