1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" RICHIE ZISK

Coming up to the end of my long-running 1978 "30 Home Run Club" series, and today we have another Chicago White Sox slugger, Richie Zisk, who had himself an excellent 1977 campaign:

 

Zisk, who was sent from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the White Sox in the Rich Gossage deal, had one of his best years in the Majors in his only season there, hitting a career high 30 home runs and 101 runs batted in.

He was named All-Star for the first time, and was part of the "South Side Hitmen" lineup that included Oscar Gamble, Eric Soderholm and Chet Lemon, fan favorites who hit a (then) high 192 homers as a team.

Though he'd have a few more solid years left as a Major Leaguer, he'd never reach more than 22 homers in any one season before he retired in 1983.

He'd end up playing for 13-years, hitting 207 home runs with 792 RBI's and 681 runs scored with a nice .287 batting average over 1453 games and 5144 at-bats.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" BUTCH HOBSON

The next 1977 slugger featured in my on-going 1978 "30 Home Run Club" sub-set if former Boston Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson, who joined in all the fun with a career-year, hitting 30 homers:

 

Boston's already potent line-up was given an added boost by their young third sacker, who was playing his first full season in the Major Leagues during the 1977 season.

All Hobson did with that chance was hit 30 homers while driving in 112 runs, scoring 77. All career best numbers.

Between 1977 and 1979 he would be the Red Sox starting third baseman, having that top-notch year in 1977.

However in 1980 an elbow injury limited his play to only 93 games before getting traded in the off-season along with Rick Burleson to the Angels for Carney Lansford and Mark Clear.

He'd spend only one year with the Angels, appearing in 85 games and hitting .235 before moving on to the New York Yankees in 1982, appearing in only 30 games and hitting only .172 in that time.

Between 1983 and 1985 Hobson would play solely in the Yankees Minor League system, never getting an opportunity to play in the Big Leagues again, retiring as a player by season's end of '83.

All told, Hobson finished his playing career with a .248 batting average, with 98 homers and 397 RBIs over 738 games.

Post-playing career Hobson went into coaching, before getting a chance to manage the Red Sox from 1992 to 1994, finishing his managerial career with a record of 207-232.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" JASON THOMPSON

Today's blog post has us up to former Detroit Tigers slugger Jason Thompson in my on-going 1978 subset, "30 Home Run Club", celebrating the big bashers of the 1977 season:

 

Thompson had a breakout year in 1977, his second in the Big Leagues, though first truly full-time season.

Besides the 31 jacks, he drove in a career-best 105 runs while hitting .270 over 158 games and 585 at-bats, scoring 87 runs and getting his first All-Star nod.

He would remain consistent with his numbers over the next four seasons for Detroit, though never hitting 30+ homers or driving in 100+ runs again.

Nevertheless he hit 20+ each year, while reaching 90 RBIs as well except for his 79 in 1979, yet he found himself traded to the California Angels for Al Cowens just after the start of the 1980 season.

He only played for them that year, hitting 17 homers while driving in 70 over 102 games, certainly good production for his new team.

However, yet again, just before the 1981 season he was on the move again, this time traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mickey Mahler and Ed Ott.

Thompson would play for Pittsburgh for the next five years, reaching 30+ homers again in 1982 when he also topped 100 RBIs with his 101, hitting .284 and making his third All-Star team.

He became (at the time) one of the rare batters to reach 30 homers in both the A.L. and N.L., and as a nerdy baseball 13 year old back then, I took notice of that!

After three more somewhat productive seasons for the Pirates, Thompson found himself North of the border in 1986, playing for the Montreal Expos, where he only appeared in 30 games in his 31-year-old season, with a combination of bad knees and an upstart young man named Andres Galarraga outperforming him causing Thompson to be released on June 30th.

Sadly, he never found another gig so even though only 31 years old, his career was over, hitting 208 homers with 782 RBIs over 11 seasons, with a .261 batting average and 1253 hits to his credit.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" OSCAR GAMBLE

Today on the blog we come up to Oscar Gamble in my on-going 1978 sub-set celebrating the 30-home run hitters of 1977, "30 Home Run Club", somewhat of a rip-off of the great 1977 Topps football "1000 Yard Rushers" idea:

 

As any of you know, I love Oscar Gamble, and any time I can have an excuse to create another custom for the man, I will!

