1976 Hostess #41 - John Montefusco

 

I have gotten to a place where I can spend a little each month on cards, so I decided to start completing my Giants sets.

John Montefusco had two great seasons and two decent seasons with the Giants before injuries and personality conflicts affected his career. 

The card is in better shape than the scan indicates -- I'm still learning how to use this thing!

1977 Kellogg's #5 - John Montefusco

• After 2+ seasons in the majors, it looked like "The Count" was well on his way to a great career. Little did anyone know that his best years were already behind him.
• John injured his ankle trying to beat out a bunt on May 26, 1977 and missed about six weeks. He ended up with a 7-12 record and a 3.49 ERA.
• Montefusco had another ankle injury in 1978 but was able to finish with a better year (11-9, 3.81 ERA, 177 strikeouts)
• In 1979  John tailed off badly, finishing with a 3-8 record and a 3.79 ERA. The Giants were riddled with dissension during that season (they were nicknamed the "San Fiasco Giants")
• John's last year as a Giant was in 1980. He was 4-8 with a 4.37 ERA in 22 games (17 starts). He got in a fight with manager Dave Bristol in the clubhouse. Later in the season John was out for about five weeks with a cracked rib. Montefusco was traded to the Atlanta Braves after the season
• As a Giant Montefusco was 59-62 with a 3.47 ERA in seven seasons.
• Here is a link to John's SABR biography.

1977 Topps Stickers

• I haven't posted on this blog in a few months. I'll be posting a few trades and pickups in the next few days. Sorry it took a while to get to the posts!
• I was going through the commons bin at  my favorite baseball card score (Batter's Box in Phoenix, AZ) and managed to find both of the Giants that were included in the 1977 Topps Stickers set.
• The Montefusco is supposed to be a short print, but I got it for 50 cents.
• It looks like the "N" on Ferguson's jersey is backwards. Is it really backwards or is it just the way the jersey is folding in this picture?
• By the way, the Montefusco sticker was on my "Top 9" list on the right side. One card knocked off the list! :)

1976 SSPC Giants - Part 2

1980 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

John Montefusco (#195) was 4-8 with a 4.37 ERA in 22 games (17 starts). He missed six weeks from mid-July to late August and also didn't pitch in the last three weeks of the season.

Bob Knepper (#111) was 9-16 with a 4.10 ERA in 35 games (33 starts).

Gary Lavelle (#84) was 6-8 with 9 saves and a 3.42 ERA in 62 games.

Vida Blue (#30) was 14-10 with a 2.97 ERA in 31 starts. He was on the NL All Star team but didn't pitch in the game.

John Curtis (#12) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1980. He became a free agent after the 1979 season and signed with the San Diego Padres.

1977 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Jim Barr (#609) was the #2 starter for the Giants in 1977. He had a bit of an off-year --- Jim was 12-16 with a 4.76 ERA in 38 starts.

Greg Minton (#489) was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts in 1977. He spent most of the season in AAA Phoenix where he was 14-6 with a 4.86 ERA.

Randy Moffitt (#464) was 4-9 with 11 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 64 games.

Gary Lavelle (#423) was the Giants' lone representative to the 1977 All Star game. He pitched the 4th and 5th innings allowing one hit and striking out two batters. Gary was 7-7 with 20 saves and a 2.05 ERA in 70 games in 1977.

John Montefusco (#370) was 7-12 with a 3.49 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). He missed about six weeks from late May to early July.

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1977 but didn't receive a 1977 Topps Giants card:

Bob Knepper (11-9, 3.36 ERA in 27 starts)

Lynn McGlothen (2-9, 5.62 ERA in 21 games - 15 starts)

Terry Cornutt (1-2, 3.86 ERA in 28 games - 1 start)

Tommy Toms (0-1. 2.08 ERA in 4 games)

1979 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

• Ed Halicki (#672) was 5-8 with a 4.58 ERA in 33 games (19 starts).
  
  
  

• John Curtis (#649) was 10-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 27 games (18 starts). He didn't pitch after September 4. After being with the Giants from 1977-1979, Curtis became a free agent and signed with the San Diego Padres.
  
  

• John Montefusco (#560) was 3-8 with a 3.94 ERA in 22 starts. John missed about six weeks from late April to mid June.
  
  

• Bob Knepper (#486) was 9-12 with a 4.64 ERA in 34 starts in 1979.
  
  

• Jim Barr (#461) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1979. He became a free agent after the 1978 season and signed with the California Angels. Barr started with the Giants in 1971. After two years with the Angels (1979 and 1980) and a year in the minors (1981) Jim came back to the Giants for two years (1982 and 1983) before retiring.

