1979 jim kern

jim kern is one happy dude.  in a few weeks, i'll feature his 1982 o-pee-chee card which is even better than this one.  for now, though, here is kern's 1979 o-pee-chee card documenting his transition from cleveland to texas.

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

kern was traded to the rangers (with larvell blanks) for len barker and bobby bonds.  he went on to have his best season in 1979 for the rangers, going 13-5 with a 1.57 era and 29 saves.  that means he won or saved over half of the team's 83 wins.  as a result, he finished 4th in the cy young voting and 11th in the al mvp race.  not too shabby.

notice how o-pee-chee mixes up the text - 'trade with indians...' as opposed to 'traded to indians...'.  i guess they thumb their noses at consistency.  i'll categorize it as 'traded' anyway.

voici à vous, 1979 jim kern!