1984 Topps Giants - Part 4

Mike Krukow led the team in victories with 11. He was 11-12 with a 4.56 ERA in 33 starts.

Renie Martin was 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 12 games. Martin spent quite a bit of the season with the Phoenix Giants. He was traded to the Phillies with Al Oliver for Kelly Downs and George Riley on August 30.

Fred Breining didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was traded to the Montreal Expos for Al Oliver before the season.

Mark Davis was 5-17 (0uch!) with a 5.36 ERA. He appeared in 46 games and started 27 of those games.

Jim Barr didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was released during spring training.

Greg Minton was the closer for the Giants in 1984. He saved 19 games and was 4-9 with a 3.76 ERA in 74 appearances.

Gary Lavelle was a setup man and did some closing for the Giants in 1984. He had 12 saves and was 5-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 77 appearances.

Bill Laskey was 9-14 with a 4.33 ERA in 34 starts in 1984.

Atlee Hammaker was 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts. He didn't start a game until June 26, made five starts, then was out again until September 1. He started that day and didn't pitch again in the 1984 season. He made two starts (probably a rehab assignment) for the Phoenix Giants.

Andy McGaffigan didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was sent to Montreal before the season as part of the Al Oliver deal.

Others who pitched for the Giants but didn't get a regular 1984 Topps Giants card:

• Jeff Robinson (7-15, 4.56 ERA in 33 starts)
• Frank Williams (9-4, 3.55 ERA, 3 saves in 61 appearances)
• Randy Lerch (5-3, 4.23 ERA, 2 saves in 37 games-4 starts)
• Bob Lacey (1-3, 3.88 ERA in 34 games)
• Mark Grant (1-4, 6.37 ERA in 10 starts--he had a save in his only relief appearance)
• Scott Garrelts (2-3, 5.65 ERA in 21 appearances--3 starts)
• Mark Calvert (2-4, 5.06 ERA in 10 appearances - 5 starts)
• George Riley (1-0, 3.99 ERA in 4 starts)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Happy Anniversary Willie

Today is the 50th anniversary of Willie McCovey's debut with the San Francisco Giants. Here is a good article about Willie's debut.

I didn't see Willie play until the end of his career, but he could still swing the bat. I saw him hit a towering home run one year in the late 70s in an exhibition game against the Dodgers at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Thanks for the memories Willie.

More thanks are in order

I just received a box of Giants cards from Stats on the Back as part of his team giveaway. I haven't sorted it yet, but I can tell it has a lot of cards that I can scratch off of my want list.

Ed from Roll out the Barrel also sent me some good stuff a few days ago.

Night Owl and GCRL recently sent me some stuff as well.

Looks like I have several want lists to check and packages to send.

Thanks again!!!

1984 Topps Giants - Part 3

Champ Summers didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He was traded to the San Diego Padres for Joe Pittman after the 1983 season.

Jeffrey Leonard led the Giants in home runs with 21 (tied with Chili Davis), led in RBI with 86, and batted .302 in 136 games.

Jack Clark played in only 57 games in 1984. He didn't play after June 22. He batted .320 with 11 home runs in 203 at bats.

Chili Davis batted .315 and tied Jeffrey Leonard for the team lead in home runs with 21.

Max Venable didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He was traded with Fred Breining and Andy McGaffigan to the Montreal Expos for Al Oliver before the 1984 season.

Others who played OF for the Giants in 1984 but didn't get a regular Topps 1984 Giants card:

• Dan Gladden batted .351 with 31 stolen bases in 86 games. He finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting. It was a very strong list of rookies: Dwight Gooden, Juan Samuel, and Orel Hershiser all finished ahead of Gladden, with Ron Darling and Terry Pendleton finishing behind him.

• Dusty Baker batted .292 in 243 at bats but hit only three home runs.

• Gene Richards batted .252 in 135 at bats.

• Alejandro Sanchez batted .195 in 41 at bats as a September call-up. He batted .318 for AAA Phoenix.

• Rob Deer batted .167 with three home runs in 24 at bats.
  
  
  
  
  

1984 Topps Giants - Part 2

Joel Youngblood played 3B for the Giants and batted .254 with 10 HR in 134 games.

Johnnie LeMaster was the starting shortstop and batted .217 with a .265 OBP in 132 games.

Duane Kuiper batted .200 in 115 at bats (mostly as a pinch hitter).

