The Cincinnati Reds dominated the 1976 World Series. Fred Norman was the only Reds' pitcher who had even a remotely high ERA, while Catfish and Sparky were the only Yankees who didn't get roughed up.
Mr. Bench is featured a lot on this card and the preceding card.
Thurman Munson had a good series, but he was overshadowed by Bench. Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson sparked a firestorm when he asked a reporter not to compare Munson and Bench. Thurman didn't like the quote.
When I looked at the back of this card I thought to myself, "The Reds used only nine non-pitchers?" I figured there would at least be one or two at bats by other guys. After checking baseball-reference.com I realized that this card is correct.
The Reds really did a number on the Yankees in their four game sweep. Pete Rose and Ken Griffey were the only guys who didn't do much. Johnny Bench was named the World Series MVP.
April 11 - Hit a bases loaded single in the fourth inning that gave the Braves the runs they needed to beat the LA Dodgers 7-6. Willie was 3 for 5 in the game.
Dave Freisleben had his best season in terms of winning percentage (.438) in 1977. Dave started the season with the Padres but was sent to AAA Hawaii after being 0-4 with a 6.49 ERA in April. Dave came back to the Padres in late June and lost his first start to go to 0-5. He finished the season with a 7-9 record, so he went 7-4 in the last three months.
1977 Stats:
San Diego Padres: 7-9, 4.69 ERA in 33 games (22 starts)
Hawaii Islanders (AAA): 4-4, 3.94 ERA in 9 games
1977 Highlights:
July 9 - Pitched innings and got the win as the Padres scored in the 10th inning and beat the LA Dodgers 2-1. The Dodgers had only one hit in the first seven innings.
Tim Johnson was the odd man out after the Brewers signed Sal Bando and he didn't play very much in 1977. Tim got in 30 games but started only six of them. When Paul Molitor was ready for the majors in 1978, Tim was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
April 27 - Appeared as a pinch runner and scored the winning run in Milwaukee's 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. It was Tim's first appearance of the season.
On March 26, 1977 Claudell Washington was traded to the Texas Rangers for Rodney Scott, Jim Umbarger, and cash. Washington had a pretty good year for the Rangers as they contended for the AL West crown.
Aug 11 - His 2-run home run helped the Rangers in their 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Texas victory tightened the AL West race -- at the time four teams were within 2 1/2 games of the lead.
This was probably Eric Rasmussen's best year. He had career highs in starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. He had a decent 3.48 ERA, but was only 11-17 (.393).
July 31 - Pitched a 4-hitter and got the win as the Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1. Manager Vern Rapp said that Rasmussen was the most consistent pitcher on the club. At the time Eric was 9-10, but he had a hard time getting wins in the last two months of the season. He was 2-7 in his last 11 starts.
This was Tom Grieve's last season with the Texas Rangers. He was a backup outfielder in 1977 and after the season he was involved in that big 4-team trade that saw Bert Blyleven, Al Oliver, Jon Matlack, Willie Montanez, and a lot of other players change teams. Tom ended up with the New York Mets.
Tommy Helms was at the end of his career in 1977. During spring training the A's traded Helms to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Helms didn't do much with the Pirates (0 for 12) and was released on June 14. Helms signed with the Boston Red Sox on June 21 and played in 21 games for the club. Tommy was released by the Red Sox during spring training in 1978 and that was it for his career.
Even though none of the boys in my little collecting group were Dodger fans, Steve Garvey cards were still considered to be of high value. Steve hit a career-high 33 home runs and hit well in the NL Championship Series and in the World Series. Garvey was an NL All Star for the fourth of eight straight seasons and was the fourth player to receive over 3 million fan votes.
1977 Stats:
Regular season: .297, 33 HR, 115 RBI
NL Championship Series: .308 (4 for 13) in 4 games
Tom Burgmeier was a middle reliever and a set-up man for the Minnesota Twins in 1977. He had a good ERA of 3.27 at the end of June, but he had a few rough outings in September and his ERA ballooned to 5.09. Tom left the Twins after the 1977 season and signed with the Boston Red Sox.
April 10 - Saved the game for rookie Paul Thormodsgard, who was making his first major league start, by pitching 2 2/3 shutout innings. The Twins beat the Oakland A's 7-1.
Larry Herndon was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. Larry played in the minors from 1971-1974. Herndon was called up in September 1974 and was used a lot as a pinch runner. He was 1 for 1 with 3 runs scored in 12 games.
Herndon was in the minors again in 1975. On May 9 Larry was traded (with a minor leaguer) to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Ron Bryant. Herndon finished the 1975 season in AAA Phoenix.
In 1976 Larry started in Phoenix. He was called up in late April and had a good rookie season for the Giants, batting .288 in 115 games. It was a good enough season for Larry to get a Topps trophy on this card.
