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.
As I have gone through this set I've noticed some cards that need to be upgraded. This card is the most obvious example so far. It was probably cut out of a magazine. I must have had some pretty poor scissor skills when I was 11 years old.
Don Sutton won 15 games in 1978. In modern times it would usually be enough to lead a team. In 1978 it was a tie for third on the deep Dodger staff. Burt Hooton led the team with 19 wins, Tommy John had 17, and Doug Rau and Sutton each had 15.
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: 15-11, 3.55 ERA in 34 starts
NL Championship Series: 0-1, 6.35 ERA in 1 start
World Series: 0-2, 7.50 ERA in 2 starts.
1978 Highlights:
June 18 - Shut out the Montreal Expos, allowing six hits and one walk. The Dodgers won 5-0.
July 14 - Was thrown out of the game by umpire Doug Harvey for defacing the ball. There was talk of a ten day suspension but that didn't happen.
Sept 15 - Pitched a six hit shutout against the Atlanta Braves. It was Sutton's last win of the season. Don took a loss and two no decisions in his last three regular season starts and then he lost all three of his post season starts.
This was the year when Joe Morgan really started to slow down after several years as the bese second baseman in baseball. Joe still made the NL All Star team this season and in the following season.
1978 Stats: .236, 13 HR, 75 RBI in 132 games
1978 Highlights:
April 6 - Had three hits, three runs scored, and five RBI in Cincinnati's 11-9 Opening Day victory over the Houston Astros.
April 21 - Set the major league record for consecutive errorless games at 2B with 90. He would have the string broken two days later. (Darwin Barney of the Chicago Cubs now holds the record with 142).
May 16 - Was 3 for 3 with a 3-run home run and four RBI as the Reds beat the Montreal Expos 5-1.
Aug 27 - Hit a home run to become the first player to hit 200 career home runs and have 500 career stolen bases.
Whitey Herzog was signed by the New York Yankees in 1949. Whitey spent the next for years in the Yankees' farm system before spending two years in military service. Herzog had a good year in AAA Denver in 1955, but he wasn't going to crack the Yankees club.
In April 1956 Whitey was a throw-in in a large trade between the Yankees and the Washington Senators. He spent all of 1956 in Washington and then split time between AAA Miami and Washington in 1956. Herzog was traded to the Kansas City A's in 1958 and played for three teams between 1958 and 1963.
Herzog scouted, coached, and managed in the minors and for the New York Mets from 1964-1967. He then became director of player development for the Mets in 1967 and served in that position for six years. Whitey was a candidate to replace the deceased Gil Hodges as manager of the Mets in April 1972 but Yogi Berra was selected instead.
In 1973 Herzog replaced Ted Williams as manager of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were a terrible team in 1973 and Whitey didn't even last the whole season. He was canned when the Rangers got the chance to sign the newly available Billy Martin to manage.
Herzog was a coach and an interim manager for the California Angels in 1974.
In 1975 Whitey was hired to manage the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were very successful under Herzog, winning three AL West titles from 1976-1978. They were never able to reach the World Series during that time and Whitey was dismissed after a disappointing 1979 season.
Whitey became the General Manager (as well as manager) of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980. He was the GM from 1980-1982. Herzog took the Cardinals to the World Championship in 1982 and won pennants in 1985 and in 1987. Herzog was named NL Manager of the Year in 1985. Whitey stepped down as the Cardinals' manager in July 1990 when he was dissatisfied with the team's performance.
Herzog never managed again (although he was offered the managerial position in Boston in 1996). He served in various front office and consultant positions after leaving the Cardinals.
Whitey was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2010.
Managerial Record:
Texas Rangers (1973): 47-91 (.391)
California Angels (1974): 2-2 (.500)
Kansas City Royals (1975-1979): 410-304 (.574) - 3 AL West titles
St. Louis Cardinals (1980-1990): 822-708 (.530) - 3 NL Pennants, 1 World Championship
Carlton Fisk made his sixth AL All Star team in 1978 (he went 0 for 2). It would have been seven in a row if it weren't for an injury in 1975.
Fisk only led the team in one category (39 doubles), but he was a very important part of the Red Sox lineup. Carlton's last full day off was July 17. Pudge started 150 out of the team's 163 games.
Besides the oft-played 1975 World Series home run, the main memory I have of Fisk is the commercials he did for Copenhagen. He and Walt Garrison stand out for me with these ads. I wonder if he still chews the stuff.
1978 Stats: .284, 20 HR, 88 RBI in 157 games
1978 Highlights:
July 8 - Had three hits and five RBI to help Boston beat the Cleveland Indians 12-5.
