"The Bronx is Burning" - The Complete 1977 American League Card Set for Statis-Pro Baseball
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On October 18, 1977, 56,407 fans filled Yankee Stadium in hopes of seeing the Yankees close out the series. The Dodgers didn't go down without a fight. Steve Garvey put the Dodgers on the board first with a two-out, two-run triple in the first off Mike Torrez. The Yankees came back and tied it in the second on a Chris Chambliss two-run homer after Reggie Jackson walked on four pitches. Reggie Smith put the Dodgers up 3–2 with his third homer of the Series, a solo shot in the third.
But Jackson hit a two-run homer in the fourth on the first pitch he saw from starter Burt Hooton to give the Yankees the lead. Lou Piniella made it 5–3 by adding a sacrifice fly. Once again, in the fifth with a man on, Jackson connected on the first pitch off Elias Sosa to make the score 7–3. Jackson set an unequalled World Series and post-season records of home runs in 4 consecutive at-bats. The regular season record is 4 consecutive home runs by more than 25 players. (Nobody has ever hit 5 consecutive major league home runs). Jackson earned the nickname of "Mr. October." Reggie thus joined the handful of players to hit home runs while representing teams in both leagues. Finally, in the eighth, Jackson strode to the plate, amid the chants of "REG-GIE, REG-GIE, REG-GIE!", and drove the first Charlie Hough knuckleball he saw 475 feet into the stands. The score was now 8–3. With his Game 5 first-pitch homer and his four-pitch walk in the second inning of Game 6, Jackson would homer on his last four swings of the bat in the Series, each off a different Dodger pitcher. The Yankees, for the first time since 1962, were World Champions.
Reggie's blows signaled the beginning of the end of small-market baseball, as he had been the 1976 off-season's biggest free agent acquisition, and he had joined the previous season's AL pennant winner. It would take a while for the realities of baseball roster budgeting to set in, but nowadays it is very rare for a team to contend if it is not placed in the top eight or ten salaried clubs. This means teams will tank to build a core, and then add the key players needed to push their teams over the top. The Yankees had done exactly that, adding Reggie, Mike Torrez, Don Gullett, Bucky Dent, and Paul Blair in the 1977 offseason (or in Torrez's case, the first week of the season) to a strong core of holdovers from their 1976 AL Pennant winners, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, Catfish Hunter, Mickey Rivers, Chris Chambliss, Sparky Lyle, and Ed Figueroa. The Yankees would win consecutive World Series in 1977 and 1978, added pennants in 1976 and 1981, and possessed the best record in baseball in 1980, a formidable six year run of accomplishment. Free Agency had arrived in a big way, and baseball would never be the same.
Preseason predictions placed the Yankee's pitching hopes in the hands of Hunter, Figueroa, Torrez, Ken Holtzman, and Gullett, but when the dust cleared a young left-handed pitcher named Ron Guidry had stabilized the rotation. Guidry came out of the bullpen and into the rotation to finish 16-7 with a nifty 2.82 ERA. "Louisiana Lightning" would be even more impressive the next year, of course, but his first breakout year was something special, as he had up to that point only 31 innings in the majors and no wins prior to 1977.
Ron Guidry uncorks one.
Guidry had spent a lot of time shuttling back and forth between West Haven, Syracuse, and the Yankees and was thinking of quitting. He stayed, and once he was established, he turned into the best left-handed pitcher in the American League; between 1977 and 1985 he would win twenty games three times, win five Gold Gloves, win a Cy Young Award, and finish in the top seven of AL pitchers in that Award's voting six times, and finish 154-67 with a 3.15 ERA and 26 shutouts. He was also 5-2 in the post season, picking up a win in both the ALCS and WS in both 1977 and 1978. The Yankees had a fiery Captain in Munson and a big bat in Jackson, smooth fielding bangers at the corners in Nettles and Chambliss, and the speedy Mickey Rivers in Centerfield, all plenty of proven talent but it was often guys like Guidry - Willie Randolph, the second baseman was another such competitor- who could cut opponent's hearts out in key situations.
