1976 Topps #375 - Ron Fairly

• Ron Fairly played first base and outfield from 1958-1978. Fairly was signed by the LA Dodgers in 1958 after playing for Rod Dedeaux at USC. He played well in A and AAA ball and was called up in September. Ron batted .283 in 15 games for the Dodgers in 1958.

• Fairly spent the entire 1959 season with the Dodgers. He batted .238 with 4 HR in 118 games and was 0 for 3 in the World Series. Ron was sent back to AAA Spokane in 1960 and batted .303 with 27 HR and 100 RBI. Fairly was called up to the Dodgers in September and batted .108 in 37 AB.

• In 1961 Ron batted .322 in 111 games. He also posted a .432 on base percentage. Ron had high OBPs for most of his career. Fairly became the regular first baseman in 1962 and batted .278 with 14 HR and 71 RBI. In 1963 Ron batted .271 with 12 HR and 77 RBI in 152 games. He had four plate appearances in the 1963 World Series and he was 0 for 1 with 3 walks.

• Fairly's last season as the regular first baseman for the Dodgers was 1964. He batted .256 with 10 HR and 74 RBI. In 1965 Ron moved to right field (he still played a few games at 1B and CF). Fairly batted .274 with 9 HR and 70 RBI. Ron batted .379 with 2 HR in the 1965 World Series.

• In 1966 Ron missed most of the month of June with an injury. He played in 117 games and batted .288 with 14 HR and 61 RBI. Fairly was 1 for 7 in the 1966 World Series.

• Fairly returned as a regular in 1967 but his production was down. He batted .220 with 10 HR and 55 RBI. Ron continued to struggle in 1968. He batted .234 with only 4 HR and 43 RBI. Fairly started the 1969 season with the Dodgers (.219 in 30 games) but wasn't getting very much playing time. On June 11 he and Paul Popovich were traded to the Montreal Expos for Manny Mota and Maury Wills. Ron played better for the Expos and batted .289 with 12 HR in 70 games.

• Ron was the regular first baseman for the Expos in 1970 but he missed almost five weeks in August and September with an injury. He batted .288 with 15 HR and 61 RBI in 119 games. In 1971 Ron was again the regular 1B and batted .257 with 13 HR and 71 RBI.

• Fairly split time between first base and right field in 1972, batting .278 with 17 HR and 68 RBI. Ron finally made it to an All Star Game in 1973 (he played 1B late in the game but didn't get to the plate). He batted .298 with 17 HR and 49 RBI (and also had a .422 OBP) in 1973. Ron's batting average dropped to .245 in 1974, but he still had a solid .372 OBP and hit 12 HR in 282 AB.

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  After the 1974 season the Expos traded Fairly to the St. Louis Cardinals for two minor leaguers. Ron did well as a part-time 1B and OF in 1975, batting .301 with 7 HR and 37 RBI in 282 AB. Fairly didn't get as much playing time in 1976 as the Cardinals were bringing along a guy named Keith Hernandez. Ron batted .264 in 110 AB for the Cards in 1976 and he was sold to the Oakland A's in September. Ron played in 15 games for the A's and batted .239.
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  Before the 1977 season Fairly was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a minor leaguer and cash. Ron became the first player to play for both Canadian teams. He was Toronto's representative to the 1977 All Star Game and struck out as a pinch hitter. Ron batted .279 with 19 HR and 64 RBI in 132 games.

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  Ron Fairly: Will He Be the Next Four-Decade Player? - October 1977 Baseball Digest. Ron didn't quite make it. The Blue Jays traded him to the California Angels after the 1977 season for Butch Alberts and Pat Kelly. Fairly played one season for the Angels and batted .217 with 10 HR and 40 RBI in 91 games. Ron retired after the 1978 season.

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  After his playing career Ron became a broadcaster. He started at KTLA in Los Angeles and later became a radio/TV broadcaster for the Angels. In 1987 Fairly moved on to broadcast SF Giants games and then in 1993 he went to Seattle to become a broadcaster for the Mariners. Ron retired from broadcasting in 2006.
• Here is a baseball history podcast about Ron.

