1983 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Fred Breining (#747) was 11-12 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 starts in 1983.

Mike Krukow (#58T) was 11-11 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts.

Bill Laskey (#518) was 13-10 with a 4.19 ERA in 25 starts.

Alan Fowlkes (#543) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1983. He spent the 1983 and 1984 seasons with AAA Phoenix and was released during spring training in 1985. Fowlkes signed with the California Angels and pitched in two games before going back to the minors for good.

Gary Lavelle (#791) was 7-4 with 20 saves and a 2.59 ERA in 56 games in 1983.

Rich Gale (#719) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1983. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1983 season for Mike Vail.

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

• Mark Davis (6-4, 3.49 in 20 starts)
• Mark Calvert (1-4, 6.27 in 18 games - 4 starts)
• Mike Chris (0-0, 8.10 in 7 games)
• Randy Lerch (1-0, 3.38 in 7 games)
• Pat Larkin (0-0, 4.35 in 5 games)
• Brian Kingman (0-0, 7.71 in 3 games)

1982 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

Vida Blue (#430) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1982. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals on March 30, 1982.

Al Holland (#406) was 7-3 with 5 saves and a 3.33 ERA in 58 games (7 starts).

Allen Ripley (#529) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1982. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs before the season for Doug Capilla.

Doyle Alexander (#364) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1982. He was traded to the New York Yankees on March 30 for Andy McGaffigan and Ted Wilborn.

Gary Lavelle (#209) was 10-7 with 8 saves and a 2.67 ERA in 68 games. This is a cool card (in fact it was my vote for "best Gary Lavelle card"). I can imagine him signing one for me -- I went to a lot of spring training games during that time period.

Fred Breining (#144) was 11-6 with a 3.08 ERA in 54 games (9 starts) in 1982.

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)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

1980 Phoenix Giants

I was going through a box and came across this team-issued set from 1980. I don't remember if it was a giveaway or if I bought them. I was in 8th grade at the time. The backs have some vital statistics (height, weight, etc); a stat line from the previous (1979) season; and an offer for a premium team card. It was five coupons plus 75 cents.

• Mike Williams pitched in the minors from 1974-1981 but never made it to the majors. He spent his last two years in Phoenix.

• Mike Tufts spent parts of three seasons (1981-1983) in the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1977-1983.

• Doug Schaefer never made it to the majors. He pitched in the minors from 1975-1981. His last three seasons were in Phoenix.

• Mike Rowland pitched in the minors from 1975-1982 and was in Phoenix from 1978-1982. He played for San Francisco in parts of two seasons (1980 and 1981).

• Larry Prewitt pitched in the minors from 1975-1980 and didn't make it to the majors.

• Ed Plank had two September call-ups in 1978 and 1979 and pitched a total of nine games for the San Francisco Giants. He pitched in the minors from 1973-1980 and was in Phoenix from 1976-1980.

• Phil Nastu pitched in 3 games for SF in 1978, spent most of the season in SF in 1979 (25 games, 14 starts), and pitched in 6 games in 1980. He was in the minors from 1977-1982.
  
  
• Terry Cornutt spent time in the minors from 1972-1980. He was in Phoenix from 1976-1980. He spent most of the 1977 season in SF and pitched in one game for SF in 1978.
  
  
• Fred Breining was in the majors from late 1980 to 1984. He saw a lot of action for SF from 1981-1983. His only season in Phoenix was 1980.
• Bill Bordley was in Phoenix in 1979 and 1980. He pitched for Class A Fresno in 1983. Bill pitched in eight games for SF at the end of the 1980 season. He must have been hurt in 1981 and 1982--there are no stats for him in those two seasons.
  
  
• Chris Bourjous played in 13 games for SF in 1980. That was it for his major league career. He put up nice stats for Phoenix in 1979 and 1980 but didn't stick with the big club. His minor league career was from 1977-1983.
• Max Venable is a native of Phoenix. Max played parts of 12 seasons in the majors from 1979-1991. He played in Phoenix from 1980-1982.

• Casey Parsons played twelve seasons in the minors. He spent 1978, 1979, and part of 1980 with Phoenix. He played in the majors for parts of four seasons from 1981-1987.
  


• Craig Landis played six seasons in the minor leagues but never made it to the show.
  


• Bob Kearney played in the minors from 1977-1982 and again in 1987. Even in the minors he was a light-hitting catcher -- his lifetime minor league average was .233. He played in the majors in 1979 and again from 1981-1987.
  


• Dennis Littlejohn played in two games for San Francisco in 1978 (no at bats). He played in 63 games in 1979 and 13 games in 1980. Dennis spent a total of four years in Phoenix (1978-1981).
  
  
  Jose Barrios played in ten games for San Francisco in 1982. He played in the minors from 1975-1983. He put up pretty good offensive numbers but wasn't much of a glove man.
• Mike Rex played seven seasons in the minors but never made it to the majors. He played in Phoenix from 1979-1982. Mike had a lifetime minor league average of .289.

• Rich Murray is the brother of Eddie Murray. He played in the minors from 1975-1985. Rich played half of the 1980 season with the Giants and had a cup of coffee in 1983. He played a total of six seasons in Phoenix.
  


• Joe Pettini spent parts of four seasons (1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983) with Phoenix. He played for San Francisco from 1980-1983.

• Guy Sularz spent parts of four seasons (1980-1983) with the San Francisco Giants. He also spent a lot of time with Phoenix (1978-1984). He put up nice AAA stats but couldn't do it in the majors.
  
  Rocky Bridges was very popular in Phoenix. One of his memorable quotes was, "I can't spell Albuquerque, but I sure can smell it." He managed Phoenix from 1974-1982 and managed a total of 20 seasons in the minors.
  
• Ethan Blackaby was the longtime GM for the Phoenix Giants in the 1970s and 1980s. He played a total of 15 games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962 and 1964.
  

• These two worked for the Phoenix ball club for a long, long time.

The Giants' system was pretty dry at the AAA level in 1980. That probably contributed to the poor years they had in the mid 1980s. Out of the 22 players pictured, 16 made it to the majors but most of them didn't stay long. Oh well--it was still fun to watch the games.