EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. BATTING

Moving on here on the blog with my “expanded league leaders” thread, we have the top three hitters of the American League for 1977, represented on an expanded 1978 leader card:

 

 

Of course, we begin with the man of the year that season, the great Rod Carew, who had a season of the ages that year, flirting with the magic .400 number all Summer before finishing with a .388 average, also leading the league with 128 runs scored, 238 hits, 16 triples and a .449 on-base-percentage, making him the clear choice for MVP.

It was the sixth of seven career batting titles for the elite batsman, while it was also the first and only time he’d reach 100 runs batted in, with 100 on the nose for the Minnesota Twins.

Just elite for the era!

Behind him with a .336 average, teammate and up-and-comer Lyman Bostock, who had a wonderful year that saw him collect 199 hits while scoring 104 runs, with 36 doubles, 12 triples and 14 homers while driving in 90 runs.

He would take that production and sign via Free Agency with the California Angels at season’s end, putting in another solid campaign in 1978 when he hit .296 with 168 hits, scoring 74 runs and driving in 71 before being tragically murdered in his hometown of Gary, Indiana as an innocent bystander, being shot sitting in a car, just short of his 28^th birthday.

In only four Major League seasons Bostock hit .311, sadly having that talent taken from us and left to wonder what could have been.

In third place with a .328 batting average in 1977, underappreciated hitter Ken Singleton, one of my favorite baseball “people”, who continually put in solid season after season over his stellar career.

In 1977 he collected 176 hits with 90 runs scored, 24 homers and 99 RBIs, with 107 walks to finish with a very nice .438 on-base-percentage, making his first All-Star team while finishing third in the MVP race.

He would do one better two years later when he finished runner-up to the MVP Award to Don Baylor in 1979 when he set career highs with 35 homers and 111 RBIs, helping the Baltimore Orioles make it all the way to the World Series before they fell to the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates.

Well, there you go, as we move on to the top three home run hitters of 1977 for the N.L. next week. See you then!

TRADED- 1972 KEN SINGLETON

Time to go and add a 1972 “Traded” card for one of my favorite players from ANY era, Ken Singleton, who found himself North of the border in Montreal after a blockbuster trade just as the season was opening up:

Singleton was part of the trade that brought Rusty Staub to the New York Mets, going to the Expos along with Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen on April 5th, 1972.
He would go on to have three very solid years in Montreal, with 1973 his finest as he scored 100 runs along with 103 runs batted in and 23 homers, while also walking 123 times while leading the National League with a .425 on-base-percentage, finishing ninth in MVP voting.
Of course, we all know that Singleton would go on to have an excellent 15-year Major League career, topping 2000 hits, 1000-RBI’s and just under 250 homers while making three All-Star teams and finishing second in the American League MVP race behind Don Baylor when he had his best Big League season, hitting 35 homers with 111 RBI’s and 109 walks, hitting .295 and scoring 93 runs.
Just a great person overall, I thoroughly enjoy his time as a New York Yankee TV announcer, and will miss him as he retires after the 2019 season.

TRADED: 1975 KEN SINGLETON

Here's a colorful card creation of mine, a 1975 Topps card "updated" to show Ken Singleton as a member of the Baltimore Oriole after being traded to the "Birds" in December of 1974.

Take a look:

Sweet looking if I may say so!

After putting in five solid years with the New York Mets and Expos between 1970 and 1974, Singleton really stepped into his own once he put on the Oriole orange.

He would played the rest of his career there until he retired after the 1984 season.

It's easy to forget that he finished in the top-10 in M.V.P. voting four times during his career, even finishing second overall to Don Baylor in 1979 when he slammed 35 homers and drove in 111 runs.

By the time he wrapped up his 15-year career, he was named to three all-star teams, collected over 2000 hits, and hit 246 homers with 1065 runs batted in and a nifty .282 lifetime average.

Nowadays he can be seen on T.V. as one of the New York Yankee announcers, and he just seems like the nicest guy there is. 

Singleton is aces in my book!