Pete Vuckovich
1977 Blue Jays pitcher, 1982 Cy Young winner, Hall of Fame biker 'stache.
Pete Vuckovich, best known for his Cy Young Award-winning season in 1982, leading his Milwaukee Brewers to that year's World Series (an eventual seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals), his goofy sense of humour, his uncompromising facial hair, and his role as villainous Yankees slugger Clu Haywood in the film Major League, played for one year with the expansion Blue Jays in 1977.
Before landing for good in Milwaukee, Vuckovich bounced from the Chicago White Sox to the Jays to the St. Louis Cardinals. Over a combined 120.2 innings pitched, mostly from the bullpen, his two years in Chicago were underwhelming. In November 1976, the brand new Toronto Blue Jays selected Vuckovich nineteenth in the expansion draft, likely viewing him as a competent major league pitcher to work out of the bullpen and chomp up innings in what was sure to be an exciting but terrible season of baseball in Toronto. In that inaugural year, Vuckovich logged several Blue Jays franchise firsts. He was the first player to report to the Jays’ initial spring training. He recorded the first save in Jays history during their snow-ravaged 1977 opening day. Later in the season, he nabbed Toronto’s first shutout, having outduelled Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and the Orioles on June 26th.
After his one year with the Jays, Toronto dealt him and John Scott to St. Louis for pitchers Tom Underwood and Victor Cruz. Vuckovich transitioned into a full-time starter and blossomed during his three seasons with St. Louis. In 1980, he was part of a trade package, which included future Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons, all of whom were sent by the Cardinals to the Brewers in what is quite likely the best and most important trade in Milwaukee Brewers history. Fingers would win the Cy Young Award (with Vuckovich coming in fourth in the voting) and MVP in 1981, and Vuckovich would follow in 1982 with a Cy Young Award of his own. Together, these three players helped to anchor “Harvey's Wallbangers,” and power the Brewers' 1982 run to the American League pennant. Milwaukee would be bested in that year’s World Series by Vuckovich’s former team, as the Cardinals narrowly won in a dramatic seven game set.
1982 was the peak for Vuckovich, as he tore his rotator cuff in spring training of 1983. After missing most of 1983 and the entirety of the 1984 season, a dismal twenty-eight outings between 1985 and 1986 led to his release by the Brewers and subsequent retirement.
By the numbers, 1977 looks to be the season that established Vuckovich as a very good, if at times dominant, major league pitcher. In fifty-three appearances, eight of which were starts (including three complete games and one shutout), Vuke threw 148 innings, with 123 strikeouts and 59 walks, earning a respectable 3.47 ERA with a 3.52 FIP and 1.365 WHIP, good for a 121 ERA+. Comparing his one season in Toronto with his two best seasons in Milwaukee (1981 and 1982) is quite illuminating. Though he had converted to a full-time starter after he left Toronto, he posted a better FIP and WHIP in 1977 than he did as a Cy Young winner. His K:BB ratio in Toronto was better than either of his best two seasons, as was his K/9 rate. His ERA+ was significantly better in 1977 than it was during his entire tenure with Milwaukee, and is the second-best mark of his eleven-year career.
Whenever I think of the 1977 Blue Jays, I think of a very bad ball club going through the usual fledgling of a nascent expansion franchise. It’s nice to be reminded that amidst all that scuffling the Jays had a future Brewers staff ace and Cy Young winner in the mix, and nicer still to dig into his numbers and see that Toronto is where he established himself as a legitimately good Major League pitcher. Expansion franchises need to find bright spots wherever they can, and with a little hindsight, we can see that the 1977 Blue Jays indeed had one in our moustachioed hero. Let's remember that it was in Toronto where Vuke and his biker ‘stache made their career turn.
Video:
1977 Blue Jays' home opener (Vuke gets the save)
Vuke's excellent start in Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS
Vuke's fly is down during the '82 Series
Vuke digs in against Charlie Sheen in Major League
Further Reading: