- For some reason I used to get Dan Ford and Al Cowens mixed up. They were both American League outfielders. All of my favorite teams (the Giants and whoever Pete Rose played for) were in the National League, so I usually only became interested in the AL during spring training and when it got close to playoff time.
- This was Dan Ford's last season in Minnesota. Dan was traded to the California Angels after the 1978 season.
- I wonder if he still likes disco.
- 1978 Stats: .274, 11 HR, 82 RBI in 151 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 26 - Had seven RBI in a 9-8 loss to the Oakland A's.
- July 22 - Was 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI in Minnesota's 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
- Aug 17 - Singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th as the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5. Ford was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and knocked in two runs.
- I've always liked the cards of players signing autographs. It surprising that Mr. Goltz didn't get a "0" or "5" card given his record over the previous four seasons.
- It looks like Goltz had two stints on the disabled list in 1978. He was out for 24 days from late April to mid May, made a start on May 16, and then was out for 17 more days. Dave also missed two weeks in early August.
- 1978 Stats: 15-10, 2.49 ERA in 29 starts
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 1 - Pitched a shutout against the Chicago White Sox. It was his third straight complete game win.
- July 9 - Shut out the Oakland A's on three hits. It was his third straight complete game win. During that streak he allowed one run in 27 innings.
- Sept 24 - Won his 15th game by beating the Kansas City Royals 6-4 in a complete game. It was Dave's fifth win of the month. In Dave's last eight starts he had six complete games (including a 10-inning game) and went into the 8th inning in the other two games.
- Mike Cubbage was the starting third baseman for the Minnesota Twins in 1978. Mike was a left-handed batter, so he often sat out against lefty starting pitchers.
- Cubbage didn't provide much power from the third base position and he was supplanted by John Castino in 1979.
- Cubbage was an above-average fielder in 1978, but in other years he was usually below average.
- 1978 Stats: .282, 7 HR, 57 RBI in 125 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 6 - Had four hits, four RBI, and scored three times in Minnesota's 8-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles
- July 27 - Hit for the cycle and knocked in four runs to help the Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3.
- July 28 - Had two hits and two runs scored as the Twins beat the New York Yankees 7-5 in ten innings. Cubbage scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning.
- I've been gone for a few weeks tending to some home matters. We have two new foster boys (2 and 4) in the house and they've been keeping us pretty busy. Things are starting to settle down into a routine so I should be able to start blogging again :).
- Steve Carlton led the NL in victories four times during his Hall of Fame career. Lefty was the NL Cy Young Award winner in each of those seasons (1972, 1977, 1980, and 1982)
- There was a three way tie for the AL lead in victories. Jim Palmer led the AL in wins three straight years (1975, 1976, and 1977). Palmer was the Cy Young Award winner in 1975 and in 1976 and he finished second to Sparky Lyle in the 1977 balloting. Dave Goltz and Dennis Leonard had their only taste of the league lead in wins in 1977, although Leonard won 20 or more games in two other seasons.
- Hall of Fame count:
- American League: 2 - Jim Palmer and Nolan Ryan
- National League: 2 - Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver
- George Foster led the NL in RBI for the third straight year.
- The Cincinnati Reds had a player lead the NL in RBI in six seasons during the 1970s - Johnny Bench (1970, 1972, 1974) and Foster (1976, 1977, 1978).
- The Boston Red Sox had four players with at least 100 RBI in 1977.
- Hall of Fame count:
- National League: 2 - Johnny Bench and Mike Schmidt
- American League: 4 - Jim Rice, Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski
- Rod Carew won the 1977 AL batting title by 52 points. That was the largest difference between the leader and the runner-up since 1901. Nap Lajoie batted .426 to win the title by 86 points over runner-up Mike Donlin.
- This was the sixth of Carew's seven AL batting titles. Rod would win his final batting title in 1978.
- Dave Parker won the NL batting championship in both 1977 and in 1978. Parker was a very dangerous hitter when you combine his batting average with his power. If it weren't for those lost years in the early 1980s Dave would have been a sure Hall of Famer.
- Hall of Fame count:
- National League - none.
- American League - four (Rod Carew, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, George Brett)
- This is the first appearance on a Topps card by Rich Chiles since 1973.
- Chiles was the backup left fielder and made 53 starts in 1978.
- The 1978 season was Rich Chiles' final season in the majors. He got a card in 1979, but Chiles was released by the Twins in February 1979. Rich played two more seasons in AAA, but he didn't distinguish himself in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
- 1978 Stats: .268, 1 HR, 22 RBI in 87 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- Apr 23 - Saved pitcher Roger Erickson from an enraged Bobby Grich. Grich charged the mound after Erickson threw a pitch behind his ear. Bobby landed a forearm on Erickson before Chiles rushed out of the dugout and tackled Grich.
