Enlivening the Mid-1970s: Part One
The baseball in use in the major leagues was a little bit dead from 1974 through 1976.
Now, I can’t prove that. And I assure you, nearly every time when assertions about “juiced baseballs” come up, I’m firmly in the highly skeptical camp. But this is one time that I’m pretty close to 100% convinced that there was something hinky going on with the ball.
Here’s the thing:
– Home runs, and power hitting in general, dramatically dropped across both leagues from 1973 to 1974. The power game remained inhibited in 1975 and 1976, and then rebounded sharply in 1977.
– MLB’s official baseball supplier, Spalding, shifted its ball-sewing operation to a plant in Haiti beginning in 1974. In 1977, the sport changed to a new supplier, Rawlings, which manufactured its ball elsewhere.
Coincidence, you say? Well, of course, it might be. But the notion that there was something different about the balls beginning in 1974 was widely noted at the time, and in 1977 with the rejuvenation of hitting and scoring the connection between the changes in baseball production sites and suppliers was just as widely noted.
It seemed pretty obviously true to me as an intense fan of the game at the time, and frankly nothing I’ve observed since—all the various changes in game conditions and home run and scoring rates—has caused me to seriously doubt that it was true.
Assuming it was, what was the effect the mid-1970s Dead Ball had on the statistics put up by the game’s most prominent hitters? How might our impressions of them then, and our recollections and assessments of them now, have been impacted?
What follows is an attempt to recast the numbers of 1974 through 1976 under the assumption that the same quality of baseball had been in use in those seasons as was in use in the seasons surrounding them.
Methodology
To get a handle on this, I’ve employed the same approach I used to see past the lowered-offense phases of the 1910s and the 1960s. We take the seasons immediately surrounding 1974-76 (we use 1973 and 1977, ’78, and ’79; we don’t use 1971-72 because the lack of the Designated Hitter in the American League in those seasons makes the comparison overly problematic), and compute the aggregate rates of offensive production: runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, walks, and strikeouts. We find that in comparison to its neighboring seasons, the three mid-70s years experienced a 2% reduction in hits, with doubles down by 7%, triples by 5%, and home runs by a whopping 18%. Walk and strikeout rates were only moderately different, but the reduction in run production was 5%.
So, the stats of each batter for the seasons of 1974, 1975, and 1976 (presented below in blue) are adjusted such that the aggregate averages of those seasons is equal to the aggregate total of 1973-77-78-79. For the precise adjustment factors, please see the References and Resources section below.
A Trio of Three-True-Outcomes Gods
Yes, that’s right: this is a guy who was primarily a catcher who also routinely put up an OPS of at least .800. The mid-70s Dead Ball cost him a couple of 30-homer years; putting up such a number might have been the thing that got more folks to notice just what an outstanding player he was.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 26 510 83 132 18 2 24 84 101 94 .259 .387 .443 .830 1974 27 486 74 104 18 1 32 77 108 106 .214 .357 .452 .809 1975 28 500 87 129 18 0 35 91 104 128 .259 .386 .508 .894 1976 29 419 67 106 20 1 27 69 80 92 .253 .372 .499 .872 1977 30 437 66 102 24 4 15 61 125 119 .233 .415 .410 .825 1978 31 401 60 90 18 4 16 61 101 98 .224 .392 .409 .801 1979 32 463 61 122 16 4 20 67 105 106 .263 .403 .445 .848
The Toy Cannon was appreciated as a star, though not nearly to the degree he would have been had he been playing his home games in his prime years in pretty much any stadium other than the Astrodome.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 31 481 90 106 14 5 20 55 91 102 .220 .347 .395 .742 1974 32 538 109 148 18 4 39 113 106 105 .275 .394 .543 .937 1975 33 414 84 104 17 0 22 61 108 78 .251 .406 .452 .858 1976 34 451 79 95 20 1 21 69 125 112 .210 .382 .399 .780 1977 35 194 17 34 5 2 1 13 32 47 .175 .289 .237 .526
Evans was always a very patient hitter, of course. But he noticeably changed his approach in mid-career: following his dreadful early-season slump of 1976, after being traded to the Giants Evans shifted from a closed to an open stance, took some of the uppercut out of his swing, and was more contact-oriented. His reduction in home run frequency after leaving the Braves was mostly a function of leaving The Launching Pad, but it was also a deliberate modification in style. Later in his career, Evans would revert to the big pull-hitting swing.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 26 595 114 167 25 8 41 104 124 104 .281 .403 .556 .959 1974 27 574 104 140 23 3 31 83 124 89 .243 .378 .454 .831 1975 28 570 86 141 24 2 27 77 103 107 .247 .362 .437 .800 1976 29 398 56 83 10 1 13 48 71 72 .208 .327 .339 .666 1977 30 461 64 117 18 3 17 72 69 50 .254 .351 .416 .767 1978 31 547 82 133 24 2 20 78 105 64 .243 .360 .404 .764 1979 32 562 68 142 23 2 17 70 91 80 .253 .356 .391 .747
The Underrateds
For one reason or another, none of these guys was fully appreciated at the time for the terrific player he truly was.
