07 July 2010

the 1980 topps andy messersmith final tribute card that should have been!

after posting back-to-back andy messersmith o-pee-chee cards highlighting the vagrancy of his final seasons on my 'oh my o-pee-chee' blog, i figured i would give the free agent trailblazer a proper send off with the 1980 topps final tribute card that should have been:
a great photo from one of his few starts in 1979 at dodger stadium.  it came from the april 17th game, in which messersmith pitched 6 innings and left with a 6-4 lead.  jerry reuss relieved and blew the save with a couple of two-out walks followed by two run scoring singles.  the dodgers scored a few in the bottom of the 8th and reuss finished the game to earn his first win as a dodger.

back to messersmith, though.  he made his final career start on june 1, 1979 in saint louis.  he lasted just 1 inning, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, including a 2-run home run to keith hernandez.  the final batter he faced in his career was ken reitz who grounded into a force out.

messersmith had 3 great years for the dodgers in the mid-70's, and despite his final three seasons (all sub-par), he finished his career with a .568 winning percentage (130-99) and an era of 2.86.  pretty darn good.

here's to you andy messersmith, and your 1980 topps card that should have been!

5 comments:

Goose Joak said...

Sweet!!

night owl said...

There are too few Messersmith Dodger cards. Nice.

MrMopar said...

Great card, as usual. It would look fantastic autographed, especially with that great action shot. Too bad he doesn't sign!

Unknown said...

I just got Andy to sign...He has and always will be my boyhood HERO!

gcrl said...

that's cool that he signed for you. how did it come about?