1968 Topps Giants - part 5 (more pitchers)

#32 Joe Gibbon

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  Joe Gibbon appeared in 29 games and was 1-2 with one save and a 1.58 ERA.

#147 Frank Linzy

• Frank Linzy was the closer for the Giants in 1968. He went 9-8 with 12 saves and a 2.08 ERA in 57 games
• Linzy had good years for the Giants in the 1960s, but 1968 was his last good one. His ERA rose to 3.64 in 1969 and by 1970 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Frank had a a few more good seasons as a reliever for other clubs in the 1970s before retiring in 1974.

#333 Ron Herbel

• Ron Herbel pitched in 28 games (2 starts). He had no record and had a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings
• The first time I was aware of Ron Herbel was when I read a blurb about him in the classic book The Great American Baseball Card Trading, Flipping and Bubble Gum Book in the mid-1970s. The authors were making fun of Ron's lack of offense. Herbel had a lifetime batting average of .029 (6 for 206 with two doubles).
• Ron pitched for the Giants from 1963-1969. He had stints with the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets, and the Atlanta Braves before ending his career in 1971.

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#545 Lindy McDaniel

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  Lindy McDaniel pitched in 12 games for the Giants in 1968 and was 0-0 with a 7.45 ERA in 12 games.
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  Lindy was traded to the New York Yankees on July 12 for Bill Monboquette

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1968 who didn't receive a 1968 Topps Giants card:

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  Bill Monboquette (0-1, 1 save, 3.75 ERA in 7 games)
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  Rich Robertson (2-0, 6.00 ERA in 3 games - 1 start)
• Bill Henry (0-2, 5.40 ERA in 7 games - 1 start)

1968 Topps Giants - part 4 (pitchers)

#85 Gaylord Perry

• Gaylord Perry was 16-15 with a 2.45 ERA in 38 starts
• Perry was second on the club with 19 complete games

#205 Juan Marichal

• Juan Marichal had perhaps his best season in 1968 but was overshadowed by Bob Gibson
• Marichal was 26-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 38 starts
• Juan completed 30 of his 38 starts in 1968

#494 Ray Sadecki

• Ray Sadecki went 12-18 with a 2.91 ERA in 36 starts

#169 Bob Bolin

• Bob Bolin was 10-5 with a 1.99 ERA in 34 games
• Bolin started 19 games and relieved in 15 others
• Bob pitched for the Giants from 1961-1969 before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two players. The 1968 season was Bolin's best year.

#400 Mike McCormick

• Mike McCormick fell off quite a bit from his 1967 Cy Young Award season.
• McCormick was 12-14 with a 3.58 ERA in 38 games (28 starts).
• Mike's ERA+ was only 83 (league average would be 100).

#9 1967 NL Pitching Leaders

• Mike McCormick is on this card because he led the NL with 22 wins in 1967.

#11 1967 NL Strikeout Leaders

• Gaylord Perry finished third in the NL with 230 strikeouts in 1967.
• Jim Bunning led the league with 253 strikeouts and Ferguson Jenkins finished second with 236.

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1968 Topps Giants - part 3 (outfielders)

#50 Willie Mays

• Willie Mays batted .289 with 23 HR and 79 RBI in 1968.

#223 Ollie Brown

• Ollie Brown batted .232 in 95 AB for the Giants in 1968
• Brown spent part of the season in AAA Phoenix
• Ollie was the first player taken by the San Diego Padres in the expansion draft after the 1968 season

#309 Ken Henderson

• Ken Henderson went 1 for 3 in three games for the Giants in 1968
• Ken was in AAA Phoenix for  most of the season, where he hit .254 with 11 HR and 60 RBI.

#452 Jesus Alou

• Jesus Alou batted .263 with 0 HR and 39 RBI in 120 games as the starting RF.
• Alou was taken by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft after the 1968 season.

#469 Ty Cline

• Ty Cline batted .223 with 1 HR and 23 RBI in 116 games.
• Cline was taken by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft after the 1968 season

Others who played OF for the Giants in 1968 but didn't receive a 1968 Topps card:

• Bobby Bonds (.254, 9 HR, 35 RBI in 81 games. This was his rookie season)
• Dave Marshall (.264, 1 HR, 16 RBI in 76 games)

1968 Topps Giants - part 2 (infielders)

# 290 Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey was the Giants' offensive leader in 1968. He led the club in most of the offensive categories.
• McCovey batted .293 with 36 HR and 105 RBI in 1968

#436 Hal Lanier

• What was with the Giants and offensively-challenged shortstops? It looks like Hal Lanier was the 1960s version of Johnnie LeMaster.
• Lanier batted .206 in 151 games. He had a .222 on base percentage and a .239 slugging percentage

#126 Bobby Etheridge

• Bobby Etheridge didn't play for the Giants in 1968
• Bobby batted .278 in 113 games for AAA Phoenix in 1968. 
• Etheridge spent most of his career (1964-1973) in the minors. He played 40 games for the Giants in 1967 and 56 games in 1969. That was it for his major league career.

#525 Jim Davenport

• Jim Davenport batted .224 in 113 games
• Davenport mostly played 3B (82 games) but also played in 17 games at  SS and one game at 2B.

