1977 Toronto Blue Jays

It had been 8 seasons since MLB expanded and the AL granted 1 team to Seattle and another to Toronto.  The Blue Jays chose Roy Hartsfield as their first skipper and away they went to the expansion draft, which was filled with a veritible who's who of has beens, never was'es, misfits and malcontents.  Most expansion teams are destined for the basement due to little or no pitching plus a weak supporting cast.  Finishing dead last with a 54-107 record was par for the course for a team like this.  Topps once again had trouble handling expansion.  Like they did 8 years earlier when the league added 4 teams, Topps dipped heavily into their airbrush.  To their credit they stayed away from the BHNH look, which they used as a preemtive strike for players they suspected would be left unprotected.  Topps also did some neat art work for Toronto's airbrushed cards.  Seattle's cards were a certifiable disaster, which is a story for another day.  Topps would have been ok if it were not for the good folks at O Pee Chee.  The Canadian card company, which licensed Topps' cards and photos decided to head down to spring training and get pictures of a many new Blue Jays as possible.  This gave the fans up in Canada a great set of innaugrual Blue Jay cards and made the folks here in the states feel like we got short changed.  This updated set includes the scarce O Pee Chee cards, which will be duly noted and the updated cards that I created.  36 additional cards were added here.

Torres played in 91 games and hit .241 and never played again in the majors after the curtain came down on the '77 season.  In 9 seasons he managed to hit .216, which means that '77 was a career year for him.  Basically he peaked and then he was done.  For this card I used a 8x10 glossy photo found on auction on ebay.  I've been tracking the auction in hopes of finding out just what type of person would spend their hard earned money on such an item.

Byrd started 17 games and had a 2-13 record with a 6.13 ERA. No one was shocked that after the season he got "farmed out" and never again returned to the majors.  This photo is from his 1978 Topps card.

Garvin was one of Toronto's front line starters.  His 10-18 record and 4.19 ERA was pretty impressive when considering who he had playing behind him.  He would spend 6 total seasons up in Toronto before being sold to St. Louis, then cut. This card was update in April 2017 when reader Jym E. Changa noticed that we used a mis-labled Tom Murphy photo.  The updated photo comes from eBay.

After 9 seasons in the "biggs" Johnson was left unprotected by the Padres.  His best season was in 1971 where he was 12-9, 2.97 for the 1st place NL West SF Giants.  He even garnered 6th place in the Cy Young Award voting even though he didn't start a single game that season, which was a rarity back then.  After that magical season his ERA steadily ballooned as his effectiveness declined.  He pitched in 43 games, all in relief, for the Jays in '77 and had a 2-4 record.  He was cut in spring training the following season, which marked the end of his major league career.  This card was created by cropping his 1978 Topps card photo. 

Clancy was one of those rare guys, who join an expansion team and stick with them as they grow into contention.  All in all he spent 12 seasons up in Toronto and was able to experience the highs (making the playoffs in '85) and the lows (chocking in the final weekend in '87).  Still, he came to Toronto as a 21 year old looking for a break and left in 1988 as a 12 year veteran who had seen it all.  In '77 he would start 13 games and go 4-9 with a 5.05 ERA.  Someone saw something in his right arm, because unlike others who were left by the roadside he was brought back and steadily improved.  This card was created using his 1978 Topps card photo.  I had to airbrush in more seats in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium to cover up the "position ball" that Topps superimposed on all cards in '78.  Some '78 cards were easier to do this with, while other were tougher.

In over 230 AB's Scott hit .240 with only 2 home runs, which is not exactly the statline you'd like to see for a corner outfielder.  The Padres had him up for 2 cups of Joe at the end of the 74 and 75 seasons.  He didn't even see big league action in 76.  After the '77 season he was dealt to the Cardinals along with Vuckovich, but never saw any action in the big leagues.  I used his 1978 Topps card and had to do so neat airbrushing.  If you look closely you'll notice the bat isn't exactly shaped perfectly.  I had to do a gradual airbrush build on it to cover over the position ball on the '78 card.

Wills was "snatched" out of the pitching rich Orioles chain, where he never even got a shot at the big leagues.  Drafted in 1968, he spent 9 seasons toiling in obscurity befor expansion saved his baseball soul.  Used primarily out of the pen in '77 for Toronto Willis aquited himself quite well with a 2-6 record and a 3.94 ERA.  He would pitch 4 more seasons in Toronto before calling it a day.

By the time Fairly arrived in Toronto he was heading into the final years of a solid and sometimes spectacular career.  1977 would mark Farily's 20th major league campaign.  Below average players do not last that long.  Not only was he an "original Blue Jay", but back in 1969 he was an "original Expo", which means he was one of the first MLB'er to play for both Canadian franchises.  Fairly didn't just collect a paycheck in Toronto.  At the age of 38 he was the Blue Jays' best every day player sporting at .279 with 19 homers and 64 RBI's.  The 19 homers turned out to be his career high.  Fairly's 12 seasons in Los Angeles were very rewarding.  He won 3 World Championships and 4 pennants in his first 8 seasons as a guy who played both 1st and all 3 outfield positions.  At the end of the season he was dealt to the Angels as a reward for being such a good soldier with the Expansion Blue Jays.  He would retire after that season and finish with a .266 career average and over 225 homers.  The photo here was taken from his '78 Topps Card.

On May 9th, 1977 the Blue Jays stole Howell right out from under Texas' nose.  For the poulty price of one broken down Steve Hargan and one hitless Jim Mason the Jays were able to get themselves a .313 hitter, who also hit 10 homers.  In '78 he would actually make the All-Star team.  Howell would spend 4 above average seasons in Toronto before signing in 1981 with the Brewers as a free agent.  In '77 he would lead the Blue Jays in batting average, while playing a solid third.  This card was created using his '78 Topps card photo.

