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.
Poor Greg Minton. This is a very odd looking card. The only two things that save this card from total failure is the fact that he played for the Giants and the single on the Play Ball game.
The Giants were still trying to figure out if Minton was more suited for the bullpen or for starting pitching. Greg was used mostly as a starter in AAA Phoenix in 1977 and in 1978. The Giants finally decided to make Minton a full-time reliever and he made only one start from 1979 until the end of his career in 1990.
San Francisco had a deep pitching staff in 1978, so Minton spent most of the year in Phoenix. He made 11 relief appearances all together for the Giants.
1978 Stats:
San Francisco Giants: 0-1, 8.04 ERA in 11 games
Phoenix Giants (AAA): 7-4, 4.50 ERA in 14 games (13 starts)
1978 Highlights:
April 26 - Pitched two scoreless in the Giants' 6-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves
Randy Moffitt shared closing duties with Gary Lavelle in 1978. They were an effective tandem -- they had 26 of the Giants' 29 saves during the season.
Moffitt led the team with 70 appearances.
1978 Stats: 8-4, 12 saves, 3.31 ERA in 70 games
1978 Highlights:
April 14 - Pitched two scoreless innings and earned the win as the Giants came from behind to beat the San Diego Padres 3-2.
Aug 4 - Retired Ron Cey of the LA Dodgers on a fly ball with a runner on 2nd and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to save a 2-1 victory for Vida Blue.
Joe Altobelli was originally signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1951.Joe spent most of the decade in the minor leagues as a first baseman with some pop. Altobelli played parts of two seasons with the Indians (1955 and 1957), but he didn't hit much. Joe led the International League in home runs and RBI in 1960. Joe played for the Minnesota Twins for part of the 1961 season, then it was back to the minors for the rest of his playing career.
Altobelli managed in the Baltimore Orioles system from 1966-1976 (except 1968). He was a successful AAA manager -- the Rochester Red Wings finished in first place four times in six years.
The Red Wings had a .638 winning percentage in 1976. Joe got his chance to manage in the majors with the San Francisco Giants. The Giants weren't much of a team in 1977, but they were surprise contenders in 1978. The Giants won 89 games and finished third behind the Dodgers and Reds in the NL West. After the Giants struggled early in the 1979 season, Joe was let go.
Altobelli managed the AAA Columbus Clippers in 1980 and then was a coach with the New York Yankees in 1981 and 1982.
Joe was hired to succeed Earl Weaver as manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 1983. The Orioles won the World Championship that year, but they finished fifth in 1984. After Baltimore got off to a slow start in 1985, Altobelli was replaced by Weaver in mid-June.
Altobelli coached with theYankees in 1986 and 1987, then coached with the Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 1991. Joe was the interim manager of the Cubs after Don Zimmer was fired in 1991. Joe managed part of one game (he was ejected from the game for arguing with the umpired) before giving way to Jim Essian.
Joe worked as the General Manager of the Rochester Red Wings from 1991-1994 and then was a special assistant to the club president until 1997. Altobelli then worked as a color commentator for Rochester home games until 2009.
Managerial Record:
San Francisco Giants (1977-1979): 225-239 (.485)
Baltimore Orioles (1983-1985): 212-167 (.559) - World Championship in 1983
Terry Whitfield was the starting left fielder for the Giants in 1978. Terry had career highs in most offensive categories. Terry hit for average pretty well, but he didn't walk much. Whitfield mostly batted second and sixth during the season.
1978 Stats: .289, 10 HR, 32 RBI in 149 games
1978 Highlights:
May 14 - Had three hits and scored two runs in the Giants' 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Scored the winning run in the 10th inning.
Aug 27 - Went 4 for 5 with two RBI to help the Giants beat the Montreal Expos 11-3.
Sept 3 - Hit a pinch single and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning as teh Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2.
Darrell Evans settled in as the Giants' starting third baseman and helped the team to a surprising third place finish in 1978. Evans almost always batted between second and fifth in the batting order. He wasn't a speedster, but Darrell got on base a lot (105 walks in 1978).
1978 Stats: .243, 20 HR, 78 RBI in 159 games
1978 Highlights:
May 19 - Was 3 for 3 with two home runs in the Giants' 10-7 victory over the LA Dodgers
June 11 - Had three hits and scored three runs to help the Giants beat the New York Mets 7-5
July 15 - Singled in the tying run in the top of the 9th inning of San Francisco's 6-5 11-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Evans also homered twice and knocked in a total of four runs
Tim Foli was sold to the New York Mets before the 1978 season. I guess they had to make room for Johnnie LeMaster.
Foli got off to a really slow start. He was batting .141 on April 24 when he went out for a month with torn ligaments in his left knee. Tim came back on May 23, but on May 31 he was still batting below the Mendoza line. Foli batted better in the last four months of the season and ended up with a .257 average.
1978 Stats:
New York Mets: .257, 1 HR, 27 RBI in 113 games
1978 Highlights:
June 5 - Doubled in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 9th inning of the Mets' 9-8 victory over the LA Dodgers.
June 23 - Had the game winning hit in the bottom of the 11th inning. Foli singled in John Stearns with the bases loaded and two out to help the Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2.
Sept 26 - Went 3 for 3 with a run batted in and a run scored as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1
John Montefusco bounced back from having a losing record in 1977 to having a winning record in 1978. It was his last winning record until 1983.
Candlestick Park had artificial turf for most of the 1970s. It was installed in 1971 to keep the dust down and was removed after the 1978 football season.
1978 Stats: 11-9, 3.81 ERA in 36 starts
1978 Highlights:
June 15 - Allowed one unearned run in a complete game 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Aug 2 - Went the distance and earned the victory in San Francisco's 4-2 win over the Houston Astros.
