Giants Playoff Managers

• 1951 Leo Durocher

1951 Bowman #233

• 1954 Leo Durocher

1953 Bowman #55 (Leo didn't have a card in 1954)

• 1962 Alvin Dark

1962 Topps #322

• 1971 Charlie Fox

1971 Topps #517

• 1987 Roger Craig

1987 Topps #193

• 1989 Roger Craig

1989 Topps #744

• 1997 Dusty Baker

• 2000 Dusty Baker

• 2002 Dusty Baker

2002 Topps #290

• 2003 Felipe Alou

• 2010 Bruce Bochy

2010 Topps Heritage #220

1971 Topps Giants - Part 1

#563 Team Card

• After several years of disappointment and second-place finishes the Giants finally won a NL West title in 1971. They were in first place for much of the season but didn't clinch the division until the final day of the season. The Giants lost in the National League Championship series to the Pittsburgh Pirates three games to one.
• Team Record: 92-70 (1st in NL West, 1 game ahead of Los Angeles)
• Attendance: 1,106,043 (10th in National League)
• Team Batting: .247 (8th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 140 (3rd in NL)
• Team Stolen Bases: 101 (2nd in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.32 (6th in NL)
• Team Fielding: .972 (12th in NL)
• League Leaders: Willie Mays (On Base Percentage - .425; Walks - 112)
• NL All Stars: Willie McCovey (starting 1B); Willie Mays (starting CF); Bobby Bonds (OF); Juan Marichal (P)
• Gold Gloves: Bobby Bonds (OF)
• Batting Leader: Bobby Bonds (.288)
• Home Run Leader: Bobby Bonds (33)
• RBI Leader: Bobby Bonds (102)
• Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds (26)
• Victories Leader: Juan Marichal (18)
• Losses Leader: Gaylord Perry (12)
• Strikeouts Leader Juan Marichal (159)
• ERA Leader (starters): Gaylord Perry (2.76)
• ERA Leader (relievers): John Cumberland (2.92)
• Saves Leader: Jerry Johnson (18)

#517 Charlie Fox

• Charlie Fox was in his first full season as the manager of the Giants. Fox took over the managerial duties in May 1970 and remained as the Giants' manager until the middle of the 1974 season.
• Charlie's record as Giants' manager was 348-327 (.516)
• As a player Fox made his major league debut on September 24, 1942 at the age of 20 and played in his last game on September 26, 1942. Charlie's major league career consisted of three games with the New York Giants. He went 3 for 7 (.429) in those three games. Charlie left after the 1942 season to serve in World War II. He came back to baseball after the war and was a player/manager in the minors from 1946-1956.

#545 Dick Dietz

• Dick Dietz didn't give the backups much of a chance to play. Dietz played in 142 games and batted .252 with 19 HR and 72 RBI. Dick went 1 for 15 (.067) in the NLCS.
• Dick went 4 for 5 with two RBI and one run scored on July 8 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

#738 Russ Gibson

• I think this picture was taken at Phoenix Municipal Stadium (I would know for sure if the background were a bit more toward right field -- there was a big scoreboard there). I remember a big green wall behind the center field fence. Sometime in the late 70s (I forget which year) I saw Willie McCovey hit a ball over that wall.
• Russ Gibson batted .193 in 25 games. He wasn't used in the postseason.

Other players who caught for the Giants who didn't receive 1971 Topps Giants cards:

• Fran Healy (.280 in 93 AB)
• Dave Rader (.000 in 4 AB)

1972 Topps Giants - part 1

#129 Charlie Fox

• The 1972 Giants took a hard fall from their 1971 NL West-winning season. Willie McCovey was injured and missed about half of the season. Willie Mays was traded to the New York Mets early in the season, and Juan Marichal went 6-16. Gaylord Perry was traded to the Cleveland Indians before the season, further weakening their pitching staff.
• Charlie Fox was in his second full season managing the Giants in 1972. He took over in May of 1970 and continued to manage the club until the middle of the 1974 season. The Giants finished 3rd in the NL West in 1970, 1st in 1971, 5th in 1972, 3rd in 1973, and were 5th in 1974 when Charlie was relieved of his duties. Fox had a 348-327 (.516) record as the Giants' manager. Fox managed the tail end of the season for the Montreal Expos (34 games) in 1976 and the last part of the season for the Chicago Cubs (39 games) in 1983.
• Team Record: 69-86 (5th in NL West, 26 1/2 games  behind Cincinnati)
• Attendance: 647,744 (11th in NL)
• Team Batting .244 (9th in NL)
• Team HR: 150 (1st in NL)
• Team Stolen Bases: 123 (2nd in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.69 (9th in NL)
• Team Fielding: .974 (tied for last in NL)
• NL All Stars: Chris Speier (SS)
• Batting Leader: Chris Speier - .269
• HR Leader: Dave Kingman - 29
• RBI Leader: Dave Kingman - 83
• Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds - 44
• Wins Leader: Ron Bryant - 14
• ERA Leader (starters): Ron Bryant - 2.90
• ERA Leader (relievers): Randy Moffitt - 3.69
• Saves Leader: Jerry Johnson - 8