Ewing tooled around the White Sox chain since 1971 and got two cups of coffee (1974 & 1976) up with the big club.  His .197 average and spotty play didn't impress anyone, so he was left available for the expansion draft.  Toronto looked like a bunch of geniuses when Ewing hit .287 with 4 homers and 34 RBI's while manning both corner OF slots and first base.  He appeared in 97 games and had 244 AB's.  At 28, he was now an overnight sensation, but it all came crashing down the following season when he hit .179 in 40 games and wound up back in the minors for good.  Eventually he would head to Japan and play for the Nippon Ham Fighters, who I guess had some sort of kosher agenda that they were attempting to spread to baseball.  Anyway, this card was created with the photo from his '78 Topps card.  I had to do some airbrushing in the top right to get rid of the position ball by replacing it with some clouds.

I spent the better part of 2 years trying to find a good photo of Steve Bowling.  First I needed one for an Expansion team tournament, then I needed one for  KOD season where we played teams that lost over 100 games.  As hard as I searched I found nothing, but a grainy minor league photo on ebay.  Then by accident I stumbled on this one.  Apparently someone on ebay is selling his game worn Blue Jays jacket from 1977.  This picture was a Black and White postage stamp sized photo from a media guide.  I immediately decided to colorize it and "stuff" it into a card.  There was no margin for error, since the photo was limited to this tight head shot view.  Topps was famous for issuing at least 10-15 of these types of shots each year, so this fit in rather well with the set.  Bowling as a player was nothing to write home (or a blog) about.  He played all 3 OF spots and hit .206 with 1 homer in almost 200AB's.  It was no shock that he was not invited back to Toronto for the '78 season.

Staggs played in 72 games for Toronto and hit just a tad under .260 and played a credible 2nd base.  He is listed as Toronto's starting second baseman on baseball-reference.com and rightfully so, since he logged the most games at the position.  After the season, Toronto must have known that he was a valuable trade commodity, so they dealt him to the A's for the ever so memorable Sheldon Mallory, who never found his way north to the big club in Toronto.  Staggs played just 1 season with Oakland and wound up on the scrap heap himself.  This card was also created using his '78 Topps card.  It was a pain in the neck to airbrush the position ball out because the background was the grandstand.  I tried to copy and paste some people in, but if you look closely you'll see it wasn't a grade "A" job, but definitely well within Topps' limits for that era.

Nordbrook was one of those guys who bounded around from organization to organization hoping to catch on as a utility guy.  After stints with the Orioles, Angels and Chisox he was sold by the latter to Toronto in August where he got into 28 games and hit .175.  Still the Blue Jays brought him back for an encore in 1978.  That encore lasted 7 games before he was shipped over to the Brewers for Tim Johnson.  This photo comes from his '78 card.  I had to airbrush parts of the upper deck in Yankee Stadium, where the photo was taken, back into the card to cover the position dot.

Midway through the '77 season the Bosox sold "Murph" to the Blue Jays for some Maple Leafs tickets and a couple of bottles of Molson XXX.  Quite possibly the Blue Jays got the better part of the deal, because Murph spent the next 2 + seasons anchoring a shaky Toronto bullpen.  In his 19 games in a Blue Jay uni in '77 he was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA + he logged 52 innings, which might be his most valuable stat of the year.  As we all know logging innings on an expansion club is very important.  Murph was no career minor leaguer like a lot of the Blue Jay staff.  He had a 9 year resume in the AL and sported a 10-10 record with a 1.93 ERA in 1974 while toiling with the Twins.  In his early years with the Angels he was a back end starter who regularly logged 200+ innings.  After starting the 1979 season with a 1-2 record and a 5.40 ERA Murphy was released, and so ended a mediocre MLB career that touted a 68-101 record with a 3.78 ERA.  Obviously those poor Angel teams failed to score runs for him and that hurt his career record.  This card was created using his '79 Topps card.

Bill Singer arrived at Spring Training in 1977 as a 33 year old veteran pitcher with arm trouble.  He was worth the risk for the Blue Jays, because any time you can get your hands on a two time 20 game winner / All-Star you do it.  If Singer righted his ship the Blue Jays would surely deal him to a contender for future prospects, which could help both clubs.  Unfortunately that fairy tale story was not going to be written.  In 13 starts Singer would finish 2-8 with a 6.79 ERA.  He would spend more time on the DL than on the field and by spring training of 1978 he was given his release.  He finished his career with a 118-127 record and a sparkling 3.39 ERA.  Some folks in the HOF have a higher career ERA than Singer, who never got much run support playing for the light hitting Dodgers of the 1960's and Angels of the 70's.  One can only imagine how good his record would have been if he played in Cincy or Pittsburgh during that era.  This card was created using a rare 8x10 signed glossy shot that I found on an ebay auction. All that needed to be done was a quick resizing.

The 24 year old Debarr got into 14 games for the Blue Jays in '77 and finished 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA.  After tooling around in the Tiger organization for the better part of the last 5 or 6 years he was drafted by the Jays.  He spent time shuttling back and forth between the big club and their minor league affiliate in Syracuse.  During spring training of '78 he was dealt to Cleveland for the taciturn Rico Carty who actually had a breakout year at the plate for Toronto as their regular DH.  The picture used here was a minor league Black and White card that I colorized, added the Toronto logo and cropped extensively.  Debarr looks unhappy in this photo and who can blame him, since I didn't exactly do a Disney type colorization of him.

The "Red Rooster" was a 5 time gold glove winner at third base for the Houston Astros during the early 1970's.  By 1977 he was 33 going on 44.  Never a big hitter for average, Rader still could supply 20+ homers while playing in the cavernous Astrodome.  By the late 70's his average was dropping as well as his power numbers.  His range at 3rd, which was his trademark, was also not as good as it used to be.  After hitting .223 in 1975 the Astros shipped him to San Diego, where he bounced back to a more customary .257.  By mid season 1977 he was actually hitting in the .270's for the Padres, but his range in the field was gone and his bat had no pop.  Toronto took a flyer on him and purchased his contract from the Padres.  He found his power stroke again and hit 13 homers in 96 games, but his average dipped to .240.  The Blue Jays released him in spring training the following year and that marked the end of a solid career.  This card was created using a player photo found while searching Google.

