- Chris Arnold spent the entire 1977 season with the AAA Phoenix Giants. After the season Arnold went to Japan and played there from 1978-1980.
- According to his wikipedia entry, Chris now runs Professional Sports International out of his home in Denver.
- Topps was really stretching things for the writeup on the back of this card.
- 1977 Stats:
- Phoenix Giants - .302, 8 HR, 90 RBI, 111 runs scored in 139 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- June 15 - Hit a 3-run homer to help the Phoenix Giants to an 11-7 win over the San Jose Missions.
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, Cardboard Gods
- Buddy Bell had his 1977 season ended on September 4 due to stretched ligaments in his knee. During this time in his career Bell was an average fielder at 3B but he improved his defense enough to win six straight Gold Gloves from 1979-1984.
- 1977 Stats: .292, 11 HR, 64 RBI in 129 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1976 Hostess, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1985, 1986, 1988
- Mike Cosgrove didn't pitch in the majors in 1977. Mike was released at the end of spring training. He spent the season with three different minor league teams.
- After the 1977 season Cosgrove was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 draft. He was then sent to the Toronto Blue Jays sometime before the 1978 season in an unknown transaction. Cosgrove was then dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals on March 23 for Mickey Scott. Either he was injured or he didn't make the team.
- 1977 Stats:
- Charleston Charlies (AAA) - 1-3, 6.62 ERA in 15 games (3 starts)
- Columbus Astros (AA) - 0-1, 12.00 ERA in 2 starts
- Cocoa Astros (A) - 3-5, 3.60 ERA in 9 starts
- Other card blogs: Cardboard Gods, 1976, 1975
- Dave Moates had already played in his last major league game when this card was made. Moates started the season with AAA Tucson and hit .349 in 17 games. Dave was sold to the New York Yankees on May 23. The Yankees sent Moates to AAA Syracuse. Dave hit well there, but he was never called up to the majors. Moates retired after the 1977 season.
- After his playing career Dave coached at State College of Florida (SCF), where he had played before transferring to Florida State University. Moates also started the baseball program at Lakewood High School and won a state championship in 2003. Moates was recently inducted into the SCF Hall of Fame and helps as an assistant coach there.
- 1977 Stats:
- Tucson Toros (AAA) - .349 (22 for 63) in 17 games
- Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) - .301, 3 HR, 35 RBI in 114 games
- Other card blogs: 1976
- At the beginning of the 1977 season Rick Baldwin was in AAA Tidewater. He was the last player cut by the Mets in spring training. Baldwin put up some good numbers as a reliever in AAA, so the Mets brought him up in May. Rick didn't have as much success with the Mets.
- After the 1977 season Baldwin was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. He spent the 1978 season in AAA and retired after the season. Rick is now involved in a baseball ministry and is an Elementary Chapel Instructor at Modesto Christian School.
- It's funny how we often watch things on tiny screens today, kind of like the one shown on this cartoon.
- 1977 Stats:
- New York Mets: 1-2, 1 save, 4.45 ERA in 40 games
- Tidewater Tides (AAA): 4-1, 3 saves, 2.75 ERA in 12 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- June 21 - Pitched a scoreless top of the 11th inning, striking out two batters. The Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the 11th to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2. Baldwin got credit for the win, which was the last of his major league career.
- Other card blogs: 1976
- Steve Renko started the 1977 season with the Chicago Cubs. Renko underwent surgery to remove a growth on his thyroid gland and missed almost two months (late April to late June).
- On August 18 Renko was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Larry Andersen. The White Sox were in need of pitching help. Steve did his part by going 5-0 in 8 starts for the White Sox.
- 1977 Stats:
- Chicago Cubs: 2-2, 4.56 ERA in 13 games (8 starts)
- Chicago White Sox: 5-0, 3.54 ERA in 8 starts
- Total: 7-2, 4.04 ERA in 21 games (16 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983
- This was the first of four all-star seasons for Rick Burleson. Rick led the AL with 721 plate appearances and 663 at bats. He wasn't the kind of card that you would want in a Strat-O-Matic draft league, but he was an important part of the Boston Red Sox.