Dave Bergman didn't play for the Giants in 1984. After the 1983 season he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Alejandro Sanchez. The Phillies turned around and traded him to the Detroit Tigers before the 1984 season.

Tom O'Malley batted .120 in 13 games. He spent most of the season in AAA Phoenix. Tom had a stint in May, played a few games in July, and then was on the major league team in September.

Joe Pettini didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He started the season on the Phoenix Giants then moved on to AAA Louisville (Cardinals). He didn't play in the majors after 1983.

Darrell Evans didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He signed with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent after the 1983 season.

Brad Wellman batted .226 in 94 games as a utilityman.

Other infielders who didn't get a regular 1984 Topps Giants' card:

• Al Oliver (1B - batted .298 in 91 games)
• Manny Trillo (2B - batted .254 in 98 games)
• Scot Thompson (1B - batted .306 in 245 at bats)
• Fran Mullins (IF - batted .218 in 110 at bats)
• Chris Brown (3B - batted .286 in 23 September games)
  Joe Pittman (IF - batted .227 in 22 at bats)
  
  
  
  

1984 Topps Giants - Part 1

In 1984 the Giants were 66-96 (6th in the NL West, 26 games behind San Diego)

• Team batting: .265 (2nd in NL)
• Team home runs: 112 (3rd in NL)
• Team ERA: 4.39 (12th in NL)
• Team fielding: .973 (12th in NL)
• Attendance: 1,001,145 (11th in NL)
• All-Stars: Bob Brenly, Chili Davis
  

Frank Robinson was hired to manage the Giants in 1981. He had a 42-64 record in 1984 when the Giants let him go.

Bob Brenly was the starting catcher. He played in 145 games and batted .291 with 20 home runs. He was second on the team in home runs (Jeffrey Leonard hit 21).

Steve Nicosia played in 48 games and batted .303 in 132 at bats.

John Rabb played in 54 games and batted .195 with 3 home runs in 82 at bats.

Randy Gomez played 14 games and batted .167 in 30 at bats. This was the only year Gomez was in the major leagues. He played in the minors from 1980-1987.

1980 Phoenix Giants

I was going through a box and came across this team-issued set from 1980. I don't remember if it was a giveaway or if I bought them. I was in 8th grade at the time. The backs have some vital statistics (height, weight, etc); a stat line from the previous (1979) season; and an offer for a premium team card. It was five coupons plus 75 cents.

• Mike Williams pitched in the minors from 1974-1981 but never made it to the majors. He spent his last two years in Phoenix.

• Mike Tufts spent parts of three seasons (1981-1983) in the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1977-1983.

• Doug Schaefer never made it to the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1975-1981. His last three seasons were in Phoenix.

• Mike Rowland pitched in the minors from 1975-1982 and was in Phoenix from 1978-1982. He played for San Francisco in parts of two seasons (1980 and 1981).

• Larry Prewitt pitched in the minors from 1975-1980 and didn't make it to the majors.

• Ed Plank had two September call-ups in 1978 and 1979 and pitched a total of nine games for the San Francisco Giants. He pitched in the minors from 1973-1980 and was in Phoenix from 1976-1980.

• Phil Nastu pitched in 3 games for SF in 1978, spent most of the season in SF in 1979 (25 games, 14 starts), and pitched in 6 games in 1980. He was in the minors from 1977-1982.
  
  
• Terry Cornutt spent time in the minors from 1972-1980. He was in Phoenix from 1976-1980. He spent most of the 1977 season in SF and pitched in one game for SF in 1978.
  
  
• Fred Breining was in the majors from late 1980 to 1984. He saw a lot of action for SF from 1981-1983. His only season in Phoenix was 1980.
• Bill Bordley was in Phoenix in 1979 and 1980. He pitched for Class A Fresno in 1983. Bill pitched in eight games for SF at the end of the 1980 season. He must have been hurt in 1981 and 1982--there are no stats for him in those two seasons.
  
  
• Chris Bourjous played in 13 games for SF in 1980. That was it for his major league career. He put up nice stats for Phoenix in 1979 and 1980 but didn't stick with the big club. His minor league career was from 1977-1983.
• Max Venable is a native of Phoenix. Max played parts of 12 seasons in the majors from 1979-1991. He played in Phoenix from 1980-1982.

• Casey Parsons played twelve seasons in the minors. He spent 1978, 1979, and part of 1980 with Phoenix. He played in the majors for parts of four seasons from 1981-1987.
  


