1977 Topps Baseball #490 - Rookie Shortstops - Billy Almon / Mickey Klutts / Tommy McMillan / Mark Wagner

• Billy Almon
• Debut: September 2, 1974
• 1977 Stats: .261 in 155 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• Aug 7: Had three hits and 2 RBI to help the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6.
• Aug 17: Singled, doubled, homered, and had 5 RBI in San Diego's 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
• Bill Almon was the first player taken in the 1974 draft. Almon was in the minors from 1974-1976 and had brief call-ups in 1974 (.316 in 16 games), 1975 (.400 in 6 games), and 1976 (.246 in 14 games).
• Almon became the starting shortstop for the Padres in 1977. He played in 155 games and batted .261 with 11 triples. Bill also led the NL with 20 sacrifice hits.
• Ozzie Smith came up to the Padres in 1978, so Almon switched to third base. Bill batted .252 in 138 games but he wasn't a power hitter (.309 slugging percentage).
• Bill was a utility player in 1979. He batted .227 in 100 games. After the 1979 season Almon was traded with Dan Briggs to the Montreal Expos for Dave Cash.
• Almon didn't get a whole lot of playing time with the Expos (.263 in 18 games) and was granted free agency on July 7. The Expos had wanted to send him to AAA but Bill had the right to refuse the assignment and become a free agent. Bill signed with the New York Mets  on July 11. Almon batted .170 in 48 games and was released after the 1980 season.
• Bill, his wife, his parents, and all of the Almon siblings met after Christmas to discuss whether or  not he should retire or give baseball another shot. They sent Bill back to baseball with their blessing. Almon signed with the Chicago White Sox and had a great season, batting .301 and finishing 18th in AL MVP voting.
• Almon batted .256 in 111 games for the White Sox in 1982. After the 1982 season Bill became a free agent and signed with the Oakland A's.
• Bill spent the next two seasons with Oakland, batting .266 in 143 games in 1983 and .223 in 106 games in 1984. Almon became a free agent after the 1984 season.
• Almon was invited to the Pittsburgh Pirates' camp in 1985. Bill won a job with the Pirates and was a utility guy for the next two seasons. Almon batted .270 in 88 games in 1985 and .219 in 102 games in 1986.
• Bill wasn't playing much for the Pirates in 1987. In the first two months of the season he played in only 19 games (.200 in 20 at  bats). On May 29 Almon was traded to the Mets for two players. He batted .241 in 49 games for the Mets to finish the 1987 season.
• During spring training in 1988 Bill was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Shawn Barton and a minor leaguer. Almon was  batting .115 in 20 games on June 16 when he was released  by the Phillies. 
• Mickey Klutts
• Debut: July 7, 1976
• 1977 Stats:
• Syracuse Chiefs (AAA): .288, 14 HR, 66 RBI in 85 games
• New York Yankees: .267 (4 for 15) in 5 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• Oct 2: Hit a home run in the final game of the season as the Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7.
• Other card blogs: 1980, 1983, Cardboard Gods
• Mickey Klutts was drafted by the New York  Yankees at the age of 17 in 1972. He worked his way through the Yankee chain from 1972-1976. Mickey was the co-AAA-MVP (with Rich Dauer and Joe Lis) in 1976 when he batted .319 with 24 HR in Syracuse. Klutts was briefly called up in 1976 and was 0 for 3 in 2 games.
• Mickey started the 1977 season in Syracuse. Klutts was batting .288 with 14 HR  when he was called up to the Yankees in August 1977 after starting 3B Graig Nettles was injured. Klutts played in only five games, batting .267 with one home run.
• Klutts made the Yankees club in 1978 but he played in only one game (2 for 2 on April 15). He was sent to AAA Tacoma in late May but didn't play for the club. On June 15 Mickey was traded (with Dell Alston and $50,000) to the Oakland A's for Gary Thomasson. The A's sent Klutts to AAA Vancouver. Mickey had either a broken thumb or a broken hand (or perhaps both) during the season. He played in only 11 games, batting .293.
• Mickey made the Oakland ballclub in 1979. He started 24 games in the infield and batted .192. Mickey came out of the game in the second inning on May 24 and didn't play again for the rest of the season. He also had to be carried off of the field on April 14 after being hit in the chin by a batted ball.
• Klutts had his best year in 1980. Mickey batted .269 in 75 games, but he was out for the entire months of July and August.
• Mickey had knee problems in 1981 and started the season on the disabled list. The knee injury and the strike combined to pretty much wipe out his 1981 season. Klutts played in nine games in AAA after the strike and then came up to the A's in late August. Mickey batted .370 in 15 games for the A's as they qualified for the split season playoffs. Klutts was 1 for 7 in the AL Divisional Series and then was 3 for 7 in the AL Championship Series.
• In 1982 Mickey showed up to spring training 30 pounds lighter. Unfortunately Klutts would battle injuries again. He batted only .178 in 55 games and was placed on waivers after the season. 
• Klutts was invited to the Toronto Blue Jays camp and won a job. He was a backup third baseman and a pinch hitter for the Blue Jays in 1983. Mickey batted .256 in 22 games for the Blue Jays. He also had a brief stint in AAA Syracuse. That was it for Mickey's playing career.
• Tommy McMillan
• Debut September 17, 1977
• 1977 Stats:
• Rochester Red Wings (AAA): .274 in 39 games
• New Orleans Pelicans (AAA): .260 in 24 games
• Seattle Mariners: .000 (0 for 5) in two games
• Other card blogs: none
• Tommy McMillan was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1973.  He played in AA and AAA in the Cleveland organization from 1973-1976. McMillan also played in 23 games for the AAA Iowa Oaks (Chicago White Sox organization) in 1976. Perhaps Tommy was loaned to the Oaks since I don't see a transaction.
• The Seattle Mariners drafted McMillan in the 1976 expansion draft. Tommy split time between two AAA clubs in 1977. The Mariners didn't have a AAA team yet, so they had their players play for other AAA teams. McMillan was called up in September 1977. He got into two games, going 0 for 5. That was it for Tommy's major league experience.
• In 1978 McMillan played for AAA San Jose, batting .256 in 103 games.
• After the 1978 season Tommy was traded (with Enrique Romo and Rick Jones) to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Odell Jones, Mario Mendoza, and Rafael Vasquez. McMillan played for the AA Buffalo Bisons in 1979. Tommy retired after the 1979 season.
• Mark Wagner 
• Debut: August 20, 1976
• 1977 Stats:  
• Evansville Triplets (AAA): .306 in 64 games
• Detroit Tigers: .146 (7 for 48) in 22 games
• 1977 Highlights
• Other card blogs 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985
• Mark Wagner was a 19th round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers in 1972. He worked his way up the  Detroit system and was called up in August 1976. Mark started at shortstop for most of the last six weeks of the season and batted .261 in 39 games.
• In 1977 Wagner started the season as the Tiger shortstop. Mark struggled at the plate, batting .146 in 22 games. In late May Wagner was sent to AAA Evansville, where he spent the rest of the season.
• Mark was a utility infielder for the Tigers from 1978-1980. With Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker starting in the middle infield playing time was hard to come by for Wagner. Mark batted .239 in 39 games in 1978, .274 in 75 games in 1975, and .236 in 45 games in 1980.
• After the 1980 season Mark was traded to the Texas Rangers for Kevin Saucier. Wagner played a utility role with the Rangers in 1981 (.259 in 50 games) and in 1982 (.240 in 60 games).
• Mark went down with an injury in July 9, 1982 and didn't play again until June 18, 1983. Mickey Rivers said, "He was lost out there. He was the Lost Mohican." Wagner played in only two games for the Tigers in 1983 and went 0 for 2. Mark played in 36 games in AAA (I don't know if it was before or after his two games in June). After the 1983 season Wagner became a free agent.
• In 1984 Mark won a job in spring training with the Oakland A's. He played in 82 games but batted only 100 times (20 for 87 with 13 walks - .230). Mark played in AAA in 1985 and then retired.
• Wagner went into coaching and managing in the minors. He managed various teams for five years from 1992-1996.