1984 Topps Traded
Hahaha, check out that portrait photo. Is that the fakest smile you’ve ever seen or what? Still, this was one of my more sought-after cards later in my collecting “career”. I know Langston wasn’t overwhelming, but he was a pretty good pitcher who I think escaped mainstream attention until he jumped to the California Angels in 1990. Unfortunately, the back half of his career took care of him being much above league average, but I still think he was an asset to his teams.
When this card came out, he was coming off of a 1983 minor league season in which he went 14-9 with a 3.59 ERA and a…1.460 WHIP? Yikes. His strikeout numbers for that campaign aren’t available, but he K’ed 161 in 177 innings in 1982. So he wasn’t overwhelming in the minors. I’m curious as to what situation in Seattle necessitated his addition to the rotation in 1984, but he went 17-10 with a 3.40 ERA that year, good for a 118 ERA+. Not bad work for a rookie.
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