1980…Super Joe, A
Drought ends, and the forgotten drug scandal
1980 may
well be remembered for the “Miracle on Ice”, when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team
defeated the heavily favored Russian team on the way to winning the Gold Medal
in Lake Placid. It saw the U.S. withdraw from the 1980 Moscow Olympics in
protest over the invasion of Afghanistan by Russian troops.
It saw
the U.S. Government issue a $1.5 billion bailout of the Lee Iacocca led
Chrysler Corporation. Journalist Dan Rottenberg
references young urban professionals, shortens the name, and coins the term
‘yuppie’. Mount St. Helen’s erupts in Washington State, and Pac-Man is first
released. The U.S. Draft registration is reinstated, former Beatle John Lennon
is shot and killed in New York, and the Cable News Network (CNN) makes its
debut.
Former
baseball announcer Ronald Reagan was nominated to run for President in
November, the deposed Shah of Iran dies, and Vigdis Finnbogadoitir was elected
President of Iceland, the world’s first democratically elected president.
The World
Hockey Association merges with the National Hockey League, adding the Hartford
Whalers, the Edmonton Oilers, the Winnipeg Jets, and the Quebec Nordiques. The
Atlanta Flames shifted the franchise to Calgary. The Rubik’s Cube debuted, the
Pittsburgh Steelers won their fourth Super Bowl (in six years), the New York Islanders with their first (of
four straight) Stanley Cup in a series against the Philadelphia Flyers, and
Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, only to be stripped of the title due to
allegations that she cheated on the course.
After
the 1980 season was over, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bill Bonham, and his wife,
took a brief vacation in Las Vegas. They were joined there by pitcher Tom Hume,
and his wife. Bonham had been struggling with arm problems since the middle of
the 1979 season and had surgery on his shoulder in October 1980.
The Bonhams and the Humes were in
adjoining rooms of the MGM Grand Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, when they were awakened
by shouts at 7AM on November 21st. The hotel was on fire. Quickly gathering
their spouses, they began descending the stairs from the twenty-sixth floor. As
they got lower, the acrid smoke became thicker. They made the decision to climb
to the roof, where they, along with approximately one thousand other guests
were eventually rescued from the roof.
Eighty-five people perished in the
event, a majority from smoke inhalation, as the toxic black smoke rose through
the air ducts and upward. The players involved, along with their wives, were
uninjured. Bonham, however, never could get himself back on track, and after a
few attempts, never did appear in a major league game after 1980. Hume went on
to have an eleven-year career, with the Reds and the Phillies.
In the baseball world, all eyes
were in Cleveland, specifically on Bazooka Joe.
Joe Charboneau made his debut with
the Indians, after being brought over in a trade with the Phillies for pitcher Cardell
Camper. The stories were being told about “Super Joe” even before Spring
Training. How he would drink beer through a straw through his nose, how he
opened a beer bottle with his eye socket in college, how he removed his own
tattoo with a razor blade. Fortified by some alcohol and a pair of pliers, Joe pulled
his own tooth.
And the stories continued that
spring, when he was accidentally stabbed in the chest with a pen by an
autograph seeker.
An injury to Andre Thornton opened
a spot on the Indian’s big-league roster, which Joe filled. While they wrote
songs about him in Cleveland, the rest of the league began to take notice. Attendance
picked up when the Tribe came to town. And while Joe did not warrant and
All-Star selection, he easily won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
Joe, however, succumbed to the dreaded
sophomore jinx. Riddled with injuries which began late in 1980, Joe was
optioned to the minors early in 1981. With the strike shortened season, and the
injury situation worsening, Joe only appeared in forty-eight games that season,
and even less (twenty-two) in 1982. Joe was out of baseball at age twenty-nine,
following the 1984 season in Pittsburgh’s minor league system.
As it stands, Joe holds the
unfortunate record for the fewest career games played by a Rookie of the Year
won by a position player. (201 games)
The summer of 1980, for baseball
fans, was spent watching George Brett of the Royals, as he flirted with the
magical .400 number. While injuries also affected the Royals third baseman, he
made the best of his playing opportunities. There was speculation that he might
fall short of qualifying for the batting title, let alone finishing over the
.400 mark. A plan was put in place to factor in more plate appearances to
qualify Brett for the title, provided the addition of those hitless phantom
at-bats kept his average higher than the runner-up.
Fortunately, Brett made the
requisite number of appearances, and while he fell short of .400 (he finished
at .390), he did have the highest average in either league since the .406 by
Ted Williams in 1941. And only Tony Gwynn’s .394 in the ill-fated 1994 season bettered
Brett’s mark.
Brett compiled a thirty-game
hitting streak during his run and finished the season with more runs batted in
than games played, the first player to do that since Walt Dropo in 1950. He set
(and holds) the major league record for slugging for a third baseman with his
.664 in 1980.
And speaking of third basemen…Philadelphia’s
Mike Schmidt set the record for home runs by a third baseman in a season,
finishing with forty-eight. Schmidt still holds the National League record.
Schmidt helped lead the Phillies to the team’s first ever World Series
championship, after losing their first two Series appearances, in 1915 and
1950.
