Happy Birthday Bob Brenly!

• Today is Bob Brenly's 58th birthday. He was a favorite of mine during the dreary era of the mid-1980s and during the Giants' renaissance under "Humm-baby" Roger Craig.
• I also enjoyed him when he was a broadcaster (and later the manager) of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He seems to be having a good time with his life -- he is a popular broadcaster with the Chicago Cubs now.
• Here is a card tribute of Bob that was on this blog last year.

Card Tribute: Bob Brenly

• It's been a while since I've done one of these. 
• Bob Brenly was always a favorite of mine. 
• Brenly was a 27-year-old rookie in 1981 and batted .333 (15 for 45) in 19 games

1982 Topps #171

• Bob batted .283 in 65 games as a catcher and third baseman

1983 Topps #494

• Spent  most of his 1983 season behind the plate and also had some playing time at 1B and in the outfield
• Batted .224 in 104 games

1984 Topps #378

• 1984 was Bob's best season
• Batted .291 with 20 HR and 80 RBI
• Made the NL All Star team and struck out as a pinch hitter
• Won the 1984 Willie  Mac award for his spirit and leadership

1985 Topps #215

• Batted .220 with 19 HR and 56 RBI

1986 Topps #625

• Played in 101 games as a catcher but also saw significant time at 3B (45 games) and at 1B
• Batted .246 with 16 HR and 62 RBI
• Led NL catchers with a .995 fielding percentage
• Committed four errors in the same game (all in the fourth inning) as a third baseman on September 14. Bob later hit the game-winning HR in the bottom of the 9th

1987 Topps #125

• Bob's final season as a full-time player
• Batted .267 with 18 HR and 51 RBI

1988 Topps #703

• Batted .189 in 73 games
• Released after the 1988 season

1989 Topps #52

• Started the 1989 season with the Toronto Blue Jays and batted .170 in 48 games
• Released by the Blue Jays on July 18
• Signed with the Giants on August 2
• Played in 27 games (.255 in 98 AB) for the AAA Phoenix Firebirds
• Batted .182 in 12 games for the Giants

Giants Playoff Catchers

I decided to steal this idea from Capewood Collections (he's doing this for the Phillies).

1951 Wes Westrum (.219, 20 HR, 70 RBI in 124 games)

1954 Wes Westrum (.187, 8 HR, 27 RBI in 98 games) / Ray Katt (.255, 9 HR, 33 RBI in 86 RBI)

1954 Topps #180

1954 Bowman #121

1962 Tom Haller (.261, 18 HR, 55 RBI in 99 games) / Ed Bailey (.232, 17 HR, 45 RBI in 96 games)

1962 Topps #356

1962 Topps #459

1971 Dick Deitz (.252, 19 HR, 72 RBI in 142 games)

1971 Topps #545

1987 Bob Brenly (.267, 18 HR, 51 RBI in 123 games)

1987 Topps #125

1989 Terry Kennedy (.239, 5 HR, 34 RBI in 125 games)

1989 Topps #59T

1997 Rick Wilkins (.195, 6 HR in 66 games)

1997 Pinnacle #125

2000 Bobby Estalella (.234, 14 HR, 53 RBI in 106 games)

2000 Upper Deck

2002 Benito Santiago (.278, 16 HR, 74 RBI in 126 games)

2002 Topps #68

2003 Benito Santiago (.279, 11 HR, 56 RBI in 108 games)

2003 Topps #66

2010 Buster Posey (.305, 18 HR, 67 RBI in 108 games)

2010 Topps #2

1989 Topps Giants - Part 1

The 1989 Giants won the NLWest, beat the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, then were swept by the Oakland A's in the "earthquake series." It was a fun year to be a Giants fan. This is probably my least favorite 80s Topps sets.

