1979 Kellogg's #17 - Willie McCovey

• This is Willie McCovey's last Kellogg's card
• Willie also had Kellogg's cards in 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1978
• The 1978 season was an eventful one for McCovey:
• Willie had a contract dispute with the Giants in 1978 and considered retirement in May.
• McCovey went 4 for 4 against the New York Mets on June 10.
• Willie signed a contract with the Giants on June 24. Former teammate Orlando Cepeda was set to begin his prison term at about the same time (see article above the McCovey article)
• McCovey hit his 500th career home run off of Jamie Easterly of the Atlanta Braves on June 30, 1978.
• Willie had some interesting quotes before the 1978 All Star Game
• McCovey had a good stretch in 1979. Mike Ivie started the season as the Giants' starting first baseman, but the 41-year-old McCovey supplanted him for a time in May and June.

Giants Playoff First Basemen

• 1951 Whitey Lockman (.282, 12 HR, 73 RBI)

1951 Bowman #37

• 1954 Whitey Lockman (.251, 16 HR, 60 RBI)

1954 Bowman #153

• 1962 Orlando Cepeda (.306, 35 HR, 114 RBI)

1962 Topps #40

• 1971 Willie McCovey (.277, 18 HR, 70 RBI)

1971 Topps #50

• 1987 Will Clark (.308, 35 HR, 91 RBI) 

1987 Topps #420

• 1989 Will Clark (.333, 23 HR, 111 RBI)

1989 Topps #660

• 1997 J.T. Snow (.281, 28 HR, 104 RBI)

1997 Ultra #359

• 2000 J.T. Snow (.284, 19 HR, 96 RBI)

2000 Topps #35

• 2002 J.T. Snow (.246, 6 HR, 53 RBI)

2000 Topps #74

• 2003 J.T. Snow (.273, 8 HR, 51 RBI) / Andres Galarraga (.301, 12 HR, 42 RBI)

2003 Topps #158 / 2003 Upper Deck First Pitch #295

• 2010 Aubrey Huff (.290, 26 HR, 86 RBI)

2010 Topps Limited Edition Giants #SF9

1968 Topps Giants - part 2 (infielders)

# 290 Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey was the Giants' offensive leader in 1968. He led the club in most of the offensive categories.
• McCovey batted .293 with 36 HR and 105 RBI in 1968

#436 Hal Lanier

• What was with the Giants and offensively-challenged shortstops? It looks like Hal Lanier was the 1960s version of Johnnie LeMaster.
• Lanier batted .206 in 151 games. He had a .222 on base percentage and a .239 slugging percentage

#126 Bobby Etheridge

• Bobby Etheridge didn't play for the Giants in 1968
• Bobby batted .278 in 113 games for AAA Phoenix in 1968. 
• Etheridge spent most of his career (1964-1973) in the minors. He played 40 games for the Giants in 1967 and 56 games in 1969. That was it for his major league career.

#525 Jim Davenport

• Jim Davenport batted .224 in 113 games
• Davenport mostly played 3B (82 games) but also played in 17 games at  SS and one game at 2B.

#73 Jim Hart

• Jim Hart split time between third base and left field in 1968.
• Hart batted .258 with 23 HR and 78 RBI in 136 games.

Others who played infield for the Giants but who didn't get 1968 Topps cards:

• Ron Hunt started at second base and batted .250 in 148 games. He led the NL in times hit by a pitch (25) and had a .371 on base percentage.
• Frank Johnson batted .190 in 67 games. He played  most of his games at third base and also filled in at 2B, SS, and in the outfield.
• Nate Oliver batted .178 in 36 games as a utility infielder.
• Bob Schroeder batted .159 in 35 games as a utility infielder.
• Don Mason batted .158 in 10 games.

1971 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

#50 Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey missed part of the year with an injury, but he was a dangerous hitter when he was in there. Willie batted .277 with 18 HR and 70 RBI in 105 games during the regular season.
• McCovey was 6 for 14 (.429) with 2 HR during the 1971 National League Championship Series
• On May 2 against the Cincinnati Reds McCovey went 2 for 6 with two HR and 3 RBI. His solo home run in the top of the 13th inning was the eventual game-winner.
• Willie played in his last All Star Game in 1971 and was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

#181 Hal Lanier

• Another Phoenix Municipal Stadium picture
• Hal Lanier batted .233 in 109 games in 1971.
• Lanier started 41 games at 3B and was a defensive replacement in most of his other games.
• Hal went 0 for 1 in the 1971 NLCS.

#378 Tito Fuentes

• Tito Fuentes batted .273 in 152 games in 1971. 
• Fuentes was 5 for 16 (.313) in the NLCS.

#486 Steve Huntz

• Steve Huntz didn't play for the Giants in 1971.
• Huntz was traded to the Chicago White Sox on March 23, 1971 for Steve Hamilton

#691 Bob Heise

• Bob Heise was hitless in 11 at bats for the Giants in 1971.
• On June 1 Heise was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Floyd Wicker

#224 Alan Gallagher

• Alan Gallagher batted .277 with 5 HR and 57 RBI in 136 games. 
• Gallagher was 1 for 10 (.100) in the NLCS.

#461 Jim Hart

• Jim Ray Hart batted .256 in 39 AB. 
• He didn't play until June 18 and was used mostly as a pinch hitter during the season.
• Hart went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts in the NLCS.

Others who played infield for the Giants in 1971 but didn't get a 1971 Topps Giants card:

• Dave Kingman (UT) (.278, 6 HR, 24 RBI in 41 games)
• Frank  Johnson (UT) (.082 in 49 AB)
• Ed Goodson (1B) (.190 in 42 AB)
• Frank Duffy (UT) (.179 in 28 AB)
• Chris Arnold (2B) (.231 in 13 AB)

.

