Never a dull moment it seems in the good old NL East and this year is no exception.
The lads keep themselves in the mix with a strong start to August, winning nine of their first 12 and the good performances continue late into the month including one 5-for-5 / 3 doubles / 7 RBI game by Dave Parker.
On the back of some inspired offensive performances that cover some iffy pitching, we close in on the Expos and cut their lead to one game a couple of times before losing Ken Oberkfell to back problems that require a minimum IL stint to heal.
This sees us drop two straight for the first time since early July but we’re still only a couple back with 30 to play.
We then lose John Tudor for three weeks to a lat strain and call up Will McEnaney, and a 3-7 run drops us back off the pace a bit again.
We keep nipping at the Expos’ heels as we enter September and then, on the back of five straight games in which we only give up one run in each, find ourselves just a half-game back of them with 15 to play.
We catch them a couple days later with a comeback win at Philly that comes at a huge cost with Lance Parrish knocked out for the rest of the season by a knee injury. Don Slaught is summoned for his MLB debut in the keenest of circumstances and will immediately take over everyday duties—a handy fallback option indeed but it’s a big ask of a rookie.
The 150th game – a messy 9-6 win at Wrigley – sees us in sole top spot for the first time all season and we still lead by that margin when we head to Montreal for three, with another three at home our final series scheduled for the regular season.
It’s like deja-vu all over again.
Larry McWilliams gives us a gem in the opener with 10+ shutout innings but we almost waste it before finally winning it 1-0 in 13. We drop the middle game in a 6-5 heartbreaker after coming back late from 5-1 down but they lose Gary Carter in the process and that could have a huge bearing on what happens from here. Still, they best us in the final game to get level in the standings as John Candelaria’s record in important games takes another hit.
As this has been playing out, the Mets and Cubs have been steadily gaining on ourselves and Montreal and when we head to Shea for a pair of games they are just 3 and 4 off the pace, respectively. We split that series and the next one at home to the Cards to leave us 2 clear of the Mets and Expos as the latter comes to town for that final three-gamer. The Mets are in Philly for their final three.
The Expos’ challenge comes up short as Dave Parker has a remarkable five doubles and drives in 8 in a heroic performance to almost single-handedly lead us to an otherwise unconvincing 10-6 win. The Mets lose as well and just like that we have won ourselves another – and most unexpected – NL East title.
We win the final two for good measure to finish at 92-70 and four clear of the Mets.
Our shortage of lefties and his solid showing this season lead to us extend Andy Hassler for a year at a cost of $172k.
Our race is the only close one of the four.
The Tigers are the first to clinch but will have to make their title run without SP Roger Weaver after he suffers a season-ending RC tear.
The Royals are the next into the playoffs, the franchise’s first-ever postseason appearance.
The Dodgers run away with the NL West, winning 13 straight in August and never looking back despite a late charge by the Reds including 10 wins on the trot. The Friars also finish with a flourish, storming into third place with 10 wins from their final 11 games and a promising 84-78 finish. It has, on the whole, been a good year for the expansion clubs.
Batting titles to Lonnie Smith and Bill Madlock. Eddie Murray leads the league with 42 homers and Cal Ripken's 137 RBI are the most. Anyone who doubts good pitching plays a huge role in team success, take note: between the two of them, these two guys combined for 81 dingers and 253 ribbies and the O's finished dead last at 78-84. Rickey Henderson just misses the record with his 136 steals the year's high.
The two Steves - Carlton with 22 and Rogers with one fewer - are the only 20-game winners this season. Lefty also has the low ERA with 2.23 but misses the TC by a dozen strikeouts to Mario Soto's 265. Willie Hernandez and Lee Smith tie for the most saves this year with 33.
Final Leaders and Top 20s
Monthly Award Winners
August
American League
Batter – Larry Herndon (White Sox): 408 / 6 HR / 26 RBI
Pitcher – Pete Broberg (Red Sox): 4-0 / 2.81 / 5 SV / 18 K / 25.2 IP
Rookie – Frank Viola (Twins): 4-1 / 2.49 / 38 K / 47 IP
National League
Batter – Leon Durham (Mets): 406 / 6 HR / 16 RBI
Pitcher – Jerry Reuss (Pirates): 6-0 / 1.37 / 14 K / 46 IP
Rookie – Tony Gwynn (Padres): 414 / 2 HR / 13 RBI
September
American League
Batter – Eddie Murray (Orioles): 409 / 12 HR / 24 RBI
Pitcher – Britt Burns (White Sox Sox): 3-0 / 1.71 / 6 SV / 16 K / 26.1 IP
Rookie – Lee Tunnell (A’s): 2-0 / 0.00 / 3 SV / 13 K / 12 IP
National League
Batter – Keith Hernandez (Cardinals): 385 / 5 HR / 19 RBI
Pitcher – Carlos Diaz (Mets): 3-0 / 1.71 / 6 SV / 16 K / 26.1 IP
Rookie – Carlos Diaz
Milestones and Observations of Note
2500 Hits: Joe Morgan
2000 Hits: Bobby Murcer
300 Saves: Rich Gossage, who finishes the season with 302 and tied with Hoyt Wilhelm as the all-time leader in this category.
The Cubs lose Rick Reuschel for the rest of the season to an elbow blowout and only his Legacy status keeps him from being absent for a good portion of next year as well.
Montreal’s Walt Terrell has no such luxury and will miss a full year to a UCL tear.