In White’s case, it was a function of being pretty good at everything, but excellent at nothing (a common issue with underrated players), as well as having raw stats that were inhibited by the conditions of his ballpark, his league, and his era, and as well as spending the peak of his career in the Yankees’ lost-in-the-wildnerness period in between their early-60s and mid-70s dynasties. A superficial glance at White (either his stats or his actual figure on the field) wouldn’t grab you, but the closer you look, the more impressive he becomes.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 29 639 88 157 22 3 18 60 78 81 .246 .329 .374 .703 1974 30 475 71 132 20 8 9 45 66 44 .279 .366 .411 .778 1975 31 559 85 164 34 5 15 62 71 50 .293 .373 .453 .826 1976 32 629 109 182 31 3 17 68 82 52 .290 .371 .431 .802 1977 33 519 72 139 25 2 14 52 75 58 .268 .358 .405 .763 1978 34 346 44 93 13 3 8 43 42 35 .269 .349 .393 .742 1979 35 205 24 44 6 0 3 27 23 21 .215 .290 .288 .578
Grich was prone to back trouble from 1977 forward, but that’s really about the only mark against him. He combined defensive excellence with a broad-based offensive contribution.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 24 581 82 146 29 7 12 50 107 91 .251 .373 .387 .760 1974 25 585 97 156 31 6 23 86 89 118 .266 .363 .461 .824 1975 26 527 85 139 28 4 16 60 105 89 .263 .386 .423 .809 1976 27 521 98 141 33 4 16 57 85 100 .270 .372 .442 .814 1977 28 181 24 44 6 0 7 23 37 40 .243 .369 .392 .761 1978 29 487 68 122 16 2 6 42 75 83 .251 .357 .329 .686 1979 30 534 78 157 30 5 30 101 59 84 .294 .365 .537 .902
Quite slow, and not a good defensive outfielder, Singleton displayed “old player’s skills” at a young age. Subsequent sabermetric analysis has come to demonstrate that such players often don’t age well, but it’s probably giving the Mets and the Expos of the 1970s far more credit than they deserve to invoke that as a reason why both organizations all-too-quickly let the young Singleton go. In any case, he was an on-base machine with very good power, and such players produce a whole lot of runs. For what it’s worth, Singleton would age quite nicely, remaining highly productive into his mid-30s.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 26 560 100 169 26 2 23 103 123 91 .302 .425 .479 .904 1974 27 514 71 144 22 2 11 78 91 85 .280 .389 .394 .783 1975 28 589 92 179 40 4 18 58 116 83 .304 .419 .480 .898 1976 29 547 65 154 27 2 16 73 78 77 .281 .371 .425 .796 1977 30 536 90 176 24 0 24 99 107 101 .328 .438 .507 .945 1978 31 502 67 147 21 2 20 81 98 94 .293 .409 .462 .871 1979 32 570 93 168 29 1 35 111 109 118 .295 .405 .533 .938
Everyone marveled at Bonds’ combination of outstanding power and breathtaking speed. His problem was that for too long, his overall skill set (which also included great defense, but a propensity to strike out a lot) wasn’t appreciated for what it was, but was instead held up in comparison with what it wasn’t: the skill set of none other than Willie Mays, whose place Bonds was “supposed” to take as the Giants’ reigning superstar. Finally deciding that this seven-eighths-full glass of water was half-empty, the Giants traded Bonds away, and from that point on every other GM in baseball seemed to line up, impatient to take his turn to do the same. Bonds thus was never allowed to stay anywhere long enough to make the impression he might have, though, to be fair, his fast-living personality probably didn’t help in that regard.
