Where the Wild Things Are

I know it's corny, but I've wanted to do this post for a while now. There's nothing special about these cards besides depicting a pretty interesting player. 

Originally a Texas Ranger, Williams achieved a rare rookie feat in 1986 when he led the AL in appearances with 80. He earned his nickname "Wild Thing" as much for his control issues (79 walks in 98 innings) as for his chaotic delivery and follow-through. 

Williams was traded to the Cubs after the 1988 season and enjoyed his best year in 1989, saving 36 games with a 2.76 ERA as a National League all-star. He appeared in the game and tossed a scoreless eighth inning. 

In 1990, Cubs manager Don Zimmer experimented with Williams as one of history's first "openers," starting him on September 10 and 14. He pitched 3 innings in his first start and 3 1/3 in his second. Zim quickly abandoned the idea, but Williams remains a predecessor to the modern strategy. 

In my opinion, 1991 Fleer may be the ugliest baseball card set of all time, but I kinda like this card. It not only captures the beginning of Wild Thing's crazy follow-through, but I think it's cool when photos capture the ball in mid-air. In 1991, he won a career-high 12 games, including an incredible 8 in August. 

In 1993, Williams saved a career-high 43 games for the pennant-winning Phillies (and collected a walk-off hit against Trevor Hoffman in July), but it marked the beginning of his demise. He pitched well in the NLCS but lost two games in the World Series, surrendering Joe Carter's famous walk-off homer in Game 6. 

Williams was traded to the Astros after the season and was never the same again. He pitched his last game in 1997 for the Kansas City Royals. He truly was a wild thing, issuing 544 walks in 691 1/3 career innings for a 7.1 BB/9 ratio. 

Fun fact about Williams: on April 28, 1989, he became the first pitcher ever to record a save without throwing a pitch, picking off Carmelo Martinez with two outs in the ninth against the Padres. 

Just a final thought to bring the post back to cards - 1987 Topps is actually a pretty nice set, in my opinion. It's true that the photos often leave something to be desired, but the backs are cool and I like the wood-looking border on the front. What do you think?