Happy # 81 Jerry Koosman

Jerry Koosman was born in Appleton, Minnesota, on this day in 1942.   He broke with the Mets in 1967 and was part of that young pitching staff that included Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, 

He won 19 in 1968 and 17 in 1969, or the year that the Mets beat the Orioles in the World Series.   

Koosman was 140-137 with the Mets with a 3.09 ERA & 109 complete games, or an indication that he pitched well with a lot of bad teams.    He was traded to the Twins and won 39 games in 3 seasons.

Overall, Koosman won 222 with a career 3.36 ERA.    Wonder how many games he would have won with better teams?   My guess is that it would have at least 275 games and we'd be talking about Koosman in the Hall of Fame.

Great left hander!

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