My First Cards

John Urrea reminds me of a calm western gunslinger here, that’s about to give you with some old cowboy wisdom he’s picked up over time. Makes me feel curious as to what he’s thinking.

That picture fits this card so well too, because he’s become one of the most curious and mysterious players I’ve come across. He had a short major league career spanning 1977-1981, with the Cardinals and Padres. Then never pitched again, as far as I can find. After being released by the Padres on March 26, 1982, there’s no record of him appearing in any major league or minor league games.

I mean, who posts a 2.39 ERA from the bullpen and then just vanishes? That was good for a 137 ERA+, which you’d think would earn him an invite back to camp in the spring. It was definitely his best season. In 18 2/3 combined innings against the Phillies, Expos, Astros, and Giants, he didn’t allow a single run to score. The Mets, Cardinals, and Braves, only managed to score 1 run a piece on him in 16 more innings. He was also pretty nasty in home games, posting a 1.73 ERA. The Padre Encyclopedia says he even “established a Padre mark for right-handers by hurling 20 consecutive scoreless innings”. Entering September 1981, his ERA was 0.95 in 38 IP. That’s a stopper. So why did he suddenly disappear?

I almost thought I found a clue that he might’ve suffered a career ending arm injury late in the ’81 season. His ERA in Sepember & October that year, was over 7. Yet, looking closer, I see his last 5 appearances he didn’t allow a single run. So that kinda blew my theory out of the water. In fact, he simply had a stretch of 4 bad appearances, which is something anyone could have happen to them.

John Urrea, if you happen to stumble on this after Googling yourself, let me know whatever became of you….I’m really curious why your career suddenly just, stopped.