Moving on in the 1977 Topps team set we come to card number 103, Mike Bacsik. This would be the elder Mike Bacsik.
Texas signed Bacsik as an amateur free agent in 1973. He got a look with the big club in 1975 and saw some serious work in 1976. By 1977 he was hoping to land a spot in the bullpen.
That wasn't going to happen. Mike spent most of the year at Triple A Tuscon. In 30 games he pitched 115 innings as a reliever and swing man. Whether starting or relieving Mike got hammered. He allowed 16 home runs and 96 earned runs. That helped tally his ERA to an unsightly 7.51 and his WHIP to 1.930.
Somehow Mike got a cup of coffee with the Rangers. I'm not sure if it was at the beginning of the season or due to an injury to another player but he appeared in two games for Texas. Mike's 2.1 innings of relief made his minor league season look like a walk in the park. Opposing teams scored five runs off him for a horrific 19.29 ERA and a bloated 3.857 WHIP.
1977 pretty much sealed the deal for Mike Bacsik. He would spend 1978 in the minors. In December of 1978 Texas dealt him to the Twins for Mac Scarce.
2 comments:
Baseball Reference has him pitching on Apr. 24 and May 1, 1977. He gave up a homerun to Jim Essian.
Still wonder what happened. Did he sit on the bench until April 24th or did someone else get sent down? Thanks for the info.
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