- 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.
- Fred Lynn bounced back after battling an injury in 1977. Fred won the second of four Gold Glove awards in 1978 and went to the All Star game for the fourth time. He was an AL All Star every year from 1975-1983.
- It is odd that Lynn's card didn't get the "All Star shield"
- I didn't follow the American League very much when I was growing up, but Lynn was one of my favorite players. Too bad he had so many injuries during his career.
- 1978 Stats: .298, 22 HR, 82 RBI
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 20 - Went 4 for 5 with three runs scored to help the Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-4.
- Aug 28 - Went 5 for 5 and scored 4 runs in Boston's 10-9 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
- Sept 29 - Knocked in five runs as the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0.
- Alan Ashby had one of his better offensive years in 1978. He split time with Rick Cerone behind the plate. Cerone had slightly better defensive stats and Ashby had better offensive stats.
- After the 1978 season Ashby was traded to the Houston Astros for Joe Cannon, Pete Hernandez, and Mark Lemongello. Alan went on to have a nice run as a platoon catcher with the Astros from 1979-1989.
- 1978 Stats: .261, 9 HR, 29 RBI in 81 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 31 - Hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning to tie the game. Otto Velez homered in the 14th inning to finally win the game for Toronto. Ashby had two hits and two RBI in the 7-6 Blue Jay win over the Detroit Tigers.
- Aug 20 - Had four hits and two RBI in Toronto's 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
- Well I'm back after a VERY long hiatus. I moved from Arizona to Utah to accept a new teaching job. It was a big move for me since I had lived in Arizona all of my life. At the time we had a foster son that we were in the process of adopting. He wasn't allowed to leave Arizona until he was adopted, so my wife stayed with him in Arizona while I went to Utah with our daughter. My daughter and I stayed with an uncle until we could find a rental home. I figured it would only be a short time so I didn't bring some things with me (including my 1978 cards and my scanner). What was supposed to be a month turned into four months, but the adoption finally happened in late October. Unfortunately we had trouble finding a suitable rental so we stayed with the uncle for a couple more months. We now have a rental but in the meantime the house in Arizona was burglarized. The thieves didn't get much, but they got the TV and my scanner. Luckily they didn't take any of my cards. I'll start posting again with some cards I had already had scanned into my computer and I'll pick up the other cards later.
- Killer gum stain on the back of this card.
- Tom Griffin didn't pitch for the San Diego Padres in 1978. He became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with the California Angels.
- Tom was mostly used as a relief pitcher in 1978. He was in the Cleveland rotation for a few turns in June, but he was 0-3 in that role. Griffin had several breaks during the season as he battled injuries. He had five breaks of 10 or more days, including a 24 day hiatus in May. Tom pitched in only one game in September.
- Griffin was released after the 1978 season. He pitched for the San Francisco Giants for three years and finished up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1982.
- 1978 Stats: 3-4, 4.02 ERA in 24 games (4 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 24 - Allowed no runs in 2 2/3 innings and earned the victory as the Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 in 16 innings.
