1960 Topps Giants - Part 1

• After an exciting 1959 season that saw the Giants almost win the NL pennant, the Giants had a disappointing 1960 season. They finished 5th out of 8 teams with a 75-79 record.

• Record: 75-79 (5th in NL, 16 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Team Batting: .255 (3rd in NL)
• Team HR: 130 (4th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.44 (2nd in NL)
• Team Fielding: .972 (8th in NL)
• League Leaders: Willie Mays (hits, 190); Mike McCormick (ERA, 2.70); Jack Sanford (wild pitches, 15; shutouts, 6)
• All Stars: Willie Mays (starting CF); Orlando Cepeda (OF); Mike McCormick (P)
• Gold Gloves: Willie Mays (OF)
• Attendance: 1,795,356 (2nd of 8)
  
  

• Bill Rigney (#225) was replaced after starting the season 33-25. He had been the Giants' manager since 1956. Bill would go on to manage the Los Angeles/California Angels from 1961-1969, the Minnesota Twins from 1970-1972, and have another run with the Giants in 1976. Tom Sheehan managed for the rest of the 1960 season and was 46-50.

• Wes Westrum (#469) was a catcher for the Giants from 1947-1957. He coached for the Giants until the New York Mets came along, then he coached for the Mets for a few years. He replaced Casey Stengel as Mets' manager in 1965 and managed the Mets until he was replaced with 11 games to go in the 1967 season. Wes had a run as Giants' manager in 1974 and 1975.

• Salty Parker was a longtime coach in the majors and in the minors. He replaced Wes Westrum as the Mets' manager for the last 11 games of the 1967 season. He also managed the Houston Astros for one game in 1972.

• Bill Posedel had two interesting nicknames -- "Barnacle Bill" and "Sailor Bill." This probably had to do with him being from San Francisco, or his two stints in the US Navy (1925-1929 and 1942-1945). Bill pitched in the majors for a few years before World War II. By the time the war was over Bill was 40 years old and turned to coaching after a short comeback attempt. He coached and scouted for several teams from the late 1940s - early 1970s.
  
  
  
  

• Bob Schmidt (#501) was the Giants' starting catcher in 1960. He batted .267 with 8 HR and 37 RBI in 110 games. Schmidt came up with the Giants in 1958 and made the NL All Star team that year. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds early in the 1961 season and caught in the majors for several teams through the 1965 season.
  
  
  
  

• Al Stieglitz (#144) didn't play for the Giants in 1960. He played in the Giants' organization from 1953-1960 but never made it to the major leagues. Al had a good glove -- in 1960 his fielding percentage was .996 in 77 games, but he had 7 passed balls.
  
  
  

• Hobie Landrith (#42) was the backup catcher in 1960. He batted .242 in 190 AB. It seems like every year Topps mentioned that Hobie was a good defensive catcher.
• Neil Wilson (.000 in 10 AB) also played catcher for the Giants for a week in 1960. It was his only time in the majors.