I Love the 80s - 1982 San Francisco Giants

 This is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

The 1981 Giants were a veteran club that struggled to make up ground on the NL West frontrunners - they finished 5th in the first half, 3rd in the 2nd half, good for (you guessed it) the 4th best record overall in the division. They were led by Frank Robinson - who was MVP in both leagues as a player, and by virtue of his first managerial gig in the senior circuit, he became the 1st African American manager hired in both leagues as well. 

In 1982, Robinson would see his team improve across the board by completely overhauling the starting rotation, as well as getting quite a bit younger at several key positions. They finished 1982 with a record of 87-75. While this was only good for a 3rd place finish, they also were able to hang their hats on playing the role of spoiler. In the season's final weekend, the Giants were just one game out of first place. The rival Dodgers came to town and a Jerry Reuss shutout in the opener pushed the Giants out of the picture. The Giants would get their revenge the following day, knocking the Dodgers out of playoff contention. The weekend was capped by a home run from 38 year old Joe Morgan, who remarked after the game "I wanted this one for the Giants and the fans." Morgan would depart as a free agent following that final at bat and helped the 1983 Phillies go all the way to the World Series. The Giants would continue to get younger - and nearly landed a generational talent in the draft. Their 2nd round pick in 1982 was Barry Bonds. They ended up losing him the same way they lost the chance to sign Hank Aaron so many years ago, by not offering the best contract. Bonds asked for $75,000; the General Manager at the time wouldn't budge past $70,000. That led Barry to stick to his guns and opt to attend College rather than sign for less than he was worth. 

The Cards:

Fleer #384 Vida Blue - Blue was the headliner of a Giants' rotation in 1981 that was built on experience. Blue was still just 31 years old, but it would be his last season in San Francisco. He came to the Giants in 1978 in a Spring Training trade that sent 7 players and cash to the Oakland A's. He was coming off a season in which he lost an AL leading 19 games, however that can be attributed to the dismantling of the A's dynasty around him rather than any particular shortcomings on the mound. He was an All Star despite the tough luck losses, then followed it up with a stellar season again his first time pitching in the National League. He would make the 5th All-Star squad in his career, pitching to an 18-10 record with a 2.79 ERA. He'd finish 3rd in the NL Cy Young race. In 1981, he made just 18 starts in the strike shortened campaign, but again he pitched quite well. His ERA+ of 140 was his best in nearly a decade, buoyed by a 2.45 ERA. It would be his 6th and final All-Star nod. In 1982, he signed with Kansas City before returning to the Giants for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. While he won both Cy Young and MVP honors in 1971, he was largely overlooked by the Hall of Fame voters, falling off the ballot after 5 years of eligibility. His career matches up favorably with former teammate Catfish Hunter, as well as hall of famers Hal Newhouser and Don Drysdale. 

Topps #777 Tom Griffin - The eldest of the 3 30+ year old starting pitchers of the 1981 staff, Griffin moved into the rotation after several seasons as bullpen arm and spot starter. His 22 starts were the most since 1974, when he had one of his best years for Houston. He was an instant success in 1969 with the Astros, leading the NL in strikeouts per 9 innings. He cracked the 200K mark as a rookie that year. He had a reputation for owning the inner portion of the plate. He led the NL in 1980 (as a reliever) and 1981 in batters hit by pitch. Griffin also had a decent career swinging the bat, hitting 10 homers over his 14 MLB seasons, just five of those spent as a full-time starting pitcher.

Donruss #398 Darrell Evans - Evans was underrated as a 3rd baseman. He led the NL in errors in 1975, however he also led the NL in range factor six times in the 1970s, as well as finishing in the top five in Assists as a 3rd Baseman seven times in his career. He never won a Gold Glove for his efforts, not surprising given that Mike Schmidt was the annual Gold Glove Winner at the position from 1976 until 1984. My own memories of Evans center on his later seasons in Detroit, hitting 40 homers at the age of 38 to lead the AL in 1985 was quite a feat. Before he became an "aging slugger," Evans made a career out of working counts, drawing walks, and punishing mistakes. Evans led the NL in walks in 1973 and 1974, and that was in the same lineup as Hank Aaron - typically pitchers did not want guys on base for Hank to hammer home. Evans never really hit for average, which might explain the lack of All-Star appearances (just 2), as well as the lukewarm response to his Hall of Fame ballot appearance in 1995. If not for Mike Schmidt being a once in a generation talent, who knows what Evans' career would like compared to everyone else?

