1976 Topps #169 - Graig Nettles

• Graig Nettles played for six teams from 1967-1988. He is most famous for his stint with the New York Yankees. Nettles was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1965. He played in the minors from 1966-1968. Graig made his debut as a September call-up in 1967 and had one hit in three at bats. After a good year in AAA he got a longer look in September 1968 and batted .224 with five homers in 76 at bats.

• Nettles was a fourth outfielder and backup third baseman for the Twins in 1969 and he batted .222 with seven home runs in 96 games. He singled in his only at bat in the AL Championship Series. After the season he was involved in a multi-player trade which sent him to the Cleveland Indians. The trade was good for Nettles as he became a regular third baseman.

• In 1970 Graig hit 26 home runs and batted .235 in 157 games. He did better in 1971 as he hit 28 homers and batted .268 in 158 games. Graig's 1972 season wasn't quite as good -- he dropped to 17 home runs and a .253 average.

• After the 1972 season Nettles was traded by the Indians with Jerry Moses to the New York Yankees for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres. It was a great trade for the Yankees since it gave them their regular third baseman for the next decade. In 1973 Graig started a run of seasons until 1979 in which he would have home run totals in the 20s and 30s (with a high of 37 in 1977 and a league-leading 32 in 1976). He made five AL All Star teams and won two Gold Glove awards (1977 and 1978).

• In 1980 Graig had hepatitis and didn't play from July 24-October 3. His numbers were down as he played in only 89 games and hit only 16 home runs. From 1981-1983 he continued to start at 3B for the Yankees but his home run totals were down to the upper teens and lower twenties.

• After the 1983 season Graig wrote Balls (a memoir of his career) with Peter Golenbock. He said some less than complimentary things about owner George Steinbrenner. When Steinbrenner heard about the comments he had Graig traded to the San Diego Padres for Dennis Rasmussen and a minor leaguer.

• Nettles was the starting 3B in 1984 and batted .224 with 20 home runs. He didn't have any extra-base hits in the NLCS or the World Series for the Padres. Graig made the NL All Star team in 1985 and homered 15 times as a 40-year-old third baseman. He batted .218 with 16 home runs in 1986 and was released after the season.

• The Atlanta Braves picked Nettles up for the 1987 season. He was used mostly as a pinch hitter and occasional third baseman and he batted .209 in 177 at bats. Graig was sold to the Montreal Expos before the 1988 season and he finished his career as a pinch hitter (with a few appearances at 3B and 1B).

• Graig was involved in the senior league in Florida in 1989. After his playing career Graig did some coaching for the Yankees (1991) and the Padres (1995).

• Nettles has recently battled prostate cancer. Here is a 2009 "where are they now" article about him.

"When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees I have accomplished both." - Graig Nettles

1976 Topps #168 - Tom Hilgendorf

• Tom Hilgendorf was originally signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1960 and pitched in their minor league system until he finally got to the bigs in 1969. He pitched in the majors through the 1975 season. It was interesting to look at Tom's minor league stats and try to figure out where Dothan and Kekouk were. Hilgendorf didn't pitch in 1966 and 1967, perhaps due to miliatry service.

• In August 1969 Tom was called up to the Cardinals. He pitched in six games and had an ERA of 1.42. Hilgendorf started the 1970 season with the Cardinals but was sent down after a month. He came back up in August and stayed with the Cards for the rest of the season. Tom was 0-4 with three saves and an ERA of 3.92 in 23 games in 1970.

• Before the 1971 season Tom was traded to the Kansas City Royals. He spent the 1971 and most of the 1972 seasons in AAA Omaha. In July 1972 the Royals traded Hilgendorf to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians used him as a swingman and he had a 3-1 record with a 2.68 ERA in 19 games (5 starts).

• The Indians used Hilgendorf as a reliever in 1973 (48 games, 1 start). Tom was 5-3 with six saves and an ERA of 3.14 in 1973. He didn't fare as well in 1974 (4-3, 4.84 ERA, 3 saves) and after the season Hilgendorf was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for a minor leaguer.

• Hilgendorf was involved in the infamous 10-cent beer night fiasco in Cleveland on 4 June 1974. He was hit by a folding chair and suffered a minor concussion. He managed to come back and pick up the save the next night for the Indians.

• Hilgendorf had a nice year as a setup man in 1975. He was 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA in 53 games for the Phillies. Tom was one of the last players released by the Phillies in spring training 1976. He hooked on with the Pittsburgh Pirates and pitched two games for AAA Charleston before calling it quits.

