1978 Topps Baseball #333 - Jim Todd

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•  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.
• Here is a "where are they now" article written in 2013.
• The article linked above had a cool picture of Jim's 1978 card altered with his current picture. He still has the mustache.

• 1978 Stats: 3-4, 3 saves, 3.88 ERA in 49 games (2 starts)
• 1978 Highlights:
• May 23 - Earned his first save of the season by pitching two scoreless innings as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3.
• Aug 17 - Pitched four shutout innings (11th-14th) to earn the win in Seattle's 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals

1978 Topps Baseball #311 - Jose Baez

• Jose Baez probably owed his short 2-year major league career to expansion. His entire major league experience was with the expansion Seattle Mariners.
• Jose was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1971. Baez played in the Dodgers' system from 1972-1976. He had good batting averages, but Jose wasn't going to crack the deep Dodger club.
• After the 1976 season Baez was sold to the Mariners.
• Jose was 23 years old in 1977 and made the Seattle ballclub. He got about half of the starts at second base, splitting time with 22-year-old Julio Cruz. Baez batted .259 in 91 games. Jose got the first hit in Mariners' history on April 6, 1977.
• In 1978 Baez started the season splitting time with Cruz again at second base. Baez didn't hit well and by the end of April Cruz took over full-time at second base. Jose played a few games at third base in May, but in mid June he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Potter. Baez was sent to AAA for the rest of the season.
• Jose was released in February 1979. Baez played in the Inter-America League in 1979 and in the Mexican League in 1980.
• 1978 Stats:
• Seattle Mariners - .160 (8 for 50) in 23 games
• Springfield Redbirds (AAA) - .276 in 33 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• April 16 - Had two hits and scored two runs to help the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2.
• June 6 - Appeared as a pinch runner and scored the winning run on a Willie Randolph error as the Mariners beat the New York Yankees 4-3. It was Jose's last major league appearance.

1978 Topps Baseball #254 - Dave Collins

• Dave Collins had the roughest year of his career in 1978. Before the season he was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds for Shane Rawley. Dave was stuck in a crowded Cincinnati outfield and didn't get many at bats. Collins played in 102 games but he had only 120 plate appearances.
• 1978 Stats: .216, 0 HR, 7 RBI in 102 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• May 19 - Went 2 for 3 with an RBI in Cincinnati's 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres
• June 26 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the top of the 9th and hit a sacrifice fly that knocked in the eventual winning run as the Reds beat the Houston Astros 4-3.

1978 Topps Baseball #233 - Dick Pole

• Dick Pole's final major league season was in 1978. Pole had a rough time in '78, posting his highest career ERA. He was sent down to AAA in July and never made it back to the majors. 
• Pole was released by the Mariners during spring training in 1979. He pitched for several teams in AAA from 1979-1981.
• 1978 Stats: 
• Seattle Mariners: 4-11, 6.48 ERA in 21 games (18 starts)
• San Jose Missions (AAA): 0-4, 4.22 ERA in 6 games (5 starts)
• 1978 Highlights:
• April 16 - Pitched 8.1 innings and allowed four runs. Pole earned the win in Seattle's 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.
• May 23 - Earned his final career win by allowing two earned runs in seven innings. The Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3.

1978 Topps Baseball #199 - Craig Reynolds

• Craig Reynolds had his best season in 1978. He batted .292 and was the Mariners' representative to the All Star Game.
• After the 1978 season Reynolds was traded to the Houston Astros for pitcher Floyd Bannister.
• 1978 Stats: .292, 5 HR, 44 RBI in 148 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• April 5 - Went 3 for 4 with a 2-run home run to help the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Opening Day.
• June 22 - Had three hits and scored three runs in Seattle's 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
• Aug 6 - Went 4 for 4 with a run and a RBI as the Mariners lost to the Oakland A's 4-3.

1978 Topps Baseball #166 - Carlos Lopez

• Carlos Lopez played for the Baltimore Orioles in 1978. After the 1977 season Lopez was traded (with Tommy Moore) for pitcher Mike Parrott.
• Lopez played in 129 games in 1978, but he started only 48 games. Carlos was often used as a pinch hitter and as a pinch runner.
• This was Lopez' last season in the major leagues. He spent the 1979 season in AAA Rochester and then played in the Mexican League from 1980-1985.
• 1978 Stats: .238, 4 HR, 20 RBI in 129 games (198 at bats)
• 1978 Highlights:
• Apr 10 - Had three hits in Baltimore's 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals
• June 10 - Appeared as a pinch runner in the 9th inning and scored the only run of the game as the Orioles beat the Oakland A's 1-0.
• Aug 10 - Scored the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Orioles beat the Royals 3-2.

