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1978 Topps - Willie Montanez
| Name: | Willie Montanez | Position: | First Base |
| Team: | Atlanta Braves | Card Year: | 1978 |
| Card Brand: | Topps | Card Number: | 38 |
| Condition: | Fair | Date Entered: | 2010-05-02 |
| Comments: | |||
| Info for Willie Montanez from the Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen |
| Willie Montanez made his major league debut at the age of 18 in1966 with the California Angels. When Montanez broke into the majors that year, another rookie on the team was 20-year-old Jay Johnstone, who would later team up again with Montanez on the Philadelphia Phillies. A couple of years later, Montanez, then in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, had the distinction of being the player substituted for Curt Flood when Flood refused to report to the Phillies following his trade from the Cardinals after the 1969 season. The trade gave Montanez the opportunity to play in the big leagues again in 1970, when he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to the Atlanta Braves' Earl Williams. He hit 30 homers that first season, but never came close to matching that total, only hittting as many as 20 one other year. |