That is not to say that the
Phillies were a bad team. In fact, they won the National League East pennant in
three straight seasons, 1976-1978, only to lose in the Championship Series,
once to the Reds and twice to the Dodgers.
Backed by strong pitching from Cy
Young winner Steve Carlton with Tug McGraw in the bullpen, along with veteran
leadership from Pete Rose, Bob Boone and Larry Bowa, the Phillies were able to
defeat the Houston Astros in the League Championship Series, and go on to
topple the Kansas City Royals in the Fall Classic.
The last weekend of the season was
very rough for the National League Western Division. Going into the final three
game series in Los Angeles, Houston held a three-game lead over the Dodgers.
One victory was all that the Astros needed to clinch the pennant. That did not
happen. The Dodgers swept the three games, all by a one-run margin, which set
up a one game playoff between the two.
A coin-flip earlier in September
determined that the Dodgers would be the host if such a game were warranted.
Joe Niekro started against Dave
Goltz, and the Astros got two runs in the top of the first to give Niekro an
early lead. They scored two more in the top of the third, and three in the
fourth. The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but that was
all the scoring, as Houston won 7-1.
In the American League, the Kansas
City Royals easily paced the West Division, finishing fourteen games better
than the second place A’s. They went on to meet the Yankees in the League Championship
Series. Like the Phillies, the Royals had met the Yankees in three straight
Championship Series’, losing all three in 1976 through 1978. 1980 was their
turning point, with a mammoth homer by George Brett off reliever Rich Gossage
as the defining moment for the Royals in that post-season.
The Yankees, behind rookie manager
Dick Howser, won one hundred-three games, besting the Orioles, who won a
hundred. They were obviously favored to beat the Royals in the best-of-five
series but were swept instead.
Howser was the just the sixth
manager to win 100 games in their rookie season, joining Frank Chance, Mickey
Cochrane, Ralph Houk, Earl Weaver and Sparky Anderson.
Newer baseball fans may be familiar
with the ‘Manny being Manny’ syndrome. As in former outfielder Manny Ramirez
doing one of his colorful exploits. During the 1980’s era, there was ‘George
being George’, as in Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner.
George was known for his temper,
along with hiring and firing managers on a routine basis. George was also not a
fan of facial hair, sideburns, and longer hair. Former catcher Thurman Munson,
during a salary dispute, grew a full beard prior to Spring Training just to irk
the owner.
During 1980, Mr. Steinbrenner noticed
that star outfielder Reggie Jackson had begun growing facial hair and
instructed Dick Howser to address the issue. With Reggie having one of the best
seasons of his career, Howser declined. He was one of the few managers that
Steinbrenner was not able to bully. At times, when the owner would call Howser’s
office while he was meeting with the press, the former Florida Gator would answer
by saying he was busy, and then hang up.
During the second game of the
Championship Series, with the Yankees down 3-2, Bob Watson doubled with Willie
Randolph on base. Yankees third base coach Mike Ferraro waved Randolph in to
score, only to be thrown out at the plate, ending the scoring opportunity.
Steinbrenner was furious, and
television audiences were shown his reaction, in which he leapt from his seat,
screaming and yelling profanities. He wanted Ferraro fired immediately, citing
his poor judgement. Howser refused, and kept Ferraro on staff, and in the third
base coaching box for the third game.
Howser, who was the Yankee third
base coach for several years prior, before returning to Gainesville to manage
the Gators for one season before returning to the Bronx, backed his coach,
saying that he probably would have done the same thing in that situation.
After the season, it was decided
that Howser would not return to manage the Yankees in 1981. It is not crystal
clear who made that decision, as Howser remained on the Yankees payroll as a
scouting supervisor for the southeastern US. Steinbrenner claimed that Howser
was not fired, as General Manager Gene Michael was slated to helm the Yankees
for the 1981 season. Howser, when asked, would refuse comment on the situation.
Before the 1980 season began, labor
strife was an ominous presence. There were threats of walkouts, lock-outs and
strikes. So intense were the issues, that the final week of exhibition games
were cancelled. And negotiations that went down to the wire allowed the season
to avoid a player’s strike in May. But it was just a stay. That agreement
actually gave players the right to schedule a walkout the following summer
(1981).
As always, pay and benefits were on
the minds of the players, and compensation was the target of the owners. Free
agency was still the sticking point, with the new mediation option available, it
afforded players more opportunity to increase their salaries.
With the mediation plan, there was
a clear black and white rule. The player presented his request, and the team
countered with theirs. The mediator would then choose one offer or the other.
Plain and simple. Each side could make their argument before said mediator.
For example, a player that had made
$40,000 could ask for $400,000, while the team countered with $45,000. And the
mediator would choose either one of those hard numbers. The assumption would be
that the two parties would have met previously to negotiate, so the number
spread would not be as drastic as that example, but sometimes that did not
happen.
One player, Taylor Duncan of the
A’s, actually submitted a salary request that was lower than what his
team, the Oakland A’s, offered. The request was withdrawn, and Duncan accepted
the team’s offer.