- It's funny how his 1975, 1976, and 1977 poses are so similar.
- Rick Burleson's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats: .293, 3 HR, 52 RBI in 154 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986
- Ed Goodson was mainly used as a pinch hitter in 1977. He didn't get much of a chance to play in the field with Steve Garvey at first base and Ron Cey at third base.
- Goodson was cut by the Dodgers during spring training in 1978. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in mid-May and played in AAA (.327 in 33 games), but he suffered a career-ending beaning.
- Has he signed for GCRL yet?
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: .167 (11 for 66) in 61 games
- NL Championship Series: .000 (0 for 1) in 1 game
- World Series: .000 (0 for 1) in 1 game
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- In February 1977 Paul Lindblad was sold to the Texas Rangers for $400,000. It was a controversial deal at the time since Commissioner Bowie Kuhn wanted to be consulted before any cash deals were made (especially if the A's were involved). The sale was eventually approved a few weeks later.
- The Rangers used Lindblad mostly as a setup man
- Paul passed away on January 1, 2006 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
- 1977 Stats: 4-5, 4 saves, 4.20 ERA in 42 games (1 start)
- 1977 Highlights:
- June 7 - Pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball and got the win as the Rangers beat the New York Yankees 7-3.
- Aug 14 - Allowed one run in six innings pitched in relief of Nelson Briles as the Rangers came back from being down 6-0 to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9.
- Other card blogs: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976 Kellogg's, 1979
- This was Ed Kirkpatrick's final major league season. Ed moved around a lot in 1977. On June 15 Kirkpatrick was traded to the Texas Rangers for Jim Fregosi. Then on August 20 Ed was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later (who turned out to be Gorman Thomas). Luckily for the Brewers they were able to get Thomas back later.
- Kirkpatrick was released during spring training in 1978. Ed spent half of the season in the Mexican league and then batted .325 for AAA Salt Lake City in the last half of the season.
- Ed Kirkpatrick passed away on November 15, 2010 after battling throat cancer.
- 1977 Stats:
- Pittsburgh Pirates - .143 (4 for 28) in 21 games
- Texas Rangers - .188 (9 for 48) in 20 games
- Milwaukee Brewers - .273 (21 for 77) in 29 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, Cardboard Gods
- Pedro Borbon had a solid year as a Reds' reliever, which was a rare thing for the struggling pitching staff. Pedro was a middle reliever at the beginning of the season and was used as the Reds' closer in June and again from early August through the end of the season.
- Borbon died of cancer on June 4, 2012.
- 1977 Stats: 10-5, 18 saves, 3.19 ERA in 73 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980
- George Brett enjoyed another good season in 1977. He didn't lead the league in any offensive categories, but he was a big part of Kansas City's success.
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: .312, 22 HR, 88 RBI, 105 runs in 139 games
- AL Championship Series: .300 (6 for 20) in 5 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- May 5 - Hit two doubles off of his brother Ken. The second double knocked in the eventual winning run as the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 6-5.
- July 6 - Was hospitalized for four days for treatment of an infected left elbow. Brett got out of the hospital on July 6 and hit a pinch RBI single in the 9th inning to lead the Royals to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Oct 9 - Got into a scuffle with Yankee 3B Graig Nettles. Brett hit a triple and they got tangled up as Brett was going into third base.
- Other card blogs: 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1993
- Don Carrithers was purchased by the Minnesota Twins on April 6, 1977. Don was involved in a car accident on April 25, breaking his leg and fracturing his wrist. After pitching in two games in April, Don didn't pitch again until late July. Carrithers only pitched in seven games in 1977.
- Carrithers was released during spring training in 1978. He pitched two seasons for the AAA Phoenix Giants and retired after the 1979 season.
- 1977 Stats: 0-1, 6.91 ERA in 7 games
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Bob Randall was drafted by the LA Dodgers in 1969. Randall played in the Dodgers system from 1969-1975 without being called up to the majors. He batted .338 for AAA Albuquerque in 1974, but he wasn't going to beat out Davey Lopes at second base.
