1979 in baseball
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| Years in baseball |
The following are the baseball events of the year 1979 throughout the world.
Champions
[edit]Major League Baseball
[edit]- World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4–3); Willie Stargell, MVP
| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | Baltimore | 3 | |||||||
| West | California | 1 | |||||||
| AL | Baltimore | 3 | |||||||
| NL | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||
| East | Pittsburgh | 3 | |||||||
| West | Cincinnati | 0 | |||||||
- American League Championship Series MVP: None.
- National League Championship Series MVP: Willie Stargell
- All-Star Game, July 17 at the Kingdome: National League, 7–6; Dave Parker, MVP
Other champions
[edit]- College World Series: Cal State-Fullerton
- Cuban National Series: Sancti Spíritus
- Japan Series: Hiroshima Toyo Carp over Kintetsu Buffaloes (4–3)
- Big League World Series: West Hempstead, New York
- Little League World Series: Pu-Tzu Town, Hsien, Taiwan
- Senior League World Series: Tung–Feng LL Taichung, Taiwan
- Pan American Games: Cuba over Dominican Republic
Winter Leagues
Awards and honors
[edit]- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Don Baylor, California Angels, OF (AL)
- Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1B and Keith Hernandez, St. Louis Cardinals, 1B (NL)
- Cy Young Award
- Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles (AL)
- Bruce Sutter, Chicago Cubs (NL)
- Rookie of the Year
- John Castino, Minnesota Twins, 3B and Alfredo Griffin, Toronto Blue Jays, SS (AL)
- Rick Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Dodgers, P (NL)
- Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league)
- Doris Krucker, Midwest League
- Gold Glove Award
- (P) Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles (AL); Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves (NL)
- (C) Jim Sundberg, Texas Rangers (AL); Bob Boone, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
- (1B) Cecil Cooper, Milwaukee Brewers (AL); Keith Hernandez, St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
- (2B) Frank White, Kansas City Royals (AL); Manny Trillo, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
- (3B) Buddy Bell, Texas Rangers (AL); Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
- (SS) Rick Burleson, Boston Red Sox (AL); Dave Concepción, Cincinnati Reds (NL)
- (OF) Dwight Evans, Boston Red Sox (AL); Garry Maddox, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
- (OF) Sixto Lezcano, Milwaukee Brewers (AL); Dave Parker, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
- (OF) Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox (AL); Dave Winfield, San Diego Padres (NL)
MLB statistical leaders
[edit]| American League | National League | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Name | Stat | Name | Stat |
| AVG | Fred Lynn BOS | .333 | Keith Hernandez STL | .344 |
| HR | Gorman Thomas MIL | 45 | Dave Kingman CHC | 48 |
| RBI | Don Baylor CAL | 139 | Dave Winfield SD | 118 |
| Wins | Mike Flanagan BAL | 23 | Joe Niekro HOU Phil Niekro ATL | 21 |
| ERA | Ron Guidry NYY | 2.78 | J. R. Richard HOU | 2.71 |
Major league baseball final standings
[edit]
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Events
[edit]January
[edit]- January 6 – The Minnesota Twins re-sign veteran relief ace Mike Marshall, who had been granted free agency on November 2, 1978. In the coming season, his second as a Twin, Marshall will lead the American League in games pitched (90) and saves (32).
- January 8 – Dan O'Brien, general manager of the Texas Rangers since September 2, 1973, resigns his post and is succeeded by Eddie Robinson, former GM of the Atlanta Braves from 1972 to 1976. Nine days later, O'Brien, 49, is appointed president and CEO of the Seattle Mariners, the Rangers' rivals in the AL West.
- January 15 – The Seattle Mariners re-sign outfielder Tom Paciorek, 32, who had been granted free agency after playing 103 games for Seattle in 1978. Paciorek will make the 1981 AL All-Star team in a Mariner uniform.
- January 19:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates sign veteran free-agent infielder Lee Lacy, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- The Montreal Expos sign 18 year old Andrés Galarraga as an international amateur free agent.
- January 23:
- Willie Mays receives 409 of 432 votes in the Baseball Writers' Association of America election to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
- The Toronto Blue Jays sell the contract of designated hitter Sam Ewing to the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese Pacific League.
- January 27 – The Seattle Mariners sign veteran free-agent slugger Willie Horton, granted free agency from the Toronto Blue Jays on December 2, 1978. Horton, 36, will play in all 162 Mariners' games in 1979 as their designated hitter, blast 29 homers, and collect 106 runs batted in.
February
[edit]
- February 3:
- The Minnesota Twins are forced to trade first baseman Rod Carew to the California Angels for four young players:[1][2][3] Ken Landreaux, Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens. In his first season with the Angels, he helps his new team reach the post season for the first time, batting over .300 for the next five seasons, and is selected for the next six American League All-Star teams.
