31 December 2009

1980 National League

Two great division races ended in a year for the Phillies, with their first-ever World championship in their long existence. All the other teams dating back so far had won long before. The Phils didn't have it easy, outlasting Montreal by a single game, and defending champs Pittsburgh by eight. St. Louis, New York, and Chicago finished under .500. Houston got its first division title in the West, by a game over the Dodgers and 3.5 over the Reds. Atlanta, San Francisco, and San Diego trailed. Philadelphia then went the distance to beat Houston in the NLCS, and beat Kansas City in six to win the World Series. The Cardinals led the league in offense, and the Astros in pitching, but the Phillies gave up the fewest runs on the road. Mike Schmidt led the league in HR (48), RBI (121), total bases, slugging, and OPS. Bob Horner was second with 35 homers, George Hendrick with 109 RBI. Bill Buckner won the batting title with a .324 average, a bit ahead of Keith Hernandez's .321. Hernandez scored 111 runs. Steve Garvey had 200 hits. Pete Rose had 42 doubles, Omar Moreno and Tony Scott 13 triples. Ron LeFlore stole 97 bases to Omar Moreno's 96. Steve Carlton led the league in wins (24) and strikeouts (286), and was 2nd in ERA with 2.34 to Don Sutton's 2.20. Joe Niekro was the other 20-game winner with exactly that. Nolan Ryan was second with 200 strikeouts. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 28. Carlton led with 304 innings, Jerry Reuss had six shutouts, Steve Rogers 14 complete games. Win Shares leaders, players: Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 37, Gary Carter (Montreal) 30, Andre Dawson (Montreal) 29, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 28, Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 27, Cesar Cedeno (Houston) 26, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati) and Jose Cruz (Houston) 25, Dusty Baker (Los Angeles), Lee Mazzilli (New York) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) 24, George Foster (Cincinnati), Terry Puhl (Houston) and Ron Cey (Los Angeles) 23, Dave Collins (Cincinnati), Steve Garvey (Los Angeles), Mike Easler (Pittsburgh), Gene Richards and Dave Winfield (San Diego) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 22. WS leaders, pitchers: Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 29, Jerry Reuss (Los Angeles) 21, Rick Camp (Atlanta), Don Sutton (Los Angeles) and Steve Rogers (Montreal) 20, Tom Hume (Cincinnati) 19, Tug McGraw (Philadelphia) 18, Phil Niekro (Atlanta) and Jim Bibby (Pittsburgh) 17, Bruce Sutter (Chicago) and Vida Blue (San Francisco) 16, Rick Reuschel (Chicago), Vern Ruhle (Houston) and Rollie Fingers (San Diego) 15. WARP3: Schmidt 10.0 (best year), Carter 7.4, Hernandez 7.1, Dawson 6.7, Cey 6.6 (last big year), Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 6.3, Ozzie Smith (San Diego) 6.0, Evans 5.8, Murphy 5.7 (first big season), Simmons 5.6, Baker 5.4, Cruz 5.1, Foster and Puhl (best year) 4.9, Cedeno (last big season), Reggie Smith (Los Angeles) and Bob Horner (Atlanta) 4.6, Richards 4.5 (career year), Easler 4.4. Pitchers, Carlton 9.3, Rogers and Reuschel 6.0, McGraw 5.5, Blue 5.3, Camp and Hume (best year) 4.8, Sutter 4.6, Sutton 4.5, Scott Sanderson (Montreal) 4.3, Reuss and Bill Caudill (Chicago) 4.1, Ruhle (career year) 4.0. WAR, position players: Schmidt 9.1, Hernandez 7.1, Carter 6.2, Dawson 6.1, Murphy 6.0, Puhl 5.5, Cey 5.4, Simmons 5.3, Cedeno 5.0, Cruz 4.7, Baker 4.5, Evans and Foster 4.3, Clark, Morgan, Richards, and Smith 4.2, Hendrick 4.1, Templeton 3.9. Pitchers: Carlton 9.1, Reuschel 5.5, Reuss 4.5, Candelaria, Rogers, and Ryan 4.4, Blyleven 4.2, Forsch 4.1, Krukow 3.6, Niekro and Pastore 3.5, Blue and Whitson 3.4. Actual award voting: MVP (top 12) Place Name Team 1st place Points 1 Mike Schmidt PHI 24 336 2 Gary Carter MON 0 193 3 Jose Cruz HOU 0 166 4 Dusty Baker LAD 0 138 5 Steve Carlton PHI 0 134 6 Steve Garvey LAD 0 131 7 Andre Dawson MON 0 72 8 George Hendrick STL 0 50 9 Bob Horner ATL 0 42 10 Bake McBride PHI 0 32 11 Keith Hernandez STL 0 29 12 Dale Murphy ATL 0 23 Cy Young (top 4) Place Name Team 1st place Points 1 Steve Carlton PHI 23 118 2 Jerry Reuss LAD 1 55 3 Jim Bibby PIT 0 28 4 Joe Niekro HOU 0 11 Can we retroactively revoke the BBWAA membership of the guy who put Reuss 1st? Rookie (top 5) Place Name Team 1st place Points 1 Steve Howe LAD 12 80 2 Bill Gullickson MON 5 53 3 Lonnie Smith PHI 4 49 4 Ron Oester CIN 1 16 5 Dave Smith HOU 2 13 Top player: Mike Schmidt Top pitcher: Steve Carlton These are no-brainers. The Phillies won, and those two did most of the work. Players: #1 Mike Schmidt, #2 Gary Carter, #3 Andre Dawson, #4 Dale Murphy, #5 Keith Hernandez, #6 Darrell Evans. Pitchers: #1 Steve Carlton, #2 Jerry Reuss, #3 Steve Rogers, #4 Tug McGraw, #5 Tom Hume. Top rookie: Lonnie Smith. This one is tough. I think I would go for a Phillies clean sweep, as they won their first World Series. Jeff Reardon, Leon Durham, Al Holland, and Bob Walk also drew a vote each in the balloting. No clear winner. Top manager: Dallas Green, for guiding the Phillies to their very first World Series victory.

