- Dave Tomlin actually changed teams twice between the 1977 and 1978 seasons. In January 1978 Dave was traded (with $125,000) to the Texas Rangers for Gaylord Perry. In late March 1978 Tomlin was sold to the Cincinnati Reds.
- Tomlin had a great won-loss record, but the ERA probably got him a pretty brutal Strat-O-Matic card. Two outings basically wrecked his stats:
- On May 7 Dave got roughed up in a 19-5 loss to the Montreal Expos. Tomlin's line was 5 runs in one inning pitched. His ERA rose from 3.00 to 7.20 as a result.
- Dave was unable to get anyone out in an appearance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 9. Tomlin allowed four hits and four runs and saw his ERA go from 4.15 back up to 5.54.
- 1978 Stats: 9-1, 4 saves, 5.78 ERA in 57 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 6 - Earned the save in Cincinnati's 11-9 opening day win over the Houston Astros.
- July 15 - Pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball and improved his record to 5-1 as the Reds beat the New York Mets 7-5.
- Ron Fairly played for the California Angels in 1978. In December 1977 Fairly was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Angels for Butch Alberts and Pat Kelly.
- Fairly still had a little bit of power, but he slipped to .217 as a part time first baseman and DH in his final season in the majors. Ron retired during spring training before the 1979 season. The Angels had acquired Rod Carew to play first base and owner Gene Autry offered Ron a three-year contract to broadcast games for the Angels.
- 1978 Stats: .217, 10 HR, 40 RBI in 91 games.
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 9 - Went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI in California's 7-5 win over the Detroit Tigers.
- June 20 - Had three hits, three RBI, and scored two runs as the Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 10-5.
- June 29 - Knocked in all three California runs in a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
- I wonder if the first team to do the "several different uniforms during a season thing" was the Pittsburgh Pirates. It seems like they had at least 3-4 different uniforms in this set.
- Kent Tekulve had a very nice year as the main reliever for the Pirates in 1978. Kent finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award balloting and 13th in NL MVP voting. Tekulve led the NL in appearances with 91 and had a career-high 31 saves. Kent started the 1978 season as a middle reliever and he didn't get his first save until May 7.
- 1978 Stats: 8-7, 31 saves, 2.33 ERA in 91 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 14 - Had his longest outing of the season as he pitched 4 innings and earned the save. The Pirates beat the Houston Astros 6-4.
- Sept 1-3 - Pitched in four straight games (including both games in a doubleheader) and had two saves and a win during that span.
- Bob Montgomery was virtually nonexistent in the Boston lineup in 1978. Manager Don Zimmer wasn't keen on using his bench in 1978. Starting catcher Carlton Fisk started 150 games behind the plate in 1978, leaving only 13 starts for Montgomery and Fred Kendall.
- 1978 Stats: .241 in 10 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 21 - Went 4 for 5 and knocked in four runs as the Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 9-3. Bob got more than half of his seven hits for the year in this one game.
- Aug 30 - Had two hits in Boston's 8-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays
- Looks like Lynn McGlothen was the last card I needed to complete the team set for the Giants in 1978.
- The San Francisco Giants had a surprising run at the NL West title. They led the division for a good part of the season before fading in mid-August. The Giants mostly did it with pitching. Their pitching stats were near the top of the league, but their team hitting and fielding were nothing to write home about.
- Vida Blue was a key acquisition for the Giants. Blue was traded from Oakland to the Giants during spring training. Jack Clark became the hitting star of the Giants, and Bill Madlock also made a big contribution to the Giants offense. Blue (18-10) and Bob Knepper (17-11) were the two top pitchers.
