Jeff Torborg was a backup catcher with the LA Dodgers and the California Angels from 1965-1973.
Jeff was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. My father was born there a year earlier. I wonder if they knew each other.
Torborg was tasked with replacing Frank Robinson as manager of the Indians in 1977. He managed the team for part of 1977, all of 1978, and part of 1979 before being let go in July 1979.
After his dismissal from the Indians Jeff coached with the New York Yankees from 1979-1988.
Jeff managed the Chicago White Sox from 1989-1991. He was named AL Manager of the Year in 1990.
Torborg moved to the New York Mets for the 1992 season. He had a rough time as the Mets' manager and lasted one full season and a partial season in 1993.
Jeff was a sportscaster for the remainder of the 1990s and was hired to manage the Montral Expos in 2001.
Jeff moved from the Expos to the Florida Marlins in 2003 after Jeff Loria sold the Expos and bought the Marlins. Torborg was replaced by Jack McKeon early in 2003 and the Marlins went on to win the World Series under McKeon.
Torborg was a sportscaster for a few years and is now living in New Jersey.
Even though Steve Garvey was a Dodger, his cards were always among the most desired by the kids on my block.
Steve had a good year in 1978, leading the NL with 202 hits. He was an NL All Star for the fifth of eight straight seasons. He was on the NL All Star team a total of ten times during his career.
Steve started the season with a 21-game hitting streak and had a 20-game hitting streak at the end of the season (it was broken on the last day of the season when he had only one at bat to preserve his consecutive games streak).
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: .304, 26 HR, 106 RBI in (his usual) 162 games
Rick Camp was a middle reliever for the Braves in 1978. He started four games in June and July and those starts may have landed him on the disabled list. Rick's first start came on June 27. He had pitched 1.2 innings on June 25. Then he made a relief appearance on June 30. Camp started a game two days later on July 3. He made two more starts before going on the DL. Rick pitched pretty well as a starter -- he won two of his four starts and pitched six scoreless innings in another start but didn't get the decision.
Rick pitched in AAA Richmond in 1979 and then had his two best seasons in 1980 and 1981. In 1980 Camp was just happy to be on the team after enduring a nerve problem in his arm.
1978 Stats: 2-4, 3.75 ERA in 42 games (4 starts)
1978 Highlights:
July 3 - Went six innings and earned his first win of the season over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves beat the Dodgers 4-2.
July 15 - Pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his last start and got the victory in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Although Del Unser played for several teams, I always think of him as a Phillie. Perhaps it's because the first card I saw of him was the 1974 card and he was pictured with the Phillies. Or perhaps it was because he was a member of the famous 1980 Philadelphia team.
Del had his toughest year (except his final season) of his career. He was in the starting lineup in eight of the Expos' first nine games, but after that his starts were infrequent (about 1-2 a month).
1978 Stats: .196, 2 HR, 15 RBI in 130 games (179 AB)
1978 Highlights:
April 9 - Had two hits, scored a run, and knocked in a run in a 5-0 win over the New York Mets
July 1 - Homered in the bottom of the 9th inning to lead the Expos to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals
Terry Forster left the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1977 season and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent. Terry's signing was done early enough for Topps to airbrush him into a Dodger uniform for his 1978 card.
Forster led a talented Dodger staff in saves and in ERA in 1978. Terry even went 4 for 8 for a .500 batting average.
He had a rough time with injuries in 1979 and in 1980.
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: 5-4, 22 saves, 1.93 ERA in 47 games
NL Championship Series: 1-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 game
World Series: 0-0, 0.00 ERA in 3 games (4 innings)
1978 Highlights:
Sept 11 - Got a 3-inning save as the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 7-2. It was Terry's 19th save of the season. Forster was a "Giant Killer" in 1978 -- he was 2-1 with 4 saves in eight games against the Giants.
Oct 7 - Pitched a scoreless top of the 10th inning in game 4 of the NL Championship Series and then got the victory when Bill Russell singled in Ron Cey with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th
Larry Biittner was a backup left fielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs.
