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Dave Goltz
In baseball, one team’s treasure is often another team’s trash, and Dave Goltz is a perfect example of this mixed-up cliché. Goltz was a pretty good pitcher in the 1970s for Minnesota. He claimed a spot with the team as a 23 year old in 1972, pitching alongside Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven and near Hall of Famer Jim Kaat. Something must’ve rubbed off on Goltz, because after those guys left he became the best pitcher by far on some shaky Twins staffs. His best years were 1977, when he won 20 games to complement Rod Carew’s monster year at the plate, and 1978, when he went 15-10 with a shiny 2.49 ERA.
In 1980 the Minnesota native departed to sunny Southern California as the Dodgers signed him to a cool $3 million, six-year contract. He was one of the most notorious free agent busts of his time, going only 9-19 for some very good Dodger teams from 1980 to 1982. He did manage to pick up a World Series ring during that time, when he appeared in two games in relief during the 1981 World Series. He was released on April 27, 1982 and picked up by the California Angels a month later. He did much better for his new team, going 8-5, 4.08 with 3 saves as a swingman over the remainder of the 1982 season.
Point of trivia: Since the save became an official statistic, Goltz holds the record for the most runs in a saved game. On June 6, 1973, against the Cleveland Indians, he was charged with 8 runs in a three-inning save; he helped to turn a 9-1 lead into a 13-9 win. - puckettspond.com and bRef Bullpen wiki
The first (left-most) face was the original one in the CUF pack. It was updated last year (actually just smoothed out, same fg). I tried to redo him from scratch (mine on the right or bottom). Not a lot of great photos to work with but there was one straight-forward one of his younger self.
Glad you still enjoy the blurbs, luckymann!!
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