no. 556 - jim mc glothlin

Who is the man: Jim McGlothlin had just compiled the best season of his career when this card was issued. In 1970, McGlothlin won a career-high 14 games in a career-best 210 innings and started Game 2 of the World Series for the Reds.

Can ya dig it: This is McGlothlin's first card as a Cincinnati Red, as he was traded by the Angels to the Reds in November 1969 and appears as an Angel on his 1970 Topps card.

Right on: Check out what appears to be a gloved hand in the lower right. Is it possible someone is winding up behind McGlothlin? Odd.

You see that cat McGlothlin is a bad mother: McGlothlin tied for the league lead with six shutouts in 1966. He pitched in the All-Star Game that year, getting Orlando Cepeda to hit into a double play and striking out Dick Allen.

Shut your mouth: At one point in '66, McGlothlin pitched 36 straight innings without giving up a run, but shrugged off compliments. "I'm just a hillbilly," he said. "I like John Wayne and country music."

No one understands him but his woman: McGlothlin died from a rare form of leukemia at age 32, less than two years after his career ended. His wife, in this article, published 40 years after his death, remembered the time when her husband playfully brushed her off the plate during an exhibition game between players and their wives.

(A word about the back): That period between May 16 and June 24, with the four complete games and three shutouts -- that's about three years' worth for a lot of pitchers today.