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1979 but who didn't receive Topps cards:

• Ed Whitson (5-8, 3.95 ERA in 18 games/17 starts)
• Tom Griffin (5-6, 2 saves, 3.91 ERA in 59 games/3 starts)
• Pedro Borbon (4-3, 3 saves, 4.89 ERA in 30 games)
• Phil Nastu (3-4, 4.32 ERA in 25 games/14 starts)
• Dave Roberts (0-2, 3 saves, 2.57 ERA in 26 games/1 start)
• Al Holland (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 7 innings)
• Joe Coleman (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 3.2 innings)
• Ed Plank (0-0, 7.36 ERA in 4 games)
  

1976 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

John Montefusco (#30) followed up his good rookie year with another good year in 1976. He was 16-14 with a 2.84 ERA in 36 starts.

John D'Acquisto (#623) was 3-8 with a 5.35 ERA in 28 games (19 starts). After the season he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. How is his name pronounced anyway?

Pete Falcone (#524) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1976. The Giants traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1976 season for Ken Reitz.

Ed Halicki (#423) was 12-14 with a 3.62 ERA in 31 starts. He spent most of his career (1974-1980) with the Giants. He was waived by the Giants in mid-1980, was claimed by the California Angels, and pitched for them for the rest of the 1980 season.

Jim Barr (#308) was 15-12 with a 2.89 ERA in 37 starts in 1976. Barr was a solid pitcher for the Giants for several years in the 1970s.

Mike Caldwell (#157) was 1-7 with 2 saves and an ERA of 4.86 in 50 games (9 starts). He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the '76 season. The Cards turned around and traded Caldwell to the Cincinnati Reds. After struggling with the Reds and Brewers in 1977, Mike went on to have several good years with the Brewers in the late 70s and early 80s. His APBA card had an interesting nickname printed for him -- "Mr. Warmth."

1978 Topps Giants - Part 4

Pitching definitely was the strong point of the 1978 Giants. They had three guys (Knepper, Blue, Montefusco) who pitched over 200 innings. Ed Halicki (199) came very close, and fifth starter Jim Barr pitched 163 innings. This helped the bullpen, as no reliever pitched over 100 innings. Only nine pitchers had over 20 innings pitched.

For some reason the John Montefusco (#142) card wasn't in my team set. I grabbed this image off the web. John was 11-9 with a 3.81 ERA in 36 starts.

Longtime Giant reliever Gary Lavelle (#671) was 13-10 with 14 saves and a 3.32 ERA in 67 appearances.

Bob Knepper (#589) was 17-11 and led the Giants with a 2.63 ERA. He also had 16 complete games. He and Vida Blue combined to make a great 1-2 punch at the top of the Giant rotation.

Lynn McGlothen (#581) pitched in five games (one start) and had no record. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Hector Cruz on June 15. Lynn's last game was in 1982 and he died in a mobile home fire in 1984 at the age of 34.

Charlie Williams (#561) was 1-3 with a 5.44 ERA in 25 appearances (1 start). The 1978 season was Charlie's last one in the major leagues. He was famous for being the guy the Giants got from the New York Mets in exchange for Willie Mays in 1972.

John Curtis (#486) was 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA and one save in 46 appearances.

Dave Heaverlo (#338) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1978. He was sent to the Oakland A's as part of the Vida Blue trade before the season.

What is up with this card???? Greg Minton (#312) was 0-1 with an 8.04 ERA in 11 appearances in 1978. Greg wasn't used much when he was on the Giants' roster. He started 13 games for AAA Phoenix and came up to the majors to stay in 1979. Greg spent parts of 1973 and 1975-1978 in Phoenix, so he was familiar to us Phoenix Giants fans.

Randy Moffitt (#284) was the other part of the bullpen 1-2 punch for the Giants. He was 8-4 with 12 saves and a 3.31 ERA in 70 appearances. He and Gary Lavelle were very valuable as guys who could finish games.

Ed Halicki (#107) was 9-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 28 starts and earned a save in his only relief appearance.

Jim Barr (#62) was the Giants' fifth starter. He was 8-11 with one save and a 3.53 ERA in 32 games (25 starts).

Others who pitched for the Giants in 1978 but didn't get Topps Giants cards:

• Vida Blue (18-10, 2.79 ERA, 3rd in Cy Young voting, 12th in MVP voting)
• Phil Nastu (0-1 in eight innings)
• Ed Plank (0-0 in 6.2 innings)
• Terry Cornutt (0-0 in three innings)