Larry hgd a tough year in 1977. He struggled at the plate and lost his starting center fielder job. Herndon didn't play after June 18. The only thing I could find was a reference to him coming off of the disqualified list after the 1977 season. Herndon ended up batting .239 in 49 games in 1977.
Herndon reclaimed his starting center field job in 1978. He batted .259 in 151 games. During his time with the Giants Larry had some speed, but his power and on base percentage numbers were low.
In 1979 Herndon spent most of his time in center field but made some appearances in left and right field. Larry batted .257 in 132 games.
Larry's 1980 season was very similar to his 1979 stats. He batted .258 in 139 games.
Herndon's last season with the Giants was in 1981. Larry moved to left field and improved his batting average to .288. After the 1981 season Herndon was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Dan Schatzaeder and Mike Chris.
Larry showed a lot more power during his years with the Tigers. In 1982 Herndon batted .292 with 23 home runs, 88 RBI, and 92 runs scored. Larry batted .302 with 20 HR and 92 RBI in 1983.
Herndon was the starting left fielder for that great Detroit club of 1984 and batted .280 in 125 games. His power dropped off -- Larry hit only seven home runs. In the ALCS Herndon went 1 for 5 in two games, but his one hit was a home run. In the World Series Larry batted .333 (5 for 15) with a 3-run home run.
Larry started to slow down in 1985. It was his final season as the starting left fielder. Herndon batted .244 with 12 HR and 37 RBI in 137 games.
In 1986 Herndon batted .247 in 106 games. He started 71 games in LF.
Herndon split time between the outfield and DH in 1987. He batted .324 with 9 HR and 47 RBI in part-time duty. Herndon hit a solo home run in the last game of the season that was the only run scored in Detroit's AL East clinching victory. Larry batted .333 (3 for 9) in three games in the ALCS.
The 1988 season was Herndon's final season. He batted .224 in 76 games and was released after the season.
Tom Murphy struggled with the Boston Red Sox in 1977. On July 27 he was sold to the Toronto Blue Jays (or released, depending on who you ask), where he pitched better.
1977 Stats:
Boston Red Sox: 0-1, 6.75 ERA in 16 games
Toronto Blue Jays: 2-1, 2 saves, 3.63 ERA in 19 games (1 start)
Bill Laxton was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1966 after he graduated from high school. Bill pitched in the Pittsburgh organization for two seasons and then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies (with Woodie Fryman, Don Money, and minor leaguer Harold Clem) for Jim Bunning.
Laxton spent the next three seasons in the Phillies organization. Bill was called up in September 1970 and made two appearances (0-0, 13.50 ERA in 2 innings). After the 1970 season Bill was taken by the San Diego Padres in the Rule 5 Draft.
Laxton spent the entire 1971 season with the Padres and went 0-2 with a 6.83 ERA in 18 appearances.
Bill spent the next three seasons (1972-1974) pitching for the AA Alexandria Aces.
In 1975 Laxton was released at the end of spring training. Bill signed with the New York Mets and spent the 1975 season pitching for AAA Tidewater. Laxton had a nice season in Tidewater (11-4, 2.49 ERA).
After the 1975 season Laxton was traded (with Rusty Staub) to the Detroit Tigers for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin. During spring training Bill combined with Ray Bare to no-hit the Chicago White Sox.
Bill stayed in the majors for the entire 1976 season. He had an 0-5 record with two saves and had a 4.09 ERA in 26 games (3 starts). After the 1976 season Laxton was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft.
In 1977 Laxton was used exclusively as a reliever. He went 3-2 with 3 saves and had a 4.95 ERA in 43 games for the Mariners.
On September 8 Bill was traded with cash to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Fosse. Laxton made two appearances for the Indians in September and that was it for his major league career.
Laxton started the 1978 season in the Indians' organization (AAA Portland). On June 22 he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Dave Freisleben. Bill finished the '78 season pitching for AAA Hawaii. He was a combined 4-6 with a 7.50 ERA in 1978. Bill retired after the 1978 season.
1977 Stats:
Seattle Mariners: 3-2, 3 saves, 4.95 ERA in 43 games
Interestingly, John Lowenstein was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays for a few months before the 1977 season. On December 6, 1976 John was traded with Rick Cerone to the Blue Jays for Rico Carty. On March 29, 1977 Lowenstein was traded back to Cleveland for Hector Torres.
Lowenstein was a backup outfielder and pinch hitter in 1977.
Dan Warthen started the 1977 season with the Montreal Expos. On June 15 Dan was traded (with Barry Foote) to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tim Blackwell and Wayne Twitchell.
Warthen pitched in one game for the Phillies in June and then was sent to AAA Oklahoma City until September. Dan pitched in two more September games for the Phillies.
1977 Stats:
Montreal Expos: 2-3, 7.97 ERA in 12 games (6 starts)
Philadelphia Phillies: 0-1, 0.00 ERA in 3 games
Oklahoma City 89ers (AAA): 1-1, 9.00 ERA in 7 games (4 starts)
