1983 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

Joe Morgan (#603) didn't play for the Giants in 1983. He and Al Holland were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the '82 season for Mark Davis, Mike Krukow, and a minor leaguer.

Joe Pettini (#143) batted .186 in 86 at bats in 1983. It was his last season in the majors. Joe played three more years in AAA before becoming a coach and minor league manager after the 1986 season.

Reggie Smith (#282) didn't play for the Giants in 1983. He played in Japan in 1983 and 1984. He played well in a part-time role  but had to deal with a lot of racially-fueled nonsense and retired after the 1984 season.

Johnnie LeMaster (#154) batted .240 in 141 games as the starting shortstop.

Tom O'Malley (#663) batted .259 with 5 HR and 40 RBI in 135 games as the starting third baseman.

Guy Sularz (#379) batted .100 in 20 at bats in 1983. He batted .316 in 134 games for AAA Phoenix in '83. This was his last season in the majors. After one more season in Phoenix, Sularz was released and hung 'em up.

Duane Kuiper (#767) batted .250 in 72 games as he shared time at second base with Brad Wellman.

Darrell Evans (#448) batted .277 with 30 home runs and 82 RBI. He played 113 games at first base, 32 at third base, and 9 games at shortstop. Evans was an NL All Star and was 0 for 1 in the game.

Others who played in the infield for the Giants but didn't get a 1983 Topps Giants card:

• Brad Wellman (2B) batted .214 in 82 games.
• Chris Smith (UT) batted .328 in 67 at bats.
• Mike Vail (UT) batted .154 in 26 at bats.
• Rich  Murray (1B) batted .200 in 10 at bats.
• Wallace Johnson (2B) batted .125 in 8 at bats

1982 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

Joe Morgan (#754) batted .289 with 14 HR and 61 RBI in his last good year. He also had a .400 on base percentage.

Reggie Smith (#110T) batted .284 with 18 HR and 56 RBI in 106 games.

Joe Morgan (#755) in action

Enos Cabell (#627) didn't play for the Giants in 1982. He was traded with cash to the Detroit Tigers before the season for Champ Summers.

Billy Smith (#593) didn't play for the Giants in 1982. He was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies on March 23, 1982. There is no record of Smith playing for anyone after the 1981 season and no transaction saying that he was released, so perhaps he retired after the deal.

Joe Pettini (#568) batted .205 in 39 AB. He spent most of the year in AAA Phoenix and batted .325 there. Joe usually put up good offensive numbers in the minors but couldn't stick in the majors. He played parts of four seasons (1980-1983) with the Giants and went on to play a few more years in the minors before managing in the minors from 1989-1996.

Dave Bergman (#498) batted .273 with 4 HR in 121 at bats as a backup first baseman.

Johnnie LeMaster (#304) batted .216 in 130 games as the starting shortstop.

Rennie Stennett (#84) didn't play for the Giants in 1982. He was released by the Giants on April 2. Stennett tried a minor league comeback in 1983 but didn't get back to the majors.

Darrell Evans (#17) split time between third base and first base in 1982. He even played a few games at shortstop. Evans batted .256 with 16 HR and 61 RBI. He also walked 77 times for a .360 on base percentage.

Duane Kuiper (#60T) batted .280 in 218 at bats as the backup second baseman.

Others who played infield for the Giants in 1982 but didn't get a 1982 Topps Giants card:

Tom O'Malley (.275 in 92 games) - starting 3B for part of the season

Guy Sularz (.228 in 101 AB as a backup shortstop)

Jose Barrios (1B - .158 in 19 AB)

Brad Wellman (2B - 1 for 4)

1984 Topps Giants - Part 2

Joel Youngblood played 3B for the Giants and batted .254 with 10 HR in 134 games.

Johnnie LeMaster was the starting shortstop and batted .217 with a .265 OBP in 132 games.

Duane Kuiper batted .200 in 115 at bats (mostly as a pinch hitter).

Dave Bergman didn't play for the Giants in 1984. After the 1983 season he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Alejandro Sanchez. The Phillies turned around and traded him to the Detroit Tigers before the 1984 season.

Tom O'Malley batted .120 in 13 games. He spent most of the season in AAA Phoenix. Tom had a stint in May, played a few games in July, and then was on the major league team in September.

Joe Pettini didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He started the season on the Phoenix Giants then moved on to AAA Louisville (Cardinals). He didn't play in the majors after 1983.

Darrell Evans didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He signed with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent after the 1983 season.

Brad Wellman batted .226 in 94 games as a utilityman.

Other infielders who didn't get a regular 1984 Topps Giants' card:

• Al Oliver (1B - batted .298 in 91 games)
• Manny Trillo (2B - batted .254 in 98 games)
• Scot Thompson (1B - batted .306 in 245 at bats)
• Fran Mullins (IF - batted .218 in 110 at bats)
• Chris Brown (3B - batted .286 in 23 September games)
  Joe Pittman (IF - batted .227 in 22 at bats)
  
  
  
  

1980 Phoenix Giants

I was going through a box and came across this team-issued set from 1980. I don't remember if it was a giveaway or if I bought them. I was in 8th grade at the time. The backs have some vital statistics (height, weight, etc); a stat line from the previous (1979) season; and an offer for a premium team card. It was five coupons plus 75 cents.

