Randy Scarbery: the One and Only

Major-issue baseball card,that is

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1980 Topps Randy Scarbery (#291) - Card of the Day

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For a guy who didn’t make it to the majors until he was almost 27 and finished up less than a month shy of his 28th birthday, Randy Scarbery sure had an impact on a lot of teams.

It all started when the Houston Astros made the high schooler the seventh overall pick in the 1970 draft. Even with that lofty slot, Scarbery passed and went to college, the only player drafted in the top 15 that June who didn’t sign with the team who picked him.

Three years later, the Oakland A’s used their first-round pick (#23 overall) to take Scarbery out of USC. This time, he signed.

Scarbery split his first summer as a pro (1973) between Oakland’s Double-A and Triple-A clubs, and then did the same all the way through 1976. Working mostly as a starter, the right-hander was pretty much a lock for 130-plus innings each year, but also for an ERA north of four…and sometimes five.

He did put together a nice run at Double-A Chattanooga in 1976, going 6-2 with a 2.35 ERA in nine starts, which was enough to get him another shot at Triple-A in 1977. But Oakland also decided to pick up an experiment they had started at Tucson the year before, using Scarbery as a swingman to the tune of 11 starts and 27 relief appearances at San Jose.

The right-hander went 7-9 with a 4.26 ERA before Oakland traded him to the Cardinals in August for Steve Dunning. Scarbery finished 1977 with Triple-A New Orleans, then signed as a minor league free agent with the White Sox in November.

A swing role at Triple-A Iowa in 1978 yielded a 8-11 record, 3.94 ERA, three saves…and, finally, a shot at the big leagues.

Debuting with the White Sox in relief of Lerrin LaGrow against the Blue Jays on April 16, 1979, Scarbery gave up a run in 3.1 innings to earn the win. He parlayed that auspicious beginning into a full year with the big club, going 2-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 45 appearances, including five starts. He also picked up four saves along the way.

Scarbery spent the first part of 1980 with the Sox, too, going 1-2 with a 4.08 ERA and two saves in 15 relief appearances. At the same time, collectors were getting their first cardboard look at Scarbery, courtesy of his 1980 Topps rookie card.

As it turned out, that was also his last card.

Demoted after a one-out appearance against the Twins on May 29, Scarbery got one more chance to climb back up the ladder when Chicago traded him to the Angels for Todd Cruz on June 12.

Stationed at Triple-A Salt Lake City, Scarby posted a solid 3-1 record in 20 appearances, including one start. The bad news? His 7.41 ERA across 34 innings.

That spelled the end of the line for Scarbery, but not before he left his mark with five different organizations across his eight-year career. If not for that last hurrah in a new decade, that 1980 Topps RC would have captured it all:

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But, hey, even if it’s not quite a career-capper, this card still wraps up a lot of diamond history — and a pretty nifty baseball career — in a tiny swatch of cardboard.

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Call Him Stunning Steve Dunning

If the mention of Steve Dunning above set off bells of recognition, or alarm bells, maybe it’s because of his stunning 1973 Topps baseball card. You see it right up there, if it hasn’t already burned out your retinas.

Read more about Dunning and his radioactive hobby career right here.