Bailor turned out to be one of those "diamond in the roughs" that just never got a chance while being buried in the Orioles farm system behind guys like Belanger, Dave Johnson and Grich.  Arriving in Toronto turned into a new lease on life.  He hit .310 in 122 games and played just about every position on the field.  He would have 4 more decent seasons for the Jays before being traded to the Mets for Roy Lee Jackson in December of 1980.  He would go on to have some good seasons with the Mets and Dodgers before ending an 11 year career that might never have occurred if it wasn't for expansion.  This card was created using his '79 Topps card photo.

With Carlton Fisk firmly entrenched as the Red Sox staring catcher and Bo Diaz ahead of him on the depth charts, Whitt was deamed expendable and the Jays chose him in the '77 expansion draft.  After two cups of coffee in Toronto he was farmed out in '79, which looked like for the final time.  Apparently lefty hitting catchers are valuable commodities and so the Jays didn't give up on Whitt.  In 1980 he returned to the biggs and never left.  For the next 10 years he was the starting catcher on a contending Blue Jay team.  He hit over 150 homers during that stretch and can arguably be called "the best catcher in Blue Jays history".  As for 1977 he batted .171 in 23 games behind the plate, so don't expect much.  For this card I used his 1978 rookie panel card, which isn't the best of quality, but it conveys just how much of a suspect as opposed to a prospect that Whitt was during that era.

 The "Italian Stallion", as he became know to Yankee fans in the early 80's, found his way to Toronto via trade.  The Indians sent him and John Lowenstein to Toronto right after the expansion draft, in exchange for Rico Carty.  Cerone, an All-American at Seton Hall, would catch 31 games and hit an even .200 for the Blue Jays during their inaugural year.  He would log even more time in '78 and '78 before being traded to New York in a big 6 player deal that saw Chris Chambliss and Damaso Garcia head to Toronto.  Cerone had a breakout year in 1980 as Thurman Munson's replacement (like anyone can replace Munson ?), but success came at a high price as he fell out of favor quickly with Yankee fans when he wasn't able to duplicate his early success.  Still he cobbled together a fine 18 year career as a backstop.  This is actually his O Pee Chee Card from 1977.  I decided to use this one because I loved the way O Pee Chee airbrushed on a cap that looks like a college pledge hat atop Cerone's fro.

Bruno would pitch 18 innings and compile an 7.85 ERA for the '77 Jays, which was only marginally worse than his 1976 stats in KC.  The Cardinals must have seen something in him, because they dealt Rick Bosetti and cash to acquire him the following season.  Bruno rewarded the Cards with a 4-3 record and a 1.99 ERA.  At the age of 25 he looked to be on his way and Toronto looked to be kicking themselves in the arse for letting him slip away.  The following year his ERA ballooned back up again and just like that he was gone from baseball.  Call him a 1 hit wonder.  This is his O Pee Chee card, which was taken during spring training.  The good folks at O Pee Chee avoided he airbrush and decided to take the road trip unlike the lazy slugs with crayons over at 1 Whitehall Street (Topps' office in NYC).

Somehow the Twins just didn't see the signs that Woods was going to be a really good player in the majors.  For 5 seasons he tooled around their farm system until someone decided to make him available for the expansion draft.  The 23 year old arrived in Toronto ready to play from day 1 and hit .283 in over 120 games in '77.  He's spend 6 full seasons in Toronto and hit .270 while manning left field.  The only real knock on his game would be that he lacked power for a corner spot.  Still he was rock solid for more than half a decade for a franchise needing stability.  I used his O Pee Chee card, which was a bit grainy, but since they are hard to find on the net I decided it was still a marked improvement over Topps's crayon and glued version.

Ashby would go on to have a long and distinguished 17 year career in the biggs as a front line catcher.  Unfortunately for the folks in Toronto only 2 of those seasons would be spent north of the border.  Rescued from the death trap called the Cleveland Indians, Ashby was Toronto's starting catcher during his 2 seasons.  He would play in 124 games and hit just .210 during the '77 season, but rebound in '78 for a .261 season with 9 homers.  He was traded to Houston after that season for 3 useless players, which might make this the worst deal in Blue Jay history (at least to that point).  This is his O Pee Chee card.  The original Topps card had airbrushing that a 5 year old would not have been proud of.

 Lets just call Chuck Toronto's mystery man.  After having a mediocre career as a mop up man during the mid to late 60's Chuck disappeared from baseball after the 1970 season.  To say he disappeared would be a misnomer.  From 1971-76 he spent time toiling in the minors hoping to find some trick pitch or spark to get him back to the majors.  Call it his version of Leonard Nimoy's "In search of show".  The only difference being that less people watched Chuck's show than Leonard's.  Chuck was released by the White Sox, Giants and Padres during those years on the farm and each of those 3 franchises saw no reason to keep hold of a minor league pitcher who looked like John Saxon in a grade B movie.  Hartenstein's final chance came with the Jays in '77.  Here was his chance to show the world that a 35 year old pitcher with the best damn mutton chops this side of Neil Young could resurrect his mediocre career.  What the Blue Jays got was a guy who lost 3 games in 17 relief appearances with a 6.59 ERA.  Toronto would part company with the man known as "Twiggy" after the season.  No more trips back to the minors would be made as this was Chuck's last stop in professional baseball.  Topps issued a tight head shot card with a lot of airbrushing.  I used his O Pee Chee card taken in spring training.  Nothing says "cool" better than those mutton chops and the dark aviator glasses.

A spot starter with little of no distinction in Detroit for 3 seasons made Lemancyzyk expendable.  The Jays chose him in the expansion draft and he became the ace of their staff by posting a 13-16 record with a 4.25 ERA.  Pretty impressive numbers for a starter on an expansion team who had to do battle with each team's ace.  After taking a bit of a step back in '78 he rebounded to make the All-Star team in '79.  In the middle of the 1980 season he was dealt to California for Ken Schrom.  This is his O Pee Chee card taken in Spring Training.  Topps issued a poor air brush card in '77.

