1976 Kellogg's #2 Claudell Washington

 

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Made the 1975 AL All Star team as a 20-year-old outfielder
• The A's didn't have many of their star players left
• Batted a career-high .308 in 1975
• Was 14th in AL MVP voting in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Dropped to .257 but was still a valuable part of a team that was still a contender in the AL West.

1976 Kellogg's #40 - Lou Brock

 

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Was an NL All Star in 1975
• Got some votes for 1975 NL MVP (21st place)
• Even though he wouldn't get his 3000th hit for a few more years, Lou was probably already pretty close to being a Hall of Famer.
• He didn't lead the NL in stolen bases in 1975, but he stole over 50 bases for the 11th year in a row. Lou led the NL in stolen bases in eight of those 11 years.
• 1976 Highlights:
• Stole 56 bases to extend his 50+ stolen base streak to 12 years.
• Batted .301, which was the sixth season over .300 in the last seven years

1976 Hostess #142 - Gary Matthews

* Gary Matthews was one of the really good outfielders that the Giants came up with in the early 1970s. Things could have been different if the Giants would have been able to keep Gary Matthews, Garry Maddox, and George Foster.

.

.

1976 Hostess #41 - John Montefusco

 

Hello! I finally got to a place where I can spend a bit each month on cards. One thing I decided to do was to work on completing sets from my prime card collecting years (1974-1981). I'm a big Giants fan, so a lot of the first cards I get for these sets will be Giants.

John Montefusco didn't spend much time in the minors. He was dominant in A ball in 1973 and really rose through the system in 1974, going from AA to AAA to the majors all in the same year. I may have seen him pitch in Phoenix in 1974, but I was only seven and don't have any specific memories of the games my dad took me to that year.

John had great  years in 1975 and in 1976 before he started to tail off a bit. Injuries hampered him and by 1979 he was struggling to stay in the rotation.

By the way, the card is in better shape than the scan indicates. I'm still learning how to operate this thing.

1976 Topps Traded - The Missing Cards!

This is something I've been wanting to do, but I lack the graphic skills to pull it off. Ben, Mike, and Travis at The Baseball Card Blog made a "second set" of 1976 Topps Traded cards. This set includes deals that were voided (Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi, and Sal Bando) and deals that were made late in the season (such as Willie McCovey).

On the 1977 blog, I've been tracking which cards would be good as a "traded set candidate." I may give it a shot after the Topps set is finished.

On to 1977

• As you have probably noticed, I've run out of cards to post for 1976. As I obtain the last few cards needed for the 1976 Kellogg's, Hostess, and SSPC sets, I'll post them here.
• To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any 1977 baseball blogs out there. So I'm starting one. I hope you go and start enjoying the blog

1976 Hostess #124 - Willie McCovey

• Willie McCovey was still a dangerous power hitter when this card was printed
• McCovey wanted to play out his option in 1976 so the Padres cut his salary by 20% to $100,000.
• The San Francisco Giants wanted Willie back before the 1976 season. The Giants had traded McCovey to the Padres in 1973 mainly for economic reasons.
• McCovey had his poorest season in 1976. He played in 71 games for the Padres, starting 51 of those games at first base. Willie batted .203 with 7 HR and 36 RBI for the Padres.
• Willie was sold to the Oakland A's on August 30.
• McCovey wasn't sure if he would report to the A's at first, but he reported on September 1.
• The A's used Willie as a DH and a pinch hitter in September, but Willie struggled and batted .208 (5 for 24) with no home runs or RBI.
• After his poor 1976 season there wasn't very much interest in McCovey in the free agent  market. Willie ended up signing with the Giants for $50,000 and had a great year in 1977, winning Comeback Player of the Year honors and cementing his place as an eventual Hall of Famer.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak