1977 Topps Baseball #287 - Cincinnati Reds / Sparky Anderson

• Sparky Anderson spent most of his playing career (1953-1963) in the minor leagues. He spent one sesaon (1959) as the starting second baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies and batted .218 in 152 games.
• In 1964 at the age of 30, Anderson decided to become a manager. He managed in A and AA ball from 1964-1968 and was successful -- he had only one season below .500 and he had four straight pennant winning ballclubs. 
• Sparky coached with the San Diego Padres in 1969. 
• After the 1969 season Anderson was named the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He had been named as a coach for the California Angels a few days prior to his appointment as the Cincinnati manager.
• The Reds were just starting their great run as "The Big Red Machine." The team won the NL West in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. They lost in the World Series in 1970 and 1972, but they were World Champions in 1975 and 1976.
• After two straight second place finishes, the Reds fired Sparky after the 1978 season. This (along with the Tony Perez trade and the free agency of Pete Rose) caused me to switch my favorite team. After Rose signed with the Philadelphia Phillies I rooted for them (along with the Giants). Anderson later said that the Reds had decided to fire him at the end of the 1978 season but didn't do the deed until late November
• Anderson didn't stay unemployed for very long. On June 12 Sparky was hired to replace Les Moss as manager of the Detroit Tigers. 
• Sparky managed the Tigers from 1979-1995. The Tigers won the World Championship in 1984 and won the AL East in 1987. 
• Anderson angered Detroit ownership when he refused to manage replacement players in 1995. Sparky was placed on an unpaid leave of absence but was back to manage the regular players when the strike ended. Anderson retired after the 1995 season.
• At the time of his retirement Sparky was third all-time in managerial victories behind Connie Mack and John McGraw. Anderson has been passed by Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe Torre.
• Anderson was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2000 along with Tony Perez.
• Sparky Anderson's managerial record:
• Cincinnati Reds (1970-1978): 863-586, .596, 4 pennants, 2 World Championships
• Detroit Tigers (1979-1995): 1331-1248, .516, 1 pennant, 1 World Championship
• TOTAL: 2194-1834, .545
• Anderson passed away at the age of 76 on 4 November 2010.
• Other card blogs: 1959, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
• The Cincinnati Reds had (for them) a tough year. After two straight World Championships the team fell to second place in the NL West in 1977. They traded future HOFer Tony Perez to the Montreal Expos before the season. The pitching was a problem all season and the addition of Tom Seaver in June wasn't enough to solve the problems. Several players were dissatisfied with their contracts and the ballclub wasn't interested in negotiating better contracts or signing free agents. 
• Team Highlights
• • March 14 - The Reds signed Dave Concepcion to a 5-year contract for about $1 million
  • April 5 - The Reds signed Pete Rose to a 2-year contract after a long salary dispute.
  • April 25 - Hammered the Atlanta Braves 23-9. George Foster had 2 HR and 7 RBI.
  • June 15 - Acquired Tom Seaver from the New York Mets in exchange for Pat Zachry, Steve Henderson, Doug Flynn, and Dan Norman
  • July 12 - Pitcher Woodie Fryman quit the team. He remained retired for the rest of the season and the Reds would trade him after the season.
  • Aug 15 - Johnny Bench was quoted as saying that the Reds were "mentally pooped."
  • Nov 1 - Acquired pitcher Bill Bonham from the Chicago Cubs for Woodie Fryman, Bill Caudill, and cash.
  • Dec 10 - Traded for Oakand pitcher Vida Blue for minor leaguer Dave Revering and at least $1 million. The trade was later invalidated by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn 
  • Record: 88-74, 2nd in NL West, 10 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Attendance:  2,519,670 (2nd in NL)
  • Team Batting: .274 (2nd in NL)
  • Team HR: 181 (3rd in NL)
  • Team Stolen Bases: 170 (3rd in NL)
  • Team ERA: 4.21 (10th in NL)
  • Team Fielding: .984 (1st in NL)
  • All Stars: Johnny Bench (starting C), Joe Morgan (starting 2B), Dave Concepcion (starting SS), George Foster (starting OF), Ken Griffey (OF), Pete Rose (3B), Tom Seaver (P)
  • Awards: George Foster (NL MVP), Joe Morgan (Gold Glove 2B), Dave Concepcion (Gold Glove SS), Cesar Geronimo (Gold Glove OF)
  • NL Leaders:  George Foster (slugging .631; runs 124; home runs 52; RBI 149); Pete Rose (games - 162; at bats - 655)
  • Batting Leader: George Foster (.320)
  • Home Run Leader: George Foster (52)
  • RBI Leader: George Foster (149)
  • Stolen Base Leader: Joe Morgan (49)
  • Victories Leader: Fred Norman / Tom Seaver (14)
  • Losses Leader: Fred Norman (13)
  • Strikeout Leader: Fred Norman (160)
  • Saves Leader: Pedro Borbon (18)
  • ERA Leader (starters): Tom Seaver (2.34)
  • ERA Leader (relievers): Pedro Borbon (3.19)
  • Players who could have had Reds cards in 1977 (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) : 
  • Tom Hume (3-3, 7.12 ERA in 14 games - 5 starts)
  • Mario Soto (2-6, 5.34 ERA in 12 games - 10 starts)
  • Woodie Fryman (pictured with Expos) (5-5, 1 save, 5.38 ERA in 17 games - 12 starts)
  • Dale Murray (pictured with Expos) (7-2, 4 saves, 4.94 ERA in 61 games - 1 start)
  • Doug Capilla (7-8, 4.23 ERA in 22 games - 16 starts)
  • Paul Moskau (6-6, 4.00 ERA in 20 games - 19 starts)