Thursday, October 28, 2010

1976 Topps #598 - Rookie Outfielders (Cruz, Quirk, Turner, Wallis)




  • Hector Cruz
    • Brother of Jose Cruz and uncle of Jose Cruz Jr
    • Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970
    • I remember him as Heity Cruz
    • Went 0 for 11 in 11 games with the Cardinals in 1973
    • Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year in 1975
    • Batted .146 in 23 games for the Cardinals in 1975
    • Finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting (behind co-winners Pat Zachry and Butch Metzger) in 1976
    • Played in 151 games at 3B for the Cardinals in 1976 and batted .228 with 13 HR and 71 RBI
    • Led NL third basemen with 26 errors and had a .934 fielding percentage in 1976
    • Played mostly outfield in 1977 and batted .236 in 118 games
    • Traded with Dave Rader to the Chicago Cubs after the 1977 season for Steve Swisher, Jerry Morales, and cash
    • Started the 1978 season with the Cubs (.237 in 30 games) and traded to the San Francisco Giants for Lynn McGlothen on June 15
    • Played OF and 3B for the Giants and batted .227 in 90 games in 1978
    • Started the 1979 season with the Giants (.120 in 16 games) and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in late June for Pedro Borbon
    • Batted .242 in 74 games as a fourth OF for the Reds in 1979
    • Batted .213 in 75 AB for the Reds in 1980
    • Traded to the Cubs for Mike Vail after the 1980 season
    • Batted .229 in 53 games in 1981
    • Was up and down between Chicago and AAA Iowa in 1982
    • Batted .211 in 19 AB for the Cubs in 1982
    • Released on August 4, 1982
    • Played in Japan in 1983
    • Works for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier in Chicago
  • Jamie Quirk
    • First round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1972
    • Played everywhere but second base and pitcher during his career
    • Had a brief stint with Kansas City in 1975 and batted .256 in 14 games
    • Batted .246 in 64 games in 1976
    • Went 1 for 8 (.125) in four games in the 1976 ALCS
    • Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1976 season as part of the deal the brought Darrell Porter to the Royals
    • Spent one season in Milwaukee and batted .217 in 93 games
    • Played for  Milwaukee's AAA Spokane club for most of the 1978 season
    • Traded back to Kansas City at the end of the 1978 season and batted .207 in 17 games
    • Was a seldom-used utilityman for the Royals from 1979-1982.
    • Didn't make the postseason roster for the Royals in 1980 or 1981
    • Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent before the 1983 season
    • Batted .209 in 48 games for the Cardinals in 1983
    • Cut from the Cardinals during spring training in 1984
      • Signed with the Chicago White Sox on May 23
      • Spent some time with AAA Denver
      • Played in three games (0 for 2) with the White Sox before being sold to the Cleveland Indians on September 24
      • Batted once (1 for 1) with the Indians before being released after the 1984 season
    • Signed with the Royals for a third stint before the 1985 season
    • Played in only 19 games as a catcher and first baseman but still made the postseason roster
    • Went 0 for 1 in one game in the 1985 ALCS. Did not play in the 1985 World Series
    • Spent the next three seasons (1986-1988) as a utiltyman for the Royals
    • Signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent after the 1988 season
    • Played for three different teams (Yankees, A's, and Baltimore Orioles) during the 1989 season
    • Spent the 1990-1992 seasons as a utiltyman for the A's
    • Signed with the Cincinnati Reds before the 1993 season but retired during spring training
    • Coached in the minors and  majors after his playing career
    • Was the bullpen coach for the Houston Astros in 2010
  • Jerry Turner
    • Drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1972
    • Batted .329 in 142 games with AAA Hawaii in 1975
    • Brief appearances with the Padres in 1974 (.292 in 17 games) and in 1975 (.273 in 11 games)
    • Shared time with Johnny Grubb in left field in 1976 and batted .267 in 281 AB
    • Played all three OF positions in 1977 and batted .246 in 289 AB
    • Was a fourth OF again in 1978 and batted .280 in 225 AB
    • Started in LF in 1979 and batted .248 in 448 AB
    • Batted .288 in 153 AB in 1980
    • Didn't play  much for the Padres in 1981 -- batted .226 in 31 AB
    • Sold to the Chicago White Sox on September 9, 1981
    • Went 2 for 12 (.167) in 10 games for the White Sox in 1981
    • Signed with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent after the 1981 season
    • Batted .248 in 85 games as a backup OF and designated hitter
    • Released after the 1982 season and signed with the San Diego Padres
    • Was up and down between AAA and San Diego in 1983
    • Batted .130 in 23 AB for the Padres in 1983
    • Released in July 1983
    • Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and played in the minors but wasn't brought up to the majors
    • Retired after the 1983 season
  • Joe Wallis
    • Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1973
    • Came up at the end of the 1975 season and batted .286 in 16 games
    • Broke up Tom Seaver's no-hit bid with two out in the 9th inning on September 24, 1975
    • Played all three OF positions in 1976 and batted .254 in 121 games
    • Batted .250 in 80 AB in 1977
    • Started the 1978 season with the Cubs (.309 in 55 AB)
    • Traded twice in the same day (June 15) in 1978
      • First traded from the Cubs to the Cleveland Indians for Mike Vail
      • Traded from the Indians to the Oakland A's for Gary Alexander
    • Played in 85 games for the A's in 1978 and batted .237.
    • Batted .141 in 23 games in 1979
    • Released during spring training in 1980

4 comments:

  1. Quirk had an odd (I resisted saying Quirky) career, but all told it was a pretty decent one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One Quirk fan checking in! I admire his career mentality for baseball, both playing and coaching. It took 17 seasons for Jamie to reach 500 hits and he wore 11 different uniform numbers along the way!

    Love the sponsorship comment on his B-R page: Quirkland

    ReplyDelete
  3. I almost interviewed him at Wrigley. In a day of continual problems, my camera died, just as I secured the interview. Fortunately (and because he was a nice guy) a week later in Houston, he talked to me! I would have really regretted missing him!
    Also, he is #2 all time in HR's by a Q player. Mark Quinn is #1. So Quirk isn't even the #1 Q in Royals history.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quirk was the first player I ever heckled, in 1977, on a junior high field trip to an A's game. I yelled, "Quirk's a jerk!" repeatedly throughout the game. Don't know if he heard it, but it was fun.

    ReplyDelete