1973 San Francisco Giants - 88-74 - 3rd Pl NL West - 11 GB

Bonds walk off Grand Slam on Memorial Day vs rival Dodgers

After finishing in 17 games under .500 and in 5th place in 1972 manager Charlie Fox got his Giants to win 19 more games than the previous season.  Not only did he get the team to within 2 wins of a 90 win season, but Fox was able to keep the team in contention until early September.  Giant fans were ecstatic that their team had a chance, but their enthusiasm didn't translate to clicks on the turnstile.  The Jint drew just 834,193 fans to "the Stick".  Only 3 teams drew worse.  Owner Horace Stoneham had similar issues nearly two decades earlier and moved his team west because of it.  Could it be the ballpark, the weather or the team.  It definitely wasn't the team.  Offensively the Giants scored the 3rd most runs in the league.  7 of their starters hit double digits in HR's with 27 year old Bobby Bonds smashing 39, while stealing 43 just narrowly missing being he first 40/40 man.  35 year old Stretch McCovey (.266-29-75) had an OBP of .420 in his final season in his first go-round in the Bay Area.  The outfield featured two emerging stars named Matthews and Maddox, who hit over .300.  Both could go get the ball with the best of them.  Along with Bonds they might have been the top OF in the NL in '73.  The most confounding player on the team would be another youngster named Dave Kingman, who blasted 24 homers in just 305 AB.  The Giants needed to find a position for him as they tried him at both corner IF spots and even a few times on the mound.  Speaking of the mound, could this be where the Giants underachieved?  If they did you can't blame it on Ron Bryant (24-12, 3.53).  Bryant, who built on his breakout '72 season would lead the league in wins and come in 3rd in the Cy Young Award balloting, would need help.  He'd get help in the form of inning eaters:  Jim Barr (231IP), Tom Bradley (224IP) and future HOF'er Juan Marichal (207IP).  Unfortunately that trio sported high ERA and sub .500 records (except Bradley who was 13-12).  The Giants pen was sound, but not spectacular.  Elias Sosa (10-4, 3.28, 18sv) was complimented by Randy Moffitt (4-4, 2.42, 14sv).  Jim Willoughby and Don Carrithers had high ERA's and WHIPs.  Fox got everything he could get out of 43 year old vet Don McMahon (4-0, 1.48, 6sv) in his next to last season.  So how does one read this Giants team?  Were they a team on the upswing transitioning from aging veterans to youth or were they a team getting one last hurrah before they faded away.  Sadly, history tells us that it was the latter.

To finish off the 1973 Giants team set I created 17 new cards.

Before being shipped off to the Angels on April 14th Gallagher hit just .222 (2-9) in 5 games at the hot corner.  He would go on to have a decent season in Anaheim hitting .273 in 110 games yet for some reason he was sent down to AAA to start the '74 season, where he would perform well below average and never again play in the majors.  "Dirty Al" would move into the role of player-manager in the Atlanta farm system before settling on a long and less distinguished career in Indy Ball (16 seasons).

With Willie Mays long gone from Giants and "Stretch" McCovey starting to age Bobby was thrust into the spotlight as the Giants true star.  While always prone to the strikeout, Bonds was a true blend of speed and power.  A member of the 30/30 club, Bonds was one HR short of being the MLB's first ever 40/40 man.  Topps originally issued a weird "action" horizontal card that looked like he was raising his hands in surrender.  This classic pose shot is much more in line for a guy who by 1973 was one of baseball's true superstars.  Here is a great cassette tape recording of him hitting a walk off grand slam vs the rival Dodgers on Memorial Day.

After ripping up the minors for 3 seasons in the Chisox and Angels chain Miller was acquired in exchange for Gallagher and rushed up to the majors where he hit  just .143 in 12 games before being sent down to Phoenix AAA.  Miller would see extended action the following year where he hit for average, but no pop.  In '75 his average dropped, but without any power.  After a miserable '76 he was out of baseball.

Manager Fox helped the Jints rebound nicely from a near 90 loss season the year before.  After a slow start the following year he was let go just before mid season.  In total his 4 1/2 years as the Giants skipper he posted a 348-327 record with a first place finish in 1971. Fox spent 33 years total in the Giants organization as a player, coach, scout, executive and manager.

Best known for being the player the New York Mets traded to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Mays.  Williams began the 1972 season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate, the Tidewater Tides, when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants even-up for Willie Mays. Williams appeared in only three games for the Giants that season, spending most of it with their Triple-A affiliate, the Phoenix Giants (10–10, 4.60 ERA).

After splitting the 1973 season between Phoenix and San Francisco, he made the Giants for good in 1974. His final game was on September 11, 1978, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park.  In 12 games with the Giants in '73 he had a perfect 3-0 record, with an imperfect 6.65 ERA.

Topps viewed Speier as an emerging star, so they issued him a horizontal card in the '73 set.  His .249 average would not reflect their optimism, but his glove sure did and his pop (11 homers) didn't hurt his cause either.  Speier was in the middle of 3 straight years as a NL All-Star.  By the middle of the '77 season he was dealt to the Expos for their shortstop Tim Foli.  In total, Speier would play 19 major league season with his final 3 as a return to San Fran as a utility infielder.  His return coincided with the Giants emergence as a playoff team in 1987.

