Mike Morgan, 1988 Topps Traded #73T

When you think about baseball players going straight from the amateur draft to the big leagues, you might think of legendary names like Dave Winfield, or inspirational stories like Jim Abbott. But one of the few players to make that jump was Mike Morgan, who was selected by the Athletics out of Valley High School in Las Vegas with the fourth overall pick in the 1978 draft. Coincidentally, the first of his 597 major league appearances came against the Orioles, for whom he would pitch in 1988. It was an uneven appearance on June 11, 1978, as he pitched a complete game but took the loss. He allowed ten hits and five walks, did not strike out a single batter, yet gave up only three runs (two earned) in a 3-0 game. Ken Singleton drove in a pair of runs, and Lee May hit a solo homer. Scott McGregor got the shutout win on six hits, striking out six. It was the tenth straight win for the O's, as they attempted to charge back into the American League East pennant race after a slow start. Morgan didn't gain a lasting foothold in the majors until 1986, but he proved to have staying power, winning 141 games (against 186 losses) with a 4.23 ERA in parts of 22 seasons.