Monster Card Monday: 1968 Earl Wilson

The era of the good-hitting pitcher seems to be coming to an end. I know “back in my day” we all appreciated a pitcher who could pull his weight with the stick. Such is the case with Earl Wilson. That’s his 1968 APBA card you see above.

Earl was a fine pitcher… don’t get me wrong. In 1968, he went 13-12 with a 2.85 ERA for the Detroit Tigers (he led the AL in wins with 22 the year before). A pitcher with fine control, he gave up just 65 walks in 224 plus innings.

But Earl could HIT! That year, he hit seven homeruns plus one triple with a total of 17 rbis. Some players would have loved to have his slugging percentage of .489 especially in the pitching-rich late 1960s.

Thanks to Gerard Pastorius who posted this card on Facebook. Gerard says:

I always do a double-take on Earl Wilson’s ’68 Tigers card, and in my recent GTOP (hybrid) season game, he was right in cue. Not only is he solid starter but those h/r #s are sweet as hell.
(For the record, he lost to the ’22 Browns who were a hit-machine themselves but did pound an 11-1 to dead center in his 1st at bat. ;))

Wilson’s seven homeruns ranks second in pitcher’s homeruns behind 1931 Wes Ferrell’s nine homeruns. He was tied with Drysdale (twice in 1958 and 1965), Ferrell again in 1933 and 1935) and Don Newcombe (1955).

Not too surprisingly, Ferrell leads all pitchers in career homers with 38 but Earl Wilson isn’t too far behind at #5 with 33. Twenty-nine of those dingers were in the span of five years (1964-1968).

It’s worth noting that Wilson’s 1968 card is rated as fast too. Part of me wonders if might be because of the triple.

Thanks again, Gerard!