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Man, there were some awesome teams in the 1970s. From the Bronx Zoo Yankees to the Big Red Machine and the We Are Fam-A-Lee Pirates, these teams weren’t just incredibly talented, they were filled to the brim with personality. Look at the World Series matchups from the decade and it was one classic showdown after another. Try as you might, it’s impossible to nail down the best rivalry from the decade. Was it Yankees-Dodgers? How about Pirates-Orioles? Reds-A’s do anything for you? The best thing to do probably would just go year-by-year and appreciate the matchups and legends that we saw competing on the biggest stage in sports at the time.
The decade started with the Orioles topping an early version of the Big Red Machine. That year, Johnny Bench and Dave Concepcion were just 22 and the Reds entire starting lineup, including Pete Rose and Tony Perez, was under 30. They were set up for a decade of success to say the least.
The Pirates and Orioles squared off in a seven-game classic in 1971 and we talk about that below. In 1972, the A’s began their run as the first three-peat champions since the 1950s Yankees. They knocked off the Reds, Mets and Dodgers in some memorable series. The Big Red Machine finally cashed in with back-to-back titles in 1975 and ’76, topping the Red Sox in arguably the greatest World Series ever and then sweeping Yankees.
The Yankees added Reggie Jackson that offseason and he turned in iconic postseason performances to lead the Bronx Zoo Yanks over the Dodgers in ’77 and ’78. The decade ended with another classic seven-game series as the Pirates erased a 3-1 deficit, winning the final three games of the series to take the rematch of the ’71 series.
Altogether, there were just eight teams among the decade’s 20 pennant winners. Five different teams won the World Series in the 1970s with the Pirates, Reds, Yankees and A’s winning multiple titles. By comparison, in the 1980s, there were 15 different teams among the 20 pennant winners with the Dodgers being the only repeat champion.
You can look at any decade and find yourself a dynasty or two, but outside of the Boys of Summer era, nothing seems to measure up to the rivalries of the 1970s.
Before we move on to this week’s edition of The Stud 400, here’s a look at the last five entries as we count down the 400 greatest moments in Major League Baseball history:
85: The Bartman Game (2003)
84: Don Denkinger’s Blown Call (1985)
83: Pumpsie Green integrates Red Sox (1959)
82: Ron Blomberg is the first DH (1973)
81: Fernandomania (1981)
And now, here’s Episode LXXII of The Stud 400.
80. Roger Clemens strikes out 20 (1986)
80. Roger Clemens strikes out 20 (1986)Even in today’s free-swinging, strikeouts-be-damned baseball world, extremely high strikeout games for starting pitchers are exceedingly rare. Only 20 pitchers have struck out as many as 18 batters in a nine-inning game and only three have reached that total since 2004. When Roger Clemens took the mound on April 29, 1986 for a start against the Mariners, there had been seven 18-strikeout games and three 19-strikeout games that century.
That night, Clemens authored the first 20 strikeout nine-inning game. Clemens, who was just 23 at the time, surpassed Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan, each of whom held the record with 19 strikeouts. The Mariners just stood no chance against Clemens that night. Seattle put just 10 balls in play and pulled just two balls all game. Dave Henderson, Ivan Calderon and Ken Phelps struck out three times each and Phil Bradley grabbed himself a golden sombrero, including the record-setting 20th strikeout. Clemens struck out the side three times and had a chance to get up to 21 strikeouts, but Phelps grounded out to short to end the game. The next time someone struck out 20 in a game was 10 years later when Clemens turned the trick again; this time against the Tigers. Since then, Kerry Wood (1998) and Max Scherzer (2016) have joined the 20-strikeout club. Randy Johnson also struck out 20 batters across nine-innings, but the game, which went 11 innings, was tied 1-1 when he was removed.
79. Bob Feller joins the Navy (1941)
79. Bob Feller joins the Navy (1941)Through the 1941 season, fans were wondering if they were seeing the second coming of Walter Johnson in Bob Feller.
