The West
When last we left the Singing Cowboy and his Melody Ranch Hands, they were getting bushwhacked at the Circle A by the notorious Weaver gang. Gene Autry's California Angels showed what they were made of by even reaching the playoffs, but in the process they also showed what the rest of the division was made of. The West was won with an 88-74 record, good for fifth in the American League East.
So anything goes in this, the Venus de Milo division: the big teams all look terrific—except that they have no arms. California, Kansas City and Texas boast some of the best players in baseball, certainly the best third basemen, but they would all be better off with Seattle's pitching. The Angels fielded such a strong lineup last season that they won despite 47 injuries, 81 different lineups and a staff ERA of 4.34, the worst in the club's history and ninth best in the league. But since that lonesome day in Anaheim when the Orioles eliminated California from the playoffs by the embarrassing score of 8-0, Manager Jim Fregosi has lost his fastest gun, Nolan Ryan, to high finance and Houston. The Royals lost their three-year grip on the division, finishing three games back, because their pitching was even worse than the Angels'. The Rangers might have won had they not mysteriously lost 30 of 40 games after the All-Star break. As the new season opens, it appears that California still has the best starting nine and that Texas has the edge in pitching. Therefore, Kansas City will win.
That is not as illogical as it sounds. The Royals know how to win the division, if not the playoffs, and their pitching can't possibly be as bad as it was last year, when all the starters decided it was their season to swoon. And would anyone in his right mind want to pitch to Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, George Brett, Darrell Porter, Hal McRae and Willie Mays Aikens? At third and foremost, new Manager Jim Frey inherits Dirty George Brett, whom, with some justification, he calls the "best all-round offensive player in the game." With 42 doubles, 20 triples and 23 home runs, Brett became only the fifth major-leaguer to produce 20 or more of each in one season. He was second to Fred Lynn in batting, with a .329 average, and also landed his first major endorsement—fittingly enough, a soap commercial.
Leading off will be Wilson, who hit .315 and stole 83 bases, the most in the American League in 67 years. In center will be the estimable Otis, coming off one of his better seasons: .295, 90 RBIs, 30 stolen bases. The Royals traded the grace of Al Cowens to California for the power of First Baseman Aikens, leaving rightfield open for Clint Hurdle. Even though Hurdle, a phenom of two springs ago, was sent down to Omaha for a while last season, K.C. is expecting big things of him.
No catcher had a better year than Porter, with 112 RBIs, 101 runs and 121 walks. The Royals are hoping against hope that Porter can soon solve the personal difficulties that led to his leaving camp. If Porter doesn't return, John Wathan or Jamie Quirk will catch. Added power will be provided by Aikens (21 HRs, 81 RBIs) and DH McRae, healthy again after a shoulder injury held him to a .288 average and 74 RBIs last year. The Royals' one glaring non-pitching weakness is shortstop. Fred Patek has gone to California, and neither U.L. Washington nor former Angel Ranee Mulliniks is first rate. Whoever ends up playing the position will have the game's best second baseman to his left, Gold Glove winner Frank White.
Dennis Leonard won 20 and 21 games in 1977 and '78, but he took a side trip to Gopherville last year and ended up 14-12. Still, he pitched well the second half, as did Larry Gura. Paul Splittorff, however, had a bad second half, and Rich Gale, who was outstanding as a rookie in '78, had two bad halves. The bullpen lost Al Hrabosky, which may be no loss at all. That leaves the relief work to Dan Quisenberry, Renie Martin and lefty Gary Christenson.
It won't be easy for the Angels to climb back in the saddle again. On paper, they have a great outfield now that Cowens has arrived, but Leftfielder Joe Rudi is recovering from an injury to his right Achilles tendon, and Centerfielder Dan Ford is coming off right-knee surgery and may not be ready to start the season. There is also the question of the well-being of Rod Carew. Last year was only the second in the last eight that Carew didn't win a batting title. He had good excuses for hitting, for him, a mere .318—a bad elbow, torn ligaments in his right thumb, tonsillitis and a bruised left heel—but at age 34 those good excuses could turn out to be bad omens.
