1986 Fleer Star Sticker #13 - Chris Brown

• Chris Brown had a couple of good seasons with the Giants in the mid-1980s
• Brown spent several years in the minors (1979-1984) and was promoted to the Giants in September of 1984 at the age of 23.
• Chris finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Vince Coleman, Tom Browning, and Mariano Duncan) in 1985
• Brown batted .271 with 16 HR and 61 RBI in 1985 and was one of the few bright spots in the Giants' most dismal season
• In 1986 Brown's power fell off (7 HR) but he batted .317 and was an NL All Star (he doubled and hit into a double play in the game)
• Chris got off to a rough start in 1987 (.242 in 38 games with the Giants) and was included in the big trade with the San Diego Padres that brought Kevin Mitchell to the Giants.
• Brown spent the rest of 1987 and the 1988 seasons with the Padres and then moved on to the Detroit Tigers
• Chris played with the Tigers for a bit in 1989 before being released on May 19. He was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates and played well in AAA (.343 in 57 games), but he never made it back to the  majors.
• Brown tried a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds' AAA club in 1995, but he went 0 for 7 in three games.
• After his baseball career, Brown became a driver for Halliburton and spent time in Iraq.
• Chris Brown died from injuries suffered in a house fire on December 26, 2006.

1986 Topps Giants - Part 3 (more infielders)

• David Green (#727) didn't play for the Giants in 1986. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a minor leaguer after the 1985 season.
  
  
  
  

• Manny Trillo (#655) didn't play for the Giants in 1986. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Owen after the 1985 season.
  
  

• Chris Brown (#383) was the regular 3B for the Giants in 1986. He batted .317 with seven HR and 49 RBI. He also had a .376 on base percentage.
  
  
  

• Ricky Adams (#153) didn't play for the Giants in 1986. He played in 18 games at AAA Phoenix. Perhaps he was injured. Adams continued to play in the minors in 1987 but he never made it back to the majors. He played in his last game in October 1985.

• Others who played infield for the Giants but didn't get a 1986 Topps card:

• Luis Quinones (.179 in 106 AB)
• Mike Woodard (.253 in 79 AB)
• Harry Spilman (.287 in 94 AB)
• Rick Lancellotti (.222 in 18 AB)
  
  
  

1987 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

• Will Clark (#420) batted .308 with 35 HR and 91 RBI in 1987. He had a .580 slugging percentage. Will was 5th in NL MVP voting. How was he left off of the All Star team?
  
  

• Robby Thompson (#658) was the starting second baseman and batted .262 in 132 games. He spent his entire career (1986-1996) with the Giants.
  
  
  

• Jose Uribe (OOOO-ri-BE!!!!!) (#633) played in 95 games and batted .291, which was a career high. He didn't play from May 28 - July 3 (must have been hurt). He also missed time in early May (May 5-19).
  
  

• Luis Quinones (#362) didn't play for the Giants in 1987. He was released by the Giants on November 10, 1986 and he signed with the Chicago Cubs. He was the guy the Giants got from the Cleveland Indians for Johnnie LeMaster. Luis didn't bat any better than LeMaster. He batted .179 in 71 games for the Giants in 1986 (his only season with the club).
  
  

• Mike Woodard (#286) played in 10 games and batted .211 in 19 at bats. He was released by the Giants on June 29 and signed with the Houston Astros on July 2. Mike spent the rest of the season in AAA Tucson and then signed with the Chicago White Sox. He batted 48 times for the White Sox in 1988 then went back to the minors to stay. He played parts of four seasons (1985-1988) in the majors but spent most of his career (1978-1989) in the minors.
  
  
  
  
  

• Chris Brown (#180) started the season as the starting third baseman but was traded to the San Diego Padres as part of the big deal that netted the Giants Kevin Mitchell, Craig Lefferts and Dave Dravecky. In 38 games Brown batted .242 with six home runs. He struggled with the Padres in '87 and '88 and didn't do very well with the Tigers in '89. Chris was out of baseball after the 1989 season (except for a brief comeback attempt with AAA Indianapolis in 1995). He died of injuries sustained in a house fire in 2006.
  
  
  
  
  

• Harry Spilman (#64) batted .267 in 90 at bats as a utility player in 1987. He was at the tail end of his career at this point (the Giants were the fourth of his five teams). The Giants released Spilman in August 1988 and he signed with the Houston Astros, where he finished his career.

1985 Topps Giants Part 2

Brad Wellman (#409) batted .236 in 174 at bats as a utilityman.

David Green was acquired as part of the Jack Clark trade before the season. David only played for the Giants in 1985. He batted .248 with 5 home runs in 294 at bats.

Manny Trillo batted .224 in 451 at bats as the starting second baseman. He used to drive my dad nuts with his constant smiling. He would say things like, "You're having a bad year and so is your team--why the %#$@ are you smiling?"

Jose Uribe was another guy acquired by the Giants in the Jack Clark trade. Jose batted .237 in 476 at bats as the starting shortstop. I can hear it now-------OOOO---Ribe! OOOO---Ribe!

Chris Brown was the starting third baseman and batted .271 with 16 home runs in 432 at bats. He was 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Fran Mullins did not play for the Giants in 1985. He spent the season in AAA Phoenix and was sold to the Cleveland Indians after the season.

Duane Kuiper played in nine games (either pinch hitting or pinch running appearances) and was 3 for 5 with a walk and two sacrifices. He was released on June 28.

Scot Thompson batted .217 with 0 home runs in 111 at bats and was traded with Bill Laskey to the Montreal Expos for Dan Driessen on August 1.

Johnnie LeMaster was 0 for 16 and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 7.

Other infielders who did not get Topps Giants cards in 1985:

Dan Driessen 1B (.232 with 3 home runs in 54 games)

Rob Deer UT (.185 with 8 home runs in 162 at bats)

Ricky Adams IF (.190 in 121 at bats)

Gary Rajsich 1B (.165 with 0 home runs in 91 at bats)

Mike Woodard 2B (.244 in 82 AB)