Tuesday, December 1, 2009

1976 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

Steve Ontiveros (#284) didn't get much playing time for the Giants in 1976. He batted .176 in 74 at bats and went to the Cubs as part of the Bill Madlock trade after the season.



Willie Montanez (#181) spent part of the season with the Giants before being traded to the Atlanta Braves in a multi-player deal that netted Darrell Evans for the Giants. Willie played in 60 games for the Giants and batted .309 before the June 15 trade. He ended up playing in 163 games in the 1976 season. Willie continued his major league career until 1982.





Chris Speier (#630) slumped to a .226 average in 145 games in 1976. Speier originally came up with the Giants in 1971 and was traded to the Montreal Expos early in the 1977 season for Tim Foli. Chris spent some time with several other teams before coming back to the Giants in 1987 and finishing up with them in 1989.






Derrel Thomas (#493) batted .232 in 85 games for the Giants in a utility role. He was the starting second baseman until Marty Perez came over as part of the Montanez/Evans trade on June 15. Thomas came to the Giants in 1975 and was traded to the San Diego Padres for Mike Ivie after the 1977 season. He ended up playing 15 seasons for seven teams.






Bruce Miller (#367) batted .160 in 25 at bats. He played in 87 games at AAA Phoenix and batted .262. Bruce retired after the 1976 season.







Ken Reitz (#158T) was the starting third baseman for the Giants in 1976. In 155 games he batted .267 with 5 HR and 66 RBI. The Giants had acquired Reitz in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Falcone before the 1976 season. After the '76 season Ken was traded back to the Cardinals for Lynn McGlothen.

Johnnie LeMaster (#596) hit a home run in his first major league at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 2, 1975. Johnnie hit only 22 homers in his career. In 1976 LeMaster played for AAA Phoenix for most of the season. For the Giants Johnnie played in 33 games and batted .210 in 100 at bats. He played for the Giants from 1975-1985 and then had short stints in Pittsburgh (1985) and Oakland (1987).





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