EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1974 A.L. EARNED RUN AVERAGE

Up on the blog today, we move on to the American League and their top 1973 E.R.A. trio, featuring a couple of Hall of Famers and a nice surprise starter:

 

We begin with the Baltimore Orioles Jim Palmer, who took home the first of his two career E.R.A. crowns with a 2.40 finish for 1973.

It was also the year he took home the first of his three Cy Young Awards, finishing 22-9 with six shutouts, 19 complete games and 158 strikeouts, even picking up a save along the way.

It was the fourth of what would be an incredible eight 20-win seasons for the ace, eventually finishing with 268 wins over 19 seasons, with those three Cy Young Awards, four Gold Gloves, and five other top-5 finishes in the Cy Young race.

Right behind him with a 2.52 E.R.A. is Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, who led the American League with nine shutouts in 1973, as he would finish with a record of 20-17, the only 20-win season of his long career, while striking out 258 batters, the third 200 of what would be eight 200-strikeout seasons in his career.

For Blyleven, he'd win 287 games, toss 60 shutouts, and strikeout 3701 batters over 22 years, but STILL had to wait a while before getting the Cooperstown nod to the Hall of Fame. Just ridiculous.

In third place with a nice 2.75 E.R.A. is Boston Red Sox starter Bill Lee, who had himself a very nice first season as a Big League Starter in 1973 when he posted a record of 17-11 over 38 appearances, 33 of them starts, tossing a shutouts while striking out 120 batters, making his only All-Star team as well.

Lee would put together three straight 17-win seasons for Boston between 1973 and 1975, completing 18, 16 and 17 games respectively before arm issues derailed his career.

Aside from 10 wins for Boston in 1978 and 16 for the Montreal Expos in 1979, Lee wouldn't reach double-digit wins again in his career over the last seven years of his career.

He'd retire with a record of 119 and 90, along with an E.R.A. of 3.62 over 416 appearances between 1969 and 1982, throwing 10 shutouts, saving 19, and striking out 713 over 1944.1 innings.

Now onto the Major League Wins leaders! See you next time!

1972 ALL-STAR SUB-SET: WILLIE STARGELL

Up next in the cavalcade of 1971 starting All-Stars given their due in the 1972 set with "missing" All-Star cards is Hall of Famer Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the third outfielder for the National League joining,up with Mays and Aaron:

 

Though already a three-time All-Star by the time 1971 rolled around, Stargell really had his breakout season in 1971, eventually leading the N.L. with 48 homers while also driving in a career-best 125 runs, scoring 104 himself.

Those monster numbers would get him a second place finish in the MVP race, something he'd also do two years later.

He'd have to wait until 1979 when at the age of 39 he'd finally get his MVP Award, leading the Pirates to their World Series win over the Baltimore Orioles with their "We are family" team, with "Pops" taking the team on his shoulders.

Luckily, I got to see him towards the end of his career in the late-70's/early-80s before he retired after the 1982 season.

His final number? Hall of Fame worthy as he'd finish with 475 home runs, 1540 RBIs, a surprisingly high .282 batting average and 2232 hits over 2360 games and 7927 at-bats.

Think about those numbers in UNDER 8000 at-bats!

Of course when eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in, with 82.4% of the vote in 1988.

So sad that he would pass away at only 61 years of age in 2001.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 PAUL SIEBERT

Up on the blog today, we have a 1977 "not so missing" card for former Houston Astros pitcher Paul Siebert, who was coming off his third Big League season when this card would have seen the light of day:

 

Siebert pitched well for the Astros in 1976 in limited play, appearing in 19 games out of the bullpen and going 0-2 with a decent 3.16 earned run average over 25.2 innings.

The following year he'd find himself starting the season with the San Diego Padres before finding himself traded to the New York Mets in June as part of the (in)famous Dave Kingman trade.

Combined he'd go 2-1 over 29 appearances that season, with an ERA of 3.69 in 31.2 innings, again all out of the bullpen.

Siebert then appeared in 27 games for the Mets during the 1978 season, posting an 0-2 record with a 5.14 earned run average with a single save over 28 innings of work.

