#43 Bob Dernier

Card:  This is Bob Dernier's second Topps card and his first card of his own.  He was on a three player future star card in the '81 set with Ozzie Virgil and Mark Davis.

Pic: Dernier is following through with his righthanded swing.  Looks like he made contact maybe to right-center.  I wonder why he has just one wristband?

Player:  Bob Dernier was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the January draft in 1977 but went unsigned and was picked up by the Phillies.   Dernier played second base at Longview Community College and the Phillies tried him at shortstop and third base before converting him to outfield.  Dernier tore up the base paths in the minors stealing 250 bases in 477 games.  Dernier's first taste of big league action came in September of 1980 as the Phillies outlasted the Expos to win the NL East.  Dernier appeared mainly as a pinch runner but had four hits in seven at bats, but did not play in the post season.

Dernier stole 70+ bases for the third consecutive time in the minors in '81 and was rewarded with another September call up.  "White Lightning", as he was called by those surprised at the speed of a white dude, was again used as a pinch runner, playing in ten games and getting three hits in four at bats.  Dernier made the Phillies out of spring training in '82 and filled the role of fourth outfielder, splitting his time between center and rightfield.  The speedster swiped 42 bases despite a .249 average and a .315 OBP.

Dernier started the first two games of '83 season but was brought off the bench for the next month and sent down to AAA in May.  He came back a few weeks later as a pinch runner, pinch hitter and defensive sub.  Dernier batted only .231 but was able to steal 35 bases in 42 attempts.  He did not bat in the playoffs as the Phils lost to the Orioles in the World Series. 

Dernier was on the verge of being sent down to AAA in spring training of '84 when he was traded with Porfi Altamirano and Gary Matthews to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz.  At first, Dernier played semi-regularly for the Cubs through April and caught fire in May hitting .344 with 15 steals for the month earning him starter status for the first time.  Dernier excelled in the leadoff spot batting in front of his Phillies minor league teammate Ryne Sandberg.  Dernier ended the year batting .278 with a .356 on base clip and stole 45 bases as the Cubs made the postseason for the first time since 1945.  Dernier homered to lead off the bottom of the first in game one of the NLCS vs. San Diego to get the Cubs started on an eventual 13-0 win, but the Padres got the last laugh winning in five games.

Dernier struggled in '85 especially against right handed pitching and batted only .254.  As Dernier's inability to get on base continued his playing time steadily decreased and by '87 he was once again a bench player.

Dernier was not re-signed after the '87 season and was inked by the Phillies where he bounced back with a .289 average as a part timer for the Phils in '88.  The 32 year-old couldn't keep it up though and batted just .171 in 1989 in what turned out to be his final season.

Flipside: Dernier was league MVP at AA Peninsula in '79.  His '80 campaign at Reading was even better. 

Oddball: On May 15th, 1989 Dernier came to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning with his Phillies losing 2-0 and two runners on base.  Dernier ripped a liner down the left field line off the Padres Craig Lefferts.  The leftfielder misplayed it and Dernier raced around the bases for a walk-off inside the park home run.  This would be Dernier's only homer of the year and last of his career.  You can watch a low-quality video of Harry Kalas' call here.

History:  Dernier's had one good season and it coincided with the Cubs winning the division.  He was a bit error prone in the field but had excellent range and stole 218 bases in his career at a 77.5% rate.  Dernier just couldn't get on base enough to stay a starter but was a useful platoon and bench player for a while.  When he stopped hitting lefties his playing career was over.

Dernier was the Cubs first base coach under Mike Quade, but it is unclear what will happen under new manager Dale Sveum.

#42 Dale Murray

Card:  This is Murray's 6th Topps card.  Murray's rookie card was in the '75 set.

Picture:  Murray is leaning over in what is supposed to look like his pitching follow through but it looks more like someone or something got his attention right before he treid to pull a weed from the ground.  Murray looks tired.

