1977 Topps Baseball #492 - Rookie Outfielders - Tony Armas / Steve Kemp / Carlos Lopez / Gary Woods

• Tony Armas
• Debut: September 6, 1976
• 1977 Stats: 
• Oakland A's: .240, 13 HR, 53 RBI in 118 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• Sept 11 - Knocked in three runs with a home run and a double to help the A's beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
• Tony Armas was traded to the Oakland A's during spring training in 1977. Tony was the regular center fielder for the A's for most of the season. Armas missed a month in August and September with an injury. Tony ended up batting .240 with 13 HR in 118 games.
• For the next two seasons Armas was a backup outfielder. He didn't put up very imposing stats (.213 with 2 HR in 91 games in 1978 and .248 with 11 HR in 1979).
• Tony had his breakout season in 1980, batting .279 with 35 HR and 109 RBI. Armas finished 12th in AL MVP voting in 1980.
• Armas led the AL with 22 home runs in the strike shortened 1981 season. He finished 4th in AL MVP voting that year. Tony had a great AL Divisional Series (.545, 6 for 11), but he didn't do much in the AL Championship Series (.167, 2 for 12).
• Tony's stats dropped off in 1982 (.233, 28 HR, 89 RBI). After the 1982 season Armas was traded (with Jeff Newman) to the Boston Red Sox for Carney Lansford, Garry Hancock, and a minor leaguer.
• In 1983 Tony's batting average dropped again, but he still had good power numbers (.218, 36 HR, 107 RBI).
• Armas bounced back in 1984, leading the AL in home runs and RBI. Tony batted .268 with 43 HR and 123 RBI. Tony was an AL All Star (he didn't play in the game) and finished 7th in AL MVP voting.
• Tony spent two more seasons with the Red Sox (.265, 23 HR, 64 RBI in 1985 and .264, 11 HR, 58 RBI in 1986). Tony batted .125 (2 for 16) in the AL Championship Series and went 0 for 1 in the World Series.
• Tony became a free agent after the 1986 season. Armas went unsigned until July 1987 when the California Angels signed him. Tony spent some time in AAA and then was brought up to the Angels in August. Tony batted only .198 in 28 games in 1987.
• Armas spent two more seasons with the Angels. He batted .272 with 13 HR and 49 RBI in 1988. Tony was a part time player in 1989, batting .257 with 11 HR. Armas retired after the 1989 season.
• Steve Kemp
• Debut: April 7, 1977
• 1977 Stats: .257, 18 HR, 88 RBI in 151 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 12 - Hit a 3-run home run to help the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1. It was his first major league home run.
• July 11 - Singled in the winning run in the 7th inning of Detroit's 9-7 win over the Blue Jays.
• Other card blogs: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986
• Steve Kemp was the first player drafted in the 1976 draft. He spent only one year in the minors and then made the Detroit ballclub in 1977. Steve became the starting LF for the Tigers in 1977 and batted .257 with 18 HR and 88 RBI. 
• Kemp batted .277 with 15 HR and 79 RBI in 1978.
• Steve had his best season in 1979. He made the AL All Star team (0 for 1 in a pinch hitting appearance) and batted .318 with 26 HR and 105 RBI.
• In 1980 Kemp split time between LF and DH. He batted .293 with 21 HR and 101 RBI. 
• Steve's last season with the Tigers was in 1981 (.277, 9 HR, 49 RBI). After the 1981 season Kemp was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Chet Lemon.
• Kemp spent one year with the White Sox, batting .286 with 19 HR and 98 RBI. After the 1982 season Steve became a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees.
• Steve was injured by a line drive hit by teammate Omar Moreno during batting practice. The ball hit Kemp below the left eye, shattering his cheekbone. This injury, plus other injuries, helped hasten the end of Steve's career. Kemp batted .241 with 12 HR and 49 RBI in 1983 and batted .291 with 7 HR and 41 RBI in 1984. After the 1984 season Steve was traded (with Tim Foli) to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Dale Berra, Jay Buhner, and Alfonso Pulido.
• Kemp didn't do much with the Pirates in 1985 (.250, 2 HR , 21 RBI in 92 games). Steve was batting .188 in 13 games when he was released by the Pirates on May 8, 1986.
• Steve signed with the Texas Rangers in 1987 and played for AAA Oklahoma City in 1987 and in 1988. Kemp started the 1988 season with the Rangers, batting .222 in 16 games. He was sent down to AAA in May and didn't return. Steve retired after the 1988 season.
• Here is a "where are they now" article from 2011.
• Carlos Lopez
• Debut: September 17, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .283, 8 HR, 34 RBI in 99 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 3 - Had three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored to help the Mariners to a 10-8 win over the Boston Red Sox
• June 8 - Hit a 2-run homer to lead the Mariners to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.
• Other card blogs: 1978, 1979
• Carlos Lopez was signed by the California Angels from the Mexican League in 1973. Carlos played in the minors from 1974-1976 and earned a September call up (0 for 10 in 9 games) after batting .350 for AAA Salt Lake City.
• Lopez was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the 1976 expansion draft. Carlos batted .283 with 8 HR and 34 RBI in 99 games for the Mariners in 1977.
• After the 1977 season Lopez was traded with Tommy Moore to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Parrott. Carlos was used mainly as a defensive replacement and a pinch hitter in 1978, batting .238 in 129 games (193 at bats).
• Lopez spent the 1979 season in AAA Rochester. He then went back to the Mexican League and played there from 1980 through the 1985 season.
• Gary Woods
• Debut: September 14, 1976
• 1977 Stats:
• Toledo Mud Hens (AAA): .272, 4 HR, 33 RBI in 89 games
• Toronto Blue Jays: .216, 0 HR, 17 RBI in 60 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• Sept 7 - Singled in the winning run in the sixth inning of Toronto's 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
• Other card blogs: 1983, 1985
• Gary Woods was signed by the Oakland A's in 1973. He played in the A's system from 1973-1976. Woods batted .308 for AAA Tucson in 1976 and was called up in September (1 for 8 in 6 games).
• Woods was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1976 expansion draft. Gary started the 1977 season with Toronto but was sent down to AAA in late May. Woods came back up in September and ended up batting .216 in 60 games.
• Gary spent most of the 1978 season in AAA. He had a brief stint with Toronto in September and batted .158 in 8 games. After the 1978 season Woods was traded to the Houston Astros for a minor leaguer.
• Woods spent the entire 1979 season in AAA. Gary had a good year for AAA Tucson in 1980, batting .313 with 42 doubles and 36 stolen bases. Woods was called up in September and was a valuable part of Houston's drive to the NL West title. He batted .377 in 19 games and then batted .250 (2 for 8) in four games in the NL Championship Series.
• Gary was with the Astros for the entire 1981 season, but he didn't do much with the bat (.209 in 54 games). Woods was 0 for 2 in 2 games in the NL Divisional Series. After the 1981 season Woods was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Tracy.
• Woods was used mostly as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter for the next four seasons. He had his best year for the Cubs in 1982, batting .269 in 117 games. Gary's playing time gradually went down (.242 in 190 AB in 1983, .235 in 98 AB in 1984, and .244 in 82 AB in 1985). 
• During spring training in 1986 Woods was released. Larry Bowa got Woods to play for AAA Las Vegas in 1986. Gary batted .316 but he never got the call back to the majors. Woods is now the Southern California area scout for the Chicago White Sox.
• Wikipedia hack alert: Here is a line in Gary's Wikipedia entry -- "On May 12, 2013, the Oakland A's signed Woods as a nondrafted free agent. He spent 2013 killing zombies for the A's Lewiston minor league ballclub"