Tuesday, May 24, 2016
#467 Steve Kline
Enjoyed two seasons of prominence in the Big
Apple....1971 and 1972 won 12 and 16 games respectively for Ying Yangs (a less than complimentary adolescent term for the Yankees)....Drafted
in 1966 by NYY.....climbed up the organization’s chain....pressed into the NYY
starting rotation on the heal of an impressive 8-2 record at Syracuse....decent
account for himself with a 6-6 record with big club...most impressive of his
1971 season was 15 complete games....the year the Yankees did not have a
bullpen...Arm troubles developed in 1973 and immediately lost effectiveness...fell
to 4-7 record... a moderately good start early 1974 prompted Yankees to trade him
to Indians where his ERA soared....Took 1975 off to recover...started a AAA
comeback in 1976 in Toledo...was able to briefly re-surface for a month with the
Atlanta Braves in 1977 earning his only career save.
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Excellent blog. Great potential cut short by injury. Kline would have been a perfect fit for the Yankees on their 76-77-78 pennant winners.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kline had everything you wanted in a up and coming pitcher, a solid mid season call up 1970, took on spot in rotation and had excellent complete game numbers 1971, and huge improvements in wins and ERA 1972, putting the Yankees in playoff contention for the first time since early 60's. He could have been one of the great NYY home grown pitching stars in a time there weren't many.
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