[magritte]

1960-1979 - Times of Change

When the grip of the Chicago teams on the championships finally released in the early sities, the Philadelphia Goats took advantage in the National League, winning three pennants and two world series between 1962 and 1965. The goats were famed for their potent outfield of Willie McCovey, Curt Flood and Lee Maye. The powerful left fielder McCovey led the league in home runs and slugging percentage three times, and was a disciplined and patient hitter who also led the league in walks four times and on-base percentage twice. He was voted most valuable player twice and during the Goats championships years he hit .311 and averaged over 30 home runs per year. Centerfielder Curt Flood was outstanding defensively, winning six great gloves. In 1964, he won the batting title with a sizzling .337 average and led the league in runs scored. Two other key Goats were glove wizard and 1958 rookie of the year Brooks Robinson at 3rd basem who won eight great glove awards and hit .306. Earl Battey provided veteran leadership for the team at catcher. But for all the accomplishments of McCovey, he was overshadowed by Sandy Koufax, regarded by many as the greatest pitcher of all time. The "Left Hand of God" won an astounding eleven NL pitcher of the year awards in a row from 1961 to 1971, and five most valuable player awards. From 1962 to 1965, he went 68-30 with a 2.11 ERA and 1043 K's in 958 innings. By the time he hung up his spikes at 39, he had racked up an astonishing 3704 strikeouts in 3670 innings, outdistancing the previous recordholder, Walter Johnson, by almost 1000 K's. His 2.56 career ERA was the lowest of any starter since the deadball era. Though largely unnoticed in the shadow of the dominant Koufax, the Goats had an excellent number 2 starter in Jim O'Toole who went 61-36 with a 3.14 ERA and likely would have won the Cy Young Award in 1963, if it hadn't been for his teammate.

The Goats' American League rivals were the Washington Virgins who would dominate that league for much of the 1960's, winning five NL titles and two world series between 1962 and 1969. The offense revolved around rightfielder and 1957 AL rookie of the year, Frank Robinson, who led the league in onbase percentage five times, in slugging percentage four times, in runs scored four times, in runs driven in three times and won two batting titles. He averaged over 25 runs/season during their championship years. Nearly as valuable to the team was versatile Tom Tresh, who won the rookie of the year award in 1962 and helped to ignite their championship run. Though the team moved him back and forth between shortstop and centerfield, he didn't let it distract him from his hitting. His .426 slugging percentage was unusually high for a shortstop. Free-swinging first-baseman Orlando Cepeda led the league in hits three times and RBI's twice and hit a a league-high 30 home runs in 1963. And no discussion of the Virgins' lineup would be complete without mention of the young Joe Morgan at second base. Though his best years would come later in his career, he already had a superb batting eye that led to him leading the league in walks and on base percentage in 1965 and 1966. The Virgins' starting rotation was exceptionally strong and deep with Mickey Lolich (105-65, 2.92), Bob Gibson (86-53, 2.79), Gaylord Perry (62-31, 2.87), Chris Short (67-65, 3.45), and Larry Dierker (46-30, 3.31). Lolich was selected pitcher of the year in 1965, 1967, and 1968. Gibson was acquired from the Pittsburgh Waterbearers after the 1963 season along with Paul Ratiff in exchange for Roger Maris, and was pitcher of the year in 1969, and led the league in wins twice, as did Gaylord Perry.

In the late sixties, the Virgins went into decline and the Philadelphia Lions took over the American League winning four pennants and three world series between 1968 and 1972. Their solid regular lineup was highlighted by third baseman Sal Bando, rightfielder Roberto Clemente, and centerfielder Cleon Jones. Clemente was the player most identified with the Lions, playing his entire twenty year career in Philadelphia. He won five batting titles, the last in 1972, led in slugging average three times and triples nine times. He was a superb defensive outfielder, winning three great gloves and his clutch play earned him two World Series MVP wins, as well as an AL Most Valuable Player Award in 1967. Though he was in his thirties, he still batted .309 during the Lions' great years Bando is best remembered for his sensational MVP season of 1970, when he hit a league-leading 28 home-runs and was second in the league with 93 RBI's. The speedy Cleon Jones was an important component of the team's success as well, leading the league in runs scored in 1968. On the whole, however, the Lions were better known for their deep starting rotation than their hitting, and they started a fashion of pitchers getting their start in the bullpen before moving to the rotation. Both Don Sutton (70-39, 11 saves, 2.80 ERA) and Vida Blue (41-23, 16 saves, 2.29 ERA) got their start in the pen. Their other pitchers included Sam McDowell (34-34, 2.88), Andy Messersmith (57-33, 2.69, and Nelson Briles (59-45, 3.37). Sutton is often credited with sparking the team's success as he was acquired in return for Graig Nettles and Pat H Kelly from the Boston Rams the season before their first pennant. Blue won back-to-back pitching awards in 1971 and 1972, following a reliever of the year award in 1970. Andy Messersmith won the league in wins and ERA (19, 2.57) in 1970, then led in ERA again in 1972 with 2.18. Fireballer Sam McDowell led in strikeouts three times with a career high 260 in 1965. This formidable rotation was a big factor in the team winning 414 games against only 286 losses.