Ault will forever be in the Blue Jays record book for having hit the first home run in franchise history on opening day.  Just to back it up he his a second homer later in the game.  He would go on to hit 8 more that season as the Jays starting 1st baseman.  His 64 RBI's were obviously a club rookie record that actually stood for 25 years.  1978 saw this promising rookie's numbers decline.  '79 saw him head to the minors and when he returned in '80 he couldn't get back over the Mendoza line so he was cut.  After his playing days ended he spent time coaching and managing in the minors.  Sadly his life ended 3 days before Christmas in 2004 due to a self inflicted gun shot wound.  Shown here is his O Pee Chee card.  Topps issued a rookie panel card for him, so this is a huge step up from sharing space with 3 other rookies on cardboard.

 Woods was taken in the expansion draft from the Oakland A's organization.  He appeared in the opening day lineup for Toronto, which left a lasting impression on him.  That day there was actually snow on the field and Woods couldn't believe his eyes.  He would play centerfield that season and hit .216 with no homers in over 220 AB's.  He was quoted as saying, "I was a young guy who wasn't quite ready for the major leagues back then".  Woods, obviously an analytical expert, went on to an average 6 year career in Houston and Chicago before he hung it up after the '85 season at the ripe old age of 30.  His .377 average in 53 AB's helped the Astros in 1980 win the NL West down the stretch.  He would never approach that type of meteoric success again.  From 1981-85 he filled the roll of "4th outfielder" to perfection.  This is his O Pee Chee Card from 1977.  Topps issues a rookie panel card for him in '77 where he shared space with Steve Kemp and Tony Armas.

As a 23 year old rookie in 1973 for the Brewers Pedro led the AL with 32 doubles, had 15 homers, 54 RBI's and hit a mean .245 all while manning the defense position at second base.  BBWAA voters placed him second behind Al Bumbry for the Rookie of the Year voting.  The possibilities were endless, or so everyone thought.  Instead of improving Pedro's numbers declined year after year.  The second time around the league they basically figure you out.  Not being able to hit over .220 means you had better be a gold glover at your middle infield position, which he was not.  Mid way through the '76 campaign he was dealt to Detroit, where he hit .198 and was left unprotected in he expansion draft.  At 27 years of age he entered the 1977 season hoping to regain the form that he had 4 years earlier as a rookie.  In 41 games he hit just .208 with absolutely no punch whatsoever and by July 27th he was given his outright release.  The Padres signed him to a minor league contract, but he never again made it back up to the majors.  This is a blurry version of his O Pee Chee card.  Obviously Luis Tiant was a great influence on his facial hair design.  Some say the fictitious SNL character, Chico Escuela, was based on him and partly on Felix Millan.  After his rookie season baseball was definitely no "Berry Berry good to him".

After 14 seasons in the big leagues as a "catch and throw" catcher, Phil was just hoping to hand on for another pay day.  Those pay days would not last long.  Roof would appear in just 3 games and log 5 hitless at bats before he was relegated to the role of "unofficial bullpen coach".  At the end of the season he was given his release so he could head to San Diego to be their official bullpen coach.  Topps did an ok job on their airbrush release, but since this would be Phil's final appearance on cardboard I decided to go with the O Pee Chee spring training photo card instead.

A part time contributor on the Yankees '76 pennant winner, Velez was stuck behind a log jam of good outfielders in the Bronx.  Toronto figured that by liberating him from his Bronx shackles he could be "the man" to build around.  Velez responded with a .256 batting average in 120 games plus 16 round trippers.  He would steadily improve his power numbers and average year in and year out culminating in his only 20 home run season in 1980.  During that season he hit 4 homers in a double header.  What was so special about that feat was the fact that he hit a solo shot, a 2 run shot, a 3 run shot and a grand slam.  1980 would be Velez' high water mark.  By 1981 he would drop to .213 with only 11 homers.  In '82 he would hit .193 in limited action and would be released by the Jays.  In 6 years in Toronto he would hit .257 with 72 homers and 243 RBI's.  Topps issued a horrendous close in head shot for his '77 card.  Pictured here is his O Pee Chee card that looks 100 times better.

1977 Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers were right in the thick of an impressive run where the team either finished first or was near the top.  From 1974-1988 The Dodgers had a period of sustained excellence, which included 5 pennants and 2 World's Championships.  LA made the post season in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1988.  In 1977 the Dodgers finished 98-64 and easily won the NL West by 10 games over the pitching starved Reds.  Next up the faced the Phillies in the NLCS and won 3 games to 1.  After winning game 5 vs the Yankees the series headed back to NY with the Bombers up 3 games to 2.  LA needed to win both remaining games to become World Champs.  Reggie's famed 3 home run game snuffed out any chance of that happening.

The team featured 4 players who hit 30 or more homers for the first time in MLB history.  Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith teamed up for the record, which was even more impressive when you take into consideration that they played half of their games in pitching friendly Dodger Stadium.  Speaking of pitching the staff lead the league with a 3.22 ERA.  All five starters pitched 200+ innings.  Tommy John gets the nod as the ace based on his 20-7 record and 2.78 ERA.  Don Sutton and Doug Rau each won 14 and Rick Rhoden won 16 and Burt Hooten "only" won 12.  If the starters faltered, which didn't happen too often the bullpen trio of Charlie Hough, Elias Sosa and Mike Garman were formidable in their own right.  Even the bench (Lee Lacy, Johnny Oates, Ted Martinez & Company) were strong.  This is as solid a pennant winning team as you are ever going to find and just like their Boys of Summer counterparts 25 years earlier their only weakness was not being able to beat a group of men wearing pinstripe suits.

In total I needed to create 18 cards in order for the Dodgers to have a complete 1977 Topps set.

