- It's interesting how Mr. Lopes signs his name "Davey" and yet Topps always put "Dave Lopes" on his cards.
- Davey Lopes had some pretty solid years in the mid to late 1970s. He was overshadowed by Joe Morgan, but once Morgan started to slow down Davey started getting All-Star nods.
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: .283, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 47 stolen bases
- NL Championship Series: .235 (4 for 17) in four games
- World Series: .167 (4 for 24) in six games
- 1977 Highlights:
- July 24 - Hit a game-winning 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Dodgers beat the New York Mets 5-3.
- Sept 16 - Singled in the game-winning run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Dodgers won the game 3-2 and their magic number for clinching the NL West was reduced to 3.
- Oct 7 - Hit an infield single that scored Manny Mota with the tying run in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series. Lopes later scored the winning run on a single by Bill Russell. The hit was disputed by the Phillies, but the call stood.
- Other card blogs: 1988, 1986, 1985, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1979, 1976, 1976, 1976, 1976 Hostess, 1975, 1974, 1973
- Paul Hartzell was a big guy (6'5", 200 lbs). He was drafted by the California Angels in 1975. He spent one season (1975) in the minors. As the back of the card says, Paul surprisingly made the Angels club in 1976 and pitched well. He went 7-4 with a 2.77 ERA and had two saves in 37 appearances (15 starts).
- In 1977 Paul made 23 starts out of his 41 appearances. He went back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen until mid July. Hartzell was exclusively a starter for the rest of the year. Paul had a record of 8-12 with four saves and had a 3.57 ERA.
- Hartzell was more of a reliever and spot starter in 1978. In 28 appearances (5 starts) Paul was 6-10 with six saves and had a 3.44 ERA.
- In February 1979 Paul was traded to the Minnesota Twins (with Ken Landreaux, Brad Havens, and Dave Engle) for Rod Carew. Hartzell spent only one season with the Twins. In 1979 he was 6-10 with a 5.36 ERA in 26 starts.
- Hartzell was released at the end of spring training in 1980. Paul was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and started the season in AAA Rochester. Hartzell was called up in early May and made six appearances for the Orioles. He went 0-2 with a 6.62 ERA and was sent back to the minors in mid-June. It was alleged that Hartzell was sent down in part because manager Earl Weaver thought Paul threw at opposing batters too much. Paul pitched well for Rochester, but he was waived after the 1980 season.
- Paul was signed to a minor league contract by the Milwaukee Brewers, but he had arm problems and struggled in 1981. Hartzell was released on July 8.
- In 1984 Hartzell tried a comeback with the Brewers. Paul pitched in the minors for most of the season and was called up at the end of the season. Hartzell made four appearances (one start) and went 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA. Paul was released after the 1984 season and that was it for his career.
- Here is a recent interview with Paul Hartzell.
- 1977 Stats: 8-12, 4 saves, 3.57 ERA in 41 games (23 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1979, 1980
- Bombo Rivera was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1970 and started playing professional baseball when he was still 17 years old.
- Rivera spent several years in the minors and finally made the Montreal ballclub in 1975. Bombo played in five April games and batted .111 (1 for 9) before being sent back to the minors for the rest of the season.
- Bombo made the Expos as a backup outfielder in 1976 and this time he stayed with the team for the entire season. Rivera batted .276 in 68 games.
- Rivera played in AAA for the entire 1977 season. By this time the Expos had a surplus of young oufielders so after the season Rivera was purchased by the Minnesota Twins.
- Bombo stayed with the Twins as a backup outfielder for the next three seasons. In 1978 he batted .271 in 101 games and also had a .362 on base percentage. Rivera batted .281 in 112 games in 1979 and .221 in 44 games in 1980. In April 1980 Bombo suffered a fractured kneecap that ruined his season.
- Rivera didn't make the Twins ballclub in 1981 and he was released during spring training. Bombo signed with the Kansas City Royals and spent the entire 1981 season in AAA Omaha.
- Bombo was in Omaha again for the 1982 season. He was called up to Kansas City in September and batted .100 (1 for 10) in five games. This was the last major league action Rivera would have.
- Rivera was cut loose by the Royals at the end of spring training in 1983. He played in the minors for the Royals organization and the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
- From 1984-1988 Bombo played in the Mexican League.
