In honor of my new tournament team, the 1980 Dodgers, here is Don Stanhouse’s 1980 card for Weird Card Wednesday. It’s odd well, because of his nickname “Stan the Man Unusual”, first of all. Frizzy-hair Don was quite a free spirit throughout the 70s.
But in 1980, Don Stanhouse came to bat three times and walked once. Simple as that. For that, he gets eleven 14s and no 13s. Strangely, he doesn’t get one at 45. Instead, it’s a 45-36. Of note, he gets an extra 33 as well.
Baltimore Sun reporter Mike Klingaman has a humorous look back at Stanhouse’s career with Earl Weaver’s Baltimore Orioles.
"He (Weaver) would bring me in, then disappear down the tunnel and start chain-smoking his Raleighs," recalled Stanhouse, who was nicknamed "Fullpack" for that reason.
In the AL playoffs, with the Orioles enjoying a 9-4 lead over California, Weaver summoned his frizzy-haired All-Star in the ninth. Stanhouse promptly surrendered four runs before ending the game with the bases full.
Later, asked why he hadn’t yanked Stanhouse, Weaver replied, "I still had three cigarettes left."
With a back injury, Stanhouse wasn’t as effective with the Dodgers in 1980 as evidenced by his 5.04 ERA and resulting DW grade.
