1977 Topps Baseball #575 - Dick Ruthven

• Dick Ruthven had injury problems for the Braves -- he missed two months with torn ligaments. Dick was 3-3 before going on the disabled list from early May to early July. Ruthven made two relief appearances before going back in the starting rotation. He went 0-5 in his next six starts and then was basically a .500 pitcher for the rest of the year.
• 1977 Stats: 7-13, 4.23 ERA in 25 games (23 starts)
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 10 - Shut out the Houston Astros 6-0 in his first start of the year. A benches-clearing incident occurred in the 6th inning after Ruthven hit Cliff Johnson with a pitch. Johnson tackled Ruthven, but order was quickly restored. The benches cleared again in the 7th inning when Houston's Gene Pentz brushed back Gary Matthews twice.
• Sept 5 - Pitched his second shutout of the year, beating the San Francisco Giants 4-0. Dick also got into a fight with Giants shortstop Tim Foli. Foli was thrown out of the game, but Ruthven remained in the game.
• Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986