Welcome again folks!
Today on the blog we celebrate the
top three RBI men of the American League in 1978 with a 1979 "expanded
league leader" card in my long-running thread that's about to wrap up in
a few weeks:
Of course, if we're talking 1978
in the American League then it is ALL about the great Jim Rice, who
would take home an MVP Award for his tremendous season that year.
Rice
led the league with his 139 RBIs, while virtually leading the league in
everything else, including hits, triples, homers, slugging and total
bases.
An absolute beast at the plate that year, while also
putting together arguably the best three-year run between 1977 and 1979
of the era.
In second place with 121 RBIs, Detroit Tigers DH/OF Rusty Staub, who can easily be argued to be a Hall of Famer himself.
Staub
had one of the best seasons of his illustrious career that year,
hitting .273 with 24 homers, 175 hits and those 121 RBI's, finishing
fifth in the MVP race at season's end.
In his three full
season's in Detroit he definitely earned his stripes, driving in no less
that 96 runs while collecting 176, 173 and 175 hits successively. Not
too shabby!
In third place with 115 RBIs, the player who
actually led the A.L. in RBIs the previous season, Larry Hisle, who had a
great first year with his new team, the Milwaukee Brewers, after coming
over from the Minnesota Twins.
Hisle made an immediate impact
with Milwaukee in 1978, hitting .290 with 34 homers, 96 runs scored and
his 115 RBIs, giving the Brewers an explosive bat to go along with
young players such as Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, while finishing
third in the MVP voting that year.
Sadly however, in 1979
he'd seriously hurt his shoulder, curtailing a fine career, resulting in
his retirement just four seasons later, never playing in more than 27
games in any of those campaigns, done at 35.
