1980 Topps Ed Farmer Peeked the Peak

Plus the mandatory Al Cowens follow-up

1980 Topps Ed Farmer (#702) - Card of the Day

The 1980 Topps Ed Farmer baseball card is a good one to have on hand when you run smack dab into a day that has you spinning your wheels. Feeling like you’re going nowhere fast, like your life is stuck in the mud.

See…

Farmer spent the first half (or so) of his career climbing through the Indians’ minor league ranks (five seasons), then pitching to mediocre results for the Tribe, Tigers, and Phillies (four seasons).

Then it was on to a minor league assignment in the Brewers’ organization in 1975 and to rehab from shoulder surgery in 1976 — no baseball for Farmer in that Bicentennial summer.

But something was different about Farmer on the comeback trail in 1977. Milwaukee had experimented with making him a starter in 1975, resulting in a 2-8 record with a 7.82 ERA. Even so, Baltimore decided to stick him in their Triple-A rotation upon his return.

In 24 starts, 11-5 with a 4.47 ERA. Much more promising, and it got him a September appearance with Baltimore, where he posted an infinite ERA (one earned run allowed, zero outs recorded).

The next spring, the Brewers brought him back as a free agent, sent him to the minors and stuck him back in (mostly) long relief. His 9-7 record and eight saves looked pretty good until you also gandered at his 6.00 ERA.

He did notch an 0.82 ERA in three games with the Brew Crew in September, which enticed the Rangers to give up Reggie Cleveland for Farmer, Gary Holle, and moolah that December.

After a 2-0, 4.36 ERA start with Texas, Farmer and Holle were shipped to the White Sox in exchange for Eric Soderholm.

And it was on the south side that things finally clicked into place for Farmer at age 29. Stepping in as the primary closer, Farmer went 3-7, but with a 2.43 ERA and a team-leading 14 saves.

In 1980, with Tony LaRussa at the helm for his first full year, Farmer was at it again. That summer, he went 7-9 with a 3.34 ERA and 30 saves, enough to garner his first and only All-Star selection at the tender age of 30.

You might understand, then, why Farmer’s smile looks a bit tentative on his blue-sky 1980 Topps card. He was at the pinnacle, but he knew there were steep slopes all around him.

Indeed, it was sort of downhill from there for Farmer, though he did rack up 10 saves for the Sox in the strike-shortened 1981 season. He finished his pro career with a two-year run for the Phillies and A’s, followed by two summers in the minors.

Farmer parlayed his big league career into a stint as a scout and then a long, long run as a White Sox broadcaster.

Farmer, who died in 2020 about a month after his final Cactus League broadcast, was born 75 years ago today.

A Bonded (and Bloodied) Pair

If you write or speak Ed Farmer’s name, you are required by the physical constraints of the baseball universe to also talk about Al Cowens.

If you don’t know why, the answer is pretty easy to find.

I even talked a bit about it in this piece, which is mostly about Al Cowens. He was one of those players whose baseball cards told me he once went off for a big season. Big enough that I had to hold onto his cards and hope that lightning would strike twice.

And, of course, I was required to talk about Ed Farmer.

Read the whole Al Cowens post right here.

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Woot. We made it to Friday, and they’re still playing baseball. And we’re still in Halloween season.

Life is good, huh?

Thanks for reading.

—Adam

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