1986 Topps Giants - Part 1

The Giants began to show a lot of promise in 1986. Several good young players (Will Clark, Robby Thompson, etc.) made the jump from AA to the Giants without playing in AAA Phoenix. The Giants still had some work to do, but they were heading in the right direction and they started to become fun to watch again.

• Team Record: 83-79 (3rd in NL West, 13 games behind Houston)
• Attendance: 1,528,748 (9th in NL)
• Team Batting: .253 (6th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 114 (9th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.36 (3rd in NL)
• Team Fielding: .977 (11th in NL)
• NL All Stars: Chris Brown (3B); Chili Davis (OF); Mike Krukow (P)
• League Leaders: Robby Thompson (sacrifice hits - 18)

• Roger Craig was in his first full season as the Giants' manager. The youth movement was paying dividends for the Giants -- they had only two regulars over the age of 30.
  
  

• Bob Brenly was the regular catcher and batted .246 with 16 HR and 62 RBI in 472 at bats. Bob also walked 74 tims and had a .350 on base percentage.
  
  
  

• Alex Trevino didn't play for the Giants in 1986. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Candy Maldonado before the '86 season.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't get a 1986 Topps card:

• Bob Melvin (.224 in 268 AB)
• Phil Ouellette (.174 in 23 AB)
• Brad Gulden (.091 in 22 AB)
  
  
  

1985 Topps Giants Part 1

The 1985 Giants were the most wretched club in team history. They were 62-100 and last in the NL West. I remember watching them when they were on Cubs and Braves broadcasts. There weren't a whole lot of people in the stands, they were usually bundled up, and about all that could be heard was the sound of fans playing "charge" on their kazoos.

Record: 62-100 .383 (6th in NL West -33 games behind)
Team Batting: .233 (12th out of 12 teams)
Team Pitching: 3.62 ERA (6th out of 12 teams)
Team Fielding: .976 (9th out of 12 teams)
NL All Stars: Scott Garrelts
Attendance: 818,697 (11th out of 12 teams)


Danny Ozark (#365) didn't manage the 1985 team. He was the interim manager after Frank Robinson was fired on August 5, 1984.

Jim Davenport (#27T) finally got his shot to manage in 1985 after many years as a player and coach for the Giants. The Giants had a 56-88 record when Jim was dismissed and replaced by Roger Craig with 18 games left in the season.

Bob Brenly (#215) was the starting catcher. He batted .220 in 440 at bats but led the team in home runs (!) with 19.

Steve Nicosia (#103) didn't play for the Giants in 1985. He became a free agent after the 1984 season and signed with the Montreal Expos.

Alex Trevino (#123T) was the backup catcher in 1985. He batted .217 in 157 at bats. Alex was traded to the Dodgers after the season for Candy Maldonado.

John Rabb (#696) didn't play for the Giants in 1985. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Alex Trevino on April 17.

Matt Nokes also caught a few September games for the Giants. He batted .208 with 2 home runs in 19 games. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers after the season.