Who is the man: Al Santorini endured a brutal sophomore slump in 1970, after tying for the team lead in pitching wins for the expansion Padres in 1969. Santorini and Joe Niekro each won a team-high eight games in '69.
Can ya dig it: Santorini appears to have a spectator for his photo session.
Right on: This is one of those ubiquitous tilted backgrounds that you find on '70s cards.
You see that cat Santorini is a bad mother: Santorini was the No. 11 overall pick in the 1966 amateur draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Shut your mouth: Santorini struck out 12 Mets in a 4-0 complete game shutout while with the Cardinals in 1972. "Never since I was in high school have I had 12 strikeouts," Santorini said after the game.
No one understands him but his woman: Santorini is referred to as "chunky" in the same article. It's the first word of the AP story.
(A word about the back): Oof, That 1970 pitching line has to be one of the worst in the entire set.
Santorini's poor record early in his career might have been due to being promoted to the big leagues before he was ready, a result of expansion in 1969. He was only 21 when he pitched for the Padres in 1969.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Santorini's pitching line for 1970 is the worst for that year, but it is better than Steve Hargan 1-13, 6.67 ERA mark in 1971.
ReplyDeleteI got some stuff signed by Santorini a via mail a few years ago. I had asked him about that first season in San Diego. He told me it was the same level as a not-so-good Triple A team.
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