On the blog today,
we reach the top three stolen base guys of the American League for 1977,
celebrated on an “expanded” 1978 league-leader card:
We begin with the
Kansas City Royals Freddie Patek, who paced the league with his 53
steals, the second straight year where he swiped over 50, and seventh
season in a row with over 30.
Patek gave the
Royals a solid run through the 70’s at shortstop, even making a few
All-Star teams after coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.
In his first full
season that year, he swiped 49 bases, hit .267 and scored 86 runs,
finishing sixth in the MVP race by year’s end.
In second place with
42 steals, the runner-up to the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award for 1977,
Mitchell Page, who had an excellent debut in the Majors.
That season saw him
hit 21 home runs, with 85 runs scored and 75 runs batted in, while
hitting a very nice .307 with 154 hits in 501 at-bats.
Sadly for him
however, there was a first baseman by the name of Eddie Murray making
HIS MLB debut that season, and he’d be the one to take home the Rookie
honors.
For Page, he could
never match those numbers again, having only two other full-time seasons
over his eight-year career before retiring after the 1984 campaign,
appearing in 16 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In third place with
41 steals, a tie between two teammates, the great Bobby Bonds and
infielder Jerry Remy of the California Angels.
For Bonds, it was
business as usual, as he was also second in the league with his 37
homers, while reaching the 30-30 club for a record fourth time in 1977,
while also setting a career best with his 115 RBIs.
For his teammate,
second baseman Jerry Remy, it was his third straight solid Big League
season since making his debut in 1975, hitting .252 with those 41
steals, with 74 runs scored and 10 triples.
He’d find himself
with the Boston Red Sox in 1978, where he’d play the final seven years
of his career before becoming a much-loved announcer for the team for
many years before succumbing to cancer in 2021,
putting in a long baseball life either on the field or behind the mic,
highly respected on both ends.