1971…Mental
Health, All-Stars, and Contracts
When
looking back at specific seasons to look at, sometimes specific plays, or
players, trigger the process. That is the case with this review.
When I
think 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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6xLdXRMTLM
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.
This was
the only All-Star Game where a home run was hit by a player on each team of the
season’s World Series. Clemente for the Pirates and Frank Robinson of the
Orioles.
Sparky
Anderson of the Reds was the losing manager, and he also lost in 1985 as the
manager of the Tigers, becoming the first manager to lose an All-Star Game for
both leagues.
The season saw
Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson both join the 500-home run club, Hank Aaron
join the 600-homer club, and saw Roberto Clemente in his final World Series
appearance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjuphRH_T58
(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...
It also saw Vida Blue and Mickey
Lolich each struck out 300 batters. It was the first time that two pitchers in
the same league reached 300 Ks in a season. In 1965, Sandy Koufax of the
Dodgers and Sam McDowell of the Indians topped the 300 mark, but each in a different
league, the only other time previously that there were two in the same season.
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.
There is a story that I was told by the late Vern Hoscheit, who was a coach for the A's during that time. On the day the A's won their 100th game, owner Charlie Finley placed a new $100 bill in every locker. The next day, they beat the Royals again for their 101st win, and Finley placed a $1 bill in each locker.
This would
be the first of five straight AL West Division crowns for the A’s. The Orioles
were playing in their third straight American League Championship series,
resulting in one World Series title.
The Pirates
were playing in their second straight Championship Series, losing to the Reds
in 1970. They won this title, in route to a meeting with the Orioles in the
Fall Classic, and the eventual World Series title.
The 1971
World Series featured the first ever night World Series game.
Let's look
at the Power Rankings for 1971:
Let's look at the Power Rankings for 1971:
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.
|
Orioles |
American League
Champions |
|
Pirates |
World Champions |
|
A’s |
AL West Champions |
|
Dodgers |
2nd in
NL West |
|
Giants |
NL West Champions |
The top
hitting teams in each league were:
|
National League |
American League |
|
Pirates |
Orioles |
|
Cardinals |
Red Sox |
|
Giants |
Tigers |
And in
pitching:
|
Pirates |
A’s |
|
Dodgers |
Orioles |
|
Giants |
Royals |
Some noteworthy events from the 1971 season…
The
Cleveland Indians suffered through one of the worst seasons in their storied
history. Turmoil was 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.
At some
point during the previous off-season, the Indians signed four players to a contract
that was loaded with incentive bonuses, which at the time, was forbidden in the
league. These players were: Ken Harrelson, Sam McDowell, Graig Nettles and Vada
Pinson.
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 lawsuit 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'
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 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.
Of the
four, only Nettles and Pinson were deemed worthy enough by the AL President to receive
a bonus. Harrelson left the team midway through the year to become a
professional golfer, and McDowell, who received a new contract after the
walk-out.
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.
California
Angels outfielder Alex Johnson, coming off of a batting title in 1970,
struggled with issues that hampered his playing time, and led to a suspension,
and subsequent grievance by the Players Union, which he won.
Alex began
acting erratically during Spring Training and was being accused of being lazy.
In one game, he began shifting his position in the outfield in order to line up
with the shadows from the light towers. He was not running out groundballs and
was disassociating himself from his teammates in the clubhouse.
He made
accusations that Angels second baseman Chico Ruiz pulled a gun on him in the
clubhouse, not once but twice. Ruiz denied the allegations, but it was known
that several Angel players did have firearms in the clubhouse. Their owner, their
team was owned by Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy, who would often bestow guns
as gifts to his players.
But his
issues didn’t develop suddenly. As early as 1967, when he was a member of the
Cardinals, he is alleged to have walked out of a meeting that was discussing
potential World Series shares. He was also accused of not listening to coaches
and teammates as they tried to move his position in the outfield.
By most
accounts that I have seen and read, Alex’s behavior became more erratic, but
strangely enough, it only involved baseball. Several people mentioned that the off-the
field Alex was a great guy, super friendly and all, but once he got into
uniform, it was as if a switch was thrown. He was combative with his teammates
and the press. He was especially antagonistic towards the aforementioned Chico
Ruiz, who was teammates with Alex in Cincinnati before being trades to the Angels
together.
