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.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, we move on to the great Joe Morgan and add him to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful "All-Star" banner on the base cards of starting players in years Topps had separate All-Star cards:

 

To refresh everyone's memories, I was never a fan of separate All-Star cards as a kid. I loved when Topps had the All-Star designation on the players base card, giving it that extra iconic element that made them instant classics.

Between 1975 and 1981 Topps did just that, and I was absolutely heartbroken when I ripped open my first packs of 1982 cards, and came upon a Reggie Jackson card, then noticing it was a dedicated All-Star card.

Anyway, as for Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, while helping build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine".

They'd win two straight Wold Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

Morgan was the National League's starting second baseman in the 1973 Midsummer Classic, and would go on to finish the year with a .290average, with 116 runs scored, 35 doubles, 26 homers and 67 stolen bases, good enough for a fourth place finish in the MVP race, while also taking home the first of his five Gold Gloves.

Just a juggernaut himself!

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.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 JIM STRICKLAND

Today up on the blog we have a "not so missing" 1974 card for three-year Major League pitcher Jim Strickland of the Minnesota Twins, who appeared in just seven games during the 1973 season:

 

Strickland was hit hard over those seven games, to the tune of an 11.81 earned run average over 5.1 innings of work, going 0-1, all out of the bullpen.

He'd appear in four games with the Cleveland Indians in 1975 after spending all of 1974 in the Minors, coming over from Minnesota in October of 1973 as part of a four-player trade.
Over those four appearances he didn’t factor in a decision, but sported a very nice earned run average of 1.93 over 4.2 innings.
Between 1971 and 1973 Strickland appeared in 56 games for the Twins, going 4-2 over those games, along with five saves and an ERA at around 2.75.
Overall for his career, he’d finish at 4-2 with his earned run average a nice 2.68 over 60 appearances and 77.1 innings pitched, with five saves and 60 strikeouts.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 LARRY JOHNSON

Up on the blog today we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for former catcher Larry Johnson, whose Major League career was 12 games spread out between 1972 and 1978:

 

Johnson appeared in one single game for the Cleveland Indians in 1974, scoring a run without even being credited with a plate appearance.

It was his first MLB action since 1972 when he made his debut with one game, going 1-for-2 at the plate at the age of 21.

In 1975 he’d again appear in only one game, which must be a record for a player to appear in only one game over the first three years of his career.
This time that one game was with the Montreal Expos where he went 1-for-3 at the plate, hitting a double while driving in the first run of his career.
1976 would see him break that one-game streak when he appeared in six games for the Expos, collecting two hits over 13 at-bats for a .154 batting average.
But all that got him was another full-season in the Minors for 1977 before coming back, now with the Chicago White Sox, for what ended up being the last taste of the Big Leagues, playing in three games and going 1-for-8 at the plate, good for a .125 average.
He’d go on to play another four professional seasons, the last of which was in the Mexican League in 1982, before retiring for good.
All told, he finished his MLB career with a .192 average, with five hits over 26 at-bats in 12 games, with two doubles, an RBI and run scored.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 IVAN DEJESUS

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" card for longtime Big League infielder Ivan DeJesus, who was yet to become a full-timer as the 1977 season approached:

 

DeJesus appeared in 22 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .171 with seven hits over 41 at-bats, this after playing in 63 games in 1976 and three games in his MLB debut in 1975.

It really wasn't until 1977, now as a Chicago Cub, that he would become a full-time Major League player. 

By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers over the course of 15 seasons, and finished with a .254 average with 1167 hits and 194 stolen bases.

Between 1977 and 1980 he had some solid seasons for the Cubs, even leading the National League in runs scored in 1978 with 104, and twice topping 40 stolen bases (in 1978 and 1980).

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 A.L. EARNED RUN AVERAGE

On the blog today we move on to the American League Earned Run Average leaders for 1972, featuring three big time pitchers, two Hall of Famers and someone who arguably should be in:

 

Starting off, we begin with a pitcher who made quite a comeback, resurrecting his Big League career in 1972, Luis Taint, who led the league with a brilliant 1.91 ERA in his first full season with the Boston Red Sox.

After going 21-9 with a league leading 1.60 ERA in 1968 while with the Cleveland Indians, Taint's career took a nosedive, losing 20 games in 1969, appearing in only 18 games in 1970 with the Minnesota Twins, then going 1-7 with a 4.83 ERA in Boston.

However, in 1972 he was back on top, going 15-6, tossing six shutouts and saving three over 43 appearances, 19 of which were starts.

He'd go on to win 20+ games in three of his next four seasons, eventually retiring after the 1982 season with 229 wins, 49 shutouts and a 3.30 ERA.

Just behind him in the ERA chase was Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, who had his first Cy Young season in 1972, coming over to the Cleveland Indians after the big trade for Sam McDowell, and Perry would not disappoint, going 24-16 over 41 games, throwing a monster 342.2 innings and sporting a 1.92 ERA,with five shutouts and 234 strikeouts.

Six years later, when many thought he was "done", he'd win his second Cy Young, now with the San Diego Padres, becoming the first pitcher to win the award in both leagues, going 21-6 with a 2.73 ERA over 37 starts at the age of 39. Not too shabby!

Third in the league with a 2.09 ERA in 1972 was another Hall of Famer, former Oakland A's ace Jim "Catfish" Hunter, who had himself a very nice season helping the A's to the first of what would be three straight World Championships, going 21-7 with 191 strikeouts and five shutouts over 38 appearances, all but one as a starter.

It was his second of five straight 20-win seasons, as he'd finish up with 224 wins after arm troubles set in, tossing 42 shutouts and posting a career 3.26 ERA over 15 seasons, though still only 33 when he hung up the spikes.

Well there you have it, three studs who finished 1 through 3 in the league ERA category!