Downing was at the end of an up and down career.  He started out in the early 60's as a phenom with the Yankees, but arm trouble let to him never being the star he was touted to be up in the Bronx where expectations always run high.  In his first season (1971) in Dodger Blue Downing finally put it all together with a 20-9, 2.68 season that landed him 3rd in the Cy Young Award voting.  After that it was back to injuries and ineffectiveness.  He will most be remembered as the answer to the trivia question:  "Who gave up Hank Aaron's 715th homer, which broke Ruth's record?"  1977 was the end of the line for Al, who got into 12 games and sported a 6.75 ERA.  The photo for this card came from the 1976 SSPC set and was taken @ Shea.

Castillo spent parts of 5 seasons working out of the Dodger pen. '77 was his first crack at the big leagues.  He pitched in 6 games and had a 1-0 record with a 3.97 ERA.  The photo used for the updated card came from his 1979 Topps card and was taken @ Vero Beach during Spring Training.

Oh what a difference 7 years can make in the life cycle of a ballplayer.  In 1970, Powell was the AL MVP and a World Champion with the Baltimore Orioles.  Fast forward 7 years and he gets cut at the end of spring training by the Cleveland Indians and gets picked up as a bench player by the Dodgers, who were looking for a lefty bat with some pop.  Powell's pop was pooped.  After hitting just 9 homers the previous season the big man would hit just .244 with no extra base hits at all.  By August 31st he would be released and so would end one of the more prolific baseball careers of the modern era.  This card features a picture taken at Candlestick.  Powell just looks so uncomfortable in Dodger Blue.  Secretly he was hoping all the while to get back to Baltimore and open a Rib joint.

Lewallyn shuttle back and forth between LA and their AAA affiliate in Alberqurque for the better part of 5 years.  He's what they call in the industry a AAAA player, which means he was too good for Triple A, but not good enough for the majors.  In just 17 games he finished 3-1 with a 4.24 ERA.  In November of 1977 he was sold to the Twins, who subsequently sent him back to the Dodgers during spring training of the following year.  He would eventually be dealt to Montreal for Pepe Frias in 1980.

Webb was a lefty version of Lewallyn.  He spent the better part of his time shuttling between Tidewater and Shea before being dealt to the Dodgers for the immortal Rich Auerbach.  He would pitch 8 innings in 5 games and have a low 2.25 ERA for the National League Champs.  He would not make the post season roster and would never pitch in the majors again.  This is actually an airbrushed version of his 1976 Mets card that I found on a blog called  garveyceyrusselllopes.blogspot.com/

Leonard's fame would come in the 80's as a member of the hated Giants.  Leonard played in 11 games, and had 10 AB's and did hit .300.  With Baker, Monday and Smith patrolling the outfield in Chavez Ravine Leonard had no choice but to ride the pine and wait his turn.  He was dealt to the Astros after the season as the player to be named later in a deal that allowed the Dodgers to reacquire catcher Joe Ferguson.  The photo used for this update card came from the garveycelyrusselllopes blog as well.

When asked years later during an interview about Jerry Grote Johnny Bench, the preeminent catcher during the 1970's said, "I would have played 3rd base if we were teammates".  Grote was about as good as it gets defensively.  Known for having the strongest arm and the strongest temper in the league, Grote bullied his starting staff as well as opposing baserunners.  After spending the first 5 months of the season backing up John Stearns and Ron Hodges on a Mets' team that was heading nowhere fast, Grote got a new lease on life with an Aug 31st trade to LA.  Brought on board to back up Yeager Grote got into 18 games in the final month of the season and even made the post season roster for his tidy defense.  This picture for this card was a unique find on ebay.  An autographed Jerry Grote Dodgers picture is a rare find indeed.  Topps used an airbrush Mets head shot for his '78 card, which once again shows how lazy their staff could be.

Simpson was a punchless corner outfielder who hit .174 in 29 games of part time service for the Dodgers.  He would be sold to the Mariners after the '79 season and play regularly for 4 years up in the Pacific Northwest.  The photo for this card came from the garveycelyrusselllopes blog as well.

Oates hit almost .270 in 60 games as Yeager's primary backup before getting bit by the injury bug and being replaced in the rotation by the veteran Grote.  This photo was a team issue glossy that was autographed.  In his 11 seasons in the "biggs" Oates never played in more than 100 games.  After leaving the Dodgers he would find his way to the Yankees, where he would end his career after the 1981 World Series.

Lance was a 24 year old rookie who worked exclusively out of the pen that year.  His 4-1 record with a 4-35 ERA in 25 games shows that the team would score runs late and comeback while he was on the hill.  He would have a great year in '78, but fall off the hill in '79 and never get back to the majors again after being dealt to the pitching starved Brewers.  This card photo comes from his '79 Topps card.

Garman had an excellent year out of the pen going 4-4, 2.73 with 12 saves in 63 innings of work.  This would be his only full year in LA.  Even though he had a great year in '77 Dodger fans still can't forget that they dealt Bill Bucker and Ivan DeJesus for him.  Garman was out of baseball after the '78 season, while those two went on to have great careers.  Some solace can be gotten from the fact that Rick Monday arrived along with Garman.  I used his '78 card and airbrused out the position ball that was located on the top right.

Landestoy hit .278 in 18 AB's as a 24 year old hoping to get a chance.  Playing behind Russell and Lopes meant that he would collect a Social Security long before he could push either of those two out.  LA dealt him to the Astros in '78 as one of the players to be named later in the Joe Ferguson deal.  He would eventually return to LA in the mid 80's to finish up his career.  The picture used for the card came from the '77 Dodger Yearbook.

Monday arrived along with Garman in a trade as the "missing piece" for the Dodger outfield.  At the age of 31 and with plenty of miles on his legs he still had two more seasons left as a starting centerfielder.  Monday hit only .254 in his Dodger career, but he was known more for his big moments in big spots.  None would be bigger than his pennant winning homer vs the Expos in Game 5 of the 1981 NLCS in the cold rain.  The picture that I used for this updated card came from a team issued photo.  I liked the fact that it looked kind of blurry, which is very reminiscent of the type of action shots that Topps used during the 70's.

