Project Baseball 1976: 1976 Topps #599 - Rookie Pitchers (Dressler, Guidry, McClure, Zachry)

Friday, October 29, 2010

First round of the San Francisco Giants in 1972
Spent a lot of time with the AAA Phoenix Giants, which is where I remember him
Pitched in three games (two starts) in September 1975 and was 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA
Was up and down between San Francisco and Phoenix in 1976
Went 3-10 with a 4.43 ERA in 25 games (19 starts) for the Giants in 1977
Spent the entire 1977 season in Phoenix
Started 20 games for Phoenix in 1977 before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 24 for John Tamargo
Spent some time in AAA Springfield before coming up to the Cardinals in September
Pitched in three games (two starts) for the Cardinals in 1978 and was 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA
Was loaned to Seattle and pitched for the Mariners' AAA Spokane club for two months.
Sold to Seattle in early June
Went 3-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 21 games (11 starts) for the Mariners in 1979
Appeared in 30 games (14 starts) for the Mariners in 1980 and was 4-10 with a 3.98 ERA
Released during spring training in 1981 and retired

"Louisiana Lightning" was one of the Yankees that I liked.
Drafted by the New York Yankees in 1971 and pitched in the minors until 1976
Had brief trials in 1975 (0-1, 3.45 ERA in 10 games) and in 1976 (0-0, 5.63 ERA in 7 games)
1977: 16-7 with a 2.82 ERA
1978: A dominant season in which he had a 25-3 record with a 1.74 ERA (led the AL in wins and in ERA)
Won the 1978 AL Cy Young Award and finished second in MVP voting
1979: 18-8, 2.78 ERA (led the AL in ERA)
1980: 17-10, 3.56 ERA
1981: 11-5, 2.76 ERA
1982: 14-8, 3.81 ERA
1983: 21-9, 3.42 ERA, led the AL with 21 complete games
1984: 10-11, 4.59 ERA

Struck out three batters on nine pitches (Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Greg Luzinski) on August 7, 1984

Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1973 but did not sign
Drafted by the Kansas City Royals later in 1973 and signed
Had brief stints with the Royals in 1975 (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 12 games) and in 1976 (0-0, 9.00 ERA in nine games)
Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Jamie Quirk and Jim Wohlford for Darrell Porter and Jim Colborn
Was a reliever for the Brewers from 1977-1981

Pitched in three games in the 1981 ALDS and allowed no runs in 3.1 innings
Became a starting pitcher in 1982 and started most of the time through the 1984 season
Went 12-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 34 games (26 starts) in 1982
Won game 5 in a 1.2 inning relief stint in the 1982 NLCS
Earned saves in games 4 and 5 and took the loss in games 2 and 7 in the 1982 World Series
Went 9-9 with an ERA of 4.50 in 24 games (23 starts) in 1983
Appeared in 39 games (18 starts) in 1984 and was 4-8 with a 4.38 ERA
Became a full-time reliever again in 1985 and started only one game for the remainder of his career
In 1985 he appeared in 38 games (1 start) and was 4-1 with a 4.32 ERA
Started the 1986 season with the Brewers (2-1, 3.86 ERA in 13 games) and was traded to the Montreal Expos on June 8 for a minor leaguer
Was 2-5 with six saves and had a 3.02 ERA in 52 games for the Expos in 1986
Appeared in 52 games and was 6-1 with five saves and had a 3.44 ERA in 1987
Started the 1988 season with the Expos (1-3, 6.16 ERA in 19 games) and was released on July 2
Signed with the New York Mets on July 13, 1988 and was 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 14 games.
Released after the 1988 season and later signed with the California Angels

1989: 6-1, 3 saves, 1.55 ERA in 48 games
1990: 2-0, 6.43 ERA in 11 games
Did not pitch until August 18 of 1990 due to injury
Started 1991 with the Angels (0-0, 9.31 ERA in 13 games) and was released on June 16
Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals a week later and was 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 32 games
Went 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA in 71 games in 1992
Became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed with the Florida Marlins
Went 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 14 games in 1993 and was released in mid-May
Coached in the Colorado Rockies organization from 1999-2005
Has been the pitching coach for the Royals since 2006

Broke his foot when he tried to kick a helmet in the dugout after giving up a hit (game #38) during Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak and was out for the rest of the year

Started seven games in 1979 (5-1, 3.59 ERA) but didn't pitch after June 8
Was 6-10 with a 3.01 ERA in 28 games (26 starts) in 1980
Led the NL with 14 losses in 1981 (7-14, 4.14 ERA in 24 starts)
Was a swingman in 1982 and went 6-9 with a 4.05 ERA in 36 games (16 starts)
Traded to the LA Dodgers after the 1982 season for Jorge Orta
Became a reliever with the Dodgers in 1983 and was 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 40 games (1 start)
Pitched in two games in the 1983 NLCS and allowed one run in four innings
Appeared in 58 games in 1984 and was 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA
Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Al Oliver before the 1985 season
Had a 4.26 ERA in ten games before his release on June 8, 1985
Pitched in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989
Taught high school in California after his playing career
Now lives in Texas. Here is his TTM information

Project Baseball 1976