Expansion swelled the league to 12 teams and 2 divisions. San Diego was added, as was Montreal, making this a truly international league. Atlanta won a strong West Division, with San Franciso 3 games out, Cincinnati four back, Los Angeles 8 behind, and Houston 12 back with their first .500 finish ever. San Diego was last, of course, with 110 losses. In the East, a big surprise as the Mets took first place with 100 victories. The best the now 8-year-old franchise had managed before was 73 wins. Chicago led for the first half but fell off to 8 games out. Pittsburgh finished 12 out and St. Louis was 13 back. Philadelphia lost 99 games and was the only returning team below .500. Montreal lost 110 games, the same as their sister Padres franchise did. The Mets had more surprises up their jersey sleeves, as they upset the Braves in the inaugural League Championship Series, then toppled the mighty Orioles in the World Series.
Pete Rose won his second straight batting title with a .348 average, edging Roberto Clemente's .345. Cleon Jones was third at .340. Lou Brock led in steals with 53, edging Joe Morgan at 49. Willie McCovey led in HR, RBI, and OPS, and won the MVP. McCovey's 45 HR was just ahead of Hank Aaron at 44, while Mac's 126 RBI edged Ron Santo at 123 and Tony Perez at 122. Bobby Bonds and Rose each scored 120 runs. Matty Alou had 231 hits. Alou had 41 doubles and Clemente 12 triples.
Tom Seaver led in wins with 25 and got the Cy Young. Phil Niekro was second with 23 victories. Seven others won 20 or more. Fergie Jenkins led in strikeouts with 273, edging Bob Gibson at 269. Juan Marichal led in ERA with a 2.10 mark, followed by Steve Carlton at 2.17, Gibson at 2.18, and Seaver at 2.21. Fred Gladding led in saves with 29, followed by Wayne Granger and Cecil Upshaw at 27.
Win Shares leaders, players; Willie McCovey (San Francisco) 39, Hank Aaron (Milwaukee) 38, Pete Rose (Cincinnati) 37, Jim Wynn (Houston) 36, Tony Perez (Cincinnati) and Bobby Bonds (San Francisco) 31, Cleon Jones (New York) 30, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati), Tommie Agee (New York) and Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh) 28, Bobby Tolan (Cincinnati), Rusty Staub (Montreal), Matty Alou and Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh) 27, Ron Santo (Chicago) and Lee May (Cincinnati) 26, Billy Williams (Chicago) and Joe Morgan (Houston) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Gibson (St. Louis) 33, Tom Seaver (New York) 32, Juan Marichal (San Francisco) 29, Phil Niekro (Atlanta) and Bill Hands (Chicago) 28, Claude Osteen and Bill Singer (Los Angeles) and Gaylord Perry (San Francisco) 26, Fergie Jenkins (Chicago), Larry Dierker (Houston) and Jerry Koosman (New York) 25, Steve Carlton (St. Louis) 24.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Bench 9.9, Rose 9.7, McCovey 9.2, Staub 8.7, Jones and Bonds 7.7, Wynn 7.5, Tolan 6.8, Stargell 6.5, Perez 6.4, Richie Hebner (Pittsburgh) 5.9, M. Alou 5.5, Santo and Don Kessinger (Chicago) 5.4, Agee and Felix Millan (Atlanta) 5.2.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Dierker 10.6, Niekro 9.1, Gibson 8.6, Marichal 8.3, Hands 8.0, Seaver 7.5, Carlton, Perry, and Denny Lemaster (Houston) 6.5, Jenkins 6.2, Osteen 5.9, Singer 5.8, Koosman 5.1.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): McCovey 8.4, Aaron 8.1, Clemente 7.5, Wynn 7.2, Perez 6.9, Bonds, Jones, and Rose 6.7, Staub 6.6, Santo 6.4, Agee 5.9, Bench 5.8, Stargell and Tolan 5.6, M. Alou 5.0, Davis 4.9. Pitchers (bWAR): Gibson 11.0, Dierker 9.0, Hands 8.8, Marichal 8.5, Perry 7.8, Jenkins and Seaver 7.6, Singer 7.3, Carlton 7.2, Koosman 6.7, Niekro 6.6, Osteen 6.2, Lemaster 5.7.
Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20: 38 players received at least one vote) | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+----+-----+---+--+
1 Willie McCovey SFG 11 265 336 0.79 | 491 157 45 .320 1.108 0
2 Tom Seaver NYM 11 243 336 0.72 | 91 11 0 .121 .354 1| 25-7 273 2.21 1.039 208
3 Hank Aaron ATL 2 188 336 0.56 | 547 164 44 .300 1.003 9
4 Pete Rose CIN 0 127 336 0.38 | 627 218 16 .348 .940 7
5 Ron Santo CHC 0 124 336 0.37 | 575 166 29 .289 .869 1
6 Tommie Agee NYM 0 89 336 0.26 | 565 153 26 .271 .806 12
7 Cleon Jones NYM 0 82 336 0.24 | 483 164 12 .340 .904 16
8 Roberto Clemente PIT 0 51 336 0.15 | 507 175 19 .345 .955 4
9 Phil Niekro ATL 0 47 336 0.14 | 95 20 0 .211 .479 0| 23-13 284 2.56 1.027 193 1
10 Tony Perez CIN 0 28 336 0.08 | 629 185 37 .294 .883 4
11 Maury Wills TOT 0 17 336 0.05 | +623 171 4 .274 .673 40
12 Ernie Banks CHC 0 15 336 0.04 | 565 143 23 .253 .725 0
13 Johnny Bench CIN 0 12 336 0.04 | 532 156 26 .293 .840 6
13 Rico Carty ATL 0 12 336 0.04 | 304 104 16 .342 .951 0
15 Tony Gonzalez TOT 0 8 336 0.02 | +502 135 12 .269 .724 4
15 Wayne Granger CIN 0 8 336 0.02 | 21 2 0 .095 .304 0| 9-6 145 2.80 1.265 68 27
15 Ron Hunt SFG 0 8 336 0.02 | 478 125 3 .262 .702 9
15 Don Kessinger CHC 0 8 336 0.02 | 664 181 4 .273 .698 11
15 Denis Menke HOU 0 8 336 0.02 | 553 149 10 .269 .756 2
15 Jimmy Wynn HOU 0 8 336 0.02 | 495 133 33 .269 .943 23
McCovey and Seaver got the same number of first-place votes, but Big Mac got more overall support.
Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Tom Seaver NYM 23 23 24 0.96 | 25-7 273 2.21 1.039 208
2 Phil Niekro ATL 1 1 24 0.04 | 23-13 284 2.56 1.027 193 1
Niekro actually got a vote!
Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+------+-----+---+--+
1 Ted Sizemore LAD 14 14 24 0.58 | 590 160 4 .271 .670 5
2 Coco Laboy MON 3 3 24 0.12 | 562 145 18 .258 .717 0
2 Al Oliver PIT 3 3 24 0.12 | 463 132 17 .285 .778 8
4 Bob Didier ATL 2 2 24 0.08 | 352 90 0 .256 .628 1
4 Larry Hisle PHI 2 2 24 0.08 | 482 128 20 .266 .797 18
Top player: Willie McCovey. Other arguments can be made, but McCovey led Win Shares, as well as the writers' vote. That's a good argument.
#1 Willie McCovey, #2 Hank Aaron, #3 Roberto Clemente, #4 Pete Rose, #5 Jimmy Wynn, #6 Tony Perez.
Top pitcher: Bob Gibson. Seaver got all the attention, but Gibson had a better year. He wasn't as good as in 1968, so he didn't get the notice.
#1 Bob Gibson, #2 Juan Marichal, #3 Tom Seaver, #4 Phil Niekro, #5 Larry Dierker, #6 Bill Hands.
Top rookie: Al Oliver. Oliver, Hisle, and Richie Hebner are all viable candidates. Not sure how Sizemore snuck in there.
Top manager: Gil Hodges turned in one of the great all-time managing jobs.
22 February 2009
09 February 2009
1969 American League
Expansion came, giving the AL 12 teams and 2 divisions. Seattle received the Pilots (who would fly to a new home in Milwaukee during spring training 1970) and the AL returned to Kansas City with the Royals franchise. Both new teams inhabited the West division along with Minnesota, Oakland, Chicago and California. The East included six established teams, with Boston, New York, Baltimore, Cleveland, Washington, and defending champs Detroit. Baltimore proved to be a powerhouse, with 109 wins and a 19-game margin over the Tigers in the East. Minnesota took the West by 9 games over surging Oakland. Cleveland ended up with the worst record in the league, at 99 losses.
Rod Carew won his first (of many) batting title by posting a .332 average, Tommy Harper led in steals with 73, and Reggie Jackson led in slugging and OPS. Harmon Killebrew led in on-base, HR and RBI and took the MVP award. Killebrew had 49 HR and 140 RBI. Frank Howard was second with 48 HR, Boog Powell second with 121 RBI. Jackson scored 123 runs. Tony Oliva had 197 hits and 39 doubles. Del Unser had 8 triples.
Denny McLain led in wins again but was down to a "mere" 24, and tied for the Cy Young with 23-game winner Mike Cuellar. Dick Bosman led in ERA with a 2.19 mark, followed by Jim Palmer at 2.34. Sam McDowell led in strikeouts with 279, Mickey Lolich was second with 271. Ron Perranoski led in saves with 31. McLain had 325 innings and 9 shutouts.
Win Shares leaders, players; Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 41, Rico Petrocelli (Boston) 37, Sal Bando (Oakland) 36, Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota) and Frank Howard (Washington) 34, Frank Robinson (Baltimore) 32, Paul Blair (Baltimore) 28, Boog Powell (Baltimore) and Jim Northrup (Detroit) 27, Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) and Jim Fregosi (California) 26, Tony Oliva (Minnesota) 25, Don Buford (Baltimore), Mike Andrews and Reggie Smith (Boston), and Mike Epstein and Ken McMullen (Washington) 24, Leo Cardenas (Minnesota) and Horace Clarke (New York) 23, Roy White (New York) and Dick Green (Oakland) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Denny McLain (Detroit) 29, Mel Stottlemyre (New York) 26, Mike Cuellar (Baltimore) 24, Fritz Peterson (New York) 23, Andy Messersmith (California) 22, Ken Tatum (California), Sam McDowell (Cleveland), Mickey Lolich (Detroit), Ron Perranoski and Jim Perry (Minnesota) 20, Jim Palmer (Baltimore) and Blue Moon Odom (Oakland) 18.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Jackson 10.1, Petrocelli 9.0, Killebrew and Bando 8.7, Cardenas 8.4, Green 7.6, F. Robinson and Powell 7.1, Oliva 6.8, McMullen 6.6, Dave Johnson (Baltimore) 6.5, Blair 6.3, Howard 5.9.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: McLain 8.3, Messersmith 7.5, McDowell 7.1, Tatum 6.3, Stottlemyre 6.1, Wally Bunker (Kansas City) 5.0, Peterson and Tommy John (Chicago) 4.9.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Petrocelli 10.6, Jackson 9.9, Bando 8.7, F. Robinson 8.3, Blair and Killebrew 8.2, Powell 7.4, Yastrzemski 6.8, Howard 6.6, McMullen 6.3, Northrup 6.1, Cardenas 6.0, Smith 5.9, Oliva 5.8, Buford and Carew 5.7. Pitchers (bWAR): McLain 7.5, McDowell 6.3, Perry and Stottlemyre 5.3, John 5.2, Messersmith 5.1, Cuellar and Lolich 4.3, Peterson 4.1, Perranoski 4.0, Bosman and Tatum 3.9.
Actual award winners:
MVP: (top 25)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+----+---+---+---+--+
1 Harmon Killebrew MIN 16 294 336 0.88 | 555 153 49 .276 1.011 8
2 Boog Powell BAL 6 227 336 0.68 | 533 162 37 .304 .942 1
3 Frank Robinson BAL 2 162 336 0.48 | 539 166 32 .308 .955 9
4 Frank Howard WSA 0 115 336 0.34 | 592 175 48 .296 .976 1
5 Reggie Jackson OAK 0 110 336 0.33 | 549 151 47 .275 1.018 13
6 Denny McLain DET 0 85 336 0.25 | 106 17 0 .160 .348 0| 24-9 325 2.80 1.092 181
7 Rico Petrocelli BOS 0 71 336 0.21 | 535 159 40 .297 .992 3
8 Mike Cuellar BAL 0 55 336 0.16 | 103 12 0 .117 .279 0| 23-11 291 2.38 1.004 182
9 Jim Perry MIN 0 40 336 0.12 | 93 16 0 .172 .430 0| 20-6 262 2.82 1.185 153
10 Rod Carew MIN 0 30 336 0.09 | 458 152 8 .332 .853 19
11 Paul Blair BAL 0 28 336 0.08 | 625 178 26 .285 .804 20
12 Leo Cardenas MIN 0 27 336 0.08 | 578 162 10 .280 .741 5
13 Dave McNally BAL 0 25 336 0.07 | 94 8 1 .085 .295 0| 20-7 269 3.22 1.176 166
13 Ron Perranoski MIN 0 25 336 0.07 | 24 2 0 .083 .237 0| 9-10 120 2.11 1.145 62 31
15 Tony Oliva MIN 0 21 336 0.06 | 637 197 24 .309 .851 10
16 Sal Bando OAK 0 18 336 0.05 | 609 171 31 .281 .885 1
17 Cesar Tovar MIN 0 9 336 0.03 | 535 154 11 .288 .757 45
18 Mel Stottlemyre NYY 0 8 336 0.02 | 101 18 1 .178 .498 0| 20-14 303 2.82 1.201 113
18 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 8 336 0.02 | 603 154 40 .255 .870 15
20 Ed Brinkman WSA 0 7 336 0.02 | 576 153 2 .266 .653 2
20 Jim Fregosi CAL 0 7 336 0.02 | 580 151 12 .260 .742 9
22 Reggie Smith BOS 0 6 336 0.02 | 543 168 25 .309 .895 7
23 Brooks Robinson BAL 0 5 336 0.01 | 598 140 23 .234 .693 2
23 Del Unser WSA 0 5 336 0.01 | 581 166 7 .286 .731 8
25 Mike Epstein WSA 0 4 336 0.01 | 403 112 30 .278 .965 2
It was a power hitters' year with Killebrew and Powell running 1-2.
Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Cuellar BAL 10 10 24 0.42 | 23-11 291 2.38 1.004 182
1 Denny McLain DET 10 10 24 0.42 | 24-9 325 2.80 1.092 181
3 Jim Perry MIN 3 3 24 0.12 | 20-6 262 2.82 1.185 153
4 Dave McNally BAL 1 1 24 0.04 | 20-7 269 3.22 1.176 166
Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+------+-----+---+
1 Lou Piniella KCR 9 9 24 0.38 | 493 139 11 .282 .741 2
2 Mike Nagy BOS 6 6 24 0.25 | 65 5 0 .077 .259 1| 12-2 197 3.11 1.469 84
3 Carlos May CHW 5 5 24 0.21 | 367 103 18 .281 .873 1
4 Ken Tatum CAL 4 4 24 0.17 | 21 6 2 .286 .937 0| 7-2 86 1.36 1.043 65 22
With the two-division setup, the normal voting habits were disturbed. It caused some confusion, having two "winners" at the end of the regular season.
Top player: Reggie Jackson. The best players in the league were Jackson and Petrocelli, and Jackson was much closer to the pennant race. So, in a close race, the edge goes to the contender.
#1 Reggie Jackson, #2 Rico Petrocelli, #3 Frank Robinson, #4 Harmon Killebrew, #5 Sal Bando, #6 Paul Blair.
Top pitcher: Denny McLain. The second year in a row at the top for McLain, and the last. His troubles, legal and otherwise, began soon after.
#1 Denny McLain, #2 Mike Cuellar, #3 Andy Messersmith, #4 Sam McDowell, #5 Ron Perranoski.
Top rookie: Lou Piniella. Tatum had the better year, but Piniella had more long-term potential.
Top manager: Earl Weaver pushed the right buttons for the Orioles.
Rod Carew won his first (of many) batting title by posting a .332 average, Tommy Harper led in steals with 73, and Reggie Jackson led in slugging and OPS. Harmon Killebrew led in on-base, HR and RBI and took the MVP award. Killebrew had 49 HR and 140 RBI. Frank Howard was second with 48 HR, Boog Powell second with 121 RBI. Jackson scored 123 runs. Tony Oliva had 197 hits and 39 doubles. Del Unser had 8 triples.
Denny McLain led in wins again but was down to a "mere" 24, and tied for the Cy Young with 23-game winner Mike Cuellar. Dick Bosman led in ERA with a 2.19 mark, followed by Jim Palmer at 2.34. Sam McDowell led in strikeouts with 279, Mickey Lolich was second with 271. Ron Perranoski led in saves with 31. McLain had 325 innings and 9 shutouts.
Win Shares leaders, players; Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 41, Rico Petrocelli (Boston) 37, Sal Bando (Oakland) 36, Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota) and Frank Howard (Washington) 34, Frank Robinson (Baltimore) 32, Paul Blair (Baltimore) 28, Boog Powell (Baltimore) and Jim Northrup (Detroit) 27, Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) and Jim Fregosi (California) 26, Tony Oliva (Minnesota) 25, Don Buford (Baltimore), Mike Andrews and Reggie Smith (Boston), and Mike Epstein and Ken McMullen (Washington) 24, Leo Cardenas (Minnesota) and Horace Clarke (New York) 23, Roy White (New York) and Dick Green (Oakland) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Denny McLain (Detroit) 29, Mel Stottlemyre (New York) 26, Mike Cuellar (Baltimore) 24, Fritz Peterson (New York) 23, Andy Messersmith (California) 22, Ken Tatum (California), Sam McDowell (Cleveland), Mickey Lolich (Detroit), Ron Perranoski and Jim Perry (Minnesota) 20, Jim Palmer (Baltimore) and Blue Moon Odom (Oakland) 18.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Jackson 10.1, Petrocelli 9.0, Killebrew and Bando 8.7, Cardenas 8.4, Green 7.6, F. Robinson and Powell 7.1, Oliva 6.8, McMullen 6.6, Dave Johnson (Baltimore) 6.5, Blair 6.3, Howard 5.9.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: McLain 8.3, Messersmith 7.5, McDowell 7.1, Tatum 6.3, Stottlemyre 6.1, Wally Bunker (Kansas City) 5.0, Peterson and Tommy John (Chicago) 4.9.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Petrocelli 10.6, Jackson 9.9, Bando 8.7, F. Robinson 8.3, Blair and Killebrew 8.2, Powell 7.4, Yastrzemski 6.8, Howard 6.6, McMullen 6.3, Northrup 6.1, Cardenas 6.0, Smith 5.9, Oliva 5.8, Buford and Carew 5.7. Pitchers (bWAR): McLain 7.5, McDowell 6.3, Perry and Stottlemyre 5.3, John 5.2, Messersmith 5.1, Cuellar and Lolich 4.3, Peterson 4.1, Perranoski 4.0, Bosman and Tatum 3.9.
