Up on the blog today, we move on to the National League’s top three home run hitters of 1978, proudly displayed on a 1979 “expanded league leader” card in my long-running thread:
Of course, if we’re talking home runs in the late-70’s we begin with Cincinnati reds basher George Foster, who took home his second straight home run tile in 1978 with 40 dingers, after his MVP blockbuster season of 1977 that saw him hit 52.
The man was an absolute monster at the plate between 1976 and 1981, and it wasn’t just power numbers, as he’d hit .300 or better three times while driving in 90+ runs each and every year.
Right behind Foster with 35 homers of his own, perhaps the greatest “forgotten” slugger in Major League baseball during the late-70’s, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Greg Luzinski, who put in yet another MVP-worthy year, his fourth such season in a row.
“The Bull” drove in 101 runs for the Phillies to go with those 35 homers, while also drawing 100 walks, though for the first time in four years he failed to hit .300 or better.
Nevertheless, if it wasn’t for the Cincinnati Reds and their “Machine”, we may be looking at a MULTIPLE MVP winner in Luzinski, easily worth the award in 1975 and 1977, while also arguably the winner in 1976.
Teamed up with hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, the Phillies had an absolute mashing due smack in the middle of their line-up during their success between 1975 through to their Championship in 1980.
In third place, with 30 home runs in 1978, the MVP of the National League, Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Dave Parker, “Cobra”, who took home his second straight batting title with a .334 average while driving in 117 runs and scoring 102 of his own while collecting 194 hits.
He also threw in 20 stolen bases, which is shocking thinking about the hulking player that he was back then, while following it all up with another 20 steals the following season when the Pirates would win it all as the “We Are Family” team that won over fans across the country.
Three great players that truly represented the Senior League during that era, not just for hitting home runs but for hitting for average as well. A rarity these days!