- The Oakland Athletics sell the contract of catching prospect Bruce Robinson to the New York Yankees for a reported $400,000—the highest cash amount Oakland owner Charlie Finley can demand, as dictated by Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn.
- February 12 – The Oakland Athletics fill their managerial vacancy by hiring Jim Marshall, previously skipper of the Chicago Cubs between July 25, 1974 and the end of 1976. Ex-first baseman Marshall, 47, replaces Jack McKeon, who parted company with the Athletics and owner Charlie Finley after the 1978 season ended.
- February 15 – The Los Angeles Dodgers trade catcher Brad Gulden to the New York Yankees for outfielder Gary Thomasson. Gulden will later this season start the August 6 game against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees' first game after the funeral for Thurman Munson, who had died days earlier in a plane crash.
- February 23 – The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, NL East division rivals, pull off an eight-player trade. Chicago sends catcher Dave Rader, second baseman Manny Trillo and outfielder Greg Gross to Philadelphia for pitchers Derek Botelho and Henry Mack, catcher Barry Foote, second baseman Ted Sizemore and outfielder Jerry Martin. In Trillo's four years as a Phillie, he will win three Gold Gloves and make three NL All-Star teams.
March
[edit]- March 7:
- Amateur umpires officiate on the field as Cactus League and Grapefruit League exhibition contests begin. The Major League Umpires Association has called for a strike designed to improve working conditions, pay and benefits for arbiters of both the National and American leagues.[4]
- The Special Veterans Committee selects Warren Giles, late National League executive who died February 7, and Hack Wilson, the all-time holder of the record for most runs batted in a single season (191 in 1930), for induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- March 10 – The St. Louis Cardinals sign veteran outfielder and pinch hitter Bernie Carbo, granted free agency from the Cleveland Indians on November 2, 1978.
- March 26 – The New York Mets release infielder Bobby Valentine.
- March 27:
- The New York Mets acquire Richie Hebner and infielder/outfielder José Moreno from the Philadelphia Phillies for right-hander Nino Espinosa. The Phils expect recently signed Pete Rose to take over Hebner's old first base position.
- The California Angels sign free-agent veteran outfielder Willie Davis, 38, who spent 1977 and 1978 playing in Nippon Professional Baseball.
- March 28 – Pitcher Tom House is released by the Seattle Mariners.
- March 29:
- The Philadelphia Phillies sign veteran outfielder Del Unser, granted free agency from the Montreal Expos on December 2, 1978. The 34-year-old Unser will be a valuable left-handed pinch hitter and role player for the Phils, batting .455 (five for 11) during the 1980 NLCS and 1980 World Series, and earning a ring as a member of Philadelphia's 1980 world champions.
- The New York Mets release third baseman Lenny Randle.
April
[edit]- April 4 – The 1979 championship season begins with almost all MLB umpires on the picket lines. The only exceptions are Paul Pryor of the National League and Ted Hendry of the American League, who signed their contracts before the strike vote was taken and take the field on the advice of MLUA executive director Richie Phillips. Later this month, Pryor and Hendry notify their league presidents that they are joining their union brethren in the walkout. The leagues hire retired MLB arbiters, eight minor-league umpires, and amateur officials as "strikebreakers" during the work stoppage.[4]
- April 7:
- In the earliest no-hitter in major league history, the Houston Astros' Ken Forsch shuts down the Atlanta Braves 6–0. His brother, the St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Forsch, had hurled a no-hitter the previous season against the Philadelphia Phillies—making them the first big league brothers to each toss a no-hitter.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers trade right-handed starting pitcher Rick Rhoden to the Pittsburgh Pirates for southpaw starter Jerry Reuss. Although Rhoden, 25, makes only one appearance in 1979 before he undergoes season-ending shoulder surgery, he becomes a dependable member of the Pirates' rotation the following year through 1986. The 29-year-old Reuss, likewise, establishes himself as a Dodger, twice winning 18 games and taking a regular turn in the rotation through April 10, 1987.
- April 11 – The start-up, Triple-A-level Inter-American League, under the leadership of Roberto Maduro, begins play with six independently operated franchises located in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States (Miami), and Venezuela. It's the first new Triple-A league in Organized Baseball since the American Association was reborn in 1969.
- April 13 – The Chicago White Sox trade pitcher Jack Kucek to the Philadelphia Phillies for a "player to be named later". On July 10, the White Sox receive hard-hitting utility infielder Jim Morrison from the Phils to complete the deal.
