Cake or gum? 1975 Rick Reuschel

Last time, cake won in a shutout, 6-0. Will this be another easy win for cake?

These photos were almost certainly taken at the same time. As was often the case, Topps went for the tighter shot on the player, while Hostess went with the photo where the background was much more prominent.

Born Ricky, always known as Rick, and never Rickey, Reuschel was the ace of the Cubs' staff in the mid-to-late 1970s, and after losing a lot of time to injuries, enjoyed a resurgence with the Pirates and Giants in the late 1980s. He was not considered a Hall of Fame candidate during or immediately after his career. However, with the recent popularity of the WAR statistic, some writers consider him Hall-worthy based on his high WAR total. However, others remain unconvinced of a candidacy based almost entirely on one statistic. Over his 19-year career he went 214-191 with a 3.37 ERA. He did pitch for a lot of bad Cubs and Pirates teams which may have depressed his win totals a bit. However, he did make three postseasons and was quite bad in October, going 1-4 with a 5.85 ERA in seven starts. Since his career he has stayed out of the spotlight, retiring to his family farm.