Thursday, May 19, 2011

610 - Rookie Pitchers (Jimmy Freeman / Charlie Hough / Hank Webb)

About These Players
Jimmy Freeman pitched very briefly with the Braves: 19 games in 1971 and 1972.  Otherwise, Freeman spent eight years in the minors before and after his short call up.

Charlie Hough enjoyed the lengthiest career out of these three and lengthier than nearly all players who played in the Majors: 25 seasons.  Hough, well known for his knuckleball, started his career with the Dodgers and pitched mostly in relief.  He pitched 11 seasons with the Dodgers and did get postseason in the Dodgers' three World Series losses in 1974, 1977 and 1978.  Hough joined the Rangers in 1980 and was soon converted to a starter.  He pitched another 11 seasons with the Rangers, including an All-Star selection in 1986.  Hough pitched two seasons with the White Sox and another two seasons with the Marlins before retiring.

Hank Webb spent six seasons in the Majors, although bouncing in and out of the minors throughout his career.  Webb made his best league debut with the Mets in 1972.  His best season was in 1975 in which he pitched 115 innings with 7-6 record and 4.07 ERA.  Webb final in his final big league season in 1977 with the Dodgers.

About This Card
Charlie Hough is the last player from this set to retire and one of two players in this set who appears in his last regular-issue Topps card as late as 1994.  (Nolan Ryan also appears in the 1994 Topps set.)

Freeman and Webb both appear for their first time in a Topps set in 1973.  Hough previous appears in the 1972 set.

No comments:

Post a Comment