1977 Topps Baseball #74 - Oakland A's / Jack McKeon

• The 1977 Oakland A's were a collection of young players and rookies with a smattering of veterans like Vida Blue. The team was a shell of its former self.
• There was a lot of flux in the A's roster during this time. Several players who got 1977 cards with Oakland never played for the team in 1977:
• Dick Bosman (cut in spring training)
• Ron Fairly (traded to Toronto in February 1977)
• Phil Garner (traded to Pittsburgh in March 1977)
• Larry Haney (sold to Milwaukee in December 1976)
• Tommy Helms (traded to Pittsburgh in March 1977)
• Jim Holt (cut in spring training)
• Paul Lindblad (sold to Texas for $400,000 in February 1977)
• Ken McMullen (sold to Milwaukee in February 1977)
• Tommy Sandt (sold to St. Louis in March 1977)
• Jim Todd (traded to Chicago Cubs in March 1977)
• Denny Walling (didn't make the team in spring training, sold to Houston in June 1977)
• Claudell Washington (traded to Texas in March 1977)
• A's owner Charlie Finley tried to sell the team to oilman Marvin Davis (who would have moved the team to Denver) after the 1977 season, but the city of Oakland sued to block the sale.
• Manager Jack McKeon managed the club for 53 games in 1977 and had a record of 26-27 (.491). McKeon was fired by Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley on June 10. Finley later said that he wanted to move McKeon to the front office and that he wanted a manager who could teach the young players.
• Bobby Winkles replaced McKeon as Oakland manager. The team took a huge plunge under Winkles. Oakland had a record of 37-71 after Winkles took over.
• The club started off with a 24-15 record in 1978, but Winkles resigned on May 23 and McKeon came back to finish the season. Jack was let go after the 1978 season and was hired to manage the AAA Denver Bears.
• Jack McKeon never played in the majors. He played in the minors from 1949-1959. Jack was a player-manager from 1955-1959 before hanging up his glove and concentrating on managing full time. McKeon continued to manage through the 1964 season.
• McKeon scouted for the Minnesota Twins from 1965-1967
• Jack came back to managing in 1968, joining the new Kansas City Royals organization. After managing their single-A affiliate in 1968, McKeon managed AAA Omaha from 1969-1972.
• From 1981-1990 Jack was the General Manager of the San Diego Padres and formed the team that won the 1984 NL Pennant.
• Jack McKeon's major league managerial career:
• 1973-1975 Kansas City Royals
• 1977, 1978 Oakland A's
• 1988-1990 San Diego Padres
• 1997-2000 Cincinnati Reds
• 2003-2005 Florida Marlins -- the Marlins won the 2003 World Championship
• 2011 Florida Marlins -- McKeon managed the last 90 games of the 2011 season at the age of 80.
• Record: 63-98 (.391) 38.5 games behind Kansas City (7th in AL West)
• Attendance: 495,599 (14th in AL)
• Team Batting: .240 (14th in AL)
• Team HR: 117 (12th in AL)
• Team Stolen Bases: 176 (1st in AL)
• Team ERA: 4.04 (6th in AL)
• Team Fielding: .970 (14th in AL)
• All Stars: Vida Blue (P); Wayne Gross (3B)
• AL Leaders: 
• Vida Blue - Hits allowed (284)
• Vida Blue / Rick Langford - losses (19)
• Batting Leader: Mitchell Page (.307)
• Home Run Leader: Wayne Gross (22)
• RBI Leader: Mitchell Page (75)
• Stolen Base Leader: Mitchell Page (42)
• Victories Leader: Vida Blue (14)
• Losses Leader: Vida Blue / Rick Langford (19)
• Strikeout Leader: Vida Blue (157)
• Saves Leader: Doug Bair (8)
• ERA Leader (starters): Vida Blue (3.83)
• ERA Leader (relievers): Pablo Torrealba (2.62)
• Players who could have had A's cards in 1977 - several of them got cards with other clubs:
•  (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) : 
• Dick Allen, Mitchell Page, Marty Perez, Rob Picciolo, Tony Armas, Jim Tyrone, Earl Williams, Rodney Scott, Mike Jorgensen, Rich McKinney, Larry Murray, Jerry Tabb, Willie Crawford, Sheldon Murray 
• Rick Langford, Doc Medich, Doug Bair, Joe Coleman, Bob Lacey, Pablo Torrealba, Dave Giusti, Jim Umbarger, Matt Keough.