- Record: 89-73, 3rd in NL West, 6 games behind Los Angeles
- Attendance: 1,740,477 (4th in NL)
- Team Batting: .248 (10th in NL)
- Team HR: 117 (6th in NL)
- Team Stolen Bases: 87 (11th in NL)
- Team ERA: 3.30 (3rd in NL)
- Team Fielding: .977 (9th in NL)
- Award Winners: Vida Blue (TSN NL Pitcher of the Year)
- All Stars: Vida Blue (starting pitcher), Jack Clark (OF)
- NL Leaders: Bob Knepper (shutouts, 6)
- Batting Leader: Bill Madlock (.309)
- HR Leader: Jack Clark (25)
- RBI Leader: Jack Clark (98)
- Stolen Base Leader: Bill Madlock (16)
- Victories Leader: Vida Blue (18)
- Losses Leader: Bob Knepper / Jim Barr (11)
- Saves Leader: Gary Lavelle (12)
- ERA Leader (Starters): Bob Knepper (2.63)
- ERA Leader (Relievers): Randy Moffitt (3.31)
- Players who could have had a 1978 Giants card (over 100 AB or over 40 IP):
- Hector Cruz (pictured with St. Louis) - OF - .223, 6 HR, 24 RBI in 79 games
- Jim Dwyer (pictured with St. Louis) - UT -.225, 5 HR, 22 HR in 73 games
- Vida Blue (pictured with Oakland) - 18-10, 2.79 ERA in 35 starts
- Pete Redfern spent most of the 1978 season in AAA. Pete started the season with the Twins but was sent to the minors after a rough start to the season.
- Redfern's career ended in 1983 after he was seriously injured in a diving accident. Pete was paralyzed and uses a wheelchair to this day.
- 1978 Stats:
- Toledo Mud Hens (AAA): 9-8, 3.73 ERA in 20 starts
- Minnesota Twins: 0-2, 6.52 ERA in 3 games (2 starts)
- Even though the Big Red Machine was on its way out, Cincinnati Reds cards were still great cards to have in 1978.
- Ken Griffey usually batted #2 in the order. Griffey didn't lead the club in any offensive categories, but he was a solid offensive player. Ken was batting .328 at the end of May but he tailed off in the last two months of the year to finish at .288.
- 1978 Stats: .288, 10 HR, 63 RBI in 158 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 12 - Doubled twice, tripled, and scored four runs in Cincinnati's 12-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
- May 18 - Went 4 for 4, doubled in two runs in the 7th inning, and scored the eventual winning run as the Reds beat the Montreal Expos 3-2.
- May 27 - Went 4 for 4 and scored three runs to help the Reds beat the San Diego Padres 5-2.
- All they could come up with when talking about Darrell Johnson's career highlights was a tie for a league lead in a fielding category in the minors? Ouch.
- After his playing career Johnson became a coach and a minor league manager. He coached under Dick Williams in Boston in 1968 and 1969 and when Williams was fired Johnson elected to remain with the organization as a scout and a minor league manager.
- Johnson was a success as a manager of Boston's AAA Pawtucket club and was promoted to manage the Red Sox after the 1973 season. Darrell was a successful manager with the Red Sox and came very close to a World Championship in the classic 1975 World Series. But the team wasn't playing up to its capabilities in 1976 and Darrell was replaced by Don Zimmer in July.
- The expansion Seattle Mariners hired Johnson to be their first manager in 1977. Darrell managed the Mariners for 3 full seasons and most of a fourth before being relieved of his duties late in the 1980 season.
- Zimmer hired Johnson as a coach with the Texas Rangers. When Zimmer was fired in July 1982, Johnson finished the season as manager.
- Johnson was a coach and a special assignment scout with the New York Mets from 1983-1993. He was then a special assistant to the GM for the Mets until 1999.
- Darrell Johnson died of leukemia in 2004.
- Darrell Johnson's SABR biography
- Managerial Record:
- Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (1963-1965)
- Elmira Pioneers (AA) (1966)
- Louisville Colonels / Pawtucket Red Sox (1971-1973)
- Boston Red Sox (1974-1976): 220-188, .530, 1 AL Pennant
- Seattle Mariners (1977-1980): 226-362, .384
- Texas Rangers (1982): 26-40, .394
- At the end of spring training in 1978 Pablo Torrealba was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Essian and Steve Renko. Pablo was used as a spot starter and a long reliever by the White Sox during the 1978 season.
- Pablo missed about two months of the season from mid-June to mid-August.
- 1978 Stats: 2-4, 1 save, 4.71 ERA in 25 games (3 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- This is Ed Kirkpatrick's "goodbye" card. Ed didn't make the Milwaukee Brewers in 1978 and was released during spring training. Kirkpatrick played in the Mexican League for a short time and also played for AAA Salt Lake City (California Angels organization) in 1978 and then retired after the season.
- 1978 Stats:
- Salt Lake City Gulls (AAA): .325, 2 HR, 38 RBI in 69 games
- Tabasco Plataneros (Mexican League): no stats available
- Steve Ontiveros had his 1978 season shortened by an injury in late July. Even before the injury Steve was having a rough time. He was batting .143 in 44 games at the end of May and didn't get his average above .200 for good until June 19.
