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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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
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- 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):
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- 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.
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- 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.
- Here is a link to Mike's SABR biography.
- 1978 Stats:
- .267, 6 HR, 23 RBI in 86 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- 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.
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- 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.
- Rapp succeeded Red Schoendienst as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977. The Cards were successful in 1977, going 83-79 and finishing in third place. But the players didn't like Vern's strict style and there were some clashes between players and management (including Al Hrabosky and others having to shave their beards). Rapp was relieved of his duties and succeeded by Ken Boyer in April 1978 after the Cardinals started with a 6-10 record.
- Vern coached for the Montreal Expos from 1979-1983. He was hired to manage the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.
- The Reds didn't play very well in 1984 and Rapp was replaced by player-manager Pete Rose on August 15, 1984.
- After his tenure with the Reds Vern retired to Colorado and took up fly fishing. He passed away on December 31, 2015 at the age of 87.
- Managerial Record:
- Minor League Career: 1955; 1961-1962; 1965-1976;18 seasons 1218-1176 (.509)
- Major League Career: 140-160 (.467)
- St. Louis Cardinals (1977-1978) 89-90 .497
- Cincinnati Reds (1984) 51-70 .421
