1986 Fleer Star Sticker #42 - Scott Garrelts

• Scott Garrelts was the Giants' first round draft pick in 1979
• Garrelts had late season call-ups in 1982 and in 1983.
• Scott was up and down between AAA Phoenix and San Francisco in 1984. The Giants used Garrelts in 21 games (3 starts) and he was 2-3 with a 5.65 ERA.
• Garrelts really came into his own in 1985 as a reliever. Scott pitched in 74 games and was 9-6 with 13 saves and had a 2.30 ERA. He made the NL All Star team but he wasn't used in the game.
• Scott was used as a swingman in 1986. He pitched in 53 games (18 starts) and was 13-9 with 10 saves. Scott had a 3.11 ERA.
• In 1987 Garrelts was exclusively a reliever. He had a record of 11-7 with 12 saves and had a 3.22 ERA in 64 games.
• Scott wasn't very successful in the 1987 NL Championship Series. He appeared in two games and allowed two runs on two hits and four walks in 2.2 innings.
• Garrelts was a reliever again in 1988. He made 65 appearances but his record slipped to 5-9 with 13 saves and his ERA rose to 3.58.
• Scott was moved into the Giants' starting rotation in 1989. He had a good year and finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting. Garrelts was 14-5 and led the NL with a 2.38 ERA.
• Garrelts pitched well in game 1 of the 1989 NLCS and earned the win. He got cuffed around in game 4, allowing four runs in 4.2 innings. Kelly Downs relieved him and earned the win.
• Scott took two losses in the 1989 World Series -- he started and lost games 1 and 4.
• Before the 1990 season Garrelts signed a 3-year, $6.2 million contract.
• Scott's last full season was in 1990. Garrelts (along with the rest of the club) had an up and down season. Scott ended up going 12-11 with a 4.15 ERA.
• On July 29, 1990 Scott came within one out of pitching a no-hitter. Paul O'Neill of the Cincinnati Reds singled with two out in the 9th inning to break up the no-hitter.
• Scott struggled with arm trouble in 1991. He appeared in eight games (three starts) and was 1-1 with a 6.41 ERA.
• On July 18, 1991 Garrelts had elbow surgery. He didn't pitch again in 1991.
• Scott made several rehab starts in the  minors in 1992 but wasn't ready to come back to the majors.
• Garrelts tried again in the San Diego Padres system in 1993 and with the Kansas City Royals (AAA Omaha) in 1995 but never got back to the majors.

1986 Fleer Star Sticker #13 - Chris Brown

• Chris Brown had a couple of good seasons with the Giants in the mid-1980s
• Brown spent several years in the minors (1979-1984) and was promoted to the Giants in September of 1984 at the age of 23.
• Chris finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Vince Coleman, Tom Browning, and Mariano Duncan) in 1985
• Brown batted .271 with 16 HR and 61 RBI in 1985 and was one of the few bright spots in the Giants' most dismal season
• In 1986 Brown's power fell off (7 HR) but he batted .317 and was an NL All Star (he doubled and hit into a double play in the game)
• Chris got off to a rough start in 1987 (.242 in 38 games with the Giants) and was included in the big trade with the San Diego Padres that brought Kevin Mitchell to the Giants.
• Brown spent the rest of 1987 and the 1988 seasons with the Padres and then moved on to the Detroit Tigers
• Chris played with the Tigers for a bit in 1989 before being released on May 19. He was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates and played well in AAA (.343 in 57 games), but he never made it back to the  majors.
• Brown tried a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds' AAA club in 1995, but he went 0 for 7 in three games.
• After his baseball career, Brown became a driver for Halliburton and spent time in Iraq.
• Chris Brown died from injuries suffered in a house fire on December 26, 2006.

Goodies from another break

Dave from Indians Baseball Cards and Random Wax did another break of lesser-known 80s releases a few weeks ago. The cards came in the mail yesterday:

• Two 1990 Topps Heads-Up Giants (Will the Thrill and Kevin Mitchell)
• Two 1985 Topps Rub-Downs Giants
• An undated Fleer team sticker
• A 1988 Topps coin of Jack Morris (looks like I got some Tigers in addition to the Giants cards)

• Four 1986 Fleer Stickers (Scott Garrelts, Chris Brown, Darrell Evans, and Lance Parrish)
• Some 1983 Topps Fold-Outs cards (doubles of Gary Lavelle and Greg Minton and quadruples of Darrell Evans)
• A specialty card of Dave that he had made (http://www.meet-meme.com)

I'll be doing posts of some of the individual cards in the next few days!