Player:  Murray a right handed pitcher was drafted in the 18th round by the Montreal Expos in the 1970 draft and Murray made his MLB debut in July of 1974. After pitching well out of the pen in blowouts and losses for the first few months, Murray was closing out games by September.  Murray had a tremendous three week stretch to end the season.  Pitching 27.1 innings in 12 games, Murray did not allow a run and saved 10 games.  The 6'4" Texan ended the year with a 1.03 ERA, pitching 69.2 innings in 32 games.

Although Murray missed and a month with hepatitis and pitched exclusively in relief, Murray led Expos pitchers with 15 wins in 1975.  Murray also had 9 saves in 111 innings with a league average 3.96 ERA and an inflated WHIP of 1.554.  Murray led the Expos with 13 saves in '76 and led the NL with 81 games pitched and posted a 3.26 ERA. The big sinkerballer induced a lot of double plays, had excellent control, and had shown a remarkable knack for keeping the ball in the park thus far allowing only two home runs in his first three seasons despite logging over 275 innings.

Prior to the '77 season the Expos traded Murray and Woodie Fryman to the Reds for Tony Perez and Will McEnaney.  The change of scenery proved disastrous for the 27 year-old.  Murray's ERA jumped to 4.94 as he gave up 13 homers in 102 innings.  Murray was pitching a little better when he was again traded in May of '78 to the Mets.  Murray was able to rebound from his terrible season and his ERA returned to a more respectable 3.78 as he saved seven games between his two teams. 

Murray scuffled through most of 1979 for the Mets before they sold him back to his original team in Montreal. Murray stats on the year were a disappointing 5-10 record, 4.57 ERA and a whopping 174 base runners in 110 innings.  Murray split 1980 between Montreal and AAA Denver but was released in August with a 6.14 ERA with the big club.

Murray signed in the off season with Toronto and spent the most of the year with AAA Syracuse.  Murray pitched great at Syracuse (1.85 ERA, 16 saves in 78 innings) and was called up at the end of the year.  Murray's success continued as he gave up only two runs in 15.1 innings with Toronto.  Murray's rebound year helped him earn a spot in the pen for the Jays in '82 and he was able to reclaim the major league success that had eluded him over the past few years.  Murray saved 11 games to lead the Blue Jays, working 111 innings with a 3.16 ERA.  In December Toronto traded Murray along with Tom Dodd to the New York Yankees for Dave Collins, Fred McGriff, Mike Morgan and cash.

In New York Murray again had trouble keeping runners off base and had a 4.48 ERA in 94 innings in 1983.  The Yankees resigned Murray, but he struggled with injuries and only pitched in 19 games in '84.  Murray was released by the Yankees in April of '85 and was signed by the Rangers.  After allowing two runs in an inning for Texas, they decided to send Murray down to the minors.  Murray pitched well at AAA but did not get called back up.  Troubled by a problem with his sciatic nerve Murray's career was finished.

Stuff: Fastball, sinker, forkball.  Believed by some to throw a spitball.

Flipside: Bobby Cox used Murray 14 times in '82 to pitch 3 or more innings and was stretched out as far as five innings.  Murray was never really the same after this season and it makes you wonder if the work load helped accelerate his decline.

Oddball:  Murray's 11 saves in '82 was a franchise record for the young Blue Jays franchise.  The mark stood until 1985.  Hard to believe that 11 saves would be the high water mark for a team for eight seasons.

History:  Murray had his ups and downs in hsi careeer.  At his best he could work 60+ games a year working several innings per appearance.   His career WHIP of 1.446 is very high compared to his career 3.85 ERA showing that he often lived on the edge of disaster even in his good outings.  Yankee fans will remember Murray for being the main return in the ill-fated Fred McGriff trade, and Reds fans will recall Murray as half of the return in the deal that sent Tony Perez packing.

#41 Jerry Turner

Card: This is Turner's ninth and final Topps card.  He first appeared on a four player rookie card in the '75 set.

Picture: This is Turner's only card in a Tiger uniform.  Looks like Turner just followed through with a left-handed swing.  It's pretty sunny, is it a spring training game? 