1980 American League

A magical season for George Brett and the Royals, as they won the West and then beat the Yankees in the ALCS, with Brett hitting .390 for the year (in 117 games, due to injury). The dream ended in a six-game World Series loss, but the sweep over the New York team that had beaten them in three playoff series 1977-79 was sweet. KC took an easy division win with 97 victories, 14 more than the surprise A's, who went from 54-108 to 83-79 in one year to place second. The rest were under .500, with Minnesota 3rd, Texas 4th, Chicago 5th, California slipping from 1st to 6th, and Seattle last with 103 losses. New York took the East title in a dogfight with Baltimore, 103 wins to 100. Milwaukee placed third with 86 victories, Boston 4th just ahead of Detroit, Cleveland 6th and Toronto last again. The Jays showed incremental improvement with 95 losses, their first season (of 4) with less than 100. Brett led hitters in the percentage categories like batting average and OPS. Teammate Willie Wilson led in runs with 133 and hits with 230. Reggie Jackson and Ben Oglivie tied with 41 HR. Cecil Cooper led in RBI with 122, and Rickey Henderson stole 100 bases. Brett and Oglivie tied for second in RBI with 118. Robin Yount had 49 doubles while Wilson and Alfredo Griffin had 15 triples. In spite of his limited playing time, Brett led the league in Runs Created. Steve Stone led in wins with 25, Rudy May had the ERA lead at 2.46, and Len Barker led in strikeouts with 187. Mike Norris was 2nd in all those categories with 22, 2.53, and 180 respectively. Goose Gossage and Dan Quisenberry tied for the saves lead with 33. Rick Langford had an astounding (for the era) 28 complete games and pitched 290 innings. Tommy John tossed six shutouts. Win Shares leaders, players: George Brett (Kansas City) 36, Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 34, Al Bumbry (Baltimore) 33, Willie Wilson (Kansas City), Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 31, Ken Singleton (Baltimore), Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie (Milwaukee) and Dwayne Murphy (Oakland) 27, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 26, Mike Hargrove (Cleveland) and Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 25, Chet Lemon (Chicago) 24, Toby Harrah (Cleveland) 23, Tony Armas (Oakland) 22, Miguel Dilone (Cleveland), Alan Trammell (Detroit), Rick Cerone (New York), Buddy Bell and Al Oliver (Texas) 21. WS leaders, pitchers: Mike Norris (Oakland) 25, Doug Corbett (Minnesota) 24, Larry Gura (Kansas City) 22, Britt Burns (Chicago) 21, Steve Stone (Baltimore) 20, Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City), Tommy John (New York), Rick Langford (Oakland) and Jim Clancy (Toronto) 19, Scott McGregor (Baltimore), Dennis Leonard (Kansas City), Goose Gossage (New York) and Matt Keough (Oakland) 18. WARP3: Brett 9.2, Bumbry 7.6 (a career year), Henderson 6.6 (first full year), Oglivie 5.9 (career year), Wilson and Yount 5.8, Bobby Grich (California) 5.7, Cooper 5.5, Randolph 5.4, Bell 5.2, Jackson 5.0, Rick Burleson (Boston) 4.9, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 4.6, Murphy (best year) and Cerone 4.2 (career year), Lance Parrish (Detroit) 4.1, Bucky Dent (New York) 4.0, Trammell 3.9. Pitchers, Corbett 6.9 as a rookie, Burns 6.3 as a rookie, Norris 5.9 in his career year, Rudy May (New York) 5.0, Gura (best year) and Clancy 4.7, Dave Stieb (Toronto) 4.6, Moose Haas (Milwaukee) 4.5, Danny Darwin (Texas) 4.4, Tom Burgmeier (Boston) 4.3, John and Bob Stanley (Boston) 4.1, Quisenberry, Gossage, and Floyd Bannister (Seattle) 4.0, Fergie Jenkins (Texas) 3.9. WAR from Fangraphs, position players: Brett 9.5, Henderson 8.3, Wilson 7.6, Cooper 7.1, Oglivie 7.0, Randolph 6.9, Murphy 6.7, Bumbry and Yount 6.6, Bell 6.3, Armas 5.9, Jackson 5.4, Grich 4.8, Murray and Trammell 4.7, Singleton 4.6, Cerone 4.5, Lemon 4.4. Pitchers: Norris 6.0, Barker and Matlack 5.6, McGregor 5.2, Stieb 5.0, Gura and John 4.9, Burns 4.8, Koosman 4.7, Haas 4.5, Zahn 4.4, Bannister 4.3, Leonard and May 4.2, Guidry and Perry 4.0, Clancy and Erickson 3.9, Morris and Tanana 3.8. Actual award voting: MVP (top 14) Place Name Team 1st place Points 1 George Brett KCR 17 335 2 Reggie Jackson NYY 5 234 3 Rich Gossage NYY 4 218 4 Willie Wilson KCR 1 169 5 Cecil Cooper MIL 0 160 6 Eddie Murray BAL 0 106 7 Rick Cerone NYY 1 77 8 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 70 9 Steve Stone BAL 0 53 10 Rickey Henderson OAK 0 51 11 Al Oliver TEX 0 31 12 Tony Armas OAK 0 29 13 Al Bumbry BAL 0 27 13 Ben Oglivie MIL 0 27 Cy Young Place Name Team 1st Place Points 1 Steve Stone BAL 13 100 2 Mike Norris OAK 13 91 3 Rich Gossage NYY 2 37 4 Tommy John NYY 0 14 5 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 7 6 Larry Gura KCR 0 1 6 Scott McGregor BAL 0 1 Rookie Place Name Team 1st Place Points 1 Joe Charboneau CLE 15 102 2 Dave Stapleton BOS 3 40 3 Doug Corbett MIN 3 38 4 Damaso Garcia TOR 3 35 5 Britt Burns CHW 4 33 6 Rick Peters DET 0 3 7 Richard Dotson CHW 0 1 Best player: George Brett. Brett, Rickey and Bumbry are all deserving to some extent, but George's team won. Even with just 118 games played, it was George's year. #1 George Brett, #2 Rickey Henderson, #3 Willie Wilson, #4 Al Bumbry, #5 Ben Oglivie, #6 Cecil Cooper. Best pitcher: Mike Norris. Stone won a split BBWAA decision, but Norris was the best in 1980. Billy Martin overworked him, and he was never the same again. #1 Matt Norris, #2 Doug Corbett, #3 Britt Burns, #4 Larry Gura, #5 Dan Quisenberry. Best rookie: Doug Corbett. Charboneau won on the basis of press clippings, but Burns and Corbett both had better years. Neither lasted very long, either, but they did last a bit longer than "Super Joe." Best manager: Billy Martin. He blew out a pitcher's arm or two, but going from 108 losses to 79 is impressive

