#77 - Rich Troedson

Another Padre/ Washington guy! I like these posts because they force me to be creative with the narrative. Especially this one, since this guy only hung out for just over a season. One observation I have - and I am sure that it is a nuance of my cards specifically - is that Rich appears much tanner on his San Diego card than on his Washington one, which is of course appropriate.

Rich Troedson was a stud pitcher at Santa Clara University and before that at Camden HS in San Jose. From Camden he was picked by Oakland in '68 but Rich opted for school. While at Santa Clara he was a four time all-conference player while winning 40 games out of his 58 starts and 445 strikeouts in his 437 innings - all still school records - and a 2.10 ERA. He was a first rounder by Houston in '71 - he passed again - and in '72 was the WCC (West Coast Conference) player of the year. During his SCU time he also played summer ball in Alaska with major leaguers to be Brent Strom, Steve Dunning, Jim Barr, Pete Broberg, and Dave Kingman. San Diego made him a first rounder again in '72 and this time he signed. He pitched well in A ball that year - more than a K an inning - and after a good spring was on the opening day roster for the Padres in '73.

Troedson would both start and relieve for San Diego during the '73 season. While his numbers did not get him on the Topps rookie team, they did land him on the Baseball Digest one. In '74 he sort of blew up to start the season - 1-1 with a save but a 9.00 ERA in 18 innings - and was sent down to Triple A Hawaii in May. There he settled into the rotation but the ERA was still a bit toppy. So in '75 Rich moved to double A and although he had an OK year there - 8-9 with a 3.96 ERA, he didn't advance. A telling stat that season was that his big K totals were done: only 24 in 134 innings that year. In '76 he threw for Monterrey in the Mexican League in what was his final season as a player. For his career Rich went 8-10 with a 4.74 ERA, two complete games, and two saves. In the minors he was 21-21 with a 3.86 ERA. This is his first and last card.

Shortly after playing Troedson took over managing a sporting goods store for about ten years. Beginning in '88 or so he began a long career in real estate banking and judging by some information available online he is still at it near his hometown.

The records mentioned in the first star bullet include the four named above. He had some nice company on that '70 team including Mike Caldwell, Burt Hooton, Johnny Grubb, and John Wathan. The US came in second to Cuba in the tournament. Dave Roberts - the third baseman one - was also on a bunch of Troedson's teams including the '70 one and the Alaska ones. And the Padres of course. I do not know if his graduate pursuits were in finance but given his subsequent career it would make sense.

A one-year NL guy! This may be tough:

1. Troedson and Johnny Grubb '73 to '74 Padres;
2. Grubb and Mickey Rivers '79 to '82 Rangers.

I guess not.