#342 Atlee Hammaker San Francisco Giants

A lot of orange on this card as Atlee Hammaker appears here on his first solo card after sharing a three player card in the '82 set when he was still with the Royals.

Player:  Hammaker was a first round pick of the Royals in '79 and made his MLB debut two years later.  The young lanky lefty allowed 24 runs in 39 innings and was traded the following spring to the Giants in the Vida Blue trade.

Hammaker didn't start the year with San Fran but entered the Giants rotation in May and had an up and down season, finishing with a 4.11 ERA in 27 starts.

Everything was peachy as the '83 season started.  He had a 1.70 ERA at the All-Star break but was bearing the burden few knew about; his shoulder was killing him.  Specifically his rotator cuff. Despite the pain he went to the All-Star game where there was little margin for error.  He allowed seven runs in just 0.2 innings including a grand slam to Fred Lynn, the first in All-Star history. Although his injury limited him to just eight starts the rest of the year, he won the NL ERA title with a nifty 2.25 mark and had the lowest WHIP and BB/9 in the majors.

The surgery recovery and bone spurs limited him to six starts in '84.  Hammaker made 29 starts in '85 but the Giants were pretty awful and he won just five games despite a league average performance.  

The '86 season was a wash as he missed the entire season with a shoulder injury and surgery to both knees.  He was fairly effective when he came back with ERAs between 3.58 - 3.76 over the next three years as he bounced from the rotation to the pen.

Hammaker's ERA rose over four in '90 and the Giants cut him loose in August.  He signed on with the Padres and pitched briefly for them at the end of '90 and one game in '91.  He sat out the '92 and '93 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.  

By the time '94 rolled around many had forgotten about the lefty, but Hammaker returned to the majors with the White Sox after some success with their AAA team.  Two scoreless outings in relief meant things were looking up.  The success helped land him a job in the Pale Hose pen in '95 as a lefty specialist but it didn't work out as he allowed nine runs in 6.1 innings.  Hammaker was released and retired from the game.

Flipside:  Three complete games within four weeks in the 1982 highlights!  This was actually was part of a stretch of 52.2 innings over six games.  At that point his arm fell off and the Giants trainers held it together the best they could with duct tape.  I joke, but of course it's hard to say if the workload did him in or not. but he wouldn't see that workload today.

Oddball:  Hammaker warned his five daughters not to date ballplayers but at least one didn't listen and married the Indians Yan Gomes anyway.

History:  Hammaker, whose mother is Japanese, was one of the first Asian-American players in the majors following Mike Lum and Lenn Sakata.  His career was derailed by injuries and unfortunately he is remembered by some for his All-Star game and postseason failures.  In the early 80's Hammaker's future looked bright but he is on a long list of player's who were let down by their health.

#309 Jeff Leonard - San Francisco Giants

Jeff Leonard's fourth Topps card shows him wearing the Giants black jersey top in the action photo and although the inset is a similar angle, he's wearing the home whites there.

Player: Jeff Leonard was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in 1973.  He advanced steadily through the Dodgers system and made his debut with the Dodgers going 3 for 10 at the end of the season.  Leonard absolutely destroyed AAA pitching in '78 batting .365/.443/.532 before they traded him to the Astros in a deal that brought Joe Ferguson back to LA.  With just a few weeks left in the season, Leonard kept up his torrid pace hitting .385 in eight games.

 

Leonard began the '79 campaign as a reserve but by mid-May he was starting in rightfield.  He hit at a .290 clip with a .360 on base percentage and stole 23 bases but the cavernous Astrodome suppressed his power.  Although he hadn't been a prodigious home run hitter in the minors he had averaged around ten a season.  He along with a few other Astros went homerless that year but Leonard didn't go unnoticed and finished in second place for  NL Rookie of the Year.

 

The 1980 season was brutal for Leonard as he started the year as the Astros fourth outfielder behind Jose Cruz, Cesar Cedeno, and Terry Puhl and never did anything to win his job back.  He batted just .213 but he did manage to hit the first three homers of his career.  Leonard was hitless in three at bats off the bench in the NLCS against the Phillies.

 

The Astros traded Leonard and Dave Bergman to the Giants for Mike Ivie just weeks into the '81 season and demoted Leonard down to AAA.  He torched minor league hurlers to a .401 tune in 207 plate appearances while waiting for the strike to conclude and a chance at a recall.  "Hac-Man" got his chance and kept on hacking when he got to San Fran knocking 18 extra base hits in 141 plate appearances.

 

Leonard's finish to the '81 season earned him the starting centerfield job in '82 but he was removed from his post in favor of rookie Chili Davis after just two weeks.  He slid over to leftfield but missed over two months with a wrist injury.  He came back but his batting stroke was off and although he hit a career best nine homers, his average slid to .259. 

