WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: WARREN SPAHN

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card of legend Warren Spahn, from my custom Gelatin set released back in 2018:

Anyone who has followed this blog long enough knows by now that any time I can create a card for the mighty lefty, I will take it!

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WARREN SPAHN

Time to add one of my favorite subjects for the blog to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, the great Warren Spahn:

Anyone who has followed this blog long enough knows by now that any time I can create a card for the mighty lefty, I will take it!

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS LEGENDS EDITION: WARREN SPAHN

Up on the blog today, adding one of my all-time favorite players, Warren Spahn, to my on-going "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" set, celebrating his time in the Minors before moving on to greatness on the Major League diamond:

Spahn is shown here suited up for the Hartford Bees of the Eastern League in 1942 at the age of 21.

It was his only season with the team and he did not disappoint, going 17-12 over 33 games with a brilliant 1.96 earned run average over 248 innings of work.

This earned him his promotion to the Majors later in the year, appearing in four games for the Boston Braves, getting hit hard to the tune of a 5.74 ERA over 15.2 innings.

Sadly, with the onset of World War II, Spahn, as well as so many others, found themselves trading baseball cleats for army boots, serving his country for the next three years before returning in 1946, now 25 years old.

Anyone who has followed this blog long enough knows by now that any time I can create a card for the mighty lefty, I will take it!

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And again, remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible career for the lefty from Buffalo, New York, who would have easily posted over 400 wins had it not been for a World War.

 

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: WARREN SPAHN

Up on the blog today, we spotlight my special insert card of all-time great Warren Spahn, from my "1960s Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago:

Just a great little insert set to add to what has been one of the most popular sets I've produced for the WTHBALLS brand.

Anyone who has followed this blog long enough knows by now that any time I can create a card for the mighty lefty, I will take it!

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

 

1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1961 WARREN SPAHN

The next 1960's superstar to get an "In-Action" card in my recent custom set is all-time great Warren Spahn, who I gave the 1961 template to in the initial series:

Just a rearranging of the 1961 card design, imagining what Topps would have done had they been able to incorporate action photography years ahead of the 1971 debut.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS WARREN SPAHN

Hello everyone!

Today on the blog I post up my second "missing" superstar from one of the best sets of the 1950's, the 1954 Wilson Franks baseball set, with the legend Warren Spahn:

Spahn was coming off yet another fantastic season for the Braves in 1953, their first in the city of Milwaukee after the franchise moved from Boston.

For the year, Spahn led the league with 23 wins and a 2.10 earned run average, while tossing five shutouts and striking out 148 batters.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1966 WARREN SPAHN

A fun one today on the blog, from my "1960's Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago, my 1966 capper for the great, and I mean GREAT, Warren Spahn, who called it an amazing career in 1965 after a brief tenure with the San Francisco Giants:

Spahn began the season with the New Yrok Mets before finding himself out West, appearing in 16 games for the Giants and going 3-4 over that time with a very nice 3.39 ERA in 71.2 innings.

Overall, the 44-year-old went 7-16 in his 21st year of Big League action, appearing in 36 games and ending up with a 4.01 ERA with eight complete games and 197.2 innings pitched with 90 strikeouts.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

 

REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST FROM JANUARY, 2016: 1973 WARREN SPAHN COACH CARD

On the blog today, we revisit as post from over six years ago, my 1973 coach card for one of the greatest to ever take a Major League mound, Warren Spahn, who was lending his expertise to the Indians by the early-70's:

 

Here's my original write-up way back when:

"Allow me to indulge myself and present to you all a fantasy card I wish existed: a 1973 Warren Spahn “coach” card, even though they didn’t exist in that set.

I came across this GREAT photo of Spahn when he was coaching for the Tribe and immediately knew I had to whip up a dedicated card for him, since he IS on the Indians Ken Aspromonte manager card.
I’ve always been a huge Spahn fan, so any chance to create cards for him is something I’ll jump at!
I mean, all the guy did was win 363 games, pitch 63 shutouts and post 13 20-win seasons, among other things!
And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.
Just an incredible talent!
Look for some other “fantasy cards” of mine in the near future, like Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax...

