Historical Replay Starting in 1978

[Highlander]

1978 was the first year I really started watching/paying attention to baseball. I thought it might be fun to do a replay starting with that year and see how things compare to what really happened. I'm using full replay mode with historical transactions, etc. I turned off coaching and players should come in as they were in the given season. I haven't really done any more testing to see if I got everything right, but I'm fairly confident it's all set to go. I imported the history up to this year so records and milestones reached will be compared to past seasons and players. My plan is to give reports for each month of the season.....they may change as time goes on depending on what happens. When the playoffs start, we'll get a little more into individual games. Off we go!

[Highlander]

Standings Leaders

AL East
New York Yankees 14-5

AL West
Kansas City Royals 13-6

NL East
Philadelphia Phillies 12-5

NL West
San Francisco Giants 13-7

- Surprisingly, the Dodgers are in last place in the NL West at 6-14.

Awards

AL Players of the Week
Doug DeCinces (BAL), Jim Rice (BOS), Carlton Fisk (BOS), Bruce Bochte (SEA)

NL Players of the Week
Gary Matthews (ATL), JR Richard (HOU), Jack Clark (SF), Keith Hernandez (STL)

AL Player of the Month
Jim Rice (BOS)- .317/.380/.756, 4 Doubles, 1 Triple, 10 HR, 22 Runs, 21 RBI, 1 SB

NL Batter of the Month
Jose Cruz (HOU)- .351/.425/.558, 5 Doubles, 1 Triple, 3 HR, 10 Runs, 10 RBI, 7 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month
Ron Guidry (NYY)- 5-0, 43 IP, 1.47 ERA, .74 WHIP, 29 K

NL Pitcher of the Month
Phil Niekro (ATL)- 4-2, 54.1 IP, 1.66 ERA, .92 WHIP, 44 K

AL Rookie of the Month
SP Roger Erickson (MIN)- 2-1, 43.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 14 K

NL Rookie of the Month
SS Ozzie Smith (SD)- .377/.397/.464, 4 Doubles, 1 Triple, 12 Runs, 8 RBI, 2 SB

Milestones, Records, Great Performances
- On 4/11/78, SS Roy Smalley of the Twins hit for the cycle. He went 4-5 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs. Unfortunately, the Twins lost the game to the Angels by a score of 11-10.

- Also on 4/11/78, there was an epic pitching duel between Burt Hooten of the Dodgers and JR Richard of the Astros. Both pitchers went the distance as the game was won 1-0 by Houston in the 11th inning on an RBI single by Cesar Cedeno. Hooten went 10.2 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1 on 123 pitcher. Richard went 11 innings, giving up 3 hits and 4 walks with 12 Ks on 143 pitches.

- On 4/14/78, Houston Astro SP, Joaquin Andujar pitched a No-Hitter against the Reds. The Astros won 5-0 and Andujar had 5 Ks with 3 BB.

- On April 30th, Expos 1B Tony Perez hit the 300th HR of his career off of Houston Astro pitcher, Mark Lemongello. It was a two-run shot and his only hit of the game. The Expos won the game over the Astros by a score of 4-1.

[Highlander]

Standings Leaders

AL East
New York Yankees 32-14

AL West
Kansas City Royals 27-17

NL East
Montreal Expos 29-18

NL West
San Francisco Giants 29-17

- The Dodgers have worked their way up to 2nd place at 26-21....just a slow start, I guess!

Awards

AL Players of the Week
Mario Guerrero (OAK), Jim Rice (BOS), Thurman Munson (NYY), Sixto Lezcano (MIL)

NL Players of the Week
Reggie Smith (LA), Gary Carter (MON), Ron Cey (LA), Phil Garner (PIT)

AL Player of the Month
Sixto Lezcano (MIL)- .391/.509/.805, 6 Doubles, 3 Triples, 8 HR, 23 Runs, 19 RBI, 1 SB

NL Batter of the Month
Reggie Smith (LA)- .347/.431/.694, 8 Doubles, 1 Triple, 8 HR, 23 Runs, 24 RBI, 2 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month
Mike Caldwell (MIL)- 6-0, 50 IP, 2.34 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 30 K

NL Pitcher of the Month
Rick Reuschel (CHC)- 4-0, 56 IP, 1.29 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 28 K

AL Rookie of the Month
SP Rich Gale (KC)- 4-0, 37.2 IP, 2.63 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 21 K

NL Rookie of the Month
SP Don Robinson (PIT)- 4-1, 46.1 IP, 2.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 34 K

Milestones, Records, Great Performances
- On 5/7/78, Vida Blue of the Giants tossed a 5-hit shutout against the Cubs. He walked 0 and struck out 11.

- On 5/12/78, Steve Garvey was held hitless by the Cubs. That ended a hit streak of 23 games.

- On 5/13/78, Red Sox OF Jim Rice hit 3 HR against the Twins. He needed every one as the Red Sox won the game 12-10. He drove in 4 runs in the game.

- On 5/15/78, Padre pitcher Gaylord Perry got his 250th win. He beat the Cardinals 3-0 and pitched 8 shutout innings with just 2 hits and 0 walks. He struck out 9. A pretty good way to get #250!

- On 5/18/78, Reds 3B Pete Rose got his 3000th hit against the Expos. It was a bit bittersweet, as the Reds lost the game 6-5. It will be interesting to see how many more hits Pete will accumulate in his career. He's 37, but coming off a very good season.

- On 5/23/78, Atlanta OF Gary Matthews hit 3 HR against the Reds. The Braves won the game, 7-4 and Sarge drove in 5 of the runs with a SF in addition to the HRs he hit.

- On 5/24/78, Jim Palmer of the Orioles got his 200th win. He beat the Tigers 7-2, going 8.1 innings with 5 hits, 3 walks and 4 Ks.

- On 5/30/78, Phil Niekro of the Braves pitched a 4 hit shutout over the Reds, walking 0 and striking out 11. Atlanta won the game, 3-0.

[Salathor]

How are you playing? Are you managing any/all of the games? I think you said you're using historic lineups--are you modifying the batting order at all or just doing all teams as played?

I'm doing historic lineups for my replay but I'm setting the actual batting order for the team I'm managing (but using the guys who really played that day).

[Highlander]

Standings Leaders

AL East
New York Yankees 53-22....11.5 games ahead of Baltimore

AL West
Kansas City Royals 48-26....8 games ahead of Texas

NL East
Montreal Expos 44-31 and Philadelphia Phillies 42-29....the standings say they are tied

NL West
San Francisco Giants 46-30.....4 games ahead of Los Angeles


Awards

AL Players of the Week
Don Baylor (CAL), Juan Beniquez (TEX), Buddy Bell (TEX), Al Cowens (KC)

NL Players of the Week
Bob Boone (PHI), Bill Madlock (SF), Oscar Gamble (SD), Jose Cruz (HOU)

AL Player of the Month
Sal Bando (MIL)- .355/.423/.582, 3 Doubles, 2 Triples, 6 HR, 23 Runs, 23 RBI, 2 SB

NL Batter of the Month
Dave Parker (PIT)- .367/.417/.663, 3 Doubles, 4 Triples, 6 HR, 17 Runs, 25 RBI, 3 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month
Mike Flanagan (BAL)- 6-1, 49.1 IP, 2.55 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 24 K

NL Pitcher of the Month
Larry Christenson (PHI)- 5-1, 51.2 IP, 2.44 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 33 K

AL Rookie of the Month
SP Rich Gale (KC)- 5-2, 51.2 IP, 2.26 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 29 K

NL Rookie of the Month
SP Don Robinson (PIT)- 2-2, 44 IP, 2.66 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 31 K

Milestones, Records, Great Performances
- Expos 1B, Tony Perez hit another big milestone on 6/4/78 with his 2000th hit. In a 6-1 win over the Giants, Tony went 4-4 on the day with 3 doubles. Not a bad way to enter the 2000 hit club!

- On 6/12/78, George Hendrick of the Cardinals had 6 hits in 7 AB against the Atlanta Braves. He had 3 singles 2 HR and a double, while scoring 3 runs and driving in 4. Amazingly, his teammate, Keith Hernandez had a 5-hit day of his own with 4 singles and a HR.

- On 6/26/78, the Twins put an end to a 23 game hitting streak by Robin Yount of the Brewers.

[Highlander]

Originally Posted by Salathor

How are you playing? Are you managing any/all of the games? I think you said you're using historic lineups--are you modifying the batting order at all or just doing all teams as played?

I'm doing historic lineups for my replay but I'm setting the actual batting order for the team I'm managing (but using the guys who really played that day).

I'm not managing any teams....just letting it go as it plays out. I wasn't looking to get "into the weeds" too much with this replay, but I definitely get the appeal!

[Highlander]

I'll do a full July recap later, but here's a look at the 1978 All-Stars-

[Highlander]

Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles is your 1978 HR Derby Champion! He beat out Greg Luzinski of the Phillies by a close 8-7 score in the final round.

The next night, all the best player int he world converged on Royals Stadium in Kansas City to play the 1978 All-Star game. Both teams scored single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, but the National League busted out for 4 runs in the 4th inning against Yankees pitcher, Ed Figueroa. The scoring was highlighted by a 3-run HR by George Hendrick of the Cardinals.

While it seems like that would be good enough to give George the MVP, that honor was awarded to Giants 3B, Bill Madlock in a somewhat strange decision. Madlock played a great game, but didn't put up the type of line usually given to MVPs. He went 1-1 with 3 walks and scored 3 runs.

On the pitching side, Figueroa took the loss for the AL, while Wayne Twitchell of the Expos was given the win, despite giving up run in his only inning.

Mike Schmidt and Jack Clark each hit HR for the NL and no player hit one out for the AL squad.

[Highlander]

Standings Leaders

AL East
New York Yankees 68-36....9 games ahead of Baltimore

AL West
Kansas City Royals 64-38....5 games ahead of Texas

NL East
Montreal Expos 62-45....2.5 games ahead of both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

NL West
San Francisco Giants 63-43.....4.5 games ahead of Los Angeles


Awards

AL Players of the Week
Ron LeFlore (DET), Ron Jackson (CAL), Mitchell Page (OAK), Otto Velez (TOR), Jim Rice (BOS)

NL Players of the Week
Tom Seaver (CIN), Dave Winfield (SD), Steve Ontiveros (CHC), John Stearns (NYM), Jack Clark (SF)

AL Player of the Month
Jim Rice (BOS)- .328/.383/.681, 4 Doubles, 2 Triples, 11 HR, 21 Runs, 23 RBI, 2 SB

NL Batter of the Month
Bob Watson (HOU)- .316/.362/.573, 7 Doubles, 4 Triples, 5 HR, 24 Runs, 22 RBI, 2 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month
John Henry Johnson (OAK)- 5-1, 52.2 IP, 2.05 ERA, .99 WHIP, 26 Ks

NL Pitcher of the Month
Phil Niekro (ATL)- 6-0, 58 IP, 1.71 ERA, .95 WHIP, 42 Ks

AL Rookie of the Month
SP John Henry Johnson (OAK)- See Above

NL Rookie of the Month
SP Bob Welch (LA)- 2-0, 24.1 IP, .74 ERA, .95 WHIP, 9 Ks

- Kind of interesting that the pitchers of the month are aged 21 (Johnson) and 39 (Niekro)!

Milestones, Records, Great Performances
- On July 4th, Don Sutton beat the Braves 9-4 to notch his 200th career victory. He went the full game with 9 hits, 2 walks and 6 Ks.

- On 7/25/78, Houston 3B Enos Cabell became the 3rd player this season to have his hitting streak end at 23 games. The Expos ended the streak.

- Also on July 25th, Rod Carew of the Twins reached a big milestone with his 2000th career hit. Carew went 4-5 in the game with 4 runs scored.

- Capping off a day of milestones, Willie McCovey joined the 500 HR club on July 25th. It's been a tough season for Willie so far, only hitting .200 on the season, but a 2-run shot off of Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch put him in elite company on this day.

- On July 28th, Jim Rice of the Red Sox continued his incredible season by hitting 3 HR against the Royals. He hit 2 solo shots and a 2-run homer, all off of Rich Gale. This was Rice's second 3 HR game of the season.

[Highlander]

Standings Leaders

AL East
New York Yankees 86-45....15 games ahead of Milwaukee

AL West
Kansas City Royals 81-50....8.5 games ahead of Texas

NL East
Pittsburgh Pirates....1 game ahead of Montreal

NL West
San Francisco Giants 76-57.....5 games ahead of Los Angeles


Awards

AL Players of the Week
Jim Rice (BOS), Eddie Murray (BAL), Eddie Murray (BAL), Doug DeCinces (BAL)

NL Players of the Week
Dave Parker (PIT), Ron Cey (LA), Mike Lum (CIN), Dave Cash (MON)

AL Player of the Month
Jim Rice (BOS)- .355/.409/.678, 5 Doubles, 2 Triples, 10 HR, 28 Runs, 34 RBI, 2 SB

NL Batter of the Month
Greg Luzinski (PHI)- .308/.433/.683, 4 Doubles, 1 Triple, 11 HR, 23 Runs, 21 RBI, 0 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month
Ron Guidry (NYY)- 6-0, 54 IP, .33 ERA, .59 WHIP, 36 Ks....only gave up 29 hits and 3 walks!

