Doug Bair was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in a trade with the Oakland A's in February 1978. The Reds sent Dave Revering and cash to Oakland in return.
Bair had his best season in 1978. He became the Reds' closer after the trade of Dale Murray to the Mets in mid May. Doug had career highs in just about every category in 1978.
1978 Stats: 7-6, 28 saves, 1.97 ERA in 70 games
1978 Highlights:
May 7 - Pitched three shutout innings to earn the save in Cincinnati's 4-2 win over the Montreal Expos.
July 14 - Struck out six batters in three shutout innings and earned the win as the Reds beat the New York Mets 6-3.
Sept. 27 - Earned his 28th and final save of the 1978 season by pitching two shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He saved the game for Pedro Borbon, who somehow went 8-2 as a reliever in spite of a 4.98 ERA.
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.
Tom Paciorek spent most of the 1978 season with the Seattle Mariners. Tom was released on March 30 but was resigned on April 7. Tom was assigned to AAA Richmond and was recalled in late April to replace the injured Gary Matthews. He played in a handful of games for the Braves but was released again on May 23. On May 31 Paciorek signed with the Mariners. Tom played for AAA San Jose for about three weeks and then was brought up to Seattle. Paciorek played well for the Mariners and ended up batting .300 for the season as he spent time in the outfield, first base, and as a pinch hitter and a designated hitter.
1978 Stats:
Richmond Braves (AAA): No stats - he may not have actually played any games but was on the roster for about two weeks.
Atlanta Braves: .333 (3 for 9) in 5 games
San Jose Missions (AAA): .281, 3 HR, 17 RBI in 16 games
Seattle Mariners: .299, 4 HR, 30 RBI in 70 games
Major League Total: .300, 4 HR, 30 RBI in 75 games
1978 Highlights:
July 2: Went 4 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in Seattle's 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tom had started his Seattle career 0 for 9 in three games before breaking out of his slump in a big way.
July 9: Had three hits including two doubles as the Mariners beat the California Angels 11-7. Tom was on a tear as he had six multi-hit games in eight days.
Sept 12: Singled in two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to lead the Mariners to a come from behind 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Davey Johnson was in the last season of his major league career in 1978. Johnson played for the Phillies but didn't hit well and was traded to the Chicago Cubs on August 6 for Larry Anderson. Davey fared better with the Cubs but was released after the season.
Johnson was the first player to hit two grand slams as a pinch hitter in the same season in 1978.
In 1979 Johnson was a player-manager for the Miami Amigos of the Inter-American League. He then managed successfully in the New York Mets system for two seasons and had a lot of success in his 17 years as a major league manager (including a World Series champion with the 1986 Mets).
1978 Stats:
Philadelphia Phillies: .191, 2 HR, 14 RBI in 44 games
Chicago Cubs: .306, 2 HR, 6 RBI in 24 games
TOTAL: .232, 4 HR, 20 RBI in 68 games
1978 Highlights:
April 30: Hit a grand slam in the 5th inning of Philadelphia's 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres.
June 3: Hit a game-winning grand slam off of Terry Forster in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Phillies beat the LA Dodgers 5-1.
Hello again. I finally got access to a scanner so that I can scan the rest of my 78 cards and keep the blog going. I made posts without pics and saved them and now they get to see the light of day.
Paul Lindblad started the season with the Texas Rangers. Lindblad made only one appearance between the beginning of the season and mid-May.
On August 1, Lindblad was purchased by the New York Yankees for the stretch run. Paul made six appearances as a reliever and started one game for the Yankees in the last two months of the season. Lindblad wasn't used during the ALCS but he made an appearance in game 1 of the World Series.
After the 1978 season Lindblad was sold to the Seattle Mariners. Paul didn't make the club in spring training and was cut before the 1979 season.
1978 Stats (regular season):
Texas Rangers: 1-1, 2 saves, 3.63 ERA in 18 games
New York Yankees: 0-0, 4.42 ERA in 7 games (1 start)
1978 Stats (post season)
ALCS: not used
World Series: 0-0, 11.57 ERA in 1 game (3 runs in 2.1 innings)
1978 Highlights:
May 19 - Pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and earned the save as the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2.
June 12 - Allowed 1 hit and no runs in two innings to earn the save in the Rangers' 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Well I'm back after a VERY long hiatus. I moved from Arizona to Utah to accept a new teaching job. It was a big move for me since I had lived in Arizona all of my life. At the time we had a foster son that we were in the process of adopting. He wasn't allowed to leave Arizona until he was adopted, so my wife stayed with him in Arizona while I went to Utah with our daughter. My daughter and I stayed with an uncle until we could find a rental home. I figured it would only be a short time so I didn't bring some things with me (including my 1978 cards and my scanner). What was supposed to be a month turned into four months, but the adoption finally happened in late October. Unfortunately we had trouble finding a suitable rental so we stayed with the uncle for a couple more months. We now have a rental but in the meantime the house in Arizona was burglarized. The thieves didn't get much, but they got the TV and my scanner. Luckily they didn't take any of my cards. I'll start posting again with some cards I had already had scanned into my computer and I'll pick up the other cards later.
