- Willie Horton's long and successful career as a Detroit Tiger came to an end in 1977. On April 12 Willie was traded to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Steve Foucault. Horton had a pretty good year as the main Texas DH. Horton hit seven of his 15 home runs against the Kansas City Royals.
- Willie Horton's SABR biography
- Here is a "Where Are They Now" article from July 2013.
- 1977 Stats:
- Detroit Tigers: .250 (1 for 4) in 1 game
- Texas Rangers: .289, 15 HR, 75 RBI in 139 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980
- In December 1976 I was unable to wrap my ten-year-old head around the deal that sent Tony Perez to the Montreal Expos (Perez and Will McEnaney for Dale Murray and Woodie Fryman). In October 2013 I still have a very hard time wrapping my 47-year-old head around the trade.
- Perez played well for the Expos in 1977, but his time as an All Star was over. Tony helped the Expos as they became a contender in the late 1970s.
- It's funny -- Tony's 1973, 1974, and 1975 cards have virtually identical poses
- 1977 Stats: .283, 19 HR, 91 RBI in 154 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1986
- Tom Walker pitched in his final season in 1977. Tom was cut from the St. Louis Cardinals during spring training and picked up by the Montreal Expos. Walker started the season in AAA Denver. After going 7-0 with a 1.97 ERA in 20 games, Tom was recalled to Montreal in early June. Tom didn't do a whole lot with the Expos and was sold to the California Angels on July 13. Walker pitched in one game for the Angels and then was sent to AAA Salt Lake City.
- Tom Walker's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats: 1-1, 5.14 ERA in 12 games
- Montreal Expos: 1-1, 4.74 ERA in 11 games
- California Angels: 0-0, 9.00 ERA in 1 game
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Willie Crawford never played during the regular season for the San Francisco Giants. On March 26 Willie was traded (with Rob Sperring) to the Houston Astros for Rob Andrews and cash. Crawford played for the Astros until June 15 and then was traded to the Oakland A's for Denny Walling and cash.
- Crawford started in left field for Houston in May and June before his trade to Oakland. He then filled in at LF and RF for the A's. From late August until the end of the season Willie appeared 13 times as a pinch hitter but never played in the field.
- Willie became a free agent after the 1977 season. He signed with the LA Dodgers but didn't make the team in spring training. Crawford didn't make the Dodgers club in 1978 and was released. He played in the Mexican League in 1978 and in 1979.
- 1977 Stats:
- Houston Astros - .254, 2 HR, 18 RBI in 42 games
- Oakland A's - .184, 1 HR, 16 RBI in 59 games
- TOTAL: .216, 3 HR, 34 RBI in 101 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Santo Alcala pitched in his last major league season in 1977. Alcala wasn't being used very much by the Reds and on May 21 he was traded to the Montreal Expos for two players (Shane Rawley and Angel Torres) to be named later. Santo was placed in the rotation when he first got to the Expos, but was moved to the bullpen after going 2-5 in eight starts.
- Alcala pitched in the minors from 1978-1982.
- 1977 Stats:
- Cincinnati Reds - 1-1, 5.74 ERA in 7 games (2 starts)
- Montreal Expos - 2-6, 2 saves, 4.69 ERA in 31 games (10 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1976
- Before the 1977 season Jim Wohlford was traded (with Jamie Quirk and Bob McClure) to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Colburn and Darrell Porter. Jim started in left field most of the time for the Brewers. Wohlford managed only a .285 on base percentage and a .320 slugging percentage. It was Jim's last season as a starting player. He was more effective coming off of the bench in future years.
- 1977 Stats: .248, 2 HR, 36 RBI in 129 games.
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, Cardboard Gods
- Greg Gross was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Julio Gonzalez during the winter meetings in December 1976. Gross was a backup outfielder and pinch hitter for the Cubs in 1977.
- 1977 Stats: .322, 5 HR, 32 RBI in 115 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1975, 1976, 1976 Kellogg's, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
- Barry Foote lost to Gary Carter in the competition for the starting Montreal catching job. On June 15 Barry was traded (with Dan Warthen) to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tim Blackwell and Wayne Twitchell. On both teams Foote was a backup behind a very durable catcher (Carter in Montreal, Bob Boone in Philadelphia). He played in only 30 games during the entire 1977 season.