Player: Jerry Turner was a left handed, left fielder drafted by the San Diego Padres in '72 draft.  The 10th round pick started his pro career that same year in low A ball where he hit a sizzling .377 in 199 at bats.  Making the big jump to Double-A, Turner batted only .257 in 1973.  Turner repeated the level in '74 and this time he was ready hitting 18 homers to go with a .326 average.  His success got the attention of the Padres management and the 20 year-old was given 48 at bats in a September call up.  Turner hit .292 in his brief look and started the 1975 season in AAA Hawaii.  Turner hit .326 while on the island and earned another September call up.  Mainly used as a pinch-hitter, Turner rapped six hits in twenty two at bats.

Turner made the Padres out of spring training in '76 and was used as a part time starter and pinch hitter getting 281 at bats. Along the way Turner batted .267 with 5 homes runs and 12 stolen bases.  He was utilized in the same role in '77 and reached double digits in home runs with ten for the first and only time in his career.  Turner struggled to hit consistently though and finished the year at .246.

Turner hit for high batting averages in the minors but he hadn't been able to find the same success in the majors.  But Turner was a left-handed commodity and he stuck around as a pinch hitter as 1978 began.  Turner excelled in his pinch-hitting role banging five home runs among 20 hits in 49 at bats good for a .408 batting average.  Turner got quite a few starts in August in September and wound up hitting .280 for the year.

In 1979 Turner would receive the most playing time of his career playing in 138 games and getting 448 at bats.  Unfortunately Turner didn't take advantage of his opportunity and posted a .248 batting average and a .301 OBP. 

Returning to his more familiar pinch hitting role in 1980 Turner batted .288 in 153 at bats.  Between the labor strike and his diminishing role, Turner didn't play much in 1981 getting only two starts with the Padres.  He was sold to the White Sox in September.  Turner batted .209 in 43 at bats for the season and was not re-signed by Chicago.

The Detroit Tigers looking for someone to platoon with the right-handed Mike Ivie at DH, signed the 28 year-old Turner. for the '82 season. He batted only .248 but hit seven of his eight home runs in Tiger Stadium, taking advantage of the inviting right-field upper deck. Turner was released in October and he hooked back up with the Padres.

Turner was used exclusively as a pinch hitter in '83 but he had only three hits in twenty three at bats through the middle of June.  The Padres sent him down to AAA and he played sparingly there for a month before getting his release.  Turner played six games for the Phillies' AAA Portland squad and called it quits.

Flipside: Turner didn't hit many home runs and as his career went on his doubles were even scarcer.  Over the last three years of his career ('81-'83) Turner hit only three doubles in his last 276 at bats.

Oddball:  This has been shared on other blogs about Turner but it seems worthy of sharing this excerpt from Bob Chandler's book "Tales from the Padres Dugout"-

Jerry was playing left field at San Diego Stadium against St. Louis when the Cardinals loaded the bases. The next batter hit a clean single to left that Turner fielded on one hop and started to throw home. In mid-throw he changed his mind and decided to throw to third base instead. In the process of changing his mechanics, Jerry threw across his body, and the ball flew down the left field line toward the San Diego bullpen. Fans were stunned to watch Turner run down his own throw in the bullpen as Redbirds flew around the bases.

History:  Turner was a one-dimensional player who relied solely on hitting for average.  His .292 mark in his first taste of major league action in September of '74 was as good as it ever got and when he wasn't hitting, he didn't have anything else to offer.  Since retirement Turner has worked as a scout for the Atlanta Braves, a youth baseball coach in the Los Angeles area and as a hitting coach for the Orange County Flyers a team in the independent Golden Baseball League. 

#40 Fernando Valenzuela

Card: This is Valenzuela's third Topps card.  His rookie card was a three player card shared with Mike Scioscia and Jack Perconte.

Picture:  Valenzuela is warming up in the bullpen... it looks like San Francisco.  The inset picture has a cool dusky background.

Player: Fernando Valenzuela's professional career began in 1978 at the age of 17 in Guanajato of the Mexican Center League.   The next year the MCL was absorbed into the Mexican League and he found himself with the Yucatan Lions.  Valenzuela pitched well and was sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He pitched in three games for Single-A Lodi giving up ten runs, three earned, in 24 innings of work.

