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- 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.
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- Santo Alcala had already thrown his final major league pitch when this card was produced. He spent the 1978 season pitching for the San Jose Missions (Seattle Mariners organization) in the Pacific Coast League. Santo was waived by the Expos and claimed by the Mariners in late May of 1978. Alcala had a sore arm and was placed on the 21-day disabled list. Upon his activation he was assigned to San Jose. Santo tried to get his release but was unsuccessful. He then reluctantly reported to San Jose and spent the season there.
- After the 1978 season Alcala was sent back to the Montreal Expos organization. Somehow he ended up in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. The baseball-reference.com site doesn't say how he landed there. Santo pitched in AA and AAA in the Pirates organization from 1979-1982.
- Santo Alcala's SABR biography
- 1978 Stats
- San Jose Missions (AAA): 5-2, 5.05 ERA in 15 games (10 starts)
- 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.
- Henry Cruz played in his final major league season in 1978. Cruz split time between AAA Iowa and the Chicago White Sox. Henry was a pinch hitter in April and then saw some playing time in the outfield from May-July. Cruz was sent to the minors at the end of July and that was it for his major league career.
- Cruz played in AAA from 1979-1981 and then played in the Mexican League from 1982-1985.
- There will be a few posts that are out of order. I have about 20 cards in a different location that I can't scan right now.
- 1978 Stats:
- Iowa Oaks (AAA): .270, 5 HR, 18 RBI in 28 games
- Chicago White Sox: .292, 2 HR, 10 RBI in 53 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 7: Had two hits and knocked in two runs in Chicago's 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins
- June 8: Had two hits and scored a run as the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1.
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- Bruce Sutter had one of his roughest years (statistically speaking) in 1978. His ERA was below 2.00 for most of the season until August 19. On that date Sutter entered the game against the Cincinnati Reds in the top of the 9th inning with the Cubs leading 6-3. Bruce allowed three runs to score (including a 2-run homer by Ken Griffey) and the game went into extra innings. Sutter then allowed three more runs in the top of the 10th to lose the game. His ERA went from 1.91 to 2.54 and he never recovered. Sutter still went to his second of five straight All Star Games.
- 1978 Stats: 8-10, 3.19 ERA, 27 saves in 64 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 11 - Pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings and earned the win in the All Star Game.
- August 1 - After getting a nine-day rest, Sutter pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to save the game for winner Dennis Lamp. The Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2.
- August 7 - Earned his fifth save in seven days by striking out Dave Parker, preserving a 5-4 Cub victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- 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.
- This was Jim Fregosi's last year as a player. Jim's career was winding down and in late May California Angels owner Gene Autry wanted him to manage his ballclub. Autry got the Pirates to release Fregosi on June 1 and Jim was managing the Angels a couple of days later. Jim had a 62-54 record as manager in 1978 as the Angels finished second in the AL West.
- 1978 Stats: .200 (4 for 20) in 20 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 24 - Singled in a pinch hitting appearance in the bottom of the 10th inning. Jim eventually came around to score the winning run in Pittsburgh's 6-5 win over the New York Mets.
