#89 Hal Brown

Hal Brown  Baltimore Orioles

Career: The bulk of his 14-year major league career came with the Orioles. He began in the Red Sox chain but came under the wing of Paul Richards in Seattle and he followed Richards to Chicago to make his debut. The knuckleballer was traded to Boston and then and later to the Orioles where he was reunited with Richards. He was primarily a starter but worked quite a bit out of the bullpen over the years. He finished his career with two games as a Yankee and a couple of seasons as a Colt .45 in Houston.

In 1960: He was the vet among the Baby Birds staff that featured four others aged 22 or under. He had 12 wins (a career high) and just five losses in 20 starts (30 appearances overall). His WHIP led the league although nobody would have known that stat had you asked around back then. He easily had the best K/W ratio on the staff fanning three hitters for each walk allowed. 

Off The Charts: From his SABR bio... In early 1943 he learned that he was about to be drafted, so he enlisted in the Army Air Force. He served as a gunner on bombers based in England. During one attack on Nazi submarine bases in France, his plane took heavy fire. “We got hit and didn’t make it back to England,” Brown said. “We had to bail out. They picked us up after a few hours in the (English) Channel."

The Card: Great color combo, old school logo, Yankee Stadium photo, highlights list and cartoon.  What a 1960card should be.