24 December 2009

1979 National League

It was a "back to the future" year as the Pirates and Reds returned to the top of their respective divisions. Then, a reversal, as the Pirates won the NLCS and then the World Series. Both won in tight two-team races, as the Pirates outlasted the surprising Expos by 2 games, and the Reds beat out the Astros by 1.5. Pittsburgh won 98, Montreal 95, St. Louis 86, Philadelphia 84, and Chicago 80, while New York lost 99 games for last. In the West, the Reds won 90, Houston 89, and the Dodgers slipped below .500 to 79-83. San Francisco, San Diego, and Atlanta all trailed, losing at least 90.

Keith Hernandez led in batting average, doubles and runs, and won half the MVP. Hernandez had a .344 average to beat Pete Rose (now with Philadelphia) at .333. Ray Knight, Rose's replacement in Cincinnati, was third at .318. Hernandez had 48 doubles, followed by Warren Cromartie at 46, while at 116 runs Hernandez was followed by Omar Moreno at 110. Moreno led in steals with 77. Dave Kingman led in HR with 48,and also in slugging and OPS. Pete Rose led in on-base, edging Hernandez. Garry Templeton had 19 triples. Dave Winfield led in total bases, RBI and OPS+. Winfield's 118 RBI was followed by Kingman at 115 and Mike Schmidt at 114.

Brothers Phil and Joe Niekro tied for the lead in wins with 21. J.R. Richard led in ERA and strikeouts in his last full season. Richard had a 2.71 ERA, followed by Tom Hume at 2.76 and Dan Schatzeder at 2.83. Richard's 313 strikeouts outdistanced Steve Carlton's second-place 213. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 37, while Kent Tekulve kept busy pitching in 94 games. Phil Niekro had 44 starts and 23 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players: Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) and Dave Winfield (San Diego) 33, Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 31, Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 29, Larry Parrish (Montreal) 28, Jose Cruz (Houston), Davey Lopes (Los Angeles), Gary Carter (Montreal) and Pete Rose (Philadelphia) 27 each, Gary Mathews (Atlanta), Ron Cey (Los Angeles), Lee Mazzilli (New York) and Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 25 each, Dave Kingman (Chicago), Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Andre Dawson (Montreal) and Gene Tenace (San Diego) 24, Terry Puhl (Houston), Phil Garner and Omar Moreno (Pittsburgh), Jack Clark and Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 23. co-MVP Willie Stargell had 18.

WS leaders, pitchers: Phil Niekro (Atlanta) 24, J.R. Richard (Houston) 23, Bruce Sutter (Chicago) 22, Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh) 20, Joe Niekro (Houston) 19, Tom Hume (Cincinnati), Joe Sambito (Houston) and Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 18, Rick Reuschel (Chicago) 17, Tom Seaver (Cincinnati), Rick Sutcliffe (Los Angeles), Bill Lee, Steve Rogers and Elias Sosa (Montreal) and Gaylord Perry (San Diego) 16.

WARP3: Winfield 9.3 (best year), Templeton 8.6 (best year), Schmidt 8.4, Concepcion 7.9, Hernandez 7.6, Cey 7.3, Tenace 6.6, Carter 6.5, Cruz and Bench (Cincinnati) 5.6, Lopes 5.3, Parrish 5.2 (career year), Parker 5.1, Kingman (best year) and Garner (best year) 4.8, George Foster (Cincinnati) 4.7, Rose, Ted Simmons (St. Louis), and Craig Reynolds (Houston) 4.7, Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) 4.4.

Pitchers, P. Niekro 7.7, Reuschel 6.2, Sutter 5.9, Sambito 5.7, Richard 4.7, Sosa 4.5 (career year), Hume and Gary Lavelle (St. Louis) 4.4, Tekulve 4.3, Craig Swan (New York) and Dick Tidrow (Chicago) 4.2.

WAR from Fangraphs, position players: Winfield 7.9, Schmidt 7.6, Hernandez 7.4, Carter 6.0, Parker 5.8, Cey and Tenace 5.5, Bench and Foster 5.3, Parrish 4.9, Cruz and Mazzilli 4.8, Concepcion and Lopes 4.7, Templeton 4.5.