There were a lot of challengers, tough teams. The National League has been covered before; but one should not overlook the Dodgers, Phillies, or Pirates as contenders. In the American League the Royals had what many of their fans consider to be their franchise's best season, winning 102 games behind the hitting of George Brett (.312,.373,.532, 22 HRs, 105 R, 88 RBI) Hal McRae (.298,.366,.515, 21 HRs, 104 R, 92 RBI) and Al Cowens, who added to a .312 BA and 112 RBI season with 14 assists, a Gold Glove in right field and a second place finish in the league's MVP race. The pitching staff featured stoppers in 20 game winner Dennis Leonard, Jim Colburn, and Paul Splittorf, while the bull pen featured three men with at least ten saves in Larry Gura, Mark Littell, and Doug Bird. The lack of a true closer would prove to be their undoing in the ALCS, as the Royals carried a 3-1 lead into the 8th inning of Game 5 only to see Reggie single in Wille Randolph in the 8th for one run, and the first three runners reach in the 9th with a clinching sacrifice fly against three different pitchers in the 9th. It could be forgiven if Kansas City fans felt they deserved more from this era, and in particular this 1977 team. They won three Division Titles in a row and lost to the Yankees each time; a perceptive Howard Cosell aptly noted at the conclusion of the ALCS, "The Yankees seem to just know how to win."
They had challengers in their division. The ever-dangerous Red Sox rebounded from 83 wins in 1976 to win 97, and to take the New Yorkers to the last weekend. The Sox batted .281 and hit 213 Homeruns, with Jim Rice (.320 39 HR 206 H, 104 R, 114 RBI), George Scott (33 HR 103 R, 95 RBI), Butch Hobson (30 HR, 112 RBI), Carl Yaztrzemski (28 HR 99 R 102 RBI), and Carlton Fisk (.315 26 HR, 106 R, 102 RBI) pounded lumps on enemy hurlers. Dwight Evans and Bernie Carbo drove in 80 more runs in right field as a platoon; so effective was the lineup at turning over that Hobson actually drove in his 112 RBI while batting ninth. The Sox got good work from long relievers Mike Paxton and Bob Stanley, who combined won 18 and lost only 12, and a great year from Bill Cambpell, who won 13 more games and saved 31 with a 2.96 ERA. But the rotation, aside from Fergie Jenkins and part timer Don Aase all had ERAs of 4.26 or above. This lack of depth prevented the Sox from stopping losing streaks; twice leading the Eastern Division they suffered long streaks, once in late June when they lost nine in a row to move from four games up to down by a game, and far more damaging streak in mid-August, losing seven in a row to move from 2 games up to trailing by two games - a deficit they never again were able to close, despite playing well in September (22-8).
Their competition on the last weekend, an ill-fated piece of chance that doomed both teams, was the Baltimore Orioles, who tied the Red Sox at 97-64 and 2.5 games back of the Yankees (100-62). The O's were led by their starting rotation - Jim Palmer who finished 20-11 with a 2.91 ERA, 18 wins from Rudy May, 15 wins from Mike Flanagan, 14 wins from Ross Grimsley, and another 14 wins from swingman Dennis Martinez. On offense, newcomer Eddie Murray mostly played DH in his rookie year, and hit .283 with 27 HR and 88 RBI. Right fielder Ken Singleton (.328, 107 BB, 90 R, 99 RBI, 24 HR) and first baseman Lee May (27 HR, 99 RBI) drove in runners while centerfielder Al Bumbry (.317, 19 SB) put pressure on the basepaths. The O's were building the 1979 Pennant winners; while Grimsley and May would be banished to Montreal Scott Macgregor was lurking in the bullpen and Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein were just a year away.
