1977 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1977 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1977 in baseball.

1977 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 6, 1977 – October 18, 1977
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Rod Carew (MIN) NL: George Foster (CIN)
Postseason
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Kansas City Royals
NL champions	Los Angeles Dodgers
NL runners-up	Philadelphia Phillies
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	Los Angeles Dodgers
Finals MVP	Reggie Jackson (NYY)

The 1977 Major League Baseball season. The American League had its third expansion as the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays began play. However, the National League did not expand, thus they remained at twelve teams, to the AL's fourteen, until the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins joined in 1993.

Regular season standings

American League

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	62	0.617	—	55–26	45–36
Baltimore Orioles	97	64	0.602	2½	54–27	43–37
Boston Red Sox	97	64	0.602	2½	51–29	46–35
Detroit Tigers	74	88	0.457	26	39–42	35–46
Cleveland Indians	71	90	0.441	28½	37–44	34–46
Milwaukee Brewers	67	95	0.414	33	37–44	30–51
Toronto Blue Jays	54	107	0.335	45½	25–55	29–52

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	102	60	0.630	—	55–26	47–34
Texas Rangers	94	68	0.580	8	44–37	50–31
Chicago White Sox	90	72	0.556	12	48–33	42–39
Minnesota Twins	84	77	0.522	17½	48–32	36–45
California Angels	74	88	0.457	28	39–42	35–46
Seattle Mariners	64	98	0.395	38	29–52	35–46
Oakland Athletics	63	98	0.391	38½	35–46	28–52

National League

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Philadelphia Phillies	101	61	0.623	—	60–21	41–40
Pittsburgh Pirates	96	66	0.593	5	58–23	38–43
St. Louis Cardinals	83	79	0.512	18	52–31	31–48
Chicago Cubs	81	81	0.500	20	46–35	35–46
Montreal Expos	75	87	0.463	26	38–43	37–44
New York Mets	64	98	0.395	37	35–44	29–54

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	98	64	0.605	—	51–30	47–34
Cincinnati Reds	88	74	0.543	10	48–33	40–41
Houston Astros	81	81	0.500	17	46–35	35–46
San Francisco Giants	75	87	0.463	23	38–43	37–44
San Diego Padres	69	93	0.426	29	35–46	34–47
Atlanta Braves	61	101	0.377	37	40–41	21–60

Postseason

Bracket

	League Championship Series TV: NBC					World Series TV: ABC
	East	New York Yankees	3
	West	Kansas City	2
						AL	New York Yankees	4
						NL	Los Angeles	2
	East	Philadelphia	1
	West	Los Angeles	3

League Championship Series

American League

Main article: 1977 American League Championship Series

1977 American League Championship Series New York Yankees (3) vs. Kansas City Royals (2) Game Date Score Series (NYY-KC) Location 1 October 5 Royals 7, Yankees 2 0–1 Yankee Stadium 2 October 6 Yankees 6, Royals 2 1–1 Yankee Stadium 3 October 7 Royals 6, Yankees 2 1–2 Royals Stadium 4 October 8 Yankees 6, Royals 4 2–2 Royals Stadium 5 October 9 Yankees 5, Royals 3 3–2 Royals Stadium

National League

Main article: 1977 National League Championship Series

1977 National League Championship Series Los Angeles Dodgers (3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1) Most Valuable Player: Dusty Baker, LF, Los Angeles Game Date Score Series (LA-PHI) Location 1 October 4 Phillies 7, Dodgers 5 0–1 Dodger Stadium 2 October 5 Dodgers 7, Phillies 1 1–1 Dodger Stadium 3 October 7 Dodgers 6, Phillies 5 2–1 Veterans Stadium 4 October 8 Dodgers 4, Phillies 1 3–1 Veterans Stadium