After a few
weeks, a few benchings and fines, Angels manager Lefty Phillips suspended Alex
again, then held clubhouse meeting with the rest of the team, stating that Alex
would never play for that team again. However General Manager Dick Walsh spoke
with Alex and instructed Phillips to reinstate Alex to the lineup.
Begrudgingly, Phillips did so, prompting Angels shortstop Jim Fregosi to say, “They
gained one player, but lost twenty-four that day.”
Just a few
weeks later, after once again not running out a grounder, the team suspended
him indefinitely.
While some
teammates and media members felt that Alex had issues, no one set out any sort
of intervention. Some realized there were issues. Teammate Tony Conigliaro told
Sports Illustrated that Alex was…”so hurt inside, it’s terrifying.” And “He’s
got a problem deep inside him that he won’t talk about.”
During the
suspension, Alex consulted with the Players Union, who filed a grievance on his
behalf, seeking to overturn the suspension and fines, noting that he was
suffering from emotional issues that were as debilitating as physical issues,
and should have been placed on the team’s disabled list for treatment.
This was
unheard of in professional sports, and advanced to an arbitration board, who
s\decided in Johnson’s favor. It was a landmark outcome, as baseball recognized
for the first time that players with emotional or psychological issues should
be helped and not disciplined.
At the
conclusion of the 1971 season, the Angels traded Johnson to the Cleveland Indians
in a multi-player deal that sent Vada Pinson to the Angels, which may or may
not have had something to do with the bonus issue.
But now, on to the playing field, and items of note...
Starting in the minor leagues,
Dr. Bernard Kraus purchased the Memphis Blues of the Dixie Association, for an estimated
$15,000. He then announced that 5 cents from each ticket bought would be donated
to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, estimating to raise $6,000 in
donations.
Asheville
Tourist outfielder Ken Hottman hit 37 homers for the White Sox affiliate.
In the Pacific Coast League, Tacoma Cubs first baseman Adrian Garret hit 43 homers to lead minor league baseball in dingers.
Oklahoma
City 89ers pitcher J.R. Richard struck out 202 batters in 173 innings for the
Astros affiliate. He would be called up during the season, and strike out
fifteen batters in his first start, tying the record set by Karl Spooner of the
Dodgers in 1954.
Jim Fuller
of the Miami Orioles hit 33 homers for Baltimore’s Florida State League
affiliate, while pitchers Edward Black, Ruben Castillo, Herb Hutson, Orlando
Pena and Leonard Scott all finished with an ERA below 2.00. Scott also struck
out 143 in 106 innings.
Miami won 94 games against 47
losses on the year.
Jeff Anderson of the Pompano Beach Mets stole 73 bases, and pitcher Mike Cosgrove of the Cocoa Astros struck out 231 in 172 innings.
Starting pitcher Rich Gossage, of the White Sox affiliate Appleton Foxes in the Midwest League, finished with a league leading 1.83 ERA while compiling an 18-2 record.
Jack Maloof, of the Auburn Twins was the only qualifying minor leaguer to top the .400 mark. He led the New York-Penn League with a .402 average.
The Sioux Falls Packers, the Reds affiliate in the Northern League featured two pitcher with hefty strikeout numbers. Ken Hansen struck out 135 in 87 innings, along with a 1.76 ERA, and Ed House struck out 117 in 88 innings.
And for the Cardinals Gulf Coast League team, switch-hitter Randy Poffo hit .286 in 18 games. Poffo would leave baseball and become a professional wrestler, known around the world as “Macho Man Randy Savage.”
And in the majors…
In a spring training game in Arizona, an experiment was tried, with the rules changed to make three balls constitute a walk, the A’s defeated the Brewers 13-9, in a game that featured nineteen walks altogether. The experiment ended that day.
As I mentioned earlier, the
Baltimore Orioles had four twenty-game winners on their staff. Mike Cuellar, Pat
Dobson, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer all topped the plateau combining for 81 wins
and did so with a combined ERA of 2.89.
The only
other time this happened was with the 1920 White Sox. Eddie Cicotte, Red Faber,
Dickie Kerr, and Lefty Williams combined for 87 wins and a cumulative ERA of
3.35.
For comparison’s sake, as baseball people do, the 1920 American League ERA as a whole was 3.79, and these four Sox starters were 13.1 percent better than that. The 1971 AL ERA was 3.46, and the four Orioles were 19.7 percent better than the league.