Pitchers: Richard 8.8, Sutter 5.1, Reuschel 4.7, Carlton 4.6, Rogers 4.5, Hooton and Swan 4.3, Perry 4.2, Niekro 4.0, Lamp and Seaver 3.9, Vuckovich 3.7, Blyleven 3.6.

Actual award voting:
MVP
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Keith Hernandez STL 10 216
1 Willie Stargell PIT 4 216
3 Dave Winfield SDP 4 155
4 Larry Parrish MON 0 128
5 Ray Knight CIN 2 82
6 Joe Niekro HOU 1 75
7 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 69
8 Kent Tekulve PIT 1 64
9 Dave Concepcion CIN 0 63
10 Dave Parker PIT 0 56
11 Dave Kingman CHC 0 53
12 George Foster CIN 0 34
13 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 32
14 Steve Garvey LAD 0 30
15 Omar Moreno PIT 0 23
15 Pete Rose PHI 0 23
17 Gary Carter MON 1 15
18 Bill Madlock TOT 1 14
19 J.R. Richard HOU 0 12
20 Phil Niekro ATL 0 11
21 Joe Sambito HOU 0 9
21 Tom Seaver CIN 0 9
23 Johnny Bench CIN 0 7
24 Andre Dawson MON 0 6
25 Garry Templeton STL 0 5
26 Gary Matthews ATL 0 4
27 Dave Collins CIN 0 3
28 Bob Horner ATL 0 1

A very interesting year for MVP voting, as 8 different players received 1st place votes, including Bill Madlock whose only vote was a 1st place vote. Gary Carter got two votes: a first and a tenth. Wllie Stargell got named as a nice gesture on a lot of ballots, and snuck up to the top spot. Balloting was all over the place with no clear favorite. Hernandez had far more first-place votes, but Stargell more overall support.

Cy Young
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Bruce Sutter CHC 10 72
2 Joe Niekro HOU 9 66
3 J.R. Richard HOU 4 41
4 Tom Seaver CIN 0 20
5 Kent Tekulve PIT 1 14
6 Phil Niekro ATL 0 3

More of the same in the Cy Young, as four pitchers got 1st place votes. Phil Niekro should have sued.

Rookie
Place Name Team Points
1 Rick Sutcliffe LAD 20
2 Jeffrey Leonard HOU 3
3 Scot Thompson CHC 1

Best player: Dave Winfield. His best year, and he led in OPS+ by 10 points over George Foster. The Padres still lost 93 games, which is probably why he didn't win.
#1 Dave Winfield, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Keith Hernandez, #4 Gary Carter, #5 Dave Parker, #6 Ron Cey.

Best Pitcher; Phil Niekro. The knuckleballer both won and lost 20, but he was the most dependable pitcher in the league, and when you look at 2nd place J. R. Richard in the context of the Astrodome, while Niekro toiled in the Launching Pad, the ERA gap decreases substantially. Sutter and Tekulve both had great years in relief, but Niekro did more. Knucksie was robbed for the second year in a row.
#1 Phil Niekro, #2 Bruce Sutter, #3 J.R. Richard, #4 Steve Carlton, #5 Rick Reuschel.

Best rookie: Rick Sutcliffe. Wasn't really close, he was by far the best.

Best manager: Chuck Tanner on the best team in the league.

1979 American League

A change in the power structure, as the Yankees slipped to 4th in the East (but still won 89 games) and Baltimore took the division and the pennant. Kansas City finished 2nd to California in the West, even though the Angel's 88 wins were fewer than the 4th-place Yankees. Following the Angels were KC with 85 wins, Texas with 83, and Minnesota with 82, with Chicago 5th, Seattle 6th, and Oakland hitting bottom with 108 losses. The Orioles beat out Milwaukee by 8 games and Boston by 11.5. Detroit was 5th with 85 wins. Cleveland was 6th, one game over .500 at 81-80, while everyone beat up on Toronto as the Jays lost 109 times.

Fred Lynn won the batting title at .333, followed by George Brett at .329. The race had a lot of contenders, like Brian Downing third at .326 and Jim Rice fourth at .325. Brett led with 212 hits followed by Rice at 201. Buddy Bell had 200 exactly. Cecil Cooper and Chet Lemon tied with 44 doubles. Brett had 20 triples. Gorman Thomas led with 45 homers, followed by Rice and Lynn with 39. Willie Wilson led in steals with 83 followed by Ron LeFlore with 78. Jim Rice led in total bases, but Don Baylor won the MVP leading in runs with 120 and RBI with 139. I think the shiny RBI total distracted the voters. Brett scored 119 runs, Rice 117, Lynn 116. Rice had 130 RBI, Thomas 123 and Lynn 122. Lynn led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.

Ron Guidry led in ERA with a 2.78 mark, followed by Tommy John at 2.96 and Dennis Eckersley at 2.99. Nolan Ryan paced in strikeouts with 223 followed by Guidry at 201. Mike Marshall led in saves with 32 followed by Jim Kern at 29. Dennis Martinez led with 39 starts, 292 innings, and 18 complete games. Mike Flanagan took the Cy Young as the wins leader with 23. John won 21 and Jerry Koosman 20.

Win Shares leaders, players; Fred Lynn (Boston) 34, George Brett (Kansas City) 33, Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 32, Darrell Porter (Kansas City) 31, Don Baylor (California) 29, Jim Rice (Boston) and Bobby Grich (California) 28, Sixto Lezcano (Milwaukee) 27, Chet Lemon (Detroit), Paul Molitor and Gorman Thomas (Milwaukee) 26, Eddie Murray (Baltimore), Brian Downing (California) and Steve Kemp (Detroit) 25, Toby Harrah (Cleveland), Willie Wilson (Kansas City), Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee) and Roy Smalley (Minnesota) 24, Amos Otis (Kansas City), Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 23.