World series

Main article: 1977 World Series

1977 World Series New York Yankees (4) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (2) Most Valuable Player: Reggie Jackson, RF, New York Game Date Score Series (NYY-LA) Location Attendance Time 1 October 11 Yankees 4, Dodgers 3 (12 innings) 1–0 Yankee Stadium 56,668 3:24 2 October 12 Dodgers 6, Yankees 1 1–1 Yankee Stadium 56,691 2:27 3 October 14 Yankees 5, Dodgers 3 2–1 Dodger Stadium 55,992 2:31 4 October 15 Yankees 4, Dodgers 2 3–1 Dodger Stadium 55,995 2:07 5 October 16 Dodgers 10, Yankees 4 3–2 Dodger Stadium 55,995 2:29 6 October 18 Yankees 8, Dodgers 4 4–2 Yankee Stadium 56,407 2:18

Awards and honors

Major Awards

1977 MLB Award Winners   American League National League Award Player Position Team Player Position Team Most Valuable Player Rod Carew 2B MIN George Foster LF CIN Cy Young Award Sparky Lyle LHP NYY Steve Carlton LHP PHI Rookie of the Year Eddie Murray 1B BAL Andre Dawson CF MON Relief Man of the Year Bill Campbell RHP BOS Rollie Fingers RHP SD

Gold Glove Awards

1977 Gold Glove Awards   American League National League Position Player Team Player Team P Jim Palmer BAL Jim Kaat PHI C Jim Sundberg TEX Johnny Bench CIN 1B Jim Spencer CWS Steve Garvey LA 2B Frank White KC Joe Morgan CIN 3B Graig Nettles NYY Mike Schmidt PHI SS Mark Belanger BAL Dave Concepción CIN OF Juan Beníquez TEX César Gerónimo CIN OF Al Cowens KC Garry Maddox PHI OF Carl Yastrzemski BOS Dave Parker PIT

Statistical leaders

American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG Rod Carew, MIN .388 Dave Parker, PIT .338 HR Jim Rice, BOS 39 George Foster, CIN 52 RBI Larry Hisle, MIN 119 George Foster, CIN 149 SB Freddie Patek, KC 68 Frank Taveras, PIT 70 Wins Dave Goltz, MIN Dennis Leonard, KC Jim Palmer, BAL 20 Steve Carlton, PHI 23 ERA Frank Tanana, CAL 2.54 John Candelaria, PIT 2.34 Ks Nolan Ryan, CAL 341 Phil Niekro, ATL 262

All-Star game

Main article: 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

July 19, 1977
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
National League	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	7	9	1
American League	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	5	8	0
Starting pitchers: NL: Don Sutton AL: Jim Palmer WP: Don Sutton (1–0)   LP: Jim Palmer (0–1) Home runs: NL: Joe Morgan (1), Greg Luzinski (1), Steve Garvey (1) AL: George Scott (1)

Most Valuable Player: Don Sutton, NL

Feats

No-Hitters

• Jim Colborn, Kansas City Royals – May 14 vs. Texas Rangers at Royals Stadium (9 IP, 6 SO, 1 BB, 1 HBP in 6–0 win)
• Dennis Eckersley, Cleveland Indians – May 30 vs. California Angels at Cleveland Municipal Stadium (9 IP, 12 SO, 1 BB in 1–0 win)
• Bert Blyleven, Texas Rangers – September 22 vs. California Angels at Anaheim Stadium (9 IP, 7 SO, 1 BB in 6–0 win)

Cycles

• Bob Watson, Houston Astros – June 24 vs. San Francisco Giants
• John Mayberry, Kansas City Royals – August 5 vs. Chicago White Sox
• Jack Brohamer, Chicago White Sox – September 24 at Seattle Mariners

Records

Career Milestones

400 Home Runs

• Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates – June 29 vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium (2-run home run off Eric Rasmussen)

900 Stolen Bases

• Lou Brock, St. Louis Cardinals – September 30 vs. New York Mets at Busch Stadium

Notable events

January–March

• January 2 – Not even a full season into owning the Atlanta Braves, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Ted Turner for tampering with the signing of Gary Matthews.
• January 4 – Mary Shane is hired by the Chicago White Sox as the first woman TV play-by-play announcer.
• January 19 – The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects Ernie Banks to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
• January 31 – The Special Veterans Committee selects Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie and Al López for the Hall of Fame.
• February 3 – The Hall of Fame's Special Committee on the Negro Leagues picks versatile Cuban star Martín Dihigo and shortstop John Henry Lloyd for induction. The committee then dissolves, its functions being taken over by the Veterans Committee.
• March 21 – Mark Fidrych, the 1976 AL Rookie of the Year, rips the cartilage in his left knee and will undergo surgery in ten days. The injury will effectively end the fabled career of The Bird.

