#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.

#170 Steve Howe - Los Angeles Dodgers

This is the third Topps card of lefty reliever Steve Howe. Looks like Howe is in the set position on the mound at Dodger Stadium.

Player: Steve Howe was a first round pick of the Dodgers in 1979.  After signing he spent the rest of the '79 season as a starter at Double-A San Antonio. The young hurler made the Dodgers team in 1980 and found a spot in the bullpen. Howe quickly established himself as an effective late inning reliever and was soon trusted with the bulk of the closing duties. Howe nailed down 17 saves (setting a rookie record)and carried a sub 2.00 ERA for most of the year before a late year slump bumped it to 2.66. He showed great control with only 12 un-intentional walks in 84.2 innings of work. His impressive year won him the NL Rookie of the Year award. The second in a run of four Dodgers to capture the award from '79-'82.

Howe had a fine sophomore season saving eight games while sharing closer duties with Dave Stewart and Bobby Castillo. Howe recorded a 2.50 ERA in 54 innings during the strike year of '81. The Dodgers beat the Astros in the divisional series and the Expos in the NLCS with Howe contributing two scoreless outings in each series. Matching up against the Yankees the Dodgers took the World Series in six games with Howe winning Game 4 and earning the save in the deciding Game 6.

Howe kept improving and saved 13 games with a 2.08 ERA in a career high 99.1 innings in '82. His control was outstanding as he walked just 17 (11 intentional). Howe sought treatment in the off season for drug addiction and started off the '83 season with great on field success. He had thrown 22.1 scoreless innings when he checked into a clinic to treat his cocaine addiction in late May.  Although he set career bests with 18 saves and a minuscule 1.44 ERA in 68.2 frames, Howe would be suspended for refusing a drug test in September.

Spiraling downhill, Howe tested positive for drugs three times in November and was suspended by MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn for the entire '84 season. He returned to the Dodgers in '85 but was not the same and he was released in July with a 4.91 ERA.  He signed with the Twins a month later but was even worse allowing 16 runs in 19 innings. 

Howe spent the next year and a half bouncing around independent, Mexican, and minor leagues.  He resurfaced with the Rangers in late '87, pitching in 24 games with a 4.31 ERA. As he battled drug and alcohol problems, Howe was in and out of baseball. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in '91. After 18 scoreless innings at AAA Columbus, he returned to the big leagues on 5/11. He had a very effective year with a 1.68 ERA in 48.1 innings.

Just when many thought he had put his problems behind him, Howe was busted for buying cocaine in June '92.  At the time Howe had a 2.45 ERA with six saves in 22 innings. He was given a lifetime ban that was later lifted on appeal.  Back with the Yankees, Howe wasn't very good in '93 and sported an ERA of 4.97. 

The Yankees were in first place in '94 when the strike ended the season.  At the time Howe was the bullpen ace with 15 saves and a tiny 1.80 ERA.  In '95 Howe wasn't nearly as effective as John Wetteland took over the closing duties.  Howe's ERA jumped up to 4.96.  He was no longer getting anyone out in '96 and the Yankees cut him loose after 17 ineffective innings. 

Now 39 years old, Howe attempted a comeback in the independent Northern League.  Although he pitched well he didn't make it back to the majors.

In 12 seasons spread out over 17 years, Howe had a 3.03 ERA (130 ERA+) with 91 saves in 606 innings. 

Stuff:  Four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider, change

Flipside:  The save on 6-26 wasn't a cheapie.  He pitched 3.1 innings and allowed just one baserunner in a 4-1 win over the Astros. 

Oddball:  Howe had terrific control.  In 606 innings he allowed 139 career walks, with 54 intentional.  So Howe gave up only an un-intentional walk every 7.2 innings.

History:  Howe had a great arm and had some excellent seasons.  The lefty phenom won a World Series in '81 with the Dodgers. 