Just 22 years old at the season’s completion, Feller was 107-54 with 1,233 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA. He won the pitching Triple Crown in 1940, had three top three MVP finishes, four straight strikeout crowns and completed 117 of the 175 games he started. He threw a no-hitter on Opening Day of the 1940 season, a feat that landed at #323 in The Stud 400. In short, he was on track to be in the discussion as the best pitcher to ever step on a mound. Then December 7, 1941 came and changed the world for everyone, Feller included. That was the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Feller was on the way to meet the Indians general manager to sign his 1942 contract when he heard the news of the attack on the radio. Feller said in an interview in 2009 that he planned on joining the Navy when America inevitably joined the war anyway and he held true to his word. Just two days after the attacks, Feller became the first American professional athlete to volunteer for service in World War II. Feller was assigned to the USS Alabama where he was a gun captain. He served three years and was discharged on August 22, 1945 after having earned six campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. Incredibly, just two days after being discharged, Feller was back in uniform for the Indians and he hurled a complete game with 12 strikeouts in a win over the Tigers.
Feller missed three full seasons and made just nine starts in 1945, but his first full season back in 1946 he went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA. He struck out 348 batters in 371 innings and completed 36 of the 42 games he started. We’ll never know what Fellers stats would have looked like if he didn’t enlist in the military, but it’s likely he missed out on about 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts. Even with the missing seasons, Feller went 266-162 with 2,581 strikeouts in his career. He’s a baseball hero to be sure, but he’d be the first to tell you that it was more important for his legacy that he was an American hero.
78. The Double Triple Crown (1933)
78. The Double Triple Crown (1933)Despite what modern day baseball dopes will tell you, batting average and RBIs matter.
The Triple Crown remains the highest level of achievement a batter can produce in a single season. There have only been 15 Triple Crowns since 1900 and just one in the past 58 years.
Despite a couple of recent close calls, it’s damn near impossible to do. In the early part of the century, Triple Crowns were easier to come by. In a 20-year span from 1922-1942, there were seven Triple Crowns and three of the five Major League Triple Crowns happened in that time span. The only double Triple Crown also happened within that time frame in 1933. The double Triple Crown is a feat so rare, it has only happened one time. That year, Triple Crowns were won in both the American and National Leagues, and they both happened in the same city. Jimmie Foxx (48-163-.356) won it in the American League for the Philadelphia A’s and Chuck Klein (28-120-.368) turned the trick in the National League for the Philadelphia Phillies.
77. Smoky Joe Wood breaks his thumb (1913)
77. Smoky Joe Wood breaks his thumb (1913)Ask a sampling of knowledgeable baseball fans about the best pitchers whose careers began prior to World War I and you’ll get some expected answers. Folks will undoubtedly mention Walter Johnson, Cy Young and Christy Mathewson, and those are likely the top three.
You may get answers like Pete Alexander, Ed Walsh, Rube Waddell or Eddie Plank too. In real time, those fellas had a contemporary who was their equal at a minimum. Some say he was destined to surpass or match most of the names on that list, even immortals like Johnson and Young. That man’s name was Joe Wood. Nicknamed Smoky Joe due to his blazing fastball, Wood is one of the game’s first “what if” cases. By 1912, Young had retired and Mathewson was 31 with just a couple more years in his prime remaining. Johnson was established as the dominant force in baseball at the age of 24, but a case could be made that Wood was superior. After all, in the highly publicized showdown between Johnson and Wood in 1912 at Fenway Park, it was Wood who came out on top. Wood finished that year 35-5 with a 1.91 ERA with 35 complete game and 10 shutouts. Anecdotally, his fastball was equal to Johnson’s, or even better. The Big Train even said so himself. At the close of the 1912 season, Wood had a career record of 81-43 with a 1.95 ERA. He capped the 1912 season by leading the Red Sox to the World Series title by going 3-1 in the eight game series, including beating Mathewson head-to-head in the decisive eighth game of the series. He was also just 22 years old.