During the 1980 negotiation period,
Cubs pitcher Bruce Sutter, who was in the final year of his contract, entered
negotiations with the team. His contract provided the ability to renegotiate in
the final year of his three-year, $450,000 contract, $150,000 per season. The
Cubs offered him a contract of $475,000 over five years, plus a yearly bonus.
Sutter and his lawyers, requested
to have deferred payments to lower the tax liabilities, at which point, the Cubs
began lowering their offer. Sutter then requested arbitration.
The Cubs offered $350,000, and
Sutter countered with $700,000.
Bruce Sutter was widely regarded as
the top reliever in the game. He was the reigning Cy Young Award winner, the
first reliever to win the award in the National League. His split-fingered
fastball was dominant. While the pitch was not new, Sutter’s method of throwing
the pitch was different than the previous incarnations, causing much more
‘drop’ than other pitchers.
The pitch, which was also called
the forkball, was thrown with the first two fingers spread across the top of
the ball and would give the pitch a sinking motion. Sutter would grip the ball
with his fingers wide across the ball, gripping on the sides, and with his
arm-speed which gave the ball tremendous backspin, kept the ball up until very
late, starting the quick drop just as it got to the plate. The result was a lot
of swings and misses. And if contact was made, it was generally hit on the
ground.
And the pitch was rarely used at
this point. When it was used, it was as an off-speed pitch, to be worked in
tandem with a fastball, not as a dominant pitch. In today’s game, the
‘splitter’ is a lot more common place, even as a pitcher’s dominant tool. (See
Mariano Rivera)
Anyway, after the mediations, the
negotiator sided with Sutter, granting him the $700,000 contract, which made
the twenty-six-year-old the third highest paid pitcher in the game, behind
Nolan Ryan and Vida Blue. With the Cubs’ poor performance, combined with the sour
taste left by the salary dispute, the Cubs traded Sutter at the end of the
season to the St. Louis Cardinals.
There was plenty of drama during
the season. Houston All-Star pitcher J.R. Richard, who was 10-4 at the break,
was sidelined by what he called a ‘dead arm’. Th 6’8 fireballer was coming off
two consecutive 300 strikeout seasons, when the arm fatigue began to appear.
He submitted to a three-day series
of tests in late July, where a circulatory problem was discovered, restricting
blood flow to his right arm. Treatment was prescribed, and his baseball activities
were allowed to resume.
On July 30th, while
working out at the Astrodome, James Rodney collapsed on the mound, the victim of
a serious stroke. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered, and
removed a blood clot behind his right collar bone, which had cut off the blood
supply to his brain.
J.R. was partially paralyzed on his
left side and was hospitalized until mid-September. He made a triumphant return
to the Astrodome at the end of September and was welcomed with a standing
ovation by the Houston faithful when he was announced.
He underwent surgery that October,
where an eighteen-hour procedure was done. They discovered and replaced an
obstructed artery in his right shoulder and reconstructed his vascular system.
They had hoped that the thirty-year old might return to baseball, but he never pitched
in the big leagues again.
There were two on-field events that
carried over from the previous season.
Early in 1979, Al Cowens of the
Royals was hit in the face by a pitch by Ed Farmer of the Rangers. The pitch
broke Cowens’ jaw and several teeth. Farmer had claimed that Cowens was
attempting to steal the signs from his catcher, and was expecting a breaking
ball away, instead of a fastball in. Cowens missed three weeks.
Earlier in that same game Farmer
struck Royals second-baseman Frank White on the wrist, breaking it. White
missed twenty games.
In June of 1980, Cowens and his new
team, the Detroit Tigers were in Chicago to face the White Sox, with Ed Farmer
pitching. Cowens hit a routine grounder to short. Farmer, following the ball,
turned to watch the play, unaware that Cowens did not run to first. Instead, he
made a beeline for the mound and tackled Farmer.
After the dust cleared, Cowens was
issued a seven-game suspension by American League President Lee MacPhail, and
Farmer sought criminal charges against him. Cowens skipped out on the Tigers’
next trip to Comiskey to avoid arrest. But the two settled their disagreement
when the Sox visited Detroit, where the two combatants shook hands at home
plate as they present their team’s lineups to each other.
In May of 1979, Texas Rangers
first-baseman Mike Jorgensen was hit in the head by a pitch from Andy Hassler
of the Red Sox. He left that game and pinch-hit two days later. Then, plagued
by headaches, he did not appear again until July. Doctors discovered a blood
clot in his head, which had caused a seizure, and could have been fatal if not
corrected.
After the 1979 season, he was
traded back to the Mets, who had drafted him in the sixth round of the 1966
draft. The pride of Francis Lewis High School in Queens was the platooning at
first base for the Mets in 1980.
On July 4th, during the
first ‘Fireworks Night’ twi-night doubleheader at Shea Stadium, Expos rookie pitcher
Bill Gullickson was having a rough night. After Montreal scored two runs in the
top of the first to give him an early lead. Gullickson then was touched for
three hits in the bottom of the inning, an RBI triple for Claudell Washington,
and a two-run homer by Joel Youngblood.
