Kevin Burghardt is living in the 70s and loving it!

Kevin Burghardt is two-thirds of the way through his Great Teams of the 1970’s project.  I can tell he’s having lots of fun with it from his website dedicated to the project.  Kevin sent me an update for the National League (he promises me an AL update will be on its way).  Here is Kevin’s report on his project     -TN

The Great Teams from the 1970’s project has now reached 108 games per team. 1,296 games have been rolled to date and 648 regular season games remain on the schedule. Here’s a look at how things stand at the 2/3 mark of the campaign.

N.L. East

’79 Pirates (63-45, .583 -)

Pittsburgh leads the N.L. East at the 2/3 mark of the season. The Bucs have been led on offense by Dave Parker (.280, 15, 84) and Willie Stargell (.271, 13, 49). In addition, Omar Moreno has contributed 51 base swipes and Bill Madlock leads the team in batting average with a .317 mark in 47 games played.

John Candeleria (10-5, 2.42) and Bruce Kison (10-2, 2.61) have led the rotation, while Enrique Romo (9-3-2, 2.31) and Kent Tekulve (5-8-23, 4.08) have anchored a strong bullpen. Pittsburgh’s team e.r.a. of 3.28 is good for third best in the Senior Circuit to date.

’77 Phillies (61-47, .565 2 GB)

Philadelphia is tied for second in the East, two behind the Bucs. The Phils’ best average hitter has been Bake McBride (.310, 5, 32 in 71G), while Greg Luzinski (.235, 20, 73) and Mike Schmidt (.243, 15, 65) have been tops in the power department. Larry Bowa (.305, 4, 57, 30 SB) has been solid in the #2 hole.

The rotation has been led by Cy Young candidate Steve Carlton (15-5, 2.10). Larry Christenson (10-5, 2.85) has been a good #2 starter, while the righty/lefty combo of Gene Garber (4-1-13, 2.18) and Tug McGraw (5-4-13, 2.45) lead a formidable ‘pen. Philly is tied with L.A. for the top spot in the team homers category (90).

’79 Expos (61-47, .565 2 GB)

Montreal is also tied for second in the East. Larry Parrish (.311, 18, 73) has been fantastic at the hot corner, while Andre Dawson (.280, 15, 60), Gary Carter (.272, 11, 48) and Ellis Valentine (.254, 15, 51) have also been solid offensive contributors.

The rotation has a pair of members with double digit wins (Sanderson:10-2, 3.01, Rogers:13-8, 3.46) and swingman David Palmer (8-4-1, 2.39) has had a stellar season to date. Elias Sosa (5-6-22, 0.87) has been spectacular in the ‘pen. Montreal is just a tad behind St. Louis for best team batting average in the N.L. at .261.

’72 Cubs (55-53, .509 8 GB)

Chicago is in fourth place thanks in large part to team MVP Billy Williams (.306, 26, 90). Ron Santo (.306, 6, 47) and Jose Cardenal (.303, 8, 33) have hit for average, but their power outage has been notable.

Bill Hands (11-4, 2.78) has been the staff ace to date, while Milt Pappas (9-7, 2.74) and Fergie Jenkins (10-12, 2.99) have also performed well. Jack Aker (1-4-18, 3.07) leads an otherwise horrid bullpen. The Cubs have a -27 run differential, yet sit at two games above .500.

’71 Cardinals (54-54, .500 9 GB)

St. Louis is right at the .500 mark with a third of the season to go. Joe Torre (.353, 13, 82) has been their strongest offensive contributor, while Matty Alou (.309, 3, 59) and Lou Brock (.290, 5, 42, 46SB) have also helped the cause.

Bob Gibson (12-5, 2.15) has been the rotation’s best, while Steve Carlton (11-10, 2.68) and Reggie Cleveland (11-7, 3.45) have also been solid. Frank Linzy (3-6-10, 4.06) leads a shaky bullpen in saves. The Redbirds lead the N.L. with a team batting average of .261.

’76 Mets (49-59, .454 14 GB)

New York is in last place in the East, mainly because of an anemic offense (.238 team average, 11th in the NL in runs scored). John Milner (.283, 12, 42) and Dave Kingman (.247, 24, 50) have been the leaders on offense.

On the flip side, the Mets have allowed the fewest runs (361) and lead the NL in team e.r.a. (2.87). Jon Matlack (12-6, 2.23) has been the staff ace, while Mickey Lolich (6-7, 2.49) and Tom Seaver (10-10, 2.81) have also had fine campaigns to date. Skip Lockwood (4-3-11, 2.25) and Bob Apodoca (4-5-2, 2.14) have provided a wonderful 1-2 punch in the ‘pen.

N.L. West

’75 Reds (69-39, .639 -)

Cincinnati is running away with the NL West. The Reds lead the league in runs scored (497). The main offensive contributors have been Joe Morgan (.324, 7, 68, 43SB), George Foster (.299, 15, 69), Tony Perez (.255, 21, 77), and Pete Rose (.293, 7, 52).

Cincy is second in team e.r.a. (3.07). Gary Nolan (10-2, 2.19) and Don Gullett (7-2, 2.43) have led the rotation, while Rawly Eastwick (4-2-5, 2.35) and Clay Carroll (7-3-5, 2.65) have led an outstanding bullpen. Reds’ management has already started taking names for a lottery drawing of NLCS tickets.