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  Liked to face: Bob Gibson (.302 in 159 AB); Bob Moose (.472 in 36 AB); Roger Craig (.441 in 34 AB)
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  Hated to face: Curt Simmons (.059 in 34 AB); Warren Spahn (.121 in 33 AB); Bob Veale (.122 in 41 AB)

1976 Topps #374 - Dan Warthen

• Dan Warthen was a high school All-American football player (quarterback and tight end) and was also a star high school baseball player. Warthen turned down scholarship offers from USC, UCLA, Michigan, Northwestern, and Nebraska in order to play baseball. Dan was drafted by the  Montreal Expos in 1971.

• Warthen pitched in the minors from 1971-1975 and was brought up to the majors in May 1975. Dan was a swingman, making 18 starts and appearing in relief 22 times. He had a record of 8-6 with 3 saves and a 3.11 ERA. Dan later said that he messed up his arm in 1975 when he pitched nine innings on a Friday night and then appeared in relief two days later on a Sunday afternoon.

• In 1976 Dan's stats took a turn for the worse. He was 2-10 in 23 games (16 starts) and had a 5.30 ERA. Warthen had a short stint with AAA Denver in 1976 and was 4-0 with a 3.18 ERA. Warthen was with Montreal for the first part of the 1977 season but was ineffective (2-3, 7.97 ERA). On June 15 Warthen and Barry Foote were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tim Blackwell and Wayne Twitchell. He made one appearance for the Phillies and then was sent to the minors. Dan made two appearances for the Phillies late in the 1977 season and ended up 2-4 with a 7.24 ERA. 

• Warthen was in AAA for most of the 1978 season. On September 2 he was traded to the Houston Astros for Dan Larson. He started one game and relieved in for others for the Astros and was 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA. Dan didn't make the Astros ballclub in 1979 and was released during spring training. He pitched in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1979-1982 but never made it back to the majors. Dan was a player-coach in 1981 and 1982.

• After his playing career Warthen was a coach in the minor leagues for several seasons. Dan was the pitching coach for Seattle (1992), San Diego (1996-1997), and Detroit (1999-2002). He was a minor league pitching coach from 2003-2005 and then was the bullpen coach for the LA Dodgers in 2006 and 2007. Dan is now the pitching coach for the New York Mets. Here is a 2009 New York Times article about Warthen.

1976 Topps #373 - Johnny Briggs

• Those are some serious chops on Mr. Briggs.

• By the time this card came out Johnny Briggs was playing in Japan for the Lotte Orions. Briggs was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1962. He played only one season (1963) in the minors and batted .297 with 21 HR for the single-A Bakersfield team.

• Johnny came up to the Phillies in 1964 at the age of 20. He was used mostly as a pinch runner and pinch hitter. Briggs played in 61 games and came to the plate 76 times, batting .258. In 1965 Johnny was a backup outfielder and batted .236 in 229 at bats. He, Tony Taylor, and Johnny Callison were involved in an outfield collision that knocked them senseless in late July 1965. Briggs showed some power in 1966. He homered 10 times and batted .282 (with a career-high .490 slugging percentage) in 255 at bats.

• Briggs started to get more playing time in 1967. He batted .232 with 9 HR in 332 AB in '67. In 1968 Johnny batted .254 with 7 HR in 338 AB.  He continued to be used at all three OF positions and at 1B.

• Johnny played in 124 games in 1969, which was his highest total while with the Phillies. He batted .238 with 12 HR. In 1970 Briggs batted .270 with 9 HR in 341 at bats. Johnny started the 1971 season with the Phillies but he started slowly (.182 in 22 AB). On April 22 he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Pete Koegel and Ray Peters. Johnny split time between the outfield and first base but was usually in the lineup somewhere. He batted .264 with 21 HR and 59 RBI for the Brewers in '71.

• Briggs had a similar season in 1972, batting .266 with 21 HR and 65 RBI. In 1973 Johnny batted .246 with 18 HR and 47 RBI and got a 10th place vote for AL MVP. He went 6 for 6 in a game against Cleveland on August 4. Briggs had a career high in RBI (73) and batted .253 with 17 HR in 1974.

• Johnny's last major league season was 1975. He started the year with the Brewers and was batting .297 with 3 HR in 28 games when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Bobby Darwin on June 14. Briggs finished the season with the Twins and ended up batting .246 with 10 HR and 44 RBI for the two teams. In February 1976 Briggs was released and went to Japan. He played one season (1976) in Japan and then called it quits.