WS leaders, pitchers; Jim Kern (Texas) 25, Dennis Eckersley (Boston) 24, Mike Flanagan (Baltimore), Jerry Koosman and Mike Marshall (Minnesota), and Tommy John (New York) 23 each, Ron Guidry (New York) 22, Sid Monge (Cleveland) 21, Mike Caldwell (Milwaukee) 20, Aurelio Lopez (Detroit) 19, Dennis Martinez (Baltimore) 18, Rick Wise (Cleveland), Jack Morris (Detroit) and Mike Parrott (Seattle) 17.

WARP3: Brett 7.9, Porter 7.8 (career year), Lynn 7.3 (best season), Molitor 6.3, Grich 6.2, Singleton 5.5, Wilson 5.2, Jackson and Buddy Bell (Texas) 5.0, Rick Burleson (Boston) 4.9, Lemon and Kemp 4.7, Lezcano and Smalley 4.4, Rice, Randolph and Gary Roenicke (Baltimore) 4.1, Murray 4.0, Baylor and Lance Parrish (Detroit) 3.8, Thomas and Ron LeFlore (Detroit) 3.7.

Pitchers, Marshall 7.4, Monge 7.3 (career year), Koosman 6.7, Eckersley 6.6, Kern 6.3 (career year), Guidry 5.8, John 5.6, Parrott (career year) and Lopez (also career year) 4.9, Wise 4.7 (last good year), Rick Langford (Oakland) 4.6, Caldwell 4.5, Morris 4.0, Dave Goltz and Geoff Zahn (Minnesota) 3.9. Still no Flanagan.

WAR from Fangraphs, position players: Lynn 9.0, Brett 8.8, Porter 8.0, Bell 7.1, Rice and Wilson 6.3, Lemon 6.2, Singleton 6.1, Grich 6.0, Randolph 5.8, Lezcano and Molitor 5.6, Downing and Thomas 5.4, Murray 5.2, Kemp 4.6, Parrish 4.5.

Pitchers: John 7.1, Koosman 6.4, Guidry 6.3, Flanagan 6.1, Goltz 5.5, Ryan 5.3, Eckersley and Kern 5.2, Caldwell 4.8, Stanley 4.7, Martinez 4.4, Parrott 4.2, Frost and Torrez 4.1.

Actual award voting-
MVP (top 15):
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Don Baylor CAL 20 347
2 Ken Singleton BAL 3 241
3 George Brett KCR 2 226
4 Fred Lynn BOS 0 160
5 Jim Rice BOS 0 124
6 Mike Flanagan BAL 3 100
7 Gorman Thomas MIL 0 87
8 Bobby Grich CAL 0 58
9 Darrell Porter KCR 0 52
10 Buddy Bell TEX 0 48
11 Jim Kern TEX 0 25
11 Mike Marshall MIN 0 25
11 Eddie Murray BAL 0 25
14 Brian Downing CAL 0 24
15 Sixto Lezcano MIL 0 18
Baylor was the clear winner, for no other reason than that he led the league in RBI for a division-winning team. He's not the worst award winner in history, but this is nowhere near a good selection. Baylor was probably not even the best player on his team.

Cy Young:
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Mike Flanagan BAL 26 136
2 Tommy John NYY 1 51
3 Ron Guidry NYY 1 26
4 Jim Kern TEX 0 25
5 Mike Marshall MIN 0 7
6 Jerry Koosman MIN 0 5
7 Dennis Eckersley BOS 0 1
7 Aurelio Lopez DET 0 1
Flanagan was the clear winner, even though he got a lot of help from his team. This is a couple of very poor award selections, with voters distracted by RBI and by wins. Not very good ways to pick the best players.

Rookie:
Place Name Team Points
1 John Castino MIN 7
1 Alfredo Griffin TOR 7
3 Mark Clear CAL 5
4 Ross Baumgarten CHW 3
4 Ron Davis NYY 3
4 Pat Putnam TEX 3

Not much of a rookie field.

Best player: Fred Lynn. His team was 3rd, but won 91 games, 3 more than Baylor's Angels. As hitters, they were about even, but Lynn was much more valuable defensively. George Brett and even Darrell Porter has a case here, but the Royals missed the division after three years on top, so that's hard to award.
#1 Fred Lynn, #2 George Brett, #3 Darrell Porter, #4 Bobby Grich, #5 Ken Singleton, #6 Don Baylor.

Best pitcher: Jim Kern. He's a reliever, but pitched 143 innings with a 1.57 ERA, finishing second to Marshall with 29 saves and posting 13 wins. Marshall also had a good year, but his ERA was a run higher and he lost 15 games. Dennis Eckersley was the best overall starter.
#1 Jim Kern, #2 Dennis Eckersley, #3 Jerry Koosman, #4 Mike Flanagan, #5 Tommy John.

Best rookie: I'll take John Castino, but it's not much of a choice.

Best manager: Earl Weaver as the Orioles broke through the Yankee dynasty.

20 December 2009

1978 National League

Mostly a rerun of 1977, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies in the NLCS, then lost to the Yankees in the World Series. The division races were both close, with the Phillies edging the Pirates by 1.5 games, and the Dodgers besting the Reds by 2.5 games. The Dodgers and Reds both won more games than the Phils, as LA won 95 and Cincy 92, while Philly won 90. LA led in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. San Francisco was third in the West with 89 wins, and San Diego fourth with 84. Houston was 5th and Atlanta 6th. The East Division also-rans were Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis, and New York, in that order.