NL Pitcher of the Month
Bob Owchinko (SD)- 5-2, 50 IP, 1.62 ERA, .92 WHIP, 41 Ks

AL Rookie of the Month
SP Rich Gale- 5-1, 42 IP, 1.93 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 24 Ks

NL Rookie of the Month
SP Mike LaCoss (CIN)- 4-0, 49 IP, 2.76 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 11 Ks

- What a month for Ron Guidry...Wow!

Milestones, Records, Great Performances

- On August 5th, Reds catcher, Johnny Bench, reached a big HR milestone by hitting the 300th of his career. Interestingly, Bench didn't start the game, but came in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th. He hit a 2-run HR to tie up the game and the Reds won the game in the 10th. A pretty impressive way to get #300! Bench is only 30, so 400+ is well within reach....impressive for a catcher!

- Jim Rice added to his fantastic season by putting together a 24 game hitting streak. It came to an end on 8/17 as the Angels held him hitless. The Red Sox have really struggled this season with a 62-70 record, but it certainly isn't because of Jim Rice!

- The day after Rice's hit streak ended, his teammate, Carlton Fisk did something not many catchers are able to do. He hit for the cycle! Fisk actually had 5 hits, with an extra single thrown in for good measure. He scored 2 runs and drove in 3 as the Red Sox won the game, 5-3 over the A's.

- The milestones keep coming, as Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton won his 200th career game on August 19th. He pitched 8 solid innings in a 4-3 win over the Giants.

- Back to Ron Guidry's amazing month.....as shown above, he went 6-0 in August. Five of the six wins were shutouts. He has currently pitched 3 in a row with 30 scoreless innings. It looks like the all-time record is 58 innings by Don Drysdale back in 1968. The AL record is 41 innings by Ted Lyons, way back in 1926. We will see how far Guidry can go!

[Highlander]

With September getting ready to kick off, here's a look at the current Pennant Races-

In the AL East, it appears the Yankees are the run away favorites. Even with the craziness of the real 1978 season, a 15 game lead on September 1st is going to be pretty tough to blow. Plus, the average winning percentage of the teams they play the rest of the way is just .456.

With a 8.5 game lead in the AL West, the Royals also seem to be in good shape. They do have a tougher schedule than the Rangers the rest of the way, but they've been in the lead the whole season so it's hard to see them throwing it away.

The NL East is the only division with a super close race, as 4 teams technically have a chance. The Pirates are only a game ahead of Montreal, with the Phillies 5 back and the Mets 7. It would certainly be hard for the Mets to get in there, but any of the other 3 are a possibility. They all have fairly tough schedules, but the Pirates have the easiest of the bunch.

The NL West has some possible drama, as the Dodgers are obviously always dangerous and only 5 games back. That slow start really hurt them! The Padres are only six back and even the Reds still have a small chance at 9 games out. The Giants have led the way for most of the year, so I still expect them to win....but you never know!

[Highlander]

The season has come to an end and the division winners all stayed the same from August. The NL had some closer races, but the top teams held off their competition by a fairly comfortable margin. In the AL, the Yankees ran away with the division and Kansas City had an easy time of it as well.

Let's take a closer look at our four playoff teams-

In the AL East it is the New York Yankees who really ran away with things. They had a phenomenal pitching staff, led by Ron Guidry (26-7, 2.02 ERA, .94 WHIP and 202 Ks in 292.2 IP) and closer Rich "Goose" Gossage (36 Saves, 2.95 ERA). Their offense was extremely balanced, but led by Reggie Jackson (.292, 32 HR, 104 RBI) and Willie Randolph (.396 OBP, 95 Runs, 44 SB).

In the AL West, it is the Kansas City Royals. Other than the Yankees, they were the only other team to win 100+ games. Their offense was led by a number of players, including Darrell Porter (.277, 18 HR, 96 RBI), Amos Otis (19 HR, 81 RBI, 92 R, 36 SB) and George Brett (.294, 50 Doubles, 29 SB). On the pitching side, Lary Gura (13-9, 2.48 ERA) and rookie Rich Gale (20-5, 2.55 ERA) helped out ace Dennis Leonard (19-12, 3.49 ERA, 185 Ks). Meanwhile, The Mad Hungarian, Al Hrabosky nailed things down in the bullpen with a 2.18 ERA and 48 saves.