Valenzuela started 1980 at Double-A San Antonio and did well with striking out 162 in 174 innings. He was called up to the Dodgers and made his debut on September 15th.  Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda used the young lefty out of the pen as LA battled the Astros for the NL West lead.  The Astros ended up with the division crown but it took 163 games.  Valenzuela appeared in ten relief appearances and didn't allow a run in 17.2 innings of work.

Valenzuela was tabbed as the Dodgers opening day starter in '81 when Jerry Ruess pulled a calf muscle.  Valenzuela shut out the rival Astros on five hits and was an instant hit. Incredibly, he allowed only four runs in his first eight starts, all wins, five of them shutouts.  By now Fernandomania was in full swing as the chubby young lefty had captured the attention of baseball fans in both the United States and Mexico.  Valenzuela finished the regular season with a 2.48 ERA, 11 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 180 strikeouts, all of which led the National League.  Valenzuela's brilliance continued in the postseason as he went 3-1 with a 2.24 in five starts as the Dodgers defeated the Astros in the divisional playoff, the Expos in the LCS and, the Yankees to win the World Series. Besides winning a ring, Valenzuela also won the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year all before his 21st birthday.

Fernando's 1982 season was a continuing display of his amazing pitching ability.  With his "look to the sky" motion, Valenzuela made 37 starts and won 19 games with a 2.87 ERA. Valenzuela was a workhorse logging 285 innings and completing 18 games and finished third in Cy Young voting.  Valenzuela's ERA jumped to 3.75 in 1983 but "El Toro" was still succewon 15.  The Dodgers captured the NL West and depsite Valenzuela winning a one run eight inning gem in game two, they eventually lost the series to the Phillies.

Valenzuela pitched well in 1984 with a nifty 3.14 ERA, but the Dodgers scored two or less runs in 18 of Valenzuela's 34 starts leading to a 12-17 record.  Fernando started the 1985 season with 41.1 innings without allowing an earned run a record to start a season.  He finished the year winning 17 with a 2.45 ERA.  Valenzuela again pitched well in the postseason, this time allowing only three runs in two starts, earning the game one win against the eventual NL champion Cardinals. 

In 1986 Valenzuela was named to his sixth consecutive All-Star team and made his mark striking out five consecutive AL batters to tie the feat set by Carl Hubbell in the 1934 game.  On the year, Valenzuela won a career high 21 games, completed 20 of his 34 starts and finished second in Cy Young voting.  Valenzuela's ERA jumped up to a league average 3.98 in' 87 and he won only 14 games but once again led the NL in complete games with 12. 

Over the past six years Fernando had been extemely durable averaging 14 complete games and 266 innings per year. The workload caught up with him as he struggled in 1988 and found himself on the DL in August with a shoulder injury and the Dodgers won the World Series without him.

Valenzuela was relatively healthy in '89 making 31 starts with a 3.43 ERA.  Fernando won 10 and worked 196 innings completing just three games as the Dodgers hoped to preserve his valuable left arm.  Valenzula's 1990 season was highlighted by a no hitter against the Cardinals.  It was otherwise a struggle for the 29 year-old lefty.  His 4.59 ERA was a career high and Valenzuela was released by the Dodgers the following spring.

Valenzuela was signed by the Angels and spent time in the minors trying to shake some more magic from his left arm.  He made two poor starts for the Angels in June and was released. Valenzuela signed with Detroit who in turn sold his rights to Jalisco in the Mexican League where he pitched in '92.

Valenzuela returned in '93 with the Baltimore Orioles and although he threw two shutouts, he was often knocked out of games early and finished with an 8-10 record and a 4.94 ERA.  The Phillies gave him a a chance midway through '94 and were careful not to overwork the veteran and he gave up three or less runs in all seven of his starts.  Although handled with care, Valenzuela was again injured and finished '94 on the disabled list.

Despite his injuries Valenzuela had a lot of things going for him.  For one he was still immensely popular, especially among the Mexican communities and attendance spiked whenever he pitched.  Two he was lefthanded, and three his resume from the 80's was still in the minds of general managers throughout baseball.  The San Diego Padres signed Valenzuela for the '95 season where he bounced in and out of the rotation posting an 8-3 record despite a 4.98 ERA.  1996 would a good comeback year for the stocky lefty.  Although by now a five or six inning starter, Valenzuela won 13 games and his 3.62 ERA was well below league average.