Actual award winners:
MVP: (top 25)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+----+---+---+---+--+
1 Harmon Killebrew MIN 16 294 336 0.88 | 555 153 49 .276 1.011 8
2 Boog Powell BAL 6 227 336 0.68 | 533 162 37 .304 .942 1
3 Frank Robinson BAL 2 162 336 0.48 | 539 166 32 .308 .955 9
4 Frank Howard WSA 0 115 336 0.34 | 592 175 48 .296 .976 1
5 Reggie Jackson OAK 0 110 336 0.33 | 549 151 47 .275 1.018 13
6 Denny McLain DET 0 85 336 0.25 | 106 17 0 .160 .348 0| 24-9 325 2.80 1.092 181
7 Rico Petrocelli BOS 0 71 336 0.21 | 535 159 40 .297 .992 3
8 Mike Cuellar BAL 0 55 336 0.16 | 103 12 0 .117 .279 0| 23-11 291 2.38 1.004 182
9 Jim Perry MIN 0 40 336 0.12 | 93 16 0 .172 .430 0| 20-6 262 2.82 1.185 153
10 Rod Carew MIN 0 30 336 0.09 | 458 152 8 .332 .853 19
11 Paul Blair BAL 0 28 336 0.08 | 625 178 26 .285 .804 20
12 Leo Cardenas MIN 0 27 336 0.08 | 578 162 10 .280 .741 5
13 Dave McNally BAL 0 25 336 0.07 | 94 8 1 .085 .295 0| 20-7 269 3.22 1.176 166
13 Ron Perranoski MIN 0 25 336 0.07 | 24 2 0 .083 .237 0| 9-10 120 2.11 1.145 62 31
15 Tony Oliva MIN 0 21 336 0.06 | 637 197 24 .309 .851 10
16 Sal Bando OAK 0 18 336 0.05 | 609 171 31 .281 .885 1
17 Cesar Tovar MIN 0 9 336 0.03 | 535 154 11 .288 .757 45
18 Mel Stottlemyre NYY 0 8 336 0.02 | 101 18 1 .178 .498 0| 20-14 303 2.82 1.201 113
18 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 8 336 0.02 | 603 154 40 .255 .870 15
20 Ed Brinkman WSA 0 7 336 0.02 | 576 153 2 .266 .653 2
20 Jim Fregosi CAL 0 7 336 0.02 | 580 151 12 .260 .742 9
22 Reggie Smith BOS 0 6 336 0.02 | 543 168 25 .309 .895 7
23 Brooks Robinson BAL 0 5 336 0.01 | 598 140 23 .234 .693 2
23 Del Unser WSA 0 5 336 0.01 | 581 166 7 .286 .731 8
25 Mike Epstein WSA 0 4 336 0.01 | 403 112 30 .278 .965 2
It was a power hitters' year with Killebrew and Powell running 1-2.
Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Cuellar BAL 10 10 24 0.42 | 23-11 291 2.38 1.004 182
1 Denny McLain DET 10 10 24 0.42 | 24-9 325 2.80 1.092 181
3 Jim Perry MIN 3 3 24 0.12 | 20-6 262 2.82 1.185 153
4 Dave McNally BAL 1 1 24 0.04 | 20-7 269 3.22 1.176 166
Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+------+-----+---+
1 Lou Piniella KCR 9 9 24 0.38 | 493 139 11 .282 .741 2
2 Mike Nagy BOS 6 6 24 0.25 | 65 5 0 .077 .259 1| 12-2 197 3.11 1.469 84
3 Carlos May CHW 5 5 24 0.21 | 367 103 18 .281 .873 1
4 Ken Tatum CAL 4 4 24 0.17 | 21 6 2 .286 .937 0| 7-2 86 1.36 1.043 65 22
With the two-division setup, the normal voting habits were disturbed. It caused some confusion, having two "winners" at the end of the regular season.
Top player: Reggie Jackson. The best players in the league were Jackson and Petrocelli, and Jackson was much closer to the pennant race. So, in a close race, the edge goes to the contender.
#1 Reggie Jackson, #2 Rico Petrocelli, #3 Frank Robinson, #4 Harmon Killebrew, #5 Sal Bando, #6 Paul Blair.
Top pitcher: Denny McLain. The second year in a row at the top for McLain, and the last. His troubles, legal and otherwise, began soon after.
#1 Denny McLain, #2 Mike Cuellar, #3 Andy Messersmith, #4 Sam McDowell, #5 Ron Perranoski.
Top rookie: Lou Piniella. Tatum had the better year, but Piniella had more long-term potential.
Top manager: Earl Weaver pushed the right buttons for the Orioles.
07 February 2009
1968 National League
The 97-win Cardinals won the pennant easily, by nine games over the Giants. Chicago was third, Cincinnati 4th and Atlanta 5th. Pittsburgh was 6th, LA and Philly tied for 7th, the Mets 9th (their second time of not being last) and the Astros last with 90 losses.
Pete Rose won his first batting title by three points, .335 to .332, over Matty Alou. Rose also led in OBP. Willie McCovey led in HR with 36, RBI with 105, slugging, and OPS. McCovey was the league's only 100-RBI guy, as Ron Santo and Billy Williams tied for second with 98. Richie Allen was second with 33 HR. Rose and Felipe Alou each had 210 hits. Lou Brock led in doubles with 46, triples with 14, and steals with 62.
"The year of the pitcher" was evident in the National League. Don Drysdale hurled 58 consecutive shutout innings while Bob Gibson tossed 13 shutouts and posted a 1.12 ERA for the season. Gibson started 34 games, and completed 28 of them. In the other six, he was removed for a pinch-hitter. That may be a modern record, over 30 starts and never relieved in the middle of an inning. Gibson won the MVP for his performance. Juan Marichal led in wins with 26, followed by Gibson at 22, while Gibson of course led in ERA as well as strikeouts with 268. Fergie Jenkins was second in strikeouts with 260, and third in wins with 20. Bob Bolin was second in ERA with a 1.99 mark. Marichal had 326 innings and 30 complete games. Phil Regan led in saves with 25.
Win Shares leaders, players; Willie McCovey (San Francisco) 34, Hank Aaron (Atlanta), Pete Rose (Cincinnati), Jim Wynn (Houston) and Dick Allen (Philadelphia) 32, Felipe Alou (Atlanta) and Lou Brock (St. Louis) 31, Billy Williams (Chicago) and Willie Mays (San Francisco) 30, Ron Santo (Chicago) and Rusty Staub (Houston) 28, Tom Haller (Los Angeles) and Curt Flood (St. Louis) 27, Tony Perez (Cincinnati) and Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh) 25, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Gibson (St. Louis) 36, Fergie Jenkins (Chicago) 25, Juan Marichal (San Francisco) 24, Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver (New York) 23, Phil Regan (LA/Chicago) 20, Pat Jarvis (Atlanta) and Gaylord Perry (San Francisco) 19, Phil Niekro (Atlanta), Bill Hands (Chicago), Don Drysdale (Los Angeles) and Chris Short (Philadelphia) 18.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Perez 8.3, Mays and Aaron 8.2, McCovey 7.7, Wynn 7.6, Haller 7.5, Rose 7.4, Brock and Bench 7.3, Alou 7.0, Flood and Santo 6.2, Allen 5.8, Matty Alou (Pittsburgh) 5.7, Clemente 5.4.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Gibson 11.0, Jenkins 8.7, Jarvis 6.7, Seaver 6.6, Marichal 6.3, Short and Larry Jackson (Philadelphia) 6.2, Perry 6.1, Niekro 5.9, Koosman 5.8, Hands 5.2, Regan 5.0.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Aaron 7.9, McCovey 7.6, Mays 7.3, Clemente 7.2, F. Alou 7.0, Santo 6.8, Rose 6.2, Brock 6.1, Wynn 6.0, Perez 5.9, Williams 5.7, Haller 5.5, M. Alou and Bench 5.1, Alley 5.0, Allen 4.7, Beckert 4.6, Clendenon 4.5. Pitchers (bWAR): Gibson 11.9, Seaver 7.5, Jenkins 6.9, Koosman 6.8, Perry 6.2, Marichal 6.1, Drysdale 5.9, Lemaster 5.3, Giusti 5.2, Bolin and Short 5.1, Jarvis 5.0, Niekro 4.9, Jackson 4.8.
