1978 Baseball

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

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.

Larvell Blanks started the 1978 season as the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. Larvell struggled defensively and in mid-May was replaced by Tom Veryzer. Blanks was a backup from 1978 until the end of his major league career in 1980.
1978 Stats: .254, 2 HR, 20 RBI in 70 games
1978 Highlights:

May 9 - Went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored in Cleveland's 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.
July 3 - Had three hits, including a home run, and knocked in three runs as the Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-0.

Thurman Munson started the 1978 season going "incognito." He didn't want to talk to the press because he felt he was burned the previous year. Munson wrote (with Marty Appel) an autobiography in 1978.
Munson's power numbers were down, but he was still a very valuable part of the Yankees. Thurman made his 7th (and final) All Star Game, but he didn't play in the game.
1978 Stats:

May 5 - Went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI in New York's 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
May 21 - Had three hits and five RBI as the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1.
Oct 6 - Hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to put the Yankees ahead 6-5.

Otto Velez didn't get as much playing time in 1978 as he did in 1977. The Blue Jays were trying out some younger players and the DH spot was taken when Toronto acquired Rico Carty. Otto played more as the season went on, splitting time between left field and right field.
1978 Stats: .266, 9 HR, 38 RBI in 91 games
1978 Highlights:

July 31 - Hit the game winning home run in the 14th inning to lead the Blue Jays to a 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Sept 7 - Went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI as the Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4.

Bob Forsch dropped off from his 20-win season the previous season. Forsch was off to a good start (9-6, 3.18 ERA) at the end of June, but he lost nine of his next ten starts. Bob didn't pitch badly -- his ERA only rose from 3.18 to 3.48 during that time.
1978 Stats: 11-17, 3.70 ERA in 34 starts
1978 Highlights:

April 16 - Pitched a no-hitter as the Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0.
June 30 - Allowed one run in nine innings and got the win as the Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos 2-1 in 10 innings. Forsch wouldn't win another game for two months.
Aug 30 - Allowed two runs in a complete game 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

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.

Randy Jones bounced back from a rough 1977 season to have a good year in 1978. He had a losing record, but Jones had a nice 2.88 ERA and led the NL with the lowest (0.2) home runs allowed per nine innings.
1978 Stats: 13-14, 2.88 ERA in 37 games (36 starts)
1978 Highlights:

May 10 - Pitched a shutout against the Chicago Cubs. The Padres won the game 1-0 on a George Hendrick home run.
Aug 1 - Shut out the LA Dodgers 1-0. The Padres won the game in the bottom of the 9th inning when Derrell Thomas singled in Bill Almon.
Sept 1 - Pitched a 12 inning complete game against the Montreal Expos. Jones took the loss as the Expos beat the Padres 3-2. Randy pitched seven complete games in 1978 and was 3-4 in those games.