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.

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