EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American league and the top three relievers of the 1977 season proudly showcased on a 1978 “expanded league leader: card:

 

We begin with Bill Campbell, “Soup”, who had a great first season with the Boston Red Sox after coming over from the Minnesota Twins.

The man went 13-9 with a 2.96 earned run average while saving a league-leading 31 games, giving him his 44 “points” to come out on top for the A.L.’s premier fireman.

The 1977 season followed an even better 1976 season that saw him win 17 games while saving 20 for the Twins, appearing in 78 games while closing out 68, throwing an incredible 308 innings in relief over those two campaigns!

In second place with 39 points, funny enough, the pitcher who would take home the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1977, New York Yankees closer Sparky Lyle, who also had a fantastic season out of the bullpen, going 13-5 with 26 saves while pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA in 137 innings.

Lyle was a stallion of the Yankees bullpen since 1972, and helped them all the way back to glory with a World Series win in 1977, their first championship since 1962.

In third place with 32 points, Chicago White Sox reliever Lerrin LaGrow, who was converted to a reliever and found success, going 7-3 out of the ‘pen with 25 saves, posting a very nice 2.46 ERA over 66 appearances and 98.2 innings of work.

Easily the best season of the man’s 10-year Big League career, LaGrow previously made his mark in the Majors as a starter for the Detroit Tigers in the early-70’s, though finding some tough luck with a 19-loss and 14-loss season in 1974 and 1975.

Well there you go!

The top relievers in the Junior Circuit for 1977 on a 1978 “expanded league leader” card.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1977 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American League’s top three “firemen” of the 1976 season, celebrated on a 1977 “expanded league leader” card:

 

 

We begin with a reliever who had a couple of outstanding seasons in the mid-70’s, Bill Campbell, aka “Soup”, who paced the league with his 37 points.

Campbell’s 1976 season was incredible, as he would appear in a league-leading 78 games for the Minnesota Twins while posting a record of 17-5, with 20 saves and a 3.01 earned run average over 167.2 innings, all out of the bullpen.

Those numbers were enough for a seventh place finish in the Cy Young Award and an eighth-place finish in the MVP race, and rightly so!

I’ve always been fascinated by relievers who posted incredible high-inning seasons completely out of the bullpen, and Campbells 1976 season ranks high up there.

In second place with 33 points, Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who posted a record of 13-11 with 20 saves in his final year with the Oakland A’s, with a brilliant 2.47 ERA over 70 appearances and 134.2 innings of work.

Another workhorse out of the bullpen, it’s no surprise the man’s Big League output would eventually lead to a Hall of Fame induction, at the time a rare occurrence for a dedicated reliever.

In third place with 30 points, a man who I feel should be in the Hall of Fame, Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees, who led the league with his 23 saves while posting a record of 7-8 with a 2.26 ERA over 103.2 innings for the A.L. champs.

Lyle would follow up his excellent 1976 season with an even better 1977, taking home the A.L. Cy Young Award based on his 13-5 record, with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA over 72 games and 137 innings of work, helping the Yanks win their first championship since 1962.

I absolutely loved him as a kid, pitching for my Yanks, and was heartbroken when he was sent to the Texas Rangers in part because of the arrival of Rich Gossage, who took over the reliever role for the foreseeable future.

There you have it, the top three “firemen” called upon to put out those late-inning fires, eating up innings and saving games in the American League in 1976.

OPC VARIATIONS- 1977 BILL CAMPBELL

Up on the blog today, thought it'd be fun to look at another 1977 OPC-to-Topps image variation, this one for former All-Star reliever Bill Campbell:

OPC Version

Topps Version

 

Just two different airbrushed images for the man, for some reason.

Campbell was entering his first season with the Boston Red Sox after a magnificent 1976 season for the Minnesota Twins.

In 1976 all the man did was go 17-5, with a 3.01 earned run average and 20 saves over 78 games, tossing 167.2 innings, ALL in relief!

He would not disappoint the Boston faithful in 1977 either, as he would go 13-9 with a 2.96 ERA and 31 saves over 69 games, throwing another 140 innings, again entirely out of the bullpen, good for a fifth-place finish in the Cy Young Award race at season's end, as well as a tenth-place finish for MVP.

He would go on to pitch five years for the Red Sox, before bouncing around a bit for the last six seasons of his 15-year career, ending up with a 83-68 record along with a 3.54 ERA over exactly 700 appearances, all but nine out of the bullpen.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S- BILL "SOUP" CAMPBELL

Time to go and give Bill “Soup” Campbell a “Nickname of the 1970’s” card in my long-running series through that colorful decade we all love:

Campbell was putting together two straight monster seasons out of the bullpen, the first for the Minnesota Twins, the second with the Boston Red Sox, in 1976 and 1977 respectively.
In 1976 with Minnesota, he posted an incredible record of 17-5 with a 3.01 earned run average over 78 appearances and 167.2 innings pitched, all out of the ‘pen. That performance would get him both Cy Young and MVP attention, and rightly so.
After being granted free agency in the Winter of ‘76, he’d bring his talents to Boston where he’d continue his success, going 13-9 with a league-leading 31 saves and a 2.96 ERA over 69 appearances.
30 wins and 51 saves in two seasons and 307 innings! Just amazing how relievers were used back then.
He’d end up putting in 15 years as a Major Leaguer, finishing with exactly 700 appearances along with a 83-68 record and 126 saves.

AIRBRUSHING AN ALL-STAR RELIEVER: 1977 BILL CAMPBELL

I’ve always gotten a kick out the airbrushing job all-star reliever Bill Campbell got after his monster 1976 season in the 1977 Topps set:

I like how the airbrushers at Topps didn't even bother with the Twins uni Campbell was wearing.
"Close enough".
 Campbell had one of the best seasons of any reliever in ’76, going 17-5, leading the American League with a .775 winning percentage, along with a 3.01 earned run average with 20 saves, all out of the ‘pen with a league-leading 78 appearances!
So what does that get him? A plane ticket to the Boston Red Sox, for whom he suited up in 1977 on his way to leading the American League in saves with 31 that season.
One of the early free agents, he capitalized and signed with the Bosox on November 6th of 1976, so Topps had to scramble to get the star fireman into the correct cap, if not the correct uniform.
He would go on to pitch five years for the Red Sox, before bouncing around a bit for the last six seasons of his 15-year career, ending up with a 83-68 record along with a 3.54 ERA over exactly 700 appearances, all but nine out of the bullpen.