Jorgensen, who was the fifth batter
dug in, and Gullickson threw a pitch that ‘sailed over’ Jorgensen’s head. Needless
to say, Jorgensen was upset, given what had happened the season before. He was restrained as he charged the mound to confront Gullickson, but
Mets catcher John Stearns ran from the dugout and reached the mound first.
Mets catcher John Stearns ran from the dugout and reached the mound first.
Stearns and Gullickson were ejected.
Jorgenson stayed in the game, getting a hit off Stan Bahnsen, who replaced
Gullickson, and scored the fourth run of the inning.
I asked Stearns about that play
years later, when he was managing the Knoxville Blue Jays of the Southern
League. And all he told me was, “He could have died, man.”
While on a trip to Toronto in late August, Texas Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was arrested by customs officials for possession of narcotics. He was immediately suspended by major league baseball. Jenkins, and his representative filed a grievance, and the arbitrator sided with the ballplayer, allowing him to return to the team in mid-September. It is believed to be the first time that any of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s punitive actions were overturned.
Many people believe that that drug
arrest kept Jenkins for being elected to the Hall of Fame for many years. He
was finally elected in his third year of eligibility.
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn planned to
award Henry Aaron on his 715th homerun, which surpassed Babe Ruth as
the all-time home run champion. Six years after the event, Aaron refused the
award in protest of the ‘treatment of retired black ballplayers.’
In July, a story appeared in the
Trenton (New Jersey) Times stating that Pennsylvania authorities were looking
to question several Phillies players regarding their illegally acquiring
amphetamine pills from the team doctor, Dr. Patrick Mazza of the Reading
Phillies, the team’s AA affiliate.
A trial was held the following
February.
Amphetamine use in the major
leagues was a quiet secret. ‘Greenies’ were made available in most clubhouses.
These ‘pep’ pills, and their use, was one of the things that was brought to
light in Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four”. Commissioner Kuhn was not happy and began
enforcing a preliminary drug policy to limit their use, but the drugs were
available by prescription. So, some players began to make friends with doctors,
who would then give them the required prescription.
In a 1979 Playboy interview,
Pete Rose was asked about taking ‘greenies’, using his on-field energy as an
example, to which Pete said that if he were offered one that, he would take it.
“I’ve done it.” Rose was one of the people mentioned in the indictment. Along
with other players and their wives. Nine people altogether, of which seven of
them testified that they were not involved. Pete Rose even testified that he did
not even know what a greenie was, contradicting his Playboy interview.
Phillies executive vice-president
Bill Giles said that was not familiar with the doctor, despite Mazza’s eleven
years spent as the Reading doctor. One of the player’s wives said that she
found the pills in her medicine cabinet but was not sure exactly how they got
there. Steve Carlton was unreachable, so was never served.
One player, however, testified on
Mazza’s behalf.
Pitcher Randy Lerch, who later
would tell writer Peter Golenbock that he, “…couldn’t see an innocent man go to
prison.”
Lerch admitted to buying $15 worth
of Preludin tablets (75 tablets). He testified that one of the players was
worried about a weight problem, one of the players (who used his wife’s name) was
‘running out of gas’ during the pennant stretch, and older players needed
‘something to pep them up’.
At the conclusion of the trial,
Mazza was acquitted.
And the Phillies traded Randy Lerch
to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Dick Davis. (Davis would be traded for
catcher Wayne Nordhagen twice in ten days during the 1982 season)
Before the internet, before the twenty-four-hour
news cycle, before the proliferation of sports talk radio shows, print media
was the place to look for information in the sport realm. The Sporting News,
Sports Illustrated, Inside Sports and Baseball Digest were the main
sources of information. Every now and then, something would transcend the
sports world, and go more mainstream and make Time, Newsweek or even Rolling
Stone.
Amateur baseball was not widely
covered, with the rare exceptions. 1980 had one of those exceptions.
Word out of the Crenshaw area of
Los Angeles was that there was a diamond in the rough, of whom one scout said
“…could be the next Ted Williams.” High praise indeed for a tall, lanky
eighteen-year-old with a sweet left-handed swing and unlimited potential. With
the June amateur draft approaching, and the Mets sitting with the first pick,
it was assumed that the fresh-faced youngster with the lyrical name would be
patrolling the outfield in Flushing for years to come.
But, as this was the third time
that the team had the first overall pick, it was important to see how
productive those previous two choices were. In 1968, the drafted infielder Tim
Foli, who had a decent career in the majors, winning a World Series title with
the Pirates in 1979.
But in 1966, they passed on an
outfielder from Arizona State to draft catcher Steve Chilcott from Antelope
Valley High School in Lancaster, California. The outfielder they passed on was
future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who was drafted by the A’s.
The Mets did use their 1980 first
pick wisely, drafting the young man from Crenshaw, Darryl Strawberry. There was
plenty of excitement that followed Darryl as he signed his deal with the Mets
and was then assigned to the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League.
He made
his first professional appearance in July, as Kingsport was visiting the
Paintsville Yankees. The Paintsville faithful gave Darryl a nice welcome, with
the biggest crowd of the season. The vendors sold strawberry soda, ice-cream
sundaes and strawberry shortcake. The Yankees, however, were not so accommodating.
They trounced the Mets by a final score of 17-6.