Valenzuela was resigned by the Padres but '97 was a struggle.  He was 2-8 with a 4.75 ERA when he was traded midseason to the Cardinals where he went 0-4 in five starts and was released. 

Valenzuela returned to Mexico to pitch and declined a spring training invite from the Dodgers in '99.  Valenzuela played sporadically preferring to play in the winter leagues, playing as recently as 2006 where he was teammates with his son Fernando Jr.

Stuff: Fastball 90 mph in his peak, low 80's after 1988, screwball at various speeds, curve, slider. 

Flipside: Although there were whispers that Valenzuela was born earlier than 1960, the biggest fib on this card is his listed weight of 180 lbs.

Oddball:  Fernando was a decent hitter and won two Silver Slugger awards. For his career he .200 with ten home runs. He also won a gold glove in '86.

History:  This blog is  way too small to capture what Fernandomania meant to baseball fans in in 80's.  The stout Mexican lefty is an icon and legend in Mexico and revered by Dodger fans.  He won two world titles with the Dodgers and won numerous awards throughout his career.  He finished his MLB career 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA, striking out 2,074 batters in 2,930 innings.  

#39 Terry Puhl

Card:  Terry Puhl is shown here on his 6th Topps card.  His rookie card was in the '78 set.  Puhl was featured on 13 Topps cards.

Picture: Puhl is bolting out of the batters box.  I wonder who that is on deck?  That is a nice inset picture with the blue sky and wispy clouds in the background.

Player:  Terry Puhl was signed as a seventeen year-old free agent out of Melville, Saskatchewan in 1973.  Even in the minors, Puhl displayed good patience at the plate, hitting for a decent average, and stealing some bases.  By 1976 he had already split time between AA and AAA where he batted .270 with a .372 on base percentage.  He started '77 on the Astros AAA club and was batting .305 when he got the call to the big leagues in July.  Puhl's success carried over to the majors as he hit .301 and got on base at a .385 clip.  Puhl batted lead off most games, played left and center field and had three four-hit games in his rookie year.

 

After going homer-less his rookie season, the left handed Puhl hit a lead off home run in the opener off of Tom Seaver to start the season.  Puhl continued to thrive in '78 and was batting over .300 when he was named to the NL All-Star squad.  Puhl did not play in the All-Star game and cooled off a little in the second half.  Puhl ended the year batting .289 with three home runs and 32 stolen bases.  Puhl had a very similar year in '79 posting a .287/.352/.377 line and stole another 30 bases playing center and right field.  Puhl's eight home runs were second on the team to Jose Cruz' nine as the Astros played small ball with four players with 30+ stolen bases.  Puhl tied a major league record with his 1.000 fielding percentage, handling 359 chances flawlessly in the outfield.

Puhl spent 1980 playing right field and batting in the top third of the Astros lineup.  The native Canadian hit a career high 13 long balls to lead the Astros, batted .282, and stole 27 bases.  Houston won 93 games and faced off against the Philadelphia in the NLCS.  Puhl batted .526 (10-19) which set a record at the time for LCS play, but the Astros lost to the Phillies in five games.

Puhl slumped in the strike shortened '81 campaign batting only .251.  The Astros won the second half of the '81 season and played the Dodgers in the NLDS.  Puhl's bat remained cold and he batted .190 as Houston lost in five games.  The sure handed Puhl continued to patrol right field in the Astrodome playing everyday and only taking time off against some tough lefties over the next several years.  Puhl batted only .262 in '82 but rebounded by hitting .292 and .301 in '83 and '84.  Puhl was fairly consistent, stroking 8 or 9 homers a year and stealing 13 to 24 stolen bases.

Puhl batted .285 in 1985 but played in only 54 games due to a hamstring injury.  Puhl was used primarily as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement over the next two seasons batting .244 and .230 with less than 200 at bats both years.  The Astros won the NL West in '86 and Puhl went two for three as a pinch hitter in a losing cause against the Mets.