Actual award winners;
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-------+-----++--+
1 Bob Gibson STL 14 242 280 0.86 | 94 16 0 .170 .456 1| 22-9 305 1.12 0.853 268
2 Pete Rose CIN 6 205 280 0.73 | 626 210 10 .335 .861 3
3 Willie McCovey SFG 0 135 280 0.48 | 523 153 36 .293 .923 4
4 Curt Flood STL 0 116 280 0.41 | 618 186 5 .301 .705 11
5 Juan Marichal SFG 0 93 280 0.33 | 123 20 0 .163 .376 0| 26-9 326 2.43 1.046 218
6 Lou Brock STL 0 73 280 0.26 | 660 184 6 .279 .746 62
7 Mike Shannon STL 0 55 280 0.20 | 576 153 15 .266 .710 1
8 Billy Williams CHC 0 48 280 0.17 | 642 185 30 .288 .836 4
9 Glenn Beckert CHC 0 40 280 0.14 | 643 189 4 .294 .695 8
10 Felipe Alou ATL 0 33 280 0.12 | 662 210 11 .317 .803 12
11 Matty Alou PIT 0 32 280 0.11 | 558 185 0 .332 .758 18
12 Hank Aaron ATL 0 19 280 0.07 | 606 174 29 .287 .852 28
13 Ernie Banks CHC 0 14 280 0.05 | 552 136 32 .246 .756 2
13 Jerry Koosman NYM 0 14 280 0.05 | 91 7 1 .077 .227 0| 19-12 264 2.08 1.100 178
13 Willie Mays SFG 0 14 280 0.05 | 498 144 23 .289 .860 12
16 Johnny Bench CIN 0 11 280 0.04 | 564 155 15 .275 .743 1
17 Phil Regan TOT 0 7 280 0.02 | + 21 3 0 .143 .372 0|+12-5 135 2.27 1.069 67 25
18 Fergie Jenkins CHC 0 6 280 0.02 | 100 16 1 .160 .438 0| 20-15 308 2.63 1.039 260
19 Tony Perez CIN 0 5 280 0.02 | 625 176 18 .282 .769 3
20 Nelson Briles STL 0 4 280 0.01 | 80 11 0 .138 .349 0| 19-11 244 2.81 1.256 141
20 Dal Maxvill STL 0 4 280 0.01 | 459 116 1 .253 .627 0
22 Steve Blass PIT 0 3 280 0.01 | 80 11 0 .138 .305 0| 18-6 220 2.12 1.126 132
22 Tom Haller LAD 0 3 280 0.01 | 474 135 4 .285 .733 1
24 Ron Santo CHC 0 2 280 0.01 | 577 142 26 .246 .775 3
25 Clay Carroll TOT 0 1 280 0.00 | + 29 6 0 .207 .440 0|+ 7-8 144 2.69 1.153 71 17
25 Tommy Helms CIN 0 1 280 0.00 | 507 146 2 .288 .668 5|
Gibson and Rose were the contenders, and Gibson won. Deservedly so.
Cy Young: Gibson was a unanimous pick.
Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+----+---+--+
1 Johnny Bench CIN 10 10 20 0.50 | 564 155 15 .275 .743 1
2 Jerry Koosman NYM 9 9 20 0.45 | 91 7 1 .077 .227 0| 19-12 264 2.08 1.100 178
A close one between two outstanding rookies.
Top player: Hank Aaron. Aaron wins for his combination of solid hitting and solid defense. Rose was a bit behind him offensively, McCovey was not his equal with the glove.
#1 Hank Aaron, #2 Willie McCovey, #3 Pete Rose, #4 Jim Wynn, #5 Willie Mays, #6 Ron Santo.
Top pitcher: Bob Gibson. There can be no other answer to this question in 1968.
#1 Bob Gibson, #2 Fergie Jenkins, #3 Juan Marichal, #4 Tom Seaver, #5 Jerry Koosman.
Top rookie: Johnny Bench. Not by a large margin over Koosman, but by enough.
Top manager: Red Schoendienst won the pennant again.
Pete Rose won his first batting title by three points, .335 to .332, over Matty Alou. Rose also led in OBP. Willie McCovey led in HR with 36, RBI with 105, slugging, and OPS. McCovey was the league's only 100-RBI guy, as Ron Santo and Billy Williams tied for second with 98. Richie Allen was second with 33 HR. Rose and Felipe Alou each had 210 hits. Lou Brock led in doubles with 46, triples with 14, and steals with 62.
"The year of the pitcher" was evident in the National League. Don Drysdale hurled 58 consecutive shutout innings while Bob Gibson tossed 13 shutouts and posted a 1.12 ERA for the season. Gibson started 34 games, and completed 28 of them. In the other six, he was removed for a pinch-hitter. That may be a modern record, over 30 starts and never relieved in the middle of an inning. Gibson won the MVP for his performance. Juan Marichal led in wins with 26, followed by Gibson at 22, while Gibson of course led in ERA as well as strikeouts with 268. Fergie Jenkins was second in strikeouts with 260, and third in wins with 20. Bob Bolin was second in ERA with a 1.99 mark. Marichal had 326 innings and 30 complete games. Phil Regan led in saves with 25.
