1976 SSPC Giants - Part 1

1983 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

Greg Minton (#470) was 7-11 with 22 saves and a 3.54 ERA in 73 games.

Andy McGaffigan (#68T) was 3-9 with 2 saves and a 4.29 ERA in 43 games (11 starts).

Al Holland (#58) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1983. He and Joe Morgan were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1983 season for Mike Krukow, Mark Davis, and a minor leaguer.

Atlee Hammaker (#342) was 10-9 with a NL-leading 2.25 ERA in 23 starts. He pitched in the All Star game and was rocked. He gave up seven hits in 2/3 of an inning, including a grand slam to Fred Lynn. Here is a "where are they now" article written in about 2005.

Renie Martin (#263) was 2-4 with 1 save and an ERA of 4.20 in 37 games (6 starts).

Jim Barr (#133) was 5-3 with 2 saves and a 3.98 ERA in 53 relief appearances in 1983.

1977 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Jim Barr (#609) was the #2 starter for the Giants in 1977. He had a bit of an off-year --- Jim was 12-16 with a 4.76 ERA in 38 starts.

Greg Minton (#489) was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts in 1977. He spent most of the season in AAA Phoenix where he was 14-6 with a 4.86 ERA.

Randy Moffitt (#464) was 4-9 with 11 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 64 games.

Gary Lavelle (#423) was the Giants' lone representative to the 1977 All Star game. He pitched the 4th and 5th innings allowing one hit and striking out two batters. Gary was 7-7 with 20 saves and a 2.05 ERA in 70 games in 1977.

John Montefusco (#370) was 7-12 with a 3.49 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). He missed about six weeks from late May to early July.

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1977 but didn't receive a 1977 Topps Giants card:

Bob Knepper (11-9, 3.36 ERA in 27 starts)

Lynn McGlothen (2-9, 5.62 ERA in 21 games - 15 starts)

Terry Cornutt (1-2, 3.86 ERA in 28 games - 1 start)

Tommy Toms (0-1. 2.08 ERA in 4 games)

1979 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

• Ed Halicki (#672) was 5-8 with a 4.58 ERA in 33 games (19 starts).
  
  
  

• John Curtis (#649) was 10-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 27 games (18 starts). He didn't pitch after September 4. After being with the Giants from 1977-1979, Curtis became a free agent and signed with the San Diego Padres.
  
  

• John Montefusco (#560) was 3-8 with a 3.94 ERA in 22 starts. John missed about six weeks from late April to mid June.
  
  

• Bob Knepper (#486) was 9-12 with a 4.64 ERA in 34 starts in 1979.
  
  

• Jim Barr (#461) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1979. He became a free agent after the 1978 season and signed with the California Angels. Barr started with the Giants in 1971. After two years with the Angels (1979 and 1980) and a year in the minors (1981) Jim came back to the Giants for two years (1982 and 1983) before retiring.

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1979 but who didn't receive Topps cards:

• Ed Whitson (5-8, 3.95 ERA in 18 games/17 starts)
• Tom Griffin (5-6, 2 saves, 3.91 ERA in 59 games/3 starts)
• Pedro Borbon (4-3, 3 saves, 4.89 ERA in 30 games)
• Phil Nastu (3-4, 4.32 ERA in 25 games/14 starts)
• Dave Roberts (0-2, 3 saves, 2.57 ERA in 26 games/1 start)
• Al Holland (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 7 innings)
• Joe Coleman (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 3.2 innings)
• Ed Plank (0-0, 7.36 ERA in 4 games)
  

1976 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

John Montefusco (#30) followed up his good rookie year with another good year in 1976. He was 16-14 with a 2.84 ERA in 36 starts.

John D'Acquisto (#623) was 3-8 with a 5.35 ERA in 28 games (19 starts). After the season he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. How is his name pronounced anyway?

Pete Falcone (#524) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1976. The Giants traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1976 season for Ken Reitz.

Ed Halicki (#423) was 12-14 with a 3.62 ERA in 31 starts. He spent most of his career (1974-1980) with the Giants. He was waived by the Giants in mid-1980, was claimed by the California Angels, and pitched for them for the rest of the 1980 season.

Jim Barr (#308) was 15-12 with a 2.89 ERA in 37 starts in 1976. Barr was a solid pitcher for the Giants for several years in the 1970s.

Mike Caldwell (#157) was 1-7 with 2 saves and an ERA of 4.86 in 50 games (9 starts). He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the '76 season. The Cards turned around and traded Caldwell to the Cincinnati Reds. After struggling with the Reds and Brewers in 1977, Mike went on to have several good years with the Brewers in the late 70s and early 80s. His APBA card had an interesting nickname printed for him -- "Mr. Warmth."

1973 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

• Juan Marichal (# 480) was in his last season as a San Francisco Giant. He was 11-15 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 starts. He was sold to the Boston Red Sox after the season.
  
