Erudite Dan Quisenberry, gently stoking his dark ginger moustache, lashed out against his critics in Chciago and Houston.
"Well those "unidentified sources" quoted by the Tribune -- and everyone knows its loudmouth Chris Hansen and the rest of those damn Cubbies -- are just rolling in the sour grapes of finishing second. They should just prove it on the field rather than mouth off anonymously to the paper."
"As for Rawley's comments: strikeouts, shmikeouts. Who cares how many Ks you have. Focusing on strikeouts rather than overall production and impact on a pennant race smacks of infantile, macho thinking in which all rational thought gets left. Typical testosterone-induced, caveman level reaction. I had a better seaosn than Rawley and had more impact in my 70 innings than he did in his 200. I wouldn't expect anything else coming from Texas though."
The following is a summary of the records broken in the 1979 regular season...
American League:
-Strikeouts in a season - In a rather dubious record to hold, Toronto Blue Jay, Scott Northey struck out an amazing 226 times smashing the previous record.
-Burt Hooton set the AL record for walks in a game with an incredible 12 in a game vs. Boston.
National League:
-RBI in a season - Pittsburgh's Mike Schmidt had a breakthrough season for the Pirates with 144 RBI setting the new CDL overall record.
-Stolen bases - Houston's Ozzie Smith had 81 stolen bases on 96 attempts to set the NL record.
Significant established team records:
AL West:
California - Runs - Omar Moreno, 94
Chicago - At bats - Dusty Baker, 682
Kansas City - Saves - Bob Moose, 43
Seattle - RBI - Eddie Murray, 88
Seattle - 2Bs - Eddie Murray, 38
Seattle - Runs - Rickey Henderson, 83
Seattle - BBs - Rickey Henderson, 98
Seattle - Stolen bases - Rickey Henderson, 74
Seattle - Hitting streak - Eddie Murray, 16
Seattle - ERA - Bob Welch, 3.17
Seattle - Wins - Bob Welch, 17
Seattle - Saves - Daryl Patterson, 41
Texas - Hits - Tony Horton, 180
AL East:
Baltimore - RBI - Gary Thomasson, 121
Baltimore - Runs - Mitchell Page, 115
Baltimore - Hitting Streak - Gary Thomasson, 22
Boston - K's - Burt Hooton, 247
Cleveland - ERA - Ron Bryant, 2.53
Detroit - ERA - Bob Stanley, 2.12
Toronto - HRs - Cliff Johnson, 24
Toronto - RBI - Cliff Johnson, 85
Toronto - 3Bs - Scott Northey, 10
Toronto - K's - Scott Northey, 226
Toronto - ERA - Ken Holtzman, 3.34
Toronto - Wins - Ken Holtzman, 13
Toronto - Saves - Jerry Cram, 30
NL West:
Atlanta - Losses - Steve Trout, 19
Houston - Stolen bases - Ozzie Smith, 81
Houston - ERA - Wally Bunker, 2.06
Los Angeles - Games pitched - Gary Ross, 86
Los Angeles - Walks - Ray Sadecki, 102
San Diego - 3Bs - Billy Conigliaro, 11
San Diego - Walks - Rico Petrocelli, 109
San Diego - Hitting streak - Cesar Cedeno, 16
San Diego - Walks - Grant Jackson, 107
San Francisco - At bats - George Brett, 679
San Francisco - 3Bs - Gene Richards, 12
San Francisco - Games pitched - Barry Lersch, 98
NL East:
Montreal - Batting average - Willie Crawford, .309
Montreal - Walks - Mike Mcqueen, 144
New York - Hitting streak - Ed Kranepool, 16
Pittsburgh - HRs - Mike Schmidt, 47
Pittsburgh - RBI - Mike Schmidt, 144
Pittsburgh - Stolen bases - Billy North, 74
Pittsburgh - Wins - Doyle Alexander, 23
At a press conference held by the Houston Astros to celebrate Shane Rawley's completely unexpected Rookie of the Year victory, he had a few choice words to say about why Quisenberry was not a deserving rookie of the year.
