1971
When
looking back at specific seasons, sometimes specific
plays, or players, trigger the process. That is the case with this
review.
Thinking about the 1971 season, I immediately go to the All-Star Game in
Detroit, and the mammoth, titanic laser blast that Reggie Jackson hit
off of Dock Ellis, the one that hit the light tower above the right
field stands.
Six
future Hall of Famers would homer in the game, which the AL won by a
score of 6-4. Apart from Reggie, there was Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Harmon Killebrew. For the
record, before the All-Star Game 'meant something', it was the only
AL victory in twenty games.
The
season saw Vida Blue and Mickey Lolich both strikeout over 300
batters, saw Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson both join the 500
home run club and saw Roberto Clemente in his final World Series
appearance.
(take a
look at the throw he unleashed on Merv Rettenmund trying to advance
on a flyout. It's about 20 seconds in. They didn't run on his arm the
rest of the Series...
The
Baltimore Orioles had four starting pitchers that each won 20 games
or more. In fact, fourteen pitchers won at least 20 games that year.
Three pitchers had an ERA under 2.00. This just two years after the
mound was lowered to help boost the offense.
The
pitching, on the whole, appears to have been a little better in the
AL than in the NL. There were four pitchers that logged more than 300
innings in 1971, only one was in the National League.
Oakland
finally lived up to their potential, winning 101 games for the first
time in forty years. They went up against the vaunted Orioles
pitching staff in the American League Championship Series. Both teams
had amassed 101 wins, but the Orioles got the three additional wins
in a sweep, to advance to the World Series.
There,
they played the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had edged out the Bobby Bonds
led San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series,
three games to one.
Let's
look at the Power Rankings for 1971:
- Baltimore
- Pittsburgh
- Oakland
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
The
top two teams from each league made the Series, so statistically
speaking, everything was fine. The Giants finished a game ahead of
the Dodgers.
One or
two random items to throw in here. One is a curiosity in that pitcher
Gary Peters of the Red Sox hit 2 home runs as a pinch hitter during
the season.
The
other seemed to be minor at the time, but with historical hindsight,
may have been a bigger deal that first thought.
The
Cleveland Indians suffered through one of the worst seasons in their
storied history. Turmoil seemed to be the name of the game in the
front office. At one point, manager Alvin Dark was put in place as
the team's General Manager as well, having input and final say on all
personnel moves.
In March of 1971, the Indians signed four
players to a contract that was loaded with incentive bonuses, which
at the time, was strictly forbidden in the league. This took place in
the off-season after Curt Flood's case made it to the Supreme Court,
trying to break the 'reserve clause' in big league contracts. In
short, when you signed a contract with a team, you were their
property. Period. No Free Agency. No negotiating rights. You were at
the mercy of the owners. If they felt like you didn't deserve a raise
in pay based on your performance, you didn't get one. In fact, you
may even get a pay cut.
(For
those unfamiliar with the Curt Flood case, here's a quick recap. He
was under contract to the Cardinals, who then traded him to the
Philadelphia Phillies in a multi-player deal. Flood refused to go to
Philadelphia. He was not happy with the Phillies, the playing
facilities and the fan base, who were notoriously difficult.
He
sent this letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn:
“December
24, 1969
- After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States.
- It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.”
- Kuhn denied his request, and the lawsuits was initiated with the help of Marvin Miller and the Players' Association. The argument reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against Curt Flood, but the groundwork was laid for the Free Agency bomb that detonated in the mid 1970's.)
A
reporter from one of the Cleveland newspapers found out about these
contracts, and the commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, had to get involved,
nullifying the contracts, and fining the Indians for their
indiscretion. He also set aside some monies to be distributed to the
four players, should AL president Joe Cronin feel that they did
rightfully deserve said bonus.
Indians
pitcher Sam McDowell, one of the four players, left the club for ten
days, while his lawyer argued that the Indians and the commissioner
had essentially voided his contract, and that he was now truly a Free
Agent, free to sign with any major league team that wished to do so.
Lawsuit threats were thrown around, but McDowell did finally return
to the Indians.
In
1972, the players held their first organized work stoppage, but I
wonder if this incident laid some of that groundwork...
Another
curiosity is that the Curt Flood trade was completed, and the
Cardinals agreed to send 2 other players to the Phillies as
compensation. One of which was Willie Montanez, whose name will
appear in this article a little further down the line.
But
now, on to the playing field...
On the
offensive side, Cardinals third baseman Joe Torre led the majors in
hitting with a .363 average. There was no shortage of power either.
Both Hank Aaron and Willie Stargell knocked on the 50 home run
threshold, but neither did cross it. Aaron finished with 47, while
Stargell clocked 48.
