Monster Card Monday: 1972 Lindy McDaniel

This 1972 Lindy McDaniel card is a reprint published in 1991 and suggested to me by Mel M.  Thanks, Mel!!

When I was prepping for this article, I found out how good of a pitcher McDaniel really was.  Or even could have been.  U of Oklahoma alum McDaniel pitched in the majors for 21 years (1955-1975) almost primarily as a reliever.  Early in his career with the Cardinals, he was used as a starter and in ‘57, he went 15-9 in 26 starts.  Two years later, he moved to the bullpen and stayed there for the rest of his career.

He racked up 172 saves and a 141-119 won-loss record with a 3.45 ERA.

But we’re not here to discuss his pitching, of course. That’s crazy talk. It’s his 1972 power laden APBA card that’s important. Thanks to his one homerun in 8 plate appearances that year, Lindy McDaniel’s ‘72 card got four juicy 1s.

Irrespective of the ones on his card though, McDaniel’s ‘72 card appears to have one of strongest hitting card for a .286 hitter, having 8s on the top and a 15-7.  That’s primarily, because of his zero walks.  It’s simple APBA card making math. You’ll get more hit numbers if you have less 14s.

Contrast McDaniel’s card to .362-hitting 2004 Barry Bonds who couldn’t even muster a 55-7.  The reason of course, was that Bonds had nine 14s on his 2004 card so looks can be deceiving.

Power-wise, 1972 wasn’t a fluke for McDaniel.  He did manage to hit three homeruns in 378 at-bats in his career.  However, he never hit higher than than .286.  His career batting average was a respectable (for a pitcher, at least) .148.