That
1980 draft featured, by my count, seven players who would later become
managers. In draft order, they were: Rick Renteria (Pirates #20), Terry
Francona (Expos #22), John Gibbons (Mets #24), Don Slaught (Royals #172), Lloyd
McClendon (Mets #183), John Farrell (A’s #212) and Bryan Price (Twins #531).
Other
notable draftees were: Danny Tartabull (Reds #71), Doug Drabek (Indians #88), Eric
Davis (Reds #201), Terry Steinbach (Indians #400), Calvin Schiraldi (White Sox
#424), Danny Jackson (A’s #599), Chris Sabo (Expos #727) and Rick Aguilera
(Cardinals #804)
Na the
Dodgers drafted Michael Strawberry, Darryl’s brother, in the thirty-first
round, number 733.
Other
items of note from the 1980 baseball world:
Phillies
pitcher Steve Carlton passed Mickey Lolich to break the record for most
strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher, later broken by Randy Johnson.
Montreal
Expos speedsters Ron LeFlore and Rodney Scott became the first teammates to
amass 150 stolen bases combined.
On
LeFlore’s 62nd theft of the season, the scoreboard noted that it was
the 105th anniversary of the first officially recorded stolen base. LeFlore
was reading the item, off the base, and was promptly picked off.
Pitcher
Bill Gullickson struck out eighteen batters in a game, a rookie record.
Pittsburgh
Pirates center-fielder Omar Moreno became the first modern player to record 70
stolen bases in three consecutive seasons.
Three players
achieved four decade playing status, Willie McCovey, and Jim Kaat. Phillies
broadcaster Tim McCarver was activated in September and pinch-hit to join that
club. All three of those players began their career in 1959.
The White Sox activated Minnie
Minoso, who pinch-hit, to become a member of the five-decade club. Minoso
debuted in 1949.
Chicago Cubs first-baseman Bill
Buckner won the National League batting title. He was the fourth Cub to win the
title in the last nine years. Oddly, they were all Bills as well. (Billy
Williams in 1971, and Bill Madlock in 1975 & 1976)
Houston
Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out Cesar Geronimo of the Reds for his three-thousandth
strikeout. Geronimo, oddly enough, was the three-thousandth strikeout victim of
Bob Gibson as well.
Ryan
had become the first player to earn a million dollars a season.
Dodgers
shortstop Bill Russell completed forty-seven errorless games, until he suffered
a broken finger. The streak started after Russell made an error in the first
inning of a game in which Jerry Reuss pitched a no-hitter.
Steve
Howe became the third relief pitcher to win National League Rookie of the Year
honors. Joining Dodger Joe Black (1952) and Padre Butch Metzger (co-winner in
1976 with Pat Zachry of the Reds)
Reds
catcher Johnny Bench caught 100 games in his thirteenth consecutive season,
tying Yankee great Bill Dickey in that respect. He also passed Yankee legend
Yogi Berra for most career homers as a catcher.
The
Padres became the first National League team to have three players each steal
fifty or more bases in the same season. (Jerry Mumphrey, Gene Richards, and
Ozzie Smith)
Kansas
City Royals lead-off man, switch-hitting Willie Wilson became the first
American League player to reach 100 hits from each side of the plate.
First-baseman
Willie Mays Aikens became the first to homer twice in his first two World
Series games.
In
Oakland, under new manager Billy Martin, the A’s played a throwback version of
the game, which became known as “Billy Ball”. Modeled after Martin’s scrappy
playing days, the team relied on speed and ‘small ball’ to create runs.
Youngster
Rickey Henderson set an American League record by stealing 100 bases. Rickey
and Dwayne Murphy stole home in the same inning, only the third time that had
been accomplished.
Rickey and Dwayne became the fourth set of American League teammates to amass 125 stolen bases in the same season.
Rickey and Dwayne became the fourth set of American League teammates to amass 125 stolen bases in the same season.
The
pitching staff was responsible for ninety-four complete games, including
twenty-two consecutive complete games by Rick Langford. The ninety-four was the
most in the majors since the Tigers in 1946.
Minnesota
Twins outfielder Ken Landreaux had a thirty-one-game hitting streak.
Second-baseman
Rob Wilfong made three errors in 120 games, for a .9948 fielding percentage,
which remains the AL record.
Elsewhere
in the baseball world:
Charlie
Manuel hit forty-eight homers for the Kinetsu Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific
League.
Tampa
won the Little League World Series, with the help of two cousins and future big-league
All-Stars…Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield.
Around
the minor leagues:
Future
Hall of Famer Tim Raines led the American Association in batting, hitting .354
for the Denver Bears. He also stole 77 bases.
Teammate
Randy Bass finished third in the batting race at .333, but lead the league with
37 homers and 143 runs batted in.
The
Evansville Triplets scored seventeen runs in the first inning of a game against
the Iowa Oaks.
Danny
Heep led the Pacific Coast League in hitting for the Tucson Toros. He finished
at .343.
Kim
Allen of the Spokane Indians had a thirty-five-game hitting streak and led the
league with 84 stolen bases.
