2012 Topps Heritage #9 – 2011 NL Strikeout Leaders

Tim Lincecum’s wavy hair looks out of place here. I like how the ’63 leader cards were emulated, right down to listing the guy who finished 50th in the league in strikeouts.Tim won his first game of the year today. He went only five innings, and i…

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It looks like The Beard will need Tommy John surgery. That’s a real bummer. Hopefully the Giants can come up with some guys to close out games and hopefully The Beard will be able to bounce back.

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Mr. Cain pitched a gem in the Giants’ home opener today. He allowed one hit (the only baserunner of the game for Pittsburgh), struck out 11 batters, and shut out the Pirates 5-0. Great game, Matt!

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I opened up my first 2012 Topps Heritage pack today and I got one Giants card — Santiago Casilla.Santiago Casilla has been an important part of the Giants bullpen for the last two seasons. As the back of his card states, the Giants got him just at the…

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The Beard is 30 today—long live the beard!Brian Wilson has had some good years as the Giants’ closer.2006: 4-3, 5.40 ERA in 31 games2007: 1-2, 2.28 ERA, 6 saves in 24 games2008: 3-2, 4.62 ERA, 41 saves in 62 games — it was his first year as the Gian…

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Brad Wellman was originally signed by the Kansas City Royals in 1978. He played in the Royals’ system from 1978-1981.Wellman was traded (with Atlee Hammaker, Renie Martin, and Craig Chamberlain) to the Giants on 30 March 1982 for Vida Blue and Bob Tuft…

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Today is Will Clark’s 48th birthday.He had a great nickname — Will the ThrillClark was one of the players who really helped turn around the Giants franchise in the late 1980sWill  homered off of Nolan Ryan in his first major league at bat on 8 A…

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Terry Mulholland turns 49 today.Mulholland started his career with the Giants. Here are his stats with the Giants organization:1984: First round draft pick of the SF Giants was 6-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 12 starts for two teams (Everett and Fresno)198…

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Johngy from Johngy’s Beat sent me this card. This was the one card I needed to complete my 1987 Donruss Giants team set. Thanks a lot Johngy!Night Owl has a “One Card Challenge” where a collector can ask for one card to complete a set (or a team set). …

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Jim Wohlford turns 61 today!Jim was a backup outfielder with the Giants from 1980-1982.He had a nice year in 1980, batting .280 in 91 games.Happy birthday Jim!

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J.T. Snow turns 43 today. Mr. Snow was a solid first baseman who spent ten years with the Giants in the late 90s and early 00s. He won two Gold Gloves with the LA Angels and four more with the Giants.Happy Birthday J.T.!

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Today is Bob Brenly’s 58th birthday. He was a favorite of mine during the dreary era of the mid-1980s and during the Giants’ renaissance under “Humm-baby” Roger Craig.I also enjoyed him when he was a broadcaster (and later the manager) of the Arizona D…

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A memorable moment from the 2002 World Series was when Darren Baker (Dusty’s son) got too close to home plate and almost got run over. This was a great save by J.T. Snow!Little ones have been on my mind a lot lately. We’ve started to do some foster par…

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Randy Elliott spent most of his ten years in baseball playing in AAA.This is the only Topps card Randy ever had — no wonder I didn’t know who he was.Randy had a couple of short stints with the San Diego Padres in 1972 and in 1974.Elliott was picked up…

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Here is the fourth card that came from Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz.Jeff Keppinger has moved around a lot during his career. The Giants were his fifth major league team in seven seasons.Keppinger is now with his sixth team. On 27 January 2012 he signed w…

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Here is the third of four cards I got from Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz.Matt Cain is another of the homegrown Giants. It would be nice to see him stick around with the Giants for several more years.It’s hard to believe he still has a sub-.500 lifetime re…

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Mr. Sandoval had a nice comeback season last year. I hope he can keep it up this year!This is a really nice action shot.This is the second of four cards sent by Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. Thanks again Chris!

