September 1, 1976

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 LEAGUE FILE

NEXT SIM:
Mon 4/6 (to Sep 9)

UPCOMING SIMS
Sat 4/11 (Sep 16)
Thu 4/16 (Sep 23)
END OF REGULAR SEASON

STANDINGS

 EAST           W  L GB  Last
•Washington    82 55  -   9-8
•Manhattan     81 56  1  13-4
•Brooklyn      78 59  4   8-9
 Cleveland     72 65 10   8-9
 Montréal      70 67 12  12-5
 Boston        58 79 24  5-12
 Detroit       55 82 27  7-10

 WEST           W  L GB  Last
•San Francisco 80 57  -  12-5
 Seattle       76 61  4   8-9
 Los Angeles   70 67 10   9-8
 St. Louis     64 73 16  7-10
 Denver        59 78 21   8-9
 Atlanta       58 79 22  7-10
 Chicago       56 81 24  6-11

 OVERALL        W  L GB  Last
1Washington    82 55      9-8
2San Francisco 80 57     12-5
3Manhattan     81 56     13-4

4Brooklyn      78 59  -   8-9

 Seattle       76 61  2   8-9
 Cleveland     72 65  6   8-9
 Montréal      70 67  8  12-5
 Los Angeles   70 67  8   9-8

ON THE MEND
new injury

ATL MR Rawley Eastwick   7 wk
BOS MR Steve Foucault    2 wk
BRO MR Tug McGraw        6 wk
DEN SP Dave Goltz        2 mo
LA  SS Zoilo Versalles   7 mo
MON SP Mike Nagy         6 mo
    SP Dock Ellis        6 mo
    MR Will McEnaney     8 wk
    MR Elias Sosa        5 wk
     C Gary Carter       2 wk
    2B Pete Mackanin     2 wk
SF  MR Terry Forster     5 mo
    MR Mike Kekich       3 mo
    LF Jim Rice          3 wk
SEA 3B Doug DeCinces     9 mo
STL MR Jim Barr          2 wk
WAS SP Eric Rasmussen    9 mo
    CF Al Oliver         2 wk
Gray Sox Surge into Playoff Hunt
Picture
MANHATTAN (Sept. 1) -- The Manhattan Gray Sox won 13 of their last 15 games to pip Seattle out of the playoff spots and surge within a game of the East Division lead.  The Sox are 36-17 in the second half and were 21-8 in August. Tom Grieve and Craig Robinson combined for 22 HR and 47 RBIs in August, leading the league's top-ranked offense.  But the pitching was stellar as well, lending the club an air of invincibility heading into the season's final month.  Don Sutton, Steve Carlton, and Ken Brett each won four games in August, and Sutton, Chuck Dobson, and Steve Rogers posted ERAs under 3.00. With 30-save man Ken Tatum patrolling the bullpen, that's a recipe for success!

Craig Robinson's inexorable drive for the MVP Award continued unabated in August.  Robinson, 28, put in his most productive month of work in what will almost certainly be an MVP season.  The second baseman batted .419-13-23 with a 1.336 OPS in August, lifting his season average to .388, 50 points over the nearest competitor, and his 104.3 VORP was double that of Washington's Joe Torre. In his third full UL season, Robinson is batting .388-43-97 and has his sights on just the fifth 50-HR season in league history, and the first .350-50 season.


The Gray Sox play 12 of their last 19 games on the road, which is bad news for a club with the league's best home record (47-24).  They have key road series at divisional rivals Montréal and Washington and close the season in Brooklyn in what could be make-or-break series for making the postseason. 
Picture
Spiders, Jenkins Weave Four-Game Lead in West
SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 1) -- The San Francisco Spiders won six straight July 17-22, while Seattle was in the midst of a six-game losing streak.  The league's best pitching staff had a sub-par month, with only Fergie Jenkins posting an ERA under 3.44 among the five starters, but the offense got a boost from Richie Zisk (.304, .391 OBP, 18 runs) and timely hitting from Lee May (.333, 13 RBI in 24 AB RISP).  Jenkins (14-7, 2.30, 210 K) pitched back-to-back shutouts Aug. 14 and 19, and has allowed just two earned runs in his last four starts, trimming his ERA to 2.30, second in the league.

