Kellogg's Cereal Box Dream #35

I've had a stack of Kellogg's cards that are yet to be sorted.  Al Cowens happens to be on the top of the pile.  It's time to check out this card a bit more.


1978 Kellogg's Al Cowens #05 

1978 Rating                    -- 6  comment -- he had a great season for a good team.  He was AL                                                                             MVP runner-up to Rod Carew.

2017 Rating                    -- 3 comment --  He was one of the few players to get a Kellogg's card                                                                          without making an all-star team. 

That's a nice start to his career.  He's rated as a strong outfielder with an accurate arm.

He played 13 years, but never got another MVP vote.  His career average of .270 is solid but more was probably expected after his 1977 season.  He won a Gold Glove in 1977 only.

I was surprised by some things in the paragraph above.  That's partially because I was a lot more in tune with the NL.  I do remember Cowens being a good fielder so I decided to check out that.  Cowens played in the AL from 1974 to 1986.

From 1974 to 1986 here are some Gold Glove winners (# times won) -

Dwight Evans (8)
Dwayne Murphy (6)
Fred Lynn (4)
Dave Winfield (4)
Joe Rudi (3)
Paul Blair (2)
Gary Pettis (2)

Those guys account for 29 of the 40 Gold Gloves awarded during that time.  That explains why Cowens didn't win more than one award.

I thought that the total would be 39, but one year they must have awarded four Gold Gloves.  Sure enough, in 1985 four Gold Gloves were awarded.