"First off, Quisenberry didn't even pitch 70 innings last season, while pitched 231 innings. Second, how many hitters did Quisenberry strikeout last season??? The answer is 11!!! Can you believe that? He isn't a good pitcher, he's just lucky to play in front of a good defense. If Quisenberry was given the Rookie of the Year award, would they have had to get 8 trophies to give to his defense, the real reason his numbers look so good. If he pitched in Houston his ERA would be higher than mine. I won 14 games for a team that was going nowhere last year, so I can't imagine why anyone would want to take away my award and give it to some soft tossing poet like Quisenberry."
Rawley then stormed out of the press conference.
An unidentified source has told the Chicago Tribune why many of the voters for the National League Rookie of the Year Award decided to vote for winner Shane Rawley of Houston and not runner up Dan Quisenberry of Pittsburgh.
"Simple, Rawley was great all season as was Quizenberry, and heading into the playoffs it was a virtual cointoss," replied the unidentified source. "But after seeing 'the Quiz' single-handedly blow game seven of the NLCS the choice became much easier to make." The voter went on to say, "this doesn't take anything away from the season Dan had, but overall it gave the edge to Rawley."
In hindsight, many other voters look at their pick as being proper, expecially considering the outbreak Dan and GM Sam Stauder displayed after Rawley won the award. "A real classy player would have swallowed their ego and sent congrats to Rawley," said one fan, who continued on by saying., "you didn't see [Chicago Cub's catcher Gary] Carter throwing a hissey-fit when that cake-boy [Mike] Schmidt [of Pittsburgh] won the MVP instead of Carter who had a better season."
Dan Quisenberry, rookie closer extraordinaire for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was vocally upset over being passed over for NL Rookie of the Year.
"Yeah, I think I was jobbed," said Quiz. "It's typical of you damn writers. You never give us relief pitchers any respect. Night after night we are closing out the games, saving the starters asses and for what? No respect; none at all."
Quisenberry finished the 1979 year with a record of 6-2 with 30 saves and an incredible 0.39 ERA in 69.2 innings pitched. Quisenberry was only in the closer role for the 2nd half of the year, when injuries forced Rollie Fingers, the Bucs original closer, into the rotation.
The Giants Management called a quick news conference shortly after their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles to announce their annual team awards. Prior to the awards, GM Chuck Groening congratulated the Orioles on a great season. He also acknowledged the Pirates and the Rangers, insisting that his team has and never has had anything against the Pirates personally, nor is he angry that he did not have Tim Foli for the World Series. The awards were as follows
Cy Young: Tom House 16-6, 2.80 era. House was a surprise winner in a year when regular winner Dick Bosman was injured and the Giants relied heavily on their relief corps. House, a local favorite, has been one of the more steady performers for the Giants over the last few years.
MVP: George Brett: Brett hit .303 with 11 round trippers. He finished one ribbie behind team leader, Jim Rice with 78. In a year when sluggers Cooper and Lahoud struggled, Brett showed some of the promise his ratings suggest.
Pleasant Surprise of the Year: Gene Richards. Gene hit .283 with 64 stolen bases in a platoon role.
Disappointment of the Year: Cecil Cooper. Cooper has been the cdl mvp 3 times but this year, he was very ordinary. His numbers of .272/18/77 were the lowest of his career in every category.
Most likely to be Traded: Mark Clear. Mark spend the entire year in triple a ball despite having excellent ratings. As a reliever, there is no room for the talented youngster on the Giants pitching roster and has asked to be traded.
Giants Special Honor Award: Willie Horton. Willie spent the last 3 years of his career as a part-time outfielder with the Giants and retired at the still young age of 36.
During his 16 years in the big leagues, he hit .242 with 373 home runs and 1167 rbi's. In his last year with the Giants, Horton contributed 19 home runs playing only against lefties. Highlights of his career include winning the World Series with the Giants in 1977 and driving in 6 runs in a game twice in his career, once against Houston and the other against the Pirates.
-Pete Rose becomes the 13th player inducted into the CDL Hall of fame. He retired only 29 (5th all time) hits short of 3,000 with a career average of .302 (5th) and 197 HRs. Pete also scored 1402 runs (11th), hit 502 2Bs (6th), & 100 3Bs (11th) in his impressive career. Pete played 6 seasons with the Reds, 9 with the Royals, and the final 2 with the Yankees. He is said to be retiring to pursue a career in the sports gambling industry!
