allsportsauctions.com photo: 1973 jersey of former San Francisco Giant Butch Metzger
BUTCH METZGER — He Was a Giant?
By Tony ‘Le Tigre’ Hayes
Butch Metzger — RHP — 1974 — #48
Sure, the Giants were steamrolled by the meat-grinding Reds and Dodgers mega teams of the 1970s, but the decade that brought us Watergate and neck ties as wide as Van Ness Avenue was not a total disaster for the Orange & Black.
The ’70s SF Giants looked cool – a good portion of that era’s crew sported corkscrew perms, gravity defying Afros and droopy Fu Manchu mustaches.
But more impressive, the cash depleted farm system of the Orange and Black of the ’70s amazingly managed to produce a steady stream of future stars.
The group included hitters Chris Speier, Garry Maddox, Dave Rader, Jack Clark, Chili Davis and pitchers Gary Lavelle, Bob Knepper and Ed Halicki.
More prominently, the Giants system produced three official NL Rookies of the Year Award winners in the ’70s: OF Gary Matthews (’73), RHP John Montefusco (’75) and RHP Butch Metzger (’76).
Wait. Butch? Who?
You mean the guy who sawed off parts of three fingers by mistake? No, that was late 1980s Giants SS Roger Metzger.
Say you don’t remember RHP Butch Metzger’s record setting 1976 season when he dazzled the Senior Circuit with a 11-4 record 2.92 ERA and 16 saves.
That’s because Metzger’s ROY campaign came as a Brown and Yellow outfitted member of the San Diego Padres – two full seasons after a blink and you missed it Giants cameo.
Why Was He A Giant?
Metzger was drafted by SF in the second round of the June 1970 draft out of Kennedy high school in Sacramento.
After a 12-10, 4.72 season at Triple-A Phoenix in 1974, Metzger, 22, was promoted to the big leagues.
He made his MLB debut as a Giants reliever at Atlanta on 9/8/74.
After the first three Braves reached base off Giants starter Ron Bryant to begin the 5th, Metzger was summoned. He retired Dusty Baker on a fly ball and exited the inning unscathed.
He finished his lone Giants season with at 1-0, 3.55 in 10 relief outings.
Before and After
Metzger had just fully digested his Thanksgiving dinner when word came on 12/6/74 that he had been dealt to San Diego with 2B Tito Fuentes in exchange for utility man Derrel Thomas.
Metzger would spend most of 1975 in the minors before breaking camp with San Diego in 1976. Still technically a rookie, Metzger was phenomenal for another wise miserable Padres club.
He would appear in a rookie record 77 games. In addition, Metzger would win his first 10 decision of the campaign to begin his career a composite 12-0 – tying a big league record.
For his heroics Metzger was named co-winner of the 1976 NL ROY award, sharing the honor with Cincinnati RHP Pat Zachary.
He Wasn’t Elias Sosa. But…
As a Giant, Metzger pitched a scoreless top of the 10th inning (9/21/74) to earn the his first major league win in an 8-6 win vs. the visiting Reds.
He would go on the win his next 11 decisions to tie Hooks Wiltse’s longstanding MLB record.
Giant Footprint
After ’76, mound success proved elusive for Metzger and he left the pro ranks by the early 1980s.
Though he embarked on a career as a Sacramento firefighter, Metzger kept his pitching toe in the game, playing in hardball senior leagues.
When MLB labor strife forced a player lock out in 1994-95 one of the players who contested for a spot on a never to be fielded replacement Giants squad was a 42-year old Metzger.
Tony the Tiger Hayes looks back on former San Francisco Giants at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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