1976 Kellogg's #37 - Jim Palmer

 .

* What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?

    * Multiple Cy Young Award winner

    * Multiple 20 game winner

    * American League ERA leader

    * American League victories leader

* 1976 Highlights:

    * Won his third Cy Young award

    * Led the AL in victories for the second of three straight years

Twitter handle: @Jim22Palmer

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 #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

1976 Kellogg's #32 - Tom Seaver

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Tom Seaver was one of the best (if not the best) pitchers in baseball in the 1970s.
• In 1975 Seaver won his third NL Cy Young Award and was an NL All Star
• Tom led the  NL in wins (22) and in strikeouts (243)
• 1976 Highlights:
• Was a holdout during spring training but agreed to terms and became baseball's highest paid pitcher on April 5.
• Had a rough stretch in May, losing four straight starts. 
• Pitched two innings in the All Star Game and allowed a solo home run to Fred Lynn
• Had a record of 14-11 with a 2.59 ERA
• Led the NL with 235 strikeouts (his ninth straight 200-plus strikeout season)

1976 Hostess #113 - Ted Simmons

• Ted Simmons was one heck of an offensive catcher. He'd be a Hall of Famer if he would have had a better decline phase of his career.
• During this five-year run, Simmons was an All Star in three seasons (1972, 1973, and 1974). He wasn't an All Star in 1975, although he finished 6th in MVP voting that year. Ted declined an invitation to the game for personal reasons.
• After the 1975 season Ted signed a contract calling for $200,000 a year for three years. At the time it was the biggest contract in St. Louis Cardinals' history.
• Simmons scolded "fair weather fans" in St. Louis during the 1976 season.
• Ted had his weakest full season of the decade in 1976, batting .291 with 5 HR and 75 RBI.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

1976 Hostess #104 - Rollie Fingers

• Rollie Fingers was one of the premier relievers in baseball in the 1970s and early 1980s
• Fingers was an AL All Star from 1973-1976 and led the AL in appearances in 1974 and 1975
• Rollie won arbitration cases in 1974 ($65,000 vs $55,000 offer) and in 1975 ($89,000 vs $76,000 offer)
• He elected to play out his option in 1976 and took a 20% pay cut
• Fingers (along with Joe Rudi) was sold to the Boston Red Sox but the sale was voided by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn
• Rollie was in limbo for  several days as A's owner Charlie Finley ordered the players whose sales were voided benched. The A's players threatened to strike on June 27 but Finley relented at the last minute
• Fingers signed a 6-year, $1.6 million contract with the San Diego Padres after the 1976 season.
• 
  

1976 Hostess #64 - Carlton Fisk

• Carlton Fisk was struggling with injuries during this time in his career
• Fisk was hitting well, but had a hard time staying in the lineup
• In 1974 Carlton took a foul ball in a sensitive place and missed the first three weeks of the season. Fisk  went down in late June with a knee injury sustained while blocking the plate. The injury required surgery and Fisk was out for the season
• Carlton broke his elbow during spring training in 1975 and didn't play until June 23
• Fisk was an AL All Star in 1972, 1973, and 1974 -- he didn't play in '74 due to the knee injury
• AL Rookie of the Year in 1972

• Before peak, peak, or after peak? before peak

1976 Hostess #56 - Jim Palmer

• Those are some really nice looking stat lines
• AL Cy Young Award winner in 1973 and in 1975
• Jim also won the award in 1976
• AL All Star in 1971, 1972, and 1975
• AL ERA leader in 1973 and in 1975
• Led the AL in victories in 1975 -- also led the league with 10 shutouts
• Struggled with a sore arm in 1974 -- was placed on the disabled list on June 27 (retroactive to June 20) and didn't pitch until August 13.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

1976 Hostess #49 - Willie Stargell

• Willie's seasons from 1971-1973 constitute a great three-year run
• Willie should have been MVP in either 1971 or 1973 (or both)
• At this point in his career, Stargell was starting to struggle with injuries. He played in only 117 games in 1976 and 67 games in 1977
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak, but he still had a few good years left in him

1976 Hostess #36 - Brooks Robinson

• Brooks Robinson was at the end of a long and distinguished career
• Robinson won  his 16th (and final) Gold Glove in 1975
• Brooks lost his starting third base job on May 17, 1976
• Robinson returned to the Orioles for the 1977 season as a player-coach, but it was his last year.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak

1976 Hostess #33 - Rod Carew

• Those are some really nice batting averages -- especially the last three years
• Rod won four straight batting titles (1972-1975)
• Carew barely missed out on a fifth straight batting title in 1976 --- he batted .331 and finished two points behind batting champion George Brett (.333)
• Rod won two more titles in 1977 (.388) and 1978 (.333)
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

1976 Hostess #22 - Johnny Bench

• Look at all those RBIs!!!
• This set of stats doesn't show his monster 1970 season (.293, 45 HR, 148 RBI) in which he won the NL MVP award
• Bench was also the MVP in 1972 and finished fourth in MVP voting in 1974 and in 1975
• This shows the end of Johnny's peak. Injuries started to catch up with him in 1976 and he was used more often at other positions
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak
• 
  

1976 Hostess #7 - Lou Brock

• This is a pretty consistent run of five seasons
• Brock made the NL All Star team in 1971, 1972, 1974, and 1975
• Lou led the NL in stolen bases each year from 1971-1974
• He set the major league record for stolen bases with 118 in 1974
• Lou would have another good season in 1976 before hitting the decline phase of his career
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak (or perhaps just at the end of it)

1976 Hostess #11 - Robin Yount

• Robin Yount was only 20 years old but already was entering his third major league season in 1976
• Robin's numbers weren't all that impressive in his first two years, but he was still very young and would improve greatly
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? before peak

1976 Hostess #4 - Gaylord Perry

• It looks like Perry didn't do much in 1975 since it was split between two teams, but he was 18-17 with a 3.24 ERA in 37 starts
• Perry had two (maybe even three) peaks in his career. This five-year period looks like a good one -- he won between 16 and 24 games each year.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? end of second peak

1976 Hostess #3 - Phil Niekro

• Phil had some pretty consistent stats during this five-year time frame
• Niekro led the NL in wins (20) and in complete games (18) in 1974. He was 3rd in NL Cy Young Award voting that year.
• Before peak, peak, or past peak? peak

1976 Hostess #2 - Joe Morgan

• I'll post about the other twelve cards in the Kellogg's set once I get my hands on them.
• Hostess put cards on the bottoms of boxes of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and other assorted snack foods from 1975-1979. I remember beating the heck out of those boxes to find the cards I wanted. We didn't eat nearly enough of the things to complete a set.
• I don't really like "partial stats" on cards, but it does have an upside. One can see whether a player is at his peak, past his peak, or if he is in the early part of his career.
• Joe Morgan was at the peak of his career when this card was made. He had his highest batting average and his highest RBI total to date. Joe would have his career  high in RBI (127) during the 1976 season.
• Before peak, peak, or past it? peak

1976 Kellogg's #10 - Jim Rice

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Had a great rookie season in 1975, batting .309 with 22 HR and 102 RBI
• Finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and third in MVP voting in 1975
• 1976 Highlights
• Batted .282 with 25 HR and 85 RBI
• Led the AL with 123 strikeouts (not sure if that is much of a highlight)
• Struggled to keep his average above .260 for much of the season before having a late-season surge.

1976 Kellogg's #14 - Joe Morgan

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Was the NL MVP in 1975
• Batted .327 with 17 HR and 94 RBI
• Led the NL with 132 walks and a .466 on base percentage. Also stole 67 bases
• Was the starting second baseman in the All Star Game and was 1 for 4
• Won the third of five straight Gold Glove awards
• 1976 Highlights:
• Repeated as NL MVP
• Batted .320 with 27 HR and 111 RBI
• Led the NL with a .444 on base percentage and a .576 slugging percentage
• Was 1 for 3 with a run scored as the NL starting 2B in the All Star Game
• Was hitless in 7 AB in the NL Championship series, but batted .333 in the World Series

1976 Kellogg's #5 - Jim Hunter

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Catfish had his fifth straight 20+ win season in 1975 -- he led the league with 23 wins
• Jim had a 23-14 record with a 2.58 ERA and led the AL with 30 complete games
• Finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting
• Took the loss in the 1975 All Star Game (allowed two runs in two innings)
• 1976 Highlights
• Jim had his last full season in 1976
• Hunter was 17-15 with a 3.53 ERA in 36 starts
• Allowed two runs in two innings in the All Star Game
• Started two games in the AL Championship Series -- won game 1 and lost game 4
• Started game 2 of the World Series and took the loss on an unearned run with two out in the 9th inning -- Tony Perez singled in Ken Griffey
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