• Mike Williams pitched in the minors from 1974-1981 but never made it to the majors. He spent his last two years in Phoenix.

• Mike Tufts spent parts of three seasons (1981-1983) in the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1977-1983.

• Doug Schaefer never made it to the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1975-1981. His last three seasons were in Phoenix.

• Mike Rowland pitched in the minors from 1975-1982 and was in Phoenix from 1978-1982. He played for San Francisco in parts of two seasons (1980 and 1981).

• Larry Prewitt pitched in the minors from 1975-1980 and didn't make it to the majors.

• Ed Plank had two September call-ups in 1978 and 1979 and pitched a total of nine games for the San Francisco Giants. He pitched in the minors from 1973-1980 and was in Phoenix from 1976-1980.

• Phil Nastu pitched in 3 games for SF in 1978, spent most of the season in SF in 1979 (25 games, 14 starts), and pitched in 6 games in 1980. He was in the minors from 1977-1982.
  
  
• Terry Cornutt spent time in the minors from 1972-1980. He was in Phoenix from 1976-1980. He spent most of the 1977 season in SF and pitched in one game for SF in 1978.
  
  
• Fred Breining was in the majors from late 1980 to 1984. He saw a lot of action for SF from 1981-1983. His only season in Phoenix was 1980.
• Bill Bordley was in Phoenix in 1979 and 1980. He pitched for Class A Fresno in 1983. Bill pitched in eight games for SF at the end of the 1980 season. He must have been hurt in 1981 and 1982--there are no stats for him in those two seasons.
  
  
• Chris Bourjous played in 13 games for SF in 1980. That was it for his major league career. He put up nice stats for Phoenix in 1979 and 1980 but didn't stick with the big club. His minor league career was from 1977-1983.
• Max Venable is a native of Phoenix. Max played parts of 12 seasons in the majors from 1979-1991. He played in Phoenix from 1980-1982.

• Casey Parsons played twelve seasons in the minors. He spent 1978, 1979, and part of 1980 with Phoenix. He played in the majors for parts of four seasons from 1981-1987.
  


• Craig Landis played six seasons in the minor leagues but never made it to the show.
  


• Bob Kearney played in the minors from 1977-1982 and again in 1987. Even in the minors he was a light-hitting catcher -- his lifetime minor league average was .233. He played in the majors in 1979 and again from 1981-1987.
  


• Dennis Littlejohn played in two games for San Francisco in 1978 (no at bats). He played in 63 games in 1979 and 13 games in 1980. Dennis spent a total of four years in Phoenix (1978-1981).
  
  
  Jose Barrios played in ten games for San Francisco in 1982. He played in the minors from 1975-1983. He put up pretty good offensive numbers but wasn't much of a glove man.
• Mike Rex played seven seasons in the minors but never made it to the majors. He played in Phoenix from 1979-1982. Mike had a lifetime minor league average of .289.

• Rich Murray is the brother of Eddie Murray. He played in the minors from 1975-1985. Rich played half of the 1980 season with the Giants and had a cup of coffee in 1983. He played a total of six seasons in Phoenix.
  


• Joe Pettini spent parts of four seasons (1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983) with Phoenix. He played for San Francisco from 1980-1983.

• Guy Sularz spent parts of four seasons (1980-1983) with the San Francisco Giants. He also spent a lot of time with Phoenix (1978-1984). He put up nice AAA stats but couldn't do it in the majors.
  
  Rocky Bridges was very popular in Phoenix. One of his memorable quotes was, "I can't spell Albuquerque, but I sure can smell it." He managed Phoenix from 1974-1982 and managed a total of 20 seasons in the minors.
  
• Ethan Blackaby was the longtime GM for the Phoenix Giants in the 1970s and 1980s. He played a total of 15 games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962 and 1964.
  

• These two worked for the Phoenix ball club for a long, long time.

The Giants' system was pretty dry at the AAA level in 1980. That probably contributed to the poor years they had in the mid 1980s. Out of the 22 players pictured, 16 made it to the majors but most of them didn't stay long. Oh well--it was still fun to watch the games.

1981 Topps Giants Part 2

• Rich Murray spent the season in AAA Phoenix, where he batted .326.

• Mike Ivie batted .294 in 7 games for the Giants. He was traded to Houston on April 20 for Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard.
  
  

• Johnnie LeMaster was the starting shortstop and batted .253 in 104 games in 1981.
  
  
  

• Rennie Stennett batted .230 in 87 at bats in 1981. It was his last major league season.
  
  
  

• Darrell Evans started at 3B and batted .258 with 12 homers in 102 games.
  
  
  

• Joe Strain did not play for the Giants in 1981. He was traded to the Cubs before the season.
  
  
  
  

• Joe Pettini batted .069 in 35 games (34 at bats).

• Other infielders who didn't have SF Giants Topps cards:

• Enos Cabell was acquired from Houston to play 1B. He batted .255 in 96 games and had a .274 on base percentage.

• Joe Morgan signed as a free agent and played 2B. He batted .240 in 90 games. Joe walked 66 times and had 14 stolen bases (second on the team).

• Dave Bergman played 1B and OF in 1981. Dave batted .267 in 145 at bats.

• Billy Smith was a utility man in 1981, batting .180 in 61 at bats.

• Guy Sularz batted .200 in 20 at bats as a September call-up.