1976 Topps #167 - Freddie Patek

• Freddie Patek was an infielder (mostly shortstop) from 1968-1981. He spent most of his career with the Kansas City Royals. During most of his career he was the smallest player in the league. He is listed at 5'5" and 148 lb.

• He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1966 and played in their minor league system from 1966-1968. He was brought up in June 1968 for a month, went back down for a month in July/August, and then was with the Pirates to stay. Patek batted .255 in 61 games for the Pirates.

• Fred was the starting shortstop for the Pirates in 1969 and batted .239 in 147 games. He played in only 84 games in 1970 and batted .245-- there are a couple of two-week gaps in his playing time, which may indicate trips to the DL or some sort of military service. After the season Patek was traded to the Royals.

• Patek had his best offensive season in 1971 and finished 6th in AL MVP balloting. He batted .267 and led the league in triples with 11. Fred stole 49 bases and led the AL in caught stealing with 14. He remained the Royals' regular shortstop through the 1978 season. His seasons were virtually interchangeable, with batting averages in the .220-.240 range and at least 30 stolen bases each year. He made three AL All Star teams (1972, 1976, 1978). Patek batted .389 in both the 1976 and 1977 American League Championship Series.

• Fred didn't play as much in 1979. He played in only one game after August 14. Fred batted .252 in 106 games and stole only 11 bases. He was caught stealing 12 times. After the 1979 season Patek became a free agent and signed with the California Angels.

• In 1980 Patek played in 86 games and batted .264. He played very little in 1981 (.234 in 47 at bats) and was released during spring training in 1982.

• After being released by the Angels, Patek had a variety of jobs in and out of baseball. He was a baseball commentator and worked in the Ranger and Brewer organizations. He has also been in the restaurant and roofing business.

• He had to deal with tragedy in 1992 when his 19-year-old daughter Kim was in an auto accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. She passed away four years later.

1976 Topps #166 - Skip Lockwood

• Skip Lockwood started out as a 3B for the Kansas City A's in 1965, then was a pitcher for several teams from 1969-1980. He graduated from MIT in 1983 (one of only three major league baseball players to have done s0).

• Lockwood received a $100,000 bonus to sign with the A's in 1964. After playing in the minors in '64 he was brought to the A's in 1965 and batted .121 in 33 at bats. Skip went back to the minors and struggled for a few years. In 1968 it was decided that he would be converted to a pitcher. Skip pitched a few games in the minors in '68 and then was taken by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft. He pitched well for AA Elmira in 1969 and was brought up to Seattle in late August. Lockwood pitched in six games (three starts) and was 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA.

• Skip spent the first month of the 1970 season at AAA Portland, where he started five games and went 4-1 with a 2.65 ERA. The Milwaukee Brewers brought him up in early May. Lockwood was 5-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 26 starts. In 1971 Skip was 10-15 with a 3.33 ERA. He then had seasons of 8-15 and 5-12.

• After the 1973 season Lockwood was traded to the California Angels in a multi-player trade that didn't do a whole lot for either team. Skip was moved to the bullpen and went 2-5 with one save and a 4.32 ERA in 37 appearances for the Angels in 1974.

• After the 1974 season Lockwood was traded to the New York Yankees for Bill Sudakis. He never pitched for the Yankees (he was released on April 7) and he signed as a free agent with the Oakland A's. The A's assigned Lockwood to AAA Tucson, where he spent most of the 1975 season. He was sold to the New York Mets on July 28 and spent a week with AAA Tidewater. Skip got back to the majors on August 5 and went 1-3 with an ERA of 1.49 in 24 appearances during the last two months of the 1975 season.

• The Mets made Lockwood their main guy out of the bullpen. The 1976 season was probably Skip's best season---he was 10-7 with a 2.67 ERA and had 19 saves in 56 appearances. His 1977 season was almost as good (4-8, 3.38 ERA, 20 saves in 63 games). In 1978 Skip dropped off (7-13, 3.57 ERA, 15 saves in 57 games).

• Lockwood had a pretty good start to his 1979 season. He was 2-5 with a 1.49 ERA and had nine saves. He went on the DL in June with tissue tears in his shoulder. It was a bad year to get hurt, as it was his free agent year. After the season Skip signed with the Boston Red Sox. He was 3-1 with two saves and a 5.32 ERA in 24 games with the Red Sox in 1980. Lockwood was released during spring training in 1981. He signed with the Montreal Expos and pitched for AAA Denver in 1981 but was ineffective and retired after the season.