 

Nicknamed "Prison Face" for his icy glare by teammate Bergman, Leonard had a breakout season in '83.  He batted .279 but hit 21 home runs while driving in 87 runs and stole 26 bases.  He repeated with 21 homers but raised his average to .301 with an OPS+ of 138.  He regressed to .241 and 17 HR in '85 and injuries limited him to '89 games in '86.

 

Leonard was a man of many names and by this point in his career preferred Jeffrey over Jeff.  The change precipitated a change in nicknames too from "Prison Face" to the more noble "Penitentiary Face".  But it was also around this time where he began taking his home run trots with his left arm tucked in earning the moniker "One Flap Down".  He hit 19 long balls in '87 while batting .280 and making his first All-Star team.  It was his postseason batting that got the attention as he homered in the first four games of the NLCS.  His home run trot drew the ire of Cardinals pitchers and fans and although St. Louis won the series, Leonard was voted series MVP.

 

Hac-Man was slow out of the gate in '88 was traded to the Brewers in June for Ernie Riles.  He hit just ten homers on the year and finished with an OPS+ of 77.  Leonard signed on as the Mariners DH in '89 and the move helped him play in a career best 150 games.  He also set career bests with 24 HR and 93 RBI but his rate stats of .254/.301/.420 were quite sub par for a DH.  The following year he played more leftfield than DH which further decreased his value as his already suspect defense was now in further decline. He slugged just .356 and was a boat anchor in left while accumulating -2.0 WAR.

 

Leonard spent the '91 season at the AAA level for the Royals but never returned to the majors and retired after the season at age 36.

 

 

Flipside: Leonard is listed at 6' 3 1/2" but current sources list him at 6'2".  Topps rounded up to 6'4" on his '88 and later card backs. 
Checking out his stats through the '82 season, you would not think this player would go on to have three 20 HR seasons.

Oddball: A great pictorial piece here by Patrick Dubuque of the many faces of Jeffrey Leonard.

History: Looking back at his career compared to my memory of Leonard, I realize he was quite overrated.  He was a streaky hitter who could get hot (see '87 NLCS) but he earned just 7.2 WAR in his career with 6.3 earned in '83 and '84.  His low walk rate and poor defense were magnified by his inconsistent power.  When he was healthy he could club 20 home runs with a decent average but he played over 140 games just once in his career. His career stats: .266/.312/.411, 144 HR, and 163 SB

#282 Reggie Smith - San Francisco Giants

This is Reggie Smith's 17th and final Topps card.  It seems fitting yet cruel that someone who was under rated their entire career would have to share a card with rookie and future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.  This card is often listed online as Reggie Smith w/Ryne Sandberg.  A good write up on the action shot can be read here.

 

 

Player: Reggie Smith was signed by the Twins back in 1963 before the advent of the draft.  As '64 approached he was left unprotected and was scooped up by the Red Sox.  He got into a half-dozen games at the tail end of the '66 season for Boston.  Smith would become a fixture in centerfield for the Red Sox but when he began the '67 season on the team he actually started the first six games of the year at second base while teammate Mike Andrews was on the mend.  He slugged 15 homers while batting .246 for Boston and had a nice postseason playing in all seven games of the World Series.  He got on base eight times including two home runs in the Red Sox loss to the Cardinals.  Smith finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Rod Carew.

 

Smith repeated his 15 HR performance in '68 and led the league with 37 doubles.  He hit .265/.342/.430 which given the low runs scoring environment is pretty impressive.  Smith had an OPS+ of 127 and he would match or better that mark 11 of the next 14 seasons.  His defense in center was stellar and resulted in a Gold Glove. 

 

The next five years for the switch-hitting Smith were marked with steady production.  Twenty to Thirty home runs, batting average around .300 with about ten stolen bases became the norm.  After the '73 season he was traded to the Cardinals with Ken Tatum for Rick Wise and Bernie Carbo.

 

Smith played rightfield in '74 for his new team and hit .309/.389/.528 while driving in 100 runs for the first and only time in his career.  Another good year followed in '75 but in '76 the Cardinals moved him around the diamond which coincided with a deep slump.  He played rightfield, firstbase, and thirdbase and was batting just .218 when he was traded to the Dodgers for Joe Ferguson and Bob Detherage.  The Dodgers plugged him into rightfield and his bat perked up as he hit .280 the rest of the way.

 

1977 would be a great year for Smith as he batted .307/.427/.576 with 32 home runs.  Long referred to as the "other Reggie", he was often overshadowed by Reggie Jackson in the headlines.  That would not change in the '77 World Series.  Jackson had a monster series and while Smith did well with three home runs of his own, he and the Dodgers lost in six games.

