1976 Kellogg's #41 - Mickey Rivers

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Led the AL in steals (70) and in triples (13) in 1975
• Batted .284 in 155 games
• 1976 Highlights:
• Traded to the New York Yankees before the 1976 season and was instrumental in the Yankees' first AL East title
• Batted .312 with 31 doubles and 95 runs scored
• Made the AL All Star team and was 1 for 2 in the game
• Finished third behind Thurman Munson and George Brett in AL MVP voting
• Batted .348 (8 for 23) with five runs scored in the American League Championship Series

1976 Kellogg's #39 - Von Joshua

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• After several ho-hum years as a backup outfielder for the Dodgers, Von moved over to the Giants and batted .318 with 25 doubles and 10 triples in 1975
• It's a bit surprising that Von was chosen for a card -- they could have picked 1975 NL Rookie of the Year John Montefusco instead
• 1976 Highlights:
• Joshua spent a couple of months with the Giants and batted .263 in 42 games.
• Sold to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 2
• Batted .267 in 107 games for the Brewers

The new version of Zistle is online now

The Zistle website has undergone several refinements and improvements. It is up and running now. Zistle is a great site for keeping track of your collection!

1976 Kellogg's #38 - Bobby Murcer

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Batted .298 with 11 HR and 91 RBI in his first season in the National League
• Made the NL All Star team and was 0 for 2 in the game
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .259 with 23 HR and 90 RBI
• Walked 84 times and had a .362 on-base percentage
• Was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the season in a multi-player deal that sent Bill Madlock to the Giants

1976 Kellogg's #36 - Johnny Bench

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Need we ask?
• Bench batted .283 with 28 HR and 110 RBI in 1975
• Made his 8th straight NL All Star team in 1975 (1 for 4 with one RBI)
• Finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 1975
• Won his 8th straight Gold Glove award in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Had his first off year, batting .234 with 16 HR and 74 RBI
• Was still the NL All Star catcher (went 1 for 2 in the game)
• Won his 9th straight Gold Glove
• Batted .333 (4 for 12) in the National League Championship Series
• Batted .533 (8 for 15) with 2 HR in the World Series and was named the World Series MVP

1976 Kellogg's #35 - Rick Wise

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Wise bounced back from a shoulder injury to win 19 games for the AL Champion Boston Red Sox
• Rick was 19-12 with a 3.95 ERA during the 1975 season
• Started and won game 3 of the 1975 American League Championship Series
• Was the winning pitcher in that famous game 6 of the 1975 World Series
• 1976 Highlights:
• Went 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA in 34 starts
• Pitched a one-hit shutout against the Minnesota Twins on June 14.

1976 Kellogg's #28 - Eric Soderholm

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Had a good season for the Twins in 1975, batting .286 with 11 HR and 58 RBI
• Was the first player drafted in the 1968 draft
• 1976 Highlights:
• Had knee surgery after the 1975 season and missed the entire 1976 season
• Eric had originally had surgery when he injured his ribs and knee after accidentally stepping into a storm drain in August 1975
• It was determined that Soderholm needed to have more cartilage removed from the knee, so he had another surgery and missed the '76 season
• Eric "played out his option" in 1976 while on the disabled list and ended up signing with the Chicago White Sox after the season

1976 Kellogg's #33 - Steve Busby

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Steve was the ace of the Kansas City staff for a few years
• He went 18-12 with a 3.06 ERA in 1975
• Allowed one run in two innings of work in the 1975 All Star Game
• Pitched two no-hitters in his career --- one on April 27, 1973 and another on June 19, 1974
• 1976 Highlights:
• Started the season on the disabled list
• Had a 3-3 record with a 4.40 ERA in 13 starts
• Did  not pitch after July 6 due to a rotator cuff tear that required surgery (gotta love those newspaper ads!)

1976 Kellogg's #30 - Frank Tanana

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan were a great 1-2 punch for a few years in California
• Tanana went 16-9 with a 2.63 ERA in 1975
• Frank led the AL with 269 strikeouts in 1975
• Finished 4th in AL Cy Young Award voting in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Made the AL All Star team
• Pitched the last two innings of the All Star Game and allowed three runs -- Cesar Cedeno hit a 2-run homer off of Frank in the 8th inning.
• Went 19-10 with a 2.43 ERA and completed 23 of his 34 starts
• Finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting
• This is my favorite card of the 1976 Kellogg's set. Frank seems to come right out of the card.