For every second chance Howe was given, he couldn't overcome his problems, wasting opportunities at every turn.  Sadly his post-baseball career was no different.  He died in 2006 after his truck left a desert highway in Coachella, California.  Autopsy reports showed he had meth is his system.

#169 Doug Flynn - Montreal Expos

Another Montreal Expos card.  Actually it's just the second Expo in six cards but still I'm still recovering from the purple and orange combo from David Palmer's card.  This is Flynn's 8th card and first as an Expo.  Montreal acquired Flynn in an August transaction.  I wonder if Topps had a card of Flynn as a Ranger ready to go, possibly explaining why Flynn appears so soon after Palmer?

Player:  After attending the University of Kentucky for a year, Doug Flynn attended a tryout and signed with the Cincinatti Reds franchise.  He spent three years in the minors before making the 1975 team.  Playing a utility infielder role for the Big Red Machine, Flynn got into 89 games in his rookie year backing up Morgan, Concepcion, and Rose.  Flynn batted .268 with a home run and three steals, but did not see the field in the postseason. 

In '76 the Reds repeated as champs and Flynn played one inning in the NLCS.  During the regular season Flynn batted .283/.312/.338 in 235 plate appearances.  Although he would play nine more seasons, he never would exceed the offensive rate stats achieved in his sophomore season.

Flynn returned in '77 with the Reds but was traded to the Mets with Steve Henderson, Dan Norman, and Pat Zachry for Tom Seaver on June 15.  The Mets made several moves and turned over a good chunk of the roster in what has been referred to as the Midnight Massacre.  With the Mets, Flynn was thrust into a starting role and split time between second base and shortstop.  In 300 trips to the plate Flynn batted .191 for his new team with only seven extra base hits.

Flynn was tabbed as the Mets starting second baseman in '78 and he would hold down the job through the '81 season.  His batting average ranged from .222 to .255 over this time and he won a Gold Glove in 1980 based on a lofty .991 fielding percentage.

After the '81 season the Mets traded Flynn and Dan Boitano to the Rangers for reliever Jim Kern.  Flynn struggled with the Rangers and was batting .211 when he was sold to the Expos for $40,000.  He spent the next two and half years in Montreal playing regularly despite a .240-ish average, no extra base power, and very little patience at the plate.

Flynn was no longer a regular in '85, in fact he only played in nine of the Expos first 53 games.  They released him on June 11, but he was signed by the Tigers where he batted .255 in a utility role.  The Tigers cut Flynn the next spring and his career was over after 11 seasons.

Flipside:  Despite getting steady playing time from '78-'84, Flynn had woeful walk rates, earning a free pass in just 3.7% of his career plate appearances.  If his intentional walks are subtracted (Flynn often batted in front of the pitcher) his career walk total drop to 93 and his walk rate to 2.3%.

Oddball:  The Big Hair and Plastic Grass blog has a good look at Flynn's hair before and after his trade to the Mets, as well as an, um, uh,... interesting picture with Joel Youngblood.

Flynn tied a major league record when he hit three triples in a game on 8/5/80. 

In a sad and mysterious case, Doug's sister Melanie Flynn went missing in 1977.  Her disappearance has never been solved.

History:  Flynn won two championship rings with the Reds at the beginning of his career.  His skill set never really matched the playing time he received but his consistent fielding kept him around for eleven years.   His career totals: 918 hits, 7 HR, 20 SB, .238/.266/.294.

After managing in the minors with the Mets organization for a while, Flynn got into the banking industry.  

#168 Juan Eichelberger - San Diego Padres

Juan Eichelberger's third Topps card shows him warming up in Dodger Stadium.  The perspective makes his glove appear humongous.  The back of the card lists him as throwing right, so I know he has another arm there.  The inset pic shows Eichelberger with mischievous look on his face...what was he up to anyway?