April–June

• May 14 – Journeyman Kansas City Royals pitcher Jim Colborn no-hits the Texas Rangers at Royals Stadium, striking out six, walking one, and hitting one batter in a 6–0 Royals win. Colborn faces 28 batters, one more than the complete game minimum.
• April 6 – The Seattle Mariners open their existence and their home stadium, the Kingdome, with a 7–0 loss to the California Angels.
• April 7 – The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game in franchise history, in the snow, defeating the Chicago White Sox 9–5 at Exhibition Stadium.
• April 15 – The Montreal Expos play their first game at Montreal's Olympic Stadium before a crowd of 57,592, as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies win 7–2.
• April 24 – Canadian Ferguson Jenkins throws the first shutout ever in Exhibition Stadium, as the visiting Boston Red Sox defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 9–0.
• May 11 – Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner names himself manager, and skippers the team to a 2–1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. National League president Chub Feeney orders him to desist, and soon after, owners are banned from managing.
• May 30 – Dennis Eckersley of the Cleveland Indians throws the second no-hitter of the 1977 season, striking out twelve in a 1–0 win over the California Angels at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. A first inning walk to Tony Solaita is all that prevents Eckersley from throwing tfirst perfect game since 1968. The home plate umpire for the game is Bill Deegan, who was also the home plate umpire for Jim Colburn's no-hitter roughly two weeks earlier.
• June 7 – The Chicago White Sox select Harold Baines with the number one pick in the draft. White Sox owner Bill Veeck had first seen Baines play Little League ball and had followed his career. Pitcher Bill Gullickson is taken with the second pick by the Montreal Expos, and the Milwaukee Brewers take University of Minnesota infielder Paul Molitor with the third pick. Danny Ainge, a potential pro basketball player, is picked in the 15th round.
• June 8 – For the fourth time in his career, Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 batters in a game, doing so against the Toronto Blue Jays.
• June 15 – The New York Mets trade Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. They then trade Mike Phillips to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joel Youngblood, and send Dave Kingman to the Padres for minor league pitcher Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine, who will one day manage the Mets.
• June 18 – In the sixth inning of an NBC-televised game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, New York Yankee manager Billy Martin pulls right fielder Reggie Jackson and replaces him with Paul Blair after Jackson misplays Jim Rice's fly ball for a double. As Jackson returns to the dugout, he and Martin exchange words, Martin arguing that Jackson had shown him up by "not hustling" on the play. The Yankee manager lunges at Jackson (who is 18 years younger than Martin and outweighs him by about 40 pounds), and has to be restrained by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard—with the NBC cameras showing the confrontation to the entire country. The Red Sox win, 10–4.
• June 24 – In a 6–5 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros first baseman Bob Watson hits for the cycle.
• June 27 – The San Francisco Giants' Willie McCovey smashes two home runs, one a grand slam off reliever Joe Hoerner, in the sixth inning to pace a 14–9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. McCovey becomes the first player in major league history to twice hit two home runs in one inning (his first time was on April 12, 1973), and also becomes the all-time National League leader with 17 career grand slams. Andre Dawson, in both 1978 and 1986, will be the next player to hit two homers in the same inning.
• June 29 – Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits his 400th career home run when he takes St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Eric Rasmussen deep for a two-run shot in the fifth inning of a 9–1 Pirates' victory at Bush Stadium.

