1976 SSPC Giants - Part 4

1977 Topps Giants - Part 3 (outfielders)

L Willie Crawford (#642) didn't play for the Giants in 1977. He had been traded to the Giants after the 1976 season but before he could play with them Willie was traded with Rob Sperring to the Houston Astros for Rob Andrews and cash.


Jack Clark (#488) batted .252 with 13 HR and 51 RBI in his first full season.

Gary Thomasson (#496) batted .256 with 17 HR and 71 RBI in 145 games.

Larry Herndon (#397) played in 49 games and batted .239 in 109 at bats. He didn't play after June 18.

Bobby Murcer (#40) didn't play for the Giants in 1977. Before the season he was traded to the Chicago Cubs with Steve Ontiveros and an minor leaguer for Bill Madlock and Rob Sperring.

Others who played OF for the Giants but who didn't get a 1977 Topps Giants card:

Terry Whitfield (.285 with 7 HR in 326 AB)

Randy Elliott (.240 with 7 HR in 167 AB)

1976 Topps Giants - Part 3 (outfielders)

• Von Joshua (#82) played in 62 games, batting .263 in 156 AB as the starting center fielder for the first two months of the season. He was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 2.

• Gary Matthews (#133) batted .279 with 20 HR and 84 RBI. Matthews, Larry Herndon, and Bobby Murcer were the starting outfielders and they all tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 12. Gary left the Giants and signed with the Atlanta Braves after the 1976 season.
  
  
  

• Bobby Murcer (#470) was the starting right fielder and batted .259 with a team-leading 23 HR and 90 RBI. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the season as part of the deal that brought Bill Madlock to the Giants.
  
  
  
  

• Glenn Adams (#389) was one of those Phoenix Giants who did great in the minors but didn't do as well in the majors. In 1976 Adams batted .243 in 74 AB and was sold to the Minnesota Twins after the season. In eight seasons in the minors Glenn had a lifetime .311 batting average, including a .352 mark for Phoenix in 1974 and a .330 average for AAA Syracuse in 1982.
  
  
  
  
  

• Gary Thomasson (#261) batted .259 with 8 HR and 38 RBI in 368 at bats as a backup outfielder and first baseman. He started with the Giants in 1972 and played with them through the 1977 season. Gary was one of the several players traded to the Oakland A's for Vida Blue before the 1978 season.

Others who played OF in 1976 but didn't receive Topps Giants cards:

• Larry Herndon - starting CF after Von Joshua's departure (.288 in 337 AB)
• Jack Clark (.225 in 102 AB as a 20-year-old rookie)

1974 Topps Giants -- Part 2

• Dave Kingman didn't have one of his better years in 1974. He played in 121 games and batted .223 with 18 homers and 55 RBI.

• Steve Ontiveros started 72 games at third base in 1974. As a 22-year-0ld rookie he batted .265 with 4 HR and 57 walks (.375 OBP).
  
  
  

• Mike Phillips batted .219 in 100 games (283 AB) as a utility infielder.
  
  
  
  

• Ed Goodson started 67 games at 1B and played some 3B as well in his last good season. He batted .272 with 6 HR and 48 RBI in 298 AB. Ed would never bat above .229 for the rest of his major league career.
  
  
  

• Chris Arnold is listed as a catcher on this card because he caught in nine games in 1973. In 1974 he was a utility infielder, starting 30 games at 2B, six games at 3B, and one game at SS. Chris batted .241 in 174 AB.
  
  
  

• Tito Fuentes missed over a month of the season. He played on opening day (April 5) and didn't play again until May 7. He struggled to a .249 average in 108 games and was traded to the San Diego Padres after the season.
  
  
  
  

• Chris Speier batted .250 in 141 games as the starting shortstop and was the Giants' representative in the 1974 All Star Game.
  
  
  
  

• Gary Thomasson batted .244 in 315 AB as an outfielder and occasional first baseman.
  
  Others who played infield in 1974 but didn't get Topps Giants' cards:
• Bruce Miller (.278 in 198 AB as a utility infielder). He batted .357 in 33 games at Phoenix in '74 but couldn't duplicate it at the major league level.
• Glenn Redmon batted .235 in 17 late-season at bats. 1974 was his only season in the majors. Glenn batted .312 for Phoenix before his September call-up.
  
  
  
  
  
  

1978 Topps Giants - Part 3

• Randy Elliott (#719) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He has no stats at all from 1978 and 1979. He played for the Giants in 1977 and then played for the Oakland A's (and their AAA team) in 1980. I wonder what happened to him during those two years.
  

• Gary Thomasson (#684) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was traded to the Oakland A's before the 1978 season as part of the Vida Blue trade.
  

• Larry Herndon (#512) was the starting center fielder and played in 151 games in 1978. He batted .259 with one home run and 32 RBI.
  
  

• Vic Harris (#436) batted .150 in 100 at bats as a utilityman in 1978.
  
  
  
  

• Jack Clark (#384) batted .306 with 25 HR and 98 RBI. The 22-year-old right fielder led the Giants in runs (90), hits (181), doubles (46), home runs, and RBI.
  
  
  
  

• Terry Whitfield (#236) batted .289 with 10 HR and 32 RBI in 149 games. Terry was the Giants' starting left fielder.

Others who played OF for the Giants but didn't get 1978 Topps Giants cards:

• Hector Cruz (.223 with 6 HR in 197 AB)
• Jim Dwyer (.225 in 173 AB)

1977 Burger Chef Giants

I don't remember this issue. Burger Chef wasn't in Arizona. I picked this set up off of eBay a few weeks ago for a buck or two.

The backs had Burger Chef cartoon characters.
Here are the rest of the Giants in the set:

1975 Topps Giants Part 3

Gary Matthews led the Giants with 12 home runs and batted .280 in 116 games as the Giants' LF.

Garry Maddox batted .135 in 17 games before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Montanez. Garry won one of his many Gold Gloves in 1975.

Bobby Murcer batted .298 and led the Giants in RBI with 91. He also walked 91 times and had an on base percentage of .396 and was the Giants' representative to the All Star game.

Dave Kingman did not play for the Giants in 1975. He was sold to the New York Mets on February 28 for $150,000.

Gary Thomasson batted .227 in 114 games as the Giants' fourth outfielder.

Other players who played OF for the Giants who did not get a 1975 Topps Giants card:

• Von Joshua was picked up on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers before the season. He became the starting CF and led the Giants with a .318 average in 129 games.

• Glenn Adams batted .300 in 90 at bats. He had a huge season for AAA Phoenix in 1974 (.352, 13 HR, 105 RBI) and spent most of the 1975 season on the SF Giants bench as a pinch hitter. He's one of the guys I remember the most from the Phoenix Giants.

• Jake Brown batted .209 in 43 at bats as a pinch hitter / outfielder.

• Jack Clark batted .235 in 8 games as a September call-up.

• Horace Speed batted .133 in 17 games. He was sent back down to Phoenix after the Giants picked up Von Joshua.