Killer gum stain on the back of this card.
Tom Griffin didn't pitch for the San Diego Padres in 1978. He became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with the California Angels.
Tom was mostly used as a relief pitcher in 1978. He was in the Cleveland rotation for a few turns in June, but he was 0-3 in that role. Griffin had several breaks during the season as he battled injuries. He had five breaks of 10 or more days, including a 24 day hiatus in May. Tom pitched in only one game in September.
Griffin was released after the 1978 season. He pitched for the San Francisco Giants for three years and finished up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1982.
1978 Stats: 3-4, 4.02 ERA in 24 games (4 starts)
1978 Highlights:
July 24 - Allowed no runs in 2 2/3 innings and earned the victory as the Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 in 16 innings.
Andy Etchebarren was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers before the 1978 season. Etchebarren was expected to compete with Larry Haney for a position as a backup catcher. There was speculation that whoever didn't make the team would end up as a bullpen coach or have another job in the organization. Etchebarren won the job and Haney was released at the end of spring training. But Haney was activated in September and appeared in four games.
Andy played in four games in April, was placed on the disabled list with elbow chips in May, had elbow surgery in June and retired after the season.
John Milner went from the New York Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4-team trade that also involved the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates also acquired Bert Blyleven as part of the deal. Milner platooned with Bill Robinson in left field in 1978 and also occasionally spelled Willie Stargell at first base.
Milner had trouble getting untracked early in the season -- he didn't get over the Mendoza Line until May 29. John heated up in June and hit well for the rest of the year.
1978 Stats: .271, 6 HR, 38 RBI in 108 games
1978 Highlights:
June 4 - Went 4 for 4 and knocked in two runs in Pittsburgh's 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
June 24 - Had four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and knocked in four runs as the Pirates beat the Mets 7-4.
Rico Carty was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during spring training for Dennis DeBarr. Carty didn't play in the field for the entire season. Carty had one of his best seasons -- he hit a career-high 31 home runs and just missed the 100 RBI mark.
Carty was traded to the Oakland A's on August 15 for Willie Horton and Phil Huffman. After the season Oakland sold Carty back to the Blue Jays.
1978 Stats:
Toronto Blue Jays: .284, 20 HR, 68 RBI in 104 games
Oakland A's: .277, 11 HR, 31 RBI in 41 games
TOTAL: .282, 31 HR, 99 RBI in 145 games
1978 Highlights:
June 28: Had three hits, including a 2-run home run in Toronto's 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Aug 9: Doubled three times and scored twice as the Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-0.
Willie Horton moved around a lot in 1978. Before the season he was traded (with David Clyde) from Texas to the Cleveland Indians for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein. On July 3 Willie was released. Horton was picked up by the Oakland A's on July 13. Then on August 15 Horton was traded (with Phil Huffman) to the Toronto Blue Jays for Rico Carty.
Willie was aging, but he had one more good year left in him. Horton would win the Comeback Player of the Year award with the Seattle Mariners in 1979.
1978 Stats:
Cleveland Indians - .249, 5 HR, 22 RBI in 50 games
Oakland A's - .314, 3 HR, 19 RBI in 32 games
Toronto Blue Jays - .205, 3 HR, 19 in 33 games
TOTAL: .252, 11 HR, 60 RBI in 115 games
1978 Highlights:
April 28 - Had three hits (including a home run) and two RBI in Cleveland's 6-2 win over the Oakland A's.
May 3 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run and 5 RBI to help the Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 10-5.
July 27 - Had three hits and scored three runs as the A's beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4.
In November 1977 Dave Hamilton was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals as a player to be named later in an earlier trade for Clay Carroll.
Dave had a tough time for two months in St. Louis. On May 28 he was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hamilton pitched better in Pittsburgh, but he may have had injury problems toward the end of the season. Dave had only three appearances in July, three in August, and one in September.
1978 Stats:
St. Louis Cardinals: 0-0, 6.43 ERA in 13 games
Pittsburgh Pirates: 0-2, 1 save, 3.42 ERA in 16 games
TOTAL: 0-2, 1 save, 4.46 ERA in 29 games
1978 Highlights:
June 24 - Earned his only save of the year by pitching the last 2/3 innings of Pittsburgh's 7-4 12-inning victory over the New York Mets.
July 16 - Pitched shutout ball for 2 2/3 innings as the Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 in 10 innings.
During the winter meetings in December 1977 Ben Oglivie was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Rich Folkers and Jim Slaton. Coach Frank Howard worked with Ben to improve his unorthodox fielding style. Oglivie also worked with nautilis equipment to improve his strength.
Oglivie led the team in batting average in 1978.
1978 Stats:
Milwaukee Brewers: .303, 18 HR, 72 RBI in 128 games
1978 Highlights:
April 23 - Had three hits, scored twice, and homered in Milwaukee's 3-2 win over the New York Yankees.
May 14 - Hit a 3-run homer to help the Brewers to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Aug 11 - Had four hits and three RBI as the Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox 10-5.