- Bombo Rivera's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats: .302, 14 triples, 18 HR, 95 RBI in 124 games for AAA Denver
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1979, 1980
- Butch Wynegar was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1974. He played in the minors in 1974 and in 1975.
- Wynegar made the jump all the way from single-A ball to the majors in 1976. Butch enjoyed an excellent season. He finished second to Mark Fidrych in Rookie of the Year voting, made the AL All Star team (he walked in his only at bat), and batted .260 with 10 HR and 69 RBI. Wynegar did all of this at the age of 20.
- Butch Wynegar: The Twins' Budding Star - November 1976 Baseball Digest
- Butch had another good year in 1977. He batted .261 with 10 HR and 79 RBI and made the AL All Star team again (he went 1 for 2 with a run scored).
- How the Tigers Missed Out in Drafting Butch Wynegar - November 1977 Baseball Digest
- Wynegar had a drop-off in offense in 1978. He batted .229 with four HR in 135 games.
- Butch bounced back in 1979 by batting .270 with 7 HR and 57 RBI.
- In 1980 Wynegar batted .255 with 5 HR and 57 RBI.
- In January 1981 Wynegar signed a big contract with the Twins. The Twins were known more for losing players to free-agency, so this was a pretty big deal.
- Butch got off to a tough start in 1981. He was batting .209 in 24 games when he was traded to the New York Yankees on May 13. The Yankees needed a replacement for the injured Rick Cerone and the Twins were in the process of trading their high-priced veterans. Butch batted .293 in 63 games for the Yankees in '82.
- Wynegar and Cerone split time behind the plate for the Yankees in 1983. Butch batted .296 in 94 games.
- The 1984 season was Wynegar's last one as the main starting catcher. He played in 129 games and batted .267 with 6 HR and 45 RBI.
- Butch played in 102 games in 1985 but his offensive numbers were down (.223, 5 HR, 32 RBI). Wynegar was used more as a defensive replacement for Ron Hassey.
- In 1986 the Yankees used three catchers -- Wynegar, Hassey, and Joel Skinner. Hassey had the better bat while Wynegar and Skinner were better defensively. Butch batted .206 in 61 games for the Yankees in '86.
- After the 1986 season Butch was traded to the California Angels for Ron Romanick and Alan Mills. Butch spent the next two seasons as a backup catcher, batting .207 in 31 games in 1987 and .255 in 27 games in 1988.
- Wynegar struggled with injuries in 1988 and didn't play after May 24. Butch was released after the season and he retired.
- After his playing career Butch coached and managed in the minors for several years.
- Butch Wynegar Enjoyed A Meteoric Rise to the Majors - July 1996 Baseball Digest
- 1977 Stats: .261, 10 HR, 79 RBI in 144 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
- This was Bart Johnson's last major league season. Bart had arm problems that caused him to miss the entire 1975 season. Johnson was pretty good as a spot starter and a long reliever for the White Sox in 1977.
- Bart was released by the White Sox during spring training in 1978. He tried to pitch in the minors in 1978 and in 1979, but Bart never made it back to the majors.
- 1977 Stats: 4-5, 2 saves, 4.01 ERA in 29 games (4 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- May 4 - Relieved ailing starter Steve Stone in the fourth inning and picked up the victory. The White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 as Bart allowed one run in five innings.
- June 22 - Came on in the third inning and pitched 6 1/3 innings of one run baseball to earn the win. The White Sox beat the California Angels 6-2.
- Other card blogs: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
- After having a decent year as a reliever and occasional starter, Nelson Briles was sold to the Baltimore Orioles in mid-September. Briles saved one game for the Orioles and got roughed up in his other appearance.
- 1977 Stats:
- Rangers: 6-4, 2 saves, 4.24 ERA in 28 games (15 starts)
- Orioles: 0-0, 1 save, 6.75 ERA in 2 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- July 15 - Gave up one hit in four innings of relief to earn the save in the Rangers' 8-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.
- Aug 5 - Pitched a six-hit shutout in the second game of a doubleheader, helping a bullpen that was used a lot in the 11-inning first game. The Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 6-0.
- Other card blogs: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979
