1977 Topps Baseball #477 - Rookie Infielders - Doug Ault / Rich Dauer / Orlando Gonzalez / Phil Mankowski

• Doug Ault
• Debut: September 9, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .245, 11 HR, 64 RBI in 129 games
• 1977  Highlights:
• April 7 - Homered twice and had 4 RBI in Toronto's 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.
• Aug 6 - Had three hits, including a home run, as the Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3.
• Other card blogs: 1979, Cardboard Gods
• Doug Ault was signed by the Texas Rangers in 1973. He was 6'3" tall and weighed 200 pounds. Doug started his playing career at the age of 23. He played in the minors from 1973-1976 and had a good year with AAA Sacramento (.313, 25 HR) in 1976. Ault had a brief stint in Texas at the end of the 1976 season and batted .300 in 9 games.
• Ault was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1976 expansion draft. Doug started at first base for  most of the 1977 season and batted .245 with 11 HR in 129 games. Ault hit the first home run in Toronto Blue Jays history in the first game of the 1977 season.
• In 1978 Doug backed up at 1B and OF and was a pinch hitter. He batted .240 in 45 games.
• Ault was back in the minors in 1979. He started the 1980 season in AAA and was recalled in June. Doug batted .194 in 64 games. That was it for his major league career.
• Ault played in Japan in 1981. He played for AAA Syracuse and also in the Mexican League in 1982. Doug retired after the 1982 season.
• After his playing career Ault was a coach and a manager in the minor leagues in the 1980s and 1990s. His coaching/managing career was derailed by an addiction to pain killers that he took for a chronically sore shoulder.
•  In the 2000s Doug was a car salesman.
• Doug died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on December 22, 2004. He and his second wife had been having financial and other problems -- she was a obstetrician-gynecologist but she had lost her medical license in Florida in 2002 due mainly to a drug and alcohol addiction.
• Rich Dauer
• Debut: September 11, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .243, 5 HR, 25 RBI in 96 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• June 9 - Hit his first major league home run.
• Sept 20 - Hit a home run to help Jim Palmer and the Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2. The win helped keep the Orioles' pennant hopes alive.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986
• Rich Dauer first appeared on the baseball scene with the USC Trojans. He helped them to two College World Series victories in 1973 and in 1974. Dauer was the #1 draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 1974. He spent some time in the minors from 1974-1976 and had a great year for AAA Rochester in 1976 (.336 in 132 games). Rich earned a September call-up in 1976 (.103 in 11 games).
• In 1977 Dauer split time with Billy Smith at second base. Rich had a bit more offense (.243 to Smith's .215). The two players were used similarly in the next two seasons, but Dauer started to get larger and larger shares of the playing time. Rich batted .264 in 133 games in 1978 and .257 in 142 games in 1979. Dauer batted .182 (2 for 11) in the 1979 AL Championship Series and .294 (5 for 17) in the World Series. Rich holds the record for consecutive errorless games at second base (82 in 1978).
• Rich became the full-time second baseman for the Orioles in 1980.  Dauer batted .284 in 152 games in 1980 and .263 in 96 games in the strike-shortened 1981 season.
• Dauer had his best season in 1982, batting .280 with a career-high 8 home runs. 
• Rich slumped to .235 in 1983. He went 0 for 14 in the AL Championship Series and batted .211 (4 for 19) in the World Series.
• Dauer's last year as a full-time player was in 1984. He batted .257 in 127 games.
• Rich lost his 2B job to Alan Wiggins toward the end of the 1985 season. Dauer batted .202 in 85 games and became a free agent at the end of the season.
• After his playing career Rich was a coach and a manager in the minor leagues. He was a coach for four major league teams as well. Dauer is now the manager of the AA San Antonio Missions (San Diego Padres affiliate).
• Orlando Gonzalez
• Debut: June 7, 1976
• 1977 Stats: 
• Toledo Mud Hens (AAA): .306, 1 HR, 43 RBI
• Other card blogs: none
• Orlando Gonzalez was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1974. He spent most of his career in the minors. Gonzalez put up good numbers in the minors -- his lowest average was .279 in 1974. He didn't have power, but he had good batting averages and was a pretty good base stealer.
• Orlando had a brief look at the end of the 1976 season and batted .250 in 28 games.
• Gonzalez was not satisfied with his contract offer for the 1977 season and was a holdout. Indians owner Phil Seghi renewed Orlando's (and several other player's) contract at a 20% pay cut in early March. He spent the 1977 season in AAA Toledo and batted .306 with 28 stolen bases.
• After the 1977 season Gonzalez became a free agent and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played in AAA Oklahoma City until mid-July and then was called up to the Phillies. Orlando was mostly used as an outfield defensive replacement and a pinch hitter. Gonzalez batted .192 in 26 games and struck out in his only at bat in the NL Championship Series.
• Orlando was in Oklahoma City for the entire 1979 season. In 1980 Gonzalez was in Oklahoma City until July 25, when the Phillies sold him to the Oakland A's. The A's brought Orlando up to the majors and he batted .243 in 25 games.
• Gonzalez was released by the A's at the end of spring training in 1981. 
• Phil Mankowski
• Debut: August 30, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .276, 3 HR, 27 RBI in 94 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 6 - Knocked in two runs and scored another as the Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2.
• July 25 - Knocked in two runs to help the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, Cardboard Gods
• Phil Mankowski was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1970. Phil spent six seasons (1971-1976) in the minors before coming up at the end of the 1976 season. In 1976 Mankowski started at third base for the Tigers for about a month and batted .271 in 24 games.
• Mankowski backed up at 3B and 2B for the Tigers in 1977, batting .276 in 94 games.
• Phil had a similar role in 1978 (.275 in 88 games) and in 1979 (.222 in 42 games). After the 1979 season Mankowski was traded (with Jerry Morales) to the New York Mets for Richie Hebner.
• Mankowski was hurt for much of the 1980 season. He had tendonitis in his right shoulder and missed May, June, and much of July. The Mets sent Phil to their AAA Tidewater club in July on a rehab assignment. Phil was reactivated in late September. He batted .167 in eight games in 1980.
• Phil didn't make the Mets in 1981 and was assigned to Tidewater. He played in only 55 games in 1981. I'm not sure, but I think that may have been due to the major league strike. 
• Mankowski started the 1982 season in Tidewater. He had a brief stint with the Mets in June/July and batted .229 in 13 games. Phil retired after the 1982 season.
• In 1984 The Natural was filmed in Phil's hometown of Buffalo, NY. Phil was in the movie -- his major scene was when he gazing in the stands at an attractive female and a ball hit him below the belt.
• Mankowski was named to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.