Fred Lynn struggled in 1977 and had his worst season until the 1981 strike season. Fred injured his left ankle during spring training and didn't play in his first game until May 13.
Lynn was still an AL All Star - he was 0 for 1 with a walk and a run scored.
It would have been better if Topps had put unnumbered checklists (both team and series) in each pack. It would have allowed for another special subset or for additional players to have cards.
Hall of Famers in this series: Mike Schmidt, Bruce Sutter, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry. George Brett and Nolan Ryan also appeared in Record Breaker cards.
A pretty solid All star team can be made from this series:
Starting Rotation: Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry, Frank Tanana, Vida Blue, Luis Tiant or J.R. Richard
Long Relief/Spot Starter: Fred Norman
Bullpen: Bruce Sutter, Tug McGraw, Ron Reed, Mark Littell
Catcher: Thurman Munson, Butch Wynegar
First Base: Chris Chambliss, George Scott
Second Base: Bill Madlock, Dave Lopes
Shortstop: Garry Templeton, Mark Belanger
Third Base: Mike Schmidt, Rich Hebner or Doug DeCinces
Outfield: Fred Lynn, Dusty Baker, Joe Rudi, Gary Matthews, Ron LeFlore
There wasn't much left in the tank for Boog Powell when this card was made. Powell was released by the Cleveland Indians during spring training in 1977. Boog signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Dodgers didn't really have a place for him to play (1B Steve Garvey wasn't going to be sitting down much). Powell was released on August 31 to make room for Jerry Grote and that was it for his career.
1977 Stats: .244 (10 for 41), 0 HR, 10 RBI in 50 games
1977 Highlights:
April 22 - Singled in two runs in the 6th inning to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. The Dodgers eventually lost the game to the Atlanta Braves 6-5.
Pete Falcone had a rough year in 1977. Falcone was a starter until late July, then he was sent to the minors for five weeks.. When Pete came back in September, he was used as a reliever for the rest of the season.
1977 Stats:
Cardinals: 4-8, 5.44 ERA, 1 save in 27 games (22 starts)
New Orleans Pelicans (AAA): 2-5, 4.91 ERA in 7 starts
1977 Highlights:
May 6 - Pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on two hits. The Cardinals won the game 4-1 and Pete earned the victory with relief help from Al Hrabosky.
June 27 - Won his first game in a month during a time when his place in the St. Louis rotation was in question. Falcone allowed one run in seven innings as the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1.
Jeff Newman was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1970. He played in the minors from 1970-1974 in the Cleveland organization. Jeff then played in the California Angels organization in 1974 and 1975. Newman also spent some time in the Phillies organization in 1975.
Jeff was playing for the AAA Tucson Toros in 1976 when his contract was purchased by the Oakland A's in late June.
Newman played sparingly in 1976 and batted .195 in 43 games.
In 1977 Jeff backed up Manny Sanguillen behind the plate. He batted .222 in 94 games.
For most of the 1978 season Newman and Jim Essian split time at catcher. Jeff batted .239 with 9 HR and 34 RBI in 105 games.
Newman was the starting catcher for the A's in 1979. He made the AL All Star team, but didn't play. Newman led the A's in home runs in 1979. Jeff batted .231 with 22 HR and 71 RBI in 143 games.
In 1980 Essian regained his starting catching job. Newman was used in several positions during the season. Jeff batted .233 with 15 HR and 56 RBI in 127 games.
For the next two seasons Newman was a backup catcher. In 1981 Jeff batted .231 in 68 games and in 1982 he batted .199 in 72 games. After the 1982 season Newman was traded (with Tony Armas) to the Boston Red Sox for Carney Lansford, Garry Hancock, and a minor leaguer.
Jeff spent two seasons as the backup catcher for the Red Sox. In 1983 Newman batted .189 in 59 games and in 1984 he batted .222 in 24 games.
Sept 14 - Pitched one inning in the second game of a doubleheader. Jeff hit a batter, but didn't allow any runs. The A's lost the game 6-0 to the Royals.