In Gamble's lone season with the White Sox, as part of their celebrated "South Side Hit Men" lineup, he hit an amazing 31 homers in just 408 official at-bats.

The 31 homers were a career high, though it was not because he never found that stroke again, as he would have seasons such as 1979 when he hit 19 homers over 274 at-bats, 1980 when he hit 14 homers in 194 at-bats, and 1982 when he hit 18 homers in 316 at-bats.

The man really was a homer machine, as evidenced by his 200 career homers in just 4502 at-bats.

Nevertheless, he still put in a very nice 17-year Big League career, playing between 1969 and 1985, seeing the most time with the New York Yankees, for whom he played seven years.

An icon of 1970's baseball, sadly Gamble passed away in January of 2018 at the age of 68, and he is terribly missed by yours truly.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" REGGIE JACKSON

Today on the blog we move on to "Mr. October", the great Reggie Jackson in my on-going "30 Home Run Club" sub-set for the 1978 set, celebrating the game's top sluggers of 1977:

 

Now, I am NOT even going to try and top what could be the greatest Topps card ever in Reggie's base 1978 card. Personally, my second all-time favorite card (behind the 1976 Johnny Bench).

But I tried to emulate it as much as I could without repeating it, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Reggie did NOT disappoint in his first season with the Yankees, hitting 32 homers while driving in 110 runs, along with a very nice .286 batting average and 93 runs scored.

Of course, it was the 1977 Postseason that really paid off for the Bronx, as he'd launch the Yankees to their first championship in 15 years by demolishing the Los Angeles Dodgers almost single-handedly, hitting .450 with five homers and eight runs batted in with 10 runs scored in six games!

The man certainly was already a star by then, but this was the defining moment where he became baseball royalty!

What an icon not only of the era, but of baseball's long and rich history!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" GEORGE SCOTT

Next up in my on-going "30 Home Run Club" 1978 sub-set is "Boomer" Geaorge Scott, who had a great return year to his original Big League franchise, the Boston Red Sox in 1977:

 

Scott, who originally came up to the majors with the Red Sox in 1966 and played with them through the 1971 season, returned to Beantown and did NOT disappoint, hitting 33 homers while driving in 95 for a stacked Boston lineup in 1977.

That production gave him his third All-Star berth, and even gave him some MVP attention by season's end.

He put together an excellent career playing for the Red Sox, Brewers, Royals and Yankees between 1966 and 1979, slamming 271 home runs with 1051 RBI's, 1992 hits and a .268 batting average.

Defensively all he managed to do was take home eight Gold Gloves for his work at first base, and though he was only named to three all-star games, he garnered MVP attention in seven seasons, or half his career!

And of course, when we all look back to that great decade of the 1970's, and we look at some of the "bad-ass" players that graced Major League teams, "Boomer" undoubtedly comes up alongside Dick Allen, Frank Howard, etc!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" GRAIG NETTLES

Next up in my on-going 1978 "30 Home Run Club" sub-set is New York Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles, who put in his top Big League power season in 1977 with 37 homers, good for second place in the American League after leading the league the previous year:

 

Nettles, coming off a 32 homer campaign in 1976 which was good for the league crown, followed that up with 37 homers for the Yanks in 1977, two behind leader Jim Rice and tied with Bobby Bonds of the California Angels.

Nettles also drove in a career-best 107 runs and scored 99 himself, giving him his second All-Star berth as well as a fifth place finish in the MVP race at season's end.

It wasn't until recently I also realized that for a guy who was considered a "slugger", he never struck out much!

I really never realized in all these years that he never struck out 100+ times in a season over his 22 year career, but incredibly, for someone who hit 390 homers, he only AVERAGED 55 strikeouts a year over his career!

Think about that. That is absolutely wild.

When it was all said and done, Nettles played for those 22 seasons, finishing up with 390 homers, 2225 hits, and 1314 runs batted in, with 1193 runs scored and a reputation that still has him considered one of the finest defensive third basemen in history.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" BOBBY BONDS

Today we add the great Bobby Bonds to my on-going 1978 "30 Home Run Club" thread celebrating the big boppers of the 1977 season:

 

Bonds finished up yet another great year in 1977, playing for the California Angels, reaching his fourth 30-30 campaign with 37 home runs and 41 stolen bases.

