[Terry D]

Well, here is another one I had almost given up hope on.

Left-handed reliever Bob (Spacey) Lacey was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but grew up in Tucson. A tenth-round draft pick out of an Arizona college I never heard of, Lacey made the A's in 1977. Charlie Finley was in the fire-sale stage of his ownership of the Oakland franchise and the team was terrible, but Lacey was quite effective for the club in '77-78. He was off his game in '79, but in 1980 Billy Martin took over and brought the A's back into contention. Martin relied more heavily on his starters than any manager since the 1950s, and Lacey was one of only two relievers who saw much action for the A's that year, righty Jeff Jones being the other. Lacey was pretty good too, with a 2.94 ERA and six saves, the latter figure easily leading the team. Lacey even stepped in to throw a complete game shutout in his only major league start. Lacey later said that Martin was the best manager he ever played for, but at the time the two men did not get along. Lacey groused about the way he was used and he would later confess that in those days he was "an immature punk" with a penchant for starting fights. Martin needed lefties and he needed relievers, but starting fights was a privilege he reserved for himself, so after the season was over he traded Lacey to the Padres for (among others) Tony Phillips. The Padres shortly dealt Lacey to the Indians for Jian Bonilla, but Lacey was overweight when he reported to the Tribe and he pitched poorly for them in '81. The Indians passed Lacey along to the Rangers, but he got into only one game for Texas that year and was released the following spring. Lacey spent '82 in the Mexican League and signed with the Angels as a free agent in March, 1983. Lacey spent most of that season at AAA Edmonton, posting a high ERA but also recording 12 saves. The Angels were desperate for relief that year, but waited until September before recalling Lacey. He pitched just 8 innings in the final month of a losing season, going 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA and no saves. Lacey moved on to the Giants for '84 and wasn't bad for them in a secondary role, but they released him the following spring anyway. The attached image comes of course from the excellent Fritsch card auction site on Ebay. And so the 1983 California Angels are now complete.