Series Wrapup

Story

Although Pete Rose’s preseason defection to the Philadelphia Phillies left Cincinnati fans feeling somewhat betrayed, it did not prevent the Reds from replacing the Dodgers at the top of the N.L. West standings in 1979.  Cincinnati finished the regular season with a record of 90-71, barely edging out the second-place Houston Astros for the division title.  The Astros finished just 1 ½ games behind Cincinnati, while the Dodgers slipped to third, 11 ½ games off the pace.  

The runner-up Astros had one of the league’s best pitching staffs.  Led by Joe Niekro and J.R. Richard, Houston finished second in the circuit with a team ERA of 3.20.  Niekro compiled a record of 21-11, threw 264 innings, posted an ERA of 3.00, and tossed a league-leading five shutouts.  The 6’8” Richard won 18 games, threw 19 complete games and 292 innings, and led the league with a 2.71 ERA and 313 strikeouts.

While the Reds had no one on their staff as physically imposing as the hard-throwing Richard, they had an ace of their own in Tom Seaver, who finished the year with a record of 16-6 and a 3.14 ERA.  Cincinnati also had one of the league’s top offenses, one that featured George Foster, Johnny Bench, and Ray Knight.  Foster hit 30 homers, drove in 98 runs, and batted .302.  Bench hit 22 home runs and knocked in 80 runs.  Knight did an admirable job of replacing Rose at third base, batting .318 and driving in 79 runs. 

Although his San Diego Padres finished fifth in the West, 22 games off the pace, Dave Winfield established himself as the division’s finest all-around player.  The right-fielder earned a third-place finish in the N.L. MVP voting by batting .308, hitting 34 home runs, scoring 97 runs, and leading the league with 118 runs batted in and 333 total bases. 

The race in the N.L. East also went down to the season’s final days, with the Pittsburgh Pirates ending Philadelphia’s three-year reign as division champions by edging out the Montreal Expos for first place.  The Pirates finished the season with a record of 98-64, just two games ahead of the runner-up Expos.  The Cardinals came in third, 12 games back, while the Phillies slipped to fourth, 14 games off the pace.

The fast-improving Expos featured talented young players such as Ellis Valentine, Andre Dawson, and Gary Carter.  In addition to intimidating opposing base runners with his powerful throwing arm in right field, Valentine hit 21 home runs, drove in 82 runs, and batted .276.  Dawson hit 25 homers, knocked in 92 runs, scored 90 others, and batted .275.  Carter hit 22 round-trippers, drove in 75 runs, and batted .283.

While Montreal posed the most serious threat to Pittsburgh for the division title, three of the league’s most productive hitters played for other N.L. East teams.  Mike Schmidt hit 45 home runs, knocked in 114 runs, and scored 109 others for Philadelphia.  Chicago’s Dave Kingman drove in 115 runs, batted a career-high .288, and led the league with 48 homers and a .613 slugging average.  St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez earned a share of the MVP Award by knocking in 105 runs, collecting 210 hits, and topping the circuit with a .344 batting average, 116 runs scored, and 48 doubles.

However, the “family” type atmosphere created on the Pirates enabled them to capture their first division title in four years.  Using Sister Sledge’s song “We Are Family” as their rallying cry, the Pirates experienced tremendous team harmony under club leader and patriarch Willie Stargell.  As the one remaining link to the outstanding Pittsburgh teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stargell drew a tremendous amount of respect from his younger teammates, who looked to him for leadership, both on and off the field.  The baseball writers acknowledged the overall contributions Stargell made to the team over the course of the campaign by awarding him a share of the MVP trophy at season’s end.  The slugging first baseman also had a pretty good year at the plate, hitting 32 homers and knocking in 82 runs.  Dave Parker also posted solid numbers for the team, hitting 25 home runs, driving in 94 runs, scoring 109 others, and batting .310.

The Pirates rode their outstanding team chemistry all the way to the world championship, clearing their first hurdle by sweeping the Reds in three straight games in the NLCS.  Pittsburgh outscored Cincinnati by a combined margin of 15-5 during the Series, although the first two contests went into extra innings.  Stargell led the way by cracking two homers, driving in six runs, and batting .455.

The Pirates subsequently went down three-games-to-one to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, before rallying to win the final three contests.  Stargell and Phil Garner starred for the Pirates.  Garner drove in five runs and collected 12 hits in 24 times at-bat, for a .500 batting average.  Stargell earned Series MVP honors by batting .400, hitting three homers, knocking in seven runs, and scoring seven others.

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

• August 13 –Lou Brock collected his 3,000th hit during a 3-2 Cardinals win against the Cubs at Busch Memorial Stadium.

• September 23 – Lou Brock stole the 938th base of his career, breaking Billy Hamilton's all-time National League record.

• September 24 – Pete Rose collected his 200th hit of the season, giving him a record 10 campaigns with at least 200 safeties.  (Ty Cobb held the previous record with nine).

• Lou Brock retired at season’s end.  He batted .304 and stole 21 bases in his final year.

• Chicago Cubs reliever Bruce Sutter captured N.L. Cy Young honors by leading the league with 37 saves.

• The Houston Astros signed Nolan Ryan to a free-agent deal worth an estimated $1 million at the end of the year. 

• The National League won the All-Star Game 7-6 at Seattle.

• The Dodgers’ Rick Sutcliffe (17-10 with a 3.46 ERA) earned N.L. Rookie of the Year honors.
 
• St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Garry Templeton became the first switch-hitter to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in a season.

• Templeton led the National League with 211 hits.

• Ken Forsch of the Astros threw a no-hitter against Atlanta on April 7.

• Pittsburgh’s Omar Moreno led the National League with 77 stolen bases.

• Atlanta’s Phil Niekro led the league with 342 innings pitched and 23 complete games.

Seasons of the National League

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