Ed Halicki was only 9-10, but he had a 2.85 ERA for the surprising San Francisco Giants. It was Ed's last good year.
Halicki didn't make his first 1978 start until May 14.
1978 Stats: 9-10, 1 save, 2.85 ERA in 29 games (28 starts)
1978 Highlights:
May 25 - Earned his first win of the year with a complete game six-hitter. The Giants beat the Houston Astros 9-1.
June 12 - Pitched a 1-hit shutout as the Giants beat the Montreal Expos 1-0. Ellis Valentine's single to left field in the second inning was the Expos' only hit.
June 21 - Shut out the Cincinnati Reds on three hits.
Looks like Lynn McGlothen was the last card I needed to complete the team set for the Giants in 1978.
The San Francisco Giants had a surprising run at the NL West title. They led the division for a good part of the season before fading in mid-August. The Giants mostly did it with pitching. Their pitching stats were near the top of the league, but their team hitting and fielding were nothing to write home about.
Vida Blue was a key acquisition for the Giants. Blue was traded from Oakland to the Giants during spring training. Jack Clark became the hitting star of the Giants, and Bill Madlock also made a big contribution to the Giants offense. Blue (18-10) and Bob Knepper (17-11) were the two top pitchers.
Record: 89-73, 3rd in NL West, 6 games behind Los Angeles
Attendance: 1,740,477 (4th in NL)
Team Batting: .248 (10th in NL)
Team HR: 117 (6th in NL)
Team Stolen Bases: 87 (11th in NL)
Team ERA: 3.30 (3rd in NL)
Team Fielding: .977 (9th in NL)
Award Winners: Vida Blue (TSN NL Pitcher of the Year)
All Stars: Vida Blue (starting pitcher), Jack Clark (OF)
NL Leaders: Bob Knepper (shutouts, 6)
Batting Leader: Bill Madlock (.309)
HR Leader: Jack Clark (25)
RBI Leader: Jack Clark (98)
Stolen Base Leader: Bill Madlock (16)
Victories Leader: Vida Blue (18)
Losses Leader: Bob Knepper / Jim Barr (11)
Saves Leader: Gary Lavelle (12)
ERA Leader (Starters): Bob Knepper (2.63)
ERA Leader (Relievers): Randy Moffitt (3.31)
Players who could have had a 1978 Giants card (over 100 AB or over 40 IP):
Hector Cruz (pictured with St. Louis) - OF - .223, 6 HR, 24 RBI in 79 games
Jim Dwyer (pictured with St. Louis) - UT -.225, 5 HR, 22 HR in 73 games
Vida Blue (pictured with Oakland) - 18-10, 2.79 ERA in 35 starts
Jim Barr was relegated to a 5th starter / reliever role with the Giants in 1978 after several good seasons as a starting pitcher. The Giants had a surplus of starting pitchers and Barr was on the trading block in June. Teams were hesitant to make offers for Jim since he was due to become a free agent after the 1978 season. Barr left the Giants after the season and signed with the California Angels.
Barr had an odd day on May 14. He started the first game of a doubleheader and faced three batters before giving way to Lynn McGlothen. Jim then pitched the 8th and 9th innings of the second game. After that, Jim didn't make any appearances until June 18.
It's interesting to see the "one of the hardest throwers in the game" line on the back of this card. Usually a hard thrower is associated with a high strikeout number. Barr's highest strikeout total was 97 in 1977.
1978 Stats: 8-11, 1 save, 3.53 ERA in 32 games (25 starts)
1978 Highlights:
May 3 - Pitched a five-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals. There were two thirty-minute rain delays, but Jim stayed in the game and beat the Cards 4-0.
Aug 26 - Allowed one run and six hits in a complete game 4-1 win over the Montreal Expos.
Willie McCovey's 1977 comeback season pretty much guaranteed that he would eventually get to 500 home runs and Hall of Fame status. Willie was the regular 1B for the Giants in 1978, but his playing time diminished as the season went on. McCovey played only twice after August 30.
1978 Stats: .228, 12 HR, 64 RBI in 108 games
1978 Highlights:
April 27 - Knocked in four runs with a 3-run double and a solo home run to help the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3.
July 5 - Hit a pinch home run in the 9th inning off of Rollie Fingers to tie the game for the Giants. The Giants beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 in 10 innings.
An exceptionally fine bunter? A highlight about a sacrifice from two seasons ago? Topps was really having to scrape to find something to say about Mr. Sadek.
If Topps had a stathead writing the card backs, perhaps the fact that Mike led NL catchers with a 44% caught stealing percentage in 1977 could have been highlighted instead. Mike only caught in 32 games in '77, but he's listed as the league leader in that category.
Mike was the backup catcher for the Giants for the first half of the 1978 season. Mike was injured and missed much of the second half of the season.
1978 Stats:
.239, 2 HR, 9 RBI in 40 games (109 at bats)
1978 Highlights:
May 19 - Went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and three runs batted in as the Giants beat the LA Dodgers 10-7. Mike singled in Larry Herndon in the 7th inning to break a 7-7 tie.
July 19 - Suffered a broken jaw and lost a tooth after a home plate collision with the Chicago Cubs' Ivan DeJesus. Mike wouldn't return to action until September 15. He started four games behind the plate from Sept. 15 - Sept. 19 and went 0 for 11.
Here's an obscure record. It's pretty cool that Mr. McCovey was able to do this, but I think Topps was stretching things a bit for this card.
Jeff King of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit two home runs in one inning in 1995 and 1996. To the best of my knowledge he was the only other player to accomplish this feat.