Team Record: 92-70, 1st in NL West, 3 games ahead of San Diego

Attendance: 2,059,791 (5th in NL)

Team Batting: .250 (4th in NL)

Team Home Runs: 141 (2nd in NL)

Team ERA: 3.30 (3rd in NL)

Team Fielding: .982 (2nd in NL)

League Leaders: Kevin Mitchell (slugging .635, home runs 47, RBI 125); Robbie Thompson (triples 11); Scott Garrelts (ERA 2.28)

All Stars: Rick Reuschel (starting pitcher); Will Clark (starting 1B); Kevin Mitchell (starting LF)

Awards: Kevin Mitchell (MVP, Silver Slugger); Will Clark (NLCS MVP, Silver Slugger); Don Robinson (Silver Slugger)

Roger Craig (#744) was in his fourth full season of managing the Giants. The 1989 season would be the second and final time that the Giants would win the NL West during his 6+ years of managing the club.

Bob Brenly (#52) batted .182 in 12 games in 1989. He had been released by the Giants after the 1988 season. Brenly signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 1989 season but was released on July 18. Bob signed with the Giants to help out during the September stretch run and then retired after the season.

Bob Melvin (#329) didn't play for the Giants in 1989. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before the season for Terry Kennedy.

Kirt Manwaring (#506) backed up Terry Kennedy and batted .210 in 85 games in 1989.

Terry Kennedy (#59T) was the starting catcher. He batted .239 with 5 HR in 125 games in 1989.

1983 Topps Giants - Part 1

After a promising 1982, the Giants (#171) stumbled in 1983. Joe  Morgan signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and his replacements (Brad Wellman and Duane Kuiper) didn't exactly strike fear into opponents. Other players weren't as productive in 1983 as they were in 1982, and the pitching faltered a bit. The Giants finished 79-83 and fell to 5th in the NL West.

Team Record: 79-83 (5th in NL West, 12 games behind the LA Dodgers)
Team Attendance: 1,251,530 (9th of 12 teams)
Team Batting: .247 (10th in NL)
Team Home Runs: 142 (2nd in NL)
Team ERA: 3.73 (9th in NL)
Team Fielding: .973 (12th in NL)
League Leaders: Atlee Hammaker (ERA, 2.25)
NL All Stars: Darrell Evans (1B), Atlee Hammaker (P), Gary Lavelle (P)

Frank Robinson (#576) managed the Giants from 1981 until the bottom fell out in 1984. He had some success at first (.558 and 3rd place in the second half of 1981, .537 and 3rd place in 1982), but the Giants struggled in 1983 (79-83) and fell down hard in 1984 (42-64, .396) before Frank was dismissed. Robinson also managed the Cleveland Indians from 1975-1977, the Baltimore Orioles from 1988-1991, and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals from 2002-2006.

Milt May (#84) batted .247 with 6 HR and 20 RBI in 66 games. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 19 for Steve Nicosia.

Bob Brenly (#494) was the starting catcher and batted .224 with 7 HR and 34 RBI in 104 games.

Others who caught for the Giants in 1983 but didn't receive a 1983 Topps Giants card:

John Rabb (.231 with 1 HR and 14 RBI in 40 games)

Steve Nicosia (.333 in 15 games)

Jeff Ransom (.200 in 6 games)

1982 Topps Giants - Part 1

After three rough years, the Giants had a very nice year in 1982 and almost managed to steal the NL West title. On September 1 they were 9 games out of first place. The Giants went 20-7 in September and got to within 1 game of the lead on September 26. They finished 2 games behind but it was an exciting last couple of weeks. The most memorable moment for me was the final weekend of the 1982 season. The Braves, Giants, and Dodgers were all within two games of each other. The Dodgers knocked the Giants out of contention on Saturday. The Giants returned the favor on the last day of the season when Joe Morgan hit the game-winning home run to knock the Dodgers out.

The time between the departure of Willie Mays and the Roger Craig "Humm-baby" years was a tough time to be a Giants fan. The 1978 and 1982 seasons were the only rays of sunshine during that era.

The Giants managed to win 87 games despite not having many guys even in the top ten in statistical categories. As seen below, the Giants were fair at best in most of the team statistics. One thing that helped the Giants in '82 was their patience at the plate. They were first in the NL in walks and second in on base percentage.


