My First Cards

Mike Krukow won just 9 games in 1981, despite starting more games than any other pitcher in the NL. He was a below average pitcher with a career ERA of 4.17, 1.42 WHIP, and a 45-50 record.

So during the ’81 winter meetings, the Cubbies were lookin’ to unload the 29 year old pitcher for some younger players after they signed Fergie Jenkins. The Phillies bit the bait, and gave the Cubs 3 younger players for the below average Mike Krukow.

That seemed like a stupid deal for the perennial playoff contending Phillies, causing a stir in the media with headlines like “Phillies Being ‘Had’?“.

The Phillies thought very differently of Krukow. Philadelphia GM Paul Owens said he felt Krukow would win 15-18 games for the Phils! Seems like a stretch for someone who’d never won more than 10 games before.

The Phillies weren’t “had” though, as they won 18 of the games Mike started. This was largely because his HR’s per 9 IP were cut in half, which helped his ERA drop a lot—

I’m sure that the Phillies defense helped him a lot too, and Philadelphia could give him better run support than the Cubs did. Still, it’s fascinating to see him improve like that, and know the Phillies could see it coming. This wasn’t entirely overnight though, as Mike’s ERA was sliding down in ’81, indicating to them he was improving.

Mike even improved on his WAR too. He earned 1.2 WAR in ’80, and 2.3 WAR in ’81, which matched his career high at the time. Once in Philly though, he jumped it up to 3.3 WAR. He’d match it again later in his career, but he’d never have a higher WAR than in 1982.

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