The top offensive
performers, overall, raw numbers were:
- Willie Stargell Pirates 48 125 .295 .628 .398
- Joe Torre Cardinals 24 137 .363 .555 .421
- Hank Aaron Braves 47 118 .327 .669 .410
- Bobby Murcer Yankees 25 94 .331 .543 .427
- Frank Robinson Orioles 28 99 .281 .510 .384
- Roberto Clemente Pirates 13 86 .341 .502 .370
- Bobby Bonds Giants 33 102 .288 .512 .355
- Don Buford Orioles 19 54 .290 .477 .413
- Ted Simmons Cardinals 7 77 .304 .424 .347
- Tony Oliva Twins 22 81 .337 .546 .369
Then, adding performance
compared to their respective teams, which shows good seasons hidden
by bad teams, and we get this list:
- Hank Aaron Braves above
- Nate Colbert Padres 27 84 .264 .462 .339
- Lee May Reds 39 98 .278 .532 .332
- Bobby Murcer Yankees above
- Willie Montanez Phillies 30 95 .255 .471 .327
- Rusty Staub Expos 19 97 .311 .482 .392
- Deron Johnson Phillies 34 95 .265 .490 .347
- Joe Torre Cardinals above
- Ray Fosse Indians 12 62 .276 .397 .329
- Graig Nettles Indians 28 86 .261 .435 .350
There is a bit of a stretch
in talent here, but again, this features the player's performances as
measured against their overall team's performance. When weighing the
overall performances, I feel one has to consider the impact on a
player's team. That being said, here are the top 10 offensive
performers from 1971, along with where they finished in MVP voting:
- Hank Aaron 3rd
- Joe Torre 1st
- Willie Stargell 2nd
- Bobby Murcer 7th
- Rusty Staub 19th
- Lee May 12th
- Bobby Bonds 4th
- Nate Colbert no votes
- Tony Oliva 10th
- Frank Robinson 3rd
Remember, in the AL in
1971, pitcher Vida Blue was voted the MVP.
Speaking of pitching, 1971
was smack in the middle of what has been referred to as the 'New Dead
Ball Era' in baseball. Offensive numbers were down, and conversely
pitching numbers were up. Like the chicken and the egg argument, was
it great pitching or lousy hitting...I think it was great pitching.
You were coming out of the Koufax and Drysdale days, but you still
had Gibson, Seaver, Carlton, Sutton and the like. It is also about
this time that the AL owners were voting on one of Charlie Finley's
pet projects, the designated hitter, which was to begin in 1973.
But, on to the pitching:
The top raw pitching
performances were:
- Vida Blue A's 24-8 1.82 ERA 301 Ks
- Tom Seaver Mets 20-10 1.76 289 Ks
- Dave McNally Orioles 21-5 2.89 91 Ks
- Wilbur Wood White Sox 22-13 1.91 210 Ks
- Ferguson Jenkins Cubs 24-13 2.77 263 Ks
- Dock Ellis Pirates 19-9 3.06 137 Ks
- Jim Palmer Orioles 20-9 2.68 184 Ks
- Jim Hunter A's 21-11 2.96 181 Ks
- Al Downing Dodgers 20-9 2.68 136 Ks
- Mickey Lolich Tigers 25-14 2.92 308 Ks
And then against their
team's average, our leaders were:
- Ferguson Jenkins Cubs above
- Tom Seaver Mets above
- Dave Roberts Padres 14-17 2.10 135 Ks
- Steve Mingori Indians 1-2 1.43 4 svs 45 Ks 54 Games
- Wilbur Wood White Sox above
- Rick Wise Phillies 17-14 2.88 155 Ks
- Bill Stoneman Expos 17-16 3.15 251 Ks
- Sam McDowell Indians 13-17 3.40 192 Ks
- Vida Blue A's above
- Bert Blyleven Twins 16-15 2.81 224 Ks
And the overall top
pitching performances, with their Cy Young/MVP vote tallies were:
- Tom Seaver CY 2nd, MVP 9th
- Vida Blue CY 1st, MVP 1st
- Ferguson Jenkins CY 1st, MVP 7th
- Wilbur Wood CY 3rd, MVP 9th
- Dave McNally CY 4th, MVP 11th
- Dave Roberts CY 6th, MVP 24th
- Mickey Lolich CY 2nd, MVP 5th
- Don Wilson (Astros) no votes
- Rick Wise no votes
- Bob Gibson CY 5th, MVP 23rd
The post season awards in
the American League were both given to Vida Blue, and deservedly so.
The National League awards,
however, should have been distributed differently. My MVP in the NL
would have been Hank Aaron of Atlanta,
and my Cy Young would have
been Tom Seaver of the Mets.
Upcoming title of interest...
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