On the blog today,
we move on to the National League’s top three RBI men of the 1977
season, with an “expanded 1978 league leaders” card in my on-going
thread:
Of course, when we
talk about 1977 in the N.L. we usually begin with all-world Cincinnati
Reds slugger George Foster, who took home an MVP Award that year for his
incredible season that saw him lead the Majors
with 149 RBIs along with his 52 homers, 124 runs scored and .631
slugging percentage while batting .320 on 197 hits.
The man was a force
that season, following up on a brilliant 1976 campaign that saw him
finish runner-up in the MVP chase to teammate Joe Morgan as they both
helped the Reds to their second straight championship.
In second place with
130 RBIs, Philadelphia Phillies thumper Greg “The Bull” Luzinski, who
had the misfortune of having his best MLB season in 1977, as he once
again finished second in the MVP race to a Red,
as he did in 1975 to Joe Morgan.
Luzinski hit 39
homers to go with those RBIs, scoring 99 runs while hitting .309 with 35
doubles and 329 total bases for the N.L. East champion Phils, his third
season in a row topping .300.
Easily overshadowed
by his N.L. counterparts, as well as his own teammate in Mike Schmidt,
it’s easy to forget he was one of the most feared sluggers of his era.
In third place with
115 RBIs, Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star first baseman Steve Garvey, who
had the “usual” season fans grew accustomed to from their first sacker.
Garvey hit a
career-best 33 homers that season, with 192 hits, 91 runs scored and a
.297 batting average, smack in the middle of an incredible seven-year
run that saw him reach 200 hits six times, top .300
six times, 100 RBIs five times and 20 homers five times.
The man was THE N.L.
first baseman for my generation, and the fact that he is not in the
Hall is amazing to me, new baseball metrics be damned.
There we have the top RBI men of 1977, celebrated on an “expanded” league leader card as part of a very fun thread for the blog!