Known today as the cerebral manager of the Texas Rangers, Ron Washington was another one of those middle infielders that the Dodgers stockpiled and used eventually as trade bait.  In 19AB's he had 7 hits for a .368 average.  He is the ultimate baseball sim outlier.  After the '77 season he returned to Albuquerque and didn't resurface until 1981 when he was dealt to the Twins where he had a solid 6-7 year career as a middle infielder.  The photo used here for the updated card came from the ESPN website.  They did an article on him last year centered on his drug issue and how he and the team worked together to overcome it.  If he wasn't managing the Rangers today this photo would never have come to light.

 After spending 5 seasons with the Mets and Bud Harrelson's "caddy" Martinez moved over to STL and OAK for a year then was out of baseball for all of 1976.  The Dodgers gave him a call and he spent the next 3 seasons backing up Russell, Lopes and Cey.  Martinez hit .280 in his 3 years in LA and played just enough to spell the starters and keep them fresh.  He also made youngsters like Washington and Landestoy trade-able.  This photo is a spring training shot that I found on ebay.  It was a signed 8x10 glossy.

After an above average 12 year career Davalillo left major league baseball and headed to the Mexican League where he played at an All-Star level for 3 seasons.  The Dodgers coaxed him back into major league baseball at the age of 40 to be their primary left handed pinch hitter to compliment Manny Mota, who was their primary right handed pinch hitter.  How talent rich is a team that can tout two professional hitters like those two coming off their bench late in games ?  Davalillo responded by hitting .313 in '77 and .312 in '78 in his accepted role.  He would play 2 more seasons, then retire at the age of 44 in order to head back to Mexico for 3 more years in the Mexican League.  The photo here is a team issued shot from batting practice @ Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers realized early on that Pasley was not going to be their catcher of the future, nor their backup of the present.  He was sold to the Mariners for cash and quite possibly some livestock early in the season.  He appeared in 2 games and had 3 AB's with 1 hit.  He had two cups of coffee in '74 and '76 with the big club.  This picture comes from his 1977 rookie panel card, which for a while was worth a lot of money.  I'm guessing it was because one Dale Murphy also grace that card with his presence.

After spending part of the '76 season with the big club, Burke received a full fledge promotion in '77 and fit comfortably into the role of "4th outfielder".  With all 3 starters well in to their 30's Burke logged a lot of time as a defensive replacement late in games and as a spot starter to save those "old legs".  He responded with a .254 average and some fine defense.  He was dealt in may of the following season to Oakland for centerfielder Bill North, who turned out to be a collasal bust in LA.  Burke didn't do much either in Oakland and was out of baseball after a sub par season in '79.  The picture used here came straight from his '78 Topps card.  I just had to airbursh out the position ball located in the top right corner.  That entailed building up some fake seats that were covered in the grand stand.  The photo looks to have been taken @ Candlestick, which still had astroturf during the 70's.

1977 Texas Rangers

Prior to working on the Rangers 1977 set I admittedly did not have a deep knowledge of how the team did and the "why" behind it.  To say the Ranger franchise, which moved from Washington in 1972 was typically a doormat in the AL West would be an easy blanket statement to make.  This was the first time the Rangers actually contended.  As late as early September they were only 3 1/2 games behind the Royals, who eventually won the division.  KC got on a roll in September and built up a double digit lead before slackening off after clinching.  Still a 94 win Ranger team that finished 8 games out is something to take note of.  The team went 60-33 under Billy Hunter, who replace Frank Lucchesi, who had the team at .500.  Texas, which has become known as a franchise built around offense finished in the middle of the pack in batting, so why did they contend ?  Pure and simple:  Pitching.  Having 2 future HOF'ers at the top of your rotation will keep you in any pennant race.  Gaylord Perry was 15-12 with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts.  If the offense could have scored a few more runs here and there the 38 year old future HOF'er could have easily been 20-7.  Bert Blyleven was 14-12 with a 2.72 ERA.  Compared to Perry he was really the "hard luck starter".  Both logged over 230 innings as did Doyle Alexander (17-11, 3.65), who the offense seemed to support much better than the two HOF'ers.  The Adrian Devine led bullpen was average.  It was rounded out with Oakland A's retreads Paul Lindblad and Darold Knowles.  A young Len Barker was solid.

The "human rain delay" Mike Hargrove was the only regular to hit over .300.  Toby Harrah led the team with 27 homers and was the only hitter to eclipse the 20 mark.  The bench was pretty good.  Led by Kurt Bevacqua (.333), and fresh off his bubble gum bubble blowing championship, plus Ken Henderson and an aging Sandy Alomar.

In total I had to create or modify 21 Texas Rangers 1977 Topps cards.  Typically second division teams have a lot of new players or in season trades, but this Rangers squad was not the norm.  To their credit they acquired a lot of good players, which is why they improved over their 1976 offering with 18 more wins and 4 places in the standings.

A perennial All-Star and 3 time world champion with the Oakland A's, "Campy" signed with Texas as a free agent.  At 35 he still had enough left in the tank to play a rock solid shortstop and steal 27 bases.  A major concern has to be that he was caught stealing 20 times.  His 40 sacrifice hits led the league and is further evidence that the Rangers spent the season scratching for runs.  Topps originally issued a horrible airbrush card for Campy.  Every time I looked at it I got annoyed.  Campy signed with the Rangers on Nov 17, which gave Topps ample time to get a picture of him with a Rangers cap and jersey.  Sheer laziness and the fact that the Rangers were not a marquee team led to this occurring.  Now Campy has a legit '77 card.  The photo comes from a signed 8x10 glossy that I found on Google.

Devine's 15 saves led the Rangers staff that season.  His 11-6 record and 3.58 ERA out of the pen would turn out to be the best season of his career.  Devine interestingly shuttled back and forth between the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers having spent 2 tours of duty with each franchise during his 7 year career that ended back in Texas after the 1980 season.

 Cuellar's lone shot at "the show" was his 4 game stint with the Rangers in 1977.  He didn't record a win, but did have a stellar 1.35 ERA and an off the charts 0.900 WHIP.  In essence this would be Cuellar's only Topps Card.  I created it from his minor league card from that season.  Texas' AAA affiliate sported the same color scheme as the parent company.  All I needed to do was airbrush out the Toros logo off the cap and paste on a "T".

