things are starting to come together. the players that will become dodgers in topps' 1978 set are starting to gather in advance of some trades that will send them to la.
first up in 1975, here's dusty baker.
baker spent his final year in atlanta patrolling right field. he hit 19 homers with 72 rbi and a .261 average. he twice hit two home runs in a game. the second time he achieved that feat, both home runs came at the expense of the pirates' jim rooker. baker didn't homer again for almost two weeks, when he took rooker deep once again. after the season, the dodgers would acquire dusty and ed goodson in a deal for lee lacy, tom paciorek, jim wynn, and jerry royster.
terry forster got two cards in the 1975 set. here's his base card
and here's the league leader card he shared with the dodgers' mike marshall
after a good year in 1974, forster missed a good portion of the 1975 season due to an arm injury. he pitched in only 17 games, going 3-3 with a 2.19 era and 4 saves. he also made a single start in his final appearance of the season, which was perhaps a sign of things to come for him in '76.
mike garman made a triumphant return to the topps set in 1975, this time on his own and as a cardinal
after the 1973 season, he was traded by the red sox to the redbirds, and he spent the 1974 season in the cardinals' bullpen. he was back there in 1975, too, and posted similar numbers. in both seasons, he appeared in over 60 games (64 in 1974 and 66 in 1976) and threw about 80 innings (81.2 and 79, respectively). he lowered his era from 2.64 in '74 to 2.39 in '75, but his record worsened as he went from 7-2 his first year in st. louis to 3-8 in his second year there. after the season, he was traded to the cubs, where he would stay until al campanis came calling.
i guess i was wrong when i said things were coming together, as ed goodson is still shown as a giant in the 1975 set, despite being traded by the braves to the dodgers after the season ended
it makes sense, though, because goodson wasn't acquired by the braves until june of '75 when they sent shortstop craig robinson to the no-cals. goodson was hitting .207 with a home run and 8 rbi at the time of the trade. after the trade, he hit .211 with a home run and 8 rbi. perhaps interesting only to me, both home runs came off of guys name gary (gentry and nolan).
jerry grote was celebrating mo-vember back on his 1975 topps card
grote followed up his 1974 all-star season by tying his career high in hits with 114, and he did it in just 119 games. as a result, he finished the season with a .295 average. as always, he fielded his position well and threw out 34% of the base runners who attempted to steal against him. one of his two home runs on the season came off of future teammate burt hooton.
speaking of which, here is hooton's 1975 topps card
in 1975, hooton only spent about a month in chicago before the cubs traded him to the dodgers. at the time, hooton was 0-2 in 3 starts with an era over 8. the dodgers got him for eddie solomon and geoff zahn, and he went 18-7 for them the rest of the way. hooton threw 12 complete games and had 4 shutouts to go along with his 2.82 era as a dodger. three of those shutouts were 3-hitters, and the other was a 2-hit gem. not a bad deal that trader al pulled off.
ted martinez did not play for the mets in 1975
he started the season with the cardinals after he was acquired by them in december of 1974. in may, after appearing in 16 games and hitting .190 for them, the cards sent martinez to the a's. he hit only .172 for oakland, but did get a spot on their postseason roster. unfortunately, their three-year reign as world champions came to an end as they lost to the red sox in the alcs. martinez was 0 for 3 in the series.
rick monday spent 1975 with the cubs, and therefore did not make the postseason
monday's home run total fell for the second year in a row, but he still scored 89 runs and drove in 60, which was a career high at that point for him.
johnny oates was another short-timer with the team he represented in the 1975 set
the braves sent oates to the phillies in may of 1975 with dick allen who had refused to recognize the trade that had sent him to atlanta. oates hit .282 in 1975, with all but 4 of his 81 hits coming with the phillies. he also hit a home run, the tenth of his career.
here's reggie smith actually in a cardinals uniform, unlike the image on his 1974 topps card
he's got a little oscar gamble going on, too. he had a good season, hitting 19 home runs and driving in 76 runs while topping .300 for the third year in a row with a .302 batting average. he was also named to the all-star team, and went 1 for 2 with a run scored in the national league's victory. smith replaced jim wynn in the 5th inning, and wound up hitting between steve garvey and ron cey in the lineup. who knew? one of smith's home runs came against the cubs and was hit off of geoff zahn in his first appearance after being acquired in the burt hooton trade. that's another little tidbit that is probably interesting only to me.
finally, we have another cardinal, elias sosa.
sosa is wearing reggie smith's hat from 1974, as he was acquired from the giants in a postseason deal. however, he was only a cardinal for a short time in 1975, as they sent him to the braves in a late may deal. he was 0-3 as a cardinal, and then went 2-2 with the braves. he also registered a couple of saves in atlanta. 1 of the 6 home runs he served up in 1975 was hit by former (and future) teammate, reggie smith.
when 1976 rolls around, some of these non-dodger 1978 topps dodgers will find themselves in dodger blue. stay tuned.
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