Chicago White Sox third baseman Bill Melton became the first Pale Hose hitter to lead the AL in homers. He hit 33. Gus Zernial won the crown in 1951, when he also hit 33, but he was traded to the A’s from the Sox and hit all 33 with Philadelphia.
And Braggo Roth, who won the title in 1915 with seven, split time with the Indians, where he hit four.
Across
town, Ferguson Jenkins won the Cy Young Award for the Cubs, becoming the first
Canadian born player to win that award.
Cubs’ lefty Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter, and scores the only run of the game, an unearned run to boot, as they beat Gary Nolan and the Reds 1-0.
Mets third-baseman Bob Aspromonte became the last active player to have played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Willie Mays
hit his record 22nd (and last) extra-inning home run.
Phillies
pitcher Rick Wise, in a performance that many consider one of the greatest
single game performance ever, pitched a no-hitter against the Reds, and hit two
homers in the process. The only multiple homer game by a pitcher while pitching
a no-no. Only Early Wynn and Wes Ferrell homered in games they pitched
no-hitters in.
Wise would
hit two homers in a game against the Giants later in the season as well. He
finished the season with six homers.
Cardinal’s
ace, and future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson pitched a no-hitter against the
Pirates, the first no-hitter at Three Rivers Stadium. It was the first
no-hitter pitched in Pittsburgh in 64 years. None were ever thrown in the
sixty-two-year history of Forbes Field.
Speaking of
the Pirates, on September 1st, they fielded what was dubbed an “all-black”
lineup. But that moniker was disingenuous, as two of the players, Manny
Sanguillen and Roberto Clemente, were dark skinned Latino players. The first “all
minority” lineup is a truer moniker.
Senators’
outfielder Tommy McCraw hit a pop-up into short left-center field. Indians Vada
Pinson, John Lowenstein and Jack Heidemann all go for the ball, and collide,
injuring all three fielders. McCraw races around the bases with an inside the
park homer. But Cleveland still manages to win the game.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Gary Peters hit six homers on the year, but incredibly two of those were as a pinch-hitter.
Montreal
Expos second baseman Ron Hunt was hit by a pitch for the record fiftieth time
this season.
Detroit
Tigers southpaw Mickey Lolich pitched 376 innings, the most since Pete
Alexander pitched 388 in 1917. Lolich pitched the 21st most innings
in a season in the twentieth century. The next season, 1972, Wilbur Wood of the
White Sox would pitch in 376.2 innings., and pitch in 359.1 innings in 1973. No
one has come close to either total since.
National
League rookies Earl Williams of the Braves, and Willie Montanez of the
Phillies, each top the thirty-homer mark. It was the first time that two
rookies topped thirty homers in the same league. Pete Incaviglia of the Rangers
and Jose Canseco of the A’s would do the same in 1986.
Braves
shortstop Leo Foster makes an error on the first ball hit to him in the major
leagues. That is understandable. However, in that game, he also hit into a
double play AND a triple play.
Padres’ shortstop Enzo Hernandez established a dubious record for futility. While making just twelve extra base hits, he also drove in just twelve runs, which is the lowest ever recorded by a player with five hundred at bats.
The Houston
Astros played in a record 75 one-run games, losing 43 in the process.
The June amateur
draft brought some interesting picks.
The first overall pick belonged to the Chicago White Sox, who drafted Danny Goodwin from Peoria Central High School. Goodwin did not sign, opting to attend college instead. Goodwin attended Southern University and A&M College, in Baton Rouge. He was drafted #1 overall again in 1975 by the Angels, who were able to sign him to a contract.
With the fourth overall pick, the Montreal Expos drafted
shortstop Condredge Holloway out of Lee High School in Huntsville, Alabama. Holloway’s
mother, Dorothy, worked at NASA, and was in fact, the first African American
employee of NASA.
Dorothy
wished for Condredge to attend college, so he did not sign, and went to attend
the University of Tennessee. At Tennessee, Condredge was the quarterback of the
football team. Following in his mother’s footsteps in a way, becoming the first
African American quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, and the first
African American baseball player for the Volunteers as well. He still owns the
Tennessee record with a 27-game hitting streak. He was named to the school’s All-Century
baseball team and the All-Century football team.
