1976 Topps #201 - NL ERA Leaders

• Randy Jones had the first of two straight huge pitching seasons in 1975. He led the NL in ERA and went from 8-22 in 1974 to 20-12 in 1975. He had a better year in 1976 and was the NL Cy Young Award winner, but arm troubles derailed a promising career.

• Andy Messersmith also had a great season in 1975 (20-6, 2.59). He was 19-14 in 1976, then signed a big contract with the Atlanta Braves (he was one of the first free agents). Andy had a pretty good year in 1977 then kind of fell off the face of the earth. "I wasn't prepared for the pressure that came down [after the Seitz ruling and his Braves deal]. I didn't know anything about it. I came out as the dirty dog. That was a real hard thing for me. I just wasn't ready for it."---Andy Messersmith, to the New York Times, after his career ended.

• Tom Seaver led the NL in ERA three times (1970, 1971, 1973). He had only one season with an ERA over 3.00 (1974, 3.20) from his rookie season in 1967 through the 1978 season.