Win Shares leaders, players; Willie McCovey (San Francisco) 34, Hank Aaron (Atlanta), Pete Rose (Cincinnati), Jim Wynn (Houston) and Dick Allen (Philadelphia) 32, Felipe Alou (Atlanta) and Lou Brock (St. Louis) 31, Billy Williams (Chicago) and Willie Mays (San Francisco) 30, Ron Santo (Chicago) and Rusty Staub (Houston) 28, Tom Haller (Los Angeles) and Curt Flood (St. Louis) 27, Tony Perez (Cincinnati) and Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh) 25, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Gibson (St. Louis) 36, Fergie Jenkins (Chicago) 25, Juan Marichal (San Francisco) 24, Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver (New York) 23, Phil Regan (LA/Chicago) 20, Pat Jarvis (Atlanta) and Gaylord Perry (San Francisco) 19, Phil Niekro (Atlanta), Bill Hands (Chicago), Don Drysdale (Los Angeles) and Chris Short (Philadelphia) 18.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Perez 8.3, Mays and Aaron 8.2, McCovey 7.7, Wynn 7.6, Haller 7.5, Rose 7.4, Brock and Bench 7.3, Alou 7.0, Flood and Santo 6.2, Allen 5.8, Matty Alou (Pittsburgh) 5.7, Clemente 5.4.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Gibson 11.0, Jenkins 8.7, Jarvis 6.7, Seaver 6.6, Marichal 6.3, Short and Larry Jackson (Philadelphia) 6.2, Perry 6.1, Niekro 5.9, Koosman 5.8, Hands 5.2, Regan 5.0.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Aaron 7.9, McCovey 7.6, Mays 7.3, Clemente 7.2, F. Alou 7.0, Santo 6.8, Rose 6.2, Brock 6.1, Wynn 6.0, Perez 5.9, Williams 5.7, Haller 5.5, M. Alou and Bench 5.1, Alley 5.0, Allen 4.7, Beckert 4.6, Clendenon 4.5. Pitchers (bWAR): Gibson 11.9, Seaver 7.5, Jenkins 6.9, Koosman 6.8, Perry 6.2, Marichal 6.1, Drysdale 5.9, Lemaster 5.3, Giusti 5.2, Bolin and Short 5.1, Jarvis 5.0, Niekro 4.9, Jackson 4.8.
Actual award winners;
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-------+-----++--+
1 Bob Gibson STL 14 242 280 0.86 | 94 16 0 .170 .456 1| 22-9 305 1.12 0.853 268
2 Pete Rose CIN 6 205 280 0.73 | 626 210 10 .335 .861 3
3 Willie McCovey SFG 0 135 280 0.48 | 523 153 36 .293 .923 4
4 Curt Flood STL 0 116 280 0.41 | 618 186 5 .301 .705 11
5 Juan Marichal SFG 0 93 280 0.33 | 123 20 0 .163 .376 0| 26-9 326 2.43 1.046 218
6 Lou Brock STL 0 73 280 0.26 | 660 184 6 .279 .746 62
7 Mike Shannon STL 0 55 280 0.20 | 576 153 15 .266 .710 1
8 Billy Williams CHC 0 48 280 0.17 | 642 185 30 .288 .836 4
9 Glenn Beckert CHC 0 40 280 0.14 | 643 189 4 .294 .695 8
10 Felipe Alou ATL 0 33 280 0.12 | 662 210 11 .317 .803 12
11 Matty Alou PIT 0 32 280 0.11 | 558 185 0 .332 .758 18
12 Hank Aaron ATL 0 19 280 0.07 | 606 174 29 .287 .852 28
13 Ernie Banks CHC 0 14 280 0.05 | 552 136 32 .246 .756 2
13 Jerry Koosman NYM 0 14 280 0.05 | 91 7 1 .077 .227 0| 19-12 264 2.08 1.100 178
13 Willie Mays SFG 0 14 280 0.05 | 498 144 23 .289 .860 12
16 Johnny Bench CIN 0 11 280 0.04 | 564 155 15 .275 .743 1
17 Phil Regan TOT 0 7 280 0.02 | + 21 3 0 .143 .372 0|+12-5 135 2.27 1.069 67 25
18 Fergie Jenkins CHC 0 6 280 0.02 | 100 16 1 .160 .438 0| 20-15 308 2.63 1.039 260
19 Tony Perez CIN 0 5 280 0.02 | 625 176 18 .282 .769 3
20 Nelson Briles STL 0 4 280 0.01 | 80 11 0 .138 .349 0| 19-11 244 2.81 1.256 141
20 Dal Maxvill STL 0 4 280 0.01 | 459 116 1 .253 .627 0
22 Steve Blass PIT 0 3 280 0.01 | 80 11 0 .138 .305 0| 18-6 220 2.12 1.126 132
22 Tom Haller LAD 0 3 280 0.01 | 474 135 4 .285 .733 1
24 Ron Santo CHC 0 2 280 0.01 | 577 142 26 .246 .775 3
25 Clay Carroll TOT 0 1 280 0.00 | + 29 6 0 .207 .440 0|+ 7-8 144 2.69 1.153 71 17
25 Tommy Helms CIN 0 1 280 0.00 | 507 146 2 .288 .668 5|
Gibson and Rose were the contenders, and Gibson won. Deservedly so.
Cy Young: Gibson was a unanimous pick.
Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+----+---+--+
1 Johnny Bench CIN 10 10 20 0.50 | 564 155 15 .275 .743 1
2 Jerry Koosman NYM 9 9 20 0.45 | 91 7 1 .077 .227 0| 19-12 264 2.08 1.100 178
A close one between two outstanding rookies.
Top player: Hank Aaron. Aaron wins for his combination of solid hitting and solid defense. Rose was a bit behind him offensively, McCovey was not his equal with the glove.
#1 Hank Aaron, #2 Willie McCovey, #3 Pete Rose, #4 Jim Wynn, #5 Willie Mays, #6 Ron Santo.
Top pitcher: Bob Gibson. There can be no other answer to this question in 1968.
#1 Bob Gibson, #2 Fergie Jenkins, #3 Juan Marichal, #4 Tom Seaver, #5 Jerry Koosman.
Top rookie: Johnny Bench. Not by a large margin over Koosman, but by enough.
Top manager: Red Schoendienst won the pennant again.
02 February 2009
1968 American League
"The Year of the Pitcher" saw only one AL .300 hitter, Carl Yastrzemski winning the batting title at a mere .301. After this season, the strike zone was shrunk and the mound lowered to bring back offense. Detroit's Denny McLain won 31 games, the first 30-game winner in years and possibly the last we'll ever see. The Tigers won 103 games and the pennant pretty easily, with a 12-game margin over 1966 winners Baltimore, as McLain won the MVP. Cleveland was 3rd, Boston fell from the pennant to 4th, New York was back up to 5th, and Oakland (formerly Kansas City) 6th, while below .500 were Minnesota 7th, California and Chicago (tied) and Washington last.
Yaz also led in walks, on-base, and OPS, Frank Howard in home runs with 44, Ken Harrelson in RBI with 109. Howard, at 106, was the only other guy to drive in 100 runs. Bert Campaneris had 177 hits and 62 steals, Dick McAuliffe had 95 runs, Reggie Smith hit 37 doubles and Jim Fregosi 13 triples. Willie Horton was second in homers with 36. Second place in batting average was Danny Cater, at .290. So not only was there only one .300 hitter, it wasn't really even close.