Player:  Juan Eichelberger debuted in the majors at the tail end of the '78 season.  The former 1st round pick (Jan '75) pitched three games in relief and gave up four runs in 3.1 innings.  He had a solid year at AAA in '79 and was rewarded with three September starts with the big club.  He split two decisions with his win coming in a complete game, four-hit, one run effort against the Braves.

Eichelberger split the '80 season between AAA Hawaii and San Diego.  He made thirteen starts and two relief appearances for the Padres with a 5-3 record and a 3.65 ERA over 88.2 innings.

Eichelberger spent the next two years in the Padres starting rotation.  In '81 he went 8-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 141.1 innings.  He struggled in '82 losing twice as many as he won (7-14) with a 4.20 ERA.  In 177.2 innings he walked nearly as many as he struck out, 72/74.  After the season, he was traded with Broderick Perkins to Cleveland for Ed Whitson. 

With the Indians, Eichelberger started the year in the pen, joined the rotation for a couple of months, and finished the year back in the pen.  He went 4-11 with 4.90 ERA walking 59 and fanning 56 in 134 frames. 

Eichelberger spent the next four seasons in the minors.  Pitching mainly in relief he battled back to join the Braves in May of 1988.  He spent two months with Atlanta, pitched 20 games in relief with a 3.86 ERA and 1.446 WHIP in 37.1 innings.  He was sent back down to the bushes and never returned to the big leagues.

Like Mark Brouhard, the subject of our last post, Eichelberger went overseas and played for the Yakult Swallows on the Japan Central League.  He then played in the Senior Professional Baseball League until it folded in '91.  In seven major league seasons the righthander posted a 26-36 record with a 4.10 ERA (88 ERA+) in 603.1 innings.

Stuff:  Fastball, curve, slider, change, sinker

Flipside:  Eichelberger gets mention on the bottom for his double and triple.  Those were two of his five hits for the year.  He was 5-55 in '82 and batted .103 for his career.

Oddball:  His inability to make contact was record breaking.  Eichelberger once whiffed 15 straight times to set an MLB record that has since been broken. (Daniel Cabrera 18)

History:  Eichelberger didn't have a long or illustrious career and never pitched in the postseason.  He is probably remembered my most for his unusual name or the fact that he was in the trade that brought Ed Whitson to the Padres.

He and his son now run BaseballASAP a youth baseball facility.

#167 Mark Brouhard - Milwaukee Brewers

This is Mark Brouhard's second Topps card and the neon green border almost works with the green wall in the background.  Meanwhile, Brouhard has his game face on as he lurks on deck.  Although in his mid-20s when this pic was taken, he always looked much older to me.

Player:  Mark Brouhard originally came up in the Angels organization.  A fourth round pick in 1976, he had a monster season at Double-A El Paso posting a .350/.418/.596 line in 1979.  The Angels left the corner outfielder off their 40 man roster and the Brewers nabbed him in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 1980 season. 

As a Rule 5 selection, the Brewers were obligated to keep Brouhard in the majors all year or offer him back to the Angels.  He didn't play much, at first pinch hitting, then DH-ing, and he even played a handful of games at first base.  Except for a two week stretch at DH in June, he rode the pine most of the year.  He hit well in that stretch (.308/.333/.509) but he finished the year with just a .232 average and five homers in 125 at bats.

Brouhard backed up the corner outfield spots on a powerful Brewer team in '81.  In 199 plate appearances he hit .274 but with only two homers.  The young slugger did not play in the ALDS loss against the Yankees. 

He played even less in '82 and batted .269 in just 108 at bats.  After a stint in the minors, the Brewers brought him back in late August, in time for him to be eligible for the post season and it paid off.  Although he played just one game in the ALCS, he had the game of his life with a single, double, HR and three RBI in Game 4 against the Angels.  That he was able to do so well against the franchise that left him unprotected three years prior had to be very gratifying for Brouhard.  He didn't see action in the World Series as the Brew Crew fell to the Cardinals.

