- How did they get a picture of Eric Soderholm in a White Sox uniform? Is this an airbrush job? He was with the Minnesota Twins until signing with the White Sox after the 1976 season. That means this picture (if it isn't airbrushed) had to have been taken during spring training in 1977. Any thoughts?
- After sitting out the 1976 season with a knee injury, Soderholm had a good year for the White Sox in 1977 and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year .
- 1977 Stats: .280, 25 HR, 67 RBI in 130 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- April 20 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored off of Nolan Ryan as the White Sox beat the California Angels 3-2.
- July 30 - Hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning to lead the White Sox to a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.
- Aug 9 - Homered twice in Chicago's 13-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976 Kellogg's, 1979, 1980
- Lee Lacy spelled Davey Lopes at second base, Ron Cey at third base, and backed up in the outfield in 1977.
- 1977 Stats:
- Regular season: .266 6 HR, 21 RBI in 75 games
- NL Championship Series: 1 for 1, 1 run in 1 game
- World Series: .429 (3 for 7), 1 run in 4 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
- Terry Forster pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1977. After the 1976 season he was traded (with Goose Gossage) to the Pirates for Richie Zisk and Silvio Martinez. After the 1977 season Forster signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in part to get closer to his California home.
- I liked the White Sox uniforms of this era. They changed things up a lot and tried some different things. The shorts weren't a success, but I thought some of the others were unique and pretty cool.
- 1977 Stats: 6-4, 1 save, 4.43 ERA in 33 games (6 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1975, 1976, 1976 Hostess, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986
- Big Dave Parker was starting to get recognition for his ability when this card came out. The kid across the street was from the Pittsburgh area and the Pirates were his "second team" (after the Reds), so we got to know about the Pirates players through him.
- Dave led the NL in batting (.338), hits (215), and doubles (44). Parker started in right field for the NL in the All Star Game and was 1 for 3 with a run scored. Parker won the first of three Gold Glove awards and finished third in MVP voting.
- 1977 Stats: .338, 21 HR, 88 RBI, 107 runs scored
- 1977 Highlights:
- April 22 - Hit a 2-run homer in the 8th inning off of Tom Seaver to help the Pirates to a 4-3 win over the New York Mets. Parker was fooled on the low and outside pitch and hit the homer with one hand.
- May 8 - Doubled home two runs and had a single as the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 and swept a 3-game series. After the game Parker was batting .422.
- May 22 - Hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to help the Pirates give Don Sutton his first loss of the season. The Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 and Sutton's record dropped to 6-1.
- July 12 - Was reported to be disgruntled about his three-year contract for $200,000 that he had signed before the season. Dave acknowledged that he probably signed the contract too early. Parker eventually signed a new contract after the 1978 season after winning the NL MVP award.
- Other card blogs: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976 Kellogg's, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988
- Joe Lis was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964. Lis was in the minors from 1964-1970. He had a good year for AAA Eugene in 1970 (.324, 36 HR, 107 RBI) and was called up to the Phillies in September. Joe batted .189 (7 for 37) in 13 games.
- Lis spent the 1971 season with the Phillies as a backup outfielder. Joe batted .211 with 6 HR and 10 RBI in 59 games.
- Joe started the 1972 season back in Eugene. He tore up Pacific Coast League pitching, batting .338 with 26 HR and 58 RBI in 65 games. Lis was brought back up to the Phillies in late June and batted .243 with 6 HR and 18 RBI in 62 games.
- After the 1972 season Lis was traded (with Ken Reynolds and Ken Sanders) to the Minnesota Twins for Cesar Tovar. Joe was in the majors for the entire 1973 season, often being used as a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew. In 1973 he batted .245 with 9 HR and 25 RBI in 103 games. Joe had some regular playing time in 1973 as the DH when Killebrew had a knee injury.
- In 1974 Lis started the season with the Twins. On April 3 Joe got in a fight with Willie Montanez during a spring training game. Montanez knocked him down with one punch. Lis was featured on a 1971 Topps rookie card with Montanez. After the fight Lis would only sign the card if Montanez was cut off of the card or if someone doodled a mustache on him. He wasn't used very much (.195 in 24 games) and on June 5 Joe was sold to the Cleveland Indians. Lis batted .202 with 6 HR and 16 RBI in 57 games for the Indians in '74.