In the NL East, the Pittsburgh Pirates came on strong late to win the division by 5.5 games. It is no surprise that Dave Parker (.342, 30 doubles, 13 triples, 22 HR, 104 R, 110 RBI, 23 SB) and Willie Stargell (28 HR) led the offense. Rookie Don Robinson (15-13, 2.47 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) was a pleasant surprise on the mound. He, along with closer Kent Tekulve (7 wins, 35 Saves, 2.79 ERA) led a very balanced staff.

Finally, it was the surprise San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The Dodgers came into the season as heavy favorites, but the Giants led pretty close to wire to wire. Jack Clark was a force on offense (.295, 40 doubles, 35 HR, 104 Runs, 103 RBI) along with Bill Madlock (.313, 19 HR, 87 Runs, 23 SB). Vida Blue (21-6, 2.94 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 203 Ks in 278.2 IP) and Ed Halicki (17-6, 3.06 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) led the way on the mound.

The Yankees seem to be the favorites, but the Royals can be tough. In the NL, it looks like a toss-up....Clark versus Parker and then see which pitching staff has the best stuff!

[Highlander]

In Game 1 of the AL Series, it was Ron Guidry of the Yankees versus Rich Gale of the Royals. The Yankees came out swinging and went out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The Royals scraped together a run in the 3rd but the Yankees got it back in the 4th, making it 3-1. Then, in the 7th, it all fell apart for Gale, as the Yankees rallied for 5 runs led by a 2-run double by Roy White. Guidry remained his usual unhittable self, as he gave up just 2 hits and only that lone run with 8 Ks. The Yankees would take Game 1 by a score of 8-1.

Game 2 saw a matchup between Dennis Leonard of the Royals and Dick Tidrow of the Yankees. The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st on a 2-run HR by Amos Otis. That was all they would get however and a 3-run 6th by the Yankees would be enough to give them a 3-2 win and a 2-0 lead in the series. Graig Nettles hit his 2nd HR of the series for NY.

Game 3 was an important one for Kansas City, down 2-0. They sent Lary Gura to the mound to face Catfish Hunter. The Yankees had a 3-1 lead after 3, but the Royals rallied in the 8th and 9th against Goose Gossage to score 3 runs and win it 4-3. Lou Pinella had 2 triples for the Yankees and Clint Hurdle hit a HR for KC.

Jim Beattie took the mound for the Yankees against Paul Splittorff in Game 4 of the AL Championship. The Yankees had little pressure, with a 2-1 lead and the knowledge that Ron Guidry was waiting in the wings for the next game. An RBI double by Mickey Rivers and RBI single by Chris Chambliss in the 2nd gave NY a 2-0 lead. A Clint Hurdle RBI double in the 5th would get the Royals to 2-1, but Jim Beattie didn't allow any other runs to score and the Goose redeemed himself with a 2 inning save to send the Yankees to the World Series!

[Highlander]

Bert Blyleven got the call for the Pirates in Game 1 of the NLCS, while it was a surprise Bob Knepper taking the mound for the Giants. Most assumed Vida Blue would pitch Game 1 for SF. Things looked good for Knepper and the Giants after 5, as they held a 3-2 lead. However, a surprise hero emerged for the Pirates as pinch hitter Dale Berra came through with a 3-run HR in the 7th to cap a 4 run inning. The Pirates would tack on 1 more run and win the game 7-3. Berra has been a surprise all season, with 8 doubles, 4 triples and 8 HR in just 175 AB....but this one was the biggest surprise so far!

With the Giants reeling a bit from the quick turnaround in Game 1, they sent ace Vida Blue to the mound in Game 2 to face Don Robinson. A pitchers duel through 7, the Pirates held a slim 1-0 lead. Then in the 8th, Bill Robinson of the Pirates hit a 2-run double to highlight a 3-run inning and that was enough for Robinson as he went the distance with a 4-hit shutout to win game 2, 4-0.

A must win game for the Giants in game 3 saw them send Ed Halicki to the mound to face The Candyman, John Candelaria. It was all tricks and no treats for John and the Pirates, as he pitched a complete game, giving up just one run and striking out 10. The Pirates scored 5 runs, highlighted by HRs from John Milner and Dave Parker. The 5-1 win sends the Pirates to the World Series to face the Yankees with a 3-0 sweep over San Francisco.

[Highlander]

We move to the Fall Classic between the Yankees and the Pirates! They have faced each other in a few World Series over the years, most notable in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit his famous HR to win the series. We'll see what happens here!