1978 Stats: .257, 4 HR, 50 RBI in 120 games
1978 Highlights:
April 28 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the top of the 10th inning and singled in the eventual winning run to help the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3
June 16 - Had four hits and scored twice in Chicago's 7-6 win over the Houston Astros.
Sept 24 - Had two hits and knocked in the winning run in the top of the 9th inning as the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4.
John Wathan played well as a backup first baseman and catchter in 1978. Wathan didn't have a lot of power, but he batted .300 for the season.
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: .300, 2 HR, 28 RBI in 67 games
AL Championship Series: .000 (0 for 3) in 1 game
1978 Highlights:
April 28: Appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning. He singled in a run and then scored the tying run in Kansas City's comeback 7-6 win over the Seattle Mariners.
July 9: Had 3 hits, including a double and a home run, as the Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-4.
Mike Flanagan was an all-star for the only time in his career in 1978. It's a bit odd that he made the AL All Star team in 1978 but didn't make it in 1979 (his Cy Young year).
1978 Stats: 19-15, 4.05 ERA in 40 starts
1978 Highlights:
May 23 - Allowed two hits and shut out the Detroit Tigers 2-0.
June 13 - Went the distance and then some in an 11-inning 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. It was his fourth complete game victory in a row.
Mario Guerrero signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent in December 1977. But Mario never played for the Giants during the regular season. On April 7 he was sent to the Oakland A's as a player to be named later in the Vida Blue trade.
Guerrero had career highs in most categories in 1978. He was the starting shortstop for the A's for most of the season.
Mario was replaced as the starting shortstop by Rob Picciolo in 1979 and he split time with Picciolo in 1980.
1978 Stats: .275, 3 HR, 38 RBI in 143 games
1978 Highlights:
April 19 - Had four hits in Oakland's 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.
April 29 - Knocked in four of Oakland's five runs as the A's beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1.
Before the 1978 season Dave Heaverlo was traded to the Oakland A's in the big Vida Blue deal. The A's got six players and $300,000 for Blue.
Dave had career highs in appearances and innings pitched in 1978. He was second to Elias Sosa in saves on the team -- Sosa had 14 and Heaverlo had ten.
1978 Stats:
Oakland A's - 3-6, 3.25 ERA, 10 saves in 69 games
1978 Highlights:
April 8 - Earned his first save of the season in the second game of the season and Oakland's first victory of the season by pitching a scoreless 9th inning as the A's beat the California Angels 4-2.
Sept 2 - Earned his last save of the season by pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings to preverve a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. At the time the Red Sox appeared to be comfortably ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East (5 1/2 game lead), but that was to change soon.
In 2016 Dave made a $250,000 contribution to Central Washington University's athletic program. The school was his alma mater.
Before the 1978 season Tom Grieve was traded to the New York Mets as part of that huge 4-team, 10 player deal involving Bert Blyleven, Jon Matlack, Al Oliver, among others.
Tom was used primarily as a pinch hitter by the Mets in 1978. He had 110 plate appearances in 54 games and played in the field in only 26 games.
Grieve was headed toward the end of his playing career in 1978. After the season he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played in only nine games in 1979. That was it for his playing career.
1978 Stats:
New York Mets: .208, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 54 games (107 AB)
1978 Highlights:
April 14 - Hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. The Mets beat the Montreal Expos 3-2 in 10 innings.
April 22 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the top of the 7th inning and singled in Tim Foli with the tying run. The Mets eventually beat the Chicaco Cubs 3-2.
It was a tough year for Steve Busby as he tried to come back from rotator cuff surgery. Steve started the year with the Royals but was sent to AAA Omaha in late April after making four starts. Busby injured his back in July and missed more time. Steve was brought back to Kansas City in late August and made three September appearances.
1978 Stats:
Kansas City Royals: 1-0, 7.59 ERA in 7 games (5 starts)
Omaha Royals (AAA): 3-7, 5.45 ERA in 12 starts
1978 Highlights:
April 9: Started the third game of the season and got the win by pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4.
Bucky Dent is a name that will live on in infamy for Boston Red Sox fans as he hit the home run that propelled the Yankees to the AL East title in the 1-game playoff at the end of the 1978 season.
