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CIRCUIT
CLOUTS
Home of
the United League ·
25th
Season
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April 16, 1975
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STANDINGS (by
division)
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WEST
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W
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L
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GB
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Last
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1
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•
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Manhattan
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11
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3
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+3
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11-3
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2t
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•
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Washington
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10
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4
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+2
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10-4
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2t
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•
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Atlanta
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10
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4
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+2
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10-4
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4t
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•
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Cleveland
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8
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6
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-
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8-6
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4t
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•
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Detroit
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8
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6
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-
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8-6
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6t
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•
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Chicago
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7
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7
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1
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7-7
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6t
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•
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San Francisco
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7
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7
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1
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7-7
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8t
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•
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Brooklyn
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6
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8
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2
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6-8
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8t
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•
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Dallas
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6
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8
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2
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6-8
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8t
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•
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Denver
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6
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8
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2
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6-8
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11t
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•
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Boston
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5
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9
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3
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5-9
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11t
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•
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Montréal
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5
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9
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3
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5-9
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11t
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•
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St. Louis
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5
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9
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3
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5-9
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14
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•
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Los Angeles
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4
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10
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4
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4-10
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• West |
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ATL
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10
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4
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--
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CHI
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7
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7
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3
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SF
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7
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7
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3
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• East |
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MAN
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11
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3
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--
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WAS
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10
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4
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1
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TOP STORIES |
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The Manhattan Gray
Sox, preseason favorites, vaulted to the
top of the league standings with 11 wins
in their first 14 games. Steve
Garvey won Player of the Week twice and
fifth starter Steve Carlton won each of
his first two starts.
Rookie Los
Angeles starter Dennis Leonard allowed
just one run in his first two major
league starts to lead the league with a
0.53 ERA.
Dallas and San
Francisco suffered early injury
setbacks. Texan's 3B Bob Bailey
will miss the whole season with a torn
elbow ligament and Spiders RF Richie
Zisk will be out four months with a
broken ankle.
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ON THE MEND |
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ATL
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--- |
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BOS
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RF Johnny Callison (2 wk) |
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BRO
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3B Dave Chalk (3
mo)
MR Mike Kekich (3 wk)
RF Ollie Brown
(2 wk) |
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CHI
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--- |
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CLE
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--- |
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DAL
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LF Bob Bailey (8 mo)
1B Chris
Chambliss (2-3 wk)
LF Gary Matthews
(2 wk) |
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DEN
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LF Alan
Bannister (2 wk) |
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DET
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MR Tom Walker (2 mo) |
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LA
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--- |
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MAN
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SP Craig Swan (8-9 wk)
CF Jim Holt (8
wk) |
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MON
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--- |
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STL
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SS Bucky Dent (4 wk) |
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SF
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RF Richie Zisk
(4 mo)
SP Bob Moose (8-9 wk)
3B Darrell Evans (2-3 wk) |
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WAS
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SP Jim Colborn (2 mo) |
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min 2 weeks
new injury |
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| TRADES |
April 16 (335)
BROOKLYN gets
2B Toby Harrah
C Larry Cox
CHICAGO gets
RF Leon Roberts
SP Eddie Solomon
April 16 (336)
BROOKLYN gets
C Ron Hodges
SS Pepe Frias
MONTRÉAL gets
BRO '76 3rd round pick
April 16 (337)
BROOKLYN gets
C Ellie Hendricks
LOS ANGELES gets
RF Ken Harrelson
April 16 (338)
BROOKLYN gets
C Glenn Borgmann
C Bob Didier
CLEVELAND gets
LF
Mike Jorgensen
RF Cito Gaston
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OPENING DAY ISSUE
 UL
Kicks Off 25th Season
New President Throws Out First Pitch
WASHINGTON (Apr. 1)
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The United League began its 25th season today with seven
games including the league opener at Fenway Park and a
presidential visit to Griffith Stadium in Washington.
Cleveland's Rick Reuschel beat the Brooks' Ernie
McAnally in a 1-0 pitchers duel and Fergie Jenkins
earned his 100th complete game, while Chicago's Ollie
Brown and Manhattan's Tom Grieve homered in their first
at bat with their new teams.