  
  

• Jim Barr (# 387) was 11-17 with a 3.81 ERA in 41 games (33 starts) in 1973.
  
  
  
  

• Sam McDowell (# 511 and # 345) was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 18 games (3 starts) for the Giants in 1973. He was sold to the New York Yankees on June 7.
  
  
  

• Tom Bradley (# 336) was 13-12 with a 3.90 ERA in 34 starts. He pitched for the Giants through the 1975 season (including a stint in Phoenix), then was waived to the Oakland A's. Tom didn't make the A's, pitched in the minors in 1976, and then retired.
  
  

• Don Carrithers (# 651) was 1-2 with a 4.81 ERA in 25 games (3 starts). He was traded to the Montreal Expos after the season, pitched for them through the 1976 season, then ended his career with the Minnesota Twins in 1977.

Others who pitched for the Giants but didn't receive a 1973 Topps Giants card:

• Elias Sosa (71 games, 10-4, 18 saves, 3.28 ERA)
• Don McMahon (22 games, 4-0, 6 saves, 1.48 ERA) Actually, Don is on Charlie Fox's manager card as the pitching coach.
• Charlie Williams (12 games, 3-0, 6.65 ERA)
• John Morris (7 games, 1-0, 8.53 ERA)
  
  
  
  
  

1974 Topps Giants -- Part 4

Juan Marichal did not pitch for the Giants in 1974. He was purchased by the Boston Red Sox in December 1973.

Jim Barr was 13-9 with a 2.74 ERA and two saves in 44 games (27 starts). He led the Giants in innings pitched with 239.1.

Randy Moffitt led the Giants with 15 saves. He was 5-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 61 games (1 start).

Ron Bryant had a big comedown from his league-leading 24 wins in 1973. He was 3-15 with a 5.61 ERA in 41 games (23 starts).

Edit: I just picked this up from Baseball Chronology:
March 15 - Giants 24-game winner Ron Bryant is injured in a swimming pool accident in Yuma‚ AZ. His record will drop to 3-15 and he will never again be a consistent winner.

Elias Sosa was 9-7 with a 3.48 ERA and six saves in 68 appearances.

1978 Topps Giants - Part 4

Pitching definitely was the strong point of the 1978 Giants. They had three guys (Knepper, Blue, Montefusco) who pitched over 200 innings. Ed Halicki (199) came very close, and fifth starter Jim Barr pitched 163 innings. This helped the bullpen, as no reliever pitched over 100 innings. Only nine pitchers had over 20 innings pitched.

For some reason the John Montefusco (#142) card wasn't in my team set. I grabbed this image off the web. John was 11-9 with a 3.81 ERA in 36 starts.

Longtime Giant reliever Gary Lavelle (#671) was 13-10 with 14 saves and a 3.32 ERA in 67 appearances.

Bob Knepper (#589) was 17-11 and led the Giants with a 2.63 ERA. He also had 16 complete games. He and Vida Blue combined to make a great 1-2 punch at the top of the Giant rotation.

Lynn McGlothen (#581) pitched in five games (one start) and had no record. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Hector Cruz on June 15. Lynn's last game was in 1982 and he died in a mobile home fire in 1984 at the age of 34.

Charlie Williams (#561) was 1-3 with a 5.44 ERA in 25 appearances (1 start). The 1978 season was Charlie's last one in the major leagues. He was famous for being the guy the Giants got from the New York Mets in exchange for Willie Mays in 1972.

John Curtis (#486) was 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA and one save in 46 appearances.

Dave Heaverlo (#338) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1978. He was sent to the Oakland A's as part of the Vida Blue trade before the season.

What is up with this card???? Greg Minton (#312) was 0-1 with an 8.04 ERA in 11 appearances in 1978. Greg wasn't used much when he was on the Giants' roster. He started 13 games for AAA Phoenix and came up to the majors to stay in 1979. Greg spent parts of 1973 and 1975-1978 in Phoenix, so he was familiar to us Phoenix Giants fans.

Randy Moffitt (#284) was the other part of the bullpen 1-2 punch for the Giants. He was 8-4 with 12 saves and a 3.31 ERA in 70 appearances. He and Gary Lavelle were very valuable as guys who could finish games.

Ed Halicki (#107) was 9-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 28 starts and earned a save in his only relief appearance.

Jim Barr (#62) was the Giants' fifth starter. He was 8-11 with one save and a 3.53 ERA in 32 games (25 starts).

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1978 but didn't get Topps Giants cards:

• Vida Blue (18-10, 2.79 ERA, 3rd in Cy Young voting, 12th in MVP voting)
• Phil Nastu (0-1 in eight innings)
• Ed Plank (0-0 in 6.2 innings)
• Terry Cornutt (0-0 in three innings)