• Craig Landis played six seasons in the minor leagues but never made it to the show.
  


• Bob Kearney played in the minors from 1977-1982 and again in 1987. Even in the minors he was a light-hitting catcher -- his lifetime minor league average was .233. He played in the majors in 1979 and again from 1981-1987.
  


• Dennis Littlejohn played in two games for San Francisco in 1978 (no at bats). He played in 63 games in 1979 and 13 games in 1980. Dennis spent a total of four years in Phoenix (1978-1981).
  
  
  Jose Barrios played in ten games for San Francisco in 1982. He played in the minors from 1975-1983. He put up pretty good offensive numbers but wasn't much of a glove man.
• Mike Rex played seven seasons in the minors but never made it to the majors. He played in Phoenix from 1979-1982. Mike had a lifetime minor league average of .289.

• Rich Murray is the brother of Eddie Murray. He played in the minors from 1975-1985. Rich played half of the 1980 season with the Giants and had a cup of coffee in 1983. He played a total of six seasons in Phoenix.
  


• Joe Pettini spent parts of four seasons (1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983) with Phoenix. He played for San Francisco from 1980-1983.

• Guy Sularz spent parts of four seasons (1980-1983) with the San Francisco Giants. He also spent a lot of time with Phoenix (1978-1984). He put up nice AAA stats but couldn't do it in the majors.
  
  Rocky Bridges was very popular in Phoenix. One of his memorable quotes was, "I can't spell Albuquerque, but I sure can smell it." He managed Phoenix from 1974-1982 and managed a total of 20 seasons in the minors.
  
• Ethan Blackaby was the longtime GM for the Phoenix Giants in the 1970s and 1980s. He played a total of 15 games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962 and 1964.
  

• These two worked for the Phoenix ball club for a long, long time.

The Giants' system was pretty dry at the AAA level in 1980. That probably contributed to the poor years they had in the mid 1980s. Out of the 22 players pictured, 16 made it to the majors but most of them didn't stay long. Oh well--it was still fun to watch the games.

I Binge as GCRL Purges

I just got a box of about 300 Giants from GCRL. He said he was in a purging mode. There are a lot of cool cards in the box, most of which I don't have. Thanks for the box and I'll be spending quite a bit of time sorting and checking cards off of my wantlists! :)

I don't know how many cards I have on your wantlist, but I'm going to give it a shot!

1977 Burger Chef Giants

I don't remember this issue. Burger Chef wasn't in Arizona. I picked this set up off of eBay a few weeks ago for a buck or two.

The backs had Burger Chef cartoon characters.
Here are the rest of the Giants in the set:

Ball Dudes

The Giants started the "ball dude" thing in 1993. It originally was only for men over the age of 60, but now others can do it as well. Krukow and Kuiper love to make fun of these guys. Victor Horwitz (pictured above), the father-in-law of pitching coach Dan Warthen, is the oldest ball dude ever --he's 90 years old.

It looks like it would be fun. Here is a slideshow of a ball dude camp that was held a few weeks ago at AT&T Park.

Below is a clip from Giants Magazine about ball dude camp.

Here is an article written by San Francisco Chronicle writer C.W. Nevius about his experience as a Ball Dude.

Here is another story about an experience of a ball dude. It looks like he really had a good time.

I don't know how one would sign up to be a ball dude, but it looks like fun!

Four Other Pitchers in SF History Have PItched A No-Hitter

Juan Marichal -- 15 June 1963 vs. Houston Colt .45s

Gaylord Perry -- 17 September 1968 vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Ed Halicki -- 24 August 1975 vs. New York Mets

John Montefusco -- 29 September 1976 vs. Atlanta Braves

A Giants No-Hitter!

Jonathan Sanchez just pitched a no-hitter for the Giants tonight! He had a perfect game going into the 8th inning but a Juan Uribe error spoiled that. After throwing a wild pitch, Sanchez pitched through the error and got out of the inning. Aaron Rowand made a great catch to rob Edgar Gonzalez of a double with 1 out in the 9th inning. He struck out Everth Cabrera looking to get the no-no!

I got DirecTV just in time! The guy just put it in already and already I was able to see the last three innings of the no-hitter on the MLB network. Interesting thing---I got the picture of the baseball cards from a Dodgers web site. :)

That was a great shot of Jonathan and his father embracing in the dugout.