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- 1963 SPAHN AND MARICHAL HAVE A DUEL FOR THE AGES

Today’s “Turn Back the Clock” profile is of “The Game”, the CLASSIC pitching duel between Hall of Fame pitchers Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal, as the Milwaukee Braves faced the San Francisco Giants on July 2nd 1963 at San Fran:

To start off, the game went 16-innings, with the Giants eventually winning on a Willie Mays home run.
The home run came off of Warren Spahn, and Juan Marichal got the win.
Yep, BOTH pitchers went the distance! Spahn threw 201 pitches while his counterpart threw 227!
“Masterful” doesn’t even come close to describing one of the all-time best pitching duels the game ever saw!
Spahn was 42-years old against a 25-year old Marichal, kind of “the old giving way to the new” as Spahn was in the middle of his last 20-win season, the 13th of his career, while Marichal funny enough was on his way to the first of  his eventual six 20-win campaigns.
Imagine the story here: a Hall of Fame pitcher losing to a Hall of Fame pitcher, thanks to a Hall of Fame hitter winning it with a home run in the 16th!
Just amazing!
Go and check out the box score of the game, it’ll blow your mind.
Some of the other players on these two teams: Eddie Mathews, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Hank Aaron…Not too shabby.
The definition of the word “epic”.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 1961 WARREN SPAHN WINS NUMBER 300!

Today’s “Turn Back the Clock” moment celebrated is the awesomeness that was Warren Spahn, and his 300th Major League victory in 1961 on his way to 363:

Seriously, how many wins would he have collected if he didn’t lose three prime years to the military, for whom he honorably served during World War II?
Once he came back all he did was go on to post THIRTEEN 20+ win seasons, along with four strikeout crowns, lowest ERA three times, most shutouts four times and fourteen all-star nods.
On August 11th of 1961 he pitched his way into the record books by beating the Chicago Cubs 2-1, pitching a complete game and allowing the Cubs just 6 hits and an earned run, while striking out five and walking one.
The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired at the age of 44 in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.
Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!
Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

A FANTASY CARD IF THERE EVER WAS ONE: 1973 WARREN SPAHN

Allow me to indulge myself and present to you all a fantasy card I wish existed: a 1973 Warren Spahn “coach” card, even though they didn’t exist in that set. Take a look:

I came across this GREAT photo of Spahn when he was coaching for the Tribe and immediately knew I had to whip up a dedicated card for him, since he IS on the Indians Ken Aspromonte manager card.
I’ve always been a huge Spahn fan, so any chance to create cards for him is something I’ll jump at!
I mean, all the guy did was win 363 games, pitch 63 shutouts and post 13 20-win seasons, among other things!
And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.
Just an incredible talent!
Look for some other “fantasy cards” of mine in the near future, like Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax...

HALL OF FAME #21: WARREN SPAHN: CLASS OF 1973

Now HERE is a fun one for me: the next "Hall of Fame Inductee" in this thread is my all-time favorite pitcher (that I never saw pitch): all-time great Warren Spahn.

Check out my card:

As a kid first getting into baseball history in the late-70's, I was absolutely mesmerized by the numbers Spahn put up during his career.

I Remember when Baseball Digest used to list every 20-game winner by year in one of their issues, and I couldn't believe how many times "Spahn" was listed, year after year, without fail.

Just incredible.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

He'd also go and lead the league in ERA three times, shutouts four times, strikeouts four times, and various other key stats 17 times!

He was named to fourteen all-star games, won the Cy Young Award in it's second year of existence in 1957, and also managed to slam 35 career home runs as a batter before he retired after the 1965 season.

The man was just incredible, and I wish to high heck I could have seen him pitch in his prime!

So, even though the man missed 3 seasons early on due to the war between 1943 and 1945, he STILL retired with 363 career wins, along with 63 shutouts and 2583 strikeouts over 750 games.

There are so many awesome quips and quotes regarding Spahn, or spoken by Spahn himself, that I just ask you read anything you can about him, whether it's a book, an article, or even his Wikipedia entry!

An incredible baseball life to say the least!

One odd thing I noticed: for some reason Spahn received a Hall of Fame vote in 1958 while still an active player (and WOULD be for another seven years!).

Anyone know the story behind this?

Needless to say, he was elected to the Hall on his first eligible year on the ballot, and went on to have an award named after him for the Major League's best left-handed pitcher.

And I haven't EVEN gone into his stellar military career!