July 24 - Homered and knocked in three runs in Boston's 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Earl Weaver started his minor league career in the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1948. Weaver played in the Cardinals organization from 1948-1953 without rising above the AA level. Earl then played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1954-1956. Weaver realized he wasn't going to progress much higher as a player, so he turned to managing.
In 1957 Weaver was hired to manage in the Baltimore Orioles system. Earl worked his way up the chain and was above .500 every year from 1959-1967.
Weaver was added to the coaching staff of the Orioles in 1968. Oriole GM Harry Dalton thought the team was under performing and it was only a matter of time before Weaver was to become the manager. Weaver became the manager after the all star break and the team finished second in the American League.
The Orioles ran off three great seasons in a row from 1969-1971, appearing in the World Series each year. Things came together for the team and they won over 100 games each of those seasons. Baltimore lost to the Amazin' Mets in the 1969 World Series and then beat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series. The Orioles lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.
The Orioles started to age in 1972. They still won the AL East in 1973 and 1974, but they weren't able to beat the Oakland A's in the League Championship Series.
Baltimore came back to win the AL East in 1979. After beating the California Angels in the League Championship Series, the Orioles lost to the Pirates in seven games in the World Series.
The Orioles had one last hurrah in 1982. They had a great stretch run and finished the season tied with the Milwaukee Brewers on top of the AL East. Baltimore lost the playoff game and Weaver retired (for the first time) after the season. (It was interesting to see the article on the same page that had the Giants predicted to finish last in their division. The Giants had one of their few good seasons in that era and were alive until the final week of the season)
Earl worked as an announcer for ABC in 1983 and 1984 and was also a consultant for the Orioles.
Weaver was coaxed out of retirement in 1985 by Baltimore owner Edward Bennett Williams. The team was struggling and it was felt that Weaver could give them a shot in the arm. Baltimore played better than .500 for Weaver in 1985, but they finished last in the AL East with a 73-89 record in 1986. It was Weaver's only season below .500 in the major leagues and the first time one of his teams finished below .500 since 1957. Weaver retired (this time for good) after the 1986 season.
In 17 major league seasons Weaver had a record of 1553-1123 (.580) with four AL pennants and one World Championship.
Electronic Arts came out with Earl Weaver Baseball in 1987. I remember spending a lot of hours playing that game before I got a PC and was able to play the APBA and Strat-O-Matic computer games.
Earl managed the Gold Coast Suns in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.
I still remember that night (game 6 of the 1977 World Series) when Jackson hit three home runs against the LA Dodgers. For me that World Series was like choosing between HIV or ebola. I didn't care for him at the time, but now I have a greater appreciation for Reggie. I'm surprised Topps didn't mention that game on the back of this card.
This card has a great picture of Jackson at the end of his swing. It looks like he hit a long ball in Yankee Stadium.
Reggie caught some flak for his defense (and early in his career he was below average), but at this stage of his career he was right at league average in range factor and slightly above average in fielding percentage. His fielding didn't start to drop off until about 1980.
1978 Stats:
Regular season: .274, 27 HR, 97 RBI in 146 games
AL Championship Series: .462, 2 HR, 6 RBI in 4 games
World Series: .391, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 6 games
1978 Highlights:
May 13 - Homered twice and knocked in three runs in New York's 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Oct 2 - Hit a home run in the 8th inning to put the Yankees ahead 5-2 in the playoff game that decided the AL East championship. New York eventually beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4.
Oct 3 - Went 3 for 3 with a 3-run home run to help the Yankees beat the Royals 7-1 in game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Here is Reggie's at bat in game 2 of the 1978 World Series when Bob Welch struck him out to end the game.
And here's the famous play where Jackson may or may not have interfered with a throw to first base, allowing a run to score. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda sure thinks he interfered.
Tom Lasorda started his long baseball career as a left-handed pitcher in the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1945. For some reason he didn't pitch in 1946 or 1947. Lasorda moved to the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1949 and pitched in the minors for several seasons.
Tom had two cups of coffee with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and in 1955. He didn't exactly set the world on fire during those two stints and Lasorda was sold to the Kansas City Athletics in March 1956.
Lasorda was with the A's for the beginning of the 1956 season but after going 0-4 with a 6.15 ERA in 18 games (5 starts) he went back to the minors.
Tom was sent back to the Dodgers in 1957 and he continued to pitch for AAA Montreal through the 1960 season.
From 1960-1965 Lasorda was a scout for the Dodgers.
