The front: Lots of trees behind Whitson as he poses at spring training.
The back: At Salem in 1976 Whitson went 15-9 with a 2.53 ERA.
The player: Eddie Whitson pitched for 15 years in the major leagues and put up some respectable numbers, going 126-123 with a 3.79 ERA. However, he is most famous for his disastrous year-and-a-half with the Yankees in 1985 and 1986, where he put up a 5.38 ERA, was the subject of boos and death threats, and suffered a cracked rib in a fistfight with manager Billy Martin.
The man: Whitson came from a very small town in Tennessee and was clearly uncomfortable with the limelight of pitching in New York. He stayed out of the limelight completely once he retired, retiring to another small town in Ohio.
My collection: I have 69 of his cards, from 1978 to 1992. I would be interested in trading for 1984 San Diego Padres Smokey #NNO.
It was probably not a good idea to get into a fistfight with Billy Martin, at any age!
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