- 1978 Stats: .243, 1 HR, 22 RBI in 82 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 11 - Had three hits to get his batting average to the .200 mark for the first time. The Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 7-4.
- July 6 - Doubled, homered, and knocked in three runs in a losing cause as the Cubs lost to the New York Mets 9-6.
- Dick Ruthven was a below .500 pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in the beginning of the 1978 season. On June 15 Ruthven was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies (where he started his career) for Gene Garber. The Phillies needed help in their starting rotation and they had a surplus of good relief pitchers. Dick went 13-5 in 20 starts for the Phillies and helped them to their third straight NL East title.
- 1978 Stats:
- Atlanta Braves: 2-6, 4.11 ERA in 13 starts
- Philadelphia Phillies: 13-5. 2.99 ERA in 20 starts
- TOTAL: 15-11, 3.38 ERA in 33 starts
- NL Championship Series: 0-1, 5.79 ERA in 1 start
- 1978 Highlights:
- The scan probably doesn't do justice to how beat up this card is. One of these days I need to get a card lot of commons to replace some of these rough cards.
- Series 1 All Stars:
- Starting Pitchers: Phil Niekro, Jon Matlack, Burt Hooton, Randy Jones, Rick Reuschel
- Relievers: Rich Gossage, Kent Tekulve, Sparky Lyle
- C: Gary Carter, Thurman Munson
- 1B: Tony Perez, Eddie Murray, Willie McCovey
- 2B: Bobby Grich, Jorge Orta (or Phil Garner)
- SS: Garry Templeton, Larry Bowa
- 3B: Pete Rose, George Brett
- OF: Carl Yastrzemski, Andre Dawson, Ken Griffey, Richie Zisk, Ken Singleton
- Manager: Bobby Cox (in 1978 Darrell Johnson actually had the better managerial career, but Cox and Joe Torre surpassed him later)
- Hall of Famers in This Series: 9 players, 2 managers.
- I counted 10 players the first time, but I included Pete Rose. Dang it Pete, why did you have to get yourself banned?
- Andy Hassler started the 1978 season with the Kansas City Royals. Andy didn't pitch until mid-May. He was a fifth starter and an occasional reliever for the next two months. Hassler was sold to the Boston Red Sox on July 24. He had a stint on the disabled list in August and was used as a reliever after coming off of the DL in late August.
- It was interesting to notice Andy Hassler was never traded for anyone even though he played for six teams during his career. Andy was sold four times, released once, and was a free agent once.
- 1978 Stats:
- Kansas City Royals: 1-4, 4.32 ERA in 11 games (9 starts)
- Boston Red Sox: 2-1, 1 save, 3.00 ERA in 13 games (2 starts)
- TOTAL: 3-5, 1 save, 3.87 ERA in 24 games (11 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 24 - Earned the win in his first appearance for the Red Sox. Hassler pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in Boston's 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins
- Sept 18 - Was the winning pitcher in a 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers. Andy allowed no runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched.
- Andre Dawson fell off a little bit from his 1977 Rookie of the Year season. Dawson led the NL in times hit by a pitch with 12. It was the first of four times he would lead the league in that category.
- 1978 Stats: .253, 25 HR, 72 RBI in 157 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 16 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored as the Expos beat the New York Mets 4-1.
- May 7, May 7 - Had a great doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds. In the first game Dawson hit a home run, knocked in two runs, and scored three runs in Montreal's 19-5 win. In the second game Andre went 4 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI in the Expos' 4-2 loss.
- Aug 21 - Went 4 for 4 with a solo home run to help the Expos beat the LA Dodgers 4-2.
- Terry Humphrey lost his starting catcher job to Brian Downing in 1978. This was Humphrey's last full season -- he was released in 1979 after playing in only nine games.
- 1978 Stats: .219, 1 HR, 9 RBI in 53 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 5 - Went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a run scored in California's 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians
- May 19 - Had three hits as the Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1
- Rich Gossage was signed by the New York Yankees after the 1977 season. This must be an airbrush job -- Topps wouldn't have been able to get a picture of the Goose in a Yankee uniform before the 1978 season. This might be Gossage pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Veterans Stadium.