In 1966 Tom started his managerial career. From 1966 to early 1969 Lasorda managed at the Rookie League level. In 1969 Lasorda became the manager of the Dodgers' AAA team in Spokane. Tom managed AAA Spokane and Albuquerque from 1969-1972. Tom was the Sporting News Minor League Manager of The Year in 1970.
Lasorda became a coach (and manager Walter Alston's heir apparent) with the Dodgers in 1973. Tom became the manager of the Dodgers during the last week of the 1976 season after Alston's retirement.
The Dodgers won NL pennants in the next two seasons (1977 and 1978) but they lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series both times. Lasorda was named NL Manager of The Year in 1977.
After a rough 1979 season, the Dodgers returned to contention in 1980. They finished 1 game behind the Houston Astros in the NL West in 1980.
In 1981 the Dodgers won the World Championship and in 1982 they finished second in the NL West behind the Atlanta Braves.
The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983 and in 1985 and then pulled off an upset in 1988 when they beat the heavily favored Oakland A's 4 games to 1 in the World Series.
Lasorda won NL Manager of The Year awards in 1983 and in 1988. The Dodgers won another divsion title in 1995, giving Tom a total of seven as a manager.
Tom stepped down as the manager of the Dodgers in 1996 after he had a heart attack. He retired with a lifetime record of 1599-1439 in 21 years.
Lasorda was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.
Tom managed the U.S. Baseball Team to the Gold Medal in the 2000 Olympics.
Lasorda was named a vice president of the Dodgers in 1998. He continues to serve as a special adviser for the club.
Here is a long and interesting piece about Tommy Lasorda Jr., who passed away from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992.
Robin Yount didn't play his first 1978 game until May 6. Yount was 22 years old but was already playing in his fifth season. Robin was named to post season all star teams by The Sporting News, AP, UPI, and Baseball Bulletin.
1978 Stats: .293, 9 HR, 71 RBI in 127 games
1978 Highlights:
July 8 - Had three hits and scored two runs (including the tying run in the bottom of the 8th inning) in Milwaukee's come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
Sept 6 - Had four hits (including two home runs) and knocked in five runs as the Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0.
Sept 19 - Scored both runs and homered as the Brewers shut out the Yankees 2-0.
Lou finished the season 100 hits short of 3,000. Brock would bounce back the next year, bat .301, and get his 3000th hit. Lou retired after the 1979 season.
1978 Stats: .221, 0 HR, 12 RBI in 92 games
1978 Highlights:
July 26 - Brock's RBI single in the top of the 8th inning proved to be the game winner as the Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
Aug 21 - Had three hits, scored two runs, and knocked in two runs in the Cardinals' 14-9 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Jim Palmer had his eighth (and last) 20-win season in 1978. Jim was an AL All Star (he started the game and allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings) and won a Gold Glove award. Palmer completed 19 of his 38 starts and led the AL with 296 innings pitched.
1978 Stats: 21-12, 2.46 ERA in 38 starts
1978 Highlights:
Apr 15 - Pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers in his first start of the season. Jim struck out seven batters and walked only one in Baltimore's 7-0 victory.
June 1 - Shut out the AL East rival New York Yankees 1-0 on two hits.
Sept 23 - Pitched a complete game and earned his 20th win of the season as the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1.
It is surprising that Bert Blyleven didn't get a "0" number in this set. He didn't even get a "5" number.
Blyleven pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1978. Bert was sent to the Pirates as part of that big 4-team deal between the Rangers, the Pirates, the New York Mets, and the Atlanta Braves.
Blyleven had a good year in 1978 and then had a couple of seasons with a relatively high ERA for the Pirates. He had a win in the 1979 NL Championship Series and a win in the 1979 World Series. Bert's lifetime postseason record was 5-1.
1978 Stats: 14-10, 3.03 ERA in 34 starts
1978 Highlights:
April 26 - Pitched an 11-inning shutout against the New York Mets. The Pirates finally scored in the top of the 11th on a home run by Ed Ott.\
May 20 - Shut out the Montreal Expos on three hits as the Pirates won 6-0.
Aug 29 - Pitched his fourth shutout of the year against the Cincinnati Reds. Bert allowed four hits and struck out eight batters in the 5-0 Pittsburgh victory.
Gary Carter was real close to succeeding Johnny Bench as the National League's best catcher in 1978. From 1979-1988 Carter would be an All Star catcher for the NL every year.
Gary slipped a bit offensively in 1978. It was more of a pitcher's year as baseball adjusted to the 1977 expansion. Carter did have one career high -- he stole 10 bases during the season.
