Player: Ron “Gator” Guidry
Set: 1976 Topps
Card Number: 599
Why is This Card a Must Have?: I’ve been waiting to review this card for quite sometime. Gator was the first pitcher I became a follow every pitch he throws guy. The year I first was really into baseball and card collecting full tilt was 1978 when he went 25-3. I remember everytime he went out on the mound it was going to be a win, it was indeed a very exciting time to be a Yankees fan. He ended up with 170 wins, 1 Cy Young, 4 All Star appearances, 95 complete games, 26 shutouts, career ERA of 2.36 and a WHIP of 1.18. His numbers don’t translate to the Hall of Fame, but as far as Yankee pitchers go, he still remains one of the most popular pitchers ever. He will always be one of my favorite pitchers and has two great nicknames, Gator and Louisiana Lightning. How can you beat that? I’m curious what you “old timers” think of Guidry.
On a Scale of 1 to 10, How Must Have Is This Card?: A 5 for regular collectors and a 7 for Yankee collectors, probably one of the most dominating pitchers of the late 70′s / early 80′s. Go get it on eBay for $1 – $3 depending on the condition.
Guidry was a great pitcher, no doubt. It’s true he doesn’t quite have the stats to get in the Hall, but he’s one of those really solid pitchers like Dave Stewart, Allie Reynolds and Carl Mays that deserve to be remembered for how good they were.
I like the comparison to Dave Stewart. Both were pitchers that in their prime you did not want to face. They do not have Hall numbers, but they had Hall of Fame stuff for a few years.