Man, what an amazing man.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1961

Next up on my 1975 Cy Young Award sub-set thread is 1961, and the year Whitey Ford finally took home the award.

Seems everything went right for the Yankees that year, and Ford was either the beneficiary of all that stuff going right, or a heavy reason WHY it all went that way.

For the National League, the fine folks over at SABR felt that none other than Warren Spahn would have won what would have been his third award had there been a winner for each league back then.

Take a look at my card design for 1961 first:

Even though Ford had many fine seasons leading up to 1961, it really did all come together that year, as he posted a 25-4 record with a 3.21 earned run average and three shutouts over 39 starts and 283 innings.

It would also be the only year he'd top 200+ strikeouts in a season, with 209, and oddly enough, the only year in his career where he'd give up 100+ runs and earned runs in 16 years in the big leagues.

With his 25-4 record in 1961, Ford's career winning percentage at the time stood at an incredible .714, with 150 wins against 63 losses.

As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for his final two years in the Majors, 1966 and 1967, Ford would have been only the second pitcher in Major League history with more than 200 wins and less than 100 losses (Bob Caruthers STILL being the only one with a record of 218-99), as well as finishing with a career winning percentage over .700 (at .705), something no one with over 200 career wins has ever done before or since.

Over in the National League, Braves pitcher Warren Spahn once again takes center stage, this time at the ripe old age of 40, as he finished the aseason with a record of 21 and 13, with league leading numbers of: 3.02 earned run average, 21 complete games and four shutouts.

Like I've stated earlier, the man was a machine.

You think he was done yet? How about a record of 23-7 two years later at the age of 42?!

Just incredible to think he also missed three years in his early 20's to military service, and he still ended up 363 career wins.

1961 was the sixth year in a row that Spahn posted 20+ wins, as well as the twelfth time he topped that number.

Awesome couple of future Hall of Famers here.

Next up, 1962 and the winner, Dodger great Don Drysdale, and who the SABR guys thought would win, Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry.

Stay tuned…

TOPPS 1976 "ALL-TIME ALL-STARS"- AN EXPANDED VIEW #10: LEFT-HANDED PITCHERS

Next up on my "All-Time All-Stars" thread are the lefty pitchers on the team, and when you're nickname is "Lefty" and you win 300 games, you can see why the Sporting News picked Robert "Lefty" Grove as their all-time left-handed pitcher back in 1976 in honor of Major League baseball's 100th season.
Now for the National league, I went ahead and picked one of my all-time favorite players: Warren Spahn.
Take a look at the cards, Grove's as issued by Topps for the 1976 set, and Spahn, which I designed myself:

Starting off with Lefty Grove, we can see why it was so easy to pick him as the all-time lefty.
Starting out at the age of 25 because his Minor League team refused to sell him earlier in his career, all Grove did was go on to win 300 games against only 141 losses, good for the best winning percentage among all 300-game winner at .680.
He won nine E.R.A. titles, four games won titles, and seven strikeout titles in his 17 year career.
In 1931 he won the first BBWA American league M.V.P. award when he went 31-4 with a 2.06 E.R.A. and 175 strikeouts, all league leading numbers. That would also be his second straight pitching triple-crown, as he lead the league in the same categories in 1930 as well.
His .886 winning percentage that year is second all-time among 20+ game winning seasons, behind Ron Guidry's .893 winning percentage when he went 25-3 in 1978.
How about this for a cool performance: in 1930, as Grove went 28-5 with a 2.54 E.R.A. and 209 strikeouts for his first pitching triple-crown, he also lead the league in saves with nine.
By the time Grove retired after the 1941 season playing for the Red Sox, he was a sure fire Hall of Famer, and was inducted his first year of eligibility in 1947, getting named on 123 of 161 ballots cast.
But also take into account those "lost" years pitching for the Baltimore Orioles Minor League franchise in the early 1920's, when the team owner refused to sell him to a Major League franchise. Those were some of the all-time best Minor League clubs, and all Grove did in his five years there was go 111-39! That's a .740 winning percentage. Imagine some of those wins tacked on to his Major League totals. Just awesome.
As for my National League pick, I've already gone and described at length the insanity of Warren Spahn's incredible career.
Here's another guy who didn't get started in the Majors until he was in his mid-20's, 25 to be exact after military service took three full seasons from him, and he STILL went on to have 13 20-win seasons, pitch for 21 years, and win an incredible 363 games before he was said and done!
Spahn was amazing. Between 1947 and 1963, that's 17 seasons, he won 20+ games 13 times! Can you imagine that type of consistency?
In that time he won the second Cy Young Award in 1957 as he lead the Milwaukee Braves to their only World Championship over the Yankees, lead the league in wins eight times, E.R.A. three times, and strikeouts four times.
It's easy to see how if not for the outbreak of World War II, we'd be looking at a 400+ game winner, perhaps only behind Cy Young himself in career wins!
In 1973 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame as well, his rightful place among the legends of the sport.
Two fantastic pitchers who threw from the "South-Side".
That wraps up the position players on the All-Time team. But I have one last entry in this thread: All-Time Managers, something I wish Topps put out with this sub-set back in '76.
Keep an eye out for it next week.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1958

