Admittedly 1972 wasn’t Rollie Fingers’ highest pitcher’s grade but he did something right at the plate. Maybe a couple things.
Fingers’ accomplishment is amazing in that he got in 20 plate appearances solely as a reliever in 1972. That he batted .316 with a homer is that much more exciting. Note that he only struck out only three times.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Totals | 65 | 20 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .316 | .316 | .474 |
The mustachioed relief ace gets a pretty nice hitting card for his efforts. Not only does he get two 1s but some nice hit numbers too. His total line: 1-1-7-7-7-7-8-8-8-8-9-9.
Rollie also gets the usual 21, 23 and 36 doled out to pitchers but you won’t find any 14s on his card. He has a 45-36.
Fun numbers: 11-1, 15-7, 61-9
Fingers wasn’t a bad hitter at all before the debut of the designated hitter. In the three years previous, he collected a total of 22 hits and two homers.
Regarding his BXYZ pitcher’s grade, it may seem a little strict considering he had a stingy 2.51 ERA. He also had 11 wins, by the way. My guess was that league adjustments were in effect. The AL ERA was 3.06 so the requirement for an A grade was significantly lower.
