Ken Singleton had one of his best seasons in 1977. Ken batted .328 (a career high) was an AL All Star (he was hit by a Rick Reuschel pitch in the 8th inning), and finished third in AL MVP voting.
Sept 16 - Doubled in two runs in Baltimore's 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. The victory allowed the Orioles to take sole possession of second place in the tight AL East race.
Wayne Twitchell started the season with the Phillies, but he was demoted to the bullpen in late May after going 0-4 in eight starts. On June 15 Wayne was traded with Tim Blackwell to the Montreal Expos for Barry Foote and Dan Warthen. Twitchell pitched better for the Expos and had a few no decisions in games he should have won.
1977 Stats:
Philadelphia Phillies - 0-5, 4.53 ERA in 12 games (8 starts)
Montreal Expos - 6-5, 4.21 ERA in 22 starts
TOTAL: 6-10, 4.29 ERA in 34 games (30 starts)
1977 Highlights:
June 24 - Pitched seven perfect innings before allowing an infield single to Bill Robinson in the 8th inning. Unfortunately the Expos lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5.
Aug 13 - Pitched nine shutout innings, but the Expos weren't able to score either. The Expos lost the game 1-0 in ten innings.
The post-Henry Aaron Atlanta Braves of the late 1970s must have been hard to watch. Braves fans didn't have a whole lot to get excited about until Dale Murphy and Bob Horner came along.
The Braves suffered through a 17-game losing streak on their way to a 100-loss season. On May 11, after the Braves had lost 16 games in a row, owner Ted Turner gave manager Dave Bristol a rest and "managed" the game. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn informed Turner that he couldn't manage anymore so Bristol was back in the dugout on May 14.
This article sums up the strange things that happened to the Braves in 1977.
Dave Bristol never played in the major leagues. He started playing in the low minors in 1951 at the age of 18. Dave played through the 1953 season and then was in military service in 1954. Bristol then played through the 1956 season before becoming a player-manager at the age of 24 in 1957. He continued to be a player-manager through the 1961 season, never getting above class B level.
Bristol became a full-time manager in 1962. He worked his way up the chain in the Cincinnati Reds organization and was named the Reds' manager when he was 33 years old in July 1966.
Dave managed the Reds through the 1969 season. The Reds showed steady improvement, but they never finished above third place under Bristol. After the 1969 season Bristol was fired by the Reds.
Larvell "Sugar Bear" Blanks was a utilty infielder for the Indians in 1977. Blanks wasn't known for his defense, but he had a pretty good bat. Larvell clashed with manager Frank Robinson about playing time before Robinson was let go in mid-June.
Jon Matlack was not happy in 1977. The Mets were only a shell of the club of a few years ago, and players feuded with owner M. Donald Grant and GM Joe McDonald. Matlack asked to be traded during the season.
Matlack struggled with shoulder problems in the last part of the season. He was out for a couple of weeks in late July and early August and only pitched once in September.
When I was a kid I had no idea why Gorman Thomas kept getting cards. His batting averages were usually below the Mendoza Line and it seemed like I got about 10-15 of his cards every year.
Thomas spent the 1977 season in the minors, but after he returned to the majors in 1978 he had several good power years for the Brewers.
Marty Perez moved around a lot in 1977. During spring training Perez was traded from the Giants to the New York Yankees for Terry Whitfield. Perez was slated to share time at shortstop with Fred Stanley, but when the Yankees acquired shortstop Bucky Dent in early April Marty was expendable. On April 27 Marty was traded (with Dock Ellis and Larry Murray) to the Oakland A's for Mike Torrez. Perez played a lot more for the last place A's, but his career was winding down and he hung 'em up after the 1978 season.
I had no idea who Bob Keegan was when this card came out. I still didn't know much about him before making this entry
Keegan spent six seasons (1953-1958) pitching for the Chicago White Sox. Bob didn't make it to the majors until he was 33 years old. Keegan was stuck in the New York Yankees organization from 1945-1952. The Chicago White Sox purchased him from AAA Syracuse after the 1952 season.