Dent was a solid shortstop for several years. He was a three-time AL All Star and was second to Mike Hargrove in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1974. Dent usually had a fielding percentage above league average but his range factors were slightly below league average.
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: .243, 5 HR, 40 RBI in 123 games
AL Championship Series: 3 for 15 (.200), 4 RBI in 4 games
World Series: 10 for 24 (.417), 3 runs scored, 7 RBI in 6 games
1978 Highlights:
Oct 2 - Hit a 3-run home run over the Green Monster off of Mike Torrez to put the Yankees ahead 3-2. The Yankees eventually won the game 5-4.
Oct 15 - Had three hits, two runs scored, and knocked in a run as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-2 in game 5 of the World Series.
Oct 17 - Had three hits and three RBI as the Yankees beat the Dodgers 7-2 in game 6 of the World Series. Dent was named the World Series MVP.
Bucky Dent's home run in game 163 of the 1978 season. He hit that one even choking up on the bat.
Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez reminisce about the home run:
This was John Stearns' second season as the starting catcher for the New York Mets. John had career highs in home runs, RBI, and runs scored in 1978.
John broke the NL record (held by Johnny Kling in 1902) for stolen bases by a catcher by stealing 25 bases.
John started 134 games behind the plate in 1978. Stearns spent most of April and the first part of May below the Mendoza line but he heated up in mid-May and ended up batting .264.
1978 Stats: .264, 15 HR, 73 RBI in 143 games
1978 Highlights:
May 27 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning and hit a 2-run game-tying double. He stayed in the game and had a sacrifice fly in the 9th inning to add an insurance runs in the Mets' 9-7 victory over the Houston Astros.
June 30 - The box score is nothing special, but this was the game where John broke Dave Parker's jaw in a home plate collision.
Aug 9 - Had three hits and scored three runs as the Mets beat the Montreal Expos 10-3.
Jim Todd was acquired by the Seattle Mariners in October 1977. Todd was mostly a long reliever for the Mariners in 1978.
The Mariners released Todd in February 1979 during a salary dispute. Here is an article detailing the issue. The difference between Jim and the Mariners was $20,000. I don't know how the case eventually came out.
Duane Kuiper was the starting second baseman for the Cleveland Indians in 1978. Duane didn't have power (he had only one career HR), but he usually had a pretty good batting average, put the ball in play most of the time, and was above average as a fielder.
A knee injury in June 1980 caused him to miss the rest of the season. Kuiper became a part-time player after the injury.
Duane was traded to the San Francisco Giants after the 1981 season. He played there from 1982-1985. He had his own radio show on KNBR while he was still a player. Kuiper has been an announcer for the Giants since 1986 except for a one year stint with the Colorado Rockies in 1993.
1978 Stats: .283, 0 HR, 43 RBI in 149 games
1978 Highlights:
April 23 - Had four hits, two RBI, and scored twice in Cleveland's 10-7 win over the Boston Red Sox. His single in the top of the 11th inning scored Larvell Blanks, broke a 7-7 tie, and proved to be the game winner. His batting average jumped from .182 to .240.
July 9 - Went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a RBI as the Indians beat the Red Sox 7-1.
Sept 22 - Had two hits and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Indians beat the New York Yankees 7-6.
Bob Watson repeated his .289 batting average from 1977, but he didn't hit for quite as much power. Watson spent two weeks on the DL in late August.
1978 Stats: .289, 14 HR, 79 RBI in 139 games
1978 Highlights:
April 21 - In the bottom of the 9th with Dodgers on 1st and 2nd base, Bob caught a liner off the bat of Ron Cey, stepped on first to double off Reggie Smith, then threw the ball to Roger Metzger to get Bill Russell. The triple play ended the game and the Astros won 8-6.
June 2 - Had four hits and scored two runs in Houston's 6-3 11-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds
June 24 - Hit for the cycle and knocked in five runs as the Astros beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 in 11 innings.
John Verhoeven was in the minor leagues for the entire season in 1978 and in 1979.
After his playing career ended in 1983 John started a pitching school in California. He went on to be a college coach, coaching for Biola University (La Mirada, CA). In 2013 John served as the pitching coach for Azusa Pacific University
1978 Stats:
Iowa Oaks (AAA): 6-7, 4.83 ERA, 9 saves in 44 games
This card says that the manager for 1978 hadn't been named when the set went to press. Looks like the Brewers made the right choice in hiring George Bamberger.