 Maury son was the hot rookie that year.  Bump finished 3rd in the rookie of the year voting.  Without any previous major league experience there was no chance that Topps was going to reward him with a card of his own.  I created this one off of a photo used on the cover of Sports Illustrated early in the '77 season.  Wills career had some interesting parables and turns.  In Spring Training of '77 he was given the 2nd base job over Lenny Randle, who then punched out manager Frank Lucchesi, which ruined both of their careers in Texas.  Randle was cast off to the Mets (believe me that's punishment) and Lucchesi eventually got fired early in the season.  Wills and teammate Toby Harrah hit back to back inside the park homers vs the Yankees in the Bronx on August 27th.  It is the only time that it ever happened in MLB history.  Wills would spend 5 seasons in Texas before moving over to the Cubs then retiring from baseball at the age of 29.  Being Maury's son and playing a similar style game can be tough on a guy.  He eventually went over to Japan and played there for a number of years away from his dad's shadow.

 Washington spent basically 1 season in Texas.  Acquired in May for Jim Umbarger and cash Washington was another former Oakland Athletic who Charlie Finley "liquidated" in his late 70's fire sale.  Washington spent time on 9 different teams over the course of his above average 17 year career. One can only speculate why he was so "well traveled".  One thing is for certain:  He could hit and steal bases while he was wearing your uniform.  He hit .284 with 12 homers and 20 stolen bases in '77 and played an above average outfield.  Fittingly he would be traded a year later for the even more well traveled Bobby Bonds.

 The second most famous Knowles in Texas (we have to give Beyonce the nod for #1), Darold arrived as a grizzled veteran who pitched for second division Senator clubs and world champion Oakland A's clubs.  He did a great job getting lefties out in '77 (.213), but righties hit over 100 points higher against him.  In today's modern game he would have slotted in nicely as that "lefty specialist" out of the pen.  Unfortunately for him, in 1977 Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan were about a decade away from revolutionizing the bullpen.  This card features a signed 8x10 glossy that I found on Google.

 By 1977 Dave May was a veteran corner outfielder coming off a sub par year (.215) in Atlanta and hoping to jump start his career.  He got into 120 games, but hit only .240, which while an improvement over his 1976 stats was not good enough to occupy a corner outfield position on a team looking to contend for a pennant.  I used his 1978 Topps Card shot for this update, since the other options on the net were not all that good.

Few remember that Ellis was a dominating pitcher on some fantastic Pirate teams in the late 60's and early 70's.  Urban legend has it that he pitched a no hitter while on LSD.  Later when I'm bored I'll check Snoopes to see if it's actually true and if Paul really did die before Abbey Road was released.  Right now I'm concentrating on the Rangers.  Ellis had an awesome season in '77.  His 10-6 record with a 2.90 ERA would have made him the ace of the staff, but he unfortunately had injuries and possibly other problems, which led to him only starting 22 games.  This would be his last hurrah as a front line starter and in 2 years he would bottom out with a high 5.00 ERA along with other issues.

1977 was the end of the road for Kirkpatrick, who played for 3 teams (Pirates, Rangers & Brewers) that season.  At 32 Kirpatrick was an aged veteran.  Many forget that he made his MLB debut in '62 as a 17 year old with the Los Angeles Angels.  By 1977 he had logged way too many miles behind the plate, and didn't have enough pop left in his lumber to be a corner outfielder or infielder.  He hit .188 in 48 AB's in Texas with no homers, while playing all of the corner positions and behind the plate.  In 1972 Topps issued a separate "set inside a set" that included "action photos" for the first time.  Now of course none of us would consider a catcher picking up his mask and shaking off the dust to be an action shot, but Topps apparently did :) !  This was Kirkpatrick's '72 Action shot while he was in a Royals uniform.  Since the chest protector and the profile view block out the Royal logo I decided to use this for his 77 card.  I pasted a Texas Ranger bi-centenial jersey patch on the sleeve for authenticity purposes :) !

This 20 year old went 2 for 6 in 17 games worth of action for the Rangers in '77.  Miller spent more time as a late inning defensive replacement that season than anything else. After the season he would be shipped off to the Braves as part of a huge 4 team swap that saw almost half the league change uniforms (slight exaggeration).  Miller finished his short career with a .238 average and only 1 career roundtripper.  This updated card took me a while to make.  I took his Atlanta minor league card and airbrushed off the Brave cap and then cut and pasted a Rangers cap on.  It made for a good base photo because the Braves have similar colors to the Rangers and his arms block the logos.

 Gray played in 1 game and had just 2 unsuccessful AB's for the '77 Rangers.  He would go on to play parts of 2 more seasons with Texas before being dealt away.  This card came from the same minor league set as Bobby Cuellar's card.  The tight head shot made it very easy to airbrush the cap and paste on a new logo.

Jim's not smiling in this picture that's for sure.  My guess is that he was ticked off at being back in Shea Stadium where he stunk it up good in 2 seasons with the Mets.  I'm sure being the answer to the trivia question:  "Who did the Mets trade Nolan Ryan for" didn't help.  I'm sure he was also ticked off that Topps neglected to even issue a card for him.  After all he did play for the Rangers in '76.  He would hit .233 in 13 games before being sent to Pittsburgh for Kirkpatrick.  Fregosi, who was an All-Star in the 60's with the Angels was now hanging on to his major league career by a thread.  The photo for this card was chosen from the SSPC set issued in '76.

 Mason, who was the starting shortstop for the '76 pennant wining  Yankees was coming off a .180 season, so he was left unprotected in the Expansion draft.  The Blue Jays "snatched" him up and by the beginning of May he was dealt to Texas for $200k worth of cash and Roy Howell.  What Texas got was a guy who was a former prospect in their chain (back in their Washington days), who could field his position, but hit no better than the famed "Mendoza line".