Puhl was the fourth outfielder on the '88 team and saw increased playing time when he got red hot in June.  From June 17 to August 19, Puhl hit .376 (44-117) with 10 extra base hits and 17 walks.  It was a nice comeback year for the veteran as he finished with a .303/.395/.389 line. 

With Billy Hatcher slumping and Kevin Bass missing two months with an injury, Puhl played in 121 games in '89 batting .271 in 354 at bats.  Although Puhl at 6'2" was not a small man, he never hit for much power and he went homer less in '89.  Puhl started 1990 as a part time player for the Astros but an injury put him on the shelf for eight weeks.  After that he was used sparingly and only as a pinch hitter.  Puhl batted .293 in only 41 at bats. 

After 17 years as property of the Houston Astros, Puhl was not re-signed.  Puhl signed with the New York Mets for the '91 season but was cut in spring training.  Puhl was then picked up by the Kansas City Royals in late April.  The Royals used him as a pinch hitter but released the 34 year-old in June after getting four hits in eighteen at bats.  Puhl retired and at the time had played the most games by a Canadian born player. (1,531...later surpassed by Larry Walker and Matt Stairs).

Flipside:  Judging by his highlights, you might think Puhl tore it up in May of '82.  Despite these three big games, Puhl hit only .235 for the month.  His best month was probably August when he batted .318.  

Through 1982 Puhl had 278 career walks and 273 strikeouts.  He finished with 505 walks and 507 K's.

Oddball:  Puhl was never really know for hitting home runs but he had some weird spurts of power followed by long droughts in his career.  For example he went almost all of 1987 without a home run but hit them in back to back games in September.  Then in '88 with no home runs, he hit one on July 10 and again in back to back games on July 21 and 22.  He would then end his career with 219 consecutive games without a homerun.

History:  Puhl was an excellent corner outfielder and could fill in adequately in centerfield.  When he retired Puhl had the highest career fielding percentage at .993, of any outfielder in history and currently ranks ninth.  He had good on base skills and had 217 career stolen bases.  Puhl was selected to one All-Star team and had a historic playoff series in 1980.  Puhl was voted to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.  Puhl has managed the Canadian National Senior team since 2006 and has been managing the baseball team at the Universtiy of Houston-Victoria since 2008.

#37 Darrell Johnson

 

Card: This is Darrell Johnson's third and final card as a manager. Johnson had five cards as a player with his rookie card in the '57 set.

Picture: Johnson is staring off into the distance.  His hat is crooked.  Is that an accident or was he setting a trend?

Player: Johnson was a strong armed back up catcher who played for seven teams in six MLB seasons.  Johnson played for the White Sox and Browns in 1952 but would return to the minors for the next four years.  Johnson was then a third string catcher for the Yankees in '57 and '58 backing up Yogi Berra and Elston Howard.  Although he very rarely played (26 games) he was kept on the roster the entirity of both seasons.  He was on the World Series roster both years but not surprisingly didn't see any action.  The Yankees lost to the Braves in '57 but got their revenge the next year winning in seven games. 

Johnson spent '59 back in the minors and resurfaced with the Cardinals in 1960 again as a seldom used player-coach.  He returned as a coach only for the Cards in '61 but was let go when manager Solly Hemus was fired in July.  Johnson was signed by the Phillies to catch and played with them until he was sold to the Reds for the stretch drive.  The veteran backstop helped the Reds win the pennant hitting .315 in 20 games and went 2 for 4 in the World Series loss to the Yankees.  Johnson finished his playing career as a player-coach with the Orioles in '62.

Manager:  After the '62 season, Johnson was named manager of the Orioles top farm team in Rochester.  Johnson won an International League championship in '64 but had a disapointing '65 campaign.  The Orioles responded by promoting Earl Weaver to AAA and demoting Johnson to AA Elmira.

Leaving Elmira, Johnson then shifted gears and worked as a scout for the Yankees in '67 and was the Red Sox pitching coach in '68 and '69.  In 1970 Johnson worked as a minor league pitching instructor and returned to managing in '71 with the Red Sox AAA team in Louisville.  Johnson won the International League championship in '73 after the team moved to Pawtucket.

