1969 One Cub At A Time - #115 Bill Hands

#115 - Bill Hands A nice looking shot of the Cubs righty at Shea Stadium.

Bill was the #2 starter on the team and had his best season in 1969, going 20-14 with a 2.49 ERA. He and Fergie Jenkins made a pretty decent 1-2 punch.

Hands came to the Cubs along with battery-mate Randy Hundley from the Giants before the 1966 season. It was a pretty good trade for the Cubs. He spent 1966 and 1967 shuttling between the bullpen and the rotation before becoming a starter for good in 1968. He won 16, 20, and 18 games in the next three years and logged over 800 innings over those seasons.

All that work probably took a toll on his arm as he went into a decline starting in 1971, going 12-18. He rebounded in 1972 with an 11-8 record and then the Cubs traded him to the Twins after the season. The Cubs must have known his arm was shot, as he posted no more than 7 wins in a season before retiring after the 1975 season.

Topps put out this beauty of Bill Hands in 1973, after he was traded to the Twins. Don't you just love the the airbrush job? He sure does look like a Twin, but when did they put ivy in at Metropolitan Stadium??