1962 Topps #107 - Mike McCormick

• I already featured the 1962 Giants in another entry, but this one deserves its own entry.
• I got this card and three 1969 Topps cards in a trade with Gritz 76 of Project '62 on Zistle. Zistle has a good trade feature now. It would be nice to see more members put vintage cards on their want lists and trade lists.
• Mike McCormick was a mainstay of the Giants rotation in two stints with the Giants.
• Mike came up with the Giants in 1956 and stayed with them through the 1962 season. He was an NL All Star in 1960 and in 1961. 
• McCormick was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after the 1962 season and pitched for them in 1963 and in 1964. Mike pitched for the Washington Senators in 1965 and in 1966 and then was traded back to the Giants.
• McCormick had a great bounce-back season in 1967. He led the NL with 22 wins and won the NL Cy Young Award
• Mike stayed with the Giants until the  middle of the 1970 season. He pitched for the New York Yankees in 1970 and for the Kansas City Royals in 1971.
• McCormick was released by the Royals in June 1971. He pitched in the minors in 1972 and in 1973 but didn't get back to the  majors.

1988 Sportflics #82 - Jeffrey Leonard

• Jeffrey Leonard wasn't the most well-liked guy, but he was fun to watch.
• He had one of the greatest nicknames of his era: "Penitentiary Face"
• Jeffrey had a famous (or infamous) home run trot called "one flap down"
• Here is a video of him talking about how "one flap down" came to be:

1988 Sportflics #126 - Candy Maldonado

• After having several not-so-hot years with the hated Dodgers, Candy Maldonado had a couple of productive seasons with the Giants
• Candy's two best seasons were 1986 (.252, 18 HR, 85 RBI) and 1987 (.292, 20 HR, 85 RBI)
• Maldonado's production started to wane in 1988 and after a poor season in 1989 he left the Giants and signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent

Inside the Clubhouse - Forever Giants

• Last month's legends game brought together a lot of players from all eras of SF Giants history. This show is a behind the scenes look at the happenings of that day
• I don't get this station, but I think it'll be on sfgiants.com. It's supposed to be on at 4:30 Pacific Time today (7/16).
• Here is a clip from the show:

2011 Bowman #1 - Buster Posey

• Posey was drafted in 2008 and was tearing it up in the  majors by 2010 --- that's a fast rise!
• Here's  hoping Buster will bounce back in 2012!

1988 Sportflics #24 - Robby Thompson

• The next few posts will highlight cards that I got from the Buck a Box break
• These Sportflics cards don't scan well, but they look great!
• It's too bad Kellogg's and Sportflics aren't doing cards anymore --- the 3D look is unique
• The backs have a lot of good elements: Easy to read, a picture, yearly stats, and a good write-up.

Goodies from a break -- part 1

Dave over at Indians Baseball Cards and Random Wax did a "Buck a Box" break last  month.

• Dave made his own "custom wrapper" for the cards. Pretty neat!

• I didn't realize that's what it was until I had already opened it. I tore through part of the message -- kinda like when we were little and ripped right through the mail-in offers that were on the Topps wrappers.

• Here are the cards I received.

• Dave sent the cards in their wrappers. I didn't see this set when it came out in 1990, so it was pretty cool to see 'em

• Will the Thrill and Kevin Mitchell. The things sticking out of the cap emblems are the anchors for the suction cup on the other side. These were meant to be stuck on walls or other flat objects. Maybe I'll stick these in my classroom near my desk.

• The rest of the cards I received are pictured above. I'll be posting about them in the coming days.
• Cool break Dave!!!!

A contest!

It's a Dodgers blog, but that's ok. One of the prizes is a great looking Monte Irvin card. Enter the contest here. :)

1977 Phoenix Giants #26 - Rocky Bridges

• This is one of the cards I received from Number 5 Type Collection.
• Rocky Bridges was a popular guy in Phoenix. He managed the AAA Phoenix Giants from 1974 through 1982.
• Rocky managed in the minors for a total of 20 seasons.
• Here is a 1964 Sports Illustrated article about Bridges.
• Bridges was interviewed for the San Francisco Giants managing job after the 1976 season but he said he preferred to stay in Phoenix.
• Rocky managed the Phoenix Giants to the 1977 Pacific Coast League pennant.
• Bridges left the Phoenix Giants after the 1982 season to become a scout.
• Rocky was the third base coach for San Francisco in 1985. According to Sports Illustrated, " Rocky Bridges, San Francisco Giants coach, on why he refuses to eat snails: "I prefer fast food."
• Here is an article that was in the Arizona Republic on 14 October 2010.
•