On the blog this fine day, we move on to the top three base
stealers in the National League in 1978, displayed on a 1979 "expanded
league leader" card:
We begin with the leader
of the pack, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Omar Moreno, who swiped 71
bases to take home what would be the first of two straight base-stealing
crowns.
Moreno would have himself a three year run that would
see him steal 214 bases between 1978 and 1980, with a high of 96 in the
base-stealing crazy 1980 season, only to fall one steal short of the
Montreal Expos Ron LeFlore.
In second place, way back with 46
steals, teammate of Moreno, shortstop Fran Taveras, the N.L. steals
leader the previous season, who despite his drop in steals from 70 to 46
had himself a career-year with 182 hits, 81 runs scored and 31 doubles,
giving the Pirates quite the potent speed duo to compliment the power
bats of Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, etc.
In third place with
45 steals in 1978, the 1975 and 1976 stolen base champ, Los Angeles
Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes, who put in another solid season with
93 runs scored, 163 hits and a .278 average while also showing some
"pop" with 17 home runs.
He would go on to have his best year
in the Majors in 1979, when he'd combine all his usual numbers with a
career-best 28 home runs, just missing the "30-30" club, which at that
time was still somewhat exclusive.
So here we have three
players who accounted for the stolen base leaders in the N.L. for every
season between 1975 and 1979! Fun stuff!