In Game 1, the Pirates stuck with Bert Blyleven as their starter to open the series and in a surprise to no one, the Yankees went with Ron Guidry. The Pirates showed that Guidry is mortal, however, as the score was tied at 2 each after 7. Both teams went to their bullpen in the 8th and similar to the ALCS, GOose Gossage failed to deliver. To be fair, an error by Lou Piniella led to 2 unearned runs, but it was enough as the Pirates would take game 1 by a 4-3 score. Odell Jones got the Pirate win in relief and Kent Tekulve got the save.

Rookie Don Robinson looked to give the Pirates a 2-0 series lead and would face off against Dick Tidrow in Game 2. However, this one started off bad for Pittsburgh and kept getting worse. The Yankees got runs in the 1st, and then in each of innings 6-9 to pile up 11 runs. Tidrow wasn't at his best as he gave up 5 runs himself, but it was more than adequate to give the Yankees the win. Mickey Rivers hit 2 HR to lead the Yankees attack.

Game 3 saw a 1-1 tie in the series with John Candelaria on the mound for Pittsburgh against Catfish Hunter. As in the NLCS, The Candyman was rolling. He pitched a complete game shutout and Willie Stargell hit 2 HR and drove in 5 as Pittsburgh won the game 7-0 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4 saw another new hero emerge. The Pirates, behind pitcher Bruce Kison, took a 2-0 lead into the 8th inning over Jim beattie and the Yankees. However, in the bottom of the 8th, Graig Nettles hit a 3-run HR off of Kison to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead and Goose Gossage was able to shut things down in the 9th to save it and tie the series up a 2 games each.

Game 5 was a rematch of Game 1, with Blyleven and Guidry on the mound. As expected, it was a low scoring game. Reggie Jackson finally made his name know by driving in 2 runs for NY and that was all they would need as Guidry and Gossage held the Pirates to just 1 run. The Yankees now lead the series 3 games to 2. However, the last two games are in Pittsburgh, so anything can happen!

Game 6 was a back and forth affair like you might expect as the World Series is starting to wind down. Don Robinson and Dick Tidrow were on the mound again and both lasted 7 innings with the Yankees up 3-2. When the bullpens took over, things got crazy. The Yankees scored one more run in the 8th and 2 more in the 9th to seemingly be on the verge of winning the Series as they were ahead 6-2. However, for some reason, Goose Gossage was taken out of the game in the 9th despite just a 4 run lead. He had pitched a lot recently, but calling on Larry McCall was just a bad idea! The Pirates rallied hard against McCall with RBI doubles from Omar Moreno and John Milner, plus a solo HR by Bill Robinson. By the end of the inning, it was all tied at 6. The game continued on until the 12th, where another hero emerged! This time it was no surprise, as Dave Parker took Yankees reliever, Paul Lindblad, deep for a solo game winning HR. We will have a Game 7.

The Pirates would send the hot youngster to the mound in John Candelaria. The Yankees countered with a veteran who has some big World Series experience from his days in Oakland, in Catfish Hunter. An RBI double by Reggie Jackson in the 1st got the Yankees off to a 1-0 lead. The 2nd and 3rd innings saw no scoring, but in the 4th, the Yankees struck again with 2 more runs to take a 3-0 lead. The way the series has gone, more fireworks were certainly expected.....but none came. Catfish was his old vintage self and shut the Pirates down the whole way, pitching a 6 hit shutout to clinch the World Series for the Yankees. Kudos to both teams for a hard fought and entertaining series!

[Highlander]

Now that the Yankees have been named World Series champions for 1978, all that's left for the season is to see which players bring home the individual hardware!

Gold Glove Awards

American League
P- Jack Billingham (DET)
C- Jim Sundberg (TEX)
1B- Chris Chambliss (NYY)
2B- Lou Whitaker (DET)
3B- Roy Howell (TOR)
SS- Mark Belanger (BAL)
LF- Mitchell Page (OAK)
CF- Amos Otis (KC)
RF- Hosken Powell (MIN)

National League
P- Jim Kaat (PHI)
C- Gary Carter (MON)
1B- Tony Perez (MON)
2B- Manny Trillo (CHC)
3B- Mike Schmidt (PHI)
SS- Ozzie Smith (SD)
LF- Warren Cromartie (MON)
CF- Gary Maddox (PHI)
RF- Jack Clark (SF)

Relievers of the Year

In the AL, it was an Al....Hrabosky that is from the Royals....who took home the Reliever of the Year Award. He went 3-3 with 48 Saves in 70.1 IP. He had a 2.18 ERA, .94 WHIP and 46 Ks.