• Briggs has a Pony League named after him in his hometown of Paterson, NJ. He is among several Paterson athletes who are to be honored by the Rotary club for community contributions on May 6.

• Liked to face: Dave Goltz (.500 in 14 AB); Stan Bahnsen (.400 in 35 AB); Sammy Ellis (.385 in 26 AB)
• Hated to face: Dick Hughes (.000 in 13 AB); Steve Kline (.059 in 17 AB); Ken Johnson (.071 in 28 AB)

1976 Topps #372 - Rick Baldwin

• Rick Baldwin pitched for the New York Mets from 1975-1977. Baldwin was drafted by the Mets in 1971 and pitched in their minor league system from 1971-1974. He stuck with the Mets in 1975 and was 3-5 with six saves and a 3.34 ERA in a team-leading 54 appearances.

• Baldwin spent most of the 1976 season pitching for AAA Tidewater. He had two stints with the Mets and ended up with a 2.38 ERA in 11 games. Rick started the 1977 season in Tidewater and was called up in early June. He was 1-2 with one save and a 4.45 ERA in 40 games.

• Rick was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule 5 draft after the 1977 season. The Mariners assigned Baldwin to their AAA San Jose club. Sometime in the middle of the 1978 season Rick ended up with Columbus (Pittsburgh's AAA team). He didn't put up real impressive numbers for either team and called it quits after the 1978 season.

• According to baseballlibrary.com, Rick was a bible-toting sinkerballer. Rick became a pastor after leaving baseball. He is now an associate pastor at River Ranch Church in Modesto, CA.

1976 Topps #371 - Ellie Hendricks

• Ellie Hendricks was from the Virgin Islands and was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. He spent the 1959 and 1960 seasons playing for D league teams and then didn't play in 1961. Ellie moved to the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1962 and played in their system in 1962 and 1963. Hendricks played in the Mexican League in 1964 and then didn't play in organized ball in 1965. He then bounced between AA, AAA, and the Mexican League in 1966 and 1967.

• The Baltimore Orioles drafed Hendricks in the Rule 5 draft after the 1967 season. Ellie finally got to play in the majors in 1968 at the age of 27. He batted .202 in 79 games. In 1969 Hendricks split time with Andy Etchebarren behind the plate. He batted .244 with 11 HR in 105 games. Ellie batted .250 in the ALCS but was only 1 for 10 in the World Series.

• Hendricks had a similar year in 1970. He batted .242 with 12 HR and 41 RBI in 106 games. Ellie was 2 for 5 in the ALCS and batted .364 (4 for 11) in the World Series. He was involved in a strange play at the plate in game 1 of the Series. Ty Cline hit a high chopper in front of the plate. Ellie grabbed the ball with his bare hand and attempted to tag out Bernie Carbo, who was trying to score from third. Ellie tagged Carbo with his glove hand while the ball was still in his bare hand. The umpire was shielded from the play and called Carbo out. The Reds argued, but to no avail. Replays later showed that Carbo missed the plate while avoiding the tag.

• Ellie was a platoon catcher again in 1971. He batted .250 with 9 HR and 42 RBI in 101 games. He was 2 for 4 in the ALCS and batted .263 (5 for 19) in the World Series. Hendricks started the 1972 season with the Orioles (.155 in 33 games) but was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Tommy Davis on August 18. He finished the 1972 season with the Cubs (.116 in 17 games) and then was traded back to the Orioles for Frank Estrada.

• Hendricks was a third catcher for the Orioles from 1973-1975. In 1973 he batted .178 in 41 games. Ellie batted .208 in 66 games in 1974 and was 1 for 6 in the ALCS. In 1975 Hendricks batted .215 in 85 games.

• Ellie started the 1976 season with the Orioles and was batting .139 in 28 games when he was traded to the New York Yankees in a huge trade. The Orioles traded Ellie with Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Ken Holtzman and Grant Jackson to the Yankees for Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan. Hendricks batted .226 in 26 games for the Yankees to finish the 1976 season and then was 1 for 1 in the ALCS and 0 for 2 in the World Series.

• Hendricks spent most of the 1977 season playing for New York's AAA Syracuse club. He was 3 for 11 in 10 games for the Yankees and became a free agent after the season.

