Alvin Davis of the Twins and Kent Hrbek of the Braves were named rookies of the month for April.
In the American League, Davis, 23, hit for ,299 with 5 homeruns, 25 RBIs, a ,381 OBP and a ,536 SLG. The first baseman was the third player selected in the last Amateur Draft.
He finished ahead of Detroit's Dave Henderson (,268-5-23) and Boston's Jim Eisenreich (,341-2-14).
In the National Kent Hrbek adds the Rookie of the Month award to the Player of the Month. He hit an even ,400 with 2 homers and 18 RBIs. He has a ,455 OBp and a ,567 SLG. The fifth player selected in 1981, Hrbek is a 23-year-old first baseman.
Pitchers Danny Cox of the Pirates (3-0 2,43) and Bryn Smith of the Mets (1-0 1,77) also had good months.
Monday 5/1/1984 - Rozema (BOS) and Pastore (CIN) win monthly pitcher award: Dave Rozema pitched like a legend in April, and the American League named him Pitcher of the Month for his extraordinary performance. He struck out 9 hitters in his 3 starts, putting together a record of 1-0 while pitching 9 innings. His ERA in April was 0.47. It's
the 1st time that the National League Pitcher of the Month award goes to Cincinnati's pitcher Frank Pastore. His record of 4-0 in 6 was among the leagues best this month. In 41.1 innings of work he allowed just 28 hits while striking out 30, compiling an ERA of just 1.31.
Monday 5/1/1984 - Smith (Cal) and Hrbek (ATL) win monthly award: The Batter of the Month award in the Smith helped his team with an average of .439 and 24 RBI in 107 at bats. Kent Hrbek of Atlanta wins his 1st Batter of the Month award for putting up the best numbers in the National League. He had an on base percentage of .450 and hit .400, while driving in 18 runs.
Star players have been hard to come by for the
World Champions. Jerry Reuss the ace of the staff
won only 13 games last season and missed the end of
the season as well as the playoffs. Middle releiver
Rowland managed to get 15 wins and pitched in 89 games.
Langford had 12 wins and an era of 2.85. MR Kilkenney
who won 10 games and had a 2.76 era was released, in
order to get some younger players into the lineup.
Valentine led the team in home runs with only 13.
Hebner and Yount each had 10. Chiles provided some
punch with 39 doubles. He moves from center to left
this year and the new rookie Pettis is starting in
center. Pastore was signed in free agency for only
9.5 million. He definetly has the potential to be a
star: rated at Good,Good,Brilliant,Brilliant,&Good.
The Reds credit good defense, pitching and depth for
their success. They platoon quite a bit and everyone
on the roster gets playing time. Many of the backups
are nearly as good as the starters. They have also
been releasing a couple of the older players each
season to make room for some younger players, trying
to keep a good mix of veterans and some rookies.
Kirby Puckett had a great spring training, and has made the Dodgers opening day major league roster. He beat out Dave Collins, who has been a speedy backup outfielder for LA for the last nine years, but just couldn't keep up with the younger Puckett this spring.
Collins was not happy about being sent down to Albuquerque. He said, "I've averaged 35 stolen bases a year, without even playing full time, and this is the thanks I get for nine years service. What do you have to do to get a job with this team?"
GM Dennis Hartney said, "Hey, Kirby fell to us in the draft. We need to find him a slot. We have a lot of expensive free agents-to-be this year, so we need to take a shot."
It has been a busy offseason for the usually quiet St. Louis Cardinals.
Even though their franchise player and a vastly underrated catcher were traded away, the Cards will open Spring Training in a few days with the most talent they had in a long time. It is still raw talent, but there is now hope.
1B and MVP-candidate Pedro Guerrero, entering his final year before free agency, publicly stated that he wanted out of St. Louis. Management had to work quickly enough to deal him before the Amateur Draft. He was sent to the Giants for young 1B Greg Walker, prospect shorstop Greg Gagne and the seventh overall pick in the 1984 Draft.
The next day, fan favorite Charlie Moore was also sent to the Giants, this time for young starter Mike Mason, second-baseman John Hale and catcher Jamie Quirk.
The Amateur Draft was probably the most important in team history, as the Cards had the #4 and #7 pick in a very deep draft. They selected two players who have the chance to become real stars, in starter Dwight Gooden, only 19, and OF/3B Kevin Mitchell. 3B Kelly Gruber was selected in the 2nd round.
Mitchell, who has big time power potential, and Gruber will start the year in A ball. However, Gooden will start the year right here in St-Louis as the ace of the staff, as he is expected to be dominant right now.
Gooden will lead one of the best and youngest staff in the league. The two veterans will be John Tudor (30) and Bob Knepper (29). Frank Viola (23) and Mike Mason (25) will complete the rotation. This is by far the deepest rotation the team will have since the new management arrived in 1982. Young lefty Dennis Rasmussen will also be available in AAA, or maybe in the bullpen, if something bad happens.
The infield will be totally different from the one that started the year in 1983. Walker, a 24 years old prospect with developping power, will take Pedro's place at 1B. John Hale, acquired from the Giants, is no prospect at 30, but is an improvement at 2B. The two players acquired from the Indians in July last year, Roy Howell and Glenn Hoffman, will be the starting 3B and SS respectively, until Gagne, Mitchell and Gruber are ready.
Behind the plate, Moore was traded to make room for former 1st round pick Darren Daulton, who will share duties with Quirk.
The outfield will be more stable, with Dwight Evans and Dwayne Murphy keeping their jobs in right and center, respectively. Left field is quite open, with youngsters Marvell Wynne, Mike Patterson and George Vukovich competing with veteran Al Woods.
All in all, it looks like the team will have a good rotation, with a below-average bullpen and a talented-but-not-yet-ready offense. It should be enough to improve on the 69=93 record in 1983. Management hopes to bring the team back over ,500 for the first time since 1975 in 1985 at the latest.