Darrell Johnson was given the reins to the Boston Red Sox for the '74 season.  Things were looking good for the BoSox but a late season collapse left them in third place with 84 wins.  With the addition of stud rookies Fred Lynn and Jim Rice the Red Sox won 95 games and won the AL East in '75.  After sweeping the three-time defending chamion A's in the ALCS, Johnson and the Red Sox took the favored Reds to seven games but lost the epic series.  Johnson was heavily criticized for his on field decisions and relations with the press became quite strained.  Struggling along with a 41-45 record in July of '76 Johnson was axed. 

The American League was set for expansion and Johnson was named skipper of the Seattle Mariners in September of '76.  Johnson spent three plus years in Seattle, winning no more than 67 games in a season.  Johnson was let go in August of 1980.

Meanwhile Don Zimmer was hired as the Rangers manager and brought Johnson onto his coaching staff for the '81 season.  By July of 1982 Zimmer was canned and Johnson given control for the rest of the year, oddly replacing the man who replaced him in Boston.  Johnson's Rangers won 26 and lost 40 under his control.  This was Johnson's last gig as manager at any level.

Johnson worked for the Mets in various capacities from '83 to '99 in roles such as scout, minor league coordinator, bench coach, and special assistant to the general manager.

 

Flipside: One thing about the way Topps lists the manager's record is that it only lists their regular season place in the standings.  For instance you'd never know that Johnson managed the '64 Rochester and '73 Pawtucket teams to league titles.

Oddball: In the minors in 1955 the very slow footed Johnson hit an inside the park home run.  On Johnson's drive down the first base line the right fielder lost track of the ball as it caromed in the bullpen in foul territory.  As it the ball bounced off a wall and back into fair ground, the perplexed right fielder was searching frantically for the ball under the bullpen bench as the sloth-like Johnson rounded the bases.

History: As a player Johnson was considered a valuable guy to have around and won a championship in '58.  He was a good defensive catcher and threw out 47% of base stealers in his career.  Johnson handled pitchers well and was a player-coach prior to managing. 

As a manager he took a lot of heat in Boston for not closing the deal in '75.  Ironically Johnson was with the Mets organization '86 when the Red Sox lost their next chance at a ring.  He managed the Mariners for a while but found that it is a tough job starting from scratch.  Johnson took over the Rangers halfway through '82 but was no longer the manager when this card came out.  Johnson passed away in May of 2004, five months prior to the Red Sox winning that elusive championship.

#36 Rollie Fingers Super Veteran

Then and Now:  Fingers in '68 was a promising, fresh faced young starter.  He had four seasons in the minors with ERA's ranging from 2.21 to 3.00.  By '82 he was a bad ass relief ace with a distinctive mustache and three World Series rings.

Career Span: 9/15/68 to 9/17/85

All Star: Fingers was on seven All-Star teams, six AL and one NL squad.  Fingers pitched in five games giving up four runs in 5.1 innings.  Fingers earned the loss in the '81 contest when he gave a up a two run home run to Mike Schmidt that gave the NL the lead in the 8th inning.

League Leader: Fingers led the league in games pitched and saves three times each.  Fingers also led the league in games finished twice.

All Time Ranks: Fingers' 341 saves was the most all-time when he retired but is now 10th.  Fingers pitched in 944 games which is 19th all time.

Post Season: Fingers won three World Series with the A's from '72 to '74.  In all, Fingers pitched in six postseasons with a 4-4 record, 9 saves and a 2.35 ERA in 57.1 innings.

MVP/CY:  Fingers won both awards in '81.  Fingers finished 3rd in Cy Young in '75 and 8th in '76 and '78.  Besides his '81 season, Fingers also received MVP votes in six other seasons finishing as high as 4th in '75.

HOF: In his second year of eligibility Fingers was inducted in '92, receiving 81.2% of the vote.  Fingers received 65.7% of the vote in '91.  Fingers was only the second relief pitcher (after Hoyt Wilhelm) voted into the Hall.