- Aug 13 - Hit two doubles and knocked in one run in Minnesota's 2-1 victory over the Oakland A's.
- Aug 31 - Hit his only home run of the season to help the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1.
- Paul Thormodsgard was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1971. Paul progressed through the Reds' system and was highly regarded, but injuries derailed his advancement out of the minors.
- Paul was released by the Reds after the 1974 season. He had an elbow operation and also had a bad back. Thormodsgard credited a chiropractor with saving his career.
- Thormodsgard was signed by the Minnesota Twins after the 1975 season. Paul pitched in class A Reno in 1976 and then made the Twins roster in 1977. Thormodsgard went 11-15 and had a 4.62 ERA in 37 starts for the Twins in 1977.
- Paul started the 1978 season with the Twins but he had a tough time. After winning his first start, Paul went 1-6 with a 5.05 ERA in 12 starts in 1978. In early June Thormodsgard was sent to AAA Toledo. He went 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 5 games with the Mud Hens.
- Toledo manager Carl Ermer was optimistic about the Mud Hens' chances in 1979 due in part to the presence of Thormodsgard in the starting rotation. Paul spent most of the 1979 season in Toledo and went 7-13 with a 2.94 ERA in 28 starts. Thormodsgard was called up to the Twins in September and pitched in one game (he allowed one run in one inning pitched. That was the last major league action Paul had.
- After the 1979 season Paul was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Mackanin (this newspaper article says he was traded for minor leaguer Dan Graham -- perhaps Mackanin was substituted later). Thormodsgard spent the 1980 season in AA Oklahoma City. Paul had a 5-5 record with a 2.95 ERA in 35 games (8 starts). He retired after the 1980 season.
- 1978 Stats:
- Minnesota Twins: 1-6, 5.05 ERA in 12 starts
- Toledo Mud Hens (AAA): 4-0, 2.00 ERA in 5 games (4 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 8: Pitched a complete game and earned his only victory of the year as the Twins beat the Seattle Mariners 8-2.
- May 24 - Pitched nine innings and allowed two runs in a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.
- Aug 30 - Had a complete game victory that reduced the Mud Hens' magic number for clinching an International League playoff spot to 3. The Mud Hens beat the Tidewater Tides 2-1.
- Craig Kusick was a DH and a firstbaseman for the Twins in 1978. Kusick was a good pinch hitter and backup in previous seasons, but he struggled in 1978.
- It's interesting that most of his cards feature him wearing dark glasses.
- 1978 Stats: .173, 4 HR, 20 RBI in 77 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- Apr 14 - Went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI in Minnesota's 14-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners
- May 24 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 out and the Twins trailing the Texas Rangers 2-1 and hit a home run to tie the game. The Twins eventually lost 3-2 in 11 innings.
- Don Carrithers was released by the Twins during spring training in 1978. He was in a serious automobile accident in 1977 and was unable to come back from his injuries.
- After his release from the Twins, Don pitched for the AAA Phoenix Giants for two seasons. Carrithers was never called up to the majors and retired after the 1979 season.
- 1978 Stats:
- Phoenix Giants (AAA): 7-8, 2 saves, 4.62 ERA in 34 games (16 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)
- During the first month or so of the 1978 season it looked like Tom Johnson was on his way to a pretty good year. He was 1-4 with 3 saves and had a 3.00 ERA in mid-May. Tom had a few rough outings and by early June his ERA was up to 5.14. Johnson went on the disabled list and made only two more appearances in September. Tom was released after the 1978 season and then underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff.
- Johnson missed the entire 1979 season and then tried to come back with the Chicago White Sox in 1980. He had a 6.65 ERA in 15 starts in AAA and then called it quits.
- Tom is now a Christian pastor. He and his wife have been living in Slovakia and running a ministry there for a few years. Here is a video about their work there
- 1978 Stats: 1-4, 3 saves, 5.51 ERA in 18 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 15 - Pitched two scoreless innings and earned the win as the Twins beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 in 11 innings.
- May 16 - Allowed no runs in three innings and got the save (his last one) in Minnesota's 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
- The Twins were really struggling to get fans to attend games in 1978. They averaged only about 9700 fans per game.
- Geoff Zahn had seven seasons of double figure victory totals in his career. The Twins acquired Geoff in 1977 and made him a starter. Zahn didn't have a fastball but his variety of slow stuff served him well in the next four years and later with the California Angels.
- Zahn had career bests in ERA (as a starter), innings pitched, and strikeouts in 1978.
- 1978 Stats: 14-14, 3.03 ERA in 35 starts
- 1978 Highlights:
