|
Post by TribeGM on Jul 14, 2010 18:07:02 GMT -5
American League
Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Detroit Tigers 104 58 .642 -- 2nd Toronto Blue Jays 89 73 .549 15.0 3rd New York Yankees 87 75 .537 17.0 4th Boston Red Sox 86 76 .531 18.0 5th Baltimore Orioles 85 77 .525 19.0 6th Cleveland Indians 75 87 .463 29.0 7th Milwaukee Brewers 67 94 .416 36.5
West Division 1st Kansas City Royals 84 78 .519 -- 2nd California Angels 81 81 .500 3.0 2nd Minnesota Twins 81 81 .500 3.0 4th Oakland Athletics 77 85 .475 7.0 5th Chicago White Sox 74 88 .457 10.0 5th Seattle Mariners 74 88 .457 10.0 7th Texas Rangers 69 92 .429 14.5
National League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Chicago Cubs 96 65 .596 -- 2nd New York Mets 90 72 .556 6.5 3rd St. Louis Cardinals 84 78 .519 12.5 4th Philadelphia Phillies 81 81 .500 15.5 5th Montreal Expos 78 83 .484 18.0 6th Pittsburgh Pirates 75 87 .463 21.5
West Division 1st San Diego Padres 92 70 .568 -- 2nd Atlanta Braves 80 82 .494 12.0 2nd Houston Astros 80 82 .494 12.0 4th Los Angeles Dodgers 79 83 .488 13.0 5th Cincinnati Reds 70 92 .432 22.0 6th San Francisco Giants 66 96 .407 26.0
|
|
|
Post by TribeGM on Jul 14, 2010 18:14:14 GMT -5
The best teams of the 1984 baseball season had previously posed little threat of contention. The San Diego Padres, who closed the year as National League West winners, had just one winning season in their 15-year existence.
Neither the Cubs nor Mets, who duked it out in the National League East, had challenged for the pennant in over a decade. And the Tigers, who became 1984 World Series Champions, hadn't been to the playoffs since 1972.
The most exciting player was Met rookie Dwight Gooden, 19, who fanned five straight batters in the All-Star Game. Gooden finished 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA and a league-leading 276 strikeouts, a rookie record. He kept the Mets in a race with the Cubs, who had their ace, Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe. Picked up in a trade with Cleveland, Sutcliffe went 16-1.
The Cubs also had MVP Ryne Sandberg, a slick-fielding, heavy-hitting second baseman. The Cubs trailed the Mets by 4½ games at the end of July, then rallied to beat them in seven of their next eight games. Chicago won the division by 6½. The Padres, with 92 victories, won the National League West. They featured a strong pitching staff and batting champion Tony Gwynn (.351).
Dale Murphy and Mike Schmidt shared the National League home run title with 36, while Montreal's Gary Carter tied Schmidt in RBI with 106. Cardinal Joaquin Andujar was the National League's only 20-game winner, while teammate Bruce Sutter led the league with 45 saves.
The Tigers were the premier team of 1984, going 104-58. Their pitching was solid, with Jack Morris, Dan Petry, and Milt Wilcox all winning at least 17 games (Morris even pitched a no-hitter in April against Chicago). Reliever Willie Hernandez won both the Cy Young and MVP Awards, posting 32 saves in his first 32 opportunities.
The Detroit offense, powered by Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Alan Trammell, and Chet Lemon, led the league in homers (187) and runs scored (829). Their up-the-middle defense, with Parrish, Trammell, Lemon, and Lou Whitaker, was the best in baseball. With this attack, the Tigers opened the season 35-5, easily capturing the division.
In the West, Kansas City edged out the Angels and Twins, despite winning only 84 games. The Royals' only standout player was Dan Quisenberry, who notched 44 saves.
Yankees Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield led the league in batting much of the season, with Mattingly taking the title on the season's final day (.343). Boston outfielder Tony Armas led the league in homers with 43 and RBI with 123, while Seattle rookie Alvin Davis posted 27 homers and 116 RBI. Angel Mike Witt pitched a perfect game September 30 against Texas.
The American League playoffs were a yawner, as Detroit swept the Royals. In the National League, however, an exciting series was taking shape. In the opener, the Cubs hammered the Padres 13-0, thanks to five homers (including one by pitcher Sutcliffe).
In game two, Steve Trout and Lee Smith combined to win 4-2, and Chicago was only one victory from its first World Series in 39 years. That victory never came, as the Padres won three straight at Jack Murphy Stadium and captured the flag.
The 1984 World Series was a formality. Detroit rolled through the Padres' starting pitching and won the 1984 World Series four games to one. To show how dominant Detroit was in 1984, check out this stat: Including the postseason, the Tigers were 100-0 when leading after eight innings.
|
|
|
Post by TribeGM on Aug 11, 2010 9:44:34 GMT -5
In 1984, Ryne Sandberg won the MVP and Jim Palmer pitched his final season. Here are some of the headlines from the 1984 baseball season:
Tony Gwynn Takes 1984 National League Bat Title
When general manager Jack McKeon drafted Tony Gwynn in the third round of the free agent draft in 1981, everyone thought the Padres had wasted their choice. Gwynn proved critics wrong in 1984, as he won the National League batting championship with a .351 average -- .30 more than the runner-up -- and topped the circuit with 213 hits (it was the first time a Padre had accomplished either feat). Hitting .368 in the League Championship Series, he clinched the fifth game with his third RBI to carry the Padres to the World Series.
Lee Smith Tallies 33 Saves
1984 National League Co-Fireman of the Year, Lee Smith saved 33 games and won another nine for the Cubs. It began a four-year streak in which the righty saved 30-plus games. Fizzling out by the postseason, Smith lost a game in the 1984 Championship Series, posting a 9.00 ERA. Smith is the all-time leader in saves for the Cubs (180).
Darrell Evans Off With a Bang
The first free agent signed by Tiger owner Tom Monaghan, Darrell Evans started hot in 1984, then settled into a comfortable pace. Evans socked an Opening Day homer to spark the Tigers to their 35-5 start, then finished the season with a .232 batting average and 16 homers. The following season, the 37-year-old finished the year with 40 round-trippers.
Jim Palmer Hangs Up Glove Jim Palmer had pitched one month of the 1984 season before he received notice on May 17 that the Orioles had released him. Thus ended the career of one of the greatest pitchers in American League history. His lifetime record of 268-152 was marked with eight seasons with 20 or more wins.
Palmer became a baseball analyst for ABC-TV. He was insightful as a commentator, though he did have a few klutzy moments. He once remarked, "When you stop throwing good pitches, you start throwing bad pitches."
Gary Carter: 94 BA, 106 RBI
With the retirement of Johnny Bench, the catcher's mantle was passed to Gary Carter in 1984. Carter posted his best season, cranking out a career-high 106 RBI (tied for the National League lead) and a .294 batting average. A perennial All-Star, he won his second All-Star MVP Award in 1984 on a second-inning home run, as he caught Dwight Gooden for the first time.
Carter spent the second half of the 1980s with the Mets before signing with San Francisco in 1990. Carter is one of a handful of catchers to club 300 homers in his career.
Dennis Boyd Breaks Even
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd evoked memories of Satchel Paige, as the young Red Sox pitcher spoke with a singsong banter while winning and losing 12 games in 1984. The son of an ex-Negro Leagues player, Boyd was as controversial as he was entertaining, often criticizing teammates and management.
Ryne Sandberg Carries the 1984 Chicago Cubs
The rise of the 1984 Cubs in the National League East was fueled by Ryne Sandberg. Capturing MVP honors, the second baseman batted .314 with 19 homers and 84 RBI and tied for the lead in the circuit with 19 triples. His valiant effort in the League Championship Series, a .368 average, was in vain as the Cubs lost to the Padres 3-2.
Dwight Gooden: Best at K'ing
Described as the Mozart of baseball, Dwight Gooden won 17 games with a 2.60 ERA in 1984. The 19-year-old hurler set a pair of major league records: One was for most strikeouts by a rookie (276 batters in just 218 innings); the other was for most strikeouts in two consecutive games (32). Gooden's fanning feats earned him the nickname "Dr. K."
Don Mattingly Wins 1984 American League Bat Title
Don Mattingly won his first American League batting championship in 1984 by hitting .343. Mattingly was the first left-handed Yankee hitter to bat over .340 since Lou Gehrig batted .351 in 1937. Posting a strong year, the first baseman topped the circuit with 207 hits and 44 doubles, came in second with a .537 slugging average, and placed fourth in total bases with 324.
Dave Winfield Has .340 BA
Dave Winfield shortened his stroke in 1984 in an effort to elevate his average. His average jumped from .283 the year before to .340. The outfielder was edged out for the batting title by teammate Don Mattingly, who hit .343. Off the field, the Yankee superstar continued to battle with owner George Steinbrenner, who refused to honor his contractual obligation to support Winfield's charitable foundation.
|
|