-Dick Allen was one of the most impressive hitters of our time entering the CDL hall of fame as the 14th player in history. Allen blasted 512 HRs (6th), 2,461 hits (14th), 492 2Bs (7th), 116 3Bs (7th), drove in 1,511 runs (10th), and scored 1,519 runs (6th). Wherever you look on the CDL career leaders list you will more than likely see Dick Allen's name. Dick will enter the hall of fame as a Philadelphia Phillie for which he played 15 seasons. He closed out his storied career playing his final 2 years with the Houston Astros!
-Milt Pappas enters the CDL hall of fame as the 15th player in history. He was never a real dominating pitcher, just consistent. His best season was with the Houston Astros in 1976 when he went 19-10 with a 2.94 ERA. That's the closest Pappas ever came to being a 20 game winner. In his career he won 250 games (6th) versus 198 defeats. He struck out 2,573 batters (18th), threw 35 shutouts (16th), and had a career ERA of 3.44. Pappas played for 8 CDL teams including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Cleveland, Boston, California, Houston, and finally closing out his career in 1978 with the expansion Seattle Mariners.
Congratulations to Gabe, Steve, Chuck, & Sam on your playoff appearances! Here's a quick preview of each championship series...
Texas vs. Baltimore:
Texas (90-72) returns to the playoffs for the first time since 1972 when they were the Washington Senators. They feature a very strong rotation with Roger Nelson (14-8, 2.92 ERA), Steve Kline (18-11, 2.82 ERA), Gary Nolan (16-10, 2.99 ERA), & Dick Drago (11-9, 3.53 ERA) all extremely solid! The bullpen is a major weakness and could end up being Gabe's achilles heal in the playoffs. The lineup features a rejuvenated Tony Horten (.289, 16 HRs, 102 RBI), a breakthrough season from Ben Oglivie (.291, 10 HRs, 62 RBI), and an always solid performance from Johnny Bench (.253, 25 HRs, 92 RBI).
Baltimore has had a dream season in '79 where everything has come perfectly together. They have the best record in the CDL at 103-59. Their pitching rotation is also very strong with Steve Rogers (22-8, 2.87 ERA), Dennis Eckersly (22-13, 3.21 ERA), Bill Butler (22-7, 3.07 ERA, and the ageless one Claude Osteen (14-14, 2.79 ERA) anchoring their staff. Unlike Texas though, Baltimore's bullpen is pretty solid with Bruce Sutter (38 saves, 1.61 ERA) and company slamming the door on most opponents. Baltimore's lineup features Gary Thomasson (.293, 22 HRs, 121 RBI), Rusty Staub (.274, 22 HRs, 96 RBI), Boog Powell (.289, 16 HRs, 77 RBI), Ken McMullen (18 HRs, 82 RBI), & Mitchell Page (16 HRs, 81 RBI).
My take: I think Baltimore will win the series 4 games to 2 due to their stronger bullen and dangerous offensive lineup.
San Francisco vs. Pittsburgh
Did you know we've only had one non-Groening playoffs in the CDL's 11 season history. Pretty impressive work by Chuck and Paul (Twins)! Chuck's Giants (98-64) are back again but are starting to show some weaknesses. The pitching staff is made up of Dick Bosman (15-7, 2.64 ERA), Tom Murphy (7-9, 2.88 ERA), Tom House (16-6, 2.80 ERA), and either Mike Flanagan (4.21 ERA), or Nelson Briles (5-2, 2.86 ERA) filling in in the #4 slot. The bullpen as always is very solid as most of the relievers have ERAs under 3.00. The lineup still features superstars George Brett (.303, 11 HRs, 78 RBI) and Cecil Cooper (.272, 18 HRs, 78 RBI) who had a disappointing season by his high standards. Jim Rice (.291, 14 HRs, 79 RBI) and Joe Lahoud (19 HRs, 72 RBI) also had solid years.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (99-63) clinched their 6th division title in 7 seasons however they have been unable to win the big one! With the offense Sam has in his lineup that may all change this year! Mike Schmidt (.274, 47 HRs, 144 RBI), Reggie Jackson (.288, 41 HRs, 116 RBI), Marc Hill (.283, 16 HRs, 98 RBI), & Reggie Smith (.277, 15 HRs, 88 RBI) provide a ton of run support for the pitching staff. Billy North (.294, 74 SBs) and Elliot Maddox (.271, 20 SBs) are perfectly positioned at the top of the order to get on base for the big hitters to drive in. The starting rotation is the weakest of the 4 playoff teams with Doug Rau (13-6, 2.90 ERA), Doyle Alexander (23-16, 3.48 ERA), Bruce Kison (12-13, 4.27 ERA), and former closer Rollie Finigers (14-6, 2.35 ERA) starting most of the games this year. The bullpen is anchored by the amazing rookie, Dan Quisenberry (0.39 ERA, 30 saves).
