A dreadful start by our pitchers sees our ERA blow out to an NL-worst 5.34 after 15 games. Reuss and Rhoden just cannot get their act together and Bibby looks a shot duck—thus the subsequent inclusion of him in the Guidry trade.
After 40 games, we sit at a dead-even 20-20, which seems accurate given one half of our game is working well and the other terribly.
And, thanks to a win over Lefty Carlton and the Phils on the last day of May, we enter the middle third with a (barely) winning record and 4 GB our friends from the City of Brotherly Love.
As mentioned earlier, Bill Madlock is locked down with a 2-year, $2m extension. We splash more cash on Rich Gossage (2/1050) and Bill Robinson (2+1/1610), then do what we feel is a very friendly 7/2635 deal to keep Ron Guidry - who settles in nicely after the trade - here thru 1984. We’ll hold off on others just for now.
The defending Champs are looking strong again, going a stellar 23-7 over their first 30 games to get an early jump on their AL West rivals.
Monthly Award Winners
April
American League
- Batter – Jim Rice (Red Sox): 434 / 12 HR / 32 RBI
- Pitcher – Gaylord Perry (Yankees): 5-0 / 0.81 / 26 K / 44.2 IP
- Rookie – Eddie Murray (Orioles): 394 / 2 HR / 9 RBI
National League
- Batter – Greg Luzinski (Phillies): 397 / 6 HR / 17 RBI
- Pitcher – Ron Guidry (Mets): 4-1 / 1.54 / 33 K / 41 IP
- Rookie – Jim Norris (Mets): 329 / 1 HR / 12 RBI
May
American League
- Batter – Reggie Smith (Red Sox): 344 / 10 HR / 30 RBI
- Pitcher – Ed Halicki (White Sox): 4-1 / 3.06 / 36 K / 50 IP
- Rookie – Craig Reynolds (Brewers): 327 / 4 HR / 18 RBI
National League
- Batter – Davey Johnson (Expos): 330 / 9 HR / 24 RBI
- Pitcher – Jon Matlack (Mets): 4-1 / 1.13 / 36 K / 47.2 IP
- Rookie – Silvio Martinez (Padres): 4-0 / 2.93 / 19 K / 43 IP
News and Leaders
Milestones and Observations of Note
- 2500 Hits: Pete Rose (slightly behind his IRL pace, which had him at about 2700 thru 1976; let’s see if he can make up the difference and catch Ty’s 4125 in this timeline)
- The Red Sox retain superstar Reggie Smith with a 5/6200 deal as well as Gene Tenace on a 7/6820 extension. Our Lance Parrish pick-up in the recent Draft just took on a whole lot more significance. Sadly for the Sox, for Reggie and for any lover of the game – he was on track for one heck of a season including 60 HR, 180 RBI pace – Reggie subsequently gets knocked out for a monthlong stint on the sidelines after doing his hammy. They call up Ruppert Jones from AAA to fill the hole, who proceeds to mash two taters in his first game. Tough for some, innit…
- The Phils lose Bruce Sutter for 6 weeks through an elbow strain, while the Blue Jays lose Don Wilson for the season to a torn labrum.
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