Bob's best season was in 1954 when he was 16-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 27 starts
Bob pitched in his last major league game on July 24, 1958. He pitched in the minors through the 1960 season.
Stealing 104 bases in a season, especially in that era, was a great accomplishment. The running game had been virtually nonexistent for over 40 years when this mark was set.
I'm pretty sure this picture is from the October 3 game against the San Francisco Giants. In the bottom of the 7th inning Wills singled, stole second, and then stole third base. That's Jim Davenport at third base catching the throw.
At the time, Carl Yastrzemski's Triple Crown wasn't as big of a deal. Frank Robinson had accomplished the feat the previous year. But it took 45 years for another player (Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers) to win another Triple Crown.
Yaz deserved his unanimous selection as the 1967 AL MVP. I can't imagine the Red Sox finishing in the first division without him.
This was Buzz Capra's last season in the majors, and it was a tough one. He had a shoulder injury in 1975 and was never the same pitcher after that.
Capra started the season as a reliever and moved into the Braves rotation in May. Buzz lost his first four starts and went back to the bullpen until mid July. He was a starter for most of the remainder of the season.
What happened to Fergie Jenkins during his two seasons in Boston? He didn't put up the stats in Boston like he did when he was with the Cubs and the Rangers. Perhaps a torn achilles tendon he suffered in September 1976 had something to do with it. Jenkins especially struggled after the All Star Break - he pitched fewer than six innings in four of his last nine starts and didn't pitch after September 7.
Aug 4 - Earned his first victory in six weeks in a complete game 3-1 win over the Oakland A's. Jenkins was quoted as saying, "I've been struggling. I've had other things on my mind.
This was Ken Boswell's last season in the majors. Boswell was mostly a left-handed pinch hitter (14 for 53, .264) and an occasional replacement for Art Howe at second base during the 1977 season. Ken played out his option in 1977 but wasn't selected in the free agent draft.
A good season by the Texas Rangers was overshadowed by a lot of managerial drama. The team went through four managers in eight days after Frank Lucchesi was fired in June. Eddie Stanky was hired, but quit after one game because he missed his home in Alabama. Third base coach Connie Ryan then managed the team on an interim basis until Billy Hunter was hired to manage the club on June 27. The Rangers were 33-35 at the time of Hunter's hiring, but played much better after that.
March 28 - Lenny Randle punched manager Frank Lucchesi before a spring training game. Randle was upset because rookie Bump Wills was going to be the starting second baseman instead of him. Lucchesi was quoted as saying that he wouldn't let a "punk" who was making $80,000 a year make demands. Three days before (March 25), Randle was going to walk out of camp but was talked out of it by Bert Blyleven, Mike Hargrove, and Gaylord Perry. Randle was suspended after the incident and later traded to the New York Mets.
Frank Lucchesi managed at the major and minor league levels for a total of 30 years. He started as an 18-year-old minor league outfielder in 1945. After spending one year in AA, Frank never again rose above Class B level.
Lucchesi became a player-manager at the age of 24 in 1951. He continued to play and manage for various Class C and D teams through the 1957 season.
Frank came to the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1956. He managed in the organization and slowly worked his way up the ladder from 1956-1969.
The Phillies were still a building ballclub during Frank's tenure. Lucchesi managed the team through the 1970 and 1971 seasons and for part of the 1972 season. Frank was relieved of his managerial duties on July 10, 1972. Lucchesi continued with the organization for the rest of the season as a special assignments man.
Lucchesi managed Cleveland's AAA team (Oklahoma City) in 1973.
Frank was hired to replace Billy Martin as manager of the Rangers on July 22, 1975. Lucchesi was only guaranteed to manage the team for the rest of the year, but he was later given an extension.
After the Randle incident in 1977, Frank had to recuperate for a time before taking over the ballclub. The Rangers didn't play as well as they should have, and Frank was let go in June. In September 1977 Lucchesi filed a civil suit against Randle.