Certifiably healthy are Don Baylor, the first DH to be MVP, Bobby Grich, Carney Lansford and Brian Downing. Baylor led the majors in runs (120) and RBIs (139), played all 162 games and hit .296. Grich, the second baseman, had his finest season, with 30 homers, 101 RBIs and a .294 average. The nicest thing about Third Baseman Lansford is that he's 23 and getting better; in '79 he hit .287 with 19 homers and 79 RBIs, stole 20 bases and fielded superbly. Downing opened up his stance and raised his average 71 points, to .326, but he doesn't have much of an arm behind the plate. The Angels also bought the 35-year-old Patek, and they have already gotten more than they bargained for. He was listed at 5'4" in Kansas City; the California press guide has him at 5'6".
When Ryan left, he not only took his 100-mph fastball but 250 innings of good work as well. Bruce Kison, picked up as a free agent, hasn't pitched more than 193 innings in any of his nine seasons. Dave Frost was a revelation last year, using his forkball to go 16-10, but beyond them lie outpatients and mediocrity. Frank Tanana's sore shoulder may prevent him from ever being the Frank Tanana of old again, and Chris Knapp has a bad back. Mark Clear is expected to anchor the bullpen, but he tailed off dramatically last season after being selected to the All-Star team.
The Rangers just may win the division in gratitude for Brad Corbett having returned full time to the plastic-pipe business. In his six years as owner, Corbett turned Arlington Stadium into a bus depot, shuttling players in and out, out and in. That's one reason this club has been the Tin Man of baseball: all the parts but no heart. Now that Corbett is gone, the Rangers may be guttier. But they still have some serious deficiencies, as the team's 0-9 start in spring training indicated. The biggest is at shortstop, where Nelson Norman often made the spectacular play and muffed the routine ones while hitting a resounding .222 as a rookie in '79. At second is Bump Wills, a good offensive player who tends to live up to his nickname in the field. It was thought that John Milton (Mickey) Rivers had found paradise in centerfield for Texas when he hit .300 after coming over from the Yankees last July, but now he says he wants to go back to New York. Next to him in right is Al Oliver, one of the game's premier hitters, and in left Bill Sample will platoon with John Grubb. Texas is strong at the corners with Buddy Bell at third and Pat Putnam at first. Bell really chimed last year, winning the Gold Glove, hitting .299 with 18 home runs and 101 runs driven in. Putnam looks like a miniature Boog Powell, but his stats may soon be big enough to be described as Boogian. He had 18 homers and 64 ribbies in his first full season. Catching will be Gold Glove winner Jim Sundberg. The Rangers would like Richie Zisk to be their DH, but only if he hits better than he has (.262) in the last two seasons since he came to Texas for $2.5 million. The good news is that Zisk discovered he was suffering from hypoglycemia, which has been brought under control; the bad news is that he's coming off knee surgery. If Zisk falters, John Ellis, a bail bondsman in the off-season, will—need we say it?—bail Texas out.
The Rangers' aged staff is headed by 41-year-old Gay-lord Perry, who won 12 games for San Diego last year before rudely walking out late in the season. Then comes 36-year-old Ferguson Jenkins, 16-14, who was tattooed for 40 homers. Texas is also counting heavily on the return to form of Jon Matlack, 30, after surgery on his left elbow. Doc Medich, 31, is still around, and so is Dock Ellis, 35. The only youngster is 26-year-old Steve Comer, who came into his own last year with a 17-12 record. Jim Kern had a fabulous season in the bullpen—13-5 with 29 saves and a 1.57 ERA—but at 31 he's no spring chicken, either. Helping him out is Sparky Lyle, 35, who says he's abandoning exclusive use of his slider to work on other pitches.
