Thursday, March 7, 2013

1976 Topps - DeFilippis/Barr.

Rounding out my 1976 Topps Rangers team set is card 595. Since the card features two Rangers prospects we get a two-for-one today.

Art DeFilippis was a second round pick for the Senators in 1970. He started his minor league career the same year. 1976 was his last season in the Rangers farm system. He would play in the minors for two more years before hanging it up after the 1978 season. He's the only player pictured on this card not to see Major League action.

Steve Barr came to Texas from Boston in November of 1975 along with Juan Beniquez and Craig Skok in return for Fergie Jenkins. Barr had cups of coffee with the Red Sox in 1974 and 1975. 1976 would be a full season. Joining Jim Umbarger as the only other left-hander to make any number of significant starts for the Rangers, Barr would appear in 20 games and start half of them. He got hammered. In 67.2 innings pitched Steve posted a 5.59 ERA and a 1.685 WHIP. Part of the problem was control - he walked 44 while striking out 27. The other part of the problem was the gopher ball - he gave up 10 home runs, one about every six innings on average.

The Rangers got a good look at Steve Barr in 1976. They didn't like what they saw and left him unprotected in the 1976 expansion draft. The Mariners grabbed him as the 54th pick. Even with an expansion team Steve couldn't get back to the Majors. He lasted in the minors through the end of the 1978 season and then called it a career.

Randy Lerch and Sid Monge both spent quite a bit of time in the Majors. Monge even made it to the All-Star game. Neither ever played for Texas though so that's about all I'm going to write on them.

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