1977 Topps Baseball #134 - San Diego Padres / John McNamara

• John McNamara started out as a minor league catcher and occasional pitcher. He never made it past the AA level as a full time player and in 1959 John became a player-manager in  the Kansas City A's organization.
• From 1959-1962 McNamara managed the Class B Lewiston Broncos. In 1963 John started moving up in the organization, managing in various places.
• At the end of the 1969 season John was named as the manager of the Oakland A's. He managed the club to a second place finish in the AL West but was fired after the 1970 season for not being able to stop certain A's players (Dave Duncan and Reggie Jackson) from criticizing owner Charlie Finley.
• After spending three seasons as a coach for the San Francisco Giants, John became the manager of the San Diego Padres in 1974. He managed the club until late May 1977. The Padres showed improvement over the 1974, 1975, and 1976 seasons, but they regressed in 1977 and new owner Ray Kroc wanted to change things up.
• McNamara went on to manage the Cincinnati Reds, the California Angels, the Boston Red Sox, and    the Cleveland Indians. He won a division title with the Reds (1979) and went to the World Series with the Red Sox (1986).
• The Padres had three managers in 1977. Their records were:
• John McNamara (20-28)
• Bob Skinner (1-0)
• Alvin Dark (48-65)
• Team Highlights:
• May 1 - John McNamara and first baseman Mike Ivie have a conflict which resulted in Ivie leaving the club for a day. Ivie was to be moved to third base in order to shake things up and add more offense to the club. Ivie refused to play third base and McNamara ordered him to leave the ballpark. Ivie returned the next day. Note: during his career Ivie was usually above league average as a fielder at first base. He was quite a bit below average when fielding any other position (C, 3B, OF).
• May 28 - John McNamara fired as San Diego manager.
• May 29 - Alvin Dark hired to manage the club.
• Sept 20 - Buzzie Bavasi, the only General Manager the Padres had since the club's inception in 1969, resigns.
• • Record: 69-93, 5th in NL West, 29 games behind the LA Dodgers
  • Attendance:  1,376,269 (7th of 12)
  • Team Batting: .249, (11th of 12)
  • Team HR: 120 (8th of 12)
  • Team Stolen Bases: 133 (6th of 12)
  • Team ERA: 4.43 (11th of 12)
  • Team Fielding: .971 (12th of 12)
  • All Stars: Dave Winfield (OF)
  • Awards: Rollie Fingers (Rolaids NL Reliever of the Year)
  • NL Leaders: 
  • Gene Tenace (Bases on Balls - 125)
  • Gene Tenace (Hit by Pitch - 13)
  • Bill Almon (Sacrifice Hits - 20)
  • Rollie Fingers (Saves - 35)
  • Rollie Fingers (Appearances - 78)
  • Batting Leader: George Hendrick (.311)
  • Home Run Leader: Dave Winfield (25)
  • RBI Leader: Dave Winfield (92)
  • Stolen Base Leader: Gene Richards (56)
  • Victories Leader: Bob Shirley (12)
  • Losses Leader: Bob Shirley (18)
  • Strikeout Leader: Bob Shirley (146)
  • Saves Leader: Rollie Fingers (35)
  • ERA Leader (starters): Bob Shirley (3.70)
  • ERA Leader (relievers): Rollie Fingers (2.99)
  • Players who could have had Padres cards in 1977 (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) : 
  • Tucker Ashford (.217 in 81 games as a 3B) - came up to the Padres in July
  • George Hendrick (.311, 23 HR, 81 RBI as an OF) - acquired in a trade before the 1977 season)
  • Dave Roberts (.220 in 82 games as a catcher) - acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade on February 16
  • Dave Kingman (.238, 11 HR, 39 RBI) - this was the second of four teams Kong played for during the season.
  • Gary Sutherland (.243 in 80 games as a utility infielder) - released from the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1976 season and made the San Diego ballclub in spring training
  • John D'Aquisto (1-2, 6.95 ERA in 17 games/12 starts) - acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on May 17
  • Bob Owchinko (9-12, 4.45 ERA in 30 games/28 starts) - made the San Diego ballclub during spring training