PITCHING - Catfish Hunter (13-13, 3.35), Blue Moon Odom (16-10, 2.45) and
Jim Nash (13-13, 2.28) anchor a staff that relied on very few runs from an offensively challenged team during what has now been named "the year of the pitcher". ERA's are low, but wins were still not plentiful. Jack Aker was purely horrible as the closer (4-4, 4.10, 11sv). Expect to see Diego Segui (6-5, 2.39, 6sv) and Paul Lindblad (4-3, 2.40, 2 sv) get the lion share of closing opps.
HITTING - This team led the AL in batting average (.240) during this pitching dominated year. Reggie Jackson (.250-29-74) is the power of this team as no other starter cracked double figures. Bert Campaneris (.276-4-38-62SB) will be the tablesetter who will pilfer bases like there is no tomorrow. Reggie (14), Rick Monday (14), and Sal Bando (13) will also swipe their share of bags.
BENCH - Mike Hershberger (.272-5-32), who platooned in left will be the first man off the bench. Backup catcher Jim Pagliaroni will hit well against lefties. Catfish Hunter might even pinch hit for a pitcher with his .232 avg, once again proving this was really the year of the pitcher.
1974 Chicago White Sox
PITCHING - From the mid 50's to the mid 70's the Chisox were a pitching team. Their top 3 starter back up this claim. With a pair of 20 game winners in Wilbur Wood (20-19, 3.60) and Jim Kaat (21-13, 2.92) the Chisox boast the top 1-2 punch in the Al. Young Bart Johnson (10-4, 2.74) might just be the top #3 or 4 guy in any rotation. The "big tub of goo" Terry Forster (7-8, 3.62, 24sv) will close things out as a young Goose Gossage (4-6, 4.13, 1sv) was just not ready for prime time yet.
HITTING - Two years removed from his MVP season, Dick Allen (.302-32-88) was the focal point of the offense. Bill Melton (.242-21-63) and Ken Henderson (.292-20-95) provide lots of protection in the lineup for the enigmatic one. A young Bucky Dent (.274-5-45) can get on base as can Jorge Orta (.316-10-67) for the big sticks. Fielding just might be the undoing for this club as Carlos May has limited range in left and Melton is a virtual statue at the hot corner and Henderson is not exactly Willie Mays in center.
BENCH - Ron Santo, who is at the end of the road barely hits .220 and has virtually no pop now that he was removed from the "friendly confines" of the North side. Brian Downing (.225-10-39) shows flashes of brilliance as he begins to evolve into a great line drive hitter. Tony Muser (.291-1-18) will get some time at first and come off the bench for some clutch hitting as will Buddy Bradford (.333-5-10).
1984 Minnesota Twins
PITCHING - During this era the Twins could rely on having 3 good starters. 1984 was no different. Frank "sweet music" Viola (18-12, 3.21) was the ace of this staff. Mike Smithson (15-13, 3.68) and John Butcher (13-11, 3.44) are credible #2/3 guys. After that it's pray for a double digit offensive outburst. Ron Davis (7-11, 4.55, 29sv) was miscast as the closer. He was so much more effective in pinstripes as Gossage's setup man. Speaking of setup men, Pete Filson (6-5, 4.10) will see a lot of action out of the pen on those nights when the top 3 aren't on the hill
HITTING - Playing in the homer dome you'd have expected this team to be at or near the AL lead in power numbers. Guess again. They actually finished nearly on the bottom despite Tom Brunansky 32 home run season. Third year man Kent Hrbek (.311-27-107) was the most consistent if not almost dominant hitter of the bunch. Both Gary Gaetti (5) and Kirby Puckett (0) still had not found their homer run stroke, but played flawless defense and hit for average.
BENCH - Darrell Brown (.273-1-19) played the roll of 4th outfielder to a "T" and Ron Washington (.294-3-23) can play anywhere in the infield as well as pinch hit when needed.
1993 Seattle Mariners
PITCHING - Randy Johnson (19-8, 3.24) had 308 strike outs that season and will make opposing hitters cringe every 5th day. The rest of the staff will have to find theri way to stay competitive. Erik Hanson (11-12, 3.47) had decent numbers, but is more suited to be a 3 or 4 stater, not a #2 guy. Dave Fleming (12-5, 4.36) is an interesting project. He obviously knows how to win, but will the M's score enough for him when he's on the hill to get those wins ? Norm Chartlon (1-3, 2.34, 18sv) will close out games. A potpourri of setup men will trot in and out of the pen night after night hoping to bridge the starters to Charlton who is purely a 1 inning guy.
HITTING - Ken Griffey Jr. (.309-45-109) is the early favorite to win the AL MVP. There is nothing "junior" can't do. Even more impressive than his off the chart offensive #'s are his defensive skills. Expect him to win games for this team with both his leather and his lumber. Jay Buhner (.272-27-98) will play next to junior in RF and give him protection in the lineup. Mike Blowers (18) and Tino Martinez (17) will also add some pop. The issue will be baserunners. Will Omar Vizquel (.255) and Brett Boone (.251) hit enough for junior and company to drive them in ?
BENCH - Absolutely no pop on the bench. Rich Amaral (.290-1-44) will see time in the outfield and off the bench, but he won't hit enough to be a regular corner OF'er. Mackey Sasser will DH and backup Dave Valle behind the plate, but his .218 BA and his throwing woes will make him a liability. Edgar martinez (.237-4-13) will suffer through the worst season of his career as he fights the injury bug in limited time.
2000 Anaheim Angels
PITCHING - Give Mike Scioscia props for finishing at or near the .500 mark with this woeful staff. Not one starter had more than 27 starts and only one Jarrod Washburn (7-2, 3.74) had an ERA under 4.0. Even closer Troy Percival (5-5, 4.50, 32sv) had a challenging year. Their lone bright spot on the hill was Japanese import Shigetoshi Hasegawa (10-6, 3.57, 9sv).
HITTING - This is how this team will win. With 235 homers and a .280 team BA they will make opposing hurlers hide. Four players had over 100 RBI and 4 had more than 30 homers. This is the type of offense that would make any "steroid era" manager smile. Troy Glaus (.284-47-102) was off the charts. Garret Anderson, who was a fixture in the Angel outfield for more than a decade hit 35 long balls himself. Mo Vaughn (.272-36-117) had the last big year of his career before injuries took their toll.
BENCH - Matt Walbeck and Ron Gant didn't hit for average, but both can go yard off the bench. Orlando Palmeiro (.300-0-25) can get the timely hit and just about spell any of the starters in the field.
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