Luis Tiant led in ERA with a 1.60 mark. It wasn't out of line with others: Sam McDowell posted a 1.81 mark, Dave McNally 1.95, McLain 1.96, Tommy John 1.98. It was a ridiculous year for pitching. McDowell led in strikeouts with 283, followed by McLain with 280. McLain's 31 wins and 28 complete games were well ahead of the pack: McNally was second in wins with 22. Mel Stottlemyre and Tiant each won 21. Al Worthington led in saves with 18. 45-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm tied for fourth in saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) 39, Frank Howard (Washington) 38, Bill Freehan (Detroit) 35, Roy White (New York) and Bert Campaneris (Oakland) 29, Ken Harrelson (Boston), Willie Horton and Dick McAuliffe (Detroit) 28, Rick Monday (Oakland) 26, Don Buford and Brooks Robinson (Baltimore), Reggie Smith (Boston) and Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 25, Frank Robinson (Baltimore), Mike Andrews (Boston), Jim Northrup (Detroit), Mickey Mantle (New York) 24 and Ken McMullen (Washington) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Denny McLain (Detroit) 33, Luis Tiant (Cleveland) 28, Dave McNally (Baltimore) 26, Sam McDowell (Cleveland) and Stan Bahnsen (New York) 23, Mel Stottlemyre (New York) 22, Dean Chance (Minnesota) 21, Wilbur Wood (Chicago) 19, Earl Wilson (Detroit) and Blue Moon Odom (Oakland) 17.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Yastrzemski 10.2, Freehan 9.0, Campaneris 8.5, Howard 6.8, McAuliffe and B. Robinson 6.6, Monday 6.5, Harrelson and Buford 6.2, Rick Reichardt (California) 5.6, Horton 5.5, Jackson and Tony Oliva (Minnesota) 5.4, Jim Fregosi (California) 5.1, F. Robinson and Cesar Tovar (Minnesota) 5.0, Joe Azcue (Cleveland) 4.8, Northrup 4.6.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: McLain 9.1, McNally 8.7, Stottlemyre 8.4, Bahnsen 8.3, Tiant 7.7, Wood 7.2, Tommy John (Chicago) 5.8, Camilo Pascual (Washington) 5.0, Joe Horlen (Chicago) 4.7, Chance 4.5.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Yaz 10.5, B. Robinson 8.4, Freehan 8.2, Campaneris 7.3, Northrup 6.6, McAuliffe 6.4, Horton and Howard 6.3, Harrelson 6.0, Jackson 5.8, Smith 5.4, Tovar 5.3, White 5.0, McMullen, Reichardt, F. Robinson 4.9. Pitchers (bWAR): Tiant 7.2, McLain 5.9, Bahnsen 5.7, Chance 5.4, McDowell 4.9, John 4.8, McNally 4.7, Stottlemyre 4.6, Nash 3.9, Wood 3.8, Horlen and Pascual 3.5.
Actual award winners:
MVP: (top 20)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+----+---+-------+--+
1 Denny McLain DET 20 280 280 1.00 | 111 18 0 .162 .359 0| 31-6 336 1.96 0.905 280
2 Bill Freehan DET 0 161 280 0.58 | 540 142 25 .263 .819 0
3 Ken Harrelson BOS 0 103 280 0.37 | 535 147 35 .275 .874 2
4 Willie Horton DET 0 102 280 0.36 | 512 146 36 .285 .895 0
5 Dave McNally BAL 0 78 280 0.28 | 86 11 3 .128 .453 0| 22-10 273 1.95 0.842 202
5 Luis Tiant CLE 0 78 280 0.28 | 87 7 0 .080 .172 0| 21-9 258 1.60 0.871 264
7 Dick McAuliffe DET 0 71 280 0.25 | 570 142 16 .249 .755 8
8 Frank Howard WSA 0 63 280 0.22 | 598 164 44 .274 .890 0
9 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 50 280 0.18 | 539 162 23 .301 .922 13
10 Mel Stottlemyre NYY 0 43 280 0.15 | 91 13 0 .143 .386 0| 21-12 279 2.45 1.105 140
11 Bert Campaneris OAK 0 39 280 0.14 | 642 177 4 .276 .692 62
12 Roy White NYY 0 17 280 0.06 | 577 154 17 .267 .764 20
13 Jim Northrup DET 0 15 280 0.05 | 580 153 21 .264 .770 4
14 Luis Aparicio CHW 0 13 280 0.05 | 622 164 4 .264 .636 17
15 Don Buford BAL 0 11 280 0.04 | 426 120 15 .282 .804 27
15 Jim Fregosi CAL 0 11 280 0.04 | 614 150 9 .244 .680 9
17 Reggie Jackson OAK 0 8 280 0.03 | 553 138 29 .250 .768 14
17 Brooks Robinson BAL 0 8 280 0.03 | 608 154 17 .253 .720 1
19 Danny Cater OAK 0 5 280 0.02 | 504 146 6 .290 .729 8
19 Tony Oliva MIN 0 5 280 0.02 | 470 136 18 .289 .833 10
McLain won unanimously, and was not a bad pick. I think I would have chosen Freehan, though.
Cy Young: McLain was a unanimous pick again.
Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+---------+---+--+
1 Stan Bahnsen NYY 17 17 20 0.85 | 81 4 0 .049 .163 0| 17-12 267 2.05 1.062 162
2 Del Unser WSA 3 3 20 0.15 | 635 146 1 .230 .560 11|
Bahnsen won but Unser received support, which was odd because Unser didn't have nearly the year Bahnsen had.
Top player: Bill Freehan. It's a toss-up between him and Yaz, but Freehan's team won this time, and Yaz got it last year. Freehan is deserving, and could have won MVP in a more normal year.
#1 Bill Freehan, #2 Carl Yastrzemski, #3 Bert Campaneris, #4 Frank Howard, #5 Ken Harrelson, #6 Dick McAuliffe.
Top pitcher: Denny McLain, for sure. The 31 wins were flashy, but it was also a good season for the hard-living pitcher.
#1 Denny McLain, #2 Luis Tiant, #3 Dave McNally, #4 Sam McDowell, #5 Mel Stottlemyre.
Top rookie: Stan Bahnsen, who was just out of the top five pitchers.
Top manager: Mayo Smith by default. Nobody did a great job this season. It could be Bob Kennedy for nursing the A's to .500.
