REVISITING "THE MAD HUNGARIAN": 1976 NICKNAME CARD FOR AL HRABOSKY

Let us revisit my 1976 "Nicknames of the 1970s" card for Al Hrabosky, aka "The Mad Hungarian", which was originally posted here in October of 2014:

His antics were entertaining to say the least (though not to opposing players), and I remember him towards the end of his career in the early 1980's, along with guys like Brad Leslie, "Goose" Gossage, etc that made the game a riot!

I used a 1976 template since his best year in the Majors was 1975, leading the league in saves and winning percentage with 22 and .813 respectively.

That performance got him a third-place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as a fifth place finish in Most Valuable Player voting.

Though he never quite found the success of that year again, he did play another seven years in the Big Leagues, ending up with the Atlanta Braves in 1982 before hanging them up.

He finished with a nice 64-35 career record, along with a 3.10 earned run average and 97 saves over 545 games, one of which was a start way back when he came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 AL HRABOSKY

Today on the blog, we have a "not so missing" 1972 card for the "Mad Hungarian" Al Hrabosky, who did appear on a multi-player rookie card in the 1971 set, then got skipped in '72 before a return to Topps in 1973:

It wouldn't be until 1973 that Hrabosky would become a solid man out of the pen, appearing in 44 games and posting a sparkling 2.09 earned run average with five saves and 57 K's in 56 innings.

His next two seasons of 1974 and 1975 would be the best of his 13-year career, as he went a combined 21-9 with 35 saves, posting E.R.A.'s of 2.95 and 1.66 over 130 games.

He would finish a very nice 64-35, with a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves over 545 appearances and 722 innings pitched between 1970 and 1982, finishing in the Top-5 in NL Cy Young voting in both 1974 and 1975.

Of course, the mark he really left on the game were his insane antics, psyching himself up on the mound like a madman with his back to the batter before he spun around in an apparent rage.

The "Mad Hungarian"!

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1971 AL HRABOSKY

On the blog today, a fun card to create for a fun 1970's personality, a 1971 "dedicated rookie" for the "Mad Hungarian" Al Hrabosky, who made his Big League debut in 1970 with 16 appearances:

Hrabosky went 2-1 in those games, which included what turned out to be his only start over his 13-year career, posting a ERA of 4.74 over 19 innings as a 20-year-old.

It wouldn't be until 1973 that Hrabosky would become a solid man out of the pen, appearing in 44 games and posting a sparkling 2.09 earned run average with five saves and 57 K's in 56 innings.

His next two seasons of 1974 and 1975 would be the best of his 13-year career, as he went a combined 21-9 with 35 saves, posting E.R.A.'s of 2.95 and 1.66 over 130 games.

He would finish a very nice 64-35, with a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves over 545 appearances and 722 innings pitched between 1970 and 1982, finishing in the Top-5 in NL Cy Young voting in both 1974 and 1975.

Of course, the mark he really left on the game were his insane antics, psyching himself up on the mound like a madman with his back to the batter before he spun around in an apparent rage.

The "Mad Hungarian"!

1978 TRADED- AL HRABOSKY

Time to go and post up my 1979 traded card for the “Mad Hungarian” Al Hrabosky, who found himself dealt to the American League West champion Kansas City Royals over the Winter of 1977/78:

Hrabosky was already entrenched as one of the premier relievers of the Senior Circuit when he was traded to the Royals for Mark Little and Buck Martinez on December 8th.
He’d go on to play two seasons for K.C., performing very well with 31 saves and a combined 17-11 record, finishing 84 games.
But after the 1979 season he’d be on the move again, heading to the Atlanta Braves where he would pitch the last three seasons of his career, developing arm problems and retiring at the end of 1982.
He would finish a very nice 64-35, with a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves over 545 appearances and 722 innings pitched between 1970 and 1982, finishing in the Top-5 in NL Cy Young voting in both 1974 and 1975.
Of course, the mark he really left on the game were his insane antics, psyching himself up on the mound like a madman with his back to the batter before he spun around in an apparent rage.
Classic stuff from one of the real characters of 1970’s baseball!

THE "WHO HUNGARIAN"?: 1973 AL HRABOSKY...WHY?

A little while back as I was researching Al Hrabosky's career for my "Nickname" card design, I noticed that Topps gave him a card in the 1973 set, check it out:

What's odd is that Hrabosky appeared in only five games in 1972, good for 7 innings of work.

Strange that he was given a slot in the set, no?

This was before he'd become one of the National League's best relievers a couple of years later, and gain a reputation as a "character" with a great nickname to go along with it.

As a matter of fact, the season before (1971), he only appeared in one game, for only two innings. So we're looking at a player who appeared in a combined six games with nine innings of work over the previous two years, yet he got a card nonetheless.

Really odd.

But for Hrabosky, 1973 would be the beginning of his run as a solid man out of the pen, appearing in 44 games and posting a sparkling 2.09 earned run average with five saves and 57 K's in 56 innings.

His next two seasons of 1974 and 1975 would be the best of his 13-year career, as he went a combined 21-9 with 35 saves, posting E.R.A.'s of 2.95 and 1.66 over 130 games.

He'd retire after the 1982 season, pitching for the Atlanta Braves, ending with a nice 64-35 career record with a 3.10 E.R.A., 97 saves and 548 strikeouts over 545 games.

And of course with one of the more colorful nicknames of that time period, "The Mad Hungarian".

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #11: "THE MAD HUNGARIAN" AL HRABOSKY

"The Mad Hungarian"…

What an awesome nickname for a about as symbolic a character of 1970's baseball as Al Hrabosky, and the next subject of my "Nicknames of the '70's" series.

Take a look at my card design:

His antics were entertaining to say the least (though not to opposing players), and I remember him towards the end of his career in the early 1980's, along with guys like Brad Leslie, "Goose" Gossage, etc that made the game a riot!

I used a 1976 template since his best year in the Majors was 1975, leading the league in saves and winning percentage with 22 and .813 respectively.

That performance got him a third-place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as a fifth place finish in Most Valuable Player voting.

Though he never quite found the success of that year again, he did play another seven years in the Big Leagues, ending up with the Atlanta Braves in 1982 before hanging them up.

He finished with a nice 64-35 career record, along with a 3.10 earned run average and 97 saves over 545 games, one of which was a start way back when he came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.