1978 Baseball

Monday, April 28, 2014

Lee Mazzilli had the first of three good seasons in a row as the starting center fielder for the New York Mets in 1978. Lee's best year would be in 1979, but his 1978 season was a preview of things to come.
1978 Stats: .273, 16 HR, 61 RBI in 148 games
1978 Highlights:

Apr 8 - Doubled and homered to help the Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Montreal Expos.
May 21 - Had three hits and scored three runs as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 in 10 innings. Mazzilli scored what would prove to be the winning run in the top of the 10th.
Aug 30 - Went 4 for 6 with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBI in the Mets' 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Doyle Alexander's win total dropped from a career high of 17 in 1977 to only nine in 1978. Alexander allowed one more hit per nine innings in 1978 - the rest of his stats were virtually identical.
It looks like Alexander had a stint on the 15 day disabled list in late August and early September. He started the game on August 16 and came out of the game after pitching 1 1/3 innings. Doyle didn't pitch again until September 2. He made three relief appearances before returning to the starting rotation on September 10.
1978 Stats: 9-10, 3.86 ERA in 31 games (28 starts)
1978 Highlights:

Apr 26 - Earned his first win of the year by shutting out the Cleveland Indians 3-0.
May 3 - Allowed one run in a 2-1 complete game win against the Baltimore Orioles.
Aug 12 - Won his first game in six weeks as the Rangers beat the Indians 2-1. Alexander pitched the first seven innings and didn't allow a run.

This card has always been odd to me. An "action" picture of a player scratching an itch isn't exactly glamorous.
Monday was an All Star for the second and last time in 1978. Rick started in right field and went 0 for 2.
The "home run" game result on the back of this card makes me think of "Blue Monday." Blue Monday was game 5 of the NL Championship Series. I can remember watching it in Mrs. Ryan's sophomore English class. My friend Jeff and I were the only ones in the class who wanted Montreal to win. Rick hit the home run that eventually won the game (and the NL Pennant) for the Dodgers.
1978 Stats:

Apr 19 - Was 3 for 3 with two home runs and four RBI in the Dodgers' 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Aug 15 - Had three hits, including a game-tying solo home run in the 6th inning, as the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4.

Jesse Jefferson was the fourth starter for the Blue Jays, but he led the team in several categories (innings pitched, complete games, shutouts, and ). Jefferson took the loss in seven of his last eight starts to finish the season 7-16.
Jefferson died at the age of 62 of prostate cancer on September 8, 2011.
1978 Stats: 7-16, 4.38 ERA in 31 games (30 starts)
1978 Highlights:

Apr 23 - Shut out the Chicago White Sox on three hits for his first victory of the season.
June 2 - Went the distance and earned the win in Toronto's 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Aug 9 - Pitched a shutout for his last victory of the season as the Blue Jays beat the White Sox 8-0.

Keith Hernandez won the first of 11 straight Gold Glove awards in 1978. He would be the reigning NL Gold Glove winner at first base from 1978-1988. Hernandez had a fall-off at the plate in 1978 -- it would be his worst offensive season between 1976 and 1988.
1978 Stats: .255, 11 HR, 64 RBI in 159 games
1978 Highlights:

April 10 - Went 4 for 5 in the Cardinals' 11-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
May 29 - Scored two runs and had three hits to help the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-2.
Aug 20 - Had two hits and scored three runs as St. Louis beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4.

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.

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.