1976 Topps #378 - Steve Stone

• Steve Stone pitched in the majors from 1971-1981. He gained fame for his long broadcasting career with the Chicago Cubs. Stone was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1969. Steve pitched in the minors in 1969 and 1970. He made the San Francisco club in 1971 and spent most of the season there except for a six week stint in AAA Phoenix from mid-July to early September. Stone was 5-9 with a 4.15 ERA in 24 games (19 of them starts) in 1971.

• Stone pitched pretty well in 1972 but missed some time due to injury. He pitched in only one game from mid-June to early August. Steve was 6-8 with a 2.98 ERA in 27 games (16 starts) in '72. After the 1972 season Stone was traded with Ken Henderson to the Chicago White Sox for Tom Bradley.

• Stone was 6-11 with a 4.24 ERA in 36 games (22 starts) for the White Sox in 1973. After the 1973 season he was traded to the Cubs with Ken Frailing, Steve Swisher and Jim Kremmel for Ron Santo.

• Steve spent three seasons with the Cubs. Stone pitched in 36 games (22 starts) in 1974 and 8-6 with a 4.14 ERA. Steve's best year with the Cubs was in 1975 when he was 12-8 with a 3.95 ERA in 32 starts. In 1976 Stone had a torn rotator cuff. He started one game in late April and then didn't pitch again until July, refusing surgery in favor of cryotherapy. Steve was 3-6 with a 4.08 ERA in 15 starts. After the 1976 season Stone became a free agent and signed with the White Sox.

• Stone was 15-12 with a 4.51 ERA in 31 starts for the White Sox in 1977. Steve has the distinction of giving up Duane Kuiper's only major league home run on August 29, 1977. In 1978 he was 12-12 with a 4.37 ERA in 30 starts. Steve was a free agent again after the 1978 season and signed with the Baltimore Orioles.

• Steve started 32 games for the Orioles in 1979 and was 11-7 with a 3.77 ERA. He wasn't used in the ALCS, but did pitch two innings in game 4 of the World Series, allowing two runs.

• Stone had his career year in 1980. He won the AL Cy Young Award and started the 1980 All Star Game (he pitched three scoreless innings). The Game I'll Never Forget - March 1983 Baseball Digest. Steve was 25-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 37 starts. After the season Stone opened the mail to find that he had been mailed Steve Carlton's Cy Young plaque by mistake. How Steve Stone Turned into A Big Winner - November 1980 Baseball Digest.

• All of those games took a toll on Steve and he developed tendonitis in his pitching arm.. He dropped to 4-7 with a 4.60 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) in 1981. Stone retired after the 1981 season.

• In 1983 Steve became a color commentator for Chicago Cubs broadcasts. He and Harry Caray did the Cubs TV games for 15 years. After Caray died in 1998 Chip Caray was brought in to do the play-by-play and Stone teamed up with him until 2000. Stone stepped down for health reasons but returned to the booth in 2003 and 2004. Steve resigned after the 2004 season after having problems with Cubs' players who thought he was being too critical of them.

• From 2005-2008 Steve did various broadcasting jobs for the White Sox and TBS. He is now the color commentator for White Sox TV broadcasts.

• Stone was featured (in more ways than one) in a July 1983 Playgirl article.

• In 1999 he co-wrote a book called Where's Harry? about his time with Harry Caray.

• Here is Steve's offical website.

• Liked to face: Bob Robertson (.000 in 14 AB); Dave Cash (.114 in 35 AB); Ruppert Jones (.118 in 34 AB)
• Hated to face: Jim Rice (.568 with 4 HR in 37 AB); Manny Sanguillen (.565 in 23 AB); Johnny Grubb (.409 in 44 AB)