 

Injuries limited Smith to 128 games in '78 but he was still dynamite with the bat following up his 168 OPS+ in '77 which topped the NL, with a 161 mark.  Smith contributed another homer but the Dodgers again lost to the Yankees in the World Series.  A variety of injuries limited him to half seasons in '79 and '80 and by '81 he was reduced to pinch hitting after major surgery on his throwing shoulder.  He got his elusive World Series ring in his 4th try as he had two pinch hits in four postseason at bats.

 

After batting just 35 times in '81, Smith was a free agent and signed with the Giants.  Now with a relatively healthy shoulder he returned to semi-regular duty as their first baseman.  He hit 18 home runs in 108 games and batted .284/.364/.470.  When he wasn't satisfied with San Francisco's contract offer he decided to play in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants.  He played two years in Japan before retiring after the '84 season. 

Flipside:  No room for highlights-these are Smith's career stats.

 

Oddball:  Smith who barely played in '81 had more excitement off the field than on it.  On August 24th, young Pirates pitcher Pascual Perez was dusting off those in Dodger blue all game.  After plunking Bill Russell and Dusty Baker in the 6th inning, Smith who was riding Perez all game from the bench, challenged him to meet after the game.  As Perez walked off the mound to end the 6th inning, he yelled back to meet him now in the tunnel.  The players met beneath the stands where the locker rooms connected via the tunnel.  Perez who was well out of his weight class showed up with a bat.  Both teams ran into the area leaving the field empty and the fans baffled.  As most baseball fights go there was mostly yelling and pushing.  Order was eventually restored with no one worse for wear and since the fracas occurred off field the umps didn't eject anyone.

A month later Smith went into the stands in San Fran and slugged heckler Michael Dooley who had thrown a souvenir helmet at him.  As fans came after Smith, his teammates joined the fray.  Eight fans were arrested for various infractions.  Dooley suffered injuries to his hands and ribs and according to his wife ''He was being pulled into the field by the Dodgers and off the field by the cops, while he was being beaten by both.''

Strangely Smith signed with the Giants a few months later.

 

History:  Smith set several records for switch-hitters and racked up over 60 WAR in his career. His career OPS+ is 137 and his final rate stats are strong with a .287/.366/.487 line.  He had a great career and you'll see some of his milestones and achievements when I examine his Super Veteran card in the next post.

 

 

If you like the Oddball section of this blog you'll probably appreciate my new blog- Oddballs!

#263 Renie Martin - San Francisco Giants

It's not unusual to see a player in this motion on a card but most of the time when we see the hands over the head, it's a staged pose.  However, Renie Martin's 4th Topps card catches him in action on the mound.  The orange and brown borders go great with the Giants' uniforms and orange wall in the background. 

Player:  Renie Martin was a 19th round pick of the Royals in '77 and was pitching in the majors two years later.  Called up in May '79, he appeared in 25 games, all in relief, and pitched a little better than his 5.19 ERA indicates.  Kansas City used Martin as a swing man in 1980 and he made 20 starts with 12 relief appearances.  He went 10-10 with a 4.39 for the AL Champs and appeared in long relief for the Royals in the World Series.  He allowed three runs in 9.2 innings but did not factor in a decision.

 

Martin was used exclusively out of the pen in '81 and had his best season.  In 61.2 frames he saved 4 games with a 2.77 ERA and 130 ERA+.  In the '81 ALDS he pitched 5.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in two relief outings. 

 

After the season the Royals traded Martin to the Giants in the Vida Blue trade.  He began the year in the pen and was sent down at the end of April to stretch him out in preparation to join the rotation.  He came back in May and made 25 starts on the year.  He logged a career high 141.1 innings, but walked more than he struck out (64/63) and finished with a 4.65 ERA. 

 

Martin spent most of '83 pitching in middle relief, but control problems plagued him and he walked 51 in 94 innings.  His 4.20 ERA doesn't seem too bad but his WHIP was over 1.5 for the second year in a row.

 

Martin was stationed in AAA Phoenix for most of '84 and was traded to the Phillies in August.  He finished the year with a 4.15 ERA  and 1.897 WHIP in 39 innings.  Martin was released after the season and he spent the rest of playing career at the AAA level.

 

Stuff:  Mid 80's fastball, slider, curve

Flipside:  It seems curious to me that KC would turn Martin into a starter in 1980.  Looking at their staff however, reveals that they weren't very deep and had a few injuries to veterans who may have otherwise been better options such as Ken Brett and Steve Busby. 
The top of the rotation was solid with Larry Gura and Dennis Leonard combining for 563 innings with ERA's of 2.95 and 3.79 respectively.  Paul Splittorff and Rich Gale each logged around 200 innings and were about league average.  Dan Quisenberry pitched in 75 games while pitching 128 innings in relief.  After Quiz and Martin, middle reliever Marty Pattin was the most used arm on the the crew with 89 innings in 37 games.  After those seven pitchers, no other KC hurler had more than 31 innings. 
In the end it didn't really matter since teams don't need a 5th starter in the playoffs anyway.
 