My take: I think Pittsburgh will win this series in 7 closely contested games.
World series: Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore - This should be a fantastic world series. It will come down to Baltimore's great SPs vs. Pittsburgh's great hitters. I'm going to go against the trend in the CDL and pick Pittsburgh's hitters to triumph in another epic 7 game series!
Sunday 10/1/1979 MONTREAL - It was one of baseball sadest days. Montreal's right-hander Dick Baney fell victim to a career ending injury in a game against Cincinnati on Sunday. He complained about pain after throwing a pitch to Rich Chiles, then suddenly collapsed. Baney was rushed to an hospital near the ballpark, where doctors took x-rays. Those revealed the serious injury, Bone Chips Shoulder. Opposing players hit .272 against Dick this season. While posting an ERA of 5.59 he went 7-6 in 1 starts, fanning 53
and walking 65 hitters. His career featured a record of 26-28 with an ERA of 4.72. Baseball will certainly miss this great player.
Thursday 9/21/1979 PITTSBURGH - Manny Trillo hits 'em where they ain't. Pittsburgh certainly agrees as Cincinnati's second baseman unloaded four hits and hitting for the cycle. A single in the 4th off Doyle Alexander accounted for his 1st hit. A 389 feet drive to right field marked his 2nd hit, a two-run homerun off Doug Bird in the
5th inning. Hit number 3 followed in the 7th inning, a triple. A double off Archie Reynolds in the 8th inning accounted for his 4th hit. That drive completed the cycle, causing a smile on his face! Manny scored 4 runs, and he collected 2 RBI as well! His 4 hit performance increases his batting average to .277. He's now the 3rd player in league history to hit for the cycle! On 6/5/1979, Wilbur Howard was the last player to hit for the cycle.
American League-Pitcher of the Month :
Mike Nagy (DET) !!
He had a record of 4-1 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.12 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month :
Tony Horton (TEX) !!
He batted .378 in 119 AB, with 5 homers and 20 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month :
Don Stanhouse (HOU) !!
He had a record of 2-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.70.
National League-Batter of the Month :
Jay Johnstone (CIN) !!
He batted .361 in 83 AB, with 6 homers and 21 RBI.
The defending CDL Champion Chicacgo Cubs love where they're sitting right now. After seeing their 3 game lead at the start of August turn into a 4 game lead for the Pirates by the end of the month, the Cubs are very confidant about the final 14 games of the season, despite the fact they are trailing the Pirates by one game. The reason for the confidance is they face the Pirates in a 3 game set in the second to last series of the season, and are due to have the best three pitchers on the team go up against the Pirates.
"We've been adjusting the pitching staff the past few weeks in order to insure that our best three guys (Wright, Barr, and Dierker) will face the Pirates," said Coach/GM Chris Hansen. "But the fact is, any pitcher we put out there for those three games will be ready and able to help us put the Pirates down once and for all."
The Cubs have got to be feeling confidant all season as they had 9 team members elected to the CDL All-Star game, sources say this is a CDL record for players from one team. SP's Larry Direker, Denny Mclain, and Jim Barr made the team along with CL Jan Dukes. Starting as position players were C Gary Carter, SS Alan Trammell, and RF Dan Ford with 1B Lee May and CF Dale Murphy making the team as reserves. Having said that, the Cubs have a solid core of consistant all star calibur players and should be able to use their talent and leadership to overtake the Pirates in the last 14 games of the season.