Saturday, February 6, 2010

Reviewing From Decades Past: 1960 - Pitchers

The 1960 Topps set featured 11 Cubs pitchers. I know this comes as a shock, but most were not very good and several didn't last with the Cubs for the entire season. And only two posted winning records.

THE STARTERS



Glen Hobbie was the "ace" of the staff, with his team-high 16 wins. Of course, that went along with his team-high 20 losses.



Bob Anderson was the #2 starter, going 9-11 with a 4.11 ERA. Not a great record, but I like the card, with the Wrigley scoreboard in the background. And Bob sure looks like a happy guy.



Rookie Dick Ellsworth started 27 games and was 7-13.



(Full disclosure: I don't own this card, I had to borrow it from somewhere in cyberspace.)

Don Cardwell
came to the Cubs in a trade with the Phillies on May 13 and tossed a no-hitter in his first start with the Cubs. He was 7-14 in the other 25 starts. Don, you should have quit while you were ahead.


THE BULLPEN



Art Ceccarelli was traded to the Yankees on May 19. He got to go from the outhouse to the penthouse. Unfortunately for Art, the Yankees sent him to AAA, where he spent the next four seasons, never making it back to the major leagues.



Moe Drabowsky made 33 appearance and had a whopping 6.44 ERA. But he was 3-1. He also made five starts in AAA, going 5-0 with a 0.90 ERA. I guess Moe was a AAAA pitcher in 1960.



Dick Drott was 0-6 with a 7.16 ERA. That makes Moe's 6.44 look good! Yet he managed to stick with the Cubs the entire season.



Don Elston made 60 appearances out of the pen and was 8-9. That seems like a lot of decisions for a guy coming out of the pen.



Ben Johnson lasted only 17 games before being traded to the Braves, but he did manage to post a winning record, going 2-1. Maybe that is why he was traded...how dare he be successful!! But the Braves sent him to the minors and never made it back to the bigs.



Seth Morehead saw action in 45 games and was 2-9.



Steve Rizdik never pitched for the '60 Cubs, being sold to Toronto of the International League on April 1. I wonder if he thought it was just a joke when they told him? He wouldn't make it back to the major leagues until 1963.



Al Schroll made two brief appearances in late April and early May, and spent the rest of the season in the minors.

Yikes! What a sad staff that was.

1 comment:

  1. "Yikes! What a sad staff that was."

    You're not kidding! By 1967, only Cardwell, Ellsworth, and Drabowsky would still be pitching in the majors.

    These early-1960s cards are fun to explore. Having started collecting cards as a kid in 1967, I always thought of Moe Drabowsky as an Oriole, but he got around.

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