Buffalo
Bison catcher Junior Ortiz led the Eastern League in hitting with a .346
average, while Reading Phillies outfielder Bob Dernier led in stolen bases with
71.
Catcher
Chris Bando of the Charlotte Orioles led the Southern League in batting with a
.349 average. Nashville Sounds first-baseman Steve “Bye-Bye” Balboni led in
homers (34) and runs batted in (122).
San
Antonio Dodger, and future Rookie of the Year, Fernando Valenzuela led the
Texas League in strikeouts with 162.
In the
Carolina League, Julio Franco of the Peninsula Pilots led in runs batted in
with 99, Albert Hall of the Durham Bulls led with 100 stolen bases. Pitcher Tom
Lewis of the Alexandria Dukes struck out 20 Winston-Salem Red Sox in a losing
effort. The Sox won 7-1. And Roy Smith of the Peninsula Pilots pitched
consecutive one-hitters.
Gene
Nelson of the Florida State League Fort Lauderdale Yankees was the only 20 game-winner
in the minors, going 20-3 for the first-place club.
In the
Midwest League, Von Hayes of the Waterloo Indians led hitters with a .329
average. Gary Gaetti of the Wisconsin Rapids Twins led in homers with 27, Greg
Walker of the Appleton Foxes led with 98 runs batted in and Mike Frierson of
the Wausau Timbers led with 90 steals.
Craig
Lefferts of the Geneva Cubs led the New York-Penn League with 99 strikeouts in
94 innings.
William
Darkis of the Central Oregon Phillies led the short-season league with 25
homers and 73 runs batted in, during a seventy-game season.
In the South Atlantic League, Don Mattingly of the
Greensboro Hornets led the hitters with a .358 average, while teammate Otis
Nixon led in steals with 67. Anderson Braves infielder Brook Jacoby led in runs
batted in with 108.
The Walla
Walla Padres, of the Northwest League, activated coach James Zerilla. He came
in to relieve in a game that went seventeen innings. Zerilla pitched the last
nine, earing the win. His first win, and his first appearance since pitching or
the Mankato Mets of the Northern League in 1967.
For the Lodi Dodgers of the
California League, Candy Maldonado led the league with 25 homers and 102 runs
batted in. Teammate Alan Wiggins stole 120 bases, getting caught 25 times.
At the time, only Jim Johnston of
the San Francsico Seals had more stolen bases in a single season, with 124 in
1913, but Johnston played in 65 more games, but for some reason, the records
set by the Pacific Coast League teams of that era ae not always recognized.
Perhaps due to the almost 200 game seasons. The recognized professional
baseball single season record, at the time, was 116 set by Panamanian speedster
Allan Lewis, who stole 116 in 1966 for the Leesburg A’s of the Florida State
League. The major league record was 118 set by Lou Brock of the Cardinals in
1974.
Wiggins had some off the field
issues, however. He was originally drafted and signed by the California Angels.
He played in their organization for one and a half years, before being released
mid-way through the 1978 season after a disagreement with one of his coaches.
As a free agent, he was signed by his hometown Dodgers, where he spent two
seasons. He was arrested on a possession of marijuana charge and was left
unprotected by the Dodgers for the Rule V draft, where he was taken by the Padres.
His off-field issues continued to
haunt. A possession of cocaine arrest during the 1982 season led to a rehab
visit and a thirty-day suspension from the league. He was a key asset for the
Padres in 1983, and in their 1984 trip to the World Series. Manager Dick Williams
credited Wiggins, claiming that the infielder was the ‘most valuable player in
in the National League”.
Before the 1985 season, he signed a
multi-year contract with the Padres, which according to his agent, made him one
of the highest paid second basemen in the league. He was injured late in spring
training and struggled at the plate but was suspended by the Padres once again
for ‘drug dependency’.
He was traded to the Baltimore
Orioles in June. While he said he felt comfortable in Baltimore, feeling like
he was given a fresh start, he did not endear himself to the Orioles fans, some
of whom thought he was lazy, often not running out ground balls. He was aloof
with fans and quiet with his teammates.
By all accounts, Wiggins was a
highly intelligent man. The Orioles
administered an IQ test, and Alan scored higher than anyone else on the team,
except for manager Earl Weaver.
He struggled on the field and off,
and was demoted to Rochester a couple of times, only to return to Baltimore.
His playing time became scarce. He had an altercation with a teammate and his
manager (Cal Ripken, Sr.) and was suspended for three games by the Orioles. And
then he was suspended indefinitely by the league for a “behavior issue.”
He was finished with baseball and
began to look for new opportunities. He studied real estate and computers. But
he was diagnosed with the AIDS virus, which he stated was obtained through
intravenous drug use. He died in 1991, in seclusion, reportedly embarrassed by what
had happened.
Wiggins was the first major league
player to die from AIDS.
In looking at the season in review,
the top team performers in offense were:
American
League
|
|
Cardinals
|
Royals
|
Phillies
|
Tigers
|
Reds
|
Yankees
|
.
