Series Wrapup

Story

The Philadelphia Phillies used their powerful offense to capture their second consecutive N.L. East title in 1977, posting a regular season record of 101-61 that left them five games ahead of the runner-up Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Phillies topped the senior circuit with 847 runs scored, a .279 team batting average, a .346 team on-base percentage, and a .448 team slugging average, and they also finished second in the league with 186 home runs.

Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski led the Philadelphia attack.  Schmidt drove in 101 runs and placed among the league leaders with 38 home runs, 114 runs scored, and 104 bases on balls.  Luzinski batted .309, scored 99 runs, and finished second in the league with 39 homers and 130 runs batted in.  Larry Bowa and Garry Maddox added speed at the top of the batting order.  Bowa batted .280, scored 93 runs, and stole 32 bases.  Maddox hit .292, scored 85 times, and swiped 22 bags.

Philadelphia also had the senior circuit’s top pitcher in Steve Carlton, who earned Cy Young honors for the second time in his career by leading all N.L. hurlers with 23 victories.  Carlton also finished among the league leaders with a 2.64 ERA, 283 innings pitched, and 17 complete games.  Larry Christenson served as the number two man in Philadelphia’s starting rotation, compiling an outstanding record of 19-6.

While the Phillies’ potent offense earned them a postseason berth, the Los Angeles Dodgers rode the league’s best pitching staff to a spot in the playoffs.  The Dodgers posted a league-leading team ERA of 3.22, en route to finishing the campaign with a record of 98-64, 10 full games ahead of the two-time defending world champion Cincinnati Reds. 

Cincinnati still had one of the best lineups in baseball.  Johnny Bench hit 31 homers and knocked in 109 runs.  Joe Morgan homered 22 times, scored 113 runs, stole 49 bases, and compiled a .417 on-base percentage.  Pete Rose batted .311 and scored 95 runs.  Ken Griffey batted .318 and crossed the plate 117 times.  George Foster earned N.L. MVP honors by batting .320 and topping the circuit with 52 home runs, 149 runs batted in, 124 runs scored, 388 total bases, and a .631 slugging percentage.

However, the Dodgers’ superior pitching enabled them to dethrone the Reds as N.L. West champs.  Tommy John headed the Los Angeles staff, compiling a record of 20-7 with an outstanding 2.78 ERA.  Rick Rhoden finished second on the team with 16 victories.  Don Sutton and Doug Rau gave the Dodgers a pair of 14-game winners.  Although Burt Hooton won only 12 games, he posted a team-leading 2.62 ERA. 

Not to be outdone, the Dodger offense also performed extremely well over the course of the regular season.  Los Angeles led the National League with 191 home runs and finished third in the circuit with 769 runs scored.  Dusty Baker, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, and Reggie Smith each surpassed 30 homers, combining to hit a total of 125 round-trippers between them.  Baker left the yard 30 times, drove in 86 runs, and batted .291.  Cey also homered 30 times, and he finished second on the team with 110 runs batted in.  Garvey batted .297, scored 91 runs, and led the club with 33 home runs, 115 runs batted in, and 192 hits.  Smith hit 32 homers, knocked in 87 runs, finished first on the team with 104 runs scored and a .307 batting average, and led the league with a .432 on-base percentage.

The Dodgers subsequently handed the Phillies their second straight NLCS loss, defeating them in four games.  Philadelphia won Game One, but Los Angeles took the next three contests, winning Game Three, 6-5, by scoring three runs with two men out in the top of the ninth inning.  Dusty Baker earned Series MVP honors by batting .357, hitting two homers, and driving in eight runs.

Los Angeles fell behind New York three-games-to-one in the World Series before creating a glimmer of hope by defeating the Yankees 10-4 in Game Five.  However, a memorable three-home-run performance by Reggie Jackson in Game Six led New York to an 8-4, Series-clinching victory.

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

• January 2 - Not even a full season into owning the Atlanta Braves, Ted Turner found himself suspended by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for tampering with the signing of Gary Matthews.

• June 15 – Frustrated by salary disputes with Tom Seaver, the Mets traded the star pitcher to the Cincinnati Reds for four players – pitcher Pat Zachry, second baseman Doug Flynn, and outfielders Steve Henderson and Dan Norman.  In what became known as the “Midnight Massacre,” the Mets then traded Mike Phillips to St. Louis for Joel Youngblood, before also shipping Dave Kingman to San Diego for Bobby Valentine and minor league pitcher Paul Siebert.

• June 29 - Willie Stargell hit his 400th career home run during a 9-1 Pittsburgh Pirates victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

• August 21 – Tom Seaver took the mound against the Mets for the first time in his career, in front of 46,265 fans at Shea Stadium.  Seaver and the Reds defeated the Mets by a score of 5-1.

• August 29 - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lou Brock stole two bases during a 4–3 loss to the San Diego Padres.  The second theft gave Brock 893 steals for his career, allowing him to surpass Ty Cobb for the top spot on the all-time list.

• Montreal’s Andre Dawson (19 home runs, 65 RBIs, .282 batting average) earned N.L. Rookie of the Year honors.

• Tom Seaver compiled a record of 14-3 after joining the Reds in mid-June.  He finished the year with an overall mark of 21-6.

• Ted Simmons batted .318, hit 21 homers, and drove in 95 runs for the Cardinals.

• Bruce Sutter finished 7-3 with 31 saves for the Cubs.  He allowed just 69 hits in 107 innings of work, while striking out 129 batters and compiling an ERA of 1.35.

• The Dodgers became the first team in history to boast four players with at least 30 home runs - Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker, and Reggie Smith.

• The National League won the All-Star Game 7-5 at Yankee Stadium.

• Pittsburgh’s John Candelaria led the league with a 2.34 ERA and a winning percentage of .800 (20-5).

• The Cubs traded Bill Madlock and Rob Sperring to the Giants for Bobby Murcer and two other players.

• Danny Frisella of Atlanta was killed in a dune buggy accident.

• Olympic Stadium opened on April 15, featuring a match-up between the Expos and the Phillies.

• Phil Niekro led the National League with 262 strikeouts and 20 complete games.

• Pittsburgh’s Frank Taveras led the league with 70 stolen bases.

• Pirate teammate Dave Parker hit 21 home runs, knocked in 88 runs, scored 107 others, and led the league with a .338 batting average, 215 hits, and 44 doubles. 

Seasons of the National League

1876 · 1877 · 1878 · 1879 · 1880 · 1881 · 1882 · 1883 · 1884 · 1885 · 1886 · 1887 · 1888 · 1889 · 1890 · 1891 · 1892 · 1893 · 1894 · 1895 · 1896 · 1897 · 1898 · 1899 · 1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909 · 1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914 · 1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1918 · 1919 · 1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010