But Holloway
followed the football career path and was drafted in the twelfth round as a
defensive back, by the New England Patriots. Holloway instead went to Canada,
and was the quarterback for the Ottawa Rough Riders, won a title with the Toronto
Argonauts and finally retired with the British Columbia Lions. He was later inducted
into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
But there
were some players that did sign contracts and succeeded in baseball.
First
rounders of note were: Frank Tanana (13th), Jim Rice (15th),
Rick Rhoden (20th).
Hall of
Fame third basemen George Brett and Mike Schmidt both went in the second round,
29th and 30th respectively.
Infielder
Rob Wilfong was drafted in the 13th round by the Twins. His team won
the American Legion World Series, representing the West Covina, California Post
790.
Late in the
season news broke of a shift. The Washington Senators became the second of the expansion
teams to move, although through better circumstances than the Seattle Pilots.
When the original Senators vacated
to move to Minneapolis to become the Twins, the void in DC was immediately
filled by the expansion Senators.
After
failing to find a suitable buyer, who would keep the team in the Nation’s
Capital, owner Bob Short announced that he was moving the franchise to the Dallas
area, where they would become the Texas Rangers. It would be the first time in
over 100 years that there would be no professional baseball team in Washington.
The Senators hosted the Yankees
in their final game. The stadium security guards reportedly all left early,
leaving the stadium ‘unmanned’. The paid attendance was a little over 14,000,
but the crowd was estimated to have grown to over 25,000. And they got rowdier
as the game progressed.
With the Senator holding on to a
two-run lead, several hundred fans stormed the field during the top of the
ninth inning looking for ‘souvenirs.’ One of the trinkets captured was first
base.
With the absence of security,
and fearing for their safety, and that of the players, the umpires cleared the
field and dugouts, and awarded the game to the Yankees on a forfeit.
In the off-season, the Cleveland
Indians put forward a plan to play at least 1/3rd of their home
games in the New Orleans Superdome, whose construction was underway. The plan
was to begin play in the Crescent City for part of the 1974 season and was most
obviously a ploy to get a new facility built in Cleveland. It didn’t work
initially, although Cleveland did get a new stadium, it was almost twenty years
after this episode.
And there is still no major
league baseball in the Crescent City.
Then there were the trades.
The Cincinnati Reds were blasted
for trading popular first-baseman Lee My along with Tommy Helms and Jimmy
Stewart to the Houston Astros, getting pitcher Jack Billingham, outfielder
Cesar Geronimo and second baseman (and future Hall of Famer) Joe Morgan in
return. Those three would play a part in the Big Red Machine run though the
mid-decade.
The Giants traded shortstop
Frank Duffy (acquired from the Reds earlier in the season for George Foster and
All-Star Gaylord Perry to Cleveland for Sam McDowell.
And in a trade that would haunt
them forever, the Mets traded pitcher Frank Estrada, pitcher Don Rose,
outfielder Leroy Stanton and pitcher Nolan Ryan to the Angels for All-Star
shortstop Jim Fregosi.
Red Sox outfielder Carl
Yastrzemski signed baseball’s biggest contract to date, a 3-year deal worth
$500,000.
To the season’s analysis. It
would appear that the National League offenses were better than the American
League. 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.
Statistically, the NL hitter
fared 1.6% better than the AL.