Eric Rasmussen started the 1978 season with the Cardinals but on May 26 he was traded to the San Diego Padres for George Hendrick. Hendrick had lost his starting job to Oscar Gamble and wanted to be traded.
Eric got off to an inauspicious start with the Padres. In his first start for the team on May 30 he was bombed by the Dodgers. Rasmussen allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. Rasmussen eventually righted the ship, winning seven straight starts from June 14-July 18.
Eric and teammate John D'Acquisto formed a rock band called Wild Pitch in 1979.
1978 Stats:
St. Louis Cardinals: 2-5, 4.18 ERA in 10 starts
San Diego Padres: 12-10, 4.06 ERA in 27 games (24 starts)
TOTAL: 14-15, 4.09 ERA in 37 games (34 starts)
1978 Highlights:
April 29 - Pitched a 4-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
July 8 - Allowed three hits in a complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves.
Aug 27 - Shut out the New York Mets on six hits. It was Eric's 11th win in his last 14 decisions. Rasmussen would win his next start on August 31 and then lose five straight games in September.
Gil Flores was signed by the Baltimore out of Puerto Rico in 1970. Flores was released by the Orioles in April 1971 and resigned in June. He played well in Rookie League in 1971, but Gil didn't show much in Class A Miami in 1972.
Flores was drafted out of the Baltimore system after the 1972 season. Gil put up good stats as a speedy outfielder in various minor league stops from 1973-1977.
Gil got off to a good start in AAA Salt Lake City in 1977 and was called up in early May. Gil batted .278 in 104 games for the Angels in 1977.
Flores started the 1978 season in Salt Lake City. On July 28 he was traded to the New York Mets for Pepe Mangual. He played for AAA Tidewater until the end of August and then was called up to the Mets. Gil batted .276 (8 for 29) in 11 games for the Mets.
Gil spent the entire 1979 season with the Mets, but he batted only .194 in 93 at bats. Gil played in 70 games, mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. That was the last major league action Flores would see.
Flores played in Tidewater from 1980-1984. He played in the Mexican League in 1985. Gil ended up with a .298 lifetime average in 14 minor league seasons.
1978 Stats:
Salt Lake City Gulls: .279, 2 HR, 33 RBI in 76 games
Tidewater Tides: .270, 0 HR, 6 RBI in 26 games
New York Mets: .276 (8 for 29) in 11 games
1978 Highlights:
Sept 15 - Had two hits and two runs scored to help the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4.
Before the 1978 season Ruidy May was traded (with Bryn Smith and Randy Miller) for Don Stanhouse, Gary Roenicke, and Joe Kerrigan. The Orioles needed bullpen and outfield help and they had plenty of starting pitching, so although Rudy won 18 games in 1977 the trade worked out well for the Orioles.
May missed about six weeks from mid July to early September with an injury.
1978 Stats: 8-10, 3.88 ERA in 27 games (23 starts)
1978 Highlights:
May 27 - Allowed one unearned run on two hits in a complete game victory as the Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 15-1. Rudy also had two hits and scored two runs.
Sept 26 - Pitched his only shutout of the season in his last start. The Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.
I knew him as Heity Cruz instead of Hector. Heity Cruz was traded (with Dave Rader) to the Chicaco Cubs after the 1977 season for Jerry Morales, Steve Swisher, and cash.
Cruz played for the Cubs until June 15. Hector was traded to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Lynn McGlothen. If Topps had made a traded set that year Cruz likely would have been pictured as a Cub instead of a Giant.
Cruz originally came up as a third baseman. The Cardinals thought he would be able to replace Ken Reitz, but Heity's defense left something to be desired. Cruz spent the rest of his career as a backup outfielder and occasional third baseman.
1978 Stats:
Chicago Cubs: .237, 2 HR, 9 RBI in 30 games
San Francisco Giants: .223, 6 HR, 24 RBI in 79 games
TOTAL: .227, 8 HR, 33 RBI in 109 games
1978 Highlights:
April 28 - Went 3 for 4 with two solo home runs to help the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. Cruz had three games against the Braves in which he had three hits. He was 15 for 42 (.357) against the Braves during the season.
Aug 26 - Had two hits (including a home run), scored twice, and knocked in two runs in the Giants' 4-1 win over the Montreal Expos.
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.
Steve Swisher was traded (with Jerry Morales and cash) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Hector Cruz and Dave Rader in December 1977.
Swisher started 34 games behind the plate for the Cardinals in 1978. He was backing up Ted Simmons, so Steve didn't figure to get much playing time. Swisher had his best offensive season, batting .278 in 115 at bats. It would be the last year of Steve's career that he would get over 100 at bats.
1978 Stats: .278, 1 HR, 10 RBI in 45 games
1978 Highlights:
June 25 - Hit his only home run of the season, knocked in two runs, and scored twice to help the Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos 7-5.
Aug 5 - Knocked in two runs in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over the New York Mets
Aug 12 - Had three hits, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored as the Cardinals beat the Mets 5-1.