- Lis played for AAA Oklahoma City for most of the 1975 season (.274, 18 HR, 69 RBI). Joe was called up in September and batted .308 (4 for 13) in 9 games.
- Joe was in AAA again for most of 1976. He batted .306 with 30 HR and 103 RBI for the Toledo Mud Hens and was the International League MVP. Lis was called up in September again and batted .314 (16 for 51) in 20 games.
- After the 1976 season Lis was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft. Joe spent most of the season in AAA. He played in nine games for the Mariners and went 3 for 13 (.231). Lis was sent down on May 10 to make room for Enrique Romo, who was coming off of the disabled list.
- Joe had a quote about trying to catch pop-ups against the grey ceiling background of the Seattle Kingdome: "There's no more saying, 'I got it.' When somebody pops one up it's gonna be 'I think I got it.'"
- Lis spent the 1978 season playing in Japan. He didn't fare well there and came back to the United States after the season. Joe had a solid year in 1979 for Detroit's AAA Evansville club (.292, 16 HR, 80 RBI), but he didn't get called up to the majors. Lis ended up with 236 lifetime minor league home runs.
- After his departure from professional baseball Joe started showing neighborhood kids how to hit using a batting tee in his garage. This humble start eventually grew into the Joe Lis Batting School.
- Joe Lis died of cancer on October 17, 2010.
- Joe's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats:
- Seattle Mariners - .231, 0 HR, 1 RBI in 9 games
- AAA (2 teams) - .267, 11 HR, 38 RBI in 79 games
- 1977 Highlights: not really in 1977
- Other card blogs: 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975
- Rick Sawyer was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1968. Sawyer pitched in the Cleveland system from 1968-1973. He made it up to the AAA level in 1972 but he faltered there. Rick pitched well for AA San Antonio in 1973 (18-5, 2.82 ERA).
- During spring training in 1974 Sawyer was part of a three team trade which sent him to the New York Yankees. Sawyer was assigned to AAA Syracuse but was brought up in late April. Rick made one relief appearance for the Yankees (0-0, 13.50 ERA in 2 innings). The Yankees sent Rick back to Syracuse on May 6.. Saywer was 8-7 with a 2.80 ERA in 24 starts for Syracuse.
- Sawyer was back in Syracuse in 1975. Rick had another good year for the Chiefs, going 13-9 with a 2.47 ERA in 24 starts and making the International League All Star Team. Rick was brought up to the Yankees and made four appearances in August and September (0-0, 3.00 ERA in 6 innings).
- In 1976 Rick was given a shot to make the Yankees ballclub. Rick was one of the last cuts at the end of spring training and started the season in Syracuse. Sawyer pitched well in Syracuse (9-4, 2.75 ERA in 18 starts), but the Yankees didn't have a place for him on their team. On July 31 Rick was sent to the San Diego Padres as the player to be named later in an earlier deal in which the Yanks picked up Gene Locklear. Sawyer spent the rest of the 1976 season with the Padres and showed some promise. Rick went 5-3 with a 2.53 ERA in 13 games (11 starts).
- Sawyer started the 1977 season in the San Diego starting rotation. He made seven starts and was 1-3 with a 6.87 ERA. Rick was in the bullpen (except for two spot starts) for the remainder of the season. He ended up with a 7-6 record and a 5.84 ERA.
- Sawyer was in a list of ten players who were said to be unhappy with manager Alvin Dark and who wished to play elsewhere. The Padres placed Sawyer on waivers on September 29, 1977. He was picked up by the Montreal Expos.
- Rick didn't make the Montreal ballclub and was released during spring training in 1978. He pitched in eight games (four starts) for Cleveland's AAA Portland ballclub, but he retired after going 1-3 with a 6.43 ERA.
- 1977 Stats: 7-6, 5.84 ERA in 56 games (9 starts)
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: none
- Ray Fosse started the 1977 season with the Cleveland Indians. He was a part-time catcher with the team. On September 9 Ray was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Bill Laxton and cash. Fosse finished the season with the Mariners and then signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent.
- Ray Fosse's SABR biography
- 1977 Stats: .276, 6 HR, 32 RBI in 89 games
- Cleveland Indians: .265, 6 HR, 27 RBI in 78 games
- Seattle Mariners: .353, 0 HR, 5 RBI in 11 games
- 1977 Highlights:
- Other card blogs: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1979, 1980