Oddball:  Martin was a .301 lifetime hitter.  In 83 career at bats he ripped 25 hits, including three doubles and three triples.  He was quite a hacker as he never took a base on balls.  Strangely, in his minor league career he was only 1-17. 

History:  Martin is best remembered as the 5th starter on the 1980 AL champion Royals.  He had mediocre control and lacked an out pitch which led to a 237/256 strikeout to walk ratio.  Martin did his best work in the postseason, allowing just three runs in 15 innings of work. 

#210 Jack Clark - San Francisco Giants

Jack Clark is shown here on his 7th Topps card and it looks like a cold day at Shea Stadium.  After some rather bland cards earlier in his career, Topps pictured Clark in similar batting shots five cards in a row.  Check out Clark's '83 card and then his '81-'86 cards side by side:

I am pretty sure that is Darrell Evans waiting on deck.  If it is, then this is from a May 9, 1982 contest which ended with a Rusty Staub walk-off pinch hit home run.  It is the only game the Giants played at Shea in which Evans batted behind Clark.  

The  look pretty cool side by side but Topps shook things up in '87 and scored big with this awesome shot.








Player:  Jack Clark was a slugging RF/1B for 18 seasons in the big leagues.  He was drafted in the 13th round in 1973 and came up to the Giants just two years later.  Only 19 years old at the time, Clark had 4 hits in 17 at bats in a late season audition.  After a great season at AAA in '76, Clark played in 26 games at the tail end of the Giants schedule and hit .225/.277/.382.

Clark broke into the starting lineup and started in RF for the Giants in '77, batting .252 with 13 HR.  He busted out in '78 with a .306/.358/.537 line smashing 46 doubles and 25 dingers.  He made the first of four All-Star teams and finished fifth in the NL MVP race.

Over the next five seasons Clark would hit between 17 to 27 HR a year with batting averages from .268 to .284.  He topped 100 RBI for the first time with 103 in '82 and showed good plate discipline with 90 walks. 

He was thriving in '84 batting .320 when he was sidelined in June with a knee injury for the rest of the year.  The Giants thought Clark took to long to come back from injuries as they expected him back before the end of the season.  That coupled with his unhappiness playing in cold, blustery Candlestick Park led to an offseason trade to the Cardinals.

Clark made an immediate impact in St. Louis.  In a lineup surrounded by speedsteers, Clark played first base and was the main source of power supplying a .281/.393/.503 line in 126 games.  After missing time with a rib cage injury, he hit the deciding HR in the NLCS triumph over the Dodgers.  In the World Series, Clark and the Redbirds lost to the Royals with Clark involved in several memorable plays.

After missing over half of the '86 season, Clark returned with a monster season in '87.  He batted .286/.459/.597  with a career high 35 HR and 176 OPS+.  The season didn't end well as he was sidelined late in the year with an gimpy ankle.  Clark struck out as a pinch hitter in the '87 NLCS, was removed from the roster, and couldn't help the Cards in the World Series.

Clark was a free agent after the season and signed with the Yankees where the injury prone veteran was able to DH.  Although he didn't hit for average in NY, he got on base and drove in runs.  He didn't enjoy the AL and requested a trade after clashing with manager Lou Piniella. 

Traded to the Padres, Clark hit 25 and 26 HR in '89 and '90 and led the NL in walks both years.  After two years in San Diego, Clark signed with the Red Sox.  In Boston, he hit .249/.376/.466 in '91 but was neither healthy or productive in '92.  Released by the Red Sox in February of '93 his career was over when he tried but failed to catch on with the Expos.  Clark retired with 340 HR, a .267/.379/.476 line, and a robust 137 OPS+.

Flipside:  Clark hit 46 doubles in '78 but never topped 30 in any other season. 

Oddball:  The Giants drafted Clark as a pitcher but he quickly showed that his future in baseball wasn't on the mound.  The 17 year-old Clark pitched 15 innings in Rookie-ball and was torched for 24 runs.  Clark however was a good athlete and played two years at 3B before moving to RF his last year in the minors.

History:  Clark was on two pennant winners in his three years in St. Louis but never won a World Series.  He had run-ins with teammates who were otherwise known as nice guys such as Ozzie Smith and Tony Gwynn.  Labeled a malcontent, Clark was dogged by injuries most of his career and went through the embarrassment of filing for bankruptcy while he was playing in Boston.

Despite all that, Clark won two Silver Slugger awards, posted 50.1 WAR, and received MVP votes in six different seasons.