And in pitching. The top teams were:
Astros
|
Yankees
|
Dodgers
|
Orioles
|
Phillies
|
Royals
|
As such, our ‘Power Rankings’ for
1980 would be:
Yankees
|
AL East Champions
|
Orioles
|
2nd in AL East
|
Royals
|
American League Champions
|
Phillies
|
World Champions
|
Astros
|
NL West Champions
|
For the individual breakdowns, I
present this initial list of National League pitchers, who rated at a 9.9%
advantage over the American League pitchers:
Pitcher
|
Team
|
W-L
|
ERA
|
Svs
|
Steve Carlton
|
Phillies
|
24-9
|
2.34
|
0
|
Jerry Reuss
|
Dodgers
|
18-6
|
2.51
|
3
|
Don Sutton
|
Dodgers
|
13-5
|
2.20
|
0
|
Vern Ruhle
|
Astros
|
12-4
|
2.37
|
0
|
Tug McGraw
|
Phillies
|
5-4
|
1.46
|
20
|
Jim Bibby
|
Pirates
|
19-6
|
3.32
|
0
|
Scott Sanderson
|
Expos
|
16-11
|
3.11
|
0
|
Vida Blue
|
Giants
|
14-10
|
2.97
|
0
|
Frank Pastore
|
Reds
|
13-7
|
3.27
|
0
|
Steve Rogers
|
Expos
|
16-11
|
2.98
|
0
|
And then compared to their team
performances, we get:
Steve Carlton
|
Above
|
|||
Bruce Sutter
|
Cubs
|
5-8
|
2.64
|
28
|
Jerry Reuss
|
Above
|
|||
Vida Blue
|
Above
|
|||
Jim Bibby
|
Above
|
|||
Frank Pastore
|
Above
|
|||
Pete Vukovich
|
Cardinals
|
12-9
|
3.40
|
1
|
Don Sutton
|
Above
|
|||
Tug McGraw
|
Above
|
|||
Rick Camp
|
Braves
|
6-4
|
1.91
|
22
|
If I were to include J. R. Richard,
with his short stint, he would place in the top of both of those lists, and
atop the list below as well. That being said, here is the combined tabulations
of the top National League pitchers, with their post-season award vote
placements:
Steve Carlton
|
NL Cy Young Winner, 5th in
MVP vote
|
Jerry Reuss
|
2nd in Cy Young votes, 20th
in MVP votes (tie)
|
Don Sutton
|
No votes
|
Vern Ruhle
|
No votes
|
Tug McGraw
|
5th in Cy Young votes(tie),
16th in MVP votes
|
Jim Bibby
|
3rd in Cy Young votes, 14th
in MVP votes
|
Vida Blue
|
No votes
|
Frank Pastore
|
No votes
|
Scott Sanderson
|
No votes
|
Steve Rogers
|
5th in Cy Young votes (tied)
|
Steve
“Lefty” Carlton won his third Cy Young Award in 1980. Interestingly, he
finished fifth in MVP voting, just as he had done in the two previous Cy Young
Award-winning seasons. He would win his fourth in 1982 but finish ninth in MVP
votes that year.
On to
the American League, our initial list is:
Mike Norris
|
A’s
|
22-9
|
2.53
|
0
|
Larry Gura
|
Royals
|
18-10
|
2.95
|
0
|
Steve Stone
|
Orioles
|
25-7
|
3.23
|
0
|
Tommy John
|
Yankees
|
22-9
|
3.43
|
0
|
Rick Langford
|
A’s
|
19-12
|
3.26
|
0
|
Rudy May
|
Yankees
|
155
|
2.46
|
3
|
Scott McGregor
|
Orioles
|
20-8
|
3.32
|
0
|
Matt Keough
|
A’s
|
16-13
|
3.32
|
0
|
Britt Burns
|
White Sox
|
15-13
|
2.84
|
0
|
Moose Haas
|
Brewers
|
16-15
|
3.10
|
0
|
Against their team averages, we
get:
Mike Norris
|
No votes
|
|||
Larry Gura
|
No votes
|
|||
Britt Burns
|
No votes
|
|||
Jim Clancy
|
Blue Jays
|
13-16
|
3.30
|
0
|
Len Barker
|
Indians
|
19-12
|
4.17
|
0
|
Floyd Bannister
|
Mariners
|
9-13
|
3.47
|
0
|
Rick Langford
|
No votes
|
|||
Glenn Abbott
|
Mariners
|
12-12
|
4.10
|
0
|
Doug Corbett
|
Twins
|
8-6
|
1.98
|
23
|
Tom Burgmeier
|
Red Sox
|
5-4
|
2.00
|
24
|
And that brings us to this top ten outright
list of American League pitchers, with their post season placement:
Mike Norris
|
2nd in Cy Young votes, 15th
in MVP votes
|
Larry Gura
|
6th in Cy Young votes (tied)
|
Steve Stone
|
AL Cy Young winner, 9th in
MVP vote
|
Rick Langford
|
No votes
|
Britt Burns
|
No votes
|
Tommy John
|
4th in Cy Young vote
|
Matt Keough
|
No votes
|