Cepeda
Homers Twice
Boston 6, Montréal 4
After official league opening ceremonies at Fenway Park,
Bert Blyleven pitched seven shutout innings, striking
out eight, and Orlando Cepeda homered twice as the
hometown Feds defeated the Montréal Voyageurs 6-4.
Outlaws Riot in D.C.
Los Angeles 15, Washington 3
President Gerald Ford, in office just under eight
months, threw out the first pitch at Griffith Stadium in
Washington, but left in the fourth inning, just in time
to miss Los Angeles explode for six runs en route to a
15-3 rout. Ken Singleton had four hits, including
a pair of doubles, and drove in five runs, as defending
Cy Young winner Larry Dierker cruised to a complete game
win. Don Wilson was chased in the fourth after allowing
six unearned runs and reliever Dick Kelley was touched
for six runs.
Jenkins Gets 100th CG
San Francisco 6, Chicago 1
The
San Francisco Spiders began their title defense in
convincing manner, downing the Colts 6-1 in Chicago.
Fergie Jenkins got his 100th complete game, a
three-hitter, and Thurmon Munson drove in three runs.
Ollie Brown homered in his first at bat as a Colt.
Kison Stellar
Detroit 5, Dallas 2
Youngster
Bruce Kison, 24, was stellar in his Opening Day debut
for the Griffins, leading Detroit to a 5-2 win in Dallas
over rookie starter Ron Schueler. Otto Velez and
Dick Allen each had three hits for the visitors.
Reuschel Blanks Bas
Cleveland 1, Brooklyn 0
Rick Reuschel tossed a
six-hit shutout and former Superba Milt May drove in the
only run in a 1-0 Cleveland win at Frank Thomas Memorial
Stadium. Ernie McAnally took the hard luck loss.
Greive Great for Grays
Manhattan 6, St. Louis 1
In his
first at bat with the Gray Sox, Tom Grieve delivered a
two-run homer off Nolan Ryan, setting his new club on
its way to an easy 6-1 win at Sportsman's Park.
Toppers Topple 14ers
Atlanta 5, Denver 2
Roy Foster
and Joe Torre homered in a 5-2 win over Denver after the
two clubs battled to a scoreless draw for five innings.
Ron Reed allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings.
 
Doug Aiton: The
Sporting News Interview
TSN: The Mons were picked to make the playoffs last
year, but finished a distant third behind a surprising
Manhattan club. Do you think Manhattan's season was a
fluke? Do you see your club getting back into the
playoff mix in 1975?
DA: Manhatten's season may look unusual, following
their previous campaigns, but it wasn't a fluke - they
have some great ballplayers. As for the playoff mix,
we'll be there or thereabouts. We started poorly last
year, which meant we were playing catchup, and we snuck
up on the 6th best record. We played playoff baseball
for the last four months and crashed the first two.
TSN: The retirement of Johnny Podres leaves
some might big shoes to fill. Who will you be counting
on to fill that role, or will it come down to more than
one single player?
DA: We've always looked
for strength in depth in pitching - our 4th starter
pitches as much as our ace. Andy Messersmith, Clay
Kirby, Rick Wise, Mike Torrez, Bill Butler, JIm Colborn
coming back off the DL - if even 50% of our starters
have a good yearm then we've got three aces to go
alongside Wilson. Ever wonder why the Mons always
finish strong? We don't start the year with the
strongest rotation in baseball, but we do finish it with
the best.
TSN: Attendance dipped to a
five-year low last year, as did the club's winning
percentage. What do you say to critics who charge the
Monuments are a team in decline?
DA: We're a
team getting older, that's true. But we're putting the
same side out on the field that we put out in '70, '71
and '72, and in some ways we're a better squad now than
then - Carbo and Blomberg are powerhouses, McAulliffe at
SS. Other teams have caught up, made good draft
choices, signed good FAs and traded picks for talent.
We're still more than equipped to win a World Series,
and if we get back, I don't think anyone wants to face
Don Wilson three times in seven games, or to pitch to
Blomberg-Carbo-Oliver-McAuliffe with the game on
the line.
