August begins in ominous fashion with yet another Dave Giusti meltdown, and our form in this period remains far too choppy to make any headway on Philly’s lead. But the Phils haven’t been in this position too often of late and it starts to show as they slowly start creeping back toward the pack like they need to borrow change.
We catch them for the first time (thanks in part to the Giants hammering them 18-4) right at the end of August with still 30 or so games to play and the Cubs hot on our heels. Been a while since we’ve been in this position, let alone the other two, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any muscle memory for the guys who were playing back when we last enjoyed some success. Chasing and leading involve two entirely different states of mind, as shown by the fact that we immediately start losing including yet another hellacious 9th-inning implosion from Dave Giusti.
By the time September rolls around we are already back to 2½ behind, with the Cubs on a 6-game losing streak as well and in danger of falling out of contention. We lose a couple more to fall 4 back. It’ll be tough from here, even with five games still to play against the Phils.
And so it proves, with us 6 back when we head to Philly for two of those games. We split them to put their magic number into single figures but then give ourselves a sniff with a 5-game win streak that closes the gap to 3 ½ when they come to Pittsburgh for a three-gamer that suddenly has a whole heap of significance.
Carlton gets them the all-important win in the opener and a 7-6 loss in 12 the next day all but ends our challenge. We at least prevent them clinching at our park the next night as Singer wins his 20th (12-2 / 2.65 for us since the trade) but the inevitable happens with a 10-3 thumping at the hands of the Cubs in Game 159.
The Phils are, in fact, the first to clinch, along with the Giants. The Twins finally see off the A’s with two to play, but the Red Sox make a complete mess of the AL East and need a 6-5 final day win by the Tribe over the Yanks to get them home by a game.
We finish 90-72 and 5 GB. Whatever disappointment I might be feeling about getting so close but coming away empty-handed are well and truly eclipsed by the feeling that our club has turned the corner and that, with most if not all of the necessary pieces now in place, a period of success beckons.
Sandy Koufax does nail down his second TC with his 23 wins and 1.49 ERA the league’s best - the latter, in fact, the best
ever, beating Smoky Joe Wood's 1909 mark by 0.13 of a run - but his 254 strikeouts some distance behind Nolan Ryan's 299. Rod Carew and Rico Carty win the batting titles, with Willie McCovey's 42 HR and Dick Allen's 115 RBI the most in either league. Wayne Grange and Ron Perranoski tie for the saves high with 35 apiece.
Final Top 20s and Leaders
Monthly Award Winners
August
American League
- Batter – Reggie Jackson (A’s): 323 / 11 HR / 28 RBI
- Pitcher – Catfish Hunter (A’s): 4-0 / 1.66 / 38 K / 48.2 IP
- Rookie – Gary Gentry (Angels): 3-1 / 2.40 / 35 K / 48.2 IP
National League
- Batter – Johnny Bench (Reds): 407 / 8 HR / 22 RBI
- Pitcher – Don Wilson (Astros): 5-0 / 1.17 / 32 K / 46.1 IP
- Rookie – Jerry Reuss (Astros): 4-1 / 1.44 / 23 K / 43.2 IP
September
American League
- Batter – Tony Oliva (Twins): 398 / 5 HR / 27 RBI
- Pitcher – Nolan Ryan (Angels): 5-1 / 2.17 / 63 K / 45.2 IP
- Rookie – Mike Wegener (White Sox): 2-0 / 1.86 / 7 SV / 8 K / 9.2 IP
National League
- Batter – Tony Perez (Reds): 308 / 8 HR / 19 RBI
- Pitcher – Joe Coleman (Cardinals): 5-0 / 1.24 / 26 K / 43.2 IP
- Rookie – Jerry Reuss (Astros): 4-0 / 2.12 / 26 K / 34 IP
Milestones and Observations of Note
- 3000 Hits: Richie Ashburn
- Shoulder woes see Cards SP Chris Short’s season echo his surname, while Henry Aaron also gets an early holiday courtesy of an elbow strain.
- Willie Mays, while on a rehab assignment, does his ACL and is done for the year.
S+ HOME
REPORTS HOME
PIRATES HOME