’77 Dodgers (59-49, .546 10 GB)

Los Angeles is in second place out West, but trail the Big Red Machine by double digits. Steve Yeager (.290, 13, 53) has been the surprising leader on offense. Reggie Smith (.286, 10, 54) had a slow start but has picked it up lately and Steve Garvey (.253, 17, 63) leads the team in homers and the Dodgers are tied with Philadelphia for the top spot in that team category (90).

Tommy John (12-5, 1.78) is a strong Cy Young candidate. Don Sutton (9-4, 2.77) and Burt Hooton (10-6, 3.34) have also been good thus far. The bullpen has been disappointing but Mike Garman (3-3-2, 3.27) has done a good job as a setup man. Charlie Hough (2-7-6, 5.09) lost his closer role to Elias Sosa (3-7-8, 3.48) before mid-season.

’78 Padres (46-62, .426 23 GB)

San Diego leads the pile of struggling teams at the bottom of the N.L. West. Dave Winfield (.278, 12, 64) has been the Padres’ best offensive player. Gene Richards (.295, 4, 31, 32SB) and Ozzie Smith (.266, 0, 32, 29SB) have been lighting up the basepaths, but S.D. is tied for last in team homers with Houston (42).

Randy Jones (7-9, 2.35) and Gaylord Perry (10-11, 3.09) have led the rotation, while Rollie Fingers (4-10-17, 3.58) has had an up and down season in the ‘pen. Mark Lee (3-2-2, 2.15) has performed well as the team’s main setup man.

’79 Astros (45-63, .417 24 GB)

Houston sits in fourth place out West. The Astros are tied for the NL’s worst in team homers (42), but lead the league in stolen bases (136). Denny Walling (.341, 5, 15) has been great in part time duty, while Terry Puhl (.269, 9, 35) leads the team in homers. Five Astros have 20 or more stolen bases (Leonard, Puhl, Cabell, Cruz, Cedeno).

J.R. Richard (7-11, 3.01) has an incredible 246 K’s at the 2/3 mark. Joe Niekro (10-10, 4.13) leads the team in wins, while Joe Sambito (6-6-13, 2.87) is tops on the club in saves.

’71 Giants (44-64, .407 25 GB)

San Francisco is in fifth place and the main culprit has been the pitching staff. On offense, Willie McCovey (.283, 13, 57) has led the way, with Bobby Bonds (.256, 13, 41, 18SB) contributing as well. Willie Mays (.237, 12, 43) leads the team in both walks (84) and strikeouts (119).

The team e.r.a. of 4.54 is the worst in the N.L. Gaylord Perry (12-8, 3.03) hasn’t been at fault though. Juan Marichal (9-9, 3.50) has been another bright spot in the rotation. Jerry Johnson (3-10-14, 5.50) has had major struggles in the closer role.

’74 Braves (42-66, .389 27 GB)

Atlanta has the worst record in the league. Their team average of .221 and runs scored total of 348 are both dead last. Ralph Garr (.310, 3, 30, 18SB) has been a bright spot on offense, but Hank Aaron (.247, 6, 25) has struggled and third baseman Darrell Evans (.172, 15, 45) has the worst batting average for a regular in the league.

Phil Niekro (11-13, 2.57) has been a rotation workhorse, while Buzz Capra (9-8, 2.93) has had a good season as well. Carl Morton (7-15, 3.24) has suffered from a lack of run support. Tom House (2-5-14, 2.32) leads the bullpen.

N.L. Offensive Leaders

Batting average                         Home runs                                Runs batted in

1)J. Torre-.353                           1)B. Williams-26                      1)B. Williams-90

2)J. Morgan-.324                       2)D. Kingman-24                       2)D. Parker-84

3)L. Parrish-.311                        3)T. Perez-21                           3)J. Torre-82

4)R. Garr-.310                            4)G. Luzinski-20                       4)T. Perez-77

5)M. Alou-.309                           5)L. Parrish-18                           5)G. Luzinski-73

Stolen bases                             OBP                                         SLG

1)O. Moreno-51                         1)J. Morgan-.427                       1)B.Williams.569

2)L. Brock-46                            2)J. Torre-.411                           2)L.Parrish .559

3)J. Morgan-43                          3)W. Mays-.391                         3)J. Torre .533

4)D. Lopes-38                           4)R. Santo-.388                         4)D.Kingman520

5)R. Scott-37                             5)R. Smith-.376                         5)D. Parker .512

N.L. Pitching Leaders

E.R.A.                                      Wins                                         Saves

1)T. John-1.78                           1)S. Carlton-15                          1)K. Tekulve-23

2)S. Carlton-2.10                       2)S. Rogers-13                          2)E. Sosa-22

3)B. Gibson-2.15                       3)Five tied with 12                     3)J. Aker-18

4)G. Nolan-2.19                                                                         4)R. Fingers-17

5)J. Matlack-2.23                                                                       5)J. Johnson-14

Strikeouts

1)J.R. Richard-246

2)T. Seaver-165

3)P.Niekro-157

4)B. Gibson-151

5)F. Jenkins-149

Thanks for the update, Kevin!  Looking forward to the AL report, too!