1977 Topps Baseball #494 - Rookie Infielders - Juan Bernhardt / Mike Champion / Jim Gantner / Bump Wills

• Juan Bernhardt
• Debut: July 10, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .243, 7 HR, 30 RBI in 89 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 21 - Tripled with the bases loaded in a losing cause as the Mariners lost to the Kansas City Royals 6-5.
• June 15 - Singled in the winning run in the 11th inning in Seattle's 6-5 victory over the Oakland A's.
• Other card blogs: 1979
• Juan Bernhardt was signed by the New York Yankees from the Domincan Republic in 1970. Bernhardt was in the minors from 1971-1976. He batted over .300 in AAA in 1975 and in 1976. Juan was called up briefly in 1976 and batted .190 in 10 games.
• After the 1976 season Bernhardt was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft. Juan was with the Mariners for the entire 1977 season and batted .243 in 89 games.
• Bernhardt split the 1978 season between Seattle and AAA San Jose. Juan batted .230 in 54 games for the Mariners in 1978. 
• Juan started the 1979 season with the Mariners but only got into one game (1 for 1). He was in the minors for most of the 1979 season. Bernhardt was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Hinton on July 6. 
• In 1980 Bernhardt went to the Mexican League. Juan was a player-manager in 1981 and in 1982. Bernhardt played in the Mexican League from 1980-1983.
• Mike Champion
• Debut: September 14, 1976
• 1977 Stats: .229 in 150 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 6 - Got three hits and scored a run in a losing cause as the Padres lost to the Cincinnati Reds 5-3.
• July 15 - Went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI to lead the Padres to a 5-3 win over the LA Dodgers.
• Other card blogs: none
• The San Diego Padres drafted Mike Champion in 1973. Mike was in the minors from 1973-1976 and had a brief stint with the Padres in September 1976 (.237 in 11 games).
• Mike was given the starting second base job in 1977. He struggled at the plate, batting only .229 in 150 games. Mike was slightly below league average in fielding percentage and also had a below average range factor.
• In 1978 Champion started the season with the Padres. Mike lost his starting 2B job to Fernando Gonzelez and he was sent to AAA Hawaii in June. Champion came back to the Padres as a September call-up. Mike ended up batting .226 in 32 games in 1978.
• At the end of spring training in 1979 Champion was sent to the Cleveland Indians as the player to be named later in an earlier deal for Dan Briggs. Mike was sent to AAA Tacoma where he had two good years (.311 in 1979 and .281 in 1980). Champion was never called back up to the  majors and he retired after the 1980 season.
• Jim Gantner
• Debut: September 3, 1976
• 1977 Stats:
• Spokane Indians (AAA): .281, 15 HR, 80 RBI, 98 runs in 143 games
• Milwaukee Brewers: .298 in 14 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• Sept 25 - Went 3 for 4, including a rare home run, in Milwaukee's 8-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
• Jim Gantner was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1974. Jim played in the minors from 1974-1977. He was given brief chances with Milwaukee in 1976 (.316 in 26 games) and in 1977 (.298 in 14 games).
• Gantner didn't have a regular position for his first few seasons with the Brewers. Jim batted .216 in 43 games in 1978 and .284 in 70 games in 1979.
• Jim spent most of his time at third base in 1980, batting .282 in 132 games.
• In 1981 Gantner was given the regular second base job (Paul Molitor was moved first to CF and then to 2B). Jim batted .267 in 107 games during the regular season and batted .143 (2 for 14) in the AL Divisional Series.
• Gantner had his three best seasons from 1982-1984. Jim batted a career-high .295 in 1982. He batted .188 in the AL Championship Series and .333 in the World Series. In 1983 Gantner batted .282 and hit a career-high 11 home runs. Jim also batted .282 in 1984 with less power.
• Jim started at 2B for the next two seasons, batting .254 in 1985 and .274 in 1986.
• Gantner had injury problems in 1987. He had arthroscopic knee surgery in  March. He then had a hamstring injury in July and missed most of the last two months of the season. Jim batted .272 in 81 games.
• Jim returned to start at 2B in 1988 (.276 in 155 games) and in 1989 (.274 in 116 games). 
• Gantner was a backup infielder for the last three seasons of his career. He batted .263 in 88 games in 1990, .283 in 140 games in 1991, and .246 in 101 games in 1992.
• Jim had rotator cuff surgery after the 1992 season. He wasn't sure if he wanted to come back and play again. Jim retired at the end of spring training in 1993.
• After his playing career Gantner coached for several seasons. Jim now runs Hale Park Automotive Services in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.
• Bump Wills
• Debut: April 7, 1977
• 1977 Stats: .287, 9 HR, 62 RBI in 152 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 7 - Drove in Juan Beniquez with his first major league hit in the 10th inning on opening day to lead Texas to a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
• Aug 27 - He and Toby Harrah hit back-to-back inside the park home runs in an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Wills went 3 for 4 with 2 HR in the game.
• Other card blogs: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983
• Bump Wills, son of former SS Maury Wills, had a tumultuous start to his major league career. Bump was drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers in 1975. After Wills played in the minors for two years Texas manager Frank Lucchesi declared in spring training of 1977 that Wills would be the Rangers' starting second baseman. Incumbent second baseman Lenny Randle took exception to the decision. Randle ended up punching out Lucchesi before a spring training game, which earned Randle a suspension and a trade out of Texas. Bump's rookie season seemed to get lost in the controversy. Wills batted .287 with 9 HR and 62 RBI in 152 games. Bump also stole 28 bases and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
• Wills was the Rangers' starting 2B for the next four years. He stole 52 bases and batted .250 in 1978 and batted .273 with 35 stolen bases in 1979. Bump batted .263 and scored a career high 102 runs in 1980.
• Bump's batting average dropped to .251 and his stolen base total dropped to 12 in 1981. After the 1981 season Wills lost his arbitration case and was also going to lose his starting 2B job to Doug Flynn.
• During spring training in 1982 Wills was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Mirabella, a minor leaguer, and cash. Bump spent one season with the Cubs, batting .272 with 35 stolen bases in 128 games.
• Bump became a free agent after the 1982 season. He decided to play in Japan and spent the 1983 and 1984 seasons playing for the Hankyu Braves. After his stint in Japan Wills went into coaching. He managed in the low minors for several years in the late 1980s and 1990s.

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