- After the 1975 season Bob was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Danny Walton.
- Randall won the starting second base job in the 1976 season when the Twins moved Rod Carew to first base. Bob batted .267 in 153 games, but he had very little power (.328 slugging percentage).
- In 1977 Bob split time at second base with Rob Wilfong and a few other players. Randall batted .239 in 103 games.
- Randall was the starting second baseman for about 2/3 of the time in 1978 and had his best offensive season, batting .270 in 119 games.
- Bob was a utility man in 1979. Randall batted .246 in 80 games.
- Randall was cut at the end of spring training in 1980. He was a player-coach for AAA Toledo for most of the season (.219 in 52 games). The Twins needed some help in the infield and called up Randall for a couple of weeks in May. Bob batted .200 (3 for 15) in five games for the Twins in 1980.
- Bob was the coach at Iowa State University from 1985 to 1995 and at the University of Kansas from 1996 to 2002. Randall is now the assistant baseball coach and professor of economics at Manhattan Christian College.
- 1977 Stats: .239, 0 HR, 22 RBI in 103 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1979, 1980
- Jerry Augustine has spent most of his life in Wisconsin. He was born in Green Bay and grew up in nearby Kewannee. Augustine was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1974. He was in the minors in 1974 and in 1975. Jerry had a September call-up in 1975 and was 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA in 5 games.
- Augustine made the Milwaukee ballclub in 1976. Jerry was a reliever for the first two months of the season and he became a starter in mid-June. Augustine had his best year in 1976 (9-12, 3.30 ERA in 39 games/24 starts).
- Jerry was a full-time starter in 1977. He went 12-18 with a 4.48 ERA in 33 starts. Augustine was mostly a starter again in 1978 (13-12, 4.54 ERA in 35 games/30 starts).
- The Brewers moved Augustine to the bullpen in 1979. Jerry would be a reliever and spot starter for the Brewers through the 1984 season. Augustine was 9-6 with 5 saves and had a 3.47 ERA in 43 games (2 starts) in 1979.
- Jerry was often used as a situational lefty out of the bullpen in the last few years of his career.
- 1980: 4-3, 2 saves, 4.52 ERA in 39 games (1 start)
- 1981: 2-2, 2 saves, 4.26 ERA in 27 games (1 start)
- 1982: 1-3, 5.08 ERA in 20 games (2 starts)
- 1983: 3-3, 2 saves. 5.74 ERA in 34 games (7 starts)
- Augustine started the 1984 season with the Brewers (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 4 games) but was sent to AAA in mid-April. Jerry pitched in the minors through the 1986 season for several organizations but he never got back to the majors.
- After his playing career Jerry became an insurance agent in Wicsonsin. He became the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1995 and coached there until 2007. Here is a "where are they now" article from 2002.
- Augustine is now an analyst for the Brewers on Fox Sports Wisconsin. Here is his twitter page.
- 1977 Stats: 12-18, 4.48 ERA in 33 starts
- 1977 Highlights:
- April 9 - Allowed four hits and one run in 8 innings and got the victory as the Brewers beat the New York Yankees 4-2.
- April 26 - Had a confrontation with former teammate George Scott in the 7th inning of a game with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox beat the Brewers 3-1.
- Sept 1 - Pitched 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball and earned the win as the Brewers shut out the Detroit Tigers 1-0. Attendance was only 3,985.
- Other card blogs: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983
- Dick Ruthven had injury problems for the Braves -- he missed two months with torn ligaments. Dick was 3-3 before going on the disabled list from early May to early July. Ruthven made two relief appearances before going back in the starting rotation. He went 0-5 in his next six starts and then was basically a .500 pitcher for the rest of the year.
- 1977 Stats: 7-13, 4.23 ERA in 25 games (23 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- April 10 - Shut out the Houston Astros 6-0 in his first start of the year. A benches-clearing incident occurred in the 6th inning after Ruthven hit Cliff Johnson with a pitch. Johnson tackled Ruthven, but order was quickly restored. The benches cleared again in the 7th inning when Houston's Gene Pentz brushed back Gary Matthews twice.
