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- This card says that the manager for 1978 hadn't been named when the set went to press. Looks like the Brewers made the right choice in hiring George Bamberger.
- A mark is next to Paul Molitor's name on this checklist. I probably did that to indicate his card was on one of those four-player rookie cards and not with the rest of the team's cards.
- The Milwaukee Brewers made a huge leap in 1978, going from 67 wins to 93 wins. The Brewers featured a potent hitting attack. Average pitching and fielding caused them to finish below the leaders in the AL East, but they would be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years.
- It's amazing that Don Money and Ben Oglivie were able to get into so many games. Manager George Bamberger did a great job of rotating players around and getting those bats into the lineup.
Team Record: 93-69, 3rd in AL East, 6.5 games behind New York
- Attendance: 1,601, 406 (6th in AL)
- Team Batting: .276 (1st in AL)
- Team Home Runs: 173 (1st in AL)
- Team Runs Scored: 804 (1st in AL)
- Team Stolen Bases: 95 (7th in AL)
- Team ERA: 3.65 (8th in AL)
- Team Fielding: .977 (9th in AL)
- All Stars: Don Money (starting 2B); Larry Hisle (OF); Lary Sorensen (P)
- AL Leaders: Mike Caldwell (complete games - 23)
- AL Awards: ---
- Batting Leader: Cecil Cooper (.312)
- Home Run Leader: Larry Hisle (34)
- RBI Leader: Larry Hisle (115)
- Stolen Base Leader: Paul Molitor (30)
- Victories Leader: Mike Caldwell (22)
- Losses Leader: Lary Sorensen, Jerry Augustine (12)
- ERA Leader (starters): Mike Caldwell (2.36)
ERA Leader (relievers): Bill Castro (1.81)
- Strikeout Leader: Mike Caldwell (131)
- Saves Leader: Bob McClure (9)
- Players who could have had 1978 Topps Milwaukee Brewers cards (minimum 100 AB or 40 IP):
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- Rick Langford improved in 1978 after leading the AL with 19 losses in 1977. Rick was still below .500, but the team didn't give him a lot of support.
- Langford went to the bullpen from mid-May until mid-June
- Langford continued to show steady improvement until his peak in 1980 and 1981. Then injuries diminished his effectiveness until he retired in 1986.
- Rick had the same mustache on all of his cards from 1977-1986 (except for a couple of mustache and beard cards in 1981).
- 1978 Stats: 7-13, 3.43 ERA in 37 games (24 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- August 1 - Pitched a three-hit shutout as the A's beat the California Angels 1-0. Langford struck out 11 batters and walked only one. With the win both teams had identical 56-51 records and were four games behind first place Kansas City.
- August 11 - Pitched his second three-hit shutout of the year as the A's beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0. At this time the A's were still hanging around the fringes of the AL West chase in third place (5 games behind Kansas City). The team went 8-37 (ouchie!!!) over the last several weeks and finished in 6th place. Here is an article about the strange season of the 1978 Oakland A's.
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- Mike Lum had the best of his three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds in 1978. He didn't play much during those years in Cincinnati. Mike was a backup outfielder and pinch hitter for the Reds.
- It seemed like every other pack of 1974's had a Mike Lum card in it.
- Here is a link to Mike's SABR biography.
- 1978 Stats:
- .267, 6 HR, 23 RBI in 86 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 9 - Doubled in the tying run in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Reds eventually beat the New York Mets 7-6. It was Lum's first hit of the year after going 0 for 11 in ten games to start the season.
- May 31 - Went 3 for 4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI in Cincinnati's 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.
- July 7 - Hit a 2-run home run in the 5th inning to lead the Reds to a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
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- As a player, Vern Rapp was a catcher who never got the call to the majors. He played from 1946-1950 and then spent the next two seasons in military service. Vern resumed his playing career and played from 1953-1960 before becoming a manager.
- Vern Rapp was a successful minor league manager in the 1960s and 1970s. He managed AAA Indianapolis (Reds system) from 1969-1975 and had only one year under .500, but Rapp wasn't likely to move up to the majors with Sparky Anderson doing so well.
- Vern moved on to manage AAA Denver (Expos system) in 1976 and had a great record there. Rapp even put himself into a game at the age of 48 and was 1 for 1 with one RBI.
- Rapp succeeded Red Schoendienst as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977. The Cards were successful in 1977, going 83-79 and finishing in third place. But the players didn't like Vern's strict style and there were some clashes between players and management (including Al Hrabosky and others having to shave their beards). Rapp was relieved of his duties and succeeded by Ken Boyer in April 1978 after the Cardinals started with a 6-10 record.
- Vern coached for the Montreal Expos from 1979-1983. He was hired to manage the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.
- The Reds didn't play very well in 1984 and Rapp was replaced by player-manager Pete Rose on August 15, 1984.
- After his tenure with the Reds Vern retired to Colorado and took up fly fishing. He passed away on December 31, 2015 at the age of 87.
- Managerial Record:
- Minor League Career: 1955; 1961-1962; 1965-1976;18 seasons 1218-1176 (.509)
- Major League Career: 140-160 (.467)
- St. Louis Cardinals (1977-1978) 89-90 .497
- Cincinnati Reds (1984) 51-70 .421
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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.