- 1977 Stats:
- Montreal Expos: .245, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 15 games
- Philadelphia Phillies: .219, 1 HR, 3 RBI in 15 games
- TOTAL: .235, 3 HR, 11 RBI in 30 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, Cardboard Gods
- Roy Howell had a rough start to the 1977 season. Roy wasn't happy about the decision to make Tom Grieve the starting left fielder. Howell was 0 for 17 in 7 games on May 7 when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Hargan, Jim Mason, and $200,000.
- Howell responded well to the trade -- he had a 15 game hitting streak after joining the Blue Jays. Roy missed a month of the season (late June to late July).
- 1977 Stats:
- Texas Rangers - .000 (0 for 17) in 7 games
- Toronto Blue Jays - .316, 10 HR, 44 RBI in 96 games
- TOTAL: .302, 10 HR, 44 RBI in 103 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985
- In February 1977 Paul Lindblad was sold to the Texas Rangers for $400,000. It was a controversial deal at the time since Commissioner Bowie Kuhn wanted to be consulted before any cash deals were made (especially if the A's were involved). The sale was eventually approved a few weeks later.
- The Rangers used Lindblad mostly as a setup man
- Paul passed away on January 1, 2006 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
- 1977 Stats: 4-5, 4 saves, 4.20 ERA in 42 games (1 start)
- 1977 Highlights:
- June 7 - Pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball and got the win as the Rangers beat the New York Yankees 7-3.
- Aug 14 - Allowed one run in six innings pitched in relief of Nelson Briles as the Rangers came back from being down 6-0 to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9.
- Other card blogs: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976 Kellogg's, 1979
- This was Ed Kirkpatrick's final major league season. Ed moved around a lot in 1977. On June 15 Kirkpatrick was traded to the Texas Rangers for Jim Fregosi. Then on August 20 Ed was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later (who turned out to be Gorman Thomas). Luckily for the Brewers they were able to get Thomas back later.
- Kirkpatrick was released during spring training in 1978. Ed spent half of the season in the Mexican league and then batted .325 for AAA Salt Lake City in the last half of the season.
- Ed Kirkpatrick passed away on November 15, 2010 after battling throat cancer.
- 1977 Stats:
- Pittsburgh Pirates - .143 (4 for 28) in 21 games
- Texas Rangers - .188 (9 for 48) in 20 games
- Milwaukee Brewers - .273 (21 for 77) in 29 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, Cardboard Gods
- Don Carrithers was purchased by the Minnesota Twins on April 6, 1977. Don was involved in a car accident on April 25, breaking his leg and fracturing his wrist. After pitching in two games in April, Don didn't pitch again until late July. Carrithers only pitched in seven games in 1977.
- Carrithers was released during spring training in 1978. He pitched two seasons for the AAA Phoenix Giants and retired after the 1979 season.
- 1977 Stats: 0-1, 6.91 ERA in 7 games
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Joe Ferguson was the starting catcher for the Houston Astros in 1977. After the 1976 season the St. Louis Cardinals traded Ferguson to the Astros for Larry Dierker. Joe was probably glad for the trade since he wasn't getting much playing time with the Cardinals, who had Ted Simmons behind the plate.
- Ferguson was a league-average fielder and had a slightly higher caught stealing percentage than average in 1977. He had a good on base percentage and his 16 home runs were third on the team behind Bob Watson and Jose Cruz.
- 1977 Stats: .275, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 85 walks in 132 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983
- Carlos May didn't get used very much by the Yankees in 1977. On September 15 the Yankees placed May on waivers. The California Angels claimed May and he finished the season (and as it turned out his major league career) with the club. The Yankees paid for the move in October -- they ended up playing the AL Championship Series with only 24 players since they waived May so late in the season.
- After the 1977 season Carlos became a free agent and was not signed by a major league club. He went to Japan and played there from 1978-1981.
- 1977 Stats:
- New York Yankees - .227, 2 HR, 16 RBI in 65 games
- California Angels - .333 (6 for 18) in 11 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- .On December 8, 1976 Pete LaCock was traded to the Kansas City Royals as part of a three-way deal between the Royals, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Mets.
- Pete was a backup first baseman and occasional left and right fielder for the Royals in 1977. He had the best batting average of his career (.303) in 1977.
