1973 Topps - Don Stanhouse.

Topps Tuesday again. With the loss last night to Tampa Bay I am thinking that it would be better to talk about 1973 today. Hopefully the guys can get it going against the Devil Rays here in an hour or so.

Today we see Don Stanhouse on card number 352 in the 1973 Topps set. This is the only single player card in the 1973 Topps Rangers team set that has a horizontal rather than vertical picture. I guess Topps was trying to make sure that they got plenty of green wall and the outfielder in the shot.

Stanhouse split the 1973 season between the Rangers and their Triple A affiliate in Spokane, Washington. Don's season was dismal to say the least. In 21 games for Texas Stanhouse went 70 innings in 5 starts and 16 relief appearances. He allowed 44 walks and managed only 42 strikeouts while losing seven games and winning just one. His lone save didn't do much to redeem the situation. All of that resulted in a 4.76 ERA - almost a whole run higher than in 1972.

Things didn't work out any better for Don with Spokane. In 12 games for the Indians he made 11 starts and went a total of 66 innings. He won 3 and lost 5 while posting a horrendous 7.36 ERA. He did manage to strike out more batters (55) than he walked (42) but that wasn't enough to change the balance of things.

All in all Don's season matched the team's run in 1973. Terrible. No other way to really describe it. Stanhouse and the Rangers just had a rough year. The real question seemed to be, had the bottom been reached and could Don and the team bounce in 1974?