Project Baseball 1976

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Don Kessinger had spent 11 seasons as the shortstop for the Chicago Cubs. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1975 season.
Kessinger was expected to help provide leadership for a young infield. Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst placed Don in the #2 spot behind leadoff hitter Lou Brock.
Don played one full season for the Cardinals in 1976, batting .243 in 145 games.
The emergence of Garry Templeton in 1977 relegated Kessinger to a utility role. Don was traded to the Chicago White Sox in August 1977.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak

Dave Concepcion established himself as the Reds' starting shortstop in 1973. He didn't play a full season in '73 due to an injury.
In 1975 Dave started a string of All Star appearances that would last through the 1982 season
According to a poll of National League players, Dave would not have been the NL starting shortstop in the All Star Game if players had voted. Larry Bowa would have been the starter instead.
Concepcion had a typically good season in 1976. He batted .281 with 9 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He won the second of five Gold Glove awards.
Dave was voted to the Associated Press All Star Team after the 1976 season.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? peak
After the 1976 season Dave and teammate Tony Perez voiced frustration about how Latin ballplayers were forgotten and underrated.

As the card back shows, Gene Tenace was a part-time player until 1973.
Tenace spent most of 1973 playing first base, then he was behind the plate for about 2/3 of the time in 1974. Gene played catcher for about 3/4 of his games in 1975.
Gene had some good power years from 1973-1975, averaging 26.3 home runs per season.
Tenace was an AL All Star in 1975 and also got a little bit of MVP support (18th in MVP voting)
Gene played in only 128 games in 1976. Tenace strained his left knee sliding into second base on April 20. It was thought that he would miss 10-14 days, but he ended up missing five weeks.
Tenace batted .249 with 22 HR and 66 RBI. It was the only year from 1973-1979 that he didn't walk over 100 times (he had 81 bases on balls)
After the 1976 season Tenace signed a six-year, $1.8 million contract with the San Diego Padres. He made $40,800 in 1976, so the pact represented a huge raise for Gene.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak (barely)

In the mid to late 1970s, getting any Cincinnati Reds player would have been great. They had a lot of great players!
After several years as an extra outfielder, George Foster had his "breakout" season in 1975.
George added to his success in 1976.

He led the NL with 121 RBI,
He made his first NL All Star team and hit a two-run homer and an RBI single off of Catfish Hunter (he was named the All Star MVP)
He finished second to teammate Joe Morgan in MVP voting.

Before peak, peak, or after peak? just before his peak --- 1977 was a monster year

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

Bake McBride was off to a fine start. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1974.
McBride was selected as a member of the 1976 NL All Star team. He didn't play in the game.
Bake had an injury-riddled 1976 season. He missed three weeks in May with an injury and also missed most of the first two weeks of July due to knee problems.
McBride had knee surgery in early August and missed the rest of the 1976 season.
Bake played in 72 games and batted .335 in 1976.
Before peak, peak or after peak? peak

Bert Campaneris was an AL All Star from 1972-1975.
Campaneris played out his option in 1976 in order to become a free agent after the season. Oakland owner Charlie Finley cut Bert's salary the maximum 20% (from $90,000 to $72,000).
In his final season with the A's, Campaneris batted .256 in 149 games and had a pukey .291 slugging percentage. He also stole 54 bases.
Bert signed a five-year, $950,000 contract with the Texas Rangers after the 1976 season.
After leaving Oakland, Campaneris had only one more full season (1977). He struggled offensively in 1978 and became a part-time player.
Before peak, peak, or after peak? after peak or very end of peak