1981 Donruss, Ross Baumgarten

#41 Ross Baumgarten

Here is another White Sox player from the '81 Donruss set. I think half of my fascination with this set has to do with all of the White Sox cards. A majority of the photos were taken in Chicago, so there are plenty of White Sox cards to go around. And the best part about the 1980 White Sox were those stupendous uniforms. From the white socks to the collared jersey, the uniform was one of a kind and I just cannot get enough cards of them.

Ross pitched in the Majors for parts of five seasons, spending four of them with the White Sox and one with the Pirates. His best season came in 1979 when he went 13-8 with 72 strikeouts and a 3.54 ERA, finishing fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year vote. Unfortunately, he followed up that season with a 2-12 record in 1980. His ERA and WHIP was lower that season than the previous season, so he must have had some bad luck and no run support.

Ross finished his career 22-36 with 6 shutouts and 10 complete games. His last ten decisions were all losses.

I sent this card to Ross in November and had it back two and a half weeks later.

Ross has an interesting signature. His long last name is severely shortened while his first name is basically printed.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 93/100

Happy Easter!