The phrase "strange bedfellows" may be an odd one to apply to baseball or baseball cards. The phrase first appeared in Shakespeare's "The Tempest," in reference to a man who was shipwrecked and took shelter beside a sleeping sea monster. "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." But I am not referring to misery here. In fact, just the opposite. The "strange bedfellows" on this particular card were being honored for their exceptional year. It's a happy occasion. If there was any misery, the subjects kept it hid well, as Nolan Ryan and Steve McCatty led their respective leagues in earned run average. However, the combination of the two, 36 years in retrospect, is "strange". Ryan is a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time. McCatty played 10 years in the majors, struggled with injuries, and put together a single above-average season, enhanced by the 1981 strike year, to take the AL earned-run avera...
Up all hours talking baseball, cardboard & collecting