1976 Topps #651 - John Odom

• John "Blue Moon" Odom spent most of his 13-year career pitching for the Kansas City / Oakland A's. Odom was signed by the Kansas City A's in 1964. John was in the minors for most of the year in 1964. He was brought up to Kansas City in September at the age of 19 and went 1-2 with an ERA of 10.06 in 5 starts.
• Odom spent most of the next two seasons in the minors. In 1965 John made one September appearance for the A's. In 1966 Odom came up to the A's in late July and went 5-5 with a 2.49 ERA in 14 starts.
• Odom started the 1967 season with the A's but was sent down for a month in July/August. John went 3-8 with a 5.04 ERA in 29 games (17 starts) for Kansas City in 1967.
• The  A's moved to Oakland in 1968 and Odom had his first big year for the club. John made the 1968 All Star team and pitched two scoreless innings. Odom went 16-10 with a 2.45 ERA in 1968 and led the AL with 17 wild pitches.
• John was an All Star again in 1969 but this time he got hammered for five runs in 1/3 of an inning. Odom had a 15-6 record with an ERA of 2.92 for the A's in 1969.
• Odom missed about six weeks of the 1970 season. He was 9-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts in 1970. 
• John didn't make his first start until May 16 in 1971. Odom went 10-12 with a 4.29 ERA in 25 starts during the regular season. The A's won their first AL West title, but John didn't pitch during the 1971 ALCS.
• In 1972 Odom had his last really good year. He had a 15-6 record with a 2.50 ERA in 30 starts. John won both of his starts in the 1972 ALCS and was 0-1 in two starts during the World Series.
• Somehow John managed just a 5-12 record for the AL West Champion A's in 1973. His ERA also went up to 4.49. Odom allowed one run in five innings in a relief appearance in game 1 of the ALCS. John appeared in two games in the World Series and had a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings.
• Odom was used mostly as a reliever in 1974. John appeared in 34 games (5 starts) and had a 1-5 record with a 3.81 ERA. John pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in game 1 of the ALCS. Before the World Series John got into a locker room scrap with teammate Rollie Fingers. The dispute was apparently about World Series shares. Odom pitched in two games in the 1974 World Series and was the winning pitcher in the series-clinching game 5.
• John had a rocky year in 1975. Odom was 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA when he was traded with cash to the Cleveland Indians for Dick Bosman and Jim Perry. Odom wanted the Indians to pony up an extra $8,000 because he would be "losing playoff money" by going to the club. John pitched in only three games for the Indians, but the last one was a 2-hit shutout of the Kansas City Royals on June 4. Odom was traded with Rob Bellior to the Atlanta Braves for Roric Harrison on June 15. John went 1-7 with a 7.07 ERA for the Braves to finish the 1975 season.
• John started the 1976 season in AAA Richmond. Odom was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Pete Varney on June 15. After spending a few weeks in AAA John was brought up to the White Sox. Odom went 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA in 8 games (4 starts) in 1976. John did have one highlight in 1976 -- he combined with Francisco Barrios on a no-hitter of the A's on July 28. Odom pitched the first five innings and allowed one unearned run. He also walked nine batters.
• Odom was released after the 1976 season. John pitched for Oakland's AAA San Jose club but retired after making six starts. 
• In 1977 Odom divorced from his wife. According to this article John was a three dollar an hour liquor store clerk at the time of the divorce.
• Odom got in trouble with the law in 1985 when he was arrested for threatening his wife with a gun. In 1986 John served 55 days in a California jail for selling a small amount of cocaine to a co-worker.
• John played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.
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• Liked to face: Jackie Hernandez (.000 in 14 AB); Mark Belanger (.038 in 26 AB); Bernie Allen (.077 in 26 AB)
• Hated to face: Carl Yastrzemski (.447 with 5 HR in 47 AB); Jose Tartabull (.538 in 13 AB); Mickey Mantle (.357 with 3 HR in 14 AB)

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