1974 Topps Giants -- Part 2

• Dave Kingman didn't have one of his better years in 1974. He played in 121 games and batted .223 with 18 homers and 55 RBI.

• Steve Ontiveros started 72 games at third base in 1974. As a 22-year-0ld rookie he batted .265 with 4 HR and 57 walks (.375 OBP).
  
  
  

• Mike Phillips batted .219 in 100 games (283 AB) as a utility infielder.
  
  
  
  

• Ed Goodson started 67 games at 1B and played some 3B as well in his last good season. He batted .272 with 6 HR and 48 RBI in 298 AB. Ed would never bat above .229 for the rest of his major league career.
  
  
  

• Chris Arnold is listed as a catcher on this card because he caught in nine games in 1973. In 1974 he was a utility infielder, starting 30 games at 2B, six games at 3B, and one game at SS. Chris batted .241 in 174 AB.
  
  
  

• Tito Fuentes missed over a month of the season. He played on opening day (April 5) and didn't play again until May 7. He struggled to a .249 average in 108 games and was traded to the San Diego Padres after the season.
  
  
  
  

• Chris Speier batted .250 in 141 games as the starting shortstop and was the Giants' representative in the 1974 All Star Game.
  
  
  
  

• Gary Thomasson batted .244 in 315 AB as an outfielder and occasional first baseman.
  
  Others who played infield in 1974 but didn't get Topps Giants' cards:
• Bruce Miller (.278 in 198 AB as a utility infielder). He batted .357 in 33 games at Phoenix in '74 but couldn't duplicate it at the major league level.
• Glenn Redmon batted .235 in 17 late-season at bats. 1974 was his only season in the majors. Glenn batted .312 for Phoenix before his September call-up.
  
  
  
  
  
  

1975 Topps Giants Part 4

John Morris did not pitch for the Giants in 1975. He pitched in his final major league game on October 2, 1974. He didn't make the club in 1975 and was released on March 31.

Ed Halicki was 9-13 with a 3.49 ERA . He pitched a no-hitter against the New York Mets on August 24.

Charlie Williams was 5-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 55 games (2 starts). He was used mostly as a middle reliever and set-up man. The photographer must have liked that spot for taking pictures--the left field bleachers at Phoenix Municipal Stadium are in the background on quite a few '75 cards.

John D'Acquisto (how is that pronounced?) was 2-4 with a 10.29 ERA in 10 games (6 starts).

Mike Caldwell was 7-13 with a 4.79 ERA in 38 games (21 starts).

Ron Bryant didn't pitch for the Giants in 1975. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 9 for Larry Herndon and a minor leaguer. Ron was released by the Cardinals on July 31.

Tom Bradley was 2-3 with a 6.21 ERA in 13 games (6 starts). He spent part of the season in AAA Phoenix. His last major league game was on September 15, 1975. Tom didn't make the club in 1976 and was selected off of waivers by Oakland, but he spent the whole year in AAA and didn't make it back to the big leagues.

Randy Moffitt was 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA and 11 saves in 55 games in 1975. He led the team in games finished and saves.

Jim Barr was 13-14 with an ERA of 3.06 in 33 starts for the Giants in 1975.

Others who pitched for the Giants but didn't get cards in 1975:

• John Montefusco (15-9, 2.88 ERA, 215 strikeouts, Rookie of the Year, 4th in Cy Young balloting)

• Pete Falcone (12-11, 4.17 ERA, 32 starts in his rookie season, traded after the season for Ken Reitz)

• Dave Heaverlo (3-1, 2.39 ERA in 42 games---rookie season)

• Greg Minton (1-1, 6.88 ERA as a September call-up)

• Rob Dressler (1-0, 1.10 ERA in 3 games as a September call-up)

• Tommy Toms (0-1, 6.10 ERA in 7 games -- he spent most of the season in AAA Phoenix)
  

1975 Topps Giants Part 3

Gary Matthews led the Giants with 12 home runs and batted .280 in 116 games as the Giants' LF.

Garry Maddox batted .135 in 17 games before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Montanez. Garry won one of his many Gold Gloves in 1975.