1978 Stats: .255, 20 HR, 72 RBI in 157 games
1978 Highlights:
May 3 - Hit a grand slam and knocked in a total of five runs in Montreal's 10-3 win over the Houston Astros.
July 30 - Went 4 for 5 with 4 runs scored as the Expos hammered the Atlanta Braves 19-0.
Sept 11 - Hit a 2-run home run in the 4th inning to help the Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1.
Joe Torre didn't inherit a good situation in his first managing job. The New York Mets had traded away a lot of good players (especially the great Tom Seaver) and were struggling to field a decent team. Joe became a player-manager on May 31, 1977. That lasted only a few weeks -- Torre retired as a player in late June.
The Mets weren't a good team during Torre's tenure with the club. They overhauled their entire pitching staff in 1977 and in 1978, and by 1979 they had only two experienced starting pitchers.
Torre was let go as the Mets' manager at the end of the 1981 season. They had two last place finishes and two fifth place finishes during Torre's 3 1/2 seasons managing the club.
Joe became the manager of the New York Yankees in 1996. The team had a great run of success during Joe's tenure as manager. They won four world championships, six AL pennants, and made the playoff every season from 1996-2007. Torre had the second longest managerial tenure in team history. Only Joe McCarthy managed the team for a longer period of time.
When I started doing this blog I thought I had the complete set. I started scanning the cards and saw that I was wrong. My set was short 16 cards. I ordered the missing cards on sportlots.com and now the set is complete.
That was one heck of a game 6 for Reggie Jackson. For me that World Series was a choice between "eeeew" and "yuck." By the time Jackson came up for his third at bat I was pulling for him to hit that third home run.
George Brett missed some time due to injuries and batted under .300 for the first time in four seasons in 1978. George missed three weeks after injuring his shoulder while breaking up a double play on April 29. Brett also missed three weeks in late July and early August.
Although he played in only 128 games, Brett led the AL with 45 doubles.
1978 Stats:
Regular Season: .294, 9 HR, 62 RBI in 128 games
AL Championship Series: .389 (7 for 18, 3 HR, 7 runs scored) in 4 games
1978 Highlights:
April 17 - Homered, doubled, scored twice and knocked in two runs in Kansas City's 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays
Sept 18 - Had four hits and scored twice as the Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 in 11 innings.
Oct 6 - Hit three solo home runs in a losing cause as the Royals lost to the New York Yankees 6-5 in game 3 of the AL Championship Series.
It's hard to believe Bobby Cox was ever this young.
Cox spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. Bobby spent two seasons (1968-1969) in the majors but he was sent back down in 1970 due to his light hitting.
Bobby was a player-manager in Class A Fort Lauderdale in 1971. He then managed several teams in the New York Yankees organization from 1972-1976. Cox was the first base coach for the world champion Yankees in 1977.
After the 1977 season Bobby was hired to manage the Atlanta Braves. The Braves were a struggling ballclub during that time. After two last place finishes, the Braves became a .500 ballclub, but it wasn't enough for owner Ted Turner and Cox was fired after the 1981 season. Bobby's successor (Joe Torre) took the Braves to a division title and two second place finishes after Cox was fired. The most important (and to many unorthodox) move during Bobby's first tenure with Atlanta was moving Dale Murphy from catcher to center field. The move paid huge dividends for Murphy and the team during the 1980s.
Cox was hired to manage the Toronto Blue Jays after his dismissal from the Braves. The Blue Jays steadily improved and played well under Bobby's tenure. Cox won a division title with Toronto in 1985.
After the 1985 season Cox left the Blue Jays and returned to the Braves as General Manager. Bobby served as the Braves' GM from 1986 until the middle of the 1990 season. Cox fired manager Russ Nixon and returned to the dugout to manage. In 1991 the Braves went "from worst to first" as they won the first of many division titles under Cox. The Braves lost a thrilling 7-game World Series to the Minnesota Twins.
The Braves were division champions every year (except the 1994 strike year) from 1991-2005. Atlanta won only one World Championship (1995) during that time, but they had a run of success that may never be equaled.
Bobby Cox stepped down as the Braves' manager after the 2010 season. After four years of missing the playoffs, the Braves were a wild card in Bobby's final season.
Cox finished his managerial career with 2504 wins (4th all-time), 5 pennants, and one world championship. Cox was selected as Manager of the Year four times. Bobby was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013 and will be inducted in 2014.
Managerial record:
Fort Lauderdale Yankees (A) (1971): 71-70
West Haven Yankees (AA) (1972): 84-56, .600
Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) (1973-1976): 304-261, .538
Atlanta Braves (1978-1981, 1990-2010): 2149-1709, .557
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.
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.