- April 15 – The New York Mets sign 16-year-old infielder Jose Oquendo as a free agent.
- April 17 – The Oakland Athletics defeat the Seattle Mariners 6–5 before only 653 fans at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, and some reports say that as few as 250 people attend the night game.
- April 19:
- New York Yankees' ace closer Rich Gossage breaks his right thumb in a clubhouse fight with teammate Cliff Johnson. Gossage will miss almost two months, while 1978 American League Cy Young Award winner Ron Guidry voluntarily replaces him in the bullpen for a short time.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets exchange veteran shortstops, with the Bucs obtaining Tim Foli, 28, from New York for Frank Taveras, 29. Both become regulars for their new teams.
- April 24 – The Toronto Blue Jays sign their shortstop of the future, 16-year-old Tony Fernández of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Fernández will enter MLB in 1983, help turn the Blue Jays into a winner, and win four consecutive Gold Glove Awards and make three AL All-Star teams through 1990. Then, after being traded away, he will return to Toronto in 1993 to lash 14 hits in 45 at bats (.311) in the postseason and collect nine RBIs in the six-game 1993 World Series along with a world championship ring.
May
[edit]- May 2 – Bill Lucas, 43, director of player personnel and de facto general manager of the Atlanta Braves—the first African-American to attain GM responsibilities and the highest-ranking Black executive in MLB—suffers an early-morning, massive brain hemorrhage at his home. He dies three days later without regaining consciousness.
- May 9:
- At the Astrodome, the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston are tied 4–4 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Astros' Jimmy Sexton on first base with no outs, when Terry Puhl lays down a sacrifice bunt. The Cardinals attempt to get the lead runner on the play; however, second base umpire (then a "replacement umpire" working during the ongoing arbiter strike) Dave Pallone calls Sexton safe, claiming that Garry Templeton never touched the bag. During the ensuing argument, Pallone ejects Cardinals manager Ken Boyer, first baseman Keith Hernandez and catcher Ted Simmons, and players on the Cardinal bench begin throwing bats and helmets onto the field in protest. As a result, Pallone orders the entire Cardinals squad into their clubhouse, allowing players only to come onto the field as needed. The Redbirds get out of the inning without a run scoring; however, they lose 5–4 in the 16th inning on a run-scoring single by the Astros' Bob Watson.[5]
- The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Atlanta Braves 17–9 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in a bizarre ejection- and hit by pitch-marred game that features grand slam home runs hit on both sides, by Gary Matthews for the Braves and John Milner for the Pirates. In the fifth inning, the Braves' Phil Niekro is hit by a pitch by Don Robinson while swinging the bat, but awarded first base, prompting a heated argument from Pirates' manager Chuck Tanner and coach Joe Lonnett. Both are thrown out of the game by replacement umpire Hank Rountree, but refuse to leave the Bucs' dugout. The Pirates play the game under protest over the HBP call, and the Braves file a protest as well because Tanner and Lonnett did not exit the dugout in a timely manner after ejection. Neither protest will be upheld (Tanner and Lonnett eventually repair to the clubhouse). Later, Rennie Stennett and Dave Parker of the Pirates are ejected, Stennett in the seventh inning for arguing a call at second base and Parker in the ninth for charging the mound after being hit by a pitch from Gene Garber. In addition, Rowland Office of the Braves is ejected in the ninth for charging the mound after two close inside pitches by Kent Tekulve.[6]
- May 11 – The New York Yankees purchase the contract of left-hander Jim Kaat, 40, from the Philadelphia Phillies.
- May 13 – The Atlanta Braves name John Mullen, 54, to replace the late Bill Lucas as general manager. Mullen, assistant general manager of the Houston Astros since 1967, previously worked in the Braves' front office between 1947 and 1966, including a stint as farm system director. Lucas, 43, died from a cerebral hemorrhage on May 5; he was baseball's first Black general manager.
- May 16 – National League owners approve the purchase of the Houston Astros by an ownership group led by naval architect and marine engineer Dr. John McMullen, a former limited partner in George Steinbrenner's syndicate that owns the New York Yankees. McMullen's consortium pays $19 million to Ford Motor Credit Company for the former holdings of FMCC debtor Roy Hofheinz.
- May 17 – Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs hits three home runs and Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies belts two, the second of which proves to be the game-winner in the tenth inning, as the Phillies beat the Cubs 23–22 at Wrigley Field. Bill Buckner slugs a grand slam and collects seven RBIs for Chicago. The game includes a then MLB-record 11 home runs and 50 hits.
