1976 Topps #521 - Jim Colborn

• Jim Colburn pitched in the majors from 1969-1978. Jim graduated from Whittier College with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1967 and did graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1968 and 1969. Colborn signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1967 and moved up the Cubs' system from 1967-1969. Jim pitched for the Cubs at the end of the 1969 season and was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six games.
• Colborn was with the Cubs for the entire 1970 season and went 3-1 with four saves and a 3.59 ERA in 34 games (5 starts). He started the 1971 season with the Cubs but was sent to AAA Tacoma at the end of May. Jim came back in September and pitched in four more games for the Cubs. He ended up 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA in 14 games.After the 1971 season Jim was traded with Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson  to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jose Cardenal.
• Jim was a swingman for the Brewers in 1972 and was 7-7 with a 3.11 ERA in 39 games (12 starts).
• Colborn's best season was 1973. He was an AL All Star (he didn't pitch in the game) and finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting. Jim was 20-12 with a 3.18 ERA in '73.
• Jim was a mainstay in the Milwaukee rotation in the next few seasons. He was 10-13 with a 4.06 ERA in 1974, 11-13 with a 4.27 ERA in 1975, and 9-15 with a 3.71 ERA in 1976. Jim Colborn: The Unknown 20 Game Winner - May 1974 Baseball Digest. After the 1976 season Colborn was traded with Darrel Porter to the Kansas City Royals for Jamie Quirk, Jim Wohlford, and Bob McClure.
• Jim had a good year in Kansas City in 1977 -- he was 18-14 with a 3.62 ERA for the AL West champions. He wasn't used in the 1977 ALCS. On May 14, 1977 Jim pitched a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers.
• In 1978 Colborn started with the Royals (1-2, 4.76 ERA in eight games) and was traded to the Seattle Mariners on June 1 for Steve Braun. Jim went 3-10 with a 5.35 ERA in 19 starts for the Mariners in '78.
• Colborn was released during spring training in 1979 and retired.
• Colborn was the minor league pitching coordinator for the Cubs from 1987-1989. Jim was the pitching coach for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan from 1990-1993.
• Jim managed in the Oakland A's system from 1994-1996. Colborn was the Pacific Rim Director for the Mariners from 1997-2001 and was instrumental in getting Ichiro Suzuki to sign with the club. He was the pitching coach for the LA Dodgers from 2001-2005 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 and 2007. Colborn is now the Director of Pacific Rim Operations for the Texas Rangers. 
• Jim is currently the commissioner of the Jim Colborn Baseball League, a league for advanced high school and college players and former professional players in Ventura County, CA. Here is a good interview with him on the league website.
• Liked to face: Terry Crowley (.000 in 10 AB); Bill Melton/Ralph Garr (.091 in 22 AB); Butch Hobson (.107 in 28 AB)
• Hated to face: Phil Garner (.600 in 15 AB); Dick Allen (.529 in 17 AB); Tommy Davis (.519 in 27 AB)