1977 Topps Baseball #45 - Rawly Eastwick

• It was a tumultuous 1977 season for Rawly Eastwick. He was one of several holdouts and was never able to come to contract terms with the Reds. Eastwick pitched well for Cincinnati, but he struggled after being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
• 1977 Stats:
• Cincinnati Reds - 2-2, 2.91 ERA, 7 saves, 23 games
• St. Louis Cardinals - 3-7, 4.70 ERA, 4 saves, 41 games (1 start)
• 1977 Highlights:
• Jan 24: Expressed his disdain for the trade that sent Will McEnaney and Tony Perez to the Montreal Expos.
• March 11: Was renewed by the Cincinnati Reds. Since Eastwick didn't sign a contract, the Reds were able to keep him for the 1977 season, but Rawly would become a free agent after the season.
• June 15: Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Doug Capilla. Eastwick didn't want to report at first and had some pointed criticism for Cincinnati management. The Reds originally wanted to send Rawly to the New York Mets as part of the Tom Seaver deal, but Eastwick said that he wouldn't sign with the Mets, so the deal was reworked.
• July 14 - Pitched the 9th and 10th innings without allowing a run and was the winning pitcher in the Cardinals' 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Dec 8 - Signed a five-year contract with the New York Yankees. It was almost a ten-fold increase from what he made in 1977.
• Other card blogs: 1982, 1978, 1976, 

1977 Topps Baseball #8 - 1976 Leading Firemen

• The first "leading firemen" card was in the 1973 Topps set.
• Bill Campbell makes the first of two appearances on a leading firemen card
• In 1976 Bill had a record of 17-5 and led the AL with a .773 winning percentage. He also led the league with 78 appearances.
• After the 1976 season Campbell became one of the first big-money free agents and signed with the Boston Red Sox.
• Campbell was the AL leading fireman again in 1977, but he had arm problems in 1978 and wasn't the same pitcher after that.
• Rawly Eastwick had his best season in 1976. He had an 11-5 record with a 2.09 ERA and an NL-leading 26 saves.
• During the 1977 season Eastwick didn't see eye-to-eye with Reds' management and was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals. He didn't have anywhere near as much success in St. Louis (or any of the other teams for which he pitched).