1978 Topps #719 - Randy Elliott

• Randy Elliott spent most of his ten years in baseball playing in AAA.
• This is the only Topps card Randy ever had -- no wonder I didn't know who he was.
• Randy had a couple of short stints with the San Diego Padres in 1972 and in 1974.
• Elliott was picked up by the Giants in September 1976. He was in the California Angels organization in 1976 but he never played that season due to a shoulder separation he suffered in 1975.
• Randy batted .240 with 7 HR and 26 RBI in 73 games with the Giants in 1977. He was used exclusively in left field that season.
• Elliott didn't make the Giants ballclub in 1978 and was released during spring training.
• Randy signed with the Cleveland Indians in April but never played for them (or any of their affiliates) in 1978. He was cut loose during spring training in 1979.
• Elliott had one more go-around with the Oakland A's in 1980 but was released after the season. His .128 average in 39 at bats pretty much sealed the deal.

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)

1978 Topps Giants - Part 3

• Randy Elliott (#719) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He has no stats at all from 1978 and 1979. He played for the Giants in 1977 and then played for the Oakland A's (and their AAA team) in 1980. I wonder what happened to him during those two years.
  

• Gary Thomasson (#684) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was traded to the Oakland A's before the 1978 season as part of the Vida Blue trade.
  

• Larry Herndon (#512) was the starting center fielder and played in 151 games in 1978. He batted .259 with one home run and 32 RBI.
  
  

• Vic Harris (#436) batted .150 in 100 at bats as a utilityman in 1978.
  
  
  
  

• Jack Clark (#384) batted .306 with 25 HR and 98 RBI. The 22-year-old right fielder led the Giants in runs (90), hits (181), doubles (46), home runs, and RBI.
  
  
  
  

• Terry Whitfield (#236) batted .289 with 10 HR and 32 RBI in 149 games. Terry was the Giants' starting left fielder.

Others who played OF for the Giants but didn't get 1978 Topps Giants cards:

• Hector Cruz (.223 with 6 HR in 197 AB)
• Jim Dwyer (.225 in 173 AB)

1978 Topps Giants - Part 2

• Willie McCovey (#34) hit 12 homers, had 64 RBI , and batted .228 in 351 at bats in 1978.

• Johnnie LeMaster (#538) played shortstop and batted .235 in 272 at bats.
  
  

• Rob Andrews (#461) batted .220 in 177 at bats in 1978.
  
  
  

• Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock (#410) continued to hit well as he batted .309 in 122 games as the starting second baseman.
  
  
  

• Darrell Evans (#215) played 159 games at third base in 1978 and batted .243 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI. He also had 105 walks.
  
  
  

• Derrel Thomas (#194) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was traded to the San Diego Padres for Mike Ivie before the season.
  
  
  

• Tim Foli (#167) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was purchased by the New York Mets in December 1977.

Others who played infield for the Giants but didn't have 1978 Topps Giants cards:

• Mike Ivie was mostly a first baseman (.308, 11 HR, 55 RBI in 318 AB)
• Roger Metzger - SS (.260 in 235 AB)
• Tom Heintzelman - utility (.229 in 35 AB)
• Skip James - 1B (.095 in 21 AB)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

1978 Topps Giants - Part 1

• This is a cool-looking team card (#82). It looks different from the normal run-of-the-mill team picture. Candlestick Park looks odd with artificial turf.

• The 1978 Topps set is an underrated set. It has a nice design and the backs are easy to read. The set had 726 cards instead of the standard 660. The extra cards were needed due to expansion in 1977. The double prints were kind of a pain, but it was worth it to get more cards in the set.

• Record: 89-73 (3rd in NL West, 6 games behind Los Angeles)
• Team Batting: .248 (10th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 117 (6th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.30 (3rd in NL)
• Team Fielding: .977 (9th in NL)
• Attendance: 1,740,477 (4th in NL)
• Gold Glove Awards: none
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year: Vida Blue
• NL All Stars: Vida Blue (starting pitcher); Jack Clark (OF)
  

• The 1978 season was Joe Altobelli's (#256) second season as the Giants' manager. He was let go in September 1979 after the Giants struggled. Joe's record in almost three years as the SF manager was 225-239. Altobelli would later win a title with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983.
  
  

• Gary Alexander (#624) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was traded to the Oakland A's before the season as part of the big Vida Blue trade.
  
  
  

• Marc Hill (#359) was the starting catcher. He batted .243 with three HR in 117 games.
  
  
  

• Mike Sadek (#8) batted .239 with two HR in 109 at bats in 1978.

Other players who caught for the Giants but didn't get 1978 Topps Giants cards:

• John Tamargo (.239 in 92 at bats)

• Dennis Littlejohn (caught in two games with no at bats)