• Skip is currently the CEO of a company called PACE 360, a company involved in sales and marketing (thanks to MMayes at the 1972 baseball blog for the info).

In June 1979 Skip went on the DL with tissue tears in his shoulder. His comeback attempt with the Boston Red Sox in 1980 failed and he retired from baseball.

VOTC contest

Hello everyone:

Voice of the Collector has a contest in which he's giving away the goodies he got from the National. Enter it--it looks cool.

:)

1976 Topps #165 - Gene Tenace

• Fury Gene Tenace (born Fiore Geno Tennaci) played from 1969-1983. Gene played catcher and first base and was a great power and on-base guy. He had a lifetime on base percentage of .388. It's interesting that Topps chose to put a cartoon about on-base percentage on Gene's card.

• Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City A's in 1965 and played in the minors from 1965-1968. In 1969 he bounced between the A's and AAA. Gene batted .158 in 40 at bats for the A's in 1969. Tenace started the 1970 season in AAA, played one game for the A's in July, then came back to the majors to stay on August 13. He batted .305 with seven home runs in 105 at bats in 1970.

• Gene was the backup for Dave Duncan in 1971. He batted .274 with seven homers in 65 games. Tenace backed up Duncan again in 1972 and also played some OF, 1B, 2B, and 3B. His offensive numbers were down (.225 with five homers in 82 games). Gene drove in the winning run in game 5 of the 1972 AL Championship series and then hit four homers in the World Series. Gene was the 1972 World Series MVP. Here is a Sports Illustrated article from April 1973 about Gene.

• Tenace was given the regular first baseman's job in 1973 and had a nice year. He batted .259 with 24 homers, 84 RBI, and 101 walks and helped the A's to their second consecutive world championship. It was the first of six seasons in which he would walk over 100 times. Gene split time between 1B and catcher in 1974. His batting average was down (.211), but he hit 26 homers and walked 110 times as the A's won their third consecutive world championship.

• In 1975 Tenace was named to his only AL All Star team (he was the starting catcher). He batted .255 with 29 homers and 106 walks. Gene was out for about five weeks with an injury in 1976. His numbers were down (81 walks, 22 homers) as he again split time between catcher and first base.

• After the 1976 season Gene left the A's and signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent. His home run numbers dropped (15) due to playing in a larger ballpark, but he had a career high in walks (125) in 1977. He also led the NL in hit by pitch with 13. Gene had similar seasons in 1979, 1979, and 1980.

• After the 1980 season Gene was traded with Rollie Fingers and some other guys to the St. Louis Cardinals for Terry Kennedy and some other guys. He split time behind the plate with Darrell Porter in 1981 and 1982. He didn't play much in those two years (58 games in '81 and 66 games in '82), but his on base percentages in both years were above .400. He appeared in the '82 World Series but was hitless in six at bats.

• Gene singed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent after the 1982 season and played one year. He batted .177 in 62 at bats and was released during spring training in 1984.

• He became a coach after his playing career. He spent several years as a member of Cito Gaston's staff in Toronto and was the Blue Jays' interim manager for 33 games when Gaston suffered a herniated disc in 1991. After leaving Toronto Gene was a hitting instructor in the Cardinals' organization. When Gaston was rehired in 2008 Tenace was brought back as hitting coach. He's still the hitting coach now. It's interesting that Gene espouses a more aggressive approach at the plate since he was known as a patient hitter in his playing days.

1976 Topps #164 - Pepe Mangual

• Pepe Mangual was an outfielder for the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets from 1972-1977. He started in the Expos' organization in 1970 and got his first shot as a September call-up in 1972. Pepe had 13 at bats in 1972 and batted .273. He started the 1973 season with Montreal but was sent to the minors in early May. Pepe came back in August and ended up batting .177 in 62 at bats.

• Mangual was in the minors for most of 1974 and was called up in September. He batted .311 in 61 at bats in 1974. He spent the entire 1975 season with Montreal as the starting center fielder and batted .245 in 140 games. Pepe also stole 33 bases that year. He tied a major league record on August 11 when he struck out five times in one nine-inning game.

• Pepe started the 1976 season with the Expos and was traded to the Mets with Jim Dwyer for Del Unser and Wayne Garrett on July 21. For the two teams he batted .237 in 107 games.

• In 1977 Mangual was in the minors until September. He batted .143 in eight at bats. He continued to play in the minors through the 1984 season but never made it back to the majors.