Series Wrapup

Story

The Pittsburgh Pirates captured their fifth N.L. East title in six years in 1975, finishing the regular season with a record of 92-69, 6 ½ games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.  The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals tied for third in the division, both ending the campaign 10 ½ games behind the first-place Pirates.

The Mets had the league’s best pitcher in Tom Seaver, who won his third Cy Young Award by topping the circuit with 22 victories and 243 strikeouts, while also placing among the leaders with a 2.38 ERA.

Meanwhile, the runner-up Phillies had one of the league’s top batsmen in Greg Luzinski.  The powerfully-built slugger hit 34 home runs, batted .300, and led the National League with 120 runs batted in, en route to earning a second-place finish in the MVP balloting.

The Pirates were the division’s most well-balanced team, tying for third in the league with 712 runs scored, while also finishing second with a team ERA of 3.01.  Jerry Reuss served as staff ace, compiling a record of 18-11 and leading the club with a 2.54 ERA, 15 complete games, and 237 innings pitched.  Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen, Richie Zisk, Dave Parker, and Willie Stargell paced the Pirates on offense.  Oliver batted .280, drove in 84 runs, and led the team with 90 runs scored.  Sanguillen placed among the league leaders with a .328 batting average.  Zisk hit 20 homers and batted .290.  Parker went deep 25 times, knocked in 101 runs, and batted .308.  Stargell hit 22 home runs, drove in 90 runs, and batted .295.

While the Pirates repeated as champions in the N.L. East, the Cincinnati Reds returned to the top of the Western Division standings after finishing second to the Los Angeles Dodgers the previous year.  The Reds buried the Dodgers and every other team in the West by compiling a regular-season record of 108-54 that left them a full 20 games ahead of second-place Los Angeles in the final standings.

Clearly the National League’s strongest team, the Reds featured a potent offense and an extremely capable pitching staff.  They finished well ahead of every other club in the senior circuit with 840 runs scored and also placed third in the league with a team ERA of 3.37.  Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, and Don Gullett each posted 15 victories for Cincinnati, with Gullett also compiling an exceptional 2.42 ERA.

The Reds’ powerful lineup continued to be their greatest strength.  Pete Rose batted .317, collected 210 hits, and led the league with 112 runs scored and 47 doubles.  Ken Griffey batted .305 and scored 95 runs.  Tony Perez hit 20 home runs, knocked in 109 runs, and batted .282.  Johnny Bench homered 28 times, placed second in the league with 110 runs batted in, and batted .283.  George Foster added 23 homers and batted .300.  Cincinnati’s top offensive performer was Joe Morgan, who captured league MVP honors for the first of two straight times.  The All-Star second baseman hit 17 home runs, drove in 94 runs, finished among the league leaders with a .327 batting average, 107 runs scored, and 67 stolen bases, and topped the circuit with 132 bases on balls and a .471 on-base percentage.  

Morgan and the rest of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine had little difficulty disposing of Pittsburgh in three straight games in the NLCS.  The Reds outscored the overmatched Pirates by a combined margin of 19-7, also out-homering them, four to one, and out-hitting them, .284 to .198.

Cincinnati subsequently faced Boston in what turned out to be one of the most exciting World Series ever.  The Reds grabbed a three-games-to-two lead, dropping their two decisions to Red Sox ace Luis Tiant.  Three of the first five contests were decided by one run.

Game Six ended up being the most memorable of the Series, with the two teams battling into the 12th inning.  Boston’s Carlton Fisk put an end to the marathon by hitting a leadoff homer high off Fenway Park’s left field foul pole that sent the Fall Classic to a decisive Game Seven.

After falling behind 3-0 earlier in the contest, the Reds rallied for four unanswered runs over the final four innings to come away with their first world championship since 1940.  Joe Morgan delivered the Series-clinching run with a single in the top of the ninth inning.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• May 4 - At 5:00 AM, New York Mets outfielder Cleon Jones was arrested for indecent exposure in St. Petersburg, Florida after the police found him naked in a van with a white, teenage girl who was in possession of a stash of narcotics.  Although the police later dropped the charges, Mets chairman M. Donald Grant subsequently fined Jones $2,000 - four times as much as a Met had ever been assessed before - and forced him to publicly apologize during a press conference held in New York, with his wife, Angela, by his side.

• September 1 - Mets ace Tom Seaver shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0, reaching 200 strikeouts for a major league record eighth straight season in the process.

• December 4 - Ted Turner entered a tentative purchase agreement to buy the Atlanta Braves.

• Pete Rose led all World Series players with 10 hits, en route to capturing Series MVP honors.

• Chicago's Bill Madlock won his first batting title with a mark of .354.

• The National League won the All-Star Game 6-3 at Milwaukee.

• San Francisco's John Montefusco won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in a close vote over Montreal's Gary Carter.

• Dodger second baseman Davey Lopes set a new major league record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without being caught.

• Lopes also established a National League record for second basemen by swiping 77 bags.

• In a September 16 game, Rennie Stennett of the Pirates became the first player of the 20th century to go 7-for-7 in a nine-inning game.

• Ed Halicki of the Giants threw a no-hitter against the Mets on August 24.

• Bob Watson of the Astros scored the millionth run in major league history.

• Mike Schmidt led the league with 38 home runs.

• The Reds set a National League record for a 162-game season by winning 108 games.

• Astros pitcher Don Wilson committed suicide prior to the start of the season.

• On August 21, Rick and Paul Reuschel of the Cubs became the only brothers in major league history to pitch a combined shutout.

• Mike Schmidt's 180 strikeouts set a new major league record for third basemen.

• Cardinal Ted Simmons set a new major league record for catchers by collecting 193 hits.

• San Diego's Randy Jones led the National League with a 2.24 ERA.

• Dodger pitcher Andy Messersmith led all N.L. hurlers with 19 complete games and seven shutouts.

• The Dodgers led the major leagues with a 2.92 team ERA.

Seasons of the National League

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