In parts of three seasons as a backup with the Giants, Blanco hit .212 (7-for-33) with two runs batted in, nine runs, one double and 3 stolen bases in 72 games. In the field he handled 46 of 48 total chances successfully (.958) and participated in 3 double plays.  He resumed his career in the Venezuela League, hitting .272 (704-for-2623) with 198 RBI, 289 runs, 72 doubles, 28 triples, and 70 steals in 754 games (1960–77).  After retiring at age 36, Blanco scouted briefly for the Cincinnati Reds before beginning a successful career as a journalist and baseball broadcaster in his native Venezuela.  In 2014, Blanco gained induction in the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He was inducted as well in the Hall in 2015, when the entire 1959 Pan American Games champion team was honored.

The pride of Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn was in the next to last year of a standout 18 year career.  "Mac" pitched for 7 different teams during his career, where he was recognized as one of the top relievers in baseball.  His final 6 seasons were spent in San Fran.  At the age of 43 he was the oldest active player in baseball while posting a perfect 4-0, 1.48 record in 22 games.  He earned World Series rings in 1957 with the Braves and in 1968 with the Tigers.  Tragically he died of a heart attack after pitching BP in 1987 for the Dodgers.  He had had heart bypass surgery 3 1/2 years earlier.

In 1973, Sosa saved nine of teammate Ron Bryant's major league-leading 24 wins, including #20.  Sosa had a great season out of the pen for the Giants (10-4, 3.28, 18sv, 107IP).  After 3 seasons in San Fran he would spend the next 9 seasons of his 12 year career playing for 7 other franchises compiling a lifetime 59-51, 3.32, 83sv career record.  Throughout his career he was known as a pitcher who kept the ball in the ballpark, yet he will always be remembered as giving up the 2nd of Reggie Jackson's 3 consecutive World Series homers.

"Sarge", was more like a private during his rookie season with the Jints in 1973.  Earning his stripes he was the 1973 NL ROY award winner hitting an even .300 with 12 homers and 17 stolen bases.  The Giants expected big things from him and in his 5 seasons in the bay area he didn't fail to deliver.  At the conclusion of the '76 season he was granted free agency and signed with the Braves, where he would post 5 above average seasons before moving along to Philly where he would finally get to the post season.  Sarge was also a key contributor on the '84 NL East Champion Cubs team where he hit .291, let the league in walks and Sac Fly's and finished 5th in the MVP balloting.

As a rookie, Thomasson played in 112 games as the team's 4th OF'er and defensive first baseman hitting a robust .285 with 4 homers and 30 RBI's.  He would continue that role for 4 more seasons before moving across the bay to Oakland for half a season in the cellar.  Thankfully for him he was dealt to the Yankees, who were in the midst of a great comeback during the '78 season.  His final 2 MLB seasons were in LA before he played 2 sub par seasons in Japan where he suffered a career ending knee injury.

After striking out over 200 in two years of A Ball the Giants rushed 21 year old flame thrower John D'Acquisto to the majors during the 73 seasons where he pitched in just 7 games.  He spent most of the year in AAA Phoenix where he was 16-12, 3.57.  He would log 215 innings the following year starting 36 games.

31 year old veteran Morris appeared in just 7 games for the Giants and posted an unimpressive 1-0, 8.53 record.  He would rebound nicely in '74 then fade away from the sport.  In 14 years in professional ball he spent 12 seasons in the minors.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, Phillips attended MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, and was selected by the Giants in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft. After four years of seasoning the Giants' farm system, he made the Major Leagues in 1973 and was largely a utility infielder during his career, although in 1975 he was the Mets' regular shortstop, appearing in 116 games when the club's longtime starter at the position, Bud Harrelson, was injured.

Originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1969, he spent his entire major league career with the San Francisco Giants. He was a backup throughout his eight-year major league career, which spanned the years 1973 and 1975 through 1981. Sadek's nickname was "The Sheik," possibly a reference to his last name being prevalent in the Middle East.  In the 1996 film The Fan, Sadek served as Robert DeNiro's body double in scenes where DeNiro's character was throwing a baseball.

A solid third baseman with an average arm, Ontiveros was named Minor League player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1973. He reached the majors with the San Francisco Giants late in the season (hitting .242 in 24 games), spending four years with them before being traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with Bobby Murcer, for Bill Madlock before the 1977 season.  On April 17, 1977, Ontiveros broke up a no-hit bid by the New York Mets' Tom Seaver with a bloop single in the fifth inning. It would be Seaver's fifth career one-hit game before finally pitching a no-hitter in 1978.  In an eight-season career, Ontiveros was a .274 hitter with 24 home runs and 224 RBI in 732 games. Following his majors career, he played in Japan with the Seibu Lions from 1980 to 1985 and hit .312 with 82 home runs and 390 RBI.

The Giants initially signed Fuentes as an 18-year-old amateur before the start of the 1962 season. He was one of the last baseball players signed directly out of Cuba before the United States embargo against Cuba.  By 1973 he was in his 8th season with the Giants as their regular second baseman.  The following season would be his last in San Fran before moving south to San Diego in a deal for Derrel Thomas.  He played two great seasons in SD before moving to Detroit where he hit .309, but was let go to make room for some young kid named Whitaker.  After hitting just .140 with Oakland his major league career was over.  He played a bit in Santo Domingo before retiring and joining the Giants Spanish language broadcast team in 1981.  Fuentes has been in that role for 36 seasons and is a a fan favorite.  Originally Topps gave him a horizontal card in the '73 set.