Frank was the "eye in the sky" coach for the Chicago Cubs in 1987 when on September 9 he was tapped as the interim manager after Gene Michael resigned.
Lucchesi managed AAA Nashville in the Cincinnati Reds organization in 1988 and in 1989.
Record: 94-68, .580 , 2nd in AL West (8 games behind Kansas City)
Attendance: 1,250,722 (9th in AL)
Team Batting: .270 (6th in AL)
Team HR: 135 (7th in AL)
Team Stolen Bases: 154 (4th in AL)
Team ERA: 3.56 (2nd in AL)
Team Fielding: .982 (2nd in AL)
All Stars: Bert Campaneris (SS)
Awards: Jim Sundberg (Gold Glove catcher); Juan Beniquez (Gold Glove OF)
AL Leaders: Toby Harrah (Bases on Balls, 109); Bert Campaneris (Sacrifice Hits, 40; Caught Stealing, 20)
Batting Leader: Mike Hargrove (.305)
Home Run Leader: Toby Harrah (27)
RBI Leader: Toby Harrah (87)
Stolen Base Leader: Bump Wills (28)
Victories Leader: Doyle Alexander (17)
Losses Leader: Bert Blyleven, Gaylord Perry (12)
Strikeout Leader: Bert Blyleven (182)
Saves Leader: Adrian Devine (15)
ERA Leader (starters): Bert Blyleven (2.72)
ERA Leader (relievers): Darold Knowles (3.22)
Players who could have had Rangers cards in 1977 (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) :
Roger Moret (pictured with Atlanta Braves) - 3-3, 4 saves, 3.73 ERA in 18 games (8 starts)
Darold Knowles (pictured with Chicago Cubs) - 5-2, 4 saves, 3.22 ERA in 42 games
Paul Lindblad (pictured with Oakland A's) - 4-5, 4 saves, 4.20 ERA in 42 games (1 start)
Adrian Devine (pictured with Atlanta Braves) - 11-6, 15 saves, 3.58 ERA in 56 games (2 starts)
Dock Ellis (pictured with New York Yankees) - 10-6, 1 save, 2.90 ERA in 23 games (22 starts)
Ken Henderson (OF-Pictured with Atlanta Braves) - .258, 5 HR, 23 RBI in 75 games
Dave May (RF-no card) - .241, 7 HR, 42 RBI in 120 games
Willie Horton (DH-pictured with Detroit Tigers) - .289, 15 HR, 75 RBI in 139 games
Claudell Washington (LF-pictured with Oakland A's) - .284, 12 HR, 68 RBI in 129 games
Dave Rader came over from the Giants after the 1976 season. The trade was early enough for Topps to get an airbrush job done on Dave's picture.
Rader backed up Ted Simmons behind the plate in 1977. Dave started only 23 games at catcher. Simmons had a streak of seven straight seasons (1972-1978) of 150 or more games.
Joe Torre wasn't doing a lot with the Mets in 1977. When manager Joe Frazier was fired on May 31, Torre was tapped to be the player-manager for the Mets. Joe made two pinch hitting appearances in June and played in his final game on June 17.
Doug Rau had another solid year in 1977. The Dodgers had a great rotation that season --Rau was only 4th on the team with 14 wins. Doug started the season 11-1 before tailing off because of a sore shoulder in August and September.
July 29 - Allowed four hits in six innings to get his record to 12-2. The Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos 4-1. The game was called in the 7th inning because of rain.
This was Rusty Staub's first season as a full-time designated hitter. Staub had a good year for the Tigers -- he led the team in doubles and was second in home runs and RBI.
Man I loved it when one of these "All-Stars" showed up in a pack!
May 14 - With the score tied 1-1 in the 8th inning Staub doubled in a run and then scored. His run proved to be the winning run as the Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2.
July 11 - Went 3 for 5 with a home run, a double, and four RBI to help the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-7.
