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There are eight teams to cover from the 1970's. Five from the American League and three from the National League.

In the American League, the 1970 Baltimore Orioles hold the division lead at 66-45. The Orioles are tied for 10th in the AL in runs scored (579), 15th in average (.277), 20th in OBP (.353) and 8th in home runs (128). The lineup is solid. Here are the 3-4-5 hitters:

LF Merv Rettenmund .329, 18 HR, 67 RBI
1B Boog Powell .301, 28 HR, 99 RBI
RF Frank Robinson .296, 21 HR, 75 RBI

SP Dave McNally (14-5, 3.75 ERA) and SP Jim Palmer (11-10, 3.11 ERA) lead the team on the mound. Making news for the team in July was LF/DH Don Buford (.263, 12 HR, 61 RBI). Buford was named Player of the Week on July 22nd after going 13 for 24 (.542) with four home runs, eight runs batted in and scoring seven times. Baltimore went 20-9 in July, taking over 1st place after being three games behind at the end of June. They swept the 1995 Cleveland Indians and 1911 Philadelphia Athletics this month.

In second place, we have a tie with two teams sitting a game back at 65-46. The first team is the 1971 Baltimore Orioles. The '71 squad is 18th in the AL in runs allowed with 436. DH Merv Rettenmund (.301, 8 HR, 59 RBI) and CF Paul Blair (.300, 9 HR, 62 RBI) lead the team at the plate. SP Jim Palmer (14-5, 2.78 ERA) and SP Pat Dobson (14-6, 2.80 ERA) lead the team on the mound. CL Eddie Watt (3-4, 3.13 ERA, 33 Saves) is tied for 2nd in the AL in saves. Dobson made headlines for the club on July 10th after pitching a 1-0 shutout against the 1916 Boston Red Sox (44-47). Dobson held the Sox to three hits, struck out six and walked two. Dobson is also currently 2nd in the AL in innings pitched with 183. The '71 Orioles had a seven game win streak and have won nine of their last ten games to end the month, sweeping the 1962 New York Yankees and 1959 Chicago White Sox in the process. The second team in this tie are the 1974 Oakland A's. The A's are 7th in the AL in runs allowed (386), 4th in starter ERA (3.08), 8th in overall ERA (3.23) and 14th in defense. There are no .300 hitters in the lineup. As a matter of fact, 1B Joe Rudi is the team's best hitter at .280, 18 HR, 74 RBI. RF Reggie Jackson is hitting .274, 25 HR, 68 RBI. The starting pitcher is a three headed dragon that will give teams fits in the playoffs if this team can get there. SP Ken Holtzman (13-8, 3.12 ERA), SP Vida Blue (11-7, 2.30 ERA) and SP Glenn Abbott (10-4, 2.65 ERA) lead the team on the mound. Blue made news for the team on July 11th after a 2-0 win over the 2001 New York Yankees (39-53). Blue held the Yankees to four hits, struck out nine and walked one. SP Catfish Hunter (8-12, 3.79 ERA) is having a rough year, but is ranked 3rd in the AL in walks per 9 with 1.03.

In fourth place are the 1979 Baltimore Orioles at 64-47, 2 GB. Baltimore is tieds for 13th in the AL in home runs with 121. There are no .300 hitters in the lineup. The story for this team is the pitching. SP Dennis Martinez (12-7, 3.01 ERA), SP Scott McGregor (12-5, 3.77 ERA) and SP Jim Palmer (13-6, 3.23 ERA) are all pitching well. CL Tim Stoddard (4-3, 1.90 ERA, 31 Saves) is slamming the door shut on the opposition. CF Al Bumbry made the press for the team on July 2nd after going 5 for 6 in a 13-0 blowout win over the 1938 New York Yankees (46-38). Bumbry (.256, 8 HR, 44 RBI) finished the game with three singles and two doubles. Also making news was Palmer, who on July 24th, pitched a 9-0 shutout against the 1911 Philadelphia Athletics (54-50). Palmer held the Athletics to two hits, struck out six and walked none.

