Editor's note -- Good intentions and all that jazz, but this fell by the wayside. I'll attempt to pick it up again. The league is currently in the 1976 off-season; the advent of free agency. I'll post some recaps to get us all caught up.
Montreal's inaugural season went according to script as we finished with a 44-118 record. The highlights of the season were Deron Johnson (.239/.302/.468) benefiting from regular playing time and hitting 29 HRs and RF Walt Williams'(,292/.323/.409) with 39 stolen bases. In the June draft, we selected high school infielder Rick Burleson in the first round.
News from Around the League
The first year of divisional play saw the Phillies win 93 games to take the NL East title over the Cubs (86 wins) and Cardinals (86 wins) In the NL West, the Giants (111 wins) won a spirited race over the Dodgers (108 wins).
Ron Santo (.353/.431/.583, 28 HR, 124 RBI) of the Cubs won the NL MVP, and Sandy Koufax (23-5, 1.80) of the Dodgers won the NL Cy Young.
In the American League, the Yankees (112 wins) were the best in the East with Baltimore (103 wins) just behind. Meanwhile in the West, the California Angels won an incredible 124 games, benefiting, no doubt, from have two expansion teams in the division in Kansas City and Seattle.
Mickey Mantle (.345/.466/.714, 62 HR, 172 RBI) once again wins the AL MVP, while California's Dean Chance (17-1, 1.99) takes home the AL Cy Young. Mantle's 62 HRs tops the record 61 that Roger Maris hit in 1961.
In the post-season, California beat New York 4-2 for the AL pennant, and San Francisco beat Philadelphia 4-3 to take the NL pennant. California won the World Series 4-3 over San Francisco.
During the season, both Sandy Koufax and teammate Don Drysdale won their 200th game, with Sandy also picking up his 3000th strikeout. San Francisco's Orlando Cepeda and Frank Robinson of the White Sox both collected their 2000th hit.