• Hendricks became Baltimore's bullpen coach in 1978 and was a player-coach in 1978 and 1979. Ellie batted 21 times (6 for 18 with 3 walks) in 12 games in 1978. He even pitched 2 1/3 innings in a game, allowing a hit and a walk but no runs. In 1979 Hendricks was 0 for 1.

• After he stopped playing he continued as Baltimore's bullpen coach until the end of the 2005 season. His contract wasn't renewed after '05 in part due to a stroke he suffered in April 2005. It was the longest tenure (28 years) any Oriole coach ever had. Hendricks was going to be reassigned with in the Baltimore Organization for the 2006 season. Ellie died of a heart attack in December 2005 one day before his 65th birthday. He was a very popular Oriole.

• Here is a SABR biography of Hendricks.

• Liked to face: Jim Perry (.448 in 25 AB); Marty Pattin (.357 with 4 HR in 28 AB); Jim Slaton (.348 in 23 AB)
• Hated to face: Bert Blyleven (.000 in 23 AB); Andy Messersmith/Steve Kline (.100 in 20 AB)

1976 Topps #370 - Ron Cey

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  Ron Cey was a third baseman for the LA Dodgers (1971-1982), Chicago Cubs (1983-1986), and Oakland A's (1987). Ron was drafted by the New York Mets in 1966 but he didn't sign. Cey was drafted by the Dodgers in 1968. He played in the minors from 1968-1972 and batted over .300 with 20 or more homers in each season. Ron struck out in his only two at bats for the Dodgers in 1971. He got another late season look in 1972 and batted .270 in 37 at bats.

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  The Dodgers decided to make Cey the full-time third baseman in 1973. Ron finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting as he batted .245 wiht 15 homers in 152 games.

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  From 1974-1979 Cey made the NL All Star team each season even as he was overshadowed in the media by fellow third basemen Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. In 1974 Ron batted .262 with 18 HR and 97 RBI. He started the 1974 All Star Game at third base and was 1 for 2 with a 2-run double. Cey batted .313 in the NLCS and .176 in the World Series.

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  In 1975 Ron started a string of seasons in which he hit 20 or more homers every year (except the 1981 strike year) from 1975-1985. He batted .283 with 25 HR and 101 RBI in 1975. Cey started at 3B for the NL in the All Star game and was 1 for 2. In 1976 Ron batted .277 with 23 HR and 80 RBI. He played in the late innings of the All Star game but didn't get to the plate.

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  Cey had career highs in home runs (30) and RBI (110), batted .241, and was 8th in NL MVP voting in 1977. He started at third base in the All Star game and was 0 for 2 with a walk. Ron batted .308 in the NLCS and .190 in the World Series. Why do the Experts Keep Under-Rating Ron Cey? - August 1977 Baseball Digest.

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  In 1978 Ron batted .270 with 23 HR and 80 RBI. He was 0 for 1 in the All Star Game. Cey batted .313 with a home run in the NLCS and .286 with a home run in the World Series. Ron was an All Star for the last time in 1979 (he was 0 for 1 with a walk) and batted .281 with 28 HR and 81 RBI. Cey batted .254 with 28 HR and 77  RBI in 1980.

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  The Dodgers won the World Championship in 1981. Cey was the co-MVP of the World Series along with Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero. During the strike-shortened season Ron batted .288 with 13 HR and 50 RBI. He batted .278 in the NLCS and .350 in the World Series. Cey was out with an injury for the last three weeks of the 1981 season and also missed the Divison Series against Houston.

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  Ron's last season with the Dodgers was 1982. He batted .254 with 24 HR and 79 RBI. After the 1982 season Cey was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a minor leaguer and Vance Lovelace. I hadn't realized that the Dodgers didn't get a whole lot for Mr. Cey. Ron batted .275 with 24 HR and 90 RBI for the Cubs in 1983.

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  Cey made it to the postseason again in 1984 when the Cubs won the NL East. He batted .240 with 25 HR and 97 RBI during the regular season, but he batted only .158 in the NLCS. In 1985 Ron started to show his age and his stats started to fall off. He batted .232 with 22 HR and 63 RBI in '85. Ron Cey of Cubs Overlooked among Top Third Basemen - May 1985 Baseball Digest. Cey played in only 97 games in 1986 and batted .273 with 13 HR and 36 RBI.