1976 Kellogg's #29 - Bill Lee

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Lee won 17 games in three straight seasons
• Started two games in the 1975 World Series -- had a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings but did not figure in either decision
• 1976 Highlights: 
• Had a 5-7 record with a 5.63 ERA
• Missed almost two months (late May to mid-July) after injuring his shoulder in a brawl with the New York Yankees
• Graig Nettles was initially blamed by Lee for hurting him, but Nettles was actually trying to keep Lee out of the fight. Mickey Rivers was the one who actually hurt Lee's shoulder. Lee took a swing at Nettles after the fight was broken up -- Nettles punched Lee and gave him a black eye.

1976 Kellogg's #34 - Gary Carter

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Finished a close second to John Montefusco in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1975
• Batted .270 with 17 HR and 68 RBI in 144 games in 1975
• Was Montreal's representative in the 1975 All Star Game -- played left field in the 9th inning
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .219 in 91 games
• Gary turned 22 in the beginning of the 1976 season -- the nickname "Kid" was still a good fit at the time
• Gary just found out that he has four small tumors on his brain. He is going in for further tests this week. My prayers and best wishes are with Mr. Carter and his family during this tough time.
• Edit 16 February 2012: Gary passed away today at the age of 57.

1976 Kellogg's #27 - Bob Watson

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Batted .324 with 18 HR and 85 RBI in 1975
• Credited with scoring major league baseball's 1 millionth run on May 4, 1975
• Played in the 1975 All Star Game and was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .313 with 16 HR and 102 RBI
• Finished 11th in NL MVP voting

1976 Kellogg's #26 - Marty Perez

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Perez had a career high in batting average (.275) in 1975
• He was the only Atlanta player featured in the 1976 set.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Traded with Darrell Evans to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Montanez and three others on June 13
• Batted .257 in 124 games for the Braves and the Giants
• Went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, two runs scored, and three RBI on June 19 against the New York Mets

1976 Kellogg's #25 - Jim Kaat

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• As this card indicates, at the time Jim had the most wins of any active pitcher
• Kaat had won at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons
• Finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 1975
• Went 20-14 with a 3.11 ERA in 1975
• Pitched two scoreless innings in the 1975 All Star Game
• 1976 Highlights:
• Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1976 season
• Went 12-14 with a 3.48 ERA
• Won the 15th of his 16 consecutive Gold Glove awards
• Started game 3 of the League Championship Series and allowed two runs in six-plus innings pitched. Did not figure in the decision.

1976 Kellogg's #24 - Carl Yastrzemski

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Carl didn't have his best year in 1975, but he had a Hall of Fame career going.
• In 1975 Yaz batted .269 with 14 HR and 60 RBI
• Carl was in his 11th straight All Star Game in 1975. Yastrzemski would eventually be an 18-time All Star. He appeared as a pinch hitter in the 1975 All Star Game and  hit a 3-run homer.
• Batted .455 (5 for 11) in the 1975 ALCS and batted .310 (9 for 29) in the 1975 World Series
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .267 with 21 HR and 102 RBI
• Went 0 for 2 in the All Star Game

1976 Kellogg's #22 - Willie Stargell

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• As the card back says, Willie was still one of the most feared hitters in the NL.
• Stargell had at least three legitimate shots at NL MVP --- 1971 (2nd to Joe Torre), 1972 (third behind Johnny Bench and Billy Williams) and 1973 (second behind Pete Rose). Willie finally won the award in 1979.
• Batted .295 with 22 HR and 90 RBI in 1975
• Finished 7th in NL MVP voting in 1975
• 1976 Highlights
• Batted .257 with 20 HR and 65 RBI
• It was the first year since 1968 that Stargell didn't get any NL MVP consideration

1976 Kellogg's #21 - George Scott

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Led the AL in RBI (109) in 1975
• Led the AL (along with Reggie Jackson) with 36 HR in 1975
• Finished 8th in AL MVP voting in 1975
• Played in the 1975 All Star Game and struck out twice.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Won his eighth (and final) Gold Glove at first base
• Batted .274 with 18 HR and 77 RBI

1976 Kellogg's #17 - Ron LeFlore

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• The Tigers needed a representative for this set.
• The story of Ron's rise from prison to the major leagues was a good one.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Had a 30-game hitting streak.
• Batted .316 with 58 stolen bases and 93 runs scored
• Made the 1976 AL All Star team - he started in left field and batted leadoff. Ron singled and struck out in the game.
• Had surgery for a ruptured tendon in his knee on September 12 and missed the rest of the season