The 1978 season would be the last taste of big league ball for Siebert, closing out a five year career that saw him go 3-8 with a 3.77 ERA over 87 games and 129 innings pitching for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Mets.

DEDICATED MANAGER CARD- 1975 YOGI BERRA

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL! I hope you're all safe and well this morning!

Today's "dedicated manager" card is a 1975 edition for the great Yogi Berra, who was at the helm of the New York Mets when this beauty would have hit packs before the '75 season:

 

Berra was coming off a disappointing 1974 season that saw the reigning National League champs fall from first to fifth after a World Series loss in 1973 to the Oakland A's.

Turns out the 1975 season he would be let go about three quarters into the year, having the Mets in third place with a record of 56-53. Not exactly a horrible year, and ironically winning at a higher clip than their 1973 season when the team made the World Series with a record of only 82-79.

Berra wouldn't manage again until 1984 after years of coaching, coming back to the New York Yankees and guiding them to a record of 87-75, good for a third place finish.

The following season he'd be let go after only 16 games, with the Yanks at 6-10, which would be the last Managerial position of his long baseball career.

His only other manager spot was way back in 1964 when he led the Yankees to the World Series with a record of 99-63 before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals and Bob Gibson.

Little did Yankee fans know it would be the last time they'd be in the World Series until 1976 after an incredible run of Postseason berths the previous 40 some odd seasons.

For Berra, the Hall of Famer finished his managing career with a record of 484-444, good for a .522 winning percentage, with two pennants.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 KEN MACHA

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1979 card for former infielder Ken Macha, who played in just under three dozen games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1978:

 

Macha played in 29 games over the Summer of 1978, hitting .212 with 11 hits in 52 at-bats, with five runs scored and five runs batted in.

Originally up in 1974 when he appeared in five games for Pittsburgh, he wouldn't make it back to the Majors until 1977, when he played in 35 games, hitting .274.

In 1979 he found himself North of the border with the Montreal Expos, where he'd play for two seasons before one last year as a Big League player with the Toronto Blue Jays during the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.

All told, over those six seasons under the Big League sun, Macha finished with a .258 career average, compiling 98 hits over 380 at-bats, with 30 runs scored and 35 RBIs over 180 games.

Later on in the 2000's he'd become a Major League manager, guiding the Oakland A's between 2003 and 2006 with great success, finishing in first place twice and second place twice, averaging about 92 wins a season, before managing the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 and 2010, where he met with less success, winning 80 and 77 games respectively.

Nevertheless not a bad baseball life!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 FRANK TEPEDINO

Up on the blog today, we have a career-capping "not so missing" 1976 card for former first baseman Frank Tepedino, who finished up an eight-year Big League career with eight games for the Atlanta Braves in 1975:

 

Tepedino went 0-7 at the plate over those eight games, finishing up a career that saw him play parts of eight seasons between 1967 and 1975.

Never a full-time player, Tepedino never played more than 78 games in a season, and that was in 1974 with Atlanta, when he hit .231 with 39 hits in 169 at-bats.

Originally up with the New York Yankees, he also played with the Milwaukee Brewers the last half of 1971, before a short stint back with the Yanks in 1972, then on to the Atlanta Braves.

He would end up batting .241 as a Major League player, totaling 122 hits in 507 at-bats in 265 games, with 50 runs scored and 58 runs batted in.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 GARY LANCE

Very fun card to add to the "wthballs" stable, a 1978 "not so missing" card for one game Major League pitcher Gary lance of the Kansas City Royals:

 

Lance made his Big League debut on September 28th of 1977, and it would be the only time he'd spend on a Major League mound, tossing two innings while giving up one run against the Oakland A's.

Sadly for him he'd get tagged for the loss, giving up two hits and two walks over ten batters faced in his one game in the Majors.

He'd spend the next three years toiling in the Minors for both the Kansas City and Seattle Mariners organizations before moving on to the Mexican League in 1982, where he pitched for Monterrey.

But he'd never get another chance to play in the Big Leagues, playing that one game in the late Summer of 1977 as his only time in the "Big Show".