#73 Jim Hart

• Jim Hart split time between third base and left field in 1968.
• Hart batted .258 with 23 HR and 78 RBI in 136 games.

Others who played infield for the Giants but who didn't get 1968 Topps cards:

• Ron Hunt started at second base and batted .250 in 148 games. He led the NL in times hit by a pitch (25) and had a .371 on base percentage.
• Frank Johnson batted .190 in 67 games. He played  most of his games at third base and also filled in at 2B, SS, and in the outfield.
• Nate Oliver batted .178 in 36 games as a utility infielder.
• Bob Schroeder batted .159 in 35 games as a utility infielder.
• Don Mason batted .158 in 10 games.

Blog Bat-Around

Indians Baseball Cards is doing a blog bat-around. The topic: With Bud Selig supposedly retiring in 2012 (and assuming the end of the world doesn't follow soon afterward), if YOU were asked to become the next Baseball Commissioner, what would you do?  What changes would you like to make, what things would you leave as-is, what would you like to see as your legacy when your retirement time came?


My response is on my Project Baseball 1976 blog.

1968 Topps Giants - part 1

#267 Herman Franks

• The 1968 Giants finished in second place for the fourth straight year. It  must have been frustrating for fans during this era to keep getting so close without getting over the hump. The Giants had good pitching but they didn't have enough offense to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals
• Herman Franks had been managing the Giants since 1965. The club finished in second place in each of his seasons at the helm. Franks resigned as manager after the 1968 season. He later managed the Chicago Cubs from 1977-1979.
• Team record: 88-74 (2nd in NL, 9 games behind St. Louis)
• Attendance: 837,220 (7th of 10 teams)
• Team Batting: .239 (6th in NL)
• Team HR: 108 (2nd in NL)
• Team Stolen Bases: 50 (8th in NL)
• Team ERA: 2.71 (3rd in NL)
• Team Fielding: .975 (9th in NL)
• Batting Leader: Willie McCovey (.293)
• Home Run Leader: Willie McCovey (36)
• RBI Leader: Willie  McCovey (105)
• Runs Leader: Willie Mays (84)
• Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds (16)
• Victories Leader: Juan Marichal (26)
• Losses Leader: Ray Sadecki (18)
• ERA Leader (starters): Bobby Bolin (1.99)
• ERA Leader (relievers): Frank Linzy (2.08)
• Saves Leader: Frank Linzy (12)
• League Leaders: Willie McCovey (slugging - .545, Home Runs - 36, RBI - 105); Ron Hunt (hit by pitch - 25); Juan Marichal (wins - 26, complete games - 30, innings - 325.2)
• NL All Stars: Willie  McCovey (starting 1B); Willie Mays (starting CF); Juan Marichal (P)
• Gold Glove Winners: Willie Mays (OF)

#104 Dick Dietz

• Dick Dietz batted .272 with six HR in 96 games.

Tom Haller

• Tom Haller didn't play for the Giants in 1968.
• Haller was traded (with a minor leaguer) to the LA Dodgers before the 1968 season for Ron Hunt and Nate Oliver
• Tom played for the Giants from 1961-1967, then for the Dodgers from 1968-1971. He finished his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1972. Haller was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1972 season, but he never played with the club and was released in 1974.

#351 Bob Barton

• Bob Barton batted .261 in 46 games.

#419 Jack Hiatt.

• Jack Hiatt batted .232 with 10 HR in 90 games. 

Card Tribute: Greg Minton

• Greg "Moon-Man" Minton had a long and successful career with the Giants as a relief pitcher. He started with the Giants in 1975 but did not stick with them for an entire season until 1979. 
• 1975: 1-1, 6.88 ERA in four games (two starts)
• 1976: 0-3, 4.91 ERA in ten games (two starts)
• 1977: 1-1, 4.50 ERA in two starts
• 1978: 0-1, 8.01 ERA in 11 games
• 1979: 4-3, 4 saves, 1.81 ERA in 46 games
• 1980: 4-6, 19 saves, 2.46 ERA in 68 games
• 1981: 4-5, 21 saves, 2.88 ERA in 55 games. Hitters Don't Gopher Greg - June 8, 1981 Sports Illustrated
• 1982: 10-4, 30 saves, 1.83 ERA in 78 games, NL All Star, 6th in NL Cy Young voting, 8th in NL MVP voting
• 1983: 7-11, 22 saves, 3.54 ERA in 73 games
• 1984: 4-9, 19 saves, 3.76 ERA in 74 games (1 start)
• 1985: 5-4, 4 saves, 3.54 ERA in 68 games
• 1986: 4-4, 5 saves, 3.93 ERA in 48 games. Gave up Pete Rose's last career hit (#4,256) on August 14.
• 1987: 1-0, 1 save, 3.47 ERA in 15 games. Released on May 28. Greg signed with the California Angels on June 1 and pitched for them from 1987-1990.
• Was a pitching coach and a manager in the Angels organization for a few years after his retirement.
• Vote for your favorite Greg Minton card on the right. :)

1977 Topps #489

1978 Topps #312

1979 Topps #84

1980 Topps #588

1981 Topps #111

1982 Topps #687

1983 Topps #470

1984 Topps #205

1985 Topps #45

1986 Topps #310

1987 Topps #724.