1988 Fleer Star Sticker #130 - Rick Reuschel

• Here is another Giants card (or sticker in this case) sent to me by Baseball Dad.
• Rick Reuschel had some good years with the Giants from 1987-1989. 
• Reuschel had several good years with the Chicago Cubs in the 1970s. 
• Rick went to the New York Yankees as a free agent and then got hurt. 
• He tried to come back with the Cubs in the mid 80s but was  unsuccessful. 
• Reuschel pitched well for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985-1987 and then was traded to the Giants in time for their playoff drive in 1987. Rick was narrowly beat out for the NL Cy Young Award by Philadelphia's Steve Bedrosian. Bedrosian finished 2 points ahead of Chicago's Rick Sutcliffe and 3 points ahead of Reuschel.
• Even though he was a big dude (his nickname was "Big Daddy"), Reuschel was a good athlete. He was one of my favorites from this era.

1990 Topps Big Baseball Giants

#16 Terry Kennedy

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#51 Scott Garrelts

#96 Matt Williams

#169 Robby Thompson

#193 Don Robinson

#197 Kevin Mitchell

#213  Jose Uribe

#224 Will Clark

#236 Kevin Bass

#259 Brett Butler

#275 Steve Bedrosian

#308 Greg Litton

#328 Rick Reuschel

1991 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Kelly Downs (#733) was 10-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 45 games (11 starts) in 1991.

Rick Reuschel (#422) was 0-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 4 games (1 start). He was released by the Giants on June 19.

Scott Garrelts (#361) was 1-1 with a 6.41 ERA in 8 games (3 starts). He retired after pitching in his last game on June 10.

Mike LaCoss (#242) was 1-5 with a 7.23 ERA in 18 games (5 starts). He was released by the Giants on July 3, 1991.

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1991 but who didn't get a 1991 Topps Giants card:

Paul McClellan (3-6, 4.56 ERA in 13 games - 12 starts)
Rod Beck (1-1, 1 save, 3.78 ERA in 31 games)
Bryan Hickerson (2-2, 3.60 ERA in 17 games - 6 starts)
Mike Remlinger (2-1, 4.37 ERA in 8 games - 6 starts)
Gil Heredia (0-2, 3.82 ERA in 7 games - 4 starts)
Jose Segura (0-1, 4.41 ERA in 11 games)
Eric Gunderson (0-0, 5.40 ERA in 2 games)
Greg Litton (1 inning of mop-up duty)

1989 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

Rick Reuschel (#65) was 17-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 32 starts and was the ace of the Giants' staff.

Steve Bedrosian (#8T) was 1-4 with 17 saves and a 2.65 ERA in 40 games in 1989.

Jeff Brantley (#14T) was 7-1 with a 4.07 ERA in 59 games (1 start) for the Giants in 1989.

Terry Mulholland (#41) was 0-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 5 games (1 start) for the Giants in 1989. He didn't pitch until May 25 and then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 18 with Charlie Hayes and Dennis Cook for Steve Bedrosian and Rick Parker.

Mike Krukow(#125) was 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 8 starts in 1989. On June 30 Mike had arthoscopic rotator cuff surgery after spending three seasons going to and from the disabled list with what was thought to be bursitis in his pitching arm. He tried to come back in 1990 but retired during spring training.

Joe Price (#217) was 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 7 games (1 start). He was released on May 1 and signed with the Boston Red Sox a week later.

Trevor Wilson (#783) was 4-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 14 games (4 starts). He was 7-7 with a 3.20 ERA in 20 starts for the AAA Phoenix Firebirds. He had one stint with the Giants from late June to early August and then came back when the rosters expanded in September.

1988 Topps Giants -- Part 5

Joe Price was 1-6 with a 3.94 ERA in 38 games (3 starts).

Mike LaCoss was 7-7 with a 3.62 ERA in 19 starts. His last start in 1988 was on July 16.

I used to get a kick out of watching Craig Lefferts enter a game. He sprinted from the bullpen all the way to the mound. In 1988 Lefferts was 3-8 with 11 saves and a 2.92 ERA in 64 appearances.

At the age of 39, Rick Reuschel was 19-11 with a 3.12 ERA in 36 starts.

Kelly Downs was 13-9 with an ERA of 3.32 in 27 games (26 starts) in 1988.

Other Giants who pitched in 1988 but didn't get a Topps Giants card:

Terry Mulholland (2-1, 3.72 ERA in 9 games)

Randy Bockus (1-1, 4.78 ERA in 20 games)

Roger Samuels (1-2, 3.47 ERA in 15 games)

Dennis Cook (2-1, 2.86 ERA in 4 starts)

Trevor Wilson (0-2, 4.09 ERA in 4 starts)

Jeff Brantley (0-1, 1 save, 5.66 ERA in 9 games)

Ron Davis (1-1, 4.67 ERA in 9 games)

Lary Sorensen (0-0, 2 saves, 4.86 ERA in 12 games)

1990 Topps Giants - Part 4

Randy McCament was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six innings. He pitched in three games in May and spent the rest of the year with AAA Phoenix.

Steve Bedrosian was 9-9 with 17 saves and an ERA of 4.20 in 1990.

Mike Krukow didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. His last game was June 4, 1989. He tore his rotator cuff and had surgery on June 10, 1989. Mike retired in March of 1990.

Don Robinson was 10-7 with an ERA of 4.57 in 25 starts in 1990.

Rick "Big Daddy" Reuschel was 3-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 starts. He didn't pitch from late May until mid-September. Rick was released on June 19, 1991 and retired after going 0-2 in four April appearances.

Craig Lefferts didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. He became a free agent after the 1989 season and signed with the San Diego Padres.

Dave Dravecky didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. He pitched in his last game on August 15, 1989. His career came to an abrupt end after his humerus bone snapped as he made a pitch to Tim Raines. He had had an operation to remove a cancerous tumor a year earlier. The arm and shoulder had to be amputated in 1991. Here is an article about Dave's recent return to San Francisco and what happened that day in 1989.

Bob Knepper was 3-3 with a 5.79 ERA in 12 games (7 starts). Bob also made four starts for AAA Phoenix. He was released on June 26 and didn't pitch in the majors again.

Mike LaCoss was 6-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 12 starts in 1990. He didn't pitch from April 26 until August 11.

John Burkett was the top starter on the staff in 1990. He was 14-7 with a 3.79 ERA in 32 starts and was the only pitcher to pitch more than 200 innings.