- Rich had a great season for the Yankees, leading the AL with 27 saves. He had a tough time at first -- at the end of April Gossage was 1-3 and didn't have a save.
- Rich pitched in the All Star Game but took the loss as he was roughed up for four runs in the 9th inning.
- 1978 Stats:
- Regular Season: 10-11, 27 saves, 2.01 ERA in 63 games
- AL Championship Series: 1-0, 1 save, 4.50 ERA in 2 games
- World Series: 1-0, 0.00 ERA in 3 games
- Highlights:
- May 7 - Didn't allow a run in four innings pitched and saved the game as the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 3-2.
- Sept 21 - Pitched three scoreless innings and got the save in New York's 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays
- Oct 7 - Shut out the Kansas City Royals in the 9th inning, earning the save and clinching the AL Championship Series for the Yankees.
- Mike Vail split the 1978 season between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. Vail got off to a slow start (.143) in spring training and was sold to the Indians in late March. Mike started the season in AAA Portland, but he was soon back in the majors after batting .393 in 14 games. On June 15 Mike was traded to the Cubs for Joe Wallis. Vail got more playing time and hit well in Chicago.
- 1978 Stats:
- Portland Beavers (AAA): .393, 4 HR, 19 RBI in 14 games
- Cleveland Indians: .235 in 14 games
- Chicago Cubs: .333, 4 HR, 33 RBI in 74 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 24 - Had four hits and knocked in five runs in Portland's 18-4 win over the Vancouver Canadians.
- May 9 - Went 2 for 2 and knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th in his first game back from the minors. The Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4.
- July 3 - Went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI in Chicago's 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Steve Foucault started the 1978 season with the Tigers. On August 16 Steve was acquired on waivers by the Kansas City Royals. Foucault stayed with the Royals for two weeks and then was designated for assignment in late August.
- Foucault had saves in his first three appearances and pitched well for most of the season. Steve was used sparingly during the season. Perhaps he was having arm or shoulder problems.
- After leaving baseball Steve became a police officer. Foucault has been a pitching coach for various minor league teams since the 1990s.
- 1978 Stats:
- Detroit Tigers: 2-4, 4 saves, 3.13 ERA in 24 games
- Kansas City Royals: 0-0, 3.86 ERA in 3 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 15 - Pitched two scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays to pick up his second save. The Tigers beat the Blue Jays 6-3.
- May 16 - Held the Seattle Mariners scoreless for three innings and got the win as the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 in 16 innings.
- Claudell Washington wasn't playing a whole lot for the Texas Rangers in 1978. Claudell had an ankle injury while playing basketball in the offseason and got off to a slow start. On May 16 Washington was traded (with Rusty Torres) to the Chicago White Sox for Bobby Bonds. Washington missed almost a month from mid-May to mid-June.
- 1978 Stats:
- Texas Rangers: .167 in 12 games
- Chicago White Sox: .264, 6 HR, 31 RBI in 86 games
- TOTAL: .253, 6 HR, 33 RBI in 98 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 24 - Tripled, homered, scored twice, and knocked in four runs to help the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4.
- Aug 16 - Went 3 for 4 with three runs in Chicago's 6-2 win over Texas.
- After a good year in 1977 good things were expected of the Chicago White Sox in 1978. Unfortunately several of the "South Side Hit Men" like Oscar Gamble and Richie Zisk left the team and their replacements didn't hit as well. The White Sox went from 90 game winners to 90 game losers. Manager Bob Lemon went from AL Manager of the Year in 1977 to being replaced by Larry Doby on June 30. The team went from being 4th in batting average and 2nd in home runs to 7th in batting average and 8th in home runs.
- Team Record: 71-90, .441, 5th in AL West, 20.5 games behind Kansas City
- Managers(s):
- Bob Lemon 34-40
- Larry Doby 37-50
- Attendance: 1,491,100 (8th in AL)
- Team Batting: .264 (7th in AL)
- Team Home Runs: 106 (8th in AL)
- Team Stolen Bases: 83 (10th in AL)
- Team ERA: 4.21 (12th in AL)
- Team Fielding: .977 (10th in AL)
- AL All Stars: Chet Lemon (OF)
- Award Winners: none
- League Leaders: none
- Batting Leader: Chet Lemon (.300)
- HR Leader: Eric Soderholm (20)
- RBI Leader: Lamar Johnson (72)
- Stolen Base Leader: Bob Molinaro (22)
- Victory Leader: Steve Stone (12)
- Losses Leader: Ken Kravec (16)
- Saves Leader: Lerrin LaGrow (16)
- Best ERA (starters): Ken Kravec (4.08)
- Best ERA (relievers): Jim Willoughby (3.86), Mike Proly (2.74). Proly had the better ERA but he made some starts along with his relief appearances.
