Wood vs. Wood #328

 Last time it was an 8-4 win for 1987. Who will win here?

Ken Walters poses in front of the screen, with his #17 on his bat knob. Walters was coming off two mediocre seasons for the mediocre Phillies, which would turn out to be the bulk of this major league career. Walters was sold to the Reds shortly after this card came out, spent all of '62 in the minors, and had one last cup of coffee for the Reds in 1963. In 259 major league games he hit .231 with 11 HR and 58 RBI. He kept a low profile after his baseball career, and passed away in 2010.

Bob Welch poses at spring training, with his whole name printed on his glove. Welch gained national prominence as a rookie striking out Reggie Jackson with two runners to end Game 2 of the 1978 World Series. Less well remembered is Welch giving up a walkoff, series-tying hit to Lou Piniella two games later as the Yankees came back from 2-0 down to take the Series. An excellent pitcher, Welch had seven seasons of 3-or-more WAR. Not one of those is 1990, with the A's, when he went 27-6 with a 2.95 ERA, the most wins in a season since Denny McLain's 30 win season, and still the last 25-win season. He only had 2.9 WAR, which if you believe WAR means a replacement-level pitcher would have gone 24-9, still one of the best win totals of the past 50 years. Personally I'm not buying it, even if he was helped by some good luck. Overall in 506 games for the Dodgers and A's he went 211-146 with a 3.47 ERA. After his career he was a pitching coach. He died from a fall in his house in 2014.