1972 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

#280 Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey missed about six weeks with an injury and struggled in 1972. He batted .213 with 14 HR and 35 RBI in 81 games.

#427 Tito Fuentes

• Tito Fuentes batted .264 with 7 HR and 53 RBI in 152 games in 1972.

#165 Chris Speier

• Chris Speier had a solid year for the Giants in 1972. He batted .269 with 15 HR, 71 RBI, and 82 walks in 150 games.

#693 Alan Gallagher

• Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher split time with Dave Kingman at third base in 1972. He batted .223 with 2 HR and 18 RBI in 82 games. Gallagher was traded to the California Angels in April of 1973 and retired after the 1973 season.

#733 Jim Hart

• Jim Hart batted .304 in 79 at bats in 1972. Jim had injury problems in 1972 -- he played for about two weeks in May and then didn't play again until September. He ended up starting 20 games at third base and was sold to the New York Yankees early in the 1973 season.

#232 Chris Arnold

• Chris Arnold batted .226 in 84 at bats as a utility player. Arnold bounced between AAA Phoenix and the SF Giants from 1971-1976. He had some great years for Phoenix (.343 in 120 games in 1971 and .302 in 139 games in 1977) but never could stick in the majors. Arnold went to Japan and played for three years after the 1977 season.

Others who played in the infield for the Giants in 1972 but didn't receive a 1972 Topps Giants card:

• Ed Goodson (1B - .280, 6 HR, 30 RBI in 58 games)
• Damaso Blanco (IF - .350 in 20 AB)
• Gary Thomasson (1B/LF - .333 in 27 AB)
• Dave Kingman saw a lot of action at 3B but his card will be featured with the other outfielders.

.

1962 Topps Giants - Part 3 (outfielders)

#300 Willie Mays

• Willie Mays had one of his best seasons in 1962. He batted .304 with 49 HR and 141 RBI. He scored 130 runs and led the Giants in just about every offensive category. Willie went 7 for 28 (.250) in the World Series and was on second base representing the winning run when Willie McCovey hit the series-ending line drive in game 7. Mays went 0 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base in the first 1962 All Star Game and 2 for 2 in the second All Star Game.

#395 Willie Mays All Star

#133 Felipe Alou

• Felipe Alou batted .316 with 25 HR and 98 RBI in 154 games as the starting right fielder in 1962. He hit a sacrifice fly in his only at bat in the first 1962 All Star Game. Alou went 7 for 26 (.269) in the World Series.

#413 Matty Alou

• Matty Alou was a backup outfielder for the Giants in 1962. He batted .292 in 78 games. Matty went 4 for 12 (.333) in the World Series. He was on first base representing the tying run with two out in the bottom of the 9th in game 7 and was stopped at third when Willie Mays hit a double. Mays later said that he would have tried to score on the play. Matty was stranded at third and the Giants lost.

#480 Harvey Kuenn

• Harvey Kuenn was the starting left fielder for the Giants. In 130 games Harvey batted .304 with 10 HR and 68 RBI. Kuenn went 1 for 12 (.083) in the World Series.

#544 Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey played LF and 1B for the Giants in 1962. He batted .293 with 20 HR and 54 RBI in 229 at bats. Willie went 3 for 15 (.200) in the World Series and hit the line drive with runners on 2nd and 3rd that Bobby Richardson caught to end the series.

Others who played OF for the Giants in 1962 but didn't receive a 1962 Topps Giants card:

• Bob Nieman (.300 in 30 AB)
• Carl Boles (.375 in 24 AB)
• Manny Mota (.176 in 74 AB as an infielder and outfielder)

1969 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

Willie McCovey (#440) was the NL MVP in 1969 and almost carried them to a division title. He batted .320 with 45 home runs and 126 RBI. He also had 121 walks, 45 of them intentional.

Ron Hunt (#664) batted .262 in 128 games. He had a .361 on base percentage due to being hit by a pitch 25 times. He led the league in hit by pitch seven straight times from 1968-1974.

Hal Lanier (#316) batted .228 in 150 games. His OPS+ was a LeMasteresque 46.

Jim Davenport (#102) batted .241 in 112 games.

Bob Burda (#392) batted .230 in 161 at bats as a utilityman.

Don Mason (#584) batted .228 in 250 at bats as a backup infielder.

Bobby Etheridge (#604) batted .260 in 131 at bats as the backup third baseman in 1969.

Willie McCovey All Star (#416)

I hadn't realized how unbalanced the Giants' offense was in 1969 until seeing these stats. It's surprising that Willie could get all of those RBI. The Giants really had a hard time getting much offense out of SS, 3B, LF, and catcher.

Others who played infield for the Giants in 1969 who didn't get a 1969 Topps Giants card:

• Tito Fuentes (.295 in 183 AB)
• Cesar Gutierrez (.217 in 23 AB)
• John Stephenson (.222 in 27 AB)

Card Tribute - Willie McCovey

This will be a long post due to Willie's long career with the Giants. I don't have some of these cards but thanks to Topps website I was able to get images of all of the cards. Here goes:

1960 Topps #316

1961 Topps #561

1962 Topps #544

1963 Topps #490

1964 Topps #350

1965 Topps #176

1966 Topps #550

1967 Topps #480

1968 Topps #290

1969 Topps #440

1970 Topps #250

1971 Topps #50

1972 Topps #280

1973 Topps #410

1977 Topps #547

1978 Topps #34

1979 Topps #215

1980 Topps #335

It's interesting to see what Topps thought of Willie during his career. When he wasn't doing so well he didn't get a "0" or "5" number.

Vote in the poll on the right side of the blog! :)