The National League enjoyed a long period of parity from 1964 to 1973, with all six teams winning at least once, no repeat champions, and no team winning twice in the decade. This run was broken by the New York Archers who won three consecutive pennants and two world series from 1974 to 1976. Their best player was likely Johnny Bench who was the league's best catcher in both hitting and fielding, winning five platinum sticks and seven great gloves. The championship started with the arrival of 5-time all-star Ken Singleton from the L.A. twins for Otto Velez and Craig Swan after the 1973 season. He hit in the high .280's in those years, as did second baseman and 4-time all-star Jorge Orta and centerfielder Johnny Grubb. Richie Hebner at third led the league in RBI's in 1974. On the pitching side, their staff was led by the outstanding Steve Carlton (55-31, 2.68). The Archers paid highly in 1973 for Carlton who came from the Philadelphia Goats in exchange for Mike Easler, Jim Essian, Craig Robinson and Rick Stelmaszek and the 7-time all-star did not disappoint, leading the league with 20 wins in 1974. Carlotn was ably backed up by Wilbur Wood (54-27, 31.5), Doug Rau (36-30, 3.54) and Rick Wise (21-24, 3.40). An outstanding relief pitcher in his early years, Wilbur Wood moved to the rotation with great success, winning 20 games in 1974 and 1975. If the Lions grabbed a lead, they rarely surrendered it because of superstar reliever in Masanori Murakami (21-12, 53 saves, 2.08 ERA). The six-time all-star struck out an amazing 326 batters in 251 innings from 1974 to 1976.

The best team in the American League in the mid-to-late seventies was the Detroit Crabs, who won four AL pennants and the 1976 world series. Unlike the Archers, who made canny trades to build their team, the Crabs best players were three young, home-grown talents born within a few days of each other in 1954: Andre Dawson, Willie Randolph, and Jason Thompson. A powerful and disciplined hitter, Thompson led the league in home runs, RBI's, and walks twice each, and runs scored once. The 1976 rookie of the year and six-time all-star at first base hit .292 and averaged 24 home runs and 126 RBI's per year through the 1979 season. The speedy Willy Randolph finished second to Thompson in the rookie of the year balloting in 1976, and was a fine defensive second baseman, winning two great glove awards. He also led the league in stolen bases twice and in runs scored once. Four-time all-star Andre Dawson was widely viewed as the best centerfielder both defensively and offensively. The staff ace, Frank Tanana, was just one year older than those three. Tanana won back-to-back pitcher of the year awards in 1975 and 1976, and was selected the most valuable player both during hte regular season and during the world series in 1976. Overall, he went 72-40, with a 3.26 ERA over five years. Tanana was backed up by Dave Lemonds, a relative veteran who was the pitcher of the year in his outstanding 1977 season, when he went 18-3 with a 2.17 ERA. With an impressive group of young players, one might have expected the Crabs dynasty to last longer than it did, but the pitching lacked depth and year-to-year consistency. And in truth, they were never a dominant team going 90-71 in their best season and a pedestrian 426-375 over the five year period.