WEST DIVISION

EAST DIVISION


BATTING LEADERS

 BATTING AVERAGE

 Craig Robinson, MAN     .388
 Willie Randolph, DEN    .339
 Rich Coggins, MON       .328
 Greg Luzinski, BRO      .320
*Mickey Rivers, DEN      .316
 Rod Carew, SEA          .314
 Chris Chambliss, SEA    .314
 Mike Hargrove, STL      .313
 Cecil Cooper, CLE       .311
 Aurelio Rodriguez, SEA  .310

 HOME RUNS

 Tom Grieve, MAN        43
 Craig Robinson, MAN    43
 Orlando Cepeda, CLE    41
 Otto Velez, DET        41
 Butch Hobson, ATL      34
 George Foster, SF      31
 Lee May, SF            30
 Dick Allen, DET        29
*Greg Luzinski, BRO     29
 Gorman Thomas, MAN     29

 RUNS BATTED IN

 Tom Grieve, MAN       113
 Orlando Cepeda, CLE    97
 Craig Robinson, MAN    97
 Butch Hobson, ATL      96
 Greg Luzinski, BRO     94
 Ron Blomberg, WAS      92
 Steve Garvey, MAN      92
*Lee May, SF            88
 George Foster, SF      84
 Fred Lynn, BRO         84

 VORP

 Craig Robinson, MAN   104.3
 Joe Torre, WAS         47.8
*Eric Soderholm, WAS    47.7
 Orlando Cepeda, CLE    47.3
 Ron Blomberg, WAS      43.6
 Otto Velez, DET        43.5
 Al Oliver, WAS         43.0
 Chris Chambliss, SEA   40.9
 Fred Lynn, BRO         39.3
*Ken Singleton, LA      39.0

PITCHING LEADERS

 EARNED RUN AVERAGE

 Larry Dierker, LA      2.08
 Fergie Jenkins, SF     2.30
 Rick Reuschel, CLE     2.43
 Jon Matlack, STL       2.55
 Bert Blyleven, BOS     2.60
 Frank Reberger, CLE    2.69
 John Montefusco, SEA   2.71
 John Candelaria, SEA   2.76
*Fritz Peterson, LA     2.76
 Bob Moose, SF          2.78

 WINS

 Larry Dierker, LA      22
 Vida Blue, WAS         18
 Burt Hooton, CLE       17
 Don Sutton, MAN        16
 Mike Torrez, WAS       16
*Steve Carlton, MAN     15
 Dock Ellis, DET        15
 Steve Rogers, MAN      15
 Don Wilson, WAS        15
 Rick Wise, BRO         15

 STRIKEOUTS

 Larry Dierker, LA    249
 Rick Reuschel, CLE   217
 Fergie Jenkins, SF   210
 Don Wilson, WAS      203
 Tom Seaver, BRO      198
 Bert Blyleven, BOS   196
 Jon Matlack, STL     192
*Bill Singer, MON     185
*Steve Carlton, MAN   184
*Don Sutton, MAN      183

 VORP

 Larry Dierker, LA    79.6
 Fergie Jenkins, SF   60.0
 Rick Reuschel, CLE   59.1
 Jon Matlack, STL     54.8
 Bert Blyleven, BOS   54.4
 Fritz Peterson, LA   52.8
 J. Montefusco, SEA   51.3
*J. Candelaria, SEA   45.3
 Dock Ellis, MON      44.8
 Bob Moose, SF        43.9

AWARDS

MILESTONES

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

4/12 Ollie Brown, MAN
4/19 Johnny Bench, DEN
4/26 Tony Soltaita, BOS
5/3  Roy Smalley, LA
5/10 Fred Lynn, BRO
5/17 Mike Hargrove, STL
5/24 Butch Hobson, ATL
5/31 Lee May, SF
6/7  Ollie Brown, MAN (2)
6/14 Johnny Bench, DEN (2)
6/21 Mike Hargrove, STL (2)
6/28 Ron Cey, BOS
7/5  Darrell Porter, STL
7/12 Tom Grieve, MAN
7/19 Eric Soderholm, WAS
7/26 Gorman Thomas, MAN
8/2  Craig Robinson, MAN
8/9  Bobby Murcer, SEA
8/16 Butch Hobson, ATL (2)
8/23 Warren Cromartie, MON
8/30 Otto Velez, DET
9/6
9/13
9/20
9/27

