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)