For an example of dominance, one could look to the other league, where from 1978 to 1980, the St. Louis Fish went a sizzling 293-187. Their star-studded lineup started with first-baseman Eddie Murray. He was selected for the all-star team six consecutive times from 1977 to 1982, and won Most Valuable Player awards in 1978 and 1982. Steady Eddie hit .309, and averaged 29 home runs, 100 runs scored and 95 runs driven in. On the other side of the infield, the Fish had another great young player in Alan Trammell. Already a four-time all-star at the age of 24, Trammell was highly productive for a shortstop, hitting .289 with some pop and averaging 20 stolen bases per year. In the outfield, the Fish had JimRice and Ruppert Jones. Rice was the 1975 rookie of the year, and by the late seventies was in his prime, capturing the MVP award in 1977, when he won the batting title with a .351 average, crushed 41 home runs, and scored 124 runs. He also led the league in triples, hits, on-base percentage and slugging percentage that year. Though he did not match those heroics in the subsequent years, he was still highly productive hitting .299 with 21 home runs per year. He was an all-star seven times in eight years from 1975 to 1982. Centerfielder Ruppert Jones was less celebrated than Rice, but was an all-star in 1978 and 1979. Young Butch Wynegar at catcher gave them a strong defenisve presence behind the plate, winning great gloves in 1980 and 1982. The pitching staff was strong as well, led by the great J.R. Richard who went 18-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 20-9 with a 2.54 ERA in 1978 and 1979, and was selected as the best pitcher in the NL both years. In a huge blockbuster trade, Richard was sent to the Chicago Bulls along with Dennis Kinney for George Brett, who was sought to replace the productive but aging Eric Soderholm at third base. Brett had won back-to-back AL MVP titles in 1978 and 1979. Though Richard continued to be a dominant pitcher, winning American League MVP titles in 1981 and 1982, but Brett was outstanding for the Fish in 1980, hitting .298 with 20 home runs and leading the league with 114 runs scored. Lost in the glare surrounding Richard's celebrity were the other pitchers of the rotation: Bill Bonham (35-30, 3.73), Jerry Koosman (59-25, 3.80), and Jim Bibby (37-26, 3.79). Still, Koosman led the league in wins in 1978 and 1980, and all three pitchers were all-stars.

Teams Ranked by Aggregate Wins 1960 to 1979
Washington Virgins 1541-1399 (.524) 6 pennants, 2 world series
New York Archers 1536-1404 (.522) 5 pennants, 2 world series
Chicago Scales 1516-1425 (.515) 3 pennants, 1 world series
Detroit Crabs 1512-1430 (.514) 5 pennants, 2 world series
Philadelphia-Anaheim Goats 1495-1446 (.508) - 5 pennants, 3 world series
Chicago Bulls 1488-1452 (.506) - 4 pennants, 3 world series
Philadelphia Lions 1485-1455 (.505) - 4 pennants, 3 world series
St. Louis Fish 1471-1469 (.500) - 4 pennants, 2 world series
Cincinatti Scorpions 1431-1509 (.487) - 2 pennants
Boston Rams 1420-1519 (.483) - 1 pennant, 1 world series
Los Angeles-Houston Twins 1375-1566 (.468)
Pittsburgh Waterbearers 1372-1568 (.467) - 2 pennants, 1 world series

American League Winners
1960 Chicago Bulls - 95-45, RF: 672 RA: 451
1961 Chicago Bulls* - 94-46, RF: 678, RA: 521
1962 Washington Virgins* 88-52, RF: 749, RA: 602
1963 Washington Virgins - 81-59, RF: 680, RA: 583
1964 Chicago Bulls* 83-57, RF: 619, RA: 532
1965 Washington Virgins - 83-57, RF: 595, RA: 475
1966 Detroit Crabs* - 89-51, RF: 682, RA: 519
1967 Washington Virgins - 89-51, RF: 619, RA: 503
1968 Philadelphia Lions* - 81-59, RF: 549, RA: 434
1969 Washington Virgins* - 87-53, RF: 684, RA: 484
1970 Philadelphia Lions* - 79-61, RF: 611, RA: 570
1971 Philadelphia Lions- 80-60, RF: 581, RA: 482
1972 Philadelphia Lions* 91-49, RF: 596, RA: 409
1973 Boston Rams - 92-68, RF: 792, RA: 704
1974 Washington Virgins - 91-69, RF: 640, RA: 631
1975 Detroit Crabs - 85-75 , RF: 676, RA: 633
1976 Detroit Crabs* - 90-71, RF: 751, RA: 640
1977 Detroit Crabs - 88-72, RF: 832, RA: 720
1978 Chicago Bulls* 84-76, RF: 781, RA: 763
1979 Detroit Crabs - 88-72, RF: 892, RA: 783

