The NL Central race comes down to a final day showdown between the Cubs and Bucs, with Chicago taking the game 6-1 and relegating Pittsburgh to the NL WC1 slot, where they are knocked out by the Marlins. The Mariners win 113 and barely raise a sweat en route to another title.
Awards
MVP- AL: Don Hurst (Orioles) [1]
- NL: David Justice (Brewers) [2]
CYA- AL: Don Drysdale (Royals) [2]
- NL: Moose Haas (Cubs) [1]
RoY- AL: Edgar Wesley (Rays)
- NL: Marcelo Mayer (Pirates) unanimous
Reliever- AL: Benny Frey (Mariners) [1] unanimous
- NL: Jim Moore (Brewers) [1]
Feats of Note- Cycle: Jim Rice, Bill White, Willie Upshaw, Glenallen Hill, Babe Herman, Frenchy Bordagaray, Lyle Overbay, Johnny Gill
- No-Hitter: Hal Newhouser, Luis Tiant
- Carl Crawford sets new OFA record by hitting in 34 straight games
Milestones- 600 HR: Daryl Strawberry
- 3000 H: Jud Wilson, Dusty Baker, Freddie Freeman
- 250 W: Burleigh Grimes
- 300 SV: Tim Burke, Vibert Clarke
New Season Records- Rondel Hawley 83 G / 69 GS
Top 20s by WAR
More scarily uncanny prescience from the BNN mob as Marcelo Mayer crushes his rookie season, winning the RoY and locking down 7.1 bWAR, second only in the league to Don Hurst's 7.3. He also finishes third behind David Justice and Jim Rice in the NL MVP vote, even garnering 8 first-place nods. Heady company indeed!
After a bit of a lull in the second half of his twenties,
Ben "Old Reliable" Taylor is enjoying a renaissance in his thirties, and his age-34 season is easily his best yet as he slashes 351/408/505 to win the NL batting title, leads the league with 42 doubles and racks up a career-high 5.6 bWAR.