Dave Parker won the batting title at .334, followed by Steve Garvey at .316 and Jose Cruz at .315. Parker also led in OPS and total bases and was the MVP, while George Foster again led in HR (40) and RBI (120). Greg Luzinski was second with 35 HR and Parker second with 117 RBI. Garvey had 202 hits, Pete Rose 51 doubles, and Garry Templeton 13 triples. Omar Moreno led in steals with 71. Ivan DeJesus had 104 runs, followed by Rose with 103 and Parker with 102.

Gaylord Perry led in wins with 21 and took the Cy Young. Ross Grimsley was the other 20-game winner with exactly that. Craig Swan led in ERA with a 2.43 mark, followed by Steve Rogers at 2.46 and Pete Vuckovich at 2.54. J.R. Richard led in strikeouts with 303, followed by Phil Niekro at 248. Rollie Fingers led in saves with 37 followed by Kent Tekulve at 31. Niekro had 22 complete games and Bob Knepper six shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 37, George Foster (Cincinnati), Jack Clark (San Francisco) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 30, Dave Winfield (San Diego) 28, Jeff Burroughs (Atlanta), Pete Rose (Cincinnati) and Greg Luzinski (Philadelphia) 27, Jose Cruz (Houston), Dave Lopes (Los Angeles) and Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 26, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Ron Cey and Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) and Bill Madlock (San Francisco) 25, Reggie Smith (Los Angeles) and Gene Richards (San Diego) 24, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 23, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati), Gary Carter and Ellis Valentine (Montreal), John Stearns (New York), Larry Bowa (Philadelphia), Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh) and Gene Tenace (San Diego) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Phil Niekro (Atlanta) 30, Vida Blue and Bob Knepper (San Francisco) 22, Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) and Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh) 20, Tom Seaver (Cincinnati), J.R. Richard (Houston) and Burt Hooton (Los Angeles) 19, Rick Reuschel (Chicago), Doug Bair (Cincinnati) and Gaylord Perry (San Diego) 18, Steve Rogers (Montreal), Craig Swan (New York) and Rollie Fingers (San Diego) 17.

WARP3 scores: Clark 6.9, Lopes and Madlock 6.4, Foster 6.3, Cey 6.2, Simmons and Smith (last regular year) 6.1, Carter 6.0, Parker 5.9, Winfield 5.4, Bowa (career year) and Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 5.2, Concepcion, Garvey, and Schmidt 5.1, Ozzie Smith (San Diego) 5.0 in his rookie year, Stearns (career year), Tenace, Garry Maddox (Philadelphia), and Warren Cromartie (Montreal) 4.9, Burroughs (last good year), and Chris Speier (Montreal) 4.7, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 4.6, Cruz, Evans, and Bill Russell (Los Angeles) 4.5, Luzinski 4.4.

Pitchers, Niekro 10.3, Blue and Knepper (career year) 7.3, Hooton 7.0 (best year), Seaver and Bair (career year) 6.6, John Denny (St. Louis) 6.5, Reuschel 5.8, Swan 5.7, Pete Vuckovich (St. Louis) 5.5, Carlton and Tekulve 5.4, Richard and Rogers 5.3, Fingers 5.1, Bert Blyleven (Pittsburgh) 5.0, John Candelaria (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Dennis Lamp (Chicago) 4.7, Perry 4.6.

WAR from Fangraphs, position players: Parker 7.1, Simmons 6.1, Cey and Clark 6.0, Stearns 5.9, Foster and Schmidt 5.8, Luzinski 5.7, Valentine 5.6, Lopez 5.4, Carter 5.3, Burroughs 5.2, Cruz, Garvey, and Tenace 5.1, Bowa, Maddox, and Smith 4.9, Cromartie 4.8.

Pitchers: Niekro 9.4, Richard 6.6, Blue 6.2, Perry 5.8, Blyleven 5.6, Reuschel 5.4, Knepper 5.2, Christenson and Vuckovich 5.0, Seaver 4.8, John 4.4, Rogers 4.2, Jones 4.0.

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 Dave Parker PIT 21 320 336 0.95 | 581 194 30 .334 .979 20
2 Steve Garvey LAD 0 194 336 0.58 | 639 202 21 .316 .852 10
3 Larry Bowa PHI 3 189 336 0.56 | 654 192 3 .294 .689 27
4 Reggie Smith LAD 0 164 336 0.49 | 447 132 29 .295 .942 12
5 Jack Clark SFG 0 107 336 0.32 | 592 181 25 .306 .895 15
6 George Foster CIN 0 104 336 0.31 | 604 170 40 .281 .906 4
7 Greg Luzinski PHI 0 48 336 0.14 | 540 143 35 .265 .914 8
8 Gaylord Perry SDP 0 45 336 0.13 | 87 8 0 .092 .227 0| 21-6 261 2.73 1.178 154
9 Willie Stargell PIT 0 39 336 0.12 | 390 115 28 .295 .949 3
10 Dave Winfield SDP 0 37 336 0.11 | 587 181 24 .308 .866 21
11 Pete Rose CIN 0 35 336 0.10 | 655 198 7 .302 .783 13
12 Vida Blue SFG 0 33 336 0.10 | 79 6 1 .076 .366 0| 18-10 258 2.79 1.174 171
13 Kent Tekulve PIT 0 23 336 0.07 | 21 2 0 .095 .232 0| 8-7 135 2.33 1.259 77 31
14 Rollie Fingers SDP 0 16 336 0.05 | 12 2 0 .167 .333 0| 6-13 107 2.52 1.053 72 37
15 Burt Hooton LAD 0 15 336 0.04 | 67 10 0 .149 .394 0| 19-10 236 2.71 1.089 104
16 Davey Lopes LAD 0 12 336 0.04 | 587 163 17 .278 .776 45
17 Bill Buckner CHC 0 8 336 0.02 | 446 144 5 .323 .765 7
17 Phil Niekro ATL 0 8 336 0.02 | 120 27 0 .225 .506 0| 19-18 334 2.88 1.188 248 1
19 Jeff Burroughs ATL 0 7 336 0.02 | 488 147 23 .301 .961 1
20 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 5 336 0.01 | 13 1 0 .077 .277 0| 8-10 99 3.18 1.172 106 27
21 Garry Maddox PHI 0 4 336 0.01 | 598 172 11 .288 .741 33
22 Enos Cabell HOU 0 2 336 0.01 | 660 195 7 .295 .720 33
23 Bob Boone PHI 0 1 336 0.00 | 435 123 12 .283 .772 2|
Parker was a clear winner, although Bowa mustered surprising support. One of the most ridiculous things to happen in award voting ever was Bowa getting, not one rogue first-place vote, but THREE!

