AIRBRUSHING THROUGH THE 1970'S: 1974 MIKE CALDWELL

Good day all!

Been a while since I spotlighted an airbrushing gem of the 1970's here on the blog, so I thought we'd take a look at the 1974 Mike Caldwell masterpiece:

Not the worst paint job, certainly not the best either.

Coming up with the San Diego Padres in 1971, Caldwell put in three years with the team before finding himself "up the road" in San Francisco before the 1974 season, so Topps managed to create this beauty before the cards went to press.

He would have his first successful year that season, posting a record of 14-5 and a 2.95 ERA over 31 appearances, 27 of them starts, tossing two shutouts.
He’d struggle over the next two years before starting the 1977 season with the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in 14 games as a reliever before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two Minor Leaguers on June 15th.
In Milwaukee he would find his groove, going on to pitch seven-plus years for the “Brew Crew”, posting double-digit win totals six times including his magnificent 1978 campaign, which saw him go 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA over 34 starts, completing 23 of them and tossing six shutouts.
If it were not for a man named Ron Guidry that season, Caldwell would have taken home the American League Cy Young Award, finishing second while also finishing twelfth in the MVP race.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Caldwell ended up with a career 137-130 record along with a 3.81 ERA in 475 appearances, 307 of them starts, with 23 shutouts, 18 saves and a brilliant 1982 World Series performance in a losing cause when he went 2-0 over three games, posting a 2.04 ERA including a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. E.R.A.

Up on the blog today, we have a 1979 "expanded league leader" card celebrating the top three ERA men in the American League for 1978:

Of course we begin with the pitching apex of 1978 in Major League baseball, New York Yankees great Ron Guidry.

Guidry was unstoppable that season, cruising to an incredible 25-3 record, helping the Yankees win their second straight championship while setting a new MLB record .893 winning percentage for 20+ win seasons, which still stands today.

Along with his 25 wins, “Louisiana Lightning” led the league with his nine shutouts and 1.74 earned run average, while finishing second with 248 K’s, a new Yankee record that stood until last season when Gerrit Cole topped the mark.

That all resulted in a Cy Young Award while coming in second for the MVP, which arguably should have been his. Just a legendary season for the whip-it from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Lost in the Ron Guidry performance in 1978, the wonderful season the second place finisher in ERA had in his first year with the Texas Rangers, former N.L. Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack, who posted an excellent 2.27 ERA while going 15-13 over 35 appearances, completing 18 starts while striking out 157 batters.

Matlack, who spent the first seven years of his Big League career with the New York Mets, was as solid as they came between 1972 and 1980, regularly putting in 200+ innings of work a year with double digit wins for some pretty bad teams.

By the time he hung them up he finished with 125 wins and 1516 K's, with 30 shutouts  and a very nice 3.18 ERA.

In third place, the man who had the misfortune of having his best Big League season in 1978, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Caldwell, who along with his 22 wins and six shutouts, posted an ERA of 2.36 over 293.1 innings.

Incredibly Caldwell completed 23 of his 34 starts, the top mark in the A.L. that year, even picking up a save as he also made three relief appearances over the course of the season.

That year would begin a six-year run for him that saw double-digit wins and 200+ innings every year except the strike-year of 1981, when he still tossed 144.1 over 23 starts.

Three great starters right here!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. VICTORIES

On the blog today, we move on to the American League’s top winning pitchers for 1978 on an “expanded league leader” card, showcasing the top three players in each statistical category instead of the two top league leaders as Topps issued for a few years during the decade:

Of course, we begin with Mister “All-World” as far as pitchers go for 1978, the New York Yankees Ron Guidry, who put in an all-time year on the mound, leading Major League ball with his 25 wins.

Guidry was unstoppable that season, cruising to an incredible 25-3 record, helping the Yankees win their second straight championship while setting a new MLB record .893 winning percentage for 20+ win seasons, which still stands today.

Along with his 25 wins, “Louisiana Lightning” led the league with his nine shutouts and 1.74 earned run average, while finishing second with 248 K’s, a new Yankee record that stood until last season when Gerrit Cole topped the mark.

Of course, all of this led to Guidry taking home the league’s Cy Young Award, while finishing second in the MVP race to Jim Rice, who put in an equally superb year from the offensive side of the game.

