1977 Hostess Bert Blyleven

Texas Rangers CTNW Favorites #4

Bert Blyleven was traded from the Twins to the Rangers in June of 1976 along with shortstop Danny Thompson for 4 players and $250,000. He pitched 54 games over the remainder of the 1976 season and the 1977 season. His 23-23 record doesn't tell the whole story of his time in Texas. He had a 2.74 ERA and threw 11 shutouts and 29 of his 54 starts resulted in complete games. He averaged just over 8 innings per start and in 1977 had the leagues best pitching ratio. After the 1977 season he was sent to the Pirates as part of a 4 team 11 player trade.

While I would have liked to create a 1976 Topps Traded card of Blyleven for this post, I had to settle for a 1977 Hostess Card That Never Was. I was beaten to the punch by The Baseball Card Blog who created this gem as part of their "1976 Topps Traded: The Missing Cards: series.