My First Cards

Andy Rincon had so much talent that he was drafted right out of High School and went straight to the minors that summer. He found his way into the St Louis pitching staff in 1980, and did quite well. Then he started 1981 even better: 3-1, 1.77 ERA, 0.897 WHIP in 5 starts.

In that 5th start, he was shutting out the Pirates after 7 1/3, when Phil Garner came to the plate. Now, Garner was off to a very hot start in ’81, hitting the leather off the ball. He entered this game batting .429/.500/.714/1.214 in 9 games.

His first time up, Rincon got him to flyout to right field.

Next at-bat, Garner ran out an infield hit. He always did have a reputation as a scrappy little throwback player. Gotta love those.

So by the time he came to the plate in the top of the 7th, he had a good idea what Andy Rincon was dealing that day. When he hit the ball, it was a line drive straight back at Rincon. So fat and so quick, that it fractured Rincon’s arm.

And that was the end of Andy’s season, though he did pitch in the minors later that year, he never got back to the big leagues until ’82. Even then, he was not the same pitcher. He appeared in 11 games in ’82, 6 of them starts, posting a 4.72 ERA and a massive 1.500 WHIP. Needless to say, the Cardinals sent him down to AAA after May 22. he was no longer major league material.

The Cardinals went on to win the 1982 World Series, and Rincon got a championship ring for having played a part on the team.

He continued in the minors for a couple years after that, mostly in the Pirates organization. How’s that for irony? Anyway, he returned to play a little more later in the decade, finally ending his playing career in 1989 for the AA Arkansas Travelers.

All that potential, gone. Good thing baseball isn’t everything in life. I’m sure he made the most of his situation somehow, but it’s still sad when I look at this card.