TSN: If you could trade your
worst player for any player in the league, which player
would you get?
DA: Can I have two? Joe Torre and J.R.
Richard. Torre: he's lost a little, but he's still
probably the best hitter in the league, and can play
premium positions. JR Richard? That fastball .....
he's 23 and he throws 100mph. Anything more need to be
said?
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After a 4-4 start, the Toppers have won six straight,
including a sweep of L.A. and 10-1 and 10-0 routs of
Dallas. Juan Beniquez is batting
.591 (13-22) in his last eight games.
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With the ink barely dry on his hefty arbitration
contract, Steve Garvey rewarded his
employers with back-to-back Player of the Week
performances. He leads the UL in batting (.450)
and RBIs (21).
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Dave Boswell, Ed Figueroa,
and Bill Parsons each completed or
anchored shutout in the Colt's first five games.
The three are a combined 4-0, 1.45 in seven starts, but
Bill Singer (0-3, 4.85) is off to a
slow start.
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Dick McAuliffe, who drove in 82 runs
last year, has just one RBI in 14 games and Washington's
offense ranks fourth from the bottom. Rick
Wise struck out nine Barons in a 3-0 shutout
Apr. 9. |
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Richie Zisk broke his ankle
on Apr.
10 and will be out for four months. Zisk hit
.280-19-53 last year and was a key piece in the Spiders'
championship side.
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Rick Reuschel won his first three
starts, including two complete games and a 10-strikeout
performance. He has 23 Ks against just 4 walks and
leads the league in VORP.
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LF Bob Bailey is out for the year after
an elbow injury on Apr. 7. Wayne Simpson
is off to a fast start, with three wins and a
3.52 ERA in his first three starts, but the rest of the
rotation hasn't fared as well (0-5, 7.11 in 10 starts).
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Don Money, who was hitting .188 in his
first 13 games, collected five hits on
Apr. 15 in a 10-9 win over San Francisco. |
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Bill Bonham and Dave Goltz
have five quality starts out of six starts, but
only one win. Rookie 3B Steve Ontiveros,
freshly acquired in the Tom Grieve
trade, leads the club with 14 hits, a .326 average, and
a .884 OPS.
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Dan McGinn has 14 Ks and a 0.93 ERA in
8 relief appearances. Fred Lynn
hit 5 homers and drove in 14 runs, including a 2-homer,
6-RBI game in Boston on Apr. 7. |
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Mike Hargrove was named the #1 prospect
in the league by Baseball America, but has struggled at
the plate, batting only .244 through 13 games. |
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Johnny Callison announced his
retirement at the end of the season on Apr. 4, then
strained a hamstring two days later that will sideline
him for four weeks.
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Rookie Dennis Leonard allowed just one
earned run in his first two starts for a league-leading
0.53 ERA.
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Bobby Grich (.388-4-13) ranks third in
the UL with a 1.128 OPS, and leads the club in batting,
HR, and RBI. The V's have lost seven of their last
eight.
