1979 Topps

Zdeb played for three seasons for the Kansas City Royals from 1977-1979. He had a strong rookie season, hitting .297 with a couple home runs in 105 games. However, he began to struggle at the plate in 1978, seeing his average drop to .252, which resulted in him playing in only 60 games. He saw action in just 15 games the following season, hitting .174. The Royals dealt him to the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1980 season but Zdeb never could crack the ChiSox big league roster. He spent 1980 in the minors, hitting .194 before calling it quits.

Zdeb, like a lot of American League hitters in the 1970’s, had trouble with New York Yankee Ron Guidry, who we featured a couple weeks ago. Zdeb appeared in four games during the 1977 ALCS against Guidry and the Yankees. He was hitless in nine at bats.

Joe Zdeb – career stats