In second place with 22 wins is a guy who happened to have his best MLB season at the wrong time, as he would have easily taken home the Cy any other year, Mike Caldwell of the Milwaukee Brewers, who went 22-9 with a brilliant 2.36 ERA and six shutouts, completing 23 of his 34 starts.

A solid starter between 1978 and 1983, the man had it all working in his first full year with the Brewers, tossing 293.1 innings and even picking up a save over his 37 appearances.

Originally somewhat of a journeyman pitcher in the National league between 1971 and 1977, he found his home in Milwaukee, playing the last eight years of his 14-year career there, even leading them to a World Series appearance in 1982 as well as a playoff in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.

Tied for third with 21 wins apiece, Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard and Baltimore Orioles legend Jim Palmer, who each put in solid years for their respective teams.

For Leonard, it was his second straight 20-win season for the A.L. West juggernaut Royals, posting a record of 21-17 over 40 starts, with an ERA of 3.33 over 294.2 innings of work, with 20 complete games and four shutouts.

After a 14-win season in 1979 he’d be back in the 20-win circle again in 1980, going 20-11, making it three times in four years the ace reached the elite level, as well as a 13-win season in 1981, just one off the league lead because of the strike.

For Palmer, it was “business as usual” for the Orioles Hall of Famer, posting his eighth 20-win season in nine years with a wonderful 2.46 ERA and six shutouts over 38 starts, just missing the 300-inning mark with 296, which broke his string of three such seasons between 1975 and 1977.

The man was top-three as far as pitchers are concerned for the 1970’s, in my book only behind Tom Seaver, but with Steve Carlton elbowing his way in the conversation.

A great group of hurlers here!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 MIKE CALDWELL

Time to go and post up my “not so missing” 1972 card for long-time pitcher Mike Caldwell, who made his MLB debut in 1971 with six appearances for the San Diego Padres:

Over those six appearances Caldwell posted a record of 1-0 without giving up a single earned run, throwing 6.2 innings of scoreless ball as a 22-year-old.
He would go on to pitch another two seasons with the Padres before moving on to the San Francisco Giants in 1974, having his first successful year with a record of 14-5 and a 2.95 ERA over 31 appearances, 27 of them starts.
He’d struggle over the next two years before starting the 1977 season with the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in 14 games as a reliever before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two Minor Leaguers on June 15th.
In Milwaukee he would find his groove, going on to pitch seven-plus years for the “Brew Crew”, posting double-digit win totals six times including his magnificent 1978 campaign, which saw him go 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA over 34 starts, completing 23 of them and tossing six shutouts.
If it were not for a man named Ron Guidry that season, Caldwell would have taken home the American League Cy Young Award, finishing second while also finishing twelfth in the MVP race.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Caldwell ended up with a career 137-130 record along with a 3.81 ERA in 475 appearances, 307 of them starts, with 23 shutouts, 18 saves and a brilliant 1982 World Series performance in a losing cause when he went 2-0 over three games, posting a 2.04 ERA including a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals.

A LITTLE BIT OF A RE-DO FOR THE 1977 MIKE CALDWELL CARD

Time to go ahead and “fix” the 1977 Mike Caldwell card, which originally had him in an airbrushed St. Louis Cardinals uni, a team for whom he never ended up playing:

Corrected to show his team of 1976

As issued by Topps

Topps tried to do the right thing, getting Caldwell in the correct uniform since he was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Cardinals in October of 1976.
Turns out he would only end up getting traded again, this time to the Cincinnati reds in March of 1977, nullifying the St. Louis paint job on his card, shown above.
To make matters even more interesting, Caldwell would end up on the move yet again in June when the Reds turned around and dealt him to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Four teams in eight months for the veteran pitcher.
I figured I’d go ahead and create a Giants 1977 card to reflect who he pitched with in 1976, granted to the tune of a 1-7 record along with a 4.86 earned run average over 50 appearances.
Once in Milwaukee he’d find his groove, pitching for them the rest of his career, a total of eight years, even finishing second to Ron Guidry in 1978 for the American league Cy Young Award when he went 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA with a league-leading 23 complete games over 34 starts and 37 appearances, with six shutouts and 293.1 innings pitched.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 35, he finished with a record of 137-130, with a 3.81 ERA over 475 appearances, 308 of them starts, with 23 shutouts and 18 saves between 1971 and 1984.