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Gaylord Perry SDP 22 116 120 0.97 | 21-6 261 2.73 1.178 154
2 Burt Hooton LAD 0 38 120 0.32 | 19-10 236 2.71 1.089 104
3 Vida Blue SFG 1 17 120 0.14 | 18-10 258 2.79 1.174 171
4 J.R. Richard HOU 1 13 120 0.11 | 18-11 275 3.11 1.210 303
5 Kent Tekulve PIT 0 12 120 0.10 | 8-7 135 2.33 1.259 77 31
6 Phil Niekro ATL 0 10 120 0.08 | 19-18 334 2.88 1.188 248 1
7 Ross Grimsley MON 0 7 120 0.06 | 20-11 263 3.05 1.156 84
8 Rollie Fingers SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 6-13 107 2.52 1.053 72 37
8 Tommy John LAD 0 1 120 0.01 | 17-10 213 3.30 1.329 124 1
8 Don Robinson PIT 0 1 120 0.01 | 14-6 228 3.47 1.139 135 1
A true heist, as Perry was not nearly the best pitcher in the league, merely the biggest winner. One of the worst award selections ever.

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 Bob Horner ATL 12 12 24 0.50 | 323 86 23 .266 .852 0
2 Ozzie Smith SDP 8 8 24 0.33 | 590 152 1 .258 .623 40
3 Don Robinson PIT 3 3 24 0.12 | 85 20 0 .235 .494 0| 14-6 228 3.47 1.139 135 1
Power-hitter Horner edged glove man Ozzie.

Top player: Dave Parker. The clear winner in Win Shares, though WARP knocks him down on defense. At the time, he sure looked like the best player in the league.
#1 Dave Parker, #2 Jack Clark, #3 Ted Simmons, #4 George Foster, #5 Dave Winfield, #6 Davey Lopes.

Top pitcher: Phil Niekro, and not by a small margin. Pitching for the lowly Braves through his career cost Niekro some awards. His 19-18 record would have been much better with even a .500 team.
#1 Phil Niekro, #2 Vida Blue, #3 J.R. Richard, #4 Gaylord Perry, #5 Tom Seaver.

Top rookie: Bob Horner, I'd have to say at the time. Ozzie Smith had the Hall of Fame career.

Top manager: Tommy LaSorda had the best team in the league. And he played a part in that.

1978 American League

Yankees and Red Sox in a one-game playoff to determine the AL East winner---it was the climax of a great season. The Yankees won on Bucky Dent's homer, then took the ALCS in four games and the World Series in six. The Yankees won 100 games, the Bosox 99, Milwaukee 93, Baltimore 90, and Detroit 86, in a wild race. Cleveland was 6th, and second-year team Toronto lost 102 games for last. In the AL West, Kansas City won again with 92 victories, five games ahead of the Angels and Rangers. Minnsota, Chicago, and Oakland followed, with second-year Seattle last with 104 losses.

Jim Rice won the MVP with a terrific season, leading the league in hits (213), total bases (406), triples (15), homers (46), RBI (139), and OPS (970). Rod Carew won the batting title at .333, followed by Al Oliver at .324, and Ron LeFlore led in steals with 68 as well as runs with 126. George Brett led with 45 doubles.

Ron Guidry swept to the Cy Young leading in wins (25) and ERA (1.74) and finishing second in strikeouts (248). Nolan Ryan led in Ks with 260, as Goose Gossage did in saves with 27. Mike Caldwell had a fine year of his own with 22 wins (second place) and a 2.36 ERA (third) while leading the league with 23 complete games. Jon Matlack was second with a 2.27 ERA. Guidry tossed an amazing nine shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jim Rice (Boston) 36, Carlton Fisk (Boston) 31, Amos Otis (Kansas City) 29, Eddie Murray and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 28, Doug DeCinces (Baltimore) and Fred Lynn (Boston) 27, Graig Nettles (New York) 26, Andre Thornton (Cleveland) 25, Ron LeFlore (Detroit) 24, Don Baylor (California), George Brett and Darrell Porter (Kansas City), Sal Bando and Larry Hisle (Milwaukee) and Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 23 each, Jason Thompson (Detroit), Rod Carew and Roy Smalley (Minnesota) and Al Oliver (Texas) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Ron Guidry (New York) 31, Mike Caldwell (Milwaukee) 28, Jim Palmer (Baltimore) 27, Jon Matlack (Texas) 25, Dennis Eckersley (Boston) 24, Fergie Jenkins (Texas) 21, Lary Sorensen (Milwaukee) and Goose Gossage (New York) 20, Larry Gura and Dennis Leonard (Kansas City), Dave Goltz (Minnesota) and Ed Figueroa (New York) 19.