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Beard!I hope Mr. Wilson is over the arm problems he had at the end of last year. I’d like to see him get another 35-save season.Chris at Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz offered to send 2012 Topps cards to those who wanted them. I asked for some Giants cards…

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Gary Carter passed away today at the age of 57. Brain cancer was the culprit. It’s sad news — Gary was one of my favorites, especially when he was with the Expos.Carter was with the Giants for only one season (1990). He batted .254 with 9 HR and 27 RB…

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After 2+ seasons in the majors, it looked like “The Count” was well on his way to a great career. Little did anyone know that his best years were already behind him.John injured his ankle trying to beat out a bunt on May 26, 1977 and missed about six w…

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Allen Ripley was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1972. He spent a lot of time in the minors until he finally got a chance in 1978.Ripley split the 1978 and 1979 season between AAA Pawtucket and the Red Sox.Allen was purchased by the Giants j…

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Tom from The Angels in Order posted some cards a couple of months ago that he had acquired. I commented that it was cool that he got a Johnnie LeMaster. Tom e-mailed me and asked if I would like it. A week later the card was in my mailbox. Thanks …

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Mr. Tim Lincecum is the only pitcher to have a sub-3.00 career ERA. That’s quite an accomplishment.It’s nice to have two Giants in the top ten in this category. I hope the Giants can sign Matt Cain.

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I opened my first pack of 2012 Topps tonight. In the 36-card pack I got two cards with SF Giants on them.Brandon Belt has moved through the Giants system very quickly. Hopefully it hasn’t been too fast.It would be nice if Topps would stop doing the foi…

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A collector on Zistle (The Hopeful Chase) offered me a “trade.” He offered me several 2010 National Chicle Giants and didn’t want anything in return. He’s trying to clean out some space. Here are the cards he sent me:Isn’t that cool? Thanks a lot Dusti…

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Here are some interesting cards that were in the package from Baseball Dad. I don’t think this is the full set. If you know something about this set, please let me know.

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Here is another Giants card (or sticker in this case) sent to me by Baseball Dad.Rick Reuschel had some good years with the Giants from 1987-1989. Reuschel had several good years with the Chicago Cubs in the 1970s. Rick went to the New York Y…

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Here is another card from Baseball Dad. I tried to put this in my checklist at Zistle, but I don’t know what set this falls under. Can someone help?Orlando Cabrera was acquired by the Giants from the Cleveland Indians on July 30, 2011 in exchange …

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For me this was the highlight of the box of cards that Baseball Dad sent me. I didn’t have any 1965 Topps Embossed cards. They are kind of interesting.Jim Ray Hart was in his second year in 1965. He and Rico Carty finished a distant second to Dick Alle…

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Baseball Dad from All Tribe Baseball sent me a bunch of Giants cards last week. This was the first thing I saw when I opened the box. I thought I had been “bipped,” but there were a lot of good Giants cards in the box. I’ll be showing them off in …

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Every time I feature a Gary Matthews or a Garry Maddox card I find myself lamenting the financial straits that forced the Giants to get rid of them in the mid 1970s.
Matthews finished his run with the Giants in 1976. He batted .279 with 20 HR and 84 RB…

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As the back of this card indicates, Bobby Murcer had been traded to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Madlock before the 1977 season. Three other players were involved in the deal, but the main trade was Murcer/Madlock.
The Cubs were having difficulty sig…

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Chris Speier was a solid shortstop for the Giants in the early-mid 1970s.
Chris was the first round (second overall) pick of the Giants in the 1970 draft
After spending one season (1970) with AA Amarillo, Chris won the starting shortstop job in 1971. S…

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Terry Whitfield’s 1979 season started off in a promising manner. Terry went 4 for 5 as the Giants beat up on Cincinnati starter Tom Seaver and won 11-5. 
Whitfield hit an inside-the-park home run off of Philadelphia starter Nino Espinosa on May 1….

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The Giants acquired Terry Whitfield on March 14, 1977 in a trade with the New York Yankees. The Giants sent 2B Marty Perez to the Yankees in exchange for Whitfield.
When this card was printed Terry was coming off of his first full season as a major lea…

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