[Joy in Mudville]

The fans of Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles all hold bragging rights at the All-Star break.

Those four teams lead their respective divisions as the annual Midsummer Classic is upon us.

Three of the four--the Orioles, Pirates and Dodgers--all made the playoffs a year ago. The White Sox are the newcomer intent on crashing the party. A season ago, Chicago finished a distant second to Oakland.

JIM Diamond Notes: Philadelphia captured two of the three National League awards for June. Outfielder Greg Luzinski won the Player of the Month award while teammate Barry Lersch took home the Pitcher of the Month honors . . . The American League award winners were first baseman Tony Horton of Cleveland and pitcher Jon Matlack of Baltimore . . . Rennie Stennett of Oakland and John Milner of Atlanta repeated as Rookie of the Month picks . . . Houston's playoff hopes were dealt a severe blow when first baseman John Mayberry tore a thigh muscle. He will miss at least three months. Earlier in the season, the Astros traded away their other first basemen Bob Watson and Joe Pepitone. That leaves veteran Jim Beauchamp as Houston's starting first sacker . . . Likewise, the Cincinnati Reds will be without left fielder Bernie Carbo who fractured his cheekbone in a recent game. Carbo could miss the remainder of the year . . . Atlanta's Rico Carty became the first player in JIM history to hit three home runs in a single game. Carty went deep thrice against the New York Mets in a 10-9 loss on July 4 . . . Chicago Cub Ken Holtzman threw a one-hitter against San Diego July 10. Only a first-inning single by Ed Spiezio spoiled Holtzman's no-hit bid . . . New York Yankee Roy White will miss at least a week with an Achilles tendon injury . . . No. 1 overall draft pick Mike Schmidt of the Cleveland Indians is batting just .140 in 86 at-bats. He hit his first career home run off Fritz Peterson of the Yankees on June 29 . . . The trade deadline is July 31.

Major League 1970 07-12-1971 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 57 35 .620 - 58-34 -1 32-15 25-20 4-5 15-16 68 W1 7-3 New York Yankees 52 38 .578 4.0 50-40 2 28-15 24-23 8-3 18-16 W1 3-7 Boston Red Sox 48 40 .545 7.0 53-35 -5 27-19 21-21 4-4 15-14 L1 8-2 Washington Senators 45 44 .506 10.5 44-45 1 23-23 22-21 4-1 21-8 W1 5-5 Detroit Tigers 32 57 .360 23.5 34-55 -2 19-24 13-33 1-8 6-14 L1 6-4 Cleveland Indians 30 63 .323 27.5 34-59 -4 14-33 16-30 4-3 11-16 L1 1-9 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Chicago White Sox 55 32 .632 - 54-33 1 29-15 26-17 2-11 21-11 72 W4 6-4 Oakland Athletics 54 36 .600 2.5 52-38 2 29-13 25-23 11-4 17-10 L1 6-4 Minnesota Twins 48 41 .539 8.0 51-38 -3 26-22 22-19 7-7 13-20 W6 8-2 Kansas City Royals 46 43 .517 10.0 46-43 0 24-17 22-26 9-6 19-20 L3 5-5 California Angels 47 45 .511 10.5 46-46 1 23-20 24-25 5-6 14-18 W1 3-7 Milwaukee Brewers 24 64 .273 31.5 24-64 0 16-32 8-32 3-4 12-19 L7 1-9

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Pittsburgh Pirates 55 34 .618 - 54-35 1 27-18 28-16 4-6 15-13 69 W1 4-6 St. Louis Cardinals 53 39 .576 3.5 57-35 -4 29-17 24-22 6-3 8-14 W2 5-5 Philadelphia Phillies 50 42 .543 6.5 49-43 1 29-17 21-25 3-7 18-14 L1 6-4 Chicago Cubs 46 46 .500 10.5 41-51 5 23-21 23-25 7-5 19-12 W4 5-5 Montreal Expos 44 50 .468 13.5 39-55 5 25-20 19-30 7-2 17-9 W1 4-6 New York Mets 40 49 .449 15.0 42-47 -2 26-20 14-29 4-4 14-20 L1 6-4 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Los Angeles Dodgers 51 39 .567 - 52-38 -1 30-18 21-21 7-6 19-19 70 L1 7-3 Cincinnati Reds 50 42 .543 2.0 43-49 7 23-21 27-21 6-6 25-10 W1 7-3 Houston Astros 48 42 .533 3.0 48-42 0 24-21 24-21 6-4 16-14 L2 5-5 Atlanta Braves 41 53 .436 12.0 43-51 -2 20-23 21-30 5-9 15-19 L1 3-7 San Francisco Giants 38 52 .422 13.0 46-44 -8 23-25 15-27 5-5 14-20 W1 6-4 San Diego Padres 32 60 .348 20.0 35-57 -3 20-28 12-32 5-8 13-29 L9 1-9