Project Baseball 1976

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

This is a nice five-year run for Don Gullett.
In 1975 Gullett only had three no-decisions in 22 starts. He went 15-4 and had a .789 winning percentage
Don had another nice year in 1976 -- he had a record of 11-3 and had a 3.00 ERA
Don missed most of August with shoulder problems.
Gullett dislocated a tendon in his right ankle in game 1 of the 1976 World Series.
Gullett went to the New York Yankees as a free agent after the 1976 season. He pitched in 1977 but was injured in 1978 and had to retire prematurely.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

Ron Blomberg had some good batting years in this five-year run
Injuries shortened Blomberg's career. He spent most of 1975 on the disabled list
Ron had shoulder surgery in April and batted only twice (he was 0 for 2 on September 8) in 1976
Even though he spent the entire 1977 season on the disabled list, Blomberg was voted a full World Series share by his Yankee teammates
After the 1977 season Blomberg signed a four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox
Ron played in 61 games in 1978 and batted .231 with five home runs.
Blomberg didn't make the White Sox club in 1979 and was released during spring training
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak

Chris Speier had his best offensive run from 1971-1975
Speier was an NL All Star in 1972, 1973, and 1974
Chris was very optimistic when he said the the Giants could overtake the Reds in July 1975
Chris had a poor year in 1976 -- he batted .226 with a .297 slugging percentage. He lost his starting shortstop job to rookie Johnnie LeMaster and reluctantly moved to second base in August.
Speier became disgruntled and was traded to the Montreal Expos for Tim Foli on April 27, 1977
After spending several seasons with the Expos and the Chicago Cubs, Chris came back to the Giants in 1987 to finish his career. Speier retired after the 1989 season.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak

The Yankees really fleeced the Cleveland Indians in the Graig Nettles trade after the 1972 season
Nettles was glad to be traded to New York since he wasn't on speaking terms with Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte
This card represents a nice five-year run for Nettles (he made the AL All Star team in 1975), but the best was yet to come
Graig led the AL with 32 home runs in 1976.
Oddly enough, 1976 was the only year Graig wasn't an AL All Star from 1975-1980
before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

Terry had an uneven run in the 1971-1975 time period
Terry had a great year out of the bullpen in 1972 -- he was 6-5 with 29 saves and had a 2.25 ERA
Forster led the AL with 24 saves in 1974
Terry had elbow problems in 1975 and only appeared in two games after May 23.
Forster had a rough year in 1976. He was a swingman (29 appearances, 16 of them starts) and was 2-12 with a 4.37 ERA
Forster and Goose Gossage were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Silvio Martinez and Richie Zisk.
Terry spent one year in Pittsburgh before going to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He enjoyed several good seasons as a reliever for the Dodgers
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after first peak, before second peak

Al Fitzmorris was an important member of the KC Royals' rotation for a few years in the mid 1970s
Fitzmorris had a good year in 1974 (13-6, 2.79 ERA)
He also had a good year in 1976 -- Al was 15-11 with a 3.06 ERA
After the 1976 season Al was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the expansion draft
Fitzmorris had the rare distinction of being drafted in two different expansion drafts. The Royals plucked Al from the Chicago White Sox in 1968.
A few hours after he was taken by the Blue Jays, Fitzmorris was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Andy Ashby and Doug Howard
Al got into Cleveland manager Frank Robinson's doghouse and the dispute helped lead to Robinson's dismissal. Fitzmorris took himself out of a game and said he had a sore arm. Frank wanted to fine him, but club management turned down the request for a fine.
Al had a poor season in 1977 and was released by the Indians after pitching in seven games in 1978. The California Angels picked him up, but Fitzmorris left as a free agent after the season.
Fitzmorris signed with the San Diego Padres in 1979 but didn't make the club.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

Rick Monday enjoyed a nice run as the Cubs' starting center fielder in the early to mid 1970s.
Monday was traded to the Cubs after the 1971 season for Ken Holtzman. Both players were productive for their new teams. It was a great deal for Oakland as Holtzman solidified their rotation during the dynasty years.
Rick had his best year as a Cub in 1976. He batted .272 with 32 HR and 77 RBI. He also led the club with 107 runs scored.
Monday gained fame on April 25, 1976 when he took an American flag away from some people who had tried to burn it at Dodger Stadium. A clip of the incident:

After the 1976 season Monday was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the deal that brought Bill Buckner and Ivan DeJesus to Chicago.