The man was just electric!

The 37 home runs were just two short of American League leader Jim Rice, and were Bonds' second highest total after his 39 in 1973, when he fell one short of becoming the first 40-40 man in Major League history.

By the time he left the Majors after the 1981 season, he retired with 332 homers and 461 stolen bases, along with 1258 runs scored and 1024 runs batted in over 1849 games and 7043 at bats.
It’s a shame that by the time he turned 34 his best days were behind him. I never really understood why he dropped off the radar so quickly after a really good season with the Cleveland Indians in 1979.
The following year he found himself with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would only play in 86 games, before just 45 games in ‘81 with the Chicago Cubs, the last of his career.
An incredible talent, just seems that after his first seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants, no one really wanted to keep him around, playing for seven teams in seven years between 1975 and 1981.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" JIM RICE

Today we head over to the American League in my on-going 1978 special "30 Home Run Club" sub-set celebrating the big bashers of 1977, with the Junior Circuit's leader, Jim Rice:

 

Rice took home the first of his three career home run titles in 1977 when he paced the league with 39 home runs, to go along with 114 runs batted in, a .320 batting average, 206 hits and an amazing 15 triples!

Really, I still say Rice does NOT get the accolades he deserves for his monster seasons between 1975 when he broke in as a stud rookie and 1986 when he reached 200 hits for the fourth time.

A monster at the plate: 2400+ hits, 382 homers, 1451 runs batted in and a .298 lifetime average.

Five times would he finish in the running for Most Valuable Player besides the year he took it home in 1978.

What. A. Player!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" RON CEY

Another National League addition to my on-going 1978 "30 Home Run Club" sub-set, another Los Angeles Dodger! 

Today's addition is "The Penguin" Ron Cey, who hit a career-best 30 to give the Dodgers four sluggers reaching the mark, a new Major League record at the time:

 

Cey had perhaps his finest season in the Big Leagues in 1977, hitting the aforementioned 30 "jacks" while also driving in a career-best 110 runs for the eventual National League champs, as he also made his fourth straight All-Star team while finishing eighth in the MVP race.

Over 17 seasons you could pretty much pencil him in for about 25 home runs, 80-85 runs batted in, and a .275 batting average.
After the 1982 season he moved on to the Chicago Cubs where he’d play for another four seasons, then finish up his career with a single season in Oakland.
By the time he retired, he collected 1868 hits, with 316 home runs, 1139 RBIs and 977 runs scored with a .261 batting average.
He was named to the All-Star team six straight seasons between 1974 and 1979, and garnered MVP consideration five seasons, with four of them consecutive from 1974 to 1977.

The man was as solid and dependable as they came between 1973 and 1985!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" DUSTY BAKER

Today's blog post has the newest addition to my on-going 1978 "30 Home Run Club" sub-set, Dusty Baker, whose historic 30th home run clout of 1977 gave the Los Angeles Dodgers four batters reaching the mark that year, the first time ever accomplished by any one team:

Though certainly no slouch at the plate, it would be the only time Baker reached the milestone over his 19-year playing career.

It was a great year for him, as he hit .291 along with his 30 homers, with 86 runs batted in and 86 runs scored for the potent Dodger line-up that would help the team reach the World Series.

He’d go on to have a nice 19-year Major League career, hitting 242 homers with 1981 hits, 1013 RBI’s and a .278 average over 7117 at-bats in 2039 games.
When his playing days were over he coached and eventually became a manager himself in 1993, leading the San Francisco Giants for 10 years, culminating in a National League Championship in 2002 before losing to the Angels in the World Series.
From there he moved on to the Chicago Cubs for four years, then the Cincinnati Reds for another six seasons before taking the helm of the Washington Nationals this season.
Over 21 seasons as a manger he has won over 1700 games and counting, and adding to an already 40-year Major League career!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" GARY CARTER

On the blog today, we add Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter to my on-going "30 Home Run Club" 1978 sub-set, celebrating the first of his two 30-homer campaigns, which occurred during the 1977 season:

 

The 23-year-old bounced back from an injury-riddled 1976 season to hit 31 homers along with 84 runs batted in for the Montreal Expos, on his way to taking over "best National League catcher" title from the great Johnny Bench a few season's later (sorry Ted Simmons!).

