We took 2 of 3 from Toronto to finish the season at 94-68 good enough for 1st place in the AL West (Kansas City finished 4 games back) and the best record in the major leagues!
Paul Molitor won the AL Batting Crown with a .333 average and was just edged out by St. Louis catcher Johnny Wockenfuss for the major league lead. Molitor also led the AL in slugging % (.511), OPS (.898) and was just edged out by Yankees third baseman Mike Schimidt in runs scored (103 vs. 102 for Molitor), all this despite Molitor missing 5 weeks of the season.
Bill Buckner led the majors with 198 hits while hitting .308 with 14 HR’s and 98 RBI’s just breaking his string of 3 straight seasons of 100+ RBI’s. Rupert Jones shook off a slow start to lead the team in RBI’s with 101 while Richie Zisk led the team with 21 HR’s. My lineup was nice and balanced.
- C: John Stearns (.303, 6 HR, 47RBI's)
- 1B: Andre Thornton (.241, 16 HR, 80 RBI's)
- 2B: Paul Molitor (.333, 13 HR, 68 RBI's)
- 3B: Tim Wallach (.272, 15 HR, 79 RBI's)
- SS: Dave Stapleton (.314, 10 HR, 47 RBI's)
- LF: Richie Zisk (.260, 21 HR, 92 RBI's)
- CF: Rupert Jones (.271, 17 HR, 101 RBI's)
- RF: Dave Winfield (.239, 15 HR, 86 RBI's)
- DH: Bill Buckner (.308, 14 HR, 98 RBI's)
Don Gullet led the staff with a 21-8 record and a 3.38 ERA. My other starters included Floyd Bannister (14-8, 3.88), Brian Kingman (12-10, 4.58), Alan Wirth (10-9, 5.17), and Burt Hooton (8-8, 5.19). Rookie Tom Gorman led the relievers with 32 saves and an ERA of 0.88. My top setup men were Rich Gossage (3-5, 6 Saves, 1.99), Steve Foucault (1-1, 5 Saves, 2.27), and Sheldon Burnside (4-2, 1 Save, 3.05).