We're up to 1958 on my thread imagining a 1975 Topps sub-set featuring all Cy Young Award winners since the company's inception in 1951, just like their sub-set during the same year of Most Valuable Players.

Two of the fun aspects of doing this thread are: designing cards for players that originally were not issued by Topps that year, and "awarding" the Cy to pitchers from the league that didn't have a winner between 1956 and 1966 based on a old SABR article in 1993.

So with that, take a look at my 1975 "1958 Cy Young Award" card design:

For the American League we have the "gimmie", as New York Yankee hurler Bob Turley actually did win the award in 1958.

That season it all came together for Turley, who was in his seventh season in the big leagues.

In his fourth season pitching for the Yanks after three with St. Louis/Baltimore, Turley handed in his finest performance in the Majors, going 21-7 with a 2.97 earned run average and 168 strikeouts, leading the Yankees to the World Series and avenging a loss the previous year to the Milwaukee Braves.

For good measure Turley would also end up second in Most Valuable Player voting behind Jackie Jensen, leading the league in wins, winning percentage, complete games and hits-per-nine-innings.

Sadly for Turley he'd never come close to that performance again, as he'd never again reach double-digits in wins through the next five years of his career before hanging them up after the 1963 season split between the Angels and Red Sox.

Over in the National League, we could have had the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards had today's selection practice been in place back then, as the guys at SABR selected Warren Spahn, the previous year's winner of the award, as their N.L. recipient.

Spahn was actually just edged out by Turley in the 1958 voting, losing the award by one vote, 5-4.

So needless to say he easily would have won his third Cy Young Award (1953 and 1957 being the others) beating out Sandy Koufax by about ten years as the first to rake in three such trophies.

The 1958 season for Spahn was more of the same for the lefty, as he posted a 22-11 record with a 3.07 earned run average and 150 strikeouts. 

He'd lead the N.L. in wins, winning percentage, complete games, innings pitched, and WHIP, getting named to his 10th All-Star game.

The guy was 37 years old this year, and he STILL had another four 20-win seasons left in that amazing arm of his.

Next up, 1959, with the actual winner Early Wynn for the "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox, and SABR's pick in the National League: Sam Jones of the San Francisco Giants.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1957

Today we move along to 1957 on my imagined 1975 "Cy Young" sub-set to go along with the Topps "M.V.P." sub-set in the same set.

While the National league "winner" is a given being that Warren Spahn won the award outright that year, the folks at SABR picked Jim Bunning as the assumed winner for the A.L. since the award was not given to winners of both leagues at the time.

First off take a look at my card design:

Spahn easily won the award, garnering 15 of 16 votes for the award (White Sox pitcher Dick Donovan getting the only other vote). It would actually be the only time Spahn would win the award in his storied 21 year career, though he did finish second in the running three other times before he was through.

The 1957 season was a "typical" one for the southpaw pitching machine, as he finished with a league-leading 21 wins to go along with a 2.69 earned run average, 18 complete games, four shutouts ad even three saves in his 271 innings of work. 

Ho-hum right? After all, the man won 20 or more games an amazing THIRTEEN times in his career!

And don't forget, Spahn didn't pitch his first full season of work until he was 26 years of age!

We are easily looking at a 400+ game winner if it wasn't for World War II and his military obligation to his country.

But ending your career with 363 wins, 63 shutouts and a then record 2583 strikeouts for a left-hander isn't too shabby right!?