The following season, Wood was 11-5 through his first 18 starts and was striking out batters at the highest rate of his career. In a start against Ty Cobb and his Tigers, fate intervened in a cruel way. In a July 18 game at Navin Field in Detroit, Bobby Veach tried to bunt Cobb to second base in the fourth inning and as Wood charged to field the bunt, he slipped on the wet grass and landed on his pitching hand, breaking his thumb. He essentially missed the remainder of the season, save for one inning in a return appearance in September. The thumb didn’t heal properly and Wood was never the same. He went 15-8 with a 1.98 ERA over the next two seasons, but only made 30 starts over that time. Wood had lingering pain in his thumb which also led to arm problems, slowing his recovery time between starts. By the time he was 25, his pitching career was over. Wood converted to the outfield in 1917 with the Cleveland Indians and played six seasons as serviceable position player. We all like to wonder what would have happened if guys like Bo Jackson, Don Mattingly or Jacob deGrom stayed healthy, but don’t forget to go back to the turn of the 20th century for Joe Wood when you’re listing baseball’s biggest “what if” cases.
76. Game 7 of the 1971 World Series (1971)
76. Game 7 of the 1971 World Series (1971)Throw a dart at any World Series matchup in the 1970s and you’ll land on a matchup featuring many of the game’s icons. If your dart landed on 1971, we’re talking Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer for starters. The Orioles were in their third straight World Series in 1971 and were the defending champions. They had swept three consecutive postseason series, had won 100 games three seasons in a row and featured four 20-game winners in their rotation. Oh, and they had perhaps the best defensive left side of the infield in baseball history. The Pirates were making their first trip to the Fall Classic since Bill Mazeroski’s walk off in 1960. They led the Majors in runs scored, ripped through the National League East by a seven-game margin and disposed of Juan Marichal, Willie Mays and the Giants rather easily in the NLCS. Talk about a classic showdown.
The home team won each of the first six games of the series setting up a decisive Game 7. The Pirates had a chance to nail things down in Game 6, but Dave McNally wiggled out of trouble in the 10th inning for the Orioles, who then won the game on a walk off sac fly from Brooks Robinson in the bottom of the inning. Game 7 featured a matchup of Steve Blass for the Pirates and Orioles All-Star lefty Mike Cuellar. Clemente got the Pirates on the board first with a solo home run in the fourth and that remained the only run of the game into the eighth inning. Jose Pagan doubled home Stargell to extend the Pirates lead to 2-0, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Orioles mounted their first serious rally of the game. Elrod Hendricks and Mark Belanger singled to lead off the inning and Tom Shopay, pinch hitting for Cuellar, bunted the pair into scoring position. Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh stuck with Blass, trusting him to wiggle out of the jam. A groundout by Don Buford plated the first Pirates run, but a Davey Johnson groundout ended the threat without further damage. Blass returned for the ninth and retired Boog Powell, Frank Robinson and Merv Rettenmund in order to nail down the World Series victory for the Buccos.
Cuellar vs. Blass ended up being one of the great Game 7 pitching duels in World Series history. Blass allowed just four hits in the complete game win and Cuellar likewise allowed just four hits in his eight-inning effort. The win was also Clemente’s second World Series title and Mazeroski also grabbed a second ring. It was also Murtaugh’s second championship and hopefully one day, it’ll be considered the ring that got him to Cooperstown.
Stay tuned for next week’s episode of The Stud 400 when we destroy a cathedral. We’re also going to wreck a dynasty, only to have the Commissioner’s office put it back together. We’re remembering a career capstone for a baseball icon that is tinged with sadness and celebrating the acceptance of another of the game’s immortals in one of the game’s greatest showcases. Join us at BallNine for next week’s Hall of Fame-laden installment of The Stud 400.
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