1978 jon matlack

jon matlack was part of that crazy december 1977 trade between the mets, rangers, pirates and braves that saw al oliver, bert blyleven, tom grieve and a host of others change teams. when the dust settled, matlack was in texas. here's his 1978 o-pee-chee card

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

with the rangers in 1978, matlack promptly won 15 games and posted career bests in era (2.27) and complete games (18). he even saved a game for the first time in his career. matlack was the nl roy in 1972 and co-mvp (with bill madlock) of the 1975 all star game. most impressive, however, may be his 1973 season when he returned to action 11 days after having his skull fractured by a line drive in may to finish the season with 205 strikeouts, a shutout against the reds in the nlcs, and a win against the a's in the world series. after 7 years with the mets, matlack pitched 6 for the rangers before he was released after the 1983 season, effectively ending his career.

voici à vous, 1978 jon matlack!