The 1972 Oakland A's are in fifth place at 63-48, 3 GB. The A's were tied for 1st place at the end of June, but a 14-15 month dropped them, for the moment, out of the lead. Oakland is tied for 18th in the AL in home runs with 117. RF Matty Alou (.311, 3 HR, 38 RBI) leads the team in average, while 1B Mike Epstein (.289, 27 HR, 74 RBI) and CF Reggie Jackson (.288, 26 HR, 82 RBI) provide the power. SP Catfish Hunter (11-6, 3.71 ERA) is the team's best pitcher. Two players made news for the team in July. On July 27th, SP Vida Blue (12-7, 4.80 ERA) pitched a 5-0 shutout against the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers (48-59). Blue allowed only one hit, struck out seven and walked none. On July 29th, Epstein hit for the cycle in a 4 for 4 performance in a 6-5 win over the 1981 New York Yankees (57-52). Epstein finished the game with four runs batted in and two runs scored. SS Bert Campaneris (.272, 8 HR, 38 RBI) currently has a 22 game hitting streak.

In the National League, the team at the top is the 1976 Cincinnati Reds at 75-36. The '76 Reds are 1st in the NL in runs scored (627), 3rd in average (.290), 1st in OBP (.367) and 7th in slugging (.431). RF Ken Griffey, Sr. (.362, 3 HR, 60 RBI) and LF George Foster (.357, 25 HR, 103 RBI) lead the team at the dish. Griffey Sr. is currently 2nd in the NL in hits (164). Foster made headlines for the team on July 15th when he was named Player of the Week. Foster was 16 for 29 (.552) with three home runs and 10 RBI. Foster is also currently 1st in the NL in RBI. 2B Joe Morgan (.318, 16 HR, 69 RBI) is 2nd in the NL in runs scored with 101. SP Pat Zachary (9-3, 2.59 ERA) is the team's best pitcher. The Reds put together nine and seven game win streaks this month en route to a 22-7 month, building their lead by three games.

The 1975 Cincinnati Reds are in second place at 71-40, 4 GB. They currently hold the first wildcard slot for the playoffs. The '75 Reds are 3rd in the NL in runs scored (597), 6th in average (.279), 7th in OBP (.350), tied for 10th in home runs (120) and 3rd in slugging (.439). The heart of the lineup, 3-6, looks like this:

2B Joe Morgan .293, 20 HR, 75 RBI
C Johnny Bench .306, 23 HR, 82 RBI
LF George Foster .300, 23 HR, 87 RBI
1B Tony Perez .289, 21 HR, 76 RBI

Foster was named Player of the Week on July 22nd after an 11 for 20 performance, with three home runs, nine RBI and five runs scored. SP Gary Nolan (16-2, 2.58 ERA) leads the team on the mound and is tied for the most wins in the National League. On July 22nd, SP Don Gullett (11-7, 2.86 ERA) made headlines after a 12-0 beat down of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (45-37). Gullett held the Pirates to three hits, struck out five and walked one in the game.

In third place are the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates at 70-41, 5 GB. The Pirates are currently the #2 wildcard. Pittsburgh is 4th in the NL in runs scored (596), 1st in average (.308), 4th in OBP (.359), 5th in home runs (132) and 1st in slugging (.487). Only one player in the lineup is hitting under .300. RF Roberto Clemente (.390, 9 HR, 77 RBI) and LF Willie Stargell (.323, 47 HR, 100 RBI) lead an all-star lineup. Clemente is currently 2nd in the NL in average and 1st in the Majors in hits (184). Stargell is currently 1st in the Majors in home runs and 2nd in the NL in RBI. SP Luke Walker (12-1, 3.02 ERA) leads the pitchers. Making news for the team was SP Bob Moose. On July 13th, Moose (13-5, 4.40 ERA) pitched a 9-0 shutout against the 1915 Philadelphia Phillies (47-47). Moose allowed only four hits, struck out three and walked none.