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  After the 1986 season Ron was traded to the Oakland A's for Luis Quinones. Cey was a DH for 30 of his 45 games with the A's in 1987. He also played a little bit of 1B for the A's. It was the only season in which Ron would play a position other than 3B. Cey was batting .221 with 4 HR and 11 RBI when the A's released him on July 15.

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   Ron Cey Contributes his 7" to Baseball History (it's not what you're probably thinking). Sometime during his Dodger career Ron recorded a couple of country songs and sold the record at autographs signings in the off season. The link is to a blog where the songs can be downloaded.

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  Here is a "Where are they now" article from 2000. Ron works in the LA Dodgers community affairs department.

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  Liked to face: Neil Allen (.520 in 25 AB); Frank Pastore (.481 in 27 AB); Jim Barr (.413 in 75 AB)
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  Hated to face: Mark Littell (.000 in 14 AB); Charlie Lea (.042 in 24 AB); Tommy Boggs (.080 in 25 AB)

Ron Cey gets the "Eaties for his Wheaties"

1976 Topps #369 - Frank White

• Frank White was a second baseman for the Kansas City Royals from 1973-1990. It's cool to see 15 or so stat lines on the back of a card that all have the same team. White was signed by the Royals in 1970 and played in the minors from 1971-1973. Frank came up to the Royals in June of 1973 and batted .223 in 51 games as a backup second baseman and shortstop.

• At first the Royal fans weren't thrilled with Frank because he was going to replace the popular Cookie Rojas at second base. White didn't become the full time second baseman until 1976. In 1974 he had a utility role and batted .221 in 99 games. White batted .250 in 111 games in 1975, again in a utility role.

• White became the starting second baseman for the Royals in 1976. He batted only .229 in 152 games but he was very good on defense. Frank was 1 for 8 in the 1976 ALCS.

• In 1977 Frank won the first of six straight Gold Glove awards. He batted .245 in 152 games and batted .278 in the 1977 ALCS. White made the 1977 AL All Star team but didn't play in the game.

• White was an All Star again in 1978 (he went 0 for 1) and batted .275 in 143 games. Frank batted .231 in the 1978 ALCS.

• Frank was the starting second baseman in the 1979 All Star Game (he was 0 for 2) and won the Gold Glove again. He batted .266 with 28 stolen bases. The Royals finally made it to the World Series in 1980. White batted .264 in 154 games and won the Gold Glove. White batted .545 in the ALCS but only .080 in the World Series.

• In 1981 White was a Gold Glover again and batted .250 in 94 games. He was an All Star (he went 0 for 1 in the game) and batted .182 in the 1981 ALDS. Frank was an All Star again in 1982 (he struck out in his only at bat) and won the Gold Glove for the sixth straight year. White batted a career-high .298 in 145 games in 1982.

• White didn't make to the All Star Game or win the Gold Glove in the next three seasons. He batted .260 in 146 games in 1983 and .271 in 129 games in 1984. Frank batted .091 in the 1984 ALCS as the Royals were swept by the Detroit Tigers. In 1985 the Royals surprisingly won the World Championship. White batted .249 with 22 home runs in 149 games in the regular season, .200 in the ALCS, and .250 in the World Series. The Game I'll Never Forget - July 1987 Baseball Digest.

• Frank hit 22 homers for the second year in a row in 1986. He won the Silver Slugger award, returned to the All Star Game (he was 1 for 2 with a HR), and won the Gold Glove. White batted .272 in 151 games in '86. In 1987 White won his eighth and last Gold Glove and batted .245 with 17 homers in 154 games.

• White was the regular second baseman for two more seasons. In 1988 he batted .235 in 150 games and in 1989 he batted .256 in 135 games. Frank batted .216 in 82 games in 1990 and retired after the season.

• After his playing career White coached for the Royals and Red Sox, managed in the minors, and worked in the Royals front office. In 2004 Frank wrote an instructional manual called Good as Gold. White is now a part time Royals analyst and announcer on FSN Kansas City.

• Liked to face: Wilbur Wood (.591 in 22 AB); Mike Morgan (.500 in 30 AB); Shane Rawley (.484 in 31 AB)
• Hated to face: Stan Bahnsen (.000 in 13 AB); Dennis Eckersley (.082 in 49 AB); Moose Haas (.096 in 52 AB)