The man was a machine! And he's always been one of my favorite all-time players even if I never had the chance to see him pitch!

Over in the American League, the people at SABR chose a newcomer to the Majors, Detroit Tigers pitcher Jim Bunning, who just completed his first full year on the big league level, going 20-8 (leading the league in wins), along with a 2.69 E.R.A. in a league-leading 267.1 innings of work.

It was definitely a sign of things to come, as Bunning would go on to a Hall of Fame career with five 19+ game-winning seasons, as well as three strikeout crowns, ending his career with 2855, second all-time at the time of his retirement after the 1971 season, as well as 224 lifetime wins.

He pitched no-hitters in both leagues, his N.L. one being a perfect game against the Mets on June 21st, 1964, as well as becoming one of the first pitchers to win 100+ games in both the A.L. and N.L.

What's nice about this card design is that it features Bunning's "rookie card", which always commands a decent dollar for anyone trying to acquire it for their collection.

Nice virtual card featuring two future Hall of Famers!

Next, we take a look at 1958, featuring actual award winner Bob Turley of the Yankees, and the SABR pick for the N.L., well what do you know, our friend Warren Spahn again!

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1953

Next up on my "what if" Cy Young Award 1975 sub-set thread are the 1953 picks by the fine people at SABR: Warren Spahn in the National League and Bob Porterfield in the American league.

First off here's my design for the '53 entry in my imagined set. I was lucky there wasn't too much work to do here since both players were included in Topps set that year. Take a look:

So let's start off with what was the "gimmie" choice that year, Warren Spahn.

All the legendary lefthander did that year for the Braves was post a 23-7 record to go along with a 2.10 earned run average, both league leading numbers.

On top of that Spahn had 24 complete games and five shutouts for a team that finished 92-62, good for second place in their first year in Milwaukee after relocating from Boston over the off-season.

He was the top vote-getter for pitchers that year in the N.L., good for a fifth place finish.

Funny enough, just behind him in sixth place for M.V.P. voting was Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts, the 1952 "assumed" Cy winner.

It was Spahn's fifth 20-win season of his career, on his way to an astounding 13!!

And don't forget, Spahn didn't pitch his first full season of big-league ball until he was 25 years old because of military service between 1943-1945.
One can only imagine how many more wins he would have added to his career number of 363 if he had the chance to pitch 3+ more full-years in the Majors.

Just incredible.

The 1953 Topps Spahn card is one of my favorites, and I clearly remember the day I scored mine years ago at a local card show.

I must have bought about two-dozen cards that day, but that '53 Spahn was my highlight!

Anyway, onto what turns out to be another relatively easy pick for a Cy Young in 1953, the guy SABR picked for the American League: Washington Senators pitcher Bob Porterfield.

Entering his sixth season in the big leagues, Porterfield had a great year for a .500 team that finished fifth in the A.L., going 76-76, posting league-leading numbers of 22 wins, 24 complete games and nine shutouts to go along with a 3.35 E.R.A. and a .688 winning percentage.

Some could have made the argument for Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox being the "winner" in the A.L. that year, after posting a 21-8 record to go along with a 3.06 earned run average for a team that went 84-69, good for fourth place.

Some may even want to argue that Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox (my personal pick) should be the "virtual" winner.

All Pierce did that season was guide the White Sox to a 3rd place finish in the American league with a record of 18-12 to go along with a second-best E.R.A. of 2.72 (behind Eddie Lopat of the Yankees).

Pierce would also lead the league in 1953 with 186 strikeouts and post 19 complete games and seven shutouts.

But looking back, it seems that Porterfield's 22 wins and nine shutouts pulled him away from the pack.

Porterfield was kind of a "one-year wonder", as he was never able to have a season like 1953 before or after in his career.

His next highest win total over the course of his 12 year career would be 13, which he garnered in 1952 and 1954.

As a matter of fact, his 22 wins in 1953 would pretty much represent 25% of his career total of 87 wins lifetime. And his nine shutouts that year were a big chunk of the 23 lifetime shutouts he'd post in the big leagues as well.

Next up on this "Cy Young" fantasy-fest: 1954, featuring a Hall of Famer in Cleveland Indian Bob Lemon and a custom designed card by yours truly), and New York Giant breakout star Johnny Antonelli.
Keep an eye out for it...