1976 SSPC Giants - Part 2

1980 Topps Giants - Part 1

The Giants struggled again in 1980. The starting pitching was fair and the bullpen was good, but they just couldn't score many runs. The Giants had only two players in double figures in home runs (Darrell Evans and Jack Clark).

Dave Bristol (#499) managed the club in 1980 and was replaced by Frank Robinson after the season. The Giants were Bristol's fourth and final team as manager. Bristol was successful with the Cincinnati Reds, taking them from 7th place in 1966 as a 33-year-old manager to 3rd place in 1969. But he was dismissed after the 1969 season. He managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1970-1972 and then the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and 1977. Dave managed the last month of the 1979 season as well as the 1980 season for the Giants. In between managerial stints (and after the 1980 season) Dave coached for various teams until 1993.

Team Record: 75-86 (5th in NL West - 17 games behind Houston)
Attendance: 1,096,115 (11th of 12 teams in NL)
Team Batting: .244 (12th in NL)
Team Home Runs: 80 (9th in NL)
Team ERA: 3.46 (3rd in NL)
Team Fielding: .975 (9th in NL)
NL All Stars: Vida Blue (P); Ed Whitson (P)

Dennis Littlejohn (#686) batted .241 in 29 at bats in 1980. He played in 53 games for AAA Phoenix. The 1980 season was Littlejohn's last in the majors (he played parts of 1978, 1979, and 1980 for the Giants). Dennis played in AAA in 1981 and 1982 and then called it quits.

Mike Sadek (#462) batted .252 in 151 at bats as the backup catcher.

Marc Hill (#236) batted .171 in 41 at bats. He was purchased by the Seattle Mariners on June 20, 1980.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't receive a 1980 Topps Giants card:

Milt May (batted .260 with 6 HR and 50 RBI in 111 games). He had been a free agent and signed with the Giants before the 1980 season.

1977 Topps Giants Part 1

The Giants continued to struggle in 1977, but things were improving. The Giants acquired Bill Madlock, and Willie McCovey returned to the team to make a good comeback. The Giants would contend in 1978, then the bottom fell out for a couple of years after that.

Joe Altobelli (#211) was in his first year as a major league manager. Joe had managed in the Baltimore Orioles organization (or in the Mexican League) from 1966-1976. He managed the Giants from 1977 through most of the 1979 season (he was let go in September). Joe managed in AAA in 1980 and coached for the New York Yankees in 1981 and 1982. He then managed the Baltimore Orioles for 2 1/2 years from 1983-1985, winning a World Championship in 1983. After he was fired by the Orioles, Joe coached for the Yankees in 1986 and 1987 and then coached for Don Zimmer with the Chicaco Cubs from 1988-1991. Altobelli managed one game for the Chicago Cubs in 1991 as an interim manager after Zimmer was fired. Altobelli then was the general manager of the AAA Rochester Red Wings for several years and then was a color commentator for the club's home game broadcasts until the 2009 season.

Record: 75-87 (4th in NL West, 23 games behind the LA Dodgers
Attendance: 700,056 (12th in NL)
Team Batting: .253 (10th in NL)
Team HR: 134 (7th in NL)
Team ERA: 3.76 (5th in NL)
Team Fielding: .972 (10th in NL)
League Leaders: none
NL All Stars: Gary Lavelle (P)


Mike Sadek (#129) batted .230 in 134 at bats.

Marc Hill (#57) batted .250 with 9 HR and 50 RBI in 108 games.

Gary Alexander (#476) batted .303 with 5 HR and 20 RBI in 119 at bats.

Others who caught for the Giants in 1977 but didn't receive 1977 Topps Giants cards:

Ken Rudolph (.200 in 15 AB)

1979 Topps Giants - Part 1

After a promising 1978 season that saw the Giants (#356) in the pennant race for the first time in years, 1979 was a letdown. The Giants struggled and Joe Altobelli didn't even finish the season as manager. Altobelli had a 61-79 record when he was let go in September. Dave Bristol managed the last 22 games and posted a 10-12 record.

• Team Record: 71-91 (4th in NL West, 19 1/2 games behind Cincinnati)
• Attendance: 1,406,402 (9th in NL)
• Team Batting: .246 (11th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 125 (7th in NL)
• Team ERA: 4.17 (11th in NL)
• Team Fielding: .974 (11th in NL)
• NL All Stars: Jack Clark (OF)
• NL Leaders: Bill North (caught stealing - 24); Vida Blue (earned runs allowed - 132)
• Team Batting Leader: Terry Whitfield (.287)
• Team HR Leader: Mike Ivie (27)
• Team RBI Leader: Mike Ivie (89)
• Team SB Leader: Bill North (58)
• Team Wins Leader: Vida Blue (14)
• Team Losses Leader: Vida Blue (14)
• Team Saves Leader: Gary Lavelle (20)
  
  
  

• Mike Sadek (#256) batted .238 in 126 AB in 1979.
  
