1981 Donruss, Charlie Leibrandt

#421 Charlie Leibrandt

Here is the last '81 Donruss card that I got signed at Fanfest. I got this card signed after I got Greg Pryor's and right before I got Jamie Quirk's. He was walking as he was signing, so I'm not sure if his signature always looks like this or if the walking threw it off.

Charlie won 140 games in his career and helped his team go to the World Series three times, once with the Royals and twice with the Braves. While never making an All-Star team, he won 15 or more games four times including a career high of 17 with the 1985 Royals. That season, he won pitcher of the month twice and he finished fifth in the Cy Young award vote (with two other Royals finishing in front of him).

In three World Series, Charlie made three starts and five total appearances. He was 0-4 in the Series with a 4.84 ERA. Most of those numbers come from his Braves days. In the '85 Series, Charlie was 0-1 in two starts with a 2.76 ERA. The one game he lost in the Series was after he had pitched eight scoreless innings. With the Royals up 2-0, Dick Howser sent him out in the ninth and he gave up four runs before Dan Quisenberry came in to end the half of the inning. His next appearance was in the infamous Dekinger game. In 7.2 innings of work, Charlie limited the Cardinals to one run off of four hits.

The picture on this card throws me off. Most of the photos in this set were taken in Chicago. It is hard to tell where this one was taken. The batting cage blocks most of the background, but it appears that there is a blue outfield wall.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 44/100