- May 18 – The end of the 1979 Major League umpires strike is hailed by players and managers as union members return to work. The settlement provides umpires with in-season vacations, pay hikes, and pension and 401(k) plans. It also results in the permanent hiring of the eight minor-league arbiters who crossed picket lines: Derryl Cousins, Dallas Parks, Fred Spenn and John Shulock of the American League, and Fred Brocklander, Steve Fields, Lanny Harris and Dave Pallone of the National League.[4] However, ostracism by and lingering bitterness from the union umpires will plague the eight former replacement umpires over their careers.[7][8]
- May 21 – Batting ninth for the Toronto Blue Jays, Danny Ainge makes his MLB debut. Ainge collects three hits in four at bats and drives in a run as Toronto defeats the Cleveland Indians 8–1. While Ainge will play just three seasons for the Blue Jays, he'll go on to greater fame for a five-decade-long career in the NBA as a shooting guard, coach, television broadcaster, and front-office executive, during which he will win three titles as a player and executive for the Boston Celtics.
- May 25 – Starter Ross Baumgarten and reliever Randy Scarbery pitch the first combined one-hitter in Chicago White Sox history, defeating Nolan Ryan and the California Angels 6–1 at Comiskey Park.
- May 28 – After Texas Rangers first baseman Mike Jorgensen is hit in the head by a pitch from Boston Red Sox pitcher Andy Hassler, doctors discover a blood clot in Jorgensen's brain, which apparently caused a grand mal seizure that could have proved fatal. Apart from a pinch-hitting appearance on May 31, Jorgensen does not return to the active roster July 1, but he goes only eight for 63 for the rest of the 1979 season.[9]
- May 31 – Detroit Tigers pitcher Pat Underwood makes his major league debut against his brother, Tom, pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Both brothers hold the opposing team scoreless until Tom surrendered a solo home run to Jerry Morales leading off the eighth.
June
[edit]- June 5:
- At the Astrodome, Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies shuts out Houston on one hit, Jeffrey Leonard's seventh-inning single. The Phils bang out 17 hits, including two singles from Carlton himself, and rout the Astros, 8–0.
- In the June amateur draft, the Kansas City Royals use their fourth overall pick to draft the University of Pittsburgh's Dan Marino, a right-handed pitcher. In the 17th round, they select Stanford's John Elway, an outfielder. Neither two-sport star will sign with the Royals, and they will go on to record-breaking careers as quarterbacks in the National Football League.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, select right-hander Orel Hershiser in the 17th round (440th overall) out of Bowling Green State University. They sign Hershiser almost immediately and in his 13 seasons (1983–1995) as a Dodger, he becomes a three-time National League All-Star and, in 1988, wins 23 games, the NL Cy Young Award, World Series MVP Award, and a World Series ring. Moreover, he sets a new MLB record by throwing 591⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings between August 30 and September 28.
- June 12 – In a move that stuns baseball, the Detroit Tigers fire first-year manager Les Moss and replace him with Sparky Anderson, signing him to a five-year contract with an annual salary of $125,000. Anderson, 45, was dismissed by the Cincinnati Reds in November 1978 after his nine years at the helm produced five National League West championships, four NL pennants and World Series rings in 1975 and 1976. The Tigers are 27–26 but have won 11 of their last 16 games under Moss dating to May 27. Bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Anderson will pilot the Tigers through the end of the 1995 season, winning two AL East titles and both the 1984 American League pennant and World Series; Moss, 54, stays in baseball as a pitching coach but never receives another chance to manage.[10]
- June 13 – The Boston Red Sox make two trades. They deal veteran first baseman George Scott to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Tom Poquette, then acquire first-sacker Bob Watson from the Houston Astros for pitchers Pete Ladd and Bobby Sprowl (player to be named later/PTBNL). Hitting only .224, former eight-time Gold Glove Award winner Scott, 35, is in the midst of what will be his 14th and last MLB season. Watson, 32, a 14-year Astro veteran, bats .337 for the Bosox with 105 hits in 84 games before departing as a free agent during the off-season.
- June 14:
- The San Diego Padres trade first baseman Mike Hargrove to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for outfielder Paul Dade.
- Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitches a complete game in a 10–2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Blue Jays pitcher Phil Huffman last only 11⁄3 innings, surrendering seven runs.
- June 15 – At the "no-waivers" trading deadline then in effect, the New York Yankees send DH Cliff Johnson to the Indians for left-hander Don Hood, and deal outfielder/pinch hitter Jay Johnstone to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Dave Wehrmeister.
- June 18:
- Bob Lemon is fired as manager of the defending World Series champion New York Yankees after a sluggish 34–31 start. Billy Martin, originally not slated to take over until the 1980 season, is brought back early by George Steinbrenner, drawing the ire of Reggie Jackson.
- At the Astrodome, the