Rick Manning's 1977 season was messed up by an injury that he suffered on June 4. He slid headfirst into second base and fractured his fifth lumbar vertebra. Rick played in the next few games but was in pain and went back for further tests in mid June.
Bruce was pressed into service with the White Sox and pitched in eight games for them in April and May. Bruce was released on August 25.
Dal Canton was a player/coach for the White Sox' AAA Iowa club in 1978 and pitched in six games (0-0, 8.10 ERA). He became the White Sox' pitching coach in June when Larry Doby became the club's manager.
Roy Hartsfield had a three year career as a second baseman (1950-1952) with the Boston Braves. Roy batted .273 in those three seasons. After the 1952 season Hartsfield was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was stuck behind Jackie Robinson and Jim Gilliam and never got to the majors again. Roy continued to play in the Dodgers' system through the 1961 season. Hartsfield coached in the Dodgers system in the 1960s and early 1970s and then coached with the Atlanta Braves and managed San Diego's AAA Hawaii club. Roy was hired as the first manager of the Toronto Blue Jays after the 1976 season.
Sept 9 - In spite of a bad back, Steve earned his 21st win of the season as the Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4. Carlton also signed a new contract through the 1981 season.
Jorge Orta could swing the bat. His numbers don't look as impressive by today's standards, but they were quite good for a middle infielder in the 1970s.
After being tried at various positions over the previous few years, Jorge settled in as the second baseman for the White Sox in 1977 and in 1978.
The White Sox had some distinctive uniforms during this time.
Bill Melton wasn't with the California Angels in 1977. Bill was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Stan Perzanowski after the 1976 season. This was Melton's last season.
Mike Flanagan became part of the Baltimore rotation in 1977 and posted the first of his eight double figure win seasons.
1977 Stats: 15-10, 3.64 ERA in 33 starts
1977 Highlights:
July 11 - Had a complete game 4-3 win over the New York Yankees on national television. It was the third of six straight complete game victories for Flanagan. Mike was 2-8 when the streak started. The streak turned his season around.
Omar Moreno became the starting center fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1977. He was signed by the Pirates in 1969 and spent several years in the minors before getting a late season call up in 1975.
Moreno started the 1976 season in the minors and had a brief tour with the Pirates in late June and early July. Omar came up to stay in mid August and batted .270 in 48 games.
In 1978 Moreno led the NL in stolen bases with 71. He scored 95 runs despite batting only .235.
The Pirates won the World Championship in 1979 and Moreno contributed with a .282 average, an NL-leading 77 stolen bases, and 110 runs scored. Omar batted .250 (3 for 12) in the NLCS and .333 (11 for 33) in the World Series.
Moreno led the NL in at bats (676), triples (13), and caught stealing (33) in 1980. He batted .249 with 87 runs scored. Omar stole 96 bases, but that wasn't good enough to lead the league, as Montreal's Ron LeFlore stole 97.
In the strike-shortened 1981 season Moreno led in caught stealing (14) for the second year in a row. He batted .276, but he had only a .319 on base percentage.
Moreno had a so-so year with the Astros in 1983. He tripled 11 times and stole 30 bases, but he batted only .242 with a .282 on base percentage in 97 games. On August 10 Omar was traded to the New York Yankees for Jerry Mumphrey. He finished the 1983 season with the Yankees and batted .250 in 48 games.
Omar fared a little better in 1984 (.259 in 117 games), but his speed was going and he stole only 20 bases.
The Royals released Moreno after the 1985 season. Omar tried out with the Atlanta Braves in 1986 and made the club. Omar batted .234 in 118 games and stole 17 bases, but was caught 16 times. Moreno was released after the 1986 season.
Moreno now serves as the Secretary of Sports in his native Panama. Here is a Sports Illustrated "Where are they now" article from 2009.
1977 Stats: .240, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 53 stolen bases
1977 Highlights:
April 27 - Had three hits and scored twice as the Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.
Mike Bacsik was signed by the Texas Rangers in 1973.
Mike was in the minors for the entire 1973 and 1974 seasons.
Bacsik had a one month stint (mid June to mid July) with the Rangers in 1975. Mike pitched in seven games and started three of them. Bacsik picked up his first major league win on June 29. He had a 1-2 record with a 3.71 ERA.
Mike started the 1976 season with AAA Sacramento. He was recalled in late June and pitched in 23 games during the rest of the season. Bacsik went 3-2 with a 4.25 ERA for the Rangers in 1976.