Elsewhere in the East, a year made a big difference in the fortunes of the Tigers and Mark "the Bird" Fidrych. Fidrych tore knee cartilage in the outfield in the Spring Training of 1977 fooling around in the outfield, and he missed the opener. He came back to start the season 6-2 before his arm went dead. Fidrych was never the same after that and finished up his career 29-19 after his brilliant 19-9 season in 1976. Outfielder Mickey Stanley and reliever John Hiller were the last old hands left on the roster from the glory years, but 1B Jason Thompson (31 HR 105 RBI), Steve Kemp (18 HR 88 RBI), Ron Leflore (.325, 212 H, 100 R, 39 S) and Rusty Staub (22 HR, 101 RBI) were the bright spots, while Dave Rozema won 15 to lead AL rookie moundsmen.
The Tribe managed only 100 HRs and 900k spectators in cavernous Cleveland Stadium, led by Andre Thornton's 28 HR and Rico Carty's 80 RBI. Three pitchers at the top of the rotation were sound - Wayne Garland, in spite of his 13-19 record, Dennis Eckersley, and Jim Bibby, while fireballer Jim Kern and lefty Don Hood held down the fort in the bullpen. Cleveland would lose Eckersley to Boston and Bibby to Pittsburgh in the 1977-78 offseason, where they would prove eminently helpful to their new teams.
The Brewers finished 11th in the AL in both scoring runs and ERA, but the names in the lineup - Bando, Yount, Monty, Moore, Lezcano foretold better days. Help, in the form of 1977 Twins All-Star Larry Hisle, Tigers cast-off Ben Oglivie, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, and centerfielder Gorman Thomas would appear in 1978, turning this lineup into a feared group and an eventual pennant winner in 1982. On the mound, Jim Slaton pitched better than his 10-14 record would suggest, and he was traded to Detroit for Oglivie after the season - only to return in free agency a year later, a form of front office buffonery that Tigers fans remember to this day.
Toronto lost 107 games in their inaugural campaign, with 38 year old DH Ron Fairly their lone representative in the All-Star Game. Fairly batted .279 and hit 19 HR to lead the team in his 20th season, while youngsters Roy Howell (.316 BA) and Jim Clancy (4-9, 5.05 ERA) would eventually make decent careers.
In the West, Kansas City had finished 8 games ahead of the 94-68 Texas Rangers. The Rangers had five excellent pitchers who all won 10 or more games - starters Doyle Alexander (17-11), Gaylord Perry (15-12), Bert Blyleven (14-12, 2.72 ERA), and mid-season pickup Dock Ellis (10-6), with along with Swiss Army knife reliever Adrian Devine (11-6, 15 SV). The Rangers tried Roger Moret and Paul Lindblad before settling on Darold Knowles as a lefty finisher, but their lack of depth in the bullpen in spite of a second-place team ERA finish would be a recurring problem in the next few years. On offense the Rangers made up for middling batting and power by finishing fourth in the AL in base stealing, led by 2B Bump Wills (28 steals), 3B Toby Harrah (27 Steals, 109 BB 87 RBI and 27 HR), 35 year old SS Bert Campaneris (27 steals), CF Juan Beniquez (26 steals) and LF Claudell Washington (21 steals). Campaneris experienced a career resurgence in 1977 and made his sixth and last All Star game, where he backed up Rick Burleson, drew a walk and scored a run. IB Mike Hargrove hit .305, drew 103 BB, scored 98 R, and hit 18 HR, while a reasonably healthy Wille Horton batted .289, spanked 15 HR and drove in 75 R in limited duty at DH.
Finishing just behind the Rangers at 90-72 were the South Side Hitmen, the Chicago White Sox, and I'm not going to lie, they are my favorite team in the set. The White Sox scored 844 runs (3rd in the AL) on 192 HRs (2nd to Boston) and at their best they could pound lumps on the opposition. They were in first place in July and September until their weaker pitching started to take a toll. Owner Bill Veeck and General Manager Roland Hemond wisely figured out that players in their last year of their contracts might be singularly motivated to perform well for one year as a form of rental - and they were right. They also scoured the waiver wire to build a formidable lineup - OFs Richie Zisk (.290, 30 HR, 101 RBI), and Oscar Gamble (.297, 31 HR, 83 RBI), 3B Eric Soderholm (.280, 25 HR 60 RBI) CF Chet Lemon (.273, 19 HR, 67 RBI), 1B Jim Spencer (18 HR, 69 RBI), OF Ralph Garr (.300) and DH Lamar Johnson (18 HR). Manager Bob Lemon handed the ball to Francisco Barrios, Ken Kravec, Chris Knapp, and Steve Stone, even if as youngsters they had some growing pains; the one great pitching performance was from Lerrin LaGrow out of the bullpen (2.46 ERA, 25 saves). The Sox looked set to make noise for quite some time - but Zisk had cost them Goose Gossage, and Gamble Bucky Dent, and in the long run these rentals proved costly. Still most White Sox fans rate this among the franchise's top teams; having tested them against the Red Sox I can say - they can hit.
