Sept. 1, 1977 Ed Figueroa - The Consistent Winner

Catfish Hunter signed the big free agent contract, one of the first to do so in major-league history. Don Gullett did the same a couple years later. Ron Guidry emerged out of almost nowhere with electric stuff and went on to a Monument Park Yankee career. And Mike Torrez came over to New York in trade that rid the Yankees of the headache that was Dock Ellis.

And then there was Ed Figueroa, the guy so many people tend to forget, who just so happened to be the most consistent winner of all the Yankee starters during their dynastic run to three straight AL pennants and two World Series championships between 1976-78.

Even though Billy Martin never really liked him and the two men clashed often,

Figueroa won 55 games over that three-year span. Only Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, Dennis Leonard, and J.R. Richard won more games in MLB during that period, and in 1978 Figueroa made history when he became the first Puerto Rican-born pitcher to win 20 games in a season. Forty years later, he remains the only man on that exclusive list.

“Figgy was a good pitcher,” Guidry once said. “He wasn’t an overpowering guy. He was always around the plate. He wasn’t flashy, wasn’t dominant, wasn’t a strikeout guy. He just won.”

Figueroa was originally scouted and signed by the Mets, but he took a one-year detour to Vietnam as a Marine. “I didn’t know what the heck I was doing there, but I was there,” he said. “I learned that life, it’s beautiful to be alive. I saw a lot of people dead there. When I got out of there, I was happy I was out, happy I was alive.”

He resumed his baseball career in 1971, bounced around the minors, and finally made it to the majors in 1974 with the Angels when he pitched in 25 games (12 starts) and went 2-8. He broke out in 1975, going 16-13 with a 2.91 ERA, and the Yankees took notice. They were looking to unload outfielder Bobby Bonds, and they found a taker in the Angels, who shipped Figueroa and Mickey Rivers to the Bronx in what became one of the best trades in franchise history.

“He’s going to be one of the best pitchers in baseball in the next few years,” general manager Gabe Paul said, and he was right. Figueroa pitched four-plus years in New York and had a record of 62-39 with a 3.53 ERA.

The only blemish on his resume was an unflattering 0-4 record and 7.47 ERA in seven career postseason starts, all with the Yankees.

Here's a video profile of Figueroa.

The daily baseball report

#EdFigueroa #BillyMartin #RonGuidry