 Poloni's major league career consisted of 1 start and 2 total games for the Rangers.  He maximized his one shot by gaining a win.  This was another one of those minor league cards that I was easily able to adapt into a Topps card.

 Smith played 23 games in left field and hit .238 with 2 homers.  He would return to the minors for all of '78, then wind up back in the majors with the Cardinals for 2 more nondescript seasons.  The photo for this card came from his 1978 rookie panel card, which explains why it was off center and so grainy.

 If the Rangers were in the business of collecting corner outfielders who were late in their careers and short on skill, Henderson would be the poster boy for that effort.  He arrived in the offseason with Devine, Moret, May and Morton for Jeff Burroughs.  He would be gone in the offseason as part of that big 4 player trade.  He hit .258 with 5 homers in over 200 AB's for the Rangers.  I used his 1978 Topps Card photo for this one.  It looks to me like this was taken in either Oakland or KC.

 You can't ask more from a utility player than the season Bevacqua gave the fans in Arlington.  Playing practically every position he still found a way to hit .333 in just under 100 AB's.  Bevacqua's claim to fame on the baseball diamond would not come for another 7 seasons, when he hit a big home run as the Padres DH in the '84 World Series.  His 1976 Bubble blowing championship Topps card still to this day remains a collector's cult favorite.  This is Bevacqua's 1978 Topps card photo, which was taken @ Yankee Stadium.

 21 year old Barker was 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 47 innings worth of work out of the pen.  His signature moment would come 4 years later when he tossed a perfect game in an Indians uniform.  Barker would spend just 3 seasons in Texas before being dealt to Cleveland as part of a trade that returned Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern.  This photo came from an 8x10 autographed glossy being sold on ebay.  It looks like it was taken in Tiger Stadium or Cleveland.

 Lew's major league career lasted a grand total of 25 games in 1977.  In 32 AB's he managed to hit an unimpressive .219 with no power whatsoever.  Lew split time between right field and left.  This card photo came from the previously mentioned Toros minor league set.

 Over a 3 year period in the early 1970's (72-74) Marshall was the premier relief pitcher in the National League.  1974 would be his peak year, which culminated in his winning the Cy Young Award.  By the time 1977 rolled around Marshall was not that same guy anymore.  100+ appearances in '74 and a ton of innings sucked most of the life out of his right arm.  Prior to that 3 year stint he was well on his way to being a journeyman.  By 1977 that's exactly what he was, a journey man just hanging on for a pay day.  Marshall's 2-2, 4.04 record in 30+ games in Texas were mediocre at best.  Ownership only had to send cash to Atlanta to get his services and hope that a change in league might rejuvenate him.  The photo for this card came from his 1974 Sports Illustrated cover.  I airbrushed out the Dodgers logo on the jersey and the cap and pasted a "T" on the cap as well as colorized the brim to the dark red that the Rangers wore.

 1977 was the start of a nice 6 year career in Texas for Putnam, who never quite hit for enough power to occupy 1st base.  Hitting .306 in 26 games worth of service showed that Putnam had some promise.  '78 was a year that he took a huge step back, but then he finally solidified his slot in '79 when he finished 4th in the AL rookie of the year balloting.  The photo used for this card came from the ever so valuable Toros AAA minor league set.  Since the photo was a profile view I decided to not even bother and airbrush out the Toro logo.  If you look real close you can see that it's a Longhorn, not a "T", but you have to look real close and no what you're looking for.  On initial glance most can't tell the difference.

 After spending well over a decade in Washington and Oakland as one of the AL's top relievers Lindblad was nearing the end of the road when he arrived for his second tour of duty in Texas.  His 4-5 record with a 4.20 ERA in '77 was drastically worse than his '76 stats (6-5, 3.06) and with hindsight we can tell it was a sure fire sign of his rapid decline.  His original 1977 card pictured him with Oakland, before he became another one of those firesale victims that Charlie Finley scattered around the league.  This card shot came from his '78 card.  Shame on Topps for being so lazy and airbrushing this picture when he spent a full season in Texas by that point.  It's one of Topps' better airbrush efforts, but they still have no excuse for not getting a regular shot of him during one of Texas' two trips to the Bronx.

 After 3 solid, but not spectacular seasons in Boston, Moret began to develop arm troubles and was shipped off to Atlanta in 1976 where he bottomed out with a 3-5 record and a 5.00 ERA.  1977 was not much better for him and after 14 innings in 1978 he was gone from baseball at the ripe old age of 28.  The photo used here is from the 1978 Topps set.

 With the Yankees acquiring Willie Randolph in the off season to play second base, Alomar became expendable.  Texas shipped some spare parts and cash off to the Bronx to get themselves a solid veteran to tutor rookie Bump Wills at second and how to be a pro.  Alomar responded with a solid .265 average in part time work.  In his prime he was an excellent base stealer for the Chisox and Angels, while being a rock at second.  Alomar would play one more season then retire and become better known as Robby and Sandy Jr.'s dad.    The photo used here is from the 1978 Topps set.

 Hargan was selected from Texas by the Blue Jays in the '77 Expansion draft then dealt back to the Rangers in the Roy Howell trade.  Hargan's second stay in Arlington was very short lived.  36 days later he was sold to the Braves.  In 6 games he had a 1-0 record with an inflated 8.76 ERA.  In his previous 3 seasons in Texas he compiled 29-27 record with a 3.88 ERA as a mid level starter.   The photo used here is from the 1976 Topps set.

 One week into the season the Rangers traded a marginal pitcher, Steve Foucault, for Detroit's aging superstar left fielder.  Horton had played 15 seasons in Detroit and compiled a .276 batting average and over 260 career homers.  At 34 year's of age, Horton was not in Detroit's rebuilding plans.  The 3 time All-Star never hit less than 10 homers in a season and as Texas' main DH he would keep his streak alive.  Horton would would hit .289 with 15 homers and 75 RBI's for the Rangers and make the deal look exceptionally one sided.  He would spend just 1 season in Arlington before being traded to Cleveland, along with David Clyde for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein.  The picture for this updated card came from an 8x10 autographed glossy being sold on ebay.