1977 Topps Baseball #600 - Jim Palmer

• Jim Palmer led the AL in victories for the third straight year in 1977. Palmer also led the league in starts, complete games, and innings pitched. Jim finished second to Sparky Lyle in Cy Young Award voting. During his career Palmer won three Cy Young awards and was second in the voting twice.
• Jim Palmer's SABR biography
• 1977 Stats: 20-11, 2.91 ERA in 39 starts
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 12 - Pitched a 2-hit shutout as the Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0.
• Aug 12 - Allowed one run on two hits and pitched his 15th complete game as the Orioles beat the Oakland A's 6-1.
• Sept 28 - Beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 in 11 innings to win his 20th game of the season. It was Palmer's final start of the season -- he went 13-3 from July 1 until the end of the season.
• Other card blogs: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1976 Hostess, 1978, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1982, 1983

1977 Topps #5 - 1976 Victory Leaders

• There were only three 20-game winners in the American League in 1976. 
• This was the fewest since 1967, when three pitchers won 20 or more.
• Jim Palmer led the AL in wins three straight years (1974-1976). He won 20 or more games eight times in his career.
• Randy Jones' 22 wins were remarkable considering that he pitched for a team that went 73-89 and finished 5th in the NL West. The Padres finished 11th in runs scored that season
• Unfortunately after two great seasons (1975 and 1976), Jones hurt his arm in 1977 and was never as dominant again.