Yaz also led in walks, on-base, and OPS, Frank Howard in home runs with 44, Ken Harrelson in RBI with 109. Howard, at 106, was the only other guy to drive in 100 runs. Bert Campaneris had 177 hits and 62 steals, Dick McAuliffe had 95 runs, Reggie Smith hit 37 doubles and Jim Fregosi 13 triples. Willie Horton was second in homers with 36. Second place in batting average was Danny Cater, at .290. So not only was there only one .300 hitter, it wasn't really even close.
Luis Tiant led in ERA with a 1.60 mark. It wasn't out of line with others: Sam McDowell posted a 1.81 mark, Dave McNally 1.95, McLain 1.96, Tommy John 1.98. It was a ridiculous year for pitching. McDowell led in strikeouts with 283, followed by McLain with 280. McLain's 31 wins and 28 complete games were well ahead of the pack: McNally was second in wins with 22. Mel Stottlemyre and Tiant each won 21. Al Worthington led in saves with 18. 45-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm tied for fourth in saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) 39, Frank Howard (Washington) 38, Bill Freehan (Detroit) 35, Roy White (New York) and Bert Campaneris (Oakland) 29, Ken Harrelson (Boston), Willie Horton and Dick McAuliffe (Detroit) 28, Rick Monday (Oakland) 26, Don Buford and Brooks Robinson (Baltimore), Reggie Smith (Boston) and Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 25, Frank Robinson (Baltimore), Mike Andrews (Boston), Jim Northrup (Detroit), Mickey Mantle (New York) 24 and Ken McMullen (Washington) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Denny McLain (Detroit) 33, Luis Tiant (Cleveland) 28, Dave McNally (Baltimore) 26, Sam McDowell (Cleveland) and Stan Bahnsen (New York) 23, Mel Stottlemyre (New York) 22, Dean Chance (Minnesota) 21, Wilbur Wood (Chicago) 19, Earl Wilson (Detroit) and Blue Moon Odom (Oakland) 17.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Yastrzemski 10.2, Freehan 9.0, Campaneris 8.5, Howard 6.8, McAuliffe and B. Robinson 6.6, Monday 6.5, Harrelson and Buford 6.2, Rick Reichardt (California) 5.6, Horton 5.5, Jackson and Tony Oliva (Minnesota) 5.4, Jim Fregosi (California) 5.1, F. Robinson and Cesar Tovar (Minnesota) 5.0, Joe Azcue (Cleveland) 4.8, Northrup 4.6.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: McLain 9.1, McNally 8.7, Stottlemyre 8.4, Bahnsen 8.3, Tiant 7.7, Wood 7.2, Tommy John (Chicago) 5.8, Camilo Pascual (Washington) 5.0, Joe Horlen (Chicago) 4.7, Chance 4.5.
WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Yaz 10.5, B. Robinson 8.4, Freehan 8.2, Campaneris 7.3, Northrup 6.6, McAuliffe 6.4, Horton and Howard 6.3, Harrelson 6.0, Jackson 5.8, Smith 5.4, Tovar 5.3, White 5.0, McMullen, Reichardt, F. Robinson 4.9. Pitchers (bWAR): Tiant 7.2, McLain 5.9, Bahnsen 5.7, Chance 5.4, McDowell 4.9, John 4.8, McNally 4.7, Stottlemyre 4.6, Nash 3.9, Wood 3.8, Horlen and Pascual 3.5.
Actual award winners:
MVP: (top 20)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+----+---+-------+--+
1 Denny McLain DET 20 280 280 1.00 | 111 18 0 .162 .359 0| 31-6 336 1.96 0.905 280
2 Bill Freehan DET 0 161 280 0.58 | 540 142 25 .263 .819 0
3 Ken Harrelson BOS 0 103 280 0.37 | 535 147 35 .275 .874 2
4 Willie Horton DET 0 102 280 0.36 | 512 146 36 .285 .895 0
5 Dave McNally BAL 0 78 280 0.28 | 86 11 3 .128 .453 0| 22-10 273 1.95 0.842 202
5 Luis Tiant CLE 0 78 280 0.28 | 87 7 0 .080 .172 0| 21-9 258 1.60 0.871 264
7 Dick McAuliffe DET 0 71 280 0.25 | 570 142 16 .249 .755 8
8 Frank Howard WSA 0 63 280 0.22 | 598 164 44 .274 .890 0
9 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 50 280 0.18 | 539 162 23 .301 .922 13
10 Mel Stottlemyre NYY 0 43 280 0.15 | 91 13 0 .143 .386 0| 21-12 279 2.45 1.105 140
11 Bert Campaneris OAK 0 39 280 0.14 | 642 177 4 .276 .692 62
12 Roy White NYY 0 17 280 0.06 | 577 154 17 .267 .764 20
13 Jim Northrup DET 0 15 280 0.05 | 580 153 21 .264 .770 4
14 Luis Aparicio CHW 0 13 280 0.05 | 622 164 4 .264 .636 17
15 Don Buford BAL 0 11 280 0.04 | 426 120 15 .282 .804 27
15 Jim Fregosi CAL 0 11 280 0.04 | 614 150 9 .244 .680 9
17 Reggie Jackson OAK 0 8 280 0.03 | 553 138 29 .250 .768 14
17 Brooks Robinson BAL 0 8 280 0.03 | 608 154 17 .253 .720 1
19 Danny Cater OAK 0 5 280 0.02 | 504 146 6 .290 .729 8
19 Tony Oliva MIN 0 5 280 0.02 | 470 136 18 .289 .833 10
McLain won unanimously, and was not a bad pick. I think I would have chosen Freehan, though.
Cy Young: McLain was a unanimous pick again.
Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+---------+---+--+
1 Stan Bahnsen NYY 17 17 20 0.85 | 81 4 0 .049 .163 0| 17-12 267 2.05 1.062 162
2 Del Unser WSA 3 3 20 0.15 | 635 146 1 .230 .560 11|
Bahnsen won but Unser received support, which was odd because Unser didn't have nearly the year Bahnsen had.
Top player: Bill Freehan. It's a toss-up between him and Yaz, but Freehan's team won this time, and Yaz got it last year. Freehan is deserving, and could have won MVP in a more normal year.
#1 Bill Freehan, #2 Carl Yastrzemski, #3 Bert Campaneris, #4 Frank Howard, #5 Ken Harrelson, #6 Dick McAuliffe.
Top pitcher: Denny McLain, for sure. The 31 wins were flashy, but it was also a good season for the hard-living pitcher.
#1 Denny McLain, #2 Luis Tiant, #3 Dave McNally, #4 Sam McDowell, #5 Mel Stottlemyre.
Top rookie: Stan Bahnsen, who was just out of the top five pitchers.
Top manager: Mayo Smith by default. Nobody did a great job this season. It could be Bob Kennedy for nursing the A's to .500.
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