- Players who could have had 1978 White Sox cards (over 100 AB for position players, over 40 innings pitched for pitchers):
- Claudell Washington - OF - (pictured with Oakland) .264, 6 HR, 31 RBI in 86 games
- Bob Molinaro - UT - (rookie card 1979) .262, 6 HR, 27 RBI in 105 games
- Greg Pryor - IF - (rookie card 1979) .261, 2 HR, 15 RBI in 82 games
- Thad Bosley - OF - (pictured with California) .269, 2 HR, 13 RBI in 66 games
- Mike Squires - 1B - (rooke card 1979) .280, 0 HR, 19 RBI in 46 games
- Mike Colbern - C - (rookie card 1979) .270, 2 HR, 20 RBI in 48 games
- Bobby Bonds (pictured with California) had 90 at bats (.278, 2 HR, 8 RBI) for the White Sox at the beginning of the 1978 season before being traded to the Texas Rangers
- Jim Willoughby (pictured with Boston) 1-6, 13 saves, 3.86 ERA in 59 games
- Rich Hinton (no card) 2-6, 1 save, 4.02 ERA in 29 games (4 starts)
- Mike Proly (rookie card 1979) 5-2, 1 save, 2.74 ERA in 14 games (6 starts)
- Rich Wortham (rookie card 1980) 3-2, 3.05 ERA in 8 starts
- Pablo Torrealba (pictured with Oakland) 2-4, 1 save, 4.71 ERA in 25 games (3 starts)
- Jack Kucek (no 1978 card) 2-3, 1 save, 3.29 ERA in 10 games (5 starts)
- Ken Singleton had surgery on his throwing elbow to remove bone chips before the 1978 season. Ken started the 1978 season hitting well for average (.341 at the end of April), but it took a while for him to hit with power. Singleton hit his first home run of the season on April 30 and had only three home runs at the end of May. Ken still had a good season, but not as good as 1977 (3rd in MVP voting) and 1979 (2nd in MVP voting).
- 1978 Stats: .293, 20 HR, 81 RBI
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 30 - Hit his first home run of the season and knocked in four runs in Baltimore's 8-7 win over the Chicago White Sox.
- June 4 - Went 3 for 4 with a home run and knocked in all four Oriole runs as Baltimore beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1.
- July 19 - Had four hits to help the Orioles beat the White Sox 10-3.
- Gene Pentz had his last year in the majors in 1978. Pentz appeared in ten games for the Astros in April and May. He made his last appearance on May 3 and didn't pitch for the rest of the year. Pentz was put on the disabled list due to a bad back and then was released after the season.
- Gene tried to come back with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. Pentz pitched in the minors in the Pirates organization in 1979 and in 1980 and then pitched for the AAA Phoenix Giants in 1981, but he never made it back to the majors.
- 1978 Stats: 0-0, 6.00 ERA in 10 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 16 - Pitched the 10th and 11th innings without allowing a run in Houston's 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
- Topps did a nice job with these manager cards. It's interesting to see the pictures of these managers when they were players.
- Don Zimmer started managing in the minor leagues at the age of 36 in 1967. When Zimmer didn't have a managing job, he coached for several clubs. He currently works for the Tampa Bay Rays during spring training and during home games. Zimmer has boasted that every paycheck he has ever earned has come from baseball.
- Here is Don Zimmer's managerial record:
- Buffalo (AAA) / Knoxville (AA) - Cincinnati organization - 1967
- Indianapolis (AAA) - Cincinnati organization - 1968
- Key West (A) - Chicago Cubs organization - 1969
- Salt Lake City (AAA) - San Diego Padres organization - 1970
- San Diego Padres (1972-1973) 114-190, .375
- Boston Red Sox (1976-1980) 411-304, .575, one near-AL East title in 1978
- Texas Rangers (1981-1982) 95-106, .473
- Chicago Cubs (1988-1991) 265-258, .507, NL East title in 1989, NL Manager of the Year in 1989
- 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.