In the NL, it was Gene Garber of the Braves who took home the award. He actually started the season with the Phillies and spent about half the season with both teams. He went a combined 4-3 with 36 Saves in 72 IP. He had a 2.00 ERA, .83 WHIP and 57 Ks.

Silver Slugger Awards

American League (League Leading stats in bold)
C- Thurman Munson (NYY)- .318/.345/.415, 35 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR, 93 R, 85 RBI, 5 SB

1B- Eddie Murray (BAL)- .314/.374/.548, 35 doubles, 2 triples, 36 HR, 109 R, 109 RBI, 5 SB

2B- Lou Whitaker (DET)- .353/.427/.474, 23 doubles, 10 triples, 7 HR, 82 R, 66 RBI, 10 SB

3B- Doug DeCinces (BAL)- .306/.361/.557, 29 doubles, 1 triple, 34 HR, 81 R, 106 RBI, 4 SB

SS- Roy Smalley (MIN)- .286/.352/.484, 28 doubles, 8 triples, 26 HR, 90 R, 105 RBI, 5 SB

LF- Jim Rice (BOS)- .319/.386/.626, 30 doubles, 9 triples, 51 HR, 133 R, 142 RBI, 13 SB

CF- Ron LeFlore (DET)- .305/.366/.437, 32 doubles, 5 triples, 16 HR, 117 R, 75 RBI, 57 SB

RF- Sixto Lezcano (MIL)- .316/.410/.552, 24 doubles, 6 triples, 25 HR, 86 R, 85 RBI, 3 SB

DH- Rico Carty (OAK/TOR)- .305/.377/.508, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 29 HR, 87 R, 106 RBI, 0 SB

National League
P- Tom Seaver (CIN)- .241/.281/.410, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 11 R, 15 RBI, 0 SB

C- Ted Simmons (STL)- .292/.352/.465, 46 doubles, 6 triples, 16 HR, 74 R, 102 RBI, 0 SB

1B- Steve Garvey (LA)- .327/.347/.520, 41 doubles, 10 triples, 23 HR, 98 R, 109 RBI, 18 SB

2B- Bill Madlock (SF)- .313/.371/.476, 23 doubles, 1 triple, 19 HR, 87 R, 62 RBI, 23 SB

3B- Ron Cey (LA)- .263/.370/.435, 28 doubles, 0 triples, 24 HR, 81 R, 86 RBI, 3 SB

SS- Gary Templeton (STL)- .297/.313/.401, 44 doubles, 12 triples, 1 HR, 89 R, 45 RBI, 32 SB

LF- Greg Luzinski (PHI)- .264/.382/.532, 29 doubles, 2 triples, 38 HR, 96 R, 96 RBI, 3 SB

CF- Dave Winfield (SD)- .290/.322/.457, 36 doubles, 4 triples, 20 HR, 82 R, 102 RBI, 19 SB

RF- Dave Parker (PIT)- .342/.390/.548, 30 doubles, 13 triples, 22 HR, 104 R, 110 RBI, 23 SB

Rookies of the Year

In the American League, it was Kansas City Pitcher, Rich Gale, who took home the ROY. He went 20-5 with a 2.55 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 134 Ks in 215.2 IP.

In the National League, SS Ozzie Smith of the Padres is the 1978 NL Rookie of the Year. Besides winning the Gold Glove, he also hit .270/.350/.333, 16 doubles, 9 triples, 1 HR, 85 R, 42 RBI and 42 SB.

Cy Young Awards

In the least surprising results of the year, Ron Guidry of the Yankees won the Cy Young Award. He had an amazing season, going 26-7 with a 2.03 ERA, .94 WHIP and 205 Ks in 292.2 IP. He threw 23 Complete Games with 8 Shutouts. He led the league in Wins, ERA, WHIP, CG, SHO and IP.

Other AL pitchers in contention were Jon Matlack of the Rangers (20-10, 284 IP, 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 164 K), Rich Gale of the Royals (see above), Ed Figueroa of the Yankees (20-9, 248.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 93 K) and Mike Flanagan of Baltimore (23-15, 286.1 IP, 3.17 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 137 K) among others.

In a much closer race in the NL, Phil Niekro of the Braves (21-17, 339.2 IP, 2.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 225 K) edged out Steve Rogers of the Expos (16-8, 237.2 IP, 1.55 ERA, .99 WHIP, 137 K). Niekro got 16 1st place votes to 8 for Rogers. Phil led the league in Wins, IP, and CG with 26. Rogers led the league in ERA and WHIP.