The Mariners fourth? Why not? Their pitching could turn out to be the best in the division; they're gradually plugging holes at other positions; and they were nearly a .500 team at home last year. Seattle traded Centerfielder Ruppert Jones to the Yankees, and in return got another centerfielder, Juan Beniquez, a starting pitcher, Jim Beattie, Catcher Jerry Narron and Reliever Rick Anderson. Beattie will fit in nicely with Mike Parrott, Rick Honeycutt and Floyd Bannister to give the Mariners a strong rotation. Anderson, Shane Rawley and Byron McLaughlin give Seattle a solid bullpen. The Mariners also have The Magician, Julio Cruz, at second base, and the Ancient Mariner, Willie Horton (29 homers, 106 RBIs) to DH. First Baseman Bruce Bochte was among the league's batting leaders all season and finished at .316 with 100 runs batted in. If Leon Roberts can get back his 1978 stroke—he dropped 30 points to .271 last year—and if Rodney Craig, the Mariners' first home-grown prospect, can play his way into the outfield, there's no reason Seattle couldn't jump over Minnesota and Chicago.
Manager Gene Mauch does his best, but as long as the Twins keep losing quality players like Dave Goltz to free agentry, he hasn't a chance. With Goltz gone, Mauch has only one sure starter, Jerry Koosman, who won the Jean Valjean Award for escaping from the Mets and winning 20 games. Mike Marshall appeared in 90 games last year, saving 32, and he's likely to see even more work this season. The Twins do have the league's best shortstop in Roy Smalley, but he may wear out unless he gets some help in the power-hitting department. He hit .373 until June 30, and then .187 the rest of the way. He still finished at .271 with 24 homers and 95 RBIs. At second base is Rob Wilfong, a surprising .313 hitter and the best bunter in baseball. Third Baseman John Castino was co-Rookie of the Year in '79, when he batted .285 and sometimes played brilliantly afield. The Twins need more production from First Baseman Ron Jackson and Catcher Butch Wynegar, neither of whom hit well in the clutch. Minnesota, in fact, led the league in men left on base. Except for Ken Landreaux, who hit .305 with 83 RBIs and made the Rod Carew trade look like a pretty good deal, Minnesota's outfield is a grab bag. Hosken Powell, Willie Norwood, Dave Edwards, Bombo Rivera and Rick So-field are just some of the names Gillette won't be printing on its All-Star ballots. So-field is more famous for getting caught scalping tickets than for hitting .301 in 35 games last year. When you work for Calvin Griffith, every little bit helps.
Bill Veeck says he wouldn't trade this White Sox team for the Yankees. Uh huh, and when is the next Anti-Disco night, Bill? This year's gimmick appears to be an all-lefthanded team. All five of the starting pitchers could be southpaws, and Chicago is even trying lefthanded First Baseman Mike Squires behind the plate. Except for centerfield, where Chet Lemon (.318 with 17 homers and 86 RBIs) plays, and first base, where Squires usually caddies for Lamar Johnson, every position is up for grabs. The man to do the settling down is lawyer-manager Tony LaRussa, at 35 the youngest skipper in the bigs. He would like to play .285 hitter Alan Bannister at short, but Bannister's arm is suspect, which leaves LaRussa with Greg Pryor and, least but not last, Harry Chappas. The 5'3" infielder got off to a bad start when he reported late the first workout of the spring. The story goes he couldn't pay the fine that day because he was a little short.
The Oakland A's, Alfred Manuel Martin in charge, have strength at catching with Jeff Newman (22 home runs), speed in the outfield, a few good pitchers and a fine first baseman in Dave Revering (.288, 19 homers). The rest is a shambles. The first move Martin made was to shift Rob Picciolo—.253 with two homers and three walks—from short to second and replace him with Mario Guerrero. The laughter you hear is coming from Boston, St. Louis and Anaheim, Guerrero's previous stops. Martin's best third baseman is Coach Clete Boyer, who will try to make one out of Wayne Gross, a .224 hitter with power. Martin told starting Pitcher Matt Keough to forget about his 14 straight losses last year, which, of course, only served to remind him. The bullpen of Bob Lacey and Dave Heaverlo was harried and hairy last year, but Heaverlo has shaved his head and vowed to stay bald until owner Charlie Finley sells the club. As long as Heaverlo's unhairy, the A's will remain the Triple A's.
ILLUSTRATION
JOHN ALCORN
The Angels hope Carew, 34, can divine a way to stay healthy.