Let’s look at the NL offense
first, with the initial raw list, we have:
|
Team |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
RC/G |
|
|
Willie Stargell |
Pirates |
48 |
125 |
.295 |
1.28 |
|
Hank Aaron |
Braves |
47 |
118 |
.327 |
1.19 |
|
Joe Torre |
Cardinals |
24 |
137 |
.363 |
1.30 |
|
Roberto Clemente |
Pirates |
13 |
86 |
.341 |
1.17 |
|
Bobby Bonds |
Giants |
33 |
102 |
.288 |
1.15 |
|
Ted Simmons |
Cardinals |
7 |
77 |
.304 |
1.01 |
|
Lou Brock |
Cardinals |
7 |
61 |
.313 |
1.15 |
|
Rusty Staub |
Expos |
19 |
97 |
.311 |
1.06 |
|
Manny Sanguillen |
Pirates |
7 |
81 |
.319 |
0.97 |
|
Billy Williams |
Cubs |
28 |
93 |
.301 |
0.96 |
Then,
adding performance compared to their respective teams, which shows good seasons
hidden by bad teams, and we get this list:
|
Hank Aaron |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Joe Torre |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Nate Colbert |
Padres |
27 |
84 |
.264 |
0.88 |
|
Lee May |
Reds |
39 |
98 |
.278 |
0.98 |
|
Willie Montanez |
Phillies |
30 |
99 |
.255 |
0.93 |
|
Lou Brock |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Rusty Staub |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Deron Johnson |
Phillies |
34 |
95 |
.265 |
0.85 |
|
Willie Stargell |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Billy Williams |
above |
|
|
|
|
Combining
and crunching brings us this final top ten National league performers:
|
Hank Aaron |
3rd in
MVP vote |
|
Joe Torre |
National league MVP |
|
Willie Stargell |
2nd in
MVP vote |
|
Bobby Bonds |
4th in
MVP vote |
|
Lou Brock |
13th in
MVP vote |
|
Rusty Staub |
19th in MVP
vote (tied) |
|
Roberto Clemente |
5th in
MVP vote |
|
Lee May |
12th in
MVP vote |
|
Ted Simmons |
16th in MVP
vote (tied) |
|
Billy Williams |
21st in
MVP vote |
Over to the
American League, our initial list looks like this:
|
Bobby Murcer |
Yankees |
25 |
94 |
.331 |
1.12 |
|
Frank Robinson |
Orioles |
28 |
99 |
.281 |
1.15 |
|
Don Buford |
Orioles |
19 |
54 |
.290 |
1.10 |
|
Tony Oliva |
Twins |
22 |
81 |
.337 |
1.05 |
|
Roy White |
Yankees |
19 |
84 |
.292 |
1.03 |
|
Merv Rettenmund |
Orioles |
11 |
75 |
.318 |
1.03 |
|
Harmon Killebrew |
Twins |
28 |
119 |
.254 |
1.03 |
|
Norm Cash |
Tigers |
32 |
91 |
.283 |
0.97 |
|
Boog Powell |
Orioles |
22 |
92 |
.256 |
1.01 |
|
Willie Horton |
Tigers |
22 |
72 |
.289 |
0.96 |
And then,
as compared to their team’s averages, we get:
|
Bobby Murcer |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Ray Fosse |
Indians |
12 |
62 |
.276 |
0.77 |
|
Graig Nettles |
Indians |
28 |
86 |
.261 |
0.86 |
|
Dave May |
Brewers |
16 |
65 |
.277 |
0.85 |
|
Tony Oliva |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny Briggs |
Brewers |
21 |
59 |
.264 |
0.71 |
|
Roy White |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Frank Howard |
Senators |
26 |
83 |
.279 |
0.76 |
|
Dave Nelson |
Senators |
5 |
33 |
.280 |
0.88 |
|
Amos Otis |
Royals |
15 |
79 |
.301 |
0.98 |
Combining
and compiling, we get this final list of American League top ten hitters:
|
Bobby Murcer |
7th in
MVP vote |
|
Frank Robinson |
3rd in
MVP vote |
|
Tony Oliva |
10th in
MVP vote |
|
Don Buford |
27th in
MVP vote |
|
Roy White |
No votes |
|
Harmon Killebrew |
21st in
MVP vote (tied) |
|
Norm Cash |
12th in
MVP vote |
|
Merv Rettenmund |
19th in
MVP vote (tied) |
|
Willie Horton |
No vote |
|
Amos Otis |
8th in
MVP vote |
Remember,
in the AL in 1971, pitcher Vida Blue was voted the MVP.
