Okay, I know I’ll get some haters for this one as this monster card doesn’t belong to a Hall of Famer or even a regular starter. But Jerry Cuan dug up a winner and posted it on Facebook and I couldn’t resist. It’s Don Durham of the 1972 St. Louis Cardinals.
If you’re saying “Who?”, join the club. So was I. Durham played for just two years racking up just 88 innings. He had a career 2-11 record with a 5.83 ERA. Pitching in the majors was not in the cards for Don Durham.
However, Durham could hit. I don’t mean going 1 for 1 or something like that. In 1972, Don Durham went 7 for 14 with two home runs. That equates to a .929 slugging percentage.
It almost made me wonder if management had decided he was a pitcher when perhaps another direction was called for. Fun fact, Durham still holds the record for the most at bats for a player with a .500 or higher batting average.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Totals | 14 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .500 | .500 | .929 |
Durham’s deets
I probably wouldn’t have featured Durham’s card had it not been so over-the-top good. Statistically, Don Durham had such good numbers and the APBA card makers represented them pretty faithfully.
First, Durham’s 1972 card has five ones (yes, a 44-1!). Jerry notes that Durham’s card is called out in the Ed Zack Handbook to be first such APBA card.
Even more, 1972 Durham has a total of eighteen hit numbers. The most interesting thing I see is I count four 9s instead of the normal two (or one on occasion). In all, he has three 7s, six 8s, and four 9s. That includes play result numbers like 13-9, 26-9 and 46-9. Ty Cobb has nothing on this guy.
No 14s for Don Durham correctly so as he did not walk in 1972. For what it’s worth, he is rated as a fast baserunner since he was used as a pinch runner several times.
Thank you, Jerry!