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#295 Dick Dietz

• Dick Dietz didn't play for the Giants in 1972. Dietz was placed on waivers  and selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14, 1972. One source says that Dietz fell out of favor with the Giants due to his role as player representative in the 1972 strike and another source says that Dietz was lost to the Dodgers due to a clerical error. Ironically, during the celebration after the Giants clinched the NL West in a tight race against the Dodgers Dick grabbed a microphone and yelled, "To Hell with the Dodgers!" 
• Dick had played in 148 games in 1970 and in 142 games in 1971.

#643 Russ Gibson

• Russ Gibson batted .167 in five games. Gibson played in four April/May games and played in his final game on September 6 (my 6th birthday). He played in 31 games for AAA Phoenix in 1972. Gibson retired after the season.

#663 Fran Healy

• Fran Healy batted .152 in 45 games as a pinch hitter and backup catcher.

#232 Dave Rader

• Dave Rader took over the regular catching duties in 1972. He batted .259 with 6 HR and 41 RBI in 133 games.

1973 Topps Giants - Part 1

• Record: 88-74 (3rd in NL West, 11 games behind Cincinnati)
• Attendance: 834,193 (10th of 12)
• Team batting: .262 (3rd in NL)
• Team home runs: 161 (2nd in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.80 (9th in NL)
• Team fielding: .974 (9th in NL)
• League Leaders: Bobby Bonds (runs, 131; strikeouts, 148); Willie McCovey (intentional walks, 25); Ron Bryant (wins, 24)
• Gold Glove awards: Bobby Bonds (OF)
• Rookie of the Year: Gary Matthews
• TSN Pitcher of the Year: Ron Bryant
• NL All Stars: Chris Speier (starting SS); Bobby Bonds (OF)
  
  

• This was Charlie Fox's (# 252) last full season as a manager. The Giants won 88 games with below average pitching and fielding. This was the last year that several players from the 60s (such as McCovey and Marichal) would be with the Giants. The revamping begun in earnest in 1974. Here is an April 30 Sports Illustrated article about the Giants' great start early in the season. They weren't able to keep it up for the entire season.
  
  
  

• Fran Healy (# 361) didn't play for the Giants in 1973. He was traded during spring training for Greg Minton.
  
  
  
  

• Dave Rader (# 121) was the starting catcher in 1973. His batting average was .229 in 148 games. Dave walked 63 times, which helped him to have an on base percentage almost 100 points (.326) above his batting average. Dave was intentionally walked 23 times -- he usually batted 8th and the opposing managers wanted to get to the pitcher's spot in the order. He almost led the NL in that category.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't get a 1973 Topps Giants' card:

• Mike Sadek (.167 in 66 AB)
  
  
  
  

1974 Topps Giants -- Part 1

• I really like these team checklists. Topps should have done this more often.
  
  
  The Giants finished 72-90 in 1974 (5th place in NL West, 30 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers)
  
• Team Batting: .254 (8th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 93 (10th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.80 (9th in NL)
• Team Fielding: .972 (11th in NL)
• Gold Glove Winners: Bobby Bonds (OF)
• All-Stars: Chris Speier (SS)
• Attendance: 519,987 (12th in NL)
  
  
  

• My favorite team cards are the ones that have the team records and pennant winners on the back. These cards give a sense of the history of the ballclub. Unfortunately, the Giants have only been to one World Series since this card was printed. :(
  
  
  
  

• Charlie Fox managed the Giants from the middle of the 1970 season until the middle of the 1974 season. The Giants won the NL West under Fox in 1971. He was replaced by Wes Westrum after 76 games. The Giants were 34-42 at the time of the change. Westrum finished the season and was 38-48.
  
• On this card Don McMahon is shown as a coach. He must have been a player-coach. He pitched in nine games (11.2 innings with a 3.09 ERA) as a 44-year-old reliever and was the oldest player in the National League in 1974.
  
  

• Dave Rader was the Giants' starting catcher and led the team with a .291 batting average in 113 games.
  
  

• Mike Sadek didn't play for the Giants in 1974. He spent the season in AAA Phoenix, where he batted .251 in 371 games.
  

Others who played catcher for the Giants in 1974 but didn't get a Topps Giants' card:

• Ken Rudolph (.259 in 158 at-bats)
• John Boccabella (.138 in 80 at-bats)