November 1, 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TOP STORIES Manhattan Defeats Brooklyn 4-2 Manhattan’s victory erases their nightmare collapse in the final week of the regular season at the hands of the Superbas, and helps them emerge from the shadows of their crosstown rivals, who have dominated the Big Apple and the United League with eight UL championships. The triumph caps three years of success for the Gray Sox, who won the East Division crown in 1974 and lost a heart-wrenching seven-game series to Detroit in last year’s Fall Classic. Despite the bitter finish, by all accounts it was a stellar season as well for Brooklyn, which ended a run of six straight sixth place finishes since its last playoff appearance in 1969. Craig Robertson Named MVP Dierker Wins First Pitching Triple Crown | SIM SCHEDULE TBA: Salary Arbitration Hearings (to 11/4) TBA: Free Agency Filings (to 11/8) TBA: FA period begins (to 2/1) TBA: Rookie draft begins (3/1) ON THE MEND
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Cepeda Biggest Name Heading into FA
Cleveland slugger Orlando Cepeda, coming off a monster season in which he collected his 3,000th hit and shattered the career home run record, will likely top the UL free agency list, unless Barons GM Charlie Qualls can secure a fresh contract in the next five days. Cepeda who turned 39 last month, made $10.35 million in 1976, making him the fourth-highest paid player in the league. The second overall pick in the 1958 draft, he spent his 18 seasons as a Boston Federal before joining the Barons on Aug. 1, 1975. He batted .275-47-117 with a .919 OPS this season, his second highest home run total and his 11th 100-RBI season.
1976 LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG | HR | RBI | VORP | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AVG | HR | RBI | VORP | |||||||||||
Craig Robinson | MAN | .414 | Craig Robinson | MAN | 52 | Tom Grieve | MAN | 123 | Craig Robinson | MAN | 123.2 | |||
Willie Randolph | DEN | .338 | Tom Grieve | MAN | 49 | Orlando Cepeda | CLE | 117 | Joe Torre | WAS | 59.3 | |||
Rich Coggins | MON | .323 | Orlando Cepeda | CLE | 47 | Craig Robinson | MAN | 111 | Ron Blomberg | WAS | 52.2 | |||
Rod Carew | SEA | .322 | Otto Velez | DET | 43 | Steve Garvey | MAN | 107 | Orlando Cepeda | CLE | 52.1 | |||
Chris Chambliss | SEA | .317 | George Foster | SF | 35 | Butch Hobson | ATL | 101 | Fred Lynn | BRO | 51.0 | |||
Fred Lynn | BRO | .314 | Butch Hobson | ATL | 35 | Greg Luzinski | BRO | 100 | Eric Soderholm | WAS | 48.7 | |||
Cecil Cooper | CLE | .312 | Dick Allen | DET | 34 | Ron Blomberg | WAS | 99 | Chris Chambliss | SEA | 45.4 | |||
MIckey Rivers | DEN | .309 | Johnny Bench | DEN | 33 | Fred Lynn | BRO | 98 | Ken Singleton | LA | 45.2 | |||
*Joe Torre | WAS | .307 | Lee May | SF | 32 | 4 tied with | 93 | Otto Velez | DET | 42.8 | ||||
Mike Hargrove | STL | .306 | *Gene Tenace | LA | 32 | Al Oliver | WAS | 42.7 | ||||||
*Andre Thornton | MON | 32 | ||||||||||||
ERA | WINS | SO | VORP | |||||||||||
Larry Dierker | LA | 2.21 | Larry Dierker | LA | 25 | Larry Dierker | LA | 273 | Larry Dierker | LA | 84.3 | |||
Rick Reuschel | CLE | 2.29 | Burt Hooton | CLE | 20 | Rick Reuschel | CLE | 247 | Rick Reuschel | CLE | 72.2 | |||
Fergie Jenkins | SF | 2.43 | Vida Blue | WAS | 19 | Tom Seaver | BRO | 231 | Fritz Peterson | LA | 63.9 | |||
Jon Matlack | STL | 2.62 | Steve Rogers | MAN | 18 | Fergie Jenkins | SF | 227 | Fergie Jenkins | SF | 62.9 | |||
Frank Reberger | CLE | 2.66 | Don Sutton | MAN | 18 | Bert Blyleven | BOS | 226 | Jon Matlack | STL | 61.6 | |||
Bob Moose | SF | 2.69 | Steve Carlton | MAN | 17 | Don WIlson | WAS | 217 | Bert Blyleven | BOS | 56.8 | |||
Fritz Peterson | LA | 2.74 | Fritz Peterson | LA | 17 | Jon Matlack | STL | 215 | John Montefusco | SEA | 55.2 | |||
Bert Blyleven | BOS | 2.80 | Rick Reuschel | CLE | 17 | Bill Singer | MON | 214 | Frank Reberger | CLE | 51.0 | |||
John Montefusco | SEA | 2.86 | Mike Torrez | WAS | 17 | Steve Carlton | MAN | 211 | Bob Moose | SF | 50.5 | |||
Dock Ellis | DET | 3.00 | Bert Blyleven | BOS | 16 | Don Sutton | MAN | 207 | Bill Singer | MON | 45.7 | |||
Jon Matlack | STL | 16 | ||||||||||||
Wayne Simpson | SEA | 16 | ||||||||||||