Oscar Gamble was deadly in 1977 (.297/.386/.588)
Leading the AL in runs scored while finishing only ahead of the expansion Blue Jays and Mariners in ERA, the Twins appropriately finished just over .500 at 84-78 in spite of having the league's leading hitter and MVP, Rod Carew (.388, 239 H, 38 2B, 16 3B, 14 HR, 128 R, 100 RBI, 23 Steals). Carew flirted with .400 for most of the year and finished with the highest BA in the American League since Ted Williams hit .388 in 1957. Left fielder Larry Hisle (.302, 28 HR, 95R, 119 RBI, 21 Steals) and centerfielder Lyman Bostock (.339, 104 R) rounded out the Lumber Company, while Dave Goltz won 20 and Tom Johnson won 16 and saved 15 out of the bullpen, but SP Geoff Zahn and RP Tom Burgmeier suffered through off years.
California had two of the league's best (and most feared) starters, the righty-lefty tandem of Nolan Ryan (19-16, 2.77 ERA, 341 K) and Frank Tanana (15-9, 254 ERA, 205 K). Together they threw 29 WP and hit 21 batters, presumably not once with a changeup. A decent year out of swingman Paul Hartzell and some good work by the righty-lefty bullpen tandem of Dyar Miller and Dave Laroche allowed the Angels to finish fourth in American League ERA - but there were holes. Ken Brett, Wayne Simpson and Gary Ross finished a combined 15-26 at the bottom end of the rotation, and Mike Barlow and Don Kirkwood had off years in the bullpen. 2B Jerry Remy stole 41 bases; CF Bobby Bonds hit 37 HR, drove in 117 R, and stole another 41 bases, and Don Baylor smacked 25 HR but Joe Rudi slumped to .264 and 13 HR while playing only 64 games.
The Mariners finished out of the cellar in their first year, led by the trio of 1B Danny Meyer (.273, 22 HR, 90 RBI), RF Leroy Stanton (.275, 27 HR, 90 RBI) and the irrepressible Ruppert Jones (.263, 24 HR, 85 R, 76 RBI) who covered vast expanses of the Kingdome's artificial surface to hunt down flyball's to ecstatic cries of, "Roop! Roop!". Jones was the first pick of the 1976 Expansion Draft and the first Mariner to make the All-Star team. The pitchers had no such representative, with only closer Enrique Romo (2.83 ERA, 16 SV) having a good year.
The As finished in the cellar thanks to twin 19 game losing seasons by Rick Langford (8-19) and Vida Blue (14-19). A good bullpen featuring Doug Bair, Pable Torrealba, Dave Giusti, Joe Coleman and Bob Lacey combined for 25 saves, but only 3B Wayne Gross (22 HR, 86 BB) and LF Mitchell Page (.307, 21 HR, 85 R, 75 RBI 42 ST) were bright spots at the plate. For the future, though, SP Langford and Mike Norris saw steady action in 1977, and they would soon be joined full-time by Steve McCatty, Matt Keough - and Billy Martin, in better days ahead.
The 1977 American League, like the 1977 NL before it, actually resides in the dead middle offensively of the seasons I am normalizing for, so like the 1977 NL, the standard cards are also the normalized cards. Enjoy the set! My next set is likely to contain "A Fold For All Seasons."
Fred Bobberts
Albuquerque, NM, Original Publication Date 2/27/2022
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