Cake or gum? 1977 Mark Fidrych

Last time Topps won a 9-0 shutout. Will this be closer?

I like it when both photos were clearly taken at the same time. These are from the visitors dugout at Yankee Stadium, looking nice and new in it's first year after re-opening.

I always have mixed feelings about Fidrych. All of the stories and the footage are so much fun, that I feel jealous of those old enough to have experienced his brief career firsthand. He was the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young runner-up in 1976, going 19-9 with a league leading 2.34 ERA. After his electrifying 1976 season, injuries ruined his career. He pitched in 31 games in 1976, and only 27 more games afterward. Overall in 58 games, he went 29-19 with a 3.10 ERA. Fidrych’s antics, including talking to the ball and manicuring the mound, were legendary. Every account of his personality suggests that the antics weren’t an act, that Fidrych was the real deal, a goofy regular guy who made friends everywhere he went. He worked at a local diner in his native Massachusetts and also worked as a contractor. He died in a freak accident while repairing a truck in 2009.