  
  
  

• Marc Hill (#11) batted .207 in 169 AB. He didn't play after July 24.
  
  

• John Tamargo (#726) played in 30 games and batted .200 in 60 at bats. He was traded to the Montreal Expos for Joe Pettini on June 13.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't receive a 1979 Topps Giants card:

• Dennis Littlejohn (.197, 1 HR, 13 RBI in 193 AB - was brought up to the Giants in mid-July)
• Bob Kearney (0 for 1 in two games)
  
  
  

1976 Topps Giants - Part 1

• These were grim times for the Giants. A manager isn't pictured on this team card (#443) because the Giants hadn't hired one when this set was printed. The Giants weren't drawing well and they were about to be sold and moved to Toronto before Bob Lurie bought the team and kept it in San Francisco.

• Bill Rigney was eventually brought in to manage the team in 1976. He had a previous stint managing the Giants from 1956-1960. He was let go after 58 games despite having a .569 winning percentage (the Giants were in 5th place at the time). Bill also managed the Los Angeles/California Angels from their inception in 1961 until early 1969. Rigney managed the Minnesota Twins to the 1970 AL West title and ran them in '71 and for 39 games in '72. After the 1976 season Rigney was replaced by Joe Altobelli.

• Team record: 74-88 (4th in NL West, 28 games behind Cincinnati)

• Attendance: 626,868 (12th in NL)

• Team Batting: .246 (9th in NL)

• Team Home Runs: 85 (8th in NL)

• Team ERA: 3.53 (6th in NL)

• Team Fielding: .971 (12th in NL)

• NL All Stars: John Montefusco (P)

• League Leaders: Willie Montanez (games played - 163 for Giants and Braves); John Montefusco (shutouts - 6)
• Team Batting Leader: Larry Herndon (.288)
• Team HR Leader: Bobby Murcer (23)
• Team RBI Leader: Bobby Murcer (90)
• Team Wins Leader: John Montefusco (16)
• Team Losses Leader: Ed Halicki (14)
• Team Saves Leader: Randy Moffitt (14)
  

Mike Sadek (#234) batted .204 in 93 at bats as the Giants' third catcher.

• Dave Rader (#54) was the "regular" catcher -- he played in 88 games and batted .263 with 1 HR and 23 RBI.
  
  
  

• Marc Hill (#577) batted .183 in 54 games (131 AB) with 3 HR and 15 RBI.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't get a 1976 Topps Giants card:

• Gary Alexander (.178 in 73 AB)
  
  
  
  

1978 Topps Giants - Part 1

• This is a cool-looking team card (#82). It looks different from the normal run-of-the-mill team picture. Candlestick Park looks odd with artificial turf.

• The 1978 Topps set is an underrated set. It has a nice design and the backs are easy to read. The set had 726 cards instead of the standard 660. The extra cards were needed due to expansion in 1977. The double prints were kind of a pain, but it was worth it to get more cards in the set.

• Record: 89-73 (3rd in NL West, 6 games behind Los Angeles)
• Team Batting: .248 (10th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 117 (6th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.30 (3rd in NL)
• Team Fielding: .977 (9th in NL)
• Attendance: 1,740,477 (4th in NL)
• Gold Glove Awards: none
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year: Vida Blue
• NL All Stars: Vida Blue (starting pitcher); Jack Clark (OF)
  

• The 1978 season was Joe Altobelli's (#256) second season as the Giants' manager. He was let go in September 1979 after the Giants struggled. Joe's record in almost three years as the SF manager was 225-239. Altobelli would later win a title with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983.
  
  

• Gary Alexander (#624) didn't play for the Giants in 1978. He was traded to the Oakland A's before the season as part of the big Vida Blue trade.
  
  
  

• Marc Hill (#359) was the starting catcher. He batted .243 with three HR in 117 games.
  
  
  

• Mike Sadek (#8) batted .239 with two HR in 109 at bats in 1978.

Other players who caught for the Giants but didn't get 1978 Topps Giants cards:

• John Tamargo (.239 in 92 at bats)

• Dennis Littlejohn (caught in two games with no at bats)