Speaking of that, here now in
the initial National League top pitchers:
|
Pitcher |
Team |
W-L |
ERA |
Saves |
|
Tom Seaver |
Mets |
20-10 |
1.76 |
0 |
|
Fergie Jenkins |
Cubs |
24-13 |
2.77 |
0 |
|
Dock Ellis |
Pirates |
19-9 |
3.06 |
0 |
|
Al Downing |
Dodgers |
20-9 |
2.68 |
0 |
|
Don Wilson |
Astros |
16-10 |
2.45 |
0 |
|
Larry Dierker |
Astros |
12-6 |
2.72 |
0 |
|
Don Sutton |
Dodgers |
1712 |
2.54 |
1 |
|
Dave Roberts |
Padres |
14-17 |
2.10 |
0 |
|
Juan Marichal |
Giants |
18-11 |
2.94 |
0 |
|
Don Gullett |
Reds |
16-6 |
2.65 |
0 |
Then
comparing to their team’s performances, we get:
|
Fergie Jenkins |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Tom Seaver |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Dave Roberts |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Bob Miller |
Padres/Cubs/Pirates |
8-5 |
1.64 |
10 |
|
Rick Wise |
Phillies |
17-14 |
2.88 |
0 |
|
Bill Stoneman |
Expos |
17-16 |
3.15 |
0 |
|
Bob Gibson |
Cardinals |
16-13 |
3.04 |
0 |
|
Clay Kirby |
Padres |
15-13 |
2.83 |
0 |
|
Don Wilson |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Larry Dierker |
Above |
|
|
|
This brings
our final top ten National League pitchers to:
|
Tom Seaver |
2nd in
Cy Young vote, 9th in MVP vote |
|
Fergie Jenkins |
NL Cy Young Award
winner, 7th in MVP vote |
|
Dave Roberts |
6th in
Cy Young vote (tie), 24th in MVP vote (tie) |
|
Dock Ellis |
4th in
Cy Young vote |
|
Don Wilson |
No votes |
|
Al Downing |
3rd in
Cy Young vote, 10th in MVP vote |
|
Larry Dierker |
No vote |
|
Bob Miller |
No vote |
|
Bob Gibson |
5th in
Cy Young vote, 23rd in MVP vote |
|
Don Sutton |
No votes |
And to the
American League, where I stated above that Vida Blue was voted the Most
Valuable Player of the league, and the Cy Young Award winner as well. Blue was the
youngest to win each of those awards at the time. He is also the last American
League switch-hitter to win the MVP Award. The only other AL switch-hitting MVP
was Mickey Mantle, who collected three of the awards.
Anyway, the
initial top ten performers were:
|
Vida Blue |
A’s |
24-8 |
1.82 |
0 |
|
Dave McNally |
Orioles |
21-5 |
2.89 |
0 |
|
Wilbur Wood |
White Sox |
22-13 |
1.91 |
1 |
|
Jim Palmer |
Orioles |
20-9 |
2.68 |
0 |
|
Catfish Hunter |
A’s |
21-11 |
2.96 |
0 |
|
Mickey Lolich |
Tigers |
25-14 |
2.92 |
0 |
|
Pat Dobson |
Orioles |
20-8 |
2.90 |
1 |
|
Mike Cuellar |
Orioles |
20-9 |
3.08 |
0 |
|
Andy Messersmith |
Angels |
20-13 |
2.99 |
0 |
|
Mike Hedlund |
Royals |
15-8 |
2.71 |
0 |
Then,
against their teams, we get:
|
Steve Mingori |
Indians |
1-2 |
1.43 |
4 |
|
Wilbur Wood |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Sam McDowell |
Indians |
13-17 |
3.40 |
1 |
|
Vida Blue |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Bert Blyleven |
Twins |
16-15 |
2.81 |
0 |
|
Sonny Siebert |
Red Sox |
16-10 |
2.91 |
0 |
|
Mickey Lolich |
Above |
|
|
|
|
Mel Stottlemyre |
Yankees |
16-12 |
2.87 |
0 |
|
Joe Grzenda |
Senators |
5-2 |
1.92 |
5 |
|
Dave McNally |
above |
|
|
|
Finalizing
our American League pitchers brings us this top ten list:
|
Vida Blue |
AL MVP, AL Cy Young
Award winner |
|
Wilbur Wood |
3rd in Cy
Young votes, 9th in MVP votes |
|
Dave McNally |
4th in
Cy Young votes |
|
Mickey Lolich |
2nd in
Cy Young votes, 5th in MVP votes |
|
Jim Palmer |
21st in MVP
votes |
|
Catfish Hunter |
28th in
MVP votes |
|
Sonny Siebert |
No votes |
|
Andy Messersmith |
5th in
Cy Young vote (tied) |
|
Mel Stottlemyre |
No votes |
|
Mike Hedlund |
No votes |
My post-season awards would be this:
National
League
Hank Aaron
Player of the Year
Joe Torre (NL VP)
. Tom Seaver
Pitcher of the Year
Willie Stargell
Fergie Jenkins (NL Cy
Young Winner)
American League
Vida Blue
Player of the Year
(AL MVP & Cy
Young Winner)
Wilbur Wood
Bobby Murcer
Offensive Player of the
Year
Dave McNally
Frank Robinson