WARP3 leaders: Rice and Otis 6.2, Smalley 6.1, Singleton 5.6, Nettles 5.5 (last big year), DeCinces and Brett 5.4, Randolph 5.3, LeFlore 5.2, Thornton 5.1 (best year), Fisk, Bando (last good year) and Chet Lemon (Chicago) 5.0, Hisle (last good year) and Carew 4.8, Murray and Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 4.7, Bobby Grich (California) 4.6, Jim Sundberg (Texas) 4.5.

Pitchers: Guidry 9.2, Caldwell 7.8, Matlack 7.2 (last big year), Palmer 6.9, Eckersley 6.8, Goltz 6.4, Jenkins 6.0, Mike Marshall (Minnesota) 5.6, Geoff Zahn (Minnesota) 5.3, Luis Tiant (Boston) and Goose Gossage (New York) 5.0, Bob Stanley (Boston) 4.9, Rick Waits (Cleveland) 4.8, Gura 4.6, Sorensen 4.5 (career year).

WAR leaders from Fangraphs, position players: Rice 8.1, Otis 7.5, DeCinces 6.9, Nettles 6.4, Fisk 6.1, Smalley 6.0, Bando 5.9, Randolph 5.6, Sundberg and Thornton 5.5, Thompson 5.4, Hisle 5.3, Brett 5.2, Bonds 4.9, Carew, Singleton, and Porter 4.8.

Pitchers: Guidry 9.2, Matlack 7.4, Caldwell 6.9, Jenkins 5.8, Sorenson 5.5, Leonard 5.3, Ryan 5.1, Goltz 4.9, Eckersley 4.8, Erickson and Flanagan 4.5, Palmer 4.3, Torrez 4.1, Zahn 4.0.

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 Jim Rice BOS 20 352 392 0.90 | 677 213 46 .315 .970 7
2 Ron Guidry NYY 8 291 392 0.74 | | 25-3 274 1.74 0.946 248
3 Larry Hisle MIL 0 201 392 0.51 | 520 151 34 .290 .906 10
4 Amos Otis KCR 0 90 392 0.23 | 486 145 22 .298 .905 32
5 Rusty Staub DET 0 88 392 0.22 | 642 175 24 .273 .782 3
6 Graig Nettles NYY 0 86 392 0.22 | 587 162 27 .276 .803 1
7 Don Baylor CAL 0 51 392 0.13 | 591 151 34 .255 .804 22
8 Eddie Murray BAL 0 50 392 0.13 | 610 174 27 .285 .836 6
9 Carlton Fisk BOS 0 49 392 0.12 | 571 162 20 .284 .841 7
10 Darrell Porter KCR 0 48 392 0.12 | 520 138 18 .265 .802 0
11 Rod Carew MIN 0 46 392 0.12 | 564 188 5 .333 .853 27
12 Mike Caldwell MIL 0 41 392 0.10 | | 22-9 293 2.36 1.064 131 1
13 Rich Gossage NYY 0 39 392 0.10 | | 10-11 134 2.01 1.087 122 27
14 Al Oliver TEX 0 26 392 0.07 | 525 170 14 .324 .848 8
15 Jim Sundberg TEX 0 24 392 0.06 | 518 144 6 .278 .739 2
16 Ron LeFlore DET 0 21 392 0.05 | 666 198 12 .297 .766 68
17 Reggie Jackson NYY 0 18 392 0.05 | 511 140 27 .274 .834 14
18 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 17 392 0.04 | 523 145 17 .277 .790 4
19 George Brett KCR 0 14 392 0.04 | 510 150 9 .294 .809 23
20 Andre Thornton CLE 0 12 392 0.03 | 508 133 33 .262 .893 4
There was some disagreement, but voters went for Rice over Guidry, with Hisle a strong third.

Cy Young (top five):| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Ron Guidry NYY 28 140 140 1.00 | 25-3 274 1.74 0.946 248
2 Mike Caldwell MIL 0 76 140 0.54 | 22-9 293 2.36 1.064 131 1
3 Jim Palmer BAL 0 14 140 0.10 | 21-12 296 2.46 1.159 138
4 Dennis Eckersley BOS 0 10 140 0.07 | 20-8 268 2.99 1.226 162
5 Rich Gossage NYY 0 4 140 0.03 | 10-11 134 2.01 1.087 122 27
Guidry, then Caldwell, then a mash.

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 Whitaker DET 21 21 28 0.75 | 484 138 3 .285 .718 7
2 Paul Molitor MIL 3 3 28 0.11 | 521 142 6 .273 .673 30
3 Carney Lansford CAL 2 2 28 0.07 | 453 133 8 .294 .746 20
4 Rich Gale KCR 1 1 28 0.04 | | 14-8 192 3.09 1.409 88
4 Alan Trammell DET 1 1 28 0.04 | 448 120 2 .268 .675 3|
Whitaker was a clear winner.

Top player: Jim Rice. It wasn't a complete slam dunk, as Rice had little defensive value, but it was an excellent season. The 15 triples were pretty cool.
#1 Jim Rice, #2 Amos Otis, #3 Ken Singleton, #4 Carlton Fisk, #5 Graig Nettles, #6 Doug DeCinces.

Top pitcher: Ron Guidry was excellent, nearly every time on the mound.
#1 Ron Guidry, #2 Mike Caldwell, #3 Jim Palmer, #4 Jon Matlack, #5 Dennis Eckersley.

Top rookie: Lou Whitaker leads a strong field.

Top manager: George Bamberger breathed life into the Brewers franchise.