EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American league and the top three relievers of the 1977 season proudly showcased on a 1978 “expanded league leader: card:

 

We begin with Bill Campbell, “Soup”, who had a great first season with the Boston Red Sox after coming over from the Minnesota Twins.

The man went 13-9 with a 2.96 earned run average while saving a league-leading 31 games, giving him his 44 “points” to come out on top for the A.L.’s premier fireman.

The 1977 season followed an even better 1976 season that saw him win 17 games while saving 20 for the Twins, appearing in 78 games while closing out 68, throwing an incredible 308 innings in relief over those two campaigns!

In second place with 39 points, funny enough, the pitcher who would take home the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1977, New York Yankees closer Sparky Lyle, who also had a fantastic season out of the bullpen, going 13-5 with 26 saves while pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA in 137 innings.

Lyle was a stallion of the Yankees bullpen since 1972, and helped them all the way back to glory with a World Series win in 1977, their first championship since 1962.

In third place with 32 points, Chicago White Sox reliever Lerrin LaGrow, who was converted to a reliever and found success, going 7-3 out of the ‘pen with 25 saves, posting a very nice 2.46 ERA over 66 appearances and 98.2 innings of work.

Easily the best season of the man’s 10-year Big League career, LaGrow previously made his mark in the Majors as a starter for the Detroit Tigers in the early-70’s, though finding some tough luck with a 19-loss and 14-loss season in 1974 and 1975.

Well there you go!

The top relievers in the Junior Circuit for 1977 on a 1978 “expanded league leader” card.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 LERRIN LaGROW

Today the blog offers up a “not so missing” 1977 card for former pitcher Lerrin LaGrow, who was coming off somewhat of a transitional year in his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1976:

LaGrow appeared in only eight games for the Birds that season, two of those as a starter, going 0-1 with a 1.48 earned run average over 24.1 innings of work.
In 1977 he’d hit his stride, finding success as a full-time reliever and going 7-3 over 66 appearances, with a very nice 2.46 ERA and 25 saves over 98.2 innings, helping the team to an excellent 90-72 season.
Though not as great a season in 1978, he was still effective, going 6-5 with 16 saves with a bump in ERA at 4.40 over 52 appearances, before splitting the 1979 season between the White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Combined between the two teams he went 5-4 with a bloated 5.27 ERA over 42 appearances, saving five games, while finishing the year with a nice 5-1 run with Los Angeles with four saves and a 3.41 ERA over 31 appearances.
Still only 31 years of age entering 1980, turns out it would be his last, joining the Philadelphia Phillies and going 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA over 25 appearances, saving three games, but he’d get released in July of that year as the Phillies would go on to win a World Championship.
LaGrow would hang them up, never even playing a Minor League game after that, finishing with a 10-year Big League career that saw him go 34-55 with a 4.11 ERA over 309 appearances and 779 innings pitched, with two shutouts and 54 saves between 1970 and 1980.