  BATTER OF THE MONTH

APR Ron Blomberg, WAS
MAY Orlando Cepeda, CLE
JUN Graig Nettles, STL
JUL Craig Robinson, MAN
AUG Craig Robinson, MAN (2) 
SEP 


PITCHER OF THE MONTH

APR Tom Seaver, BRO
MAY Vida Blue, WAS
JUN Vida Blue, WAS (2)
JUL Larry Dierker, LA
AUG Larry Dierker, LA (2) 
SEP 


ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

APR Garry Templeton, DEN
MAY Butch Hobson, ATL
JUN Butch Hobson, ATL (2) 
JUL Chet Lemon, BRO
AUG Butch Hobson, ATL (3) 
SEP  


Rico Petrocelli, MAN
300 home runs (8/30)
#20 all-time

Steve Carlton, MAN
2,000 strikeouts (8/25)
#16 all-time

Bake McBride, BOS
Hit for Cycle (7/24)

Orlando Cepeda, CLE
635 home runs (7/18)
#1 all-time

Bernie Allen, WAS
1,000 RBIs (6/28)
#23 all-time

Fergie Jenkins, SF
2,000 strikeouts (6/25)
#15 all-time

Johnny Bench, DEN
3 home runs in a game (6/9)
first since 1974

Larry Dierker, LA
2,000 strikeouts (5/23)
#14 all-time

FIELDING LEADERS

 ZONE RATING

 CF Mickey Rivers, DEN  17.4
 SS Tim Foli, BOS       17.1

 3B Eric Soderholm, WAS 12.9
  C Carl Taylor, CHI    12.8
 LF Dave Winfield, LA   12.5
  C Bill Freehan, ATL   12.3

 CF Amos Otis, CHI      11.3
 3B Darrell Evans, SF   11.2
 3B Mike Schmidt, BRO   10.7
*CF Larry Herndon, ATL  10.2
 CF Elliott Maddox, CLE 10.1
*RF Chet Lemon, BRO      8.8

 RF Bake McBride, BOS    8.7
  C Johnny Bench, DEN    8.3
*LF Sixto Lezcano, BOS   8.0

TRADES

February 1 (358)
BOSTON gets
MR Mike Stanton
SP Jerry Koosman
CF Rick Manning
1976 SF 4th rd pick
SAN FRANCISCO gets
P Jack Aker

February 1 (359)
BOSTON gets
SS Tim Foli
SP Randy Lerch
1977 CLE 2nd rd pick
CLEVELAND gets
SP Frank Reberger
MR Dick Selma
2B Davey Lopes
LF Mike Lum

February 1 (360)
MANHATTAN gets
3B Roy Howell
MONTREAL gets
3B George Brett

April 1 (361)
DENVER gets
C Johnny Bench
RF Steve Hovley
1977 SEA 3rd rd pick
SEATTLE gets
C Duke Sims
3B Aurelio Rodriguez
CF Darrel Thomas

May 16 (362)
BOSTON gets
LF Ruppert Jones
MONTREAL gets
1977 MAN 2nd rd pick

June 16 (363)
ATLANTA gets
LF Bernie Carbo
SP Andy Messersmith
MR Fred Beene
1B Bob Watson
1977 WAS 1st rd pick
1977 WAS 3rd rd pick
1978 WAS 2nd rd pick
WASHINGTON gets
1B Joe Torre
MR Randy Moffitt

June 16 (364)
ATLANTA gets
SP Pat Zachry
1977 SEA 2nd rd pick
SEATTLE gets
MR Mark Littell
1977 ATL 3rd rd pick

July 4 (365)
CHICAGO gets
LF Jerry Martin
1B Bill Madlock
MR Bob Apodaca
LOS ANGELES gets
2B Billy Grabarkewitz
C Bob Stinson
SP Jerry Janeski