- Sept 5 - Pitched his second shutout of the year, beating the San Francisco Giants 4-0. Dick also got into a fight with Giants shortstop Tim Foli. Foli was thrown out of the game, but Ruthven remained in the game.
- Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986
- Aurelio Rodriguez had injury problems in 1977. He missed the entire month of May with an ankle injury. When Rodriguez returned in early June he split time with Phil Mankowski, who was hitting well in Aurelio's absence. Aurelio got the bulk of the starts at third base in August and September.
- 1977 Stats: .219, 10 HR, 32 RBI in 96 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983
- Joe Ferguson was the starting catcher for the Houston Astros in 1977. After the 1976 season the St. Louis Cardinals traded Ferguson to the Astros for Larry Dierker. Joe was probably glad for the trade since he wasn't getting much playing time with the Cardinals, who had Ted Simmons behind the plate.
- Ferguson was a league-average fielder and had a slightly higher caught stealing percentage than average in 1977. He had a good on base percentage and his 16 home runs were third on the team behind Bob Watson and Jose Cruz.
- 1977 Stats: .275, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 85 walks in 132 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983
- Ross Grimsley was playing out his option in 1977. Although he started 34 games and pitched 218 innings, Ross struck out only 53 batters. After the season Grimsley signed a six-year contract with the Montreal Expos.
- Grimsley is now the pitching coach for the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels.
- An interview with Ross during spring training in 2012
- 1977 Stats: 14-10, 3.96 ERA in 34 starts
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, Cardboard Gods, Number 5 Collection
- As this card indicates, Darrell Evans was slated to be the Giants' starting first baseman for 1977. The comeback of Willie McCovey caused Evans to be moved to left field. Darrell also saw some time at third base when Bill Madlock had some minor injuries.
- 1977 Stats: .254, 17 HR, 72 RBI, in 144 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, A Giant Blog
- Bobby Bonds had a big year for the California Angels in 1977. His batting average was down a bit, but he had good power numbers and was a productive bat in the Angels' attack.
- After the 1977 season Bonds was traded to the Chicago White Sox. Bonds would play for a different team in each of his final four seasons from 1978 to 1981.
- 1977 Stats: .264, 37 HR, 114 RBI, 41 stolen bases in 158 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980
- Jim Lonborg was getting close to the end of his career in 1977, but in spots he was still effective. Jim didn't pitch until May 28 due to a sore shoulder but he went 10-2 in the second half of the season.
- Lonborg had a tough time at the end of the season - he worked quickly to finish a game on September 2 (a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds) in order to be able to see his daughter Nora be born. He didn't have the time to ice his arm properly after the game. Jim was shelled in his next two starts and won only one more game in September. He then allowed five runs in four innings while taking the loss in game 2 of the NL Championship Series.
- Jim Lonborg's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: 11-4, 4.11 ERA in 25 starts
- NL Championship Series: 0-1, 11.25 ERA in 1 start
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979
- Carlos May didn't get used very much by the Yankees in 1977. On September 15 the Yankees placed May on waivers. The California Angels claimed May and he finished the season (and as it turned out his major league career) with the club. The Yankees paid for the move in October -- they ended up playing the AL Championship Series with only 24 players since they waived May so late in the season.
- After the 1977 season Carlos became a free agent and was not signed by a major league club. He went to Japan and played there from 1978-1981.
- 1977 Stats:
- New York Yankees - .227, 2 HR, 16 RBI in 65 games
- California Angels - .333 (6 for 18) in 11 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- Enos Cabell started 144 games at 3B in 1977. He was a below average fielder, but he had his best offensive season. Enos was one of three Astros to steal over 40 bases and led the Astros with 101 runs scored.
- 1977 Stats: .282, 16 HR, 68 RBI, 42 stolen bases, 101 runs in 150 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, Cardboard Gods
