1976 Hostess #100 - Bill Madlock

• That is a nice looking lifetime batting average. The average would drop as the  years went by, but Bill Madlock still retired with a .305 average in a 15-year career
• Bill had a great start to his career. He finished a distant third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1974,  but he avoided the sophomore jinx by winning the first of four NL batting titles in 1975.
• Madlock had an eventful 1976 season. He made the headlines in early May when he took exception to  being hit by a pitch by San Francisco's Jim Barr. Barr had been warned by umpires earlier in the game after some inside pitches to Jose Cardenal. Madlock and Barr brawled and Madlock managed to land a right hook to Barr. Oddly, even after Barr had been warned, he was allowed to stay in the game while Madlock was ejected.
• Bill was in contention for a second straight batting title in 1976, but he was quoted in August as saying his chances weren't very good because there were too many good hitters in the league.
• On the last day of the season Ken Griffey was leading the batting race with a .338 average while Madlock had a .333 average. Griffey was not in the lineup for the final game. After Madlock went 4 for 4, Griffey was inserted into his game but struck out twice. Madlock won the title with a .339 average, three points ahead of Griffey's .336 average.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak

1976 Kellogg's #20 - Bill Madlock

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Madlock was the NL batting leader (.354) in 1975
• 1976 Highlights:
• Got in a fight with Jim Barr and catcher Marc Hill of the Giants on May 2. For some reason Barr was allowed to stay in the game and Madlock was ejected, even though Barr had already been warned for brushback pitches and had hit Madlock with a pitch right after the warning.
• Got into a skirmish with two men as he was going into his hotel room on September 25. The men escaped with $50-$60 and Madlock ended up with a contusion on the back of his head.
• Won his second straight batting title with a .339 batting average, barely beating out Ken Griffey on the last day of the season. Griffey was batting .338 and Madlock was batting .333 on the season's final day. Griffey didn't start in his game, but was quickly inserted when the Reds found out that Madlock was having a big game.
• Finished 6th in NL MVP voting.

1976 Topps #640 - Bill Madlock

• Bill Madlock was a great hitter during most of his career. Madlock was originally drafted by the Washington Senators in 1970. He played in the minors from 1970-1973 and earned a promotion by batting .338 with 22 HR and 119 runs scored at AAA Spokane. Bill batted .351 in 21 games for the Texas Rangers at the end of the 1973 season.
• After the 1973 season Bill was traded with Vic Harris to the Chicago Cubs for Fergie Jenkins. In 1974 Madlock batted .313 in 128 games and finished third (behind Bake McBride and Greg Gross) in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
• Madlock won his first NL batting title in 1975. He batted .354 and also was the co-winner of the 1975 All Star Game MVP award (he singled in two runs in the top of the 9th to put the NL ahead to stay). Bill Madlock Born to Hit - September 1975 Baseball Digest.
• Bill led the NL in batting average again in 1976 with a .339 batting average. Madlock went 4 for 4 on the final day of the season to pass Ken Griffey (who was being held out of the final game by Reds manager Sparky Anderson) and take the title. Pitchers apparently were trying to move him off of the plate, as he was hit by a pitch 11 times to lead the NL. How Tip From Foe Made Bill Madlock A Better Player - November 1976 Baseball Digest
• Before the 1977 season Bill was traded with Rob Sperring for Bobby Murcer, Steve Ontiveros, and a minor leaguer. Madlock had been involved in a salary dispute with the Cubs. Madlock's offense fell off a bit -- he  batted .302 and was the NL leader with 25 times grounded into a double play.
• In 1978 the Giants moved Madlock to second base. The move paid off for the Giants as they contended for the NL West title for most of the season. Bill batted .309 with 15 HR in 122 games in 1978.
• Madlock had a slow start for the Giants in 1979 (most of the Giants had bad fall-offs and/or injuries in '79). Bill was batting .261 in 69 games for the Giants when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates (with Lenny Randle and Dave Roberts) for Al Holland, Ed Whitson, and Fred Breining. The Pirates moved Bill back to third base. Madlock's offense picked up and he helped the Pirates to the NL East title by batting .328 in 85 games. Bill batted .250 (3 for 12) in the NLCS and batted .375 (9 for 24) in the World Series.
• Madlock didn't do as well in 1980 -- he batted .277 in 137 games. "Mad Dog" was suspended for 15 games in July after he poked umpire Jerry Crawford with his glove. The Game I'll Never Forget - January 1980 Baseball Digest.
• Bill bounced  back in 1981 as he won his third batting title with a .341 average. Madlock was on the 1981 NL  All Star team and he went 0 for 1 in the game. After the 1981 season Madlock signed a six-year, $5.1 million contract that included a weight clause.
• Bill  batted .319 in 154 games in 1982. A Batting Leader Who Deserves More Recognition - March 1983 Baseball Digest. In 1983 Madlock batted .323 and won his fourth NL batting title. Bill made the 1983 NL All Star game and went 0 for 1 in the game.
• Madlock's offense fell off in 1984 and he batted .253 in 103 games. Short, Compact Swing Makes Bill Madlock Tough Hitter - August 1984 Baseball Digest. Bill performed in a similar fashion for the Pirates in 1985, batting .251 in 110 games. On August 31 Madlock was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for R.J. Reynolds and Sid Bream. Bill batted .360 in 34 games and helped the Dodgers to the NL West title. Madlock went 8 for 24 (.333) in the 1985 NLCS. Madlock's name was mentioned as part of the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985 (he was accused of dispensing amphetamines) but his name was cleared by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.
• Madlock batted .280 in 111 games for the Dodgers in 1986. He spent some time on the disabled list with a strained thigh.
• Bill started the 1987 season with the Dodgers (.180 in 21 games). On May 29 Madlock was released by the Dodgers. Bill signed with the Detroit Tigers on June 4 and batted .279 in 87 games. Madlock  went 0 for 5 in the 1987 ALCS.
• Bill became a free agent after the 1987 season and played in Japan in 1988.
• After his playing career Madlock was involved in coaching in the minors and was a batting instructor for the Tigers for two seasons. He was also an on-field operations supervisor for the commissioner's office for a few years and  managed an independent baseball team. Here is a "where are they now" article from 2003. Bill is now a youth batting instructor.
• Liked to face: Ron Schuler (.563 in 16 AB); Pedro Borbon (.520 in 25 AB); Randy Lerch (.486 in 35 AB)
• Hated to face: Craig Lefferts (.071 in 14 AB); Greg Minton (.087 in 23 AB); Goose Gossage (.118 in 17 AB)

1976 Topps #191 - NL Batting Leaders

• The 1976 Topps league leader cards are probably my favorite ones from the 1970s. The top two or three players in each category are presented well, and the backs show the leaders from each season since 1901. It's cool to see the dominance of some players in a category. Rogers Hornsby really had a great run in the early 1920s. There are a lot of great names on this card (Musial, Wagner, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Hornsby, Rose, just to name a few).

• The race for the 1975 NL batting title really wasn't much of a race. Bill Madlock won it by 22 points. Ted Simmons had a nice year though---it isn't very often that a catcher finishes second in a league batting race.