Actually I remember when Gary Carter really took over the "best catcher" regardless of league from Johnny Bench around 1981. It was like he was suddenly everywhere with that smile of his!
Sure you still had Carlton Fisk producing in the American League, but Carter really took over as the top backstop and held onto that title for pretty much the rest of the decade.
This was a guy who had nine seasons of 20+ homers and four 100+ R.B.I. seasons as a catcher. Not too shabby!
After finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1975, Carter also went on to have 11 All-Star game nods, five Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Gloves and seven seasons where he garnered M.V.P. votes, finishing in the Top-10 four times.
By the time he retired after the 1992 season, he finished with 2092 hits, 324 home runs and 1225 runs batted in.
Needless to say Cooperstown came calling, and in 2003 he easily got voted in after being selected on 387 of 496 ballots, securing his place in baseball history forever.
However, sadly years later Carter was diagnosed with brain cancer, and despite undergoing aggressive treatment he succumbed to the disease about nine months later in February of 2012.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" JOHNNY BENCH

On the blog today, let's go ahead and add the great Johnny Bench to my on-going 1978 sub-set celebrating the sluggers of 1977, "30 Home Run Club":

 

Bench was part of the gang with his 31 homers, the last time he'd reach that mark in his illustrious career.

Along with those 31 home runs he drove in 109 runs while hitting .275, making his tenth All-Star team and taking home his tenth straight Gold Glove.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" REGGIE SMITH

Next up in my on-going 1978 sub-set celebrating the "30 Home Run Club" members of the 1977 season is Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Reggie Smith:

 

Smith joined what was at the time an exclusive club when he hit the 30th home run of the 1977 season, becoming one of only a few to hit 30+ homers in a season in both the American and National Leagues, eventually settling for 32 homers.

On top of that, it was also an even MORE exclusive club when three other Dodger teammates, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Dusty baker, also hit 30+ homers, becoming the first team in baseball history to have four such sluggers in a season.

It's easy to forget just what a nice career "the other Reggie" put together over the course of 17 seasons.

Not only was he a legitimate home run threat (finishing his career with 314), but he hit .300 or better seven times during his run, and even managed to swipe 137 bases as a Major League player.

He'd finish his career with over 1000 runs scored, 1000 runs batted in, 300 homers and 2000 hits between 1966 and 1982, playing for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30-HOME RUN CLUB" STEVE GARVEY

On the blog today, the next 1977 slugger who reached the "30 Home Run Club" for that season, none other than "should be" Hall of Famer (in my eyes) Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Garvey hit 33 home runs for the National League champs, the only time he reached 30+ for a season in his career actually.

Turns out it was perfect timing as he joined fellow teammates Dusty Baker, Ron Cey and Reggie Smith to become the first team in Major League history to have four such home run hitters in a season.

Garvey was humming through the mid-70's, driving in over 100 runs five times, collecting 200 or more hits six times, and taking home five Gold Gloves.

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a few hundred times: the fact that this man is NOT in the Hall of Fame, representing his era of Major League baseball, is a joke. Flat out nonsense. Beyond the numbers, the personality, the leader of a team that was shattering attendance records, helping popularize the game further, the man was an All-Star year in-year out.
In my book, seeing that the most support he ever received was 42.6%, which was in his second-year of eligibility in 1994, is nothing short of a black mark on what the Hall of Fame is.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30-HOME RUN CLUB" MIKE SCHMIDT

Next up in the 1978 special sub-set "30-Home Run Club", celebrating the big sluggers of 1977, is none other than all-time great third baseman Mike Schmidt, who blasted 38 taters that season:

Now, you think the 38 homers, which was the third year in a row, would have been cause for celebration.

But not in the Schmidt house, as after two straight seasons of leading the league with such a number in 1975 and 1976, as well as a home run title in 1974 with 36 homers, the 38 in 1977 was only good for fourth in his league.

However the season he had in 1977 was no slouch, as he also drove in 101 runs while hitting .274 with 104 walks, he made his third All-Star tea,. took home his second Gold Glove, and finished tenth in the MVP race.