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: .303, 3 HR, 29 RBI in 88 games
- AL Championship Series: .000 (0 for 1) in 1 game
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980
- Joel Youngblood was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. Youngblood spent six seasons (1970-1975) in the minors before finally getting into the majors in 1976. Joel played several positions (OF, 3B, SS, and 2B) during his time in the minors.
- Youngblood finally made it to the majors in 1976. He didn't play much for the powerhouse Reds that year. Joel played six different positions and got into 55 games, but he had only 57 at bats. Youngblood batted .193 during the 1976 season and was not included on the postseason roster.
- On March 30, 1977 Youngblood was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Bill Caudill. Joel didn't get much playing time in St. Louis (.185 in 27 at bats) and on June 15 he was traded to the New York Mets for Mike Phillips. Youngblood got more playing time for the Mets and batted .253 in 70 games.
- Joel played six different positions in 1978 and batted .252 in 113 games.
- In 1979 Youngblood became the Mets' starting right fielder. He had his best season to date, batting .275 with 16 HR and 60 RBI in 158 games.
- Joel had a similar year in 1980, except the home run total was lower. He batted .276 with 8 HR and 69 RBI in 146 games.
- Youngblood made the NL All Star team in 1981. He was leading the league with a .359 average at the time of the strike in June. On June 8 (three days before the strike) Youngblood sprained his knee and was placed on the disabled list. When play resumed in August, Joel was on the All Star team (he appeared as a pinch hitter and fouled out in the 2nd inning), but he would play in only five more games after that. He reinjured his knee ligaments on August 14 and was out for the rest of the year.
- In 1982 Joel started the season with the Mets. His offense was down from previous years (.257 in 80 games). On August 4, Youngblood made history by playing for two different clubs on the same day. After he got the game-winning hit (a home run in the third inning) for the Mets, Joel found out he was traded to the Montreal Expos. He got on a plane and played for the Expos on the same day. Joel batted .200 in 40 games for the Expos to finish the 1982 season.
- Youngblood became a free agent after the 1982 season and signed with the San Francisco Giants. Joel became a valuable role player for the Giants during their wilderness years (1983-1985) and during their resurgence later in the 1980s. He had his best year with the Giants in 1983, batting .292 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI.
- Joel's playing time decreased later in the 1980s. In 1986 Youngblood filed a grievance against the Giants after they tried to insert a drug-testing clause into his contract offer at the last minute. The Giants withdrew the offer. The Giants were later forced to honor the offer, but the clause remained in the contract (the players union contested this clause in a grievance).
- Youngblood was mostly a pinch hitter and an occasional outfielder in 1987 and 1988.
- After the 1988 season Youngblood was not offered a contract by the Giants. He signed with the Reds and played one season with them in 1989. The Reds let Joel become a free agent after the 1989 season. He went to spring training with the Houston Astros in 1990, but the Astros cut him at the end of spring training.
- Youngblood coached in several organizations from 1992-1999. He then left baseball to work for a computer company. Joel returned to baseball in 2007 in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He now serves as the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator.
- 1977 Stats:
- St. Louis Cardinals - .185 in 27 at bats
- New York Mets - .253 in 70 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Aug 1 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the 12th inning and singled in the winning run to lead the Mets to an 8-7 win over the LA Dodgers.
- Oct 2 - Went 3 for 4, including a 2-run triple that was the eventual game winner, as the Mets beat the Cardinals 6-4 in the final game of the season.
- Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
- This was Mike Wallace's last year in the majors. He made the Texas Rangers staff in spring training but was sent down to the minors in early May. Mike pitched in AAA through the 1979 season but never made it back to the majors.
- 1977 Stats: 0-0, 7.56 ERA in 5 games
- Other card blogs: 1974, 1975
- Dave Roberts didn't play for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. Roberts had spent the entire 1976 season with AAA Hawaii to learn how to be a catcher and was purchased from the San Diego Padres in October 1976. The Blue Jays traded Roberts back to the Padres in February 1977 for Jerry Johnson.
- Roberts played four different positions in 1977 -- catcher, 2B, 3B, and shortstop. He spent most of his time behind the plate so that the Padres could play new free agent aquisition Gene Tenace more at first base.
- 1977 Stats: .220, 1 HR, 23 RBI in 82 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983