Team Record: 87-75 (3rd Place in NL West, 2 games behind Atlanta)

Team Batting: .253 (9th in NL)

Team Home Runs: 133 (4th in NL)

Team ERA: 3.67 (7th in NL)

Team Fielding: .973 (11th in NL)

Awards: Joe Morgan (Silver Slugger - 2B)

NL All Stars: Greg Minton (P)



Milt May (#242) batted .263 with 9 HR and 39 RBI in 114 games.

Bob Brenly (#171) batted .283 with 4 HR in 180 at bats.

Others who caught for the Giants but did not receive a 1982 Topps Giants card:

Jeff Ransom (.159 in 44 at bats)

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)
  
  
  

1987 Topps Giants - Part 1

• In 1987 (#231), the Giants became a fun team to watch again. They brought up several good young players and the pitching was much improved. Bob Brenly and Jeffrey Leonard were the only starting positon players over the age of 30. The Giants won the NL West and lost in seven games in the National League Championship Series.

• Team Record: 90-72 (1st in NL West, 6 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds)
• Team Attendance: 1,917,168 (7th of 12 teams)
• Team Batting: .260 (7th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 205 (2nd in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.70 (1st in NL)
• Team Fielding: .980 (3rd in NL)
• NL All Stars: Jeffrey Leonard (OF)
• NL Gold Gloves: Rick Reuschel (P for 2nd half of season)
• NL Championship MVP: Jeffrey Leonard
• League Leaders: Rick Reuschel (shutouts - 4)

• Roger Craig (#193) managed the Giants into the playoffs for the first time since 1971. The Giants became a fun team to watch again. Roger managed the Giants from the end of the 1985 season through the 1992 season. He stepped down after the '92 season.
  
  

• Bob Brenly (#125) was the starting catcher in 1987. He batted .267 with 18 home runs in 375 at bats. It was his last season as a regular. He batted .235 (4 for 17) in the National League Championship Series. Bob spent 1981-1988 with the Giants and then was released and went to Toronto to start the 1989 season. After being released from the Blue Jays in mid-July Bob went back to the Giants. He played for AAA Phoenix and then finished his career with the Giants in September. He retired after the '89 season.
  
  

• Bob Melvin (#549) batted .199 with 11 home runs in 246 at bats as the Giants' backup catcher. He had a .998 fielding percentage behind the plate. Bob went 3 for 7 (.429) in the NLCS. Melvin spent 3 seasons (1986-1988) with the Giants and was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Terry Kennedy before the 1989 season.
• Others who caught for the Giants in 1987 but who didn't receive '87 Topps cards:
• Mackey Sasser (0 for 4 in 2 games)
• Kirk Manwaring (1 for 7 in 6 games)
  
  

1988 Topps Giants - Part 1

The "team leaders" cards in the late 80s didn't do much for me. I liked the information on the backs, but the fronts just weren't all that great.

Team Record: 83-79, 4th NL West, 11.5 games behind the Dodgers
Attendance: 1,785,297 (9th of 12)
Team Batting: .248 (5th in NL)
Team Home Runs: 113 (3rd in NL)
Team ERA: 3.40 (6th in NL)
Team Fielding: .980 (2nd in NL)
Gold Glove Winners: none
NL All Stars: Will Clark (starting 1B), Robby Thompson (2B, did not play)




The 1988 season was Roger Craig's third full season as the Giants' manager. The Giants won the NL West in 1987 and in 1989, but stumbled in 1988. Craig ended up spending 7 full seasons (1986-1992) and part of another one (1985) as the SF manager.

Bob Brenly batted .189 with five homers in 206 at bats in 1988. It was a significant drop-off from his performance in 1987 and he was released after the season. Bob signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and played part of the 1989 season for the Jays. He was released in July and signed with the Giants to help with their '89 pennant drive. Brenly retired after the 1989 season.

Kirt Manwaring batted .250 in 40 games. He spent a large portion of the season in AAA Phoenix.

Bob Melvin was the Giants' starting catcher. He batted .234 with eight homers in 273 at bats. After the season Bob was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Terry Kennedy.

Today in Giants' History -- September 14

1986 - Giant third baseman Bob Brenly, usually a catcher, ties a major league record by making four errors in one inning, but makes amends by hitting two home runs, including the game-winner, as San Francisco beats the Braves, 7-6.

Thanks to baseball reference

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.