EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. STOLEN BASES

On the blog this fine day, we move on to the top three base stealers in the National League in 1978, displayed on a 1979 "expanded league leader" card:

We begin with the leader of the pack, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Omar Moreno, who swiped 71 bases to take home what would be the first of two straight base-stealing crowns.

Moreno would have himself a three year run that would see him steal 214 bases between 1978 and 1980, with a high of 96 in the base-stealing crazy 1980 season, only to fall one steal short of the Montreal Expos Ron LeFlore.

In second place, way back with 46 steals, teammate of Moreno, shortstop Fran Taveras, the N.L. steals leader the previous season, who despite his drop in steals from 70 to 46 had himself a career-year with 182 hits, 81 runs scored and 31 doubles, giving the Pirates quite the potent speed duo to compliment the power bats of Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, etc.

In third place with 45 steals in 1978, the 1975 and 1976 stolen base champ, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes, who put in another solid season with 93 runs scored, 163 hits and a .278 average while also showing some "pop" with 17 home runs.

He would go on to have his best year in the Majors in 1979, when he'd combine all his usual numbers with a career-best 28 home runs, just missing the "30-30" club, which at that time was still somewhat exclusive.

So here we have three players who accounted for the stolen base leaders in the N.L. for every season between 1975 and 1979! Fun stuff!

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: DAVEY LOPES

Up on the blog today, we add former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star second baseman Davey Lopes to me 1977 "N.L. Centennial" special, celebrating the Senior League's 100th season the year prior, which was expressed with a specially designed patch worn by N.L. teams in 1976:

Lopes would go on to become a four-time All-Star who would lead the league in stolen bases twice while topping 1000 runs scored, 550 stolen bases and even hit 155 home runs, helping the Dodgers reach four World Series, winning it all in 1981.

On occasion he’d also show some “pop”, as he did in arguably his finest season in the big leagues when he hit 28 homers to go along with 44 stolen bases, 109 runs scored and 97 walks in 1979, starting the All-Star game alongside his teammate Steve Garvey.

By the time he retired after the 1987 season, he finished with a .263 batting average, collecting 1671 hits over 6354 at-bats and 1812 games.

And to think, he didn’t play his first full season until the age of 28 in 1973. I never realized he got such a late start in his MLB career.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1977 N.L. STOLEN BASES

Next up in my on-going "expanded league-leaders" thread, we come to the National League's top three stolen base players from 1976, which is actually four players since there's a tie for third place:

  

We begin with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Davey Lopes, All-Star second baseman, who topped the Senior Circuit with 63 swipes in 1976.

It was his second straight stolen base crown, after his career-best 77 steals led the N.L. in 1975, on his way to a cool 557 career steals between 1972 and 1987.

Behind him with 60 stolen bases, the league's MVP, Joe Morgan of the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds, World Champs in both 1975 and 1976.

All Morgan did in 1976 was take home his second straight MVP, his second straight championship, while leading the league in On-Base Percentage and Slugging, while bringing home his fourth straight Gold Glove at second base.

Tied for third with their 58 stolen bases in 1976, Fran Taveras of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cesar Cedeno of the Houston Astros.

For Cedeno, it was business as usual in 1976, hitting .297 with 18 homers, 89 runs scored and 83 RBIs while taking home his fifth straight Gold Glove.

The man was such a great all-around player the first 10 years of his career, stealing bases, hitting for average with some decent "pop" in his bat.

For Taveras, it was a sign somewhat of what was to come, as he would end up leading the league with 70 steals the following season, after his breakout 58 in 1976, his first full year in the Big Leagues.

He'd put in a string of solid years for the "We Are Family" Pirates from 1976 to 1979, and would retire with 300 steals on the nose over his 11-year career.

Next week, on to the American League's top base stealers of 1976!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. STOLEN BASES

On the blog today, the latest "expanded league leaders" card, this one the 1975 National League stolen base edition celebrating the top three base stealers of 1974:

 

Of course this was a monumental card since it starts off with the great Lou Brock and his record breaking 118 steals of 1974, breaking the record set by Maury Wills in 1962.

For Brock, it was ironically the last stolen base title of his Hall of Fame career, his eighth crown over nine seasons.

It's easy to forget when Brock set the record, he was 35 years of age! Not exactly a Spring chicken!

He also hit .306 for the season with 194 hits and 105 runs scored, good for second place in the MVP race at season's end.

In second place, waaaaay back with 59 stolen bases in 1974 is the guy who would end up leading the league the following two seasons, Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In his second full season as a Major League second baseman, Lopes helped the Dodgers get to the World Series, scoring 95 runs while hitting .266 with 26 doubles, 3 triples and 10 homers.

By the time he retired after the 1987 season, he'd have 557 stolen bases under his belt, not too shabby!

In third place with 58 steals in 1974, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, who was in the prime of his incredible career, using the stolen base as a facet of his offensive arsenal.

Along with those 58 steals, Morgan scored 107 runs, hit 22 homers and drove in 67 runs for the loaded Cincinnati Reds line-up, finishing eighth in the MVP race while picking up his second Gold Glove Award.

Of course he would follow up that season with two straight MVP Awards in 1975 and 1976, leading the "Big Red Machine" to two straight Championships, cementing his place as an All-Timer at second base.

There you have it! Next week we move on to the American League and their top three base stealers.

DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1973 DAVEY LOPES

Time to go and add Los Angeles Dodgers speedster Davey Lopes to my long-running “Dedicated Rookies” thread, with a 1973 example to compliment his multi-player rookie card in the 1973 Topps set:

Lopes appeared in 11 games for the Dodgers in 1972, coming up along-side other future All-Stars Ron Cey, Steve Garvey and Bill Russell to give the organization a rock-solid foundation for years to come.
Lopes would go on to become a four-time All-Star who would lead the league in stolen bases twice while topping 1000 runs scored, 550 stolen bases and even hit 155 home runs, helping the Dodgers reach four World Series, winning it all in 1981.
By the time he retired after the 1987 season, he finished with a .263 batting average, collecting 1671 hits over 6354 at-bats and 1812 games.

A MISSING ROOKIE CUP- 1974 DAVEY LOPES

The next player who got “ripped off” a nice Rookie Cup by Topps in the 1970’s is none other than future Dodgers’ All-Star second baseman Davey Lopes, who broke into the Major Leagues with a very nice 1973 season:

Lopes hit .275 for Los Angeles in his rookie year, with 36 stolen bases and 77 runs scored, giving the team an idea of what he’d end up doing over the next eight years while making the All-Star team four times while also taking home a Gold Glove.
He’d would lead the National League in stolen bases two years in a row: 1975 and 1976, with a high of 77 in ‘75 and 63 in 1976.
What always amazed me about that 1976 total was that he stole those 63 bases on only 103 hits! Incredible to think he swiped so many bags on so few hits (along with 53 base on balls).
On occasion he’d also show some “pop”, as he did in arguably his finest season in the big leagues when he hit 28 homers to go along with 44 stolen bases, 109 runs scored and 97 walks in 1979, starting the All-Star game alongside his teammate Steve Garvey.
By the time he retired after the 1987 season, he collected 557 stolen bases and 1023 runs scored to go along with 1671 hits and a .263 batting average.
And to think, he didn’t play his first full season until the age of 28 in 1973. I never realized he got such a late start in his MLB career.