1976 Kellogg's #20 - Bill Madlock

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Madlock was the NL batting leader (.354) in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Got in a fight with Jim Barr and catcher Marc Hill of the Giants on May 2. For some reason Barr was allowed to stay in the game and Madlock was ejected, even though Barr had already been warned for brushback pitches and had hit Madlock with a pitch right after the warning.
• Got into a skirmish with two men as he was going into his hotel room on September 25. The men escaped with $50-$60 and Madlock ended up with a contusion on the back of his head.
• Won his second straight batting title with a .339 batting average, barely beating out Ken Griffey on the last day of the season. Griffey was batting .338 and Madlock was batting .333 on the season's final day. Griffey didn't start in his game, but was quickly inserted when the Reds found out that Madlock was having a big game.
• Finished 6th in NL MVP voting.

1976 Kellogg's #9 - Felix Millan

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• This may be more of a "lifetime achievement" card
• Millan batted .283 with 191 base hits in 1975
• Felix was a three-time NL All Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner
• Millan led the NL in games played (162) and hit by pitch (12) in 1975
• Millan also got a Kellogg's card in 1974.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .282 in 139 games in his last full season

1976 Kellogg's #11 - Bert Blyleven

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Blyleven struck out over 200 batters for the fifth straight year in 1975
• At the age of 24, Bert already had 95 career wins
• As the card says, in 1975 Blyleven had his highest ERA (3.00) since his 1970 rookie season. That's still pretty good!
• 1976 Highlights:
• Bert finished below .500 (13-16) for the first time in his career
• Split the season between Minnesota (4-5, 3.12 ERA) and Texas (9-11, 2.76 ERA)
• Traded with Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers on June 2 for Roy Smalley, Mike Cubbage, Bill Singer, Jim Gideon, and $250,000

1976 Kellogg's #7 - Joe Rudi

• What did he do to deserve a Kellogg's card? 
• Joe Rudi was an important part of the Oakland A's dynasty in the early-mid 1970s.
• Joe was second in AL MVP voting in both 1972 and 1974
• Rudi was an AL All Star for the second of three consecutive years in 1975
• Although he played in 126 games due to torn ligaments in his thumb, Joe hit 21 HR and had his highest career slugging percentage (.494) in 1975
• Joe also won the second of three consecutive Gold Glove awards in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Was an AL All Star for the third (and last) time
• Won his last Gold Glove award and finished 12th in AL MVP voting
• Finally got away from the A's (and Charlie Finley) after the 1976 season and got a big raise (from $67,000 per year to $400,000 per year) after signing a 5-year, $2 million contract with the California Angels.

1976 Kellogg's #6 - Clay Carroll

• What did he do to deserve a Kellogg's card? Carroll had been the relief ace of the Reds for several years. This is kind of a "lifetime achievement" award.  In 1975 Clay was more of a setup man in Sparky Anderson's deep bullpen.
• 1976 Highlights: 
• As indicated on the card, Carroll had been traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 1976 season. 
• Clay pitched well for Chicago in 1976, going 4-4 with six saves and a 2.56 ERA in 26 games.
• Missed the entire month of July after fracturing his right hand in an accident at  home.

1976 Kellogg's #4 - Randy Jones

• This set had only 57 cards. Most of the time a player had to be one of the better players in the league in order to get into this set.
• What did he do to deserve a Kellogg's card: Randy had a great year in 1975. He was 20-12 with a league-leading 2.24 ERA.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Led the NL in victories (22), starts (40), complete games (25), and innings (315.1).
• Went 22-10 with a 2.74 ERA.
• Started the 1976 All Star Game for the NL. Pitched three scoreless innings and earned the win.
• Won the NL Cy Young Award -- had 15 first place votes out of 24 cast.

1976 Kellogg's Baseball -- They're GRRRREAT!!!

• I couldn't find a 1976 ad, so the 1974 one will have to suffice. :)

• I don't have all of the cards in this set, but the ones I do have will be featured on this blog in the next several weeks.

• Here are the cards I am looking for in order to complete the 1976 Kellogg's set:

01 Steve Hargan
02 Claudell Washington
03 Don Gullett
05 Jim Hunter
08 Reggie Jackson
10 Jim Rice
12 Ken Singleton
13 Don Sutton
14 Joe Morgan
15 Dave Parker
16 Dave Cash
18 Greg Luzinski
19 Dennis Eckersley
23 Al Hrabosky
31 Fred Lynn
32 Tom Seaver
37 Jim Palmer
40 Lou Brock
53 Thurman Munson
54 Steve Garvey
55 Pete Rose
57 Ted Simmons