Up on the blog today, we go ahead and move on to the top three stolen base guys in the National league for 1977, with a 1978 "expanded league leader" card in my long-running thread:
We
begin with the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Frank Taveras, who topped
the league with his 70 stolen bases, this after stealing 58 bases the
previous year.
Taveras had a nice run of four seasons between
1976 and 1979 where he topped 40+ steals every year, with the
league-leading 70 his career high.
In second place with 61
steals, the perennial "top-3" stolen bases player in the N.L. during the
1970's, Houston Astros All-Star outfielder Cesar Cedeno.
The
man was simply a machine through the 1970's, with six straight seasons
of 50+ steals, with the 61 his career-best, on his way to 550 steals
over his very nice 17-year career.
In third place, rookie Gene
Richards of the San Diego Padres who set a Major League record with his
56 steals over the 1977 season.
Richards would finish in
third place in the N.L. Rookie of the Year race for his efforts, hitting
.290 with 152 hits and 79 runs scored, adding 11 triples.
Though
he ended up having a short 8-year career, he'd finish with a career
.290 average with 247 stolen bases and 502 runs, stealing as many as 61
bases in a season, that total in 1980 when he set career-bests across
the board, including 193 hits and 91 runs scored for the Padres.
There you go! The top stolen base guys in the N.L. for 1977, celebrated on an "expanded league leader" card in 1978.
Next up, the A.L.!!!
