#171 1982 San Francisco Giants

Morgan led the '82 Giants in batting average and topped the team with a .400 OBP.  Rookie Laskey was the only qualifying pitcher on the squad with an ERA under four.  He also led the team with 13 wins, 31 games started, and 189.1 innings. 

Jack Clark was the powerhouse in the lineup with a team best 27 HR, 103 RBI, and 90 runs scored.

San Fran finished third in the NL West with a 87-75 record, only two games behind the Braves.

   

Flipside:  Topps included 27 Giants in the set.  Joe Morgan is in the HOF as is Manager Frank Robinson.  The Giants are pretty well represented as every batter with over 100 plate appearances and every significant pitcher has a card.

The starting nine:

C   Milt May

1B Reggie Smith

2B Joe Morgan

SS Johnnie LeMaster

3B Darrell Evans

LF Jeff Leonard

CF Chili Davis

RF Jack Clark

Bob Brenly started behind the plate against lefties and with May formed a decent duo.  May batted .263 with Brenly hitting .283 as a 28 year old rookie. 

Smith was hampered by injuries and Evans moved across the diamond when needed, leaving young Tom O'Malley at the hot corner.  Morgan started 117 games with Duane Kuiper seeing action in his stead.  LeMaster was healthy but ineffective (51 OPS+). 

Leonard shared LF with Jim Wohlford, Champ Summers, Max Venable.  Dave Bergman got into 100 games, mainly as a pinch hitter and defensive sub at first base.

The strength of this team was their patient approach.  They led the NL with 607 walks and were 2nd with a .327 OBP despite a 9th best batting average .253. 

Along with Clark's 27 HR, Morgan, Evans, Smith, and Davis powered the lineup each hitting between 14 and 19 HR.  Morgan and Davis both stole 24 bags with Leonard and LeMaster also in double digits.

Pitching Staff:

The staff was in flux most of the year.  Laskey (13-12, 3.14)and Atlee Hammaker (12-8, 4.11) started the year in the minors but finished the year as the most effective starters.  Rich Gale was 7-14 with a 4.23 ERA but with a 1.609 WHIP.  Renie Martin (7-10, 4.65) and Alan Fowlkes (4-2, 5.19) rounded out the rotation.

The pen was definitely a strong point on this team.  Greg Minton saved 30 games with a 1.83 ERA in 123 frames.  Gary LaVelle won ten, saved eight, and sported a 2.67 ERA.  Despite each making seven to nine starts each, Al Holland, Fred Breining, and Jim Barr were all much better in relief.  The trio each logged over 128 innings and had ERA's in the low 3's. 

Oddball:  On June 27 the Giants were 32-42.  They turned things around winning 55 of their last 88 games.  They finished with 87 wins which is pretty fortunate considering they were outscored on the year by 14 runs.  Their pythagoreon record indicates they should have had a 79-83 record.