1978 Topps Baseball #141 - Ruppert Jones

• This is the second card within a short span that mentioned "the ____ representative at the 1977 All Star Game." It's as if Topps felt like these players (Wayne Gross and Ruppert Jones) would not have been on the team if it weren't for the "every team has a representative" rule. 
• Ruppert Jones had a big drop-off in 1978. He batted only .235 with 6 home runs after batting .263 with 24 home runs in 1977.
• Jones had surgery to remove torn cartilage from his knee after the 1977 season. He was out for five weeks due to an emergency appendectomy in June and July.
• 1978 Stats: .235, 6 HR, 46 RBI in 129 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• May 23 - Doubled in the go-ahead run in the 6th inning as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3.
• June 5 - Homered and doubled in Seattle's 7-3 win over the New York Yankees.

1978 Topps Baseball #117 - John Montague

• John Montague had a rough 1978 season. He missed a month from late May to late June and then didn't pitch after July 26.  John had a hip pointer that bothered him all season.
• 1978 Stats: 1-3, 2 saves, 6.18 ERA in 19 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• June 22 - Earned his only win of the year by shutting out the Chicago White Sox over the last 3 2/3 innings. The Mariners beat the White Sox 8-6 in ten  innings.
• July 19 - Pitched three shutout innings and earned the save in Seattle's 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays

1978 Topps Baseball #79 - Darrell Johnson

• All they could come up with when talking about Darrell Johnson's career highlights was a tie for a league lead in a fielding category in the minors? Ouch.
• After his playing career Johnson became a coach and a minor league manager. He coached under Dick Williams in Boston in 1968 and 1969 and when Williams was fired Johnson elected to remain with the organization as a scout and a minor league manager.
• Johnson was a success as a manager of Boston's AAA Pawtucket club and was promoted to manage the Red Sox after the 1973 season. Darrell was a successful manager with the Red Sox and came very close to a World Championship in the classic 1975 World Series.  But the team wasn't playing up to its capabilities in 1976 and Darrell was replaced by Don Zimmer in July.
• The expansion Seattle Mariners hired Johnson to be their first manager in 1977. Darrell managed the Mariners for 3 full seasons and most of a fourth before being relieved of his duties late in the 1980 season.
• Zimmer hired Johnson as a coach with the Texas Rangers. When Zimmer was fired in July 1982, Johnson finished the season as manager.
• Johnson was a coach and a special assignment scout with the New York Mets from 1983-1993. He was then a special assistant to the GM for the Mets until 1999.
• Darrell Johnson died of leukemia in 2004.
• Darrell Johnson's SABR biography
• Managerial Record:
• Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (1963-1965)
• Elmira Pioneers (AA) (1966)
• Louisville Colonels / Pawtucket Red Sox (1971-1973)
• Boston Red Sox (1974-1976): 220-188, .530, 1 AL Pennant
• Seattle Mariners (1977-1980): 226-362, .384
• Texas Rangers (1982): 26-40, .394

1978 Topps Baseball #57 - Dan Meyer

• Dan Meyer had an off year in 1978. He was out for a month from early May to early June.
• 1978 Stats: .227, 8 HR, 56 RBI in 123 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• Aug 1 - Went 4 for 5 with three runs scored in Seattle's 13-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins
• Aug 5 - Went 3 for 3 with a run batted in as the Mariners beat the Oakland A's 3-2.
• Aug 7 - Had two hits and knocked in three runs as the Mariners beat the Twins 6-5 in 14 innings.

1978 Topps Baseball #31 - Glenn Abbott

• Glenn Abbott was the #1 starter for the Seattle Mariners in 1978. He earned the win on opening day, but things got tough for him after that. Abbott missed almost a month of the season in April and May because of a strained hamstring muscle and also missed two weeks in June due to a sprained ankle.
• 1978 Stats: 7-15, 5.27 ERA in 29 games (28 starts)
• 1978 Highlights:
• April 5 - Earned the victory on opening day by allowing 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings of Seattle's 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
• June 23- Pitched a 4-hit shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers. The  mariners won the game 3-0.
• Aug 22 - Allowed two runs on five hits and had a complete game 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.