Mickey Lolich--1976
When this card came out in 1976,
Lolich looked to be a lock for the Hall
of Fame. After all, at the time he had
more strikeouts than any left-hander
in the game, over 200 wins and
multiple All-Star Game honors. Again,
MORE strikeouts than ANY left-
hander who had ever stepped onto a
big league mound.
Who wouldn’t vote for the portly
southpaw? Even those of us outside
of Detroit could appreciate his
yeoman's work in the ’67 Series,
when Lolich shutdown the St. Louis
Cardinals in winning three complete
games.
Just look at the names. From Sandy
Koufax and Warren Spahn, to Lefty
Grove and Carl Hubbell; Lolich
topped nine Hall of Famers.
Even after this card was thrown to
the side by most of us after a “What
am I gonna do with this?” remark, the
southpaw kept on going… eventually
logging 2,832 strikeouts.
Yet, the Hall never called.
Eventually, Steve Carlton would pass
Lolich on his journey to
Cooperstown. And Randy Johnson
will continue in 2009 to add to his
overall leading total of 4,789
strikeouts as he is sure to find his
way to the Hall of Fame when he
departs the game.
As the Hall of Fame Veterans
Committee continues to ponder the
selections in the future, maybe they
should take a gander at this card and
just look at the names.
(Editor's Note: Odds are Ray
Sadecki was also loving this card.)
Lolich looked to be a lock for the Hall
of Fame. After all, at the time he had
more strikeouts than any left-hander
in the game, over 200 wins and
multiple All-Star Game honors. Again,
MORE strikeouts than ANY left-
hander who had ever stepped onto a
big league mound.
Who wouldn’t vote for the portly
southpaw? Even those of us outside
of Detroit could appreciate his
yeoman's work in the ’67 Series,
when Lolich shutdown the St. Louis
Cardinals in winning three complete
games.
Just look at the names. From Sandy
Koufax and Warren Spahn, to Lefty
Grove and Carl Hubbell; Lolich
topped nine Hall of Famers.
Even after this card was thrown to
the side by most of us after a “What
am I gonna do with this?” remark, the
southpaw kept on going… eventually
logging 2,832 strikeouts.
Yet, the Hall never called.
Eventually, Steve Carlton would pass
Lolich on his journey to
Cooperstown. And Randy Johnson
will continue in 2009 to add to his
overall leading total of 4,789
strikeouts as he is sure to find his
way to the Hall of Fame when he
departs the game.
As the Hall of Fame Veterans
Committee continues to ponder the
selections in the future, maybe they
should take a gander at this card and
just look at the names.
(Editor's Note: Odds are Ray
Sadecki was also loving this card.)