A mark is next to Paul Molitor's name on this checklist. I probably did that to indicate his card was on one of those four-player rookie cards and not with the rest of the team's cards.
The Milwaukee Brewers made a huge leap in 1978, going from 67 wins to 93 wins. The Brewers featured a potent hitting attack. Average pitching and fielding caused them to finish below the leaders in the AL East, but they would be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years.
It's amazing that Don Money and Ben Oglivie were able to get into so many games. Manager George Bamberger did a great job of rotating players around and getting those bats into the lineup.
Team Record: 93-69, 3rd in AL East, 6.5 games behind New York
Attendance: 1,601, 406 (6th in AL)
Team Batting: .276 (1st in AL)
Team Home Runs: 173 (1st in AL)
Team Runs Scored: 804 (1st in AL)
Team Stolen Bases: 95 (7th in AL)
Team ERA: 3.65 (8th in AL)
Team Fielding: .977 (9th in AL)
All Stars: Don Money (starting 2B); Larry Hisle (OF); Lary Sorensen (P)
AL Leaders: Mike Caldwell (complete games - 23)
AL Awards: ---
Batting Leader: Cecil Cooper (.312)
Home Run Leader: Larry Hisle (34)
RBI Leader: Larry Hisle (115)
Stolen Base Leader: Paul Molitor (30)
Victories Leader: Mike Caldwell (22)
Losses Leader: Lary Sorensen, Jerry Augustine (12)
ERA Leader (starters): Mike Caldwell (2.36) ERA Leader (relievers): Bill Castro (1.81)
Strikeout Leader: Mike Caldwell (131)
Saves Leader: Bob McClure (9)
Players who could have had 1978 Topps Milwaukee Brewers cards (minimum 100 AB or 40 IP):
Rick Langford improved in 1978 after leading the AL with 19 losses in 1977. Rick was still below .500, but the team didn't give him a lot of support.
Langford went to the bullpen from mid-May until mid-June
Langford continued to show steady improvement until his peak in 1980 and 1981. Then injuries diminished his effectiveness until he retired in 1986.
Rick had the same mustache on all of his cards from 1977-1986 (except for a couple of mustache and beard cards in 1981).
1978 Stats: 7-13, 3.43 ERA in 37 games (24 starts)
1978 Highlights:
August 1 - Pitched a three-hit shutout as the A's beat the California Angels 1-0. Langford struck out 11 batters and walked only one. With the win both teams had identical 56-51 records and were four games behind first place Kansas City.
August 11 - Pitched his second three-hit shutout of the year as the A's beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0. At this time the A's were still hanging around the fringes of the AL West chase in third place (5 games behind Kansas City). The team went 8-37 (ouchie!!!) over the last several weeks and finished in 6th place. Here is an article about the strange season of the 1978 Oakland A's.
Mike Lum had the best of his three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds in 1978. He didn't play much during those years in Cincinnati. Mike was a backup outfielder and pinch hitter for the Reds.
It seemed like every other pack of 1974's had a Mike Lum card in it.
May 9 - Doubled in the tying run in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Reds eventually beat the New York Mets 7-6. It was Lum's first hit of the year after going 0 for 11 in ten games to start the season.
May 31 - Went 3 for 4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI in Cincinnati's 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.
July 7 - Hit a 2-run home run in the 5th inning to lead the Reds to a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
As a player, Vern Rapp was a catcher who never got the call to the majors. He played from 1946-1950 and then spent the next two seasons in military service. Vern resumed his playing career and played from 1953-1960 before becoming a manager.
Vern Rapp was a successful minor league manager in the 1960s and 1970s. He managed AAA Indianapolis (Reds system) from 1969-1975 and had only one year under .500, but Rapp wasn't likely to move up to the majors with Sparky Anderson doing so well.
Vern moved on to manage AAA Denver (Expos system) in 1976 and had a great record there. Rapp even put himself into a game at the age of 48 and was 1 for 1 with one RBI.