Brouhard never could crack the starting lineup and he never recorded 200 plate appearances in a season.  Warming the bench over the next three years he batted .276, .239, and .259.  Although he provided some pop off the bench in '83 and '84 with seven and six home runs, he slugged just one in '85. 

After the '85 season the Brewers sold Brouhard's contract to the Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League.  Given the chance to play everyday he hit .258 with 21 HR overseas.  The Swallows released him in 1987 when they picked up Bob Horner as league rules limit the number of foreign players on the roster.  Brouhard returned to the states and played in the Angels system for the balance of the year and retired.   His major league totals: .259/.305/.400 with 25 HR in 985 plate appearances.

Flipside:  May was Brouhard's best month in 1982 as he batted .318 and slugged .591 while getting regular time in right field.  All but two of his extra base hits came in May. 

Oddball:  Brouhard, a notoriously slow runner, was two for thirteen lifetime in steal attempts.

Three of Brouhard's 25 career homers were hit off of Dave Righetti.

Although a bench player his entire career, he did much better as a starter, batting .271 versus .101 coming off the bench.

History:  Brouhard was a slugging corner outfielder who is best remembered as a member of the early 80's Brewers teams.  He never played everyday for more than a week or two at a stretch.  He blasted minor league pitching but it never carried over to major league success.

Today Brouhard owns his own painting business.  

#166 John Pacella - Minnesota Twins

John Pacella appeared in the majors as early as 1977 but this is just his second and final Topps card.  If it's going to be a staged picture they might as well do it at my favorite ball yard, Tiger Stadium in Detroit.  At least he kept his hat on unlike his rookie card.

Player:  John Pacella was drafted in the 4th round by the Mets in 1974.  A starter in the minors he was called up in September of 1977 and made his debut on his 21st birthday in a relief role.  He made two more relief appearances in '77 and did not allow an earned run in four innings. 

Pacella had to wait until '79 to get another crack at the majors.  He joined the rotation late in the year for a handful of starts and allowed 8 runs in 16.1 innings.  1980 would prove to be the only year of his 15 year professional career in which he didn't pitch at least part of the year in the minors.  He began the year in long relief before joining the rotation in June.  He factored in only seven decisions, winning three with a 5.14 ERA in 84 innings. 

The hard throwing hurler had a way of losing his hat on the way to delivering the ball to the plate.  Some Mets fans found it amusing, some aggravating, while others turned it into a drinking game.  Any way you look at it, why couldn't he keep his hat on?

Anyhow, back to Pacella's career...  After the 1980 season he was traded to San Diego who dealt him in spring training to the Yankees.  He spent the entire '81 season in AAA but made the Yankee roster in '82.  He was torched in three games and sent back down to Columbus.  Shortly thereafter he was dealt to the Twins which is how he came to appear in the '83 set.  He started his first game for the Twins but was quickly banished to the pen where he toiled the rest of the year.  He had a terrible September allowing 17 runs in 6.1 innings over his last three games.  In all, he was 1-3 on the year with a 7.30 ERA.

The Twins traded Pacella to the Rangers who released him during spring training.  He pitched in the Orioles chain for the next two seasons and appeared in Baltimore for six games at the tail end of the '84 season.  He allowed 11 runs in 14.2 innings and was released after the season.  He pitched a year and a half in AAA for the Tigers before they gave him a call up in June of '86.  He allowed 5 runs in 11 innings before they sent him back down.  He pitched for two more seasons in the Tigers, Orioles, and Brewers chains and even spent time in Japan, but never made it back to the show. 

Flipside:   Topps had slim pickings for highlights but Pacella's 8-1-82 win wasn't that great.  He actually pitched 1.1 innings , not 1.2, and gave up two runs.

Oddball:  Pacella's mustache in the 70's was bordering on All-Star level and needs to be shown somewhere, so here it is. 