Of course, we all know now that Schmidt still had another five home run titles ahead of him, on his way to 548 for his career, as well as three MVP campaigns and a World Championship.

Not too shabby!

All of this would eventually get him in the Hall of Fame, recognized as one of, if not THE greatest third baseman the game has ever seen.

All Hail "Schmitty"!!!

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30-HOME RUN CLUB" GREG LUZINSKI

Up next in my new 1978 sub-set celebrating the "thumpers" of 1977, "The Bull" Greg Luzinski's membership card in the "30-Home Run Club", finishing third in the Major Leagues for 1977 with his 39 taters:

Luzinski was in his prime when this card would have seen the light of day, coming off another second-place finish for N.L. MVP while driving in a career best 130 runs with those 39 homers and a nifty .309 batting average.

1978 would be more of the same, with 35 homers to go with 101 RBIs, 85 runs scored and 32 doubles, this time garnering him a seventh-place finish in the MVP race, along with his fourth straight All-Star nod.

Think about this: Luzinski retired after the 1984 season with 307 homers, 1128 runs batted in, and 1795 hits, and he was STILL only 33 years of age.
It’s easy to forget that he really put up great numbers while retiring at a relatively young age, even if he played for parts of 15 seasons between 1970 and 1984.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30-HOME RUN CLUB"

The next card in my new 1978 special sub-set, "1977 30 Home Run Club" is Atlanta Braves thumper Jeff Burroughs, former A.L. MVP and overall #1 pick:

  

Sure, we all know that George Foster led the Majors with his monster 52 home run season in 1977, but how many know that the second-most home runs hit by a player were the 41 by Burroughs?

Burroughs had a great year for the Braves in his first season with the blub, batting .271 with the aforementioned 41 homers, 114 RBIs and 91 runs scored.

Though he wouldn’t match those numbers again in his career, he would put together a very nice 16-year career that saw him hit 240 homers while driving in 882 runs between 1970 and 1985.
As stated earlier he would take home the 1974 A.L. MVP Award when he hit 25 homers and led the league with 118 runs batted in along with a .301 batting average, arguably his finest season in the big leagues.
A #1 pick in the amateur draft of 1969 out of Long Beach, California, he would be one of the first members of the 30-home runs-in-both-leagues club (30 with the Rangers in 1973/41 Braves in 1977), and actually one of the most successful #1 over-all picks at the time.
At the tail end of his career during the early-1980’s he was a potent bat off the bench for teams like the Seattle Mariners, Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30-HOME RUN CLUB"

Fun new thread I'm starting today, as I have always been a fan of the 1977 Topps Football set with their "1000 Yard Rusher" designation, so Id decided to create a similar set for the 1978 baseball set, celebrating the 1977 baseball season and it's home run boom of sorts, beginning with the MLB leader, George Foster:

As a kid I remember Baseball Digest running a small article about the 1977 season and how it had a home run explosion, from George Foster becoming the first Big League batter to reach 50+ homers since Willie Mays in 1965, to the Chicago White Sox "South Side Hitmen" team with Richie Zisk, Oscar Gamble et all almost reaching 200 homers (when that was actually something special).

And let's not forget the Boston Red Sox, who slammed a very impressive 213 home runs that year, let by American League leader Jim Rice who hit 39, followed by first baseman George Scott's 33 and third baseman Butch Hobson's 30.

It always stuck with me so I though creating a sub-set of the 19 players who hit 30 or more homers that year would be fun!

George Foster demolished the league’s pitching in 1977 by leading in runs (124), home runs (52), runs batted in (149), slugging (.631) and total bases (388) while also collecting 197 hits and posting a .320 batting average.
The man was an absolute beast! So much so that it actually makes people forget he was runner up to the league’s MVP Award the previous season, losing out to teammate Joe Morgan.

Nevertheless, Foster's amazing 1977 sadly overshadowed a man who had the year of his career that very same season, Jeff Burroughs, who hit a career-best 41 for the Atlanta Braves, but is somewhat forgotten in light of perhaps the season of the decade as far as power hitters go in the 1970s.

So watch for my Jeff Burroughs "30 Home Run Club" card in the next week or so as we go back and celebrate the power-year that was 1977!