Wood vs. Wood #219

Last time it was a 5-3 victory for 1962. Who will win this time?

Rookie Al Downing poses at Yankee Stadium. The youngster's name and uniform number can be seen on his glove. Downing originally came up with the Yankees in 1961 but had his first full season in 1963, going 13-5 with a 2.56 ERA. His 1964 was even better, leading the AL with 217 strikeouts. As the Yankees' fortunes waned in the late 1960s, so did Downing's. He put up solid numbers but not as good as his first two seasons, though he was an All-Star in 1967. After the 1969 the Yankees traded him to Oakland, who quickly flipped him to Milwaukee. Before the 1971 season the Brewers traded him to the Dodgers, where he was named Comeback Player of the Year, going 20-9 with a 2.68 ERA in 1971. He had a couple more good seasons, hanging on through 1977. Overall in 405 games he went 123-107 with 1,639 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA. Despite these very good numbers, Downing is best known as the pitcher who allowed Hank Aaron's 715th home run. After his playing career he was a Dodgers announcer for many years. He is now retired but still makes appearances for the Yankees and Dodgers.

Cecilio Guante gets a simple head shot here. He was coming off of four straight seasons as an excellent set-up man for the Pirates. By the time this card was printed Guante was a Yankee, going to the Bronx in the blockbuster Rhoden-for-Drabek trade. Guante had a rough season in 1987, going 3-2 with a 5.73 ERA. He pitched much better in 1988, but the Yankees traded him to Texas for Dale Mohorcic, another bad acquisition for the Yankees. Guante had a solid season in 1989 for Texas. He signed with Cleveland in 1990 and struggled again, going 2-3 with a 5.01 ERA in his last major league season. Overall in 363 games he went 29-34 with 35 saves and a 3.48 ERA. Guante kept a low profile during his career and has kept that way since retiring and returning to his native Dominican Republic.