1977 Topps Baseball #542 - Frank Duffy

• This was Frank Duffy's final season as a regular player. After the 1977 season Duffy became a free agent and resigned with the Indians. Frank lost his starting shortstop to Larvell Blanks, so he was  traded to the Boston Red Sox during spring training the following season.
• Topps really stretched to do some of these writeups. I had no idea 500 hits was a milestone, especially after a player has been playing for seven seasons.
• 1977 Stats: .201, 4 HR, 31 RBI in 122 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 19 - Tripled in a run, breaking a 2-2 tie, and also scored in the top of the 10th inning. The Indians scored three runs in the top of the 10th but lost the game when the Baltimore Orioles scored four times in the bottom of the 10th. The winning blow for the Orioles was a 3-run homer by pinch hitter Brooks Robinson.
• June 30 - Hit two home runs to help the Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.
• Other card blogs: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979

1977 Topps Baseball #541 - John Denny

• John Denny had a tough year in 1977. He injured his hamstring on May 2 and missed two weeks. Denny had a hot start -- he was 7-0 at the end of May. But John missed five more weeks in June and July with another hamstring injury and struggled after he came back. John's ERA rose by nearly two runs from his league-leading 2.52 of a year ago.
• 1977 Stats: 8-8, 4.51 ERA in 26 starts
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 21 - Singled in two runs and earned the victory in the Cardinals' 8-5 win over the San Francisco Giants.
• May 31 - Won his seventh game without a loss by shutting out the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on five hits.
• June 11 - Hit Reggie Smith in the back with a pitch after allowing seven runs in 1 1/3 innings. Smith charged the mound and punches were exchanged between John and Reggie. Neither Smith or Denny were ejected, but Denny was pulled from the game by St. Louis manager Vern Rapp after the brawl. The Cardinals lost the game to the LA Dodgers 9-8.
• Other card blogs: 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986

1977 Topps Baseball #540 - Bob Watson

• Bob Watson had career highs in home runs (22) and RBI (110) in 1977. 
• 1977 Stats: .289, 22 HR, 110 RBI
• 1977 Highlights:
• June 2 - Had four hits, including a game-tying 3-run homer in the 9th inning, to help the Astros defeat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3.
• July 22 - Went 3 for 5 and hit a 2-run single in the 9th inning to break a 2-2 tie and propel the Astros to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Sept 4 - Hit a grand slam and had an RBI double as the Astros beat the Montreal Expos 7-1.
• Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976 Hostess, 1976 Kellogg's,  1979, 1980, 1983, 1985

1977 Topps Baseball #539 - Mike Wallace

• This was Mike Wallace's last year in the majors. He made the Texas Rangers staff in spring training but was sent down to the minors in early May. Mike pitched in AAA through the 1979 season but never made it back to the majors.
• 1977 Stats: 0-0, 7.56 ERA in 5 games
• Other card blogs: 1974, 1975

1977 Topps Baseball #538 - Frank Taveras

• Gotta love the choking up on the bat. Frank Taveras stole a lot of bases for the Pirates in the mid-late 1970s. Taveras led the NL with 70 stolen bases in 1977.
• 1977 Stats: .252, 70 stolen bases in 147 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 10 - Went 3 for 4 and knocked in a run in Pittsburgh's 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• July 6 - Fined an undisclosed amount for directing a "death wish" at umpire Ed Sudol.
• Aug 5 - Hit his first career home run (a grand slam) in the second inning off of Doug Capilla. The Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-6 in the second game of a doubleheader. Taveras would hit only two home runs in a career that spanned from 1971-1982.
• Aug 10 - Suspended for five games for throwing a bat at Cincinnati pitcher Joe Hoerner in the first game of a doubleheader on August 5. Hoerner had hit Taveras with a pitch in retaliation for an incident earlier in the game. Frank had stolen a base with the Pirates leading 7-1.
• Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980

1977 Topps Baseball #537 - Dave Roberts

• Dave Roberts didn't play for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. Roberts had spent the entire 1976 season with AAA Hawaii to learn how to be a catcher and was purchased from the San Diego Padres in October 1976. The Blue Jays traded Roberts back to the Padres in February 1977 for Jerry Johnson.
• Roberts played four different positions in 1977 -- catcher, 2B, 3B, and shortstop. He spent most of his time behind the plate so that the Padres could play new free agent aquisition Gene Tenace more at first base.
• 1977 Stats: .220, 1 HR, 23 RBI in 82 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• April 23 - Knocked in three runs and scored twice to help the Padres to an 11-8 come from behind win over the Houston Astros. The Padres were down 6-0 after three innings and then scored their 11 runs in the next three innings.
• Sept 14 - Went 3 for 4 in San Diego's 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• Other card blogs: 1973, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983

1977 Topps Baseball #536 - Vic Albury

• Vic Albury had already pitched in his last major league game when this card was printed. Albury spent the 1977 season in AAA. His Baseball Reference page shows him with Syracuse of the New York  Yankees organization, but he was still a member of the Minnesota Twins organization. 
• The Twins let Albury leave as a free agent after the 1977 season. Vic wasn't signed by a major league team and spent the 1978 season pitching in the Mexican League. Albury pitched in AAA in 1979 and retired after the season.
• 1977 Stats:
• Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) - 9-9, 2 saves, 5.13 ERA in 29 games (15 starts)
• Other card blogs: 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976