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LEAGUE
LEADERS |
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BATTING AVERAGE
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HOME RUNS
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RBI
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VORP
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RUNS/GAME
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Steve Garvey, MAN
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.450
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Juan Beniquez, ATL
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.442
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Bobby Grich, MON
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.388
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Thurmon Munson, SF
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.370
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Bill Melton, MAN
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.368
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Mike Schmidt, BRO
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.362
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Mark Belanger, SF
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.357
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Craig Robinson, MAN
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.347
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Rennie Stennett, CLE
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.340
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Bob Boone, DAL
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.333
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Cecil Cooper, CLE
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.333
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Orlando Cepeda, BOS
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7
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Steve Garvey, MAN
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7
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Reggie Jackson, DET
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7
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Tom Grieve, DEN
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5
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Fred Lynn, BRO
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5
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Bill Melton, MAN
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5
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Gorman Thomas, MAN
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5
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Joe Torre, ATL
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5
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Steve Garvey, MAN
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21
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Reggie Jackson, DET
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19
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Bill Melton, MAN
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19
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George Foster, SF
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15
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Bill Freehan, ATL
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14
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Fred Lynn, BRO
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14
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Bobby Grich, DET
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13
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Thurmon Munson, SF
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13
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Joe Torre, ATL
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13
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Tom Grieve, MAN
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12
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Roy White, DEN
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12
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Steve Garvey, MAN
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19.0
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Bill Melton, MAN
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10.9
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Bobby Grich, MON
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10.5
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Brian Downing, DET
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7.5
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Thurmon Munson, SF
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7.3
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Juan Beniquez, ATL
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7.1
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Tom Grieve, MAN
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6.6
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Lee May, SF
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6.3
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Joe Torre, ATL
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6.2
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Mike Schmidt, BRO
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5.6
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ATLANTA
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6.1
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MANHATTAN
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6.1
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SAN FRANCISCO
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5.4
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MONTRÉAL
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4.9
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BROOKLYN
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4.6
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DALLAS
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4.4
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DETROIT
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4.3
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CHICAGO
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4.2
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LOS ANGELES
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4.1
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ST. LOUIS
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3.8
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WASHINGTON
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3.8
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BOSTON
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3.5
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DENVER
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3.4
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CLEVELAND
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3.3
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EARNED RUN AVERAGE
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WINS
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STRIKEOUTS
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VORP
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RUNS ALLOWED/GAME
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Dennis Leonard, LA
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0.53
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Rick Reuschel, CLE
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1.04
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Andy Messersmith, WAS
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1.08
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Steve Rogers, MAN
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1.17
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Doc Medich, STL
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1.25
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Rick Waits, BOS
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1.29
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Bill Gogolewski, BRO
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1.45
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Ed Figueroa, CHI
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1.66
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Geoff Zahn, STL
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1.72
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Bruce Kison, DET
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1.73
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Fergie Jenkins, SF
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1.73
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Ron Reed, ATL
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4
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Bert Blyleven, BOS
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3
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Ed Farmer, MAN
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3
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Mike Hedlund, SF
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3
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Rick Reuschel, CLE
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3
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Wayne Simpson, DAL
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3
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Dave Roberts, ATL
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28
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J.R. Richard, CLE
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23
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Rick Reuschel, CLE
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23
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Fergie Jenkins, SF
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22
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Ron Reed, ATL
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22
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Bert Blyleven, BOS
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21
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Wayne Simpson, DAL
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20
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Dock Ellis, MON
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19
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Bruce Kison, DET
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19
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Steve Stone, DAL
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19
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Rick Reuschel, CLE
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10.9
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Andy Messersmith, WAS
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10.3
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Steve Rogers, MAN
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9.4
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Bruce Kison, DET
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9.2
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Ron Reed, ATL
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9.0
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Fergie Jenkins, SF
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8.8
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Doc Medich, STL
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8.7
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Dave Goltz, DEN
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8.2
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Dennis Leonard, LA
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8.1
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Dave Roberts, ATL
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8.0
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CLEVELAND
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2.9
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ATLANTA
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3.1
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MANHATTAN
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3.9
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WASHINGTON
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3.9
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CHICAGO
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4.0
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SAN FRANCISCO
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4.3
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DENVER
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4.4
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LOS ANGELES
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4.4
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BROOKLYN
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4.5
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ST. LOUIS
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4.7
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MONTRÉAL
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5.0
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DETROIT
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5.0
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DALLAS
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5.9
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BOSTON
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6.1
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double arrows
indicate
moves of 3+ places
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AWARDS & MILESTONES |
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BATTER of the MONTH
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PITCHER of the MONTH
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ROOKIE of the MONTH
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MILESTONES
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Fergie Jenkins, SF
100 career complete games (Apr. 1)
#21 all-time
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PLAYER of the WEEK
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4/7
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Steve Garvey, MAN |
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4/14
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Steve Garvey, MAN |
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4/21
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4/28
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5/5
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5/12
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5/19
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5/26
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6/2
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6/9
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6/16
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6/23
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6/30
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7/7
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7/14
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7/21
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7/28
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8/4
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8/11
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8/18
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8/25
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9/1
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9/8
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9/15
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9/22
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