History:  Pacella was a journeyman making stops all over the map during his career:

Pacella had a lifetime record of 4-10 with a 5.73 ERA in 191.2 innings over fifteen pro seasons, six of them in the majors. 

These days Pacella is a pitching instructor at Big League Baseball School in Ohio.

#165 Dan Driessen - Cinicnnati Reds

Reds veteran Dan Driessen appears here on his 10th Topps card.  The action picture looks really weird to me, almost as if Driessen was cut out of another shot and placed here.  There would be no reason for that though, the edges of Driessen's uniform just don't look right compared to background. 

Player:  Dan Driessen went undrafted after high school but was signed by the Reds in 1969 after attending an open tryout.  He was tearing up AAA Indianapolis at a .409 clip in '73 when the Reds called him in June.  Playing at both corner infield spots Driessen hit .301 in 366 at bats and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting.  He started three games in the NLCS loss to the Mets, going 2 for 12 along the way.

The left handed Driessen platooned at third base in '74, and was often moved to first base late in games by skipper Sparky Anderson.  When he wasn't starting, Driessen often pinch hit going 5 for 14 in that role.  He produced a stat line of .281/.347/.400 and added 10 steals.  His fielding at the hot corner was poor, a lack of range combined with 24 errors led to him never him playing the position again. 

Pete Rose took over at third in '75 and Driessen went to the bench for a two year spell.  These years marked the pinnacle of the Big Red Machine's success as Driessen backed up Tony Perez at first base and George Foster in left field.  Driessen hit .281 and .247 in the '75 and '76 seasons with seven homers each season.  He didn't see much action the '75 postseason, going hitless in two at bats.  He was the starting DH in the '76 World Series against the Yankees and went 5-14 with a homer as the Reds captured a second World Series in a row. 

With Perez shipped off to Montreal in '77, Driessen assumed the starting first base position and would hold onto it for the next eight seasons.  In '79 the Reds returned to the playoffs and Driessen batted one for thirteen as they fell to the Pirates. Over the '77-84 seasons he averaged 14 HR a year and hit as high as .300.  A dependable defender at firstbase he led the NL in fielding percentage three times.

Driessen had a good eye and walked in nearly 13% of his plate appearances and led the NL with 93 in 1980. 

During the '84 season Dreissen was traded to Montreal for pitcher Andy McGaffigan.  He finished the year with a typical stat line of .269/.354/.455 with 16 HR.  Another mid-year trade sent him to the Giants in '85.  With his skills beginning to fade Driessen hit just .243 with 9 HR in 493 at bats. 

After a month in a pinch-hitting role with three hits in sixteen tries he was released by the Giants.  He latched onto a minor league deal with the Astros and showed up with the big team in a September call up batting .292 in part time duty.  Driessen wasn't eligible for the playoffs and was released in October.

Driessen spent most of '87 at AAA Louisville and was called up late in the year by the Cardinals.  Filling in for an injured Jack Clark, Driessen hit .233 with a homer and made the playoff roster.  He had three hits in twelve at bats in the NLCS series against the Giants.  The Cardinals then lost a hard fought World Series against the Twins as Driessen had three hits in thirteen at bats.  Driessen retired after the season ending his 15 year career.  His final stats include 153 HR, 154 SB, and a stat line of .267/.356/.411. 

Flipside:  Driessen had quite a month in May, hitting .330/.416/.629 with 7 HR and 19 RBI. The Reds on the other hand stunk winning just 11 of 27 games on the way to 101 loss season.

Oddball:  Most defensive metrics show Driessen had sub par range at first base which is odd since he moved well enough to steal as many as 31 bases in '77 and was still reaching double digits in that column as late as '82.   

History:  Driessen won two rings with the Reds dynasty and was a regular in Cincinnati's lineup for many years.  He was sometimes maligned for not having the power of most starting first basemen but Driessen was one of those players who did a little bit of everything.  

Driessen was recently inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.