Bacsik was in AAA for most of the 1977 and 1978 seasons. He got roughed up in his only two major league appearances in 1977, and he didn't get up to the majors at all in 1978. After the 1978 season Mike was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Mac Scarce after the 1978 season.
Bacsik started the 1979 season in AAA but was recalled in early May after pitching well in seven games. Mike stayed with the Twins for the rest of the 1979 season and had a 4-2 record with a 4.39 ERA in 31 games.
Mike found himself in AAA again at the beginning of the 1980 season. He pitched pretty well there (7-2, 7 saves, 3.60 ERA in 26 games). Bacsik was with the Twins for about six weeks from late June to early August. He pitched in ten games and was 0-0 with a 4.30 ERA.
Mike's son (also named Mike) pitched in the majors from 2001 to 2007. The younger Mike gave up Barry Bonds' 756th home run. An oddity is that the elder Mike was one of 30 pitchers to have pitched to Hank Aaron when he was at 755 home runs. Mike the younger quipped,"If my dad had been gracious enough to let Hank Aaron hit a home run, we both would have given up 756."
1977 Stats:
Texas Rangers: 0-0, 19.21 ERA in 2 games (2.1 innings, 5 runs allowed)
Tucson Toros (AAA): 4-8, 7.51 ERA in 30 games (18 starts)
1977 Highlights:
No real highlights -- he was in two games and he gave up multiple runs in both of them.
After a couple of good seasons in 1975 and 1976, Jose Morales fell off in 1977. Morales made only 16 appearances in the field in 1977 (he was a pinch hitter in 49 other games).
Dick Bosman's career was about over when this card came out. He didn't make the Oakland ballclub in spring training. Bosman was released on March 26, 1977. Dick tried out with the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs, but when he didn't make those clubs he retired in early April.
Joe Morgan's cards during this era looked impressive. Those "N.L. All Star" things always enhanced the cards. I prefer the "star" ones that the 1975 and 1976 cards had.
Joe had a good year in 1977. He was still an NL All Star for two more years (1978 and 1979), but his numbers started to decline after the 1977 season.
Joe won his fifth straight Gold Glove in 1977. It was his last one.
Sept 17 - Reds manager Sparky Anderson replaced Joe with Rick Auerbach in the middle of the game. Morgan was in a slump at the time. Joe left the park before the end of the game and was not happy with Sparky. Morgan didn't play in the following game but was back in the lineup on September 20.
Tom Hausman was in AAA for the entire 1977 season. Tom pitched from 1971-1985 and only two of those seasons (1980 and 1981) did Tom not pitch in the minors for at least part of the year.
After missing most of the 1976 season with a fractured ankle, Milt May caught 111 games in 1977. His stats weren't earth-shattering, but he was solid while the Tigers waited for Lance Parrish to develop.
July 17 - Appeared as a pinch hitter in the 11th inning of the second game of a double header and won the game with a home run. The Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6.
Dave Heaverlo had a nice year as a middle reliever and set-up man for the Giants in 1977. They had a surplus of good relievers in the late 1970s. Dave ended up being traded to the Oakland A's as part of the Vida Blue deal after the 1977 season.
1977 Stats: 5-1, 1 save, 2.55 ERA in 56 games
1977 Highlights:
June 17 - Pitched two shutout innings and earned the win as the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.
July 10 - Picked up an easy win when he pitched the 5th inning of a 12-5 San Francisco victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Other card blogs: 1976, 1980 (he just doesn't look right with hair)
This is the first time Keith Hernandez sports a mustache on his card. He is clean shaven in 1978 and then the remainder of his Topps cards all have the 'stache.
Craig Swan was the fifth starter for the New York Mets in 1977. Craig pitched pretty well in that spot and went on to lead the NL in ERA the next season.
1977 Stats: 9-10, 4.23 ERA in 26 games (24 starts)
1977 Highlights:
July 25 - Pitched a 3-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets won the game 1-0 and it broke a 6-game winning streak by Dodger starter Doug Rau.
Tom Poquette was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1970 at the age of 18. He played in the minors from 1970-1973. Tom got a September call-up in 1973 and batted .214 in 28 at bats.
Poquette played for AAA Omaha in 1974 and batted .305 in 63 games.
