23 November 2011

1975 topps dodger 1978 topps dodgers

here are the dodgers that were dodgers on their 1975 topps cards and then went on to be dodgers on their 1978 topps cards.  make sense?  we'll start with the penguin, ron cey
looking good in dodger stadium and with his all-star star on the card.  cey was voted to start at third base for the national league again in 1975, going 1 for 3 in the game.  on the season, he hit .283 with 25 home runs and he drove in over 100 runs for the first time in his career.  he hit 2 home runs in 2 straight games in august, after having a walk-off job earlier in the month.

here's the garv
like cey, garvey gets the all-star star for the first time in his career, having been the write-in starter for the nl at first base in the 1974 midsummer classic.  garvey also got two other cards in the 1975 set, one by way of his winning the 1974 national league mvp award
and another thanks to a double in the nlcs against the pirates
garvey was the starter for the nl in the 1975 all-star game as well, and he was 2 for 3 with a solo home run in the contest.  he lost out in the game's mvp voting to the combo of bill madlock, who hit a 2-run go-ahead single in the 9th, and jon matlack who pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.  in the regular season, garvey started his consecutive games streak, had 210 hits, a .319 average and won his second straight gold glove.  his 18th and final home run of the season was a walk-off job against jr richard and the astros, in a rare dodger victory against the astros' right-hander.

knuckleballer charlie hough looks good in dodger stadium on his 1975 card
he was saddled with more losses (7) than wins (3) but had a good era of 2.95 in 38 games.  he also managed 4 saves.  hough allowed only 3 home runs, two of which were to the astros' cliff johnson.

tommy john got a card in the 1975 set
but didn't appear in any games that year, as he was rehabbing from ligament replacement surgery.

lee lacy played in 1975
and he played well.  he spent time at second, short, and all three outfield positions.  he posted a .314 average over 101 games and even hit the first 7 home runs of his career.  after the season, lacy would become the first 1978 topps dodger to leave the dodgers as he was traded to the braves in the dusty baker deal.  obviously, he would return.

here's dave lopes
lopes scored 108 runs and stole a league-leading 77 bases in 1975.  that's cool because it guaranteed lopes a second card in the 1976 set. he also set a record by stealing 32 consecutive bases (he later extended the streak to 38), which would also be good for another card in the 1976 set.  
manny mota won't get a second card in a topps set until 1980.  here's his 1975 card
mota hit .265 in 52 games in 1975.  of course, most of his plate appearances came as a pinch hitter, 49 of 59 to be exact.  mota was 10 for 40 in that role, with 4 walks, 3 sacrifices, and 2 at bats in which he was hit by a pitch.
i am pretty sure mota pinch hit for doug rau at some point
nice to see those holman field bleachers, by the way.  rau had one of his best seasons in 1975.  he was 15-9 with a 3.11 era and 1.12 whip.  he pitched a career high 257.2 innings and struck out a career hit 151 batters.  rau also had a couple of 3-hitters and a 2-hit shutout on the season.

rick rhoden made his first appearance in a topps set in 1975
rhoden pitched in 4 games in 1974, winning his only decision.  in 1975, he made 11 starts and 15 relief appearances, posting a record of 3-3 along the way.  he pitched his first career complete game against the reds in september, beating them 5-2.
bill russell missed a good chunk of the 1975 season due to injury
he played in just over half of the dodgers' games, and hit only .206. 

don sutton made 35 starts in 1975
he lowered his era by a third of a run to 2.87, but his record didn't improve in a corresponding fashion - he went 16-13 after his 19-9 1974 season.  still, sutton's 1.04 whip led the league, and he finished in the top 5 in the cy young award voting for the 4th straight season.  his season included a string of 6 straight complete games, including games in which he struck out 10 and 11 batters.  prior to that streak, he also threw back-to-back complete games, one of which was a one-hitter against the reds.  the only hit in that game was a 7th inning johnny bench home run. 
steve yeager started 130 games for the dodgers at catcher in 1975
he hit .228 with 12 home runs and had over 100 hits for the only time in his career. 

so, the past couple of posts have given us the 1978 topps dodgers, as they were in 1975.

here's the evolutionary tally so far:

23/27 members of the 1978 topps dodgers featured by topps in 1975

total appearances:

baker 5 (1971-1975)
cey 4 (1972-1975)
davalillo 12 (1963-1974)
forster 4 (1972-1975)
garman 4 (1971-1973, 1975)
garvey 5 (1971-1975)
goodson 3 (1973-1975)
grote 12 (1964-1975)
hooton 4 (1972-1975)
hough 4 (1972-1975)
john 12 (1964-1975)
lacy 3 (1973-1975)
lasorda 3 (1954, 1973-1974)
lopes 3 (1973-1975)
martinez 5 (1971-1975)
monday 9 (1967-1975)
mota 13 (1963-1975)
oates 4 (1972-1975)
rau 3 (1973-1975)
rhoden 1 (1975)
russell 6 (1970-1975)
smith 9 (1967-1975)
sosa 2 (1974-1975)
sutton 10 (1966-1975)
yeager 3 (1973-1975)

teams represented so far:

16 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants)

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