1977 National League All-Star Team

[metirish]

http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/_photos/asgnl77.jpg


I saw this over at Faith and Fear in Flushing and thought it was a brilliant picture. So many great colours and facial expressions.

http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/


EDIT - sorry the picture is showing up so big.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Curses!

The first thing I see is John Candelaria.

[metirish]

Something happened to the right of the players, are they looking at where Seaver is gesturing? Winfield is asleep , Reuschel looks scary...

[HahnSolo]

The Pirates are representin' with two different unis. Note that Parker and Candy Man have the yellow shirt, while Goose (slightly blocked to the right) is wearing the black.

On a related subject, this game was shown on YES the other night, and I watched a good bit of it. One thing that was refreshing was that despite a large MFY contingent (including the manager and five ABs for a second baseman we may recognize) the game and the broadcast were not all about the Yankees.

I also liked the large ovation for Seaver, in his first NYC appearance since the bloodletting of 6/15/77.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I count eleven Hall of Famers in that photo: Mays, Schmidt, Anderson, Lasorda, Bench, Seaver, Winfield, Carlton, Sutton, Morgan, and Gossage.

Three of them are managers or coaches, so that makes eight players. I don't think any of the others are likely to get in, unless Pete Rose someday gets absolution, which I highly doubt.

I wonder if eight Hall of Famers is a high or low (or average) number? It seems a little low to me. I suspect it might be even lower today, with more teams that need to be represented.

You probably had higher numbers of Famers before expansion, and fewer today.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Former and future Mets:

Steans
Mays
Seaver
Candelaria
Jerry Morales
Ellis Valentine
Willie Montanez

I guess the fact that Denny Sommers was local got him the representation. I can barely recall his coaching tenure.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I had no idea Hunter S. Thompson made an All-Star team. Fitting that he gets there in a blindingly orange San Francisco pullover.

[Frayed Knot]

The 1972 ASG is considered maybe the most star-studdedness one of them all:

[u:1b8e87faa2]NL HoFers[/u:1b8e87faa2]:
- 5 position starters: Morgan, Mays, Aaron, Stargell, Bench
(in that order at the top of the lineup btw)
- 3 reserves: Lou Brock, Billy Williams, Roberto Clemente
- 5 pitchers: Bob Gibson (starter), Carlton, Jenkins, Seaver, Sutton

[u:1b8e87faa2]AL HoFers[/u:1b8e87faa2]:
- 4 position starters: Carew, Jackson, Yastrzmski, Brooks Robinson
- 2 reserves: Carlton Fisk, Luis Aparicio
- 4 Pitchers: Jim Palmer (starter), Catfish Hunter, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan

[Guest AG/DC]

HahnSolo wrote: The Pirates are representin' with two different unis. Note that Parker and Candy Man have the yellow shirt, while Goose (slightly blocked to the right) is wearing the black.

Actually, three different looks. Candy Man has Parker's uni but Goose's hat.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=NL&city=&lowYear=1977&highYear=1977&sort=year&increment=18&=Display+uniforms

It was a great year for uniforms.

[G-Fafif]

Do try to catch the rebroadcast of the '77 ASG on YES as they play it over and over these next few days. The ovation for Tom Terrific is terrific. The indifference toward Willie Randolph and hostility toward Reggie Jackson is hilarious. The uniforms (Dave Parker tops his all black get-up -- different from the gold he wears in the picture -- with a Padres helmet...and later borrows one from a Cardinal) are to tie for. Richie Zisk and Bob Lemon as American League reps from the Comiskey crime family are worth the price of admission.

[batmagadanleadoff]

During the player warmups before the '77 AS Game, there occurred a legendary contest among some of the game's best throwing outfielders, including obviously, Dave Winfield and Dave Parker. It is said that Ellis Valentine wowed everyone by throwing a perfect strike to home plate (on the fly - no bounces) all the way from the right field warning track. Of course, that being 1977, the whole contest was an unplanned, unchoreographed spontaneous spur of the moment event that probably grew from some good natured or not so good natured ribbing among some of the all stars. It happened before the ticketholders began to fill the stadium. MLB hadn't yet figured out that they could squeeze even more money from their fan base for that kind of stuff.

[Frayed Knot]

They did try some organized "skills" type competition one year (a la the NBA or NHL) back
in the mid '90s sometime - but Barry Larkin managed to injure himself during some throwing
drill and that was the end of that.

[Guest AG/DC]

The one who ended it? Liz Pate.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

AG/DC wrote: The one who ended it? Liz Pate.

Badass!


My guess is that some of them are looking away because there were probably a bunch of photographers shooting at the same time.

Wonder how Denny Sommers was tapped to be the batting practice pitcher? Not a bad gig to end up next to Nuxy and not far from Willie Mays in the photo!

[G-Fafif]

I'm guessing he was local.

Stearns wore a reddish chest protector when he got to catch the bottom of the ninth. Mighta been orange, but the Mets didn't wear orange chest protectors then (except for Charlie O'Brien, can't remember if they ever did). His gear looked no more shielding than the stuff I wore in pee-wee league. Today Brian Schneider is a gladiator by comparison.

Maybe Stearns borrowed one from Bench or Simmons. Actually, the MFYs may have loaned him one. Their catchers used to wear red (and their star catcher used to see it).

[RealityChuck]

I was at that game, the only All-Star game I could attend. Ran out on the field from the stands during the pregame. Security was not amused, but since I had press credentials, they just gave me a warning.

I remember walking among the players, especially, for some reason, Wayne Gross.

[Met Hunter]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Former and future Mets: Steans Mays Seaver Candelaria Jerry Morales Ellis Valentine Willie Montanez I guess the fact that Denny Sommers was local got him the representation. I can barely recall his coaching tenure.

Don't forget George Foster and Garry Templeton.