Scott McGregor
|
6th in Cy Young vote
|
Moose Haas
|
No votes
|
Rudy May
|
No votes
|
Switching to the National League
hitters, who performed 29.4% against than their pitching counterparts, we get
this initial top ten list:
Hitter
|
Team
|
HR
|
RBI
|
AVG
|
SB
|
RCG
|
Mike Schmidt
|
Phillies
|
48
|
121
|
.286
|
12
|
1.18
|
Ted Simmons
|
Cardinals
|
21
|
98
|
.303
|
1
|
1.11
|
Keith Hernandez
|
Cardinals
|
16
|
99
|
.321
|
14
|
1.22
|
Jack Clark
|
Giants
|
22
|
82
|
.284
|
2
|
1.08
|
Gary Carter
|
Expos
|
29
|
101
|
.264
|
3
|
0.96
|
Andre Dawson
|
Expos
|
17
|
87
|
.308
|
34
|
1.10
|
Ken Griffey
|
Reds
|
13
|
85
|
.294
|
23
|
1.10
|
Bob Horner
|
Braves
|
35
|
89
|
.268
|
3
|
1.09
|
Mike Easler
|
Pirates
|
21
|
71
|
.338
|
5
|
0.90
|
George Hendrick
|
Cardinals
|
25
|
109
|
.302
|
6
|
1.05
|
Then compared to their team’s
average performance, we get this list:
Jack Clark
|
Above
|
|||||
Bob Horner
|
Above
|
|||||
Mike Schmidt
|
Above
|
|||||
Dale Murphy
|
Braves
|
33
|
89
|
.281
|
9
|
0.99
|
John Stearns
|
Mets
|
0
|
45
|
.285
|
7
|
0.96
|
Dave Winfield
|
Padres
|
20
|
87
|
.276
|
23
|
0.96
|
Reggie Smith
|
Dodgers
|
15
|
55
|
.322
|
5
|
0.95
|
Keith Hernandez
|
Above
|
|||||
Gary Carter
|
Above
|
|||||
Mike Easler
|
Above
|
Finalizing the numbers brings us to
this list of top National League hitters, with post season voting results:
Mike Schmidt
|
NL MVP
|
Ted Simmons
|
No votes
|
Jack Clark
|
18th in MVP
|
Keith Hernandez
|
11th in MVP
|
Bob Horner
|
9th in MVP
|
Gary Carter
|
2nd in MVP
|
Andre Dawson
|
7th in MVP
|
John Stearns
|
No votes
|
Mike Easler
|
20th in MVP (tied)
|
Dale Murphy
|
12th in MVP vote
|
Moving to the American League,
where the offensive averaged a 9.6% advantage over the National Leaguers, we
get this initial list:
George Brett
|
Royals
|
24
|
118
|
.390
|
15
|
1.55
|
Eddie Murray
|
Orioles
|
32
|
116
|
.300
|
7
|
1.18
|
Cecil Cooper
|
Brewers
|
25
|
122
|
.352
|
17
|
1.26
|
Reggie Jackson
|
Yankees
|
41
|
111
|
.300
|
1
|
1.15
|
Robin Yount
|
Brewers
|
23
|
87
|
.293
|
20
|
1.29
|
Steve Kemp
|
Tigers
|
21
|
101
|
.293
|
5
|
1.24
|
Jason Thompson
|
Angels (only)
|
17
|
70
|
.317
|
2
|
1.10
|
Ben Oglivie
|
Brewers
|
41
|
118
|
.304
|
11
|
1.10
|
Al Oliver
|
Rangers
|
19
|
117
|
.319
|
5
|
1.19
|
Jim Rice
|
Red Sox
|
24
|
84
|
.294
|
8
|
1.15
|
And against their teams, we get
this list:
George Brett
|
Above
|
|||||
Jason Thompson
|
Above
|
|||||
Otto Velez
|
Blue Jays
|
20
|
62
|
.269
|
0
|
0.92
|
Eddie Murray
|
Above
|
|||||
Cecil Cooper
|
Above
|
|||||
Bruce Bochte
|
Mariners
|
13
|
78
|
.300
|
2
|
0.86
|
Robin Yount
|
Above
|
|||||
Tony Armas
|
A’s
|
35
|
109
|
.279
|
5
|
1.02
|
Chet Lemon
|
White Sox
|
11
|
51
|
.292
|
6
|
0.79
|
Reggie Jackson
|
Above
|
The final calculations bring us to
this list of top American League hitters, with their post season award results:
George Brett
|
AL MVP
|
Eddie Murray
|
6th in MVP vote
|
Cecil Cooper
|
5th in MVP vote
|
Reggie Jackson
|
2nd in MVP vote
|
Robin Yount
|
17th in MVP vote
|
Jason Thompson
|
No votes
|
Steve Kemp
|
No votes
|
Al Oliver
|
11th in MVP vote
|
Ben Oglivie
|
13th in MVP vote
|
Jim Rice
|
No votes
|
So, my final post season votes
would look like this:
National
League
Mike
Schmidt
Player
of the Year
Ted Simmons
Steve
Carlton
Pitcher
of the Year
Jack
Clark
Keith
Hernandez
American
League
George
Brett
Player
of the Year
Mike
Norris
Pitcher
of the Year
Eddie
Murray
Larry
Gura
Cecil
Cooper
No comments:
Post a Comment