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Showing posts with label Russ Gibson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russ Gibson. Show all posts

Sunday, August 15, 2010

1971 Topps Giants - Part 1

#563 Team Card
  • After several years of disappointment and second-place finishes the Giants finally won a NL West title in 1971. They were in first place for much of the season but didn't clinch the division until the final day of the season. The Giants lost in the National League Championship series to the Pittsburgh Pirates three games to one.
  • Team Record: 92-70 (1st in NL West, 1 game ahead of Los Angeles)
  • Attendance: 1,106,043 (10th in National League)
  • Team Batting: .247 (8th in NL)
  • Team Home Runs: 140 (3rd in NL)
  • Team Stolen Bases: 101 (2nd in NL)
  • Team ERA: 3.32 (6th in NL)
  • Team Fielding: .972 (12th in NL)
  • League Leaders: Willie Mays (On Base Percentage - .425; Walks - 112)
  • NL All Stars: Willie McCovey (starting 1B); Willie Mays (starting CF); Bobby Bonds (OF); Juan Marichal (P)
  • Gold Gloves: Bobby Bonds (OF)
  • Batting Leader: Bobby Bonds (.288)
  • Home Run Leader: Bobby Bonds (33)
  • RBI Leader: Bobby Bonds (102)
  • Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds (26)
  • Victories Leader: Juan Marichal (18)
  • Losses Leader: Gaylord Perry (12)
  • Strikeouts Leader Juan Marichal (159)
  • ERA Leader (starters): Gaylord Perry (2.76)
  • ERA Leader (relievers): John Cumberland (2.92)
  • Saves Leader: Jerry Johnson (18)


#517 Charlie Fox
  • Charlie Fox was in his first full season as the manager of the Giants. Fox took over the managerial duties in May 1970 and remained as the Giants' manager until the middle of the 1974 season.
  • Charlie's record as Giants' manager was 348-327 (.516)
  • As a player Fox made his major league debut on September 24, 1942 at the age of 20 and played in his last game on September 26, 1942. Charlie's major league career consisted of three games with the New York Giants. He went 3 for 7 (.429) in those three games. Charlie left after the 1942 season to serve in World War II. He came back to baseball after the war and was a player/manager in the minors from 1946-1956.


#545 Dick Dietz
  • Dick Dietz didn't give the backups much of a chance to play. Dietz played in 142 games and batted .252 with 19 HR and 72 RBI. Dick went 1 for 15 (.067) in the NLCS.
  • Dick went 4 for 5 with two RBI and one run scored on July 8 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.


#738 Russ Gibson

  • I think this picture was taken at Phoenix Municipal Stadium (I would know for sure if the background were a bit more toward right field -- there was a big scoreboard there). I remember a big green wall behind the center field fence. Sometime in the late 70s (I forget which year) I saw Willie McCovey hit a ball over that wall.
  • Russ Gibson batted .193 in 25 games. He wasn't used in the postseason.
Other players who caught for the Giants who didn't receive 1971 Topps Giants cards:
  • Fran Healy (.280 in 93 AB)
  • Dave Rader (.000 in 4 AB)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

1972 Topps Giants - part 1



#129 Charlie Fox
  • The 1972 Giants took a hard fall from their 1971 NL West-winning season. Willie McCovey was injured and missed about half of the season. Willie Mays was traded to the New York Mets early in the season, and Juan Marichal went 6-16. Gaylord Perry was traded to the Cleveland Indians before the season, further weakening their pitching staff.
  • Charlie Fox was in his second full season managing the Giants in 1972. He took over in May of 1970 and continued to manage the club until the middle of the 1974 season. The Giants finished 3rd in the NL West in 1970, 1st in 1971, 5th in 1972, 3rd in 1973, and were 5th in 1974 when Charlie was relieved of his duties. Fox had a 348-327 (.516) record as the Giants' manager. Fox managed the tail end of the season for the Montreal Expos (34 games) in 1976 and the last part of the season for the Chicago Cubs (39 games) in 1983.
  • Team Record: 69-86 (5th in NL West, 26 1/2 games  behind Cincinnati)
  • Attendance: 647,744 (11th in NL)
  • Team Batting .244 (9th in NL)
  • Team HR: 150 (1st in NL)
  • Team Stolen Bases: 123 (2nd in NL)
  • Team ERA: 3.69 (9th in NL)
  • Team Fielding: .974 (tied for last in NL)
  • NL All Stars: Chris Speier (SS)
  • Batting Leader: Chris Speier - .269
  • HR Leader: Dave Kingman - 29
  • RBI Leader: Dave Kingman - 83
  • Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds - 44
  • Wins Leader: Ron Bryant - 14
  • ERA Leader (starters): Ron Bryant - 2.90
  • ERA Leader (relievers): Randy Moffitt - 3.69
  • Saves Leader: Jerry Johnson - 8


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#295 Dick Dietz
  • Dick Dietz didn't play for the Giants in 1972. Dietz was placed on waivers  and selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14, 1972. One source says that Dietz fell out of favor with the Giants due to his role as player representative in the 1972 strike and another source says that Dietz was lost to the Dodgers due to a clerical error. Ironically, during the celebration after the Giants clinched the NL West in a tight race against the Dodgers Dick grabbed a microphone and yelled, "To Hell with the Dodgers!" 
  • Dick had played in 148 games in 1970 and in 142 games in 1971.


#643 Russ Gibson
  • Russ Gibson batted .167 in five games. Gibson played in four April/May games and played in his final game on September 6 (my 6th birthday). He played in 31 games for AAA Phoenix in 1972. Gibson retired after the season.


#663 Fran Healy
  • Fran Healy batted .152 in 45 games as a pinch hitter and backup catcher.


#232 Dave Rader

  • Dave Rader took over the regular catching duties in 1972. He batted .259 with 6 HR and 41 RBI in 133 games.