After the 1974 season Tom had two knee operations (one in late 1974 and another during spring training in 1975), which delayed his ascent to the major leagues. Poquette played for AA Jacksonville in 1975 and batted .256 in 105 games.
Poquette made the Kansas City ballclub in 1976. He batted .302 in 104 games. He was batting .347 at the time of his injury (next bullet) on June 22. The injury didn't seem to slow him down as much as the grind of a long season did. Tom didn't drop below .330 until a month after he returned from the disabled list.
On June 22, 1976 Poquette was knocked unconscious after he crashed into the wall while trying to catch a fly ball. Tom had to be carried off of the field and he suffered a fractured left cheekbone. He missed three weeks.
In the 1976 ALCS Poquette batted .188 (3 for 16) in five games.
The 1977 season was the last one in which Tom would play close to a full season.
During spring training in 1978 Poquette had a push from young Willie Wilson. Wilson beat him out for the starting left field position (although he didn't hit much) and Tom became a bench player. Poquette batted .216 in 80 games during the regular season and was 0 for 1 in the 1978 ALCS.
Tom didn't figure in the Royals' plans in 1979. He was batting .192 in 26 at bats when, on June 13, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for discontented first baseman George Scott. Poquette did a lot better in Boston -- he batted .331 in 154 at bats as a pinch hitter and occasional outfielder.
Poquette didn't play much in 1981. He went hitless in two at bats for the Red Sox. Before the strike Tom asked to be traded. On August 12 (right after the strike) Tom was waived by the Red Sox and picked up by the Texas Rangers. Tom played in 30 games for the Rangers in 1981 and batted .156 in 64 at bats.
Tom became a free agent after the 1981 season and signed with the Royals in January 1982. Poquette played in 24 games and was released on July 21 after batting .145 in 62 at bats.
After his playing career Tom went into coaching.
Coached with AAA Omaha from 1988-1990.
In 1991 Poquette became manager of the Eugene Emeralds (rookie league). He then managed in single-A in 1992 and in AA in 1993.
He was the hitting coach of the AAA Omaha Royals in 1995. Tom was the roving hitting instructor for the Royals organization in 1996.
Tom returned to managing in 1999 and managed at single-A and rookie league level clubs from 1999-2002.
1977 Stats:
Regular Season: .292, 2 HR, 33 RBI in 106 games
League Championship Series: .167 (1 for 6) in 2 games
1977 Highlights:
April 4 - Placed on the disabled list because of a chest virus. His first game in 1977 would be on April 19.
May 14 - Made a shoestring catch of a sinking line drive by Willie Horton to preserve Jim Colburn's no-hitter. The Royals beat the Texas Rangers 6-0 and Poquette also went 2 for 4 in the game.
Aug 21 - Knocked in two runs with an infield single in the 8th inning to break a 4-4 tie and put the Royals ahead of the Boston Red Sox 6-4. Tom also doubled twice in the game, which Kansas City won 6-4. The victory gave the Royals (first place in the AL West) a sweep of the Red Sox (first place in the AL East) in an important 3-game series.
Dave has provided Cubs with improved hitting and solid defensive play? Wow. The stats on the back sure don't bear that out.
Ivan DeJesus was the starting shortstop in 1977. He played in 155 games, which didn't leave very many chances for Dave to play.
1977 Stats: .220, 1 HR, 9 RBI in 56 games (82 at bats)
1977 Highlights:
June 7 - Got a start at third base and went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI to help the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4. At the time it was a battle of the two first place teams in the NL.
John Verhoeven spent most of the 1977 season in the minors. He started the 1977 season with the Angels, but was sent down to AAA Salt Lake City in mid-April. John was traded to the Chicago White Sox on June 15 and was assigned to AAA Iowa. Verhoeven was called up in September, made a few appearances with the White Sox, and then spent the next two seasons in the minors.
1977 Stats:
California Angels: 0-2, 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings (3 games)
Chicago White Sox: 0-0, 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings (6 games)
Total (MLB): 0-2, 3.00 ERA in 15 innings (9 games)
Salt Lake City (AAA): 4-1, 1 save, 4.91 ERA in 19 games
Iowa (AAA): 2-5, 9 saves, 2.86 ERA in 30 games
1977 Highlights:
April 8 - Took the loss as the Seattle Mariners won their first game in franchise history. John entered the game in the 9th inning with the Angels leading 6-5 and allowed two runs to lose the game 7-6.
