1984 Topps #109 - Brad Wellman

• Brad Wellman was originally signed by the Kansas City Royals in 1978. He played in the Royals' system from 1978-1981.
• Wellman was traded (with Atlee Hammaker, Renie Martin, and Craig Chamberlain) to the Giants on 30 March 1982 for Vida Blue and Bob Tufts.
• Brad batted .324 for AAA Phoenix and got his first taste of major league action at the end of the 1982 season.
• Wellman batted .311 in 45 games for Phoenix in 1983 and was called up at the end of May to replace the injured Duane Kuiper. Brad was given a shot at the starting second base position but he didn't provide enough offense (.214 in 82 games).
• Brad's 1984 season looked a lot like his 1983 season. He started with Phoenix, hit pretty well, and was called up after a couple of months. Wellman improved his average to .226, but it wasn't enough improvement.
• The Giants were wretched in 1985 (62-100). Brad backed up Manny Trillo at second base. Wellman outhit Trillo during the season (but neither player broke .240).
• The coming of Robby Thompson in 1986 spelled the end of Brad Wellman's time in San Francisco. Brad batted .282 in Phoenix, but he only got into twelve games for the Giants. After the season Wellman became a free agent and signed with the LA Dodgers.
• He played in the Dodger organization in 1987 and then spent the last two years of his career in the Royals' organization. Wellman retired after the 1989 season.
• Brad Wellman now owns Wellman Sports in San Ramon, CA and teaches baseball to youngsters.
• Brad has a son (Casey Wellman) who plays for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.
• Brad Wellman had a pretty good minor league career (.298 lifetime average in eight seasons).
• Stats:
• 1982 - .250 (1 for 4)
• 1983 - .214 in 82 games
• 1984 - .226 in 93 games
• 1985 - .236 in 71 games
• 1986 - .154 (2 for 13) in 12 games

1984 Topps Rub Down Johnnie LeMaster

• Tom from The Angels in Order posted some cards a couple of months ago that he had acquired. I commented that it was cool that he got a Johnnie LeMaster. Tom e-mailed me and asked if I would like it. A week later the card was in my mailbox. Thanks Tom! :)

1984 Topps Giants - Part 4

Mike Krukow led the team in victories with 11. He was 11-12 with a 4.56 ERA in 33 starts.

Renie Martin was 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 12 games. Martin spent quite a bit of the season with the Phoenix Giants. He was traded to the Phillies with Al Oliver for Kelly Downs and George Riley on August 30.

Fred Breining didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was traded to the Montreal Expos for Al Oliver before the season.

Mark Davis was 5-17 (0uch!) with a 5.36 ERA. He appeared in 46 games and started 27 of those games.

Jim Barr didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was released during spring training.

Greg Minton was the closer for the Giants in 1984. He saved 19 games and was 4-9 with a 3.76 ERA in 74 appearances.

Gary Lavelle was a setup man and did some closing for the Giants in 1984. He had 12 saves and was 5-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 77 appearances.

Bill Laskey was 9-14 with a 4.33 ERA in 34 starts in 1984.

Atlee Hammaker was 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts. He didn't start a game until June 26, made five starts, then was out again until September 1. He started that day and didn't pitch again in the 1984 season. He made two starts (probably a rehab assignment) for the Phoenix Giants.

Andy McGaffigan didn't pitch for the Giants in 1984. He was sent to Montreal before the season as part of the Al Oliver deal.

Others who pitched for the Giants but didn't get a regular 1984 Topps Giants card:

• Jeff Robinson (7-15, 4.56 ERA in 33 starts)
• Frank Williams (9-4, 3.55 ERA, 3 saves in 61 appearances)
• Randy Lerch (5-3, 4.23 ERA, 2 saves in 37 games-4 starts)
• Bob Lacey (1-3, 3.88 ERA in 34 games)
• Mark Grant (1-4, 6.37 ERA in 10 starts--he had a save in his only relief appearance)
• Scott Garrelts (2-3, 5.65 ERA in 21 appearances--3 starts)
• Mark Calvert (2-4, 5.06 ERA in 10 appearances - 5 starts)
• George Riley (1-0, 3.99 ERA in 4 starts)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

1984 Topps Giants - Part 3

Champ Summers didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He was traded to the San Diego Padres for Joe Pittman after the 1983 season.

Jeffrey Leonard led the Giants in home runs with 21 (tied with Chili Davis), led in RBI with 86, and batted .302 in 136 games.

Jack Clark played in only 57 games in 1984. He didn't play after June 22. He batted .320 with 11 home runs in 203 at bats.

Chili Davis batted .315 and tied Jeffrey Leonard for the team lead in home runs with 21.

Max Venable didn't play for the Giants in 1984. He was traded with Fred Breining and Andy McGaffigan to the Montreal Expos for Al Oliver before the 1984 season.

Others who played OF for the Giants in 1984 but didn't get a regular Topps 1984 Giants card:

• Dan Gladden batted .351 with 31 stolen bases in 86 games. He finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting. It was a very strong list of rookies: Dwight Gooden, Juan Samuel, and Orel Hershiser all finished ahead of Gladden, with Ron Darling and Terry Pendleton finishing behind him.

• Dusty Baker batted .292 in 243 at bats but hit only three home runs.

• Gene Richards batted .252 in 135 at bats.

• Alejandro Sanchez batted .195 in 41 at bats as a September call-up. He batted .318 for AAA Phoenix.

• Rob Deer batted .167 with three home runs in 24 at bats.
  
  
  
  
  

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)
  
  
  
  

1984 Topps Giants - Part 1

In 1984 the Giants were 66-96 (6th in the NL West, 26 games behind San Diego)

• Team batting: .265 (2nd in NL)
• Team home runs: 112 (3rd in NL)
• Team ERA: 4.39 (12th in NL)
• Team fielding: .973 (12th in NL)
• Attendance: 1,001,145 (11th in NL)
• All-Stars: Bob Brenly, Chili Davis
  

Frank Robinson was hired to manage the Giants in 1981. He had a 42-64 record in 1984 when the Giants let him go.

Bob Brenly was the starting catcher. He played in 145 games and batted .291 with 20 home runs. He was second on the team in home runs (Jeffrey Leonard hit 21).

Steve Nicosia played in 48 games and batted .303 in 132 at bats.

John Rabb played in 54 games and batted .195 with 3 home runs in 82 at bats.

Randy Gomez played 14 games and batted .167 in 30 at bats. This was the only year Gomez was in the major leagues. He played in the minors from 1980-1987.