Burdette Finally Notches #300
BROOKLYN (Aug. 23) -- After a three-month spell on the DL and just one win in his first eight starts, Lew Burdette finally earned his long-awaited 300th win, joining Johnny Antonelli and Gene Conley in the UL's most elite pitching club.  Burdette had nine 20-win seasons with the Brooklyn Superbas, where he often played second fiddle to the more dominant Conley, and pitched one season in Chicago before joining the Maroons in 1968.  The righthander from Nitro, W.V. won 18 games in '68, and came into the 1969 season just 12 wins shy of 300.  He finished the year 9-8, with a 4.97 ERA, just three wins shy of the landmark, but a finger injury in his first start of 1970 sidelined him until July, and he then proceeded to go winless in his first six starts, despite an ERA of 3.16.  The season's first win finally came on Aug. 8 against Los Angeles, and after a loss at Manhattan Burdette has since won three straight.  Feeling loose after shaking the 300-win monkey off his back, Lew pitched 7.2 shutout innings in a 3-1 win over Atlanta in his best performance of the year.  Burdette now sets his sights on his former teammate Conley, whom he trails by eight wins.  Having just signed a one-year $490,000 extension with the Maroons, and given his recent form, Burdette stands a decent chance to catch Johnny A's 312 wins, but the question will whether the 39-year-old Conley decides to attempt a comeback from ACL surgery next year.

Clemente, Podres Hit Major Milestones, Others Fall Short
Atlanta's Roberto Clemente and Manhattan's Johnny Podres also hit major milestones this month.  Arriba got his 2,000th hit on Aug. 25 to become the 13th player in UL history to hit that plateau.  Like Burdette, Clemente's quest was delayed by extended time on the DL.  Podres became the seventh pitcher in the 3K K club, notching his 3,000 strikeout at Washington on Aug. 24.

Several players have failed to reach expected milestones this year.  Top of the list is Brooklyn's Mickey Mantle.  Already the first (and only) player with 10,000 at bats, 2,000 runs, and 500 home runs, Mantle was widely expected to become the first 3,000-hit man this season.  The Commerce Comet entered the season with 2,915 hits, having failed to get 100 hits just once in his 19-year career.  But a series of injuries have kept Mantle out of the lineup for long stretches.  He has just 232 at bats in 64 games, and with 26 games to go, he needs 27 hits to reach 3,000 -- a tall order considering that his best three months this year were 19, 17, and 14 hits.

Orlando Cepeda of Boston looked like a lock to get to 400 homers this year, needing just 16 after averaging more than 40 in each of the last four years.  But the Federals first-sacker has lost his power stroke this year.  While still maintaining a high average (.293), Cha Cha's slugging percentage has shrunk nearly 100 points and he has just 13 home runs in 92 games.  But Cepeda is just 32 and figures to have the best shot among active players to match Mantle's lofty home run totals.

Chicago's Joe Adcock was, until recently, rapidly closing in on 2,500 hits.  His 144 last year raised his lifetime tally to 2,446, just 54 shy of the elusive club that only four others have joined.  Adcock had 36 hits on July 27, well on pace, but fractured his foot and missed all of August.  He now needs 18 hits in September to get to 2,500 this season, which -- at age 41 and no contract after this year -- might be his last.

And finally there is Willie Mays, who once upon a time was locked in a neck-and-neck chase with Mickey Mantle for the first to 500 home runs.  Mantle now has 573 and Mays has 492, having hit just eight in the last three years.

West Concedes, 7th Colts Pennant in Sight
CHICAGO (Sept. 1) -- Dallas and Los Angeles virtually handed the UL West Division crown to the Chicago Colts in late August, hitting major slumps just as the Colts won 11 of 15 to build a massive 17-game cushion.  Bill Singer won three more games, extending his win streak to eight games, and striking out 10 or more in back-to-back starts for the first time on Aug. 25 and 30.  Chicago was 4-2 in two series against Dallas and swept the Maroons in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Dallas was 3-12 and L.A. 5-10.  Dallas is 5-15 in its last 20 games.  Lefty Wade Blasingame is 1-4 with a 7.81 ERA in his last five starts and four regulars (Bob Bailey, Rod Carew, Curt Blefary, and Boog Powell) are hitting under .200 in August.  Los Angeles has lost eight of its last nine, and scored just five runs in the last five games, including two shutouts.