1990 Topps Minis #9: Kirk McCaskill

My posting is still on the slow side as I'm still recovering from my recent bout of the flu, or whatever it is, that has slowed me down.  But on Mondays and Wednesdays, I post cards from the 1990 Topps Mini League Leaders set, and it's still a Monday for a little while.  So today we have card #9, Kirk McCaskill of the California Angels.

#9, Kirk McCaskill.

By some great coincidence, today, April 9, is Kirk McCaskill's birthday, and he has just turned 57.  Happy birthday, Kirk!  McCaskill was born in northern Ontario and moved around as his father played hockey professionally.  He was drafted by the Angels out of college (Vermont) in 1982, and debuted with them in May, 1985.  He played with the Angels through 1991, then with the White Sox until retiring after the 1996 season.  He put together a career 106-108 record with a 4.12 ERA, seven saves, and 1,003 strikeouts.

Card back.

McCaskill made his way into the set, like his teammates Bert Blyleven and Chuck Finley, by being near the top of the ERA leaderboard.  You may remember that Blyleven was fourth and Finley was second in the league; with McCaskill at fifth, it's a pretty strong pitching staff.  The Angels were actually second in the AL in team ERA with a combined 3.28, behind only 1989 World Series winners Oakland with 3.09.  As the card back goes on to say, McCaskill tied for second in shutouts with 4.  Times sure change; last year in the AL, only two pitchers had more than 1 shutout (Ervin Santana of Minnesota and Corey Kluber of Cleveland).

That's it for this time; thanks for reading.  On Wednesday, we finish with the California Angels, with #10, Devon White.