Fleer #387 Jack Clark - In 1981, Clark was the youngest regular in the Giants' lineup at 25 years old. He was already a two time All Star for the Giants, playing in the mid summer classic in 1978 and 1979. Clark was a masher and had some speed in his younger days. He had double digit steals three straight years from 77 to 79. In his later years, he developed similar skills to Evans, hitting 25+ homers and drawing 100+ walks every year from 1987 through 1990. His 1987 season in particular was stunning - he led the NL with 136 walks and was the league leader in OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+. The Cardinals really missed his bat in the 1987 World Series, injuries kept him from playing and may have been a deciding factor in the tightly contested seven game series. Clark was a classic case of a  career with a very high but very short peak. His overall counting stats (340 Homers, 1800+ hits, 1100 runs and 1100 RBI) don't scream "Hall of fame" career, however his OBP, SLG, and OPS+ stats rank favorably among his peers. 

Donruss #186 Fred Breining - Breining had a short but efficient MLB career. He was a stopper in the bullpen, a spot starter, a full time member of the Giants' 1983 rotation, a reliever again, and then out of MLB baseball all in a five year stretch. As a bullpen arm in 1981, Breining made just 1 start, but appeared in 45 games for the Giants, finishing 15 of them. He wasn't the closer, however, getting just one save. The following year, he'd make 9 starts, 2 of them complete games, while also finishing 16 games out of the bullpen. He had the least amount of success as a full time starter, going 11-12 with a 3.82 ERA over 32 starts. 1983 as a starter was actually the lowest WHIP of his career, but also the only time his ERA+ fell below league average. He appeared in 4 games in relief for Montreal in 1984 before injuring his shoulder fielding a bunt. 

Donruss #377 Al Holland - Holland was the set up man for the Giants from 1980 through 1982, a role at which he excelled to the tune of a 19-11 record with a 2.56 ERA. He picked up 19 saves as well over those seasons, which prepared him for the closer role in Philadelphia. He saved 25+ games in 1983 and 84 for the Phillies, and was an All-Star in 84. He appeared in 2 games in the NLCS and 2 more in the 1983 World Series, giving up 0 runs in relief. He was the 1983 Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the year. He is also a College baseball Hall of Famer, thanks to his stellar career for North Carolina A&T, leading the NCAA in ERA in 1975 with a 0.26 mark. 

Fleer #394 Jerry Martin - Not to be confused with Jerry Remy or Billy Martin, Jerry Martin was a journeyman outfield who played 72 games for the Giants in 1981, primarily as the team's Center Fielder. The year before he posted career highs in homers (23) and RBI (73) for the Cubs. He was not particularly speedy on the bases, never cracking double digit steals in a season. Martin was known to have a pretty good arm in the outfield, and came up through the Phillies' system as a top prospect. He was the MVP of the Western Carolinas league in 1972. Over the course of his 11 MLB seasons, he played for 5 different teams. He later spent 20 years as a coach in the minors, primarily with the Phillies and the Tigers.

Topps #171 Future Stars Bob Brenly / Chili Davis / Bob Tufts - 

Bob Brenly was an All-Star in 1984 and played 9 seasons with the Giants (and half a season with the Blue Jays) as a Catcher and corner infielder. Following his playing days he became a coach and Manager. He was the Manager of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, winning the World Series in his first year in the role. 

Bob Tufts appeared in 27 career MLB games as a relief pitcher, and was traded with Vida Blue to the Royals following the 1981 season. Tufts' claim to fame was being a graduate of Princeton University, the first MLB player from that school since Dave Sisler. Tufts would go back to school and earn an MBA from Columbia University and became a Wall Street broker.

Chili Davis had the best MLB career of the bunch, first as an outfielder in San Francisco and with the Angels, then as a DH for many teams. He played for 3 World Series winning teams - the 1991 Twins, and the 1998 and 1999 Yankees. Davis had 350 career homers and over 2,350 hits, both the most by any player born in Jamaica. He also has the lowest career MLB ERA, having pitched a pair of scoreless innings in 1993 for the Angels. Following his playing career, Davis has become a highly sought after hitting coach, currently serving in that role for the New York Mets. 

Donruss #524 Johnnie LeMaster - LeMaster was the Giants' Shortstop on again and off again from 1978 until he was traded early in the 1985 season. One fun bit of trivia - his first MLB at bat was an inside the park home run off Don Sutton. His final career homer in 1985 was also of the inside the park variety. LeMaster was a decent fielder with a cannon arm, but was not the best hitter in MLB history, he had a career OPS+ of 60 (100 is league average) with a career batting average of .222. He was not so kindly nicknamed "Johnnie Disaster" by the Candlestick Park faithful and once wore a jersey with the name "BOO" on the back as a sarcastic nod to the fans that gave him a hard time. 

What is your favorite card of a San Francisco Giant from 1982? Doesn't have to be one of these...

Thanks for reading!