July–September

• July 19 – In the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, the National League defeats the American League for the 14th time in the last 15 encounters. Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers is named MVP.
• August 5 – Kansas City Royals designated hitter John Mayberry hits for the cycle in a 12–2 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox.
• August 12 – For the second consecutive day, Manny Sanguillén of the Oakland Athletics foils a no-hit bid with a single hit off the Baltimore Orioles' Jim Palmer, who settles for a two-hit 6–0 victory. Yesterday's hit was off the New York Yankees' Mike Torrez, who finished with a 3–0 two-hitter.
• August 27 – Toby Harrah and Bump Wills of the Texas Rangers become the first players in Major League history to hit back-to-back inside the park home runs. They do so in a game against the New York Yankees.
• August 29 – St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lou Brock steals two bases in a 4–3 loss to the San Diego Padres. It is the 893rd career stolen base for Brock, breaking Ty Cobb's modern record.
• September 9 – In the second game of a double header in Boston, the Detroit Tigers debut their new second baseman, Lou Whitaker, and their new shortstop, Alan Trammell. They will play side by side for 19 years to establish a new Major League record for tandem play at those positions.
• September 10 – Roy Howell hits two home runs, two doubles, and a single, and drives in nine runs, as Toronto beats the Yankees 19–3.
• September 15 – The California Angels trade Dave Kingman to the New York Yankees for pitcher Randy Stein. Having also played with the New York Mets and San Diego Padres earlier in the season, Kingman becomes the first – and only – Major League Baseball player to play in all four divisions in one season.
• September 15 – Earl Weaver pulls his Baltimore Orioles from the field at Exhibition Stadium citing "hazardous conditions" caused by a small tarp weighed down by bricks covering the bullpen mound. This results in a forfeiture of the game to the Toronto Blue Jays.
• September 22 – Texas Rangers pitcher Bert Blyleven throws the third and final no-hitter of the 1977 season, striking out seven and walking one in a 6–0 win over the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium.
• September 24 – Second baseman Jack Brohamer of the Chicago White Sox becomes the third man of the season to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in an 8–3 win over the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome.
• September 25 – California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan notches his 341st strikeout of the season, the fifth highest single season total in American League history. Ryan set the American League single-season record four years earlier when he struck out 383 batters in 1973.
• September 30 – Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals steals the 900th base of his career in a 7–2 win over the New York Mets at Busch Stadium, becoming just the second man in baseball history to reach the plateau.

October–December

• October 7 – In Game Three of the National League Championship Series at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers were down 5–3 with 2 outs in the 9th inning. Pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo beats out a 2-strike drag bunt and pinch-hitter Manny Mota follows with a long double off Greg Luzinski's glove. Mota reaches third on a throw that Ted Sizemore mishandles. Davey Lopes' grounder caroms off Mike Schmidt's knee to Larry Bowa, and the shortstop's throw is ruled late although television replays and a scene from a 1977 Philadelphia Phillies highlight film showed that Lopes was out. Los Angeles pulls out a 6–5 victory over the Phillies.
• October 18 – New York Yankees right fielder Reggie Jackson hits three first-pitch home runs, in consecutive at-bats, during the decisive Game 6 of the World Series, leading the crowd to serenade him with chants of "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" after his final home run lands deep in "the black" (center field bleachers). Jackson's historic feat powers the Yankees to an 8–4 win and a four-games-to-two Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The World Series title is the Yankees' first since 1962 and their 21st overall.
• November 22 – Andre Dawson of the Montreal Expos wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award by one vote over Steve Henderson of the New York Mets. Dawson hit .282 with 19 home runs and 65 RBI, while Henderson had .297, 12, 65.
• December 8 – In an unusual four team, off-season trade, the Atlanta Braves sent Willie Montañez to the New York Mets. Then, the Texas Rangers sent Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller to the Braves; Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets, and Bert Blyleven to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates sent Al Oliver and Nelson Norman to the Rangers, and the Mets sent Jon Matlack to the Rangers and John Milner to the Pirates. The Rangers later sent Ken Henderson to the Mets to complete the trade (March 15, 1978).

Notes

References

External links

• 1977 season at Baseball-reference.com