Who is the man: Steve Dunning was entering his second season with the Indians in 1971. He appeared in 19 games, 17 as a starter, for Cleveland in 1970.
Can ya dig it: Dunning appears to be trying very much to be a wax figure. I'd say he's doing a damn fine job.
Right on: Rookie card!
You see this cat Dunning is a bad mother: Dunning hit a grand slam home run against Oakland's Diego Segui on May 11, 1971. It would be the last grand slam hit by an American League pitcher for 37 years (Felix Hernandez hit the next one in 2008 against the Mets).
Shut your mouth: Dunning threw a one-hitter against the Senators in 1971, prompting manager Ted Williams to exclaim that Dunning's "going to be a pitcher someday." But Dunning would only be a journeyman after '71.
No one understand him but his woman: Dunning's last two Topps cards, in the 1973 and 1978 sets (that's right, they're cards five years apart) both feature him in airbrushed caps. The '78 card shows an airbrushed A's' cap. The '73 cap is more puzzling. Dunning is showed with the Indians, the only team he had played for up to that time, but the cap is an airbrushed Indians cap. I have no idea why.
(A word about the back): Dunning was the No. 2 overall draft pick in 1970 and you can see by the fact that the "first year in pro ball" line matches the "first game in majors" line that the Indians called him up without a single game in the minors.
I'm guessing that the reason that his '73 card was airbrushed was because by '73, the Indians has switched to red hats. It's obvious that he's wearing the same uniform that he wore in the '71 card. Topps did some weird things back then.
ReplyDeleteBut is there a ball in his glove?
ReplyDeleteI love the Indians uniforms from this year (1970), both home and road. I think they were the best Indians uniforms ever, and they only wore them that one year.
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