Bobby Murcer batted .298 and led the Giants in RBI with 91. He also walked 91 times and had an on base percentage of .396 and was the Giants' representative to the All Star game.

Dave Kingman did not play for the Giants in 1975. He was sold to the New York Mets on February 28 for $150,000.

Gary Thomasson batted .227 in 114 games as the Giants' fourth outfielder.

Other players who played OF for the Giants who did not get a 1975 Topps Giants card:

• Von Joshua was picked up on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers before the season. He became the starting CF and led the Giants with a .318 average in 129 games.

• Glenn Adams batted .300 in 90 at bats. He had a huge season for AAA Phoenix in 1974 (.352, 13 HR, 105 RBI) and spent most of the 1975 season on the SF Giants bench as a pinch hitter. He's one of the guys I remember the most from the Phoenix Giants.

• Jake Brown batted .209 in 43 at bats as a pinch hitter / outfielder.

• Jack Clark batted .235 in 8 games as a September call-up.

• Horace Speed batted .133 in 17 games. He was sent back down to Phoenix after the Giants picked up Von Joshua.
  
  
  

1975 Topps Giants Part 2

Mike Phillips (#642) batted .194 in 10 games for the Giants in 1975. The Giants waived him and the New York Mets claimed him on May 3.

Bruce Miller (#606) batted .239 in 99 games. He mostly played 3B and had some games at 2B and SS.

Chris Speier (#505) was the starting shortstop, played in 141 games, and batted .271.

Steve Ontiveros (#483) mostly played at 3B, but also saw action at 1B and in the OF. He batted .289 with little power in 108 games. He had a nice on base percentage (.391). In fact, none of the Giant starters had an OBP below .347.

Tito Fuentes (#425) was traded with Butch Metzger to the San Diego Padres for Darrell Thomas before the 1975 season.

Ed Goodson (#322) batted .207 in 121 at bats as a utilityman in 1975. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Craig Robinson on June 11.

Other infielders who saw action for the Giants but didn't get a 1975 Topps Giants card:

• Willie Montanez (1B) batted .305 in 135 games.
• Darrell Thomas (2B) batted .276 in 144 games and led the Giants in stolen bases (28).
• Johnnie LeMaster (SS) batted .189 in 74 at bats as a September call-up.
• Chris Arnold (UT) batted .195 in 41 at bats. He batted .339 in 35 games at AAA Phoenix in 1975.
• Craig Robinson (UT) batted .069 in 29 at bats after being acquired on June 11.
  
  
  
  
  

1975 Topps Giants Part 1

• The Giants had an 80-81 record in 1975 and finished in 3rd place in the NL West (27.5 games behind the dominant Big Red Machine).
• Team Batting: .259 (5th in NL out of 12 teams)
• Team HR: 84 (9th in NL out of 12 teams)
• Team ERA: 3.74 (8th in NL out of 12 teams)
• Team Fielding: .976 (4th in NL out of 12 teams)
• Attendance: 522,919 (12th in NL out of 12 teams)
• Awards: John Montefusco (Rookie of the Year), Garry Maddox (Gold Glove), Bobby Murcer (All Star)

Wes Westrum (#216) took over for Charlie Fox in the middle of the 1974 season and had a 38-48 record. He managed the Giants through the whole 1975 season (80-81 record). I don't know whether he was fired or quit. As a favor to Hank Aaron, Wes served as pitching coach for Richmond (managed by Tommie Aaron). He then was an advance scout for the Braves for the next 17 years. An interesting 2001 Baseball Digest article is here.

John Boccabella (#553) did not play for the Giants in 1975. He played his final game on September 19, 1974.

Dave Rader (#31) caught in 94 games in 1975 and batted .291 with 5 home runs.

Other players who did not get 1975 Giants cards but played catcher for the Giants:

• Marc Hill batted .214 in 182 at bats. He was acquired by the Giants from the St. Louis Cardinals in October 1974 but didn't get a card (he had only batted 28 times in the previous two seasons).
• Mike Sadek batted .236 in 106 at bats. He spent the first two months of the season in AAA Phoenix. He was a fixture in Phoenix for several years (1970-1972, 1974-1975).
• Gary Alexander played 2 games late in the season and was 0 for 3.