Others in contention include Vida Blue of the Giants (21-6, 278.2 IP, 2.94 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 203 K) and JR Richard of the Astros (17-10, 293.2 IP, 2.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 275 K) among others.

MVP Awards

Jim Rice of the Boston Red Sox had a phenomenal year and it was good enough to take home the AL MVP. The rest of the top 5 vote getters were Ron Guidry, Roy Smalley, Lou Whitaker and Doug DeCinces.

In the NL, it was a very close race as Dave Parker edged out Jack Clark by just 8 points. First place votes were split at 12 for Parker and 10 for Clark. The rest of the top 5 were all pitchers....Phil Niekro, Vida Blue and JR Richard. Interesting that Steve Rogers finished 2nd in Cy Young voting, but 6th in MVP voting behind 3 other pitchers.

Here's a few other notable League Leaders that didn't receive any awards-

American League
George Brett of the Royals led the league in doubles with 50.

Ron Jackson of the Angels led the league in triples with 14.

Nolan Ryan of the Angels led the league in strikeouts with 235.

National League
Gene Tenace (SD) and John Stearns (NYM) tied for the league lead in OBP at .396.

Pete Rose of the Reds led the league in doubles with 49.

Phil Garner of the Pirates led the league in triples with 15.

Omar Moreno of the Pirates led the league in SB with 52.

Rollie Fingers of the Padres led the league in saves with 42.

Tom Seaver of the Reds led the league in SHO with 6.

Finally, there are 82 players on the HOF Ballot. Here's who I cast a vote for.....notable players for whom I didn't vote for.....and why!

Voted For
Luis Aparicio.....9 Gold Gloves, 10 All-Star appearances and 506 career SB. He's one of the best fielding SS ever and a great base stealer...that was enough for me.

Nellie Fox.....12 time All-Star, 3 Gold Gloves and an MVP. He's not a guy I would have voted for early in his eligibility, but he was especially good for the era he played in and is nearing the end of his voting chances so I threw him my vote.

Eddie Mathews.....9-time All-Star, member of the 500 HR club. At this point, that's enough for me.

Willie Mays.....Do I need to explain this one?

Duke Snider.....8 time All-Star and all of his HOF metrics show that he truly belongs. You can't have Willie and Mickey in there without the Duke!

Hoyt Wilhelm.....Only a 5 time All-Star, but a pioneer in the world of relief pitchers and knuckleballers. Plus he was still very effective into his late 40's. Not a typical HOFer, but one of those guys that was more than just his numbers.

Didn't Vote For
Jim Bunning.....He probably deserves to be in there eventually, but not in year two for me. A solid career, but his best years were in an era where a lot of pitchers had incredible years....his weren't really "incredible" just very good. Makes it hard to vote for him.....yet, anyway.

Don Drysdale....Similar reasons to Bunning. His best seasons were good, but not as good as you might think for his era. Retiring at age 32, despite the reasons, doesn't help either.

Gil Hodges.....I struggle with this one. He's got some strong numbers, but was never "the best" at anything in any season. His "Black Ink" score is 2. I won't be upset if he's in and if it was a year with less obvious ones, he might get a vote....but I get why he's not in yet.

Harvey Kuenn.....He had some great years in his 20's, but his 30's were pretty "meh". 8 All-Star appearances helps his case, but he falls a little short for me.

Red Schoendienst....Hard to pass on a 10x All-Star, but I feel like much of that was because of who else was playing and that he was a Cardinal who were very popular in that era as well. He's a very good player for his time, but I don't see him as an all-time great.

Bill White.....Not someone who gets talked about in the HOF discussion very much, but he's a 5x All-Star and 7x Gold Glove winner. Similar to Hodges, his Black Ink score is very unimpressive. Despite the Gold Gloves, his offense at 1B just falls too short to put him over the top.

Maury Wills.....An all-time great base stealer, but that's about it. He was a solid fielder, but not sure it was enough for me....just needed to be really good at something else besides stealing bases.

Results to come!

[Highlander]

The Hall of Fame will only see 1 new member join its ranks this year.....Willie Mays! The Say Hey Kid got 98% of the votes....not sure what the other 2% were thinking.

Duke Snider and Eddie Mathews both came close with 74.3 % each. Of the players I mentioned not voting for, Maury Wills and Bill White were the only ones who were dropped off the ballot.

On to 1979! I think I will adjust my reports to cover the whole season at the end....and not update each month. I'll work on streamlining the reports so I don't get too much into the weeds, but still give a good sense of how things went. More changes to come I am sure!