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:
Sweet!!
There are too few Messersmith Dodger cards. Nice.
Great card, as usual. It would look fantastic autographed, especially with that great action shot. Too bad he doesn't sign!
I just got Andy to sign...He has and always will be my boyhood HERO!
that's cool that he signed for you. how did it come about?
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