National League Winners
1960 Chicago Scales* 94-46, RF: 673, RA: 484
1961 Chicago Scales 81-59, RF: 624, RA: 512
1962 Philadelphia Goats 85-55, RF: 606, RA: 540
1963 Philadelphia Goats* 80-61, RF: 588, RA: 532
1964 Cincinatti Scorpions 85-55, RF: 593, RA: 466
1965 Philadelphia Goats* 82-58, RF: 579, RA: 466
1966 New York Archers 85-55, RF: 628, RA: 524
1967 St. Louis Fish* 90-50, RF: 705, RA: 519
1968 Cincinatti Scorpions 85-55, RF: 526, RA: 454
1969 New York Archers 74-66, RF: 609, RA: 561
1970 Chicago Scales 75-65, RF: 685, RA: 584
1971 Philadelphia Goats* 78-62, RF: 493, RA: 399
1972 St. Louis Fish 78-62, RF: 593, RA: 501
1973 Pittsburgh Waterbearers 88-72, RF: 627, RA: 617
1974 New York Archers* 90-70, RF: 668, RA: 629
1975 New York Archers* 95-65, RF: 754, RA: 617
1976 New York Archers 98-62, RF: 652, RA: 564
1977 Pittsburgh Waterbearers* 89-71, RF: 705, RA: 600
1978 St. Louis Fish 95-65, RF: 773, RA: 632
1979 St. Louis Fish* 97-63, RF: 756, RA: 635

American League MVP's
1960 Willie Mays, Chicago Bulls .283, 38 HRs, 96 RBIs
1961 Willie Mays, Chicago Bulls .322, 46 HRs, 132 RBIs
1962 Frank Robinson, Washington Virgins .306, 37 HRs, 96 RBIs
1963 Frank Robinson, Washington Virgins .303, 23 HRs, 96 RBIs
1964 Boog Powell, Chicago Bulls .326, 24 HRs, 88 RBIs
1965 Frank Robinson, Washington Virgins .301, 25 HRs, 86 RBIs
1966 Jim Ray Hart, Detroit Crabs .323, 37HRs, 91 RBIs
1967 Roberto Clemente, Philadelphia Lions .284, 20 HRs, 81 RBIs
1968 Frank Robinson, Washington Virgins.267, 22 HRs, 80 RBIs
1969 Rico Carty, Washington Virgins .354, 20 HRs, 91 RBIs
1970 Sal Bando, Philadelphia Lions, .271, 28 HRs, 93 RBIs
1971 Vida Blue, Philadelphia Lions, 17-7, 2.03 ERA, 202 Ks
1972 Nate Colbert, Philadelphia Lions, .270, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs
1973 Billy L. Williams, Boston Rams, .308, 38 HRs, 110 RBIs
1974 Joe L Morgan, Washington Virgins, .263, 12 HRs, 65 RBIs
1975 Frank Tanana, Detroit Crabs, 20-5, 2.13 ERA, 201 Ks
1976 George Foster, Chicago Bulls, .307, 20 HRs, 101 RBIs
1977 Dave Parker, Los Angeles Twins, .358, 28 HRs, 118 RBIs
1978 George Brett, Chicago Bulls, .318, 16 HRs, 105 RBIs
1979 George Brett, Chicago Bulls, .325, 14 HRs, 97 RBIs

National League MVPs
1960 Hank Aaron, Pittsburgh Waterbearers .301, 40 HRs, 101 RBIs
1961 Willie McCovey, Philadelphia Goats .331, 42 HRs, 81 RBIs
1962 Hank Aaron, Pittsburgh Waterbearers .318, 40 HRs, 1016 RBIs
1963 Sandy Koufax, Philadelphia Goats, 17-9, 1.77 ERA, 270 Ks
1964 Sandy Koufax, Philadelphia Goats 16-9, 2.20 ERA, 290 Ks
1965 Dick Allen, St. Louis Fish .321, 31 HRs, 102 RBIs
1966 Dick Allen, St. Louis Fish .329, 35 HRs, 106 RBIs
1967 Willie Stargell, St. Louis Fish .329, 33 HRs, 122 RBIs
1968 Sandy Koufax, Philadelphia Goats 12-10, 1.63 ERA, 245 Ks
1969 Sandy Koufax, Philadelphia Goats 16-4, 1.61 ERA, 240 Ks
1970 Willie McCovey, Philadelphia Goats .314, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs
1971 Sandy Koufax, Philadelphia Goats 22-5, 1.80 ERA, 238 Ks
1972 Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Goats 18-9, 2.36 ERA, 221 Ks
1973 Nolan Ryan, Pittsburgh Waterbearers, 18-8, 2.39 ERA, 351 Ks
1974 Jon Matlack, Pittsburgh Waterbearers, 17-11, 2.49 ERA, 208 Ks
1975 Dave Kingman, New York Archers, .264, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs
1976 Mike Schmidt, Chicago Balance, .260, 35 HRs, 113 RBIs
1977 Jim Rice, St. Louis Fish, .351, 41 HRs, 107 RBIs
1978 Eddie Murray, St. Louis Fish, .304, 24 HRs, 92 RBIs
1979 Mike Schmidt, Chicago Balance, .268, 38 HRs, 112 RBIs