It added up to an odd combination of great achievement with little sense of fulfillment. Finally in the 1990s, Bonds would achieve a genuine rapprochement with his megastar eldest son, and be welcomed back and warmly regarded by the Giants’ organization, where he would serve as a popular coach. But even this happy ending would be cut short by the ghastly illness of lung cancer, and death at the age of 57, adding the final sad note to one of baseball’s more star-crossed careers.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 27 643 131 182 34 4 39 96 87 148 .283 .370 .530 .900 1974 28 570 102 148 24 8 26 74 93 135 .259 .364 .466 .829 1975 29 532 98 146 28 3 39 89 88 138 .274 .377 .559 .936 1976 30 380 50 102 11 3 12 57 40 91 .268 .338 .410 .748 1977 31 592 103 156 23 9 37 115 74 141 .264 .342 .520 .862 1978 32 565 93 151 19 4 31 90 79 120 .267 .355 .480 .835 1979 33 538 93 148 24 1 25 85 74 135 .275 .367 .463 .830
So here’s the package:
– A switch-hitter who consistently hits right around .300
– With excellent power
– With good strike zone judgment
– A good defensive outfielder with a very strong arm
– Decent speed
And for good measure:
– A good-looking, intelligent, well-spoken guy
Why the heck wasn’t he a superstar, a fan and media darling?
There’s a practical reason why not: Smith was prone to frequent, nagging injuries. He played in as many as 150 games only once in his career after the age of 23, and he generally missed 20-40 games per season. This limited his counting stats, keeping him well behind the league leaders in homers and RBIs, and generally kept him out of MVP contention.
But it was more than that; it was also the reputation Smith gained in his Red Sox years as something of a grumpy malcontent, a reputation that almost certainly had far more to do with the deep-seated racism of the Boston organization and sports media than it genuinely did with Smith. In any case, he would be traded twice while still in his prime, and Smith would never really catch the national spotlight that regularly shone on players quite his inferior.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 28 423 79 128 23 2 21 69 68 49 .303 .398 .515 .913 1974 29 520 83 163 28 10 28 105 70 71 .313 .395 .566 .961 1975 30 480 70 147 28 3 23 80 62 59 .306 .385 .523 .908 1976 31 397 58 102 16 5 22 51 31 71 .257 .311 .490 .802 1977 32 488 104 150 27 4 32 87 104 76 .307 .427 .576 1.003 1978 33 447 82 132 27 2 29 93 70 90 .295 .382 .559 .941 1979 34 234 41 64 13 1 10 32 31 50 .274 .359 .466 .825
Models of Consistency
Mr. Scoop was a glib and quotable guy, but was incapable of defining the term “off year.”
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 26 654 90 191 38 7 20 99 22 52 .292 .316 .463 .779 1974 27 621 101 202 41 13 13 89 32 58 .325 .358 .497 .855 1975 28 631 94 179 42 8 22 88 25 74 .284 .311 .482 .793 1976 29 446 65 146 24 5 15 64 26 29 .327 .363 .502 .866 1977 30 568 75 175 29 6 19 82 40 38 .308 .353 .481 .834 1978 31 525 65 170 35 5 14 89 31 41 .324 .358 .490 .848 1979 32 492 69 159 28 4 12 76 34 34 .323 .367 .470 .837
He never gained close to the celebrity of several of his Dodger Blue teammates (and manager), and what attention he did gain seemed usually to focus on his odd short-legged build, but The Penguin was one terrific player, year in and year out.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 25 507 60 124 18 4 15 80 74 77 .245 .338 .385 .723 1974 26 580 92 154 22 2 22 102 75 69 .265 .349 .424 .773 1975 27 569 76 163 31 2 31 106 77 75 .286 .371 .510 .881 1976 28 505 72 142 19 3 28 84 88 75 .281 .387 .499 .886 1977 29 564 77 136 22 3 30 110 93 106 .241 .347 .450 .797 1978 30 555 84 150 32 0 23 84 96 96 .270 .380 .452 .832 1979 31 487 77 137 20 1 28 81 86 85 .281 .389 .499 .888
Nettles’ defense was what everyone raved about, but his bat was extremely reliable as well, and would remain so until he was in his 40s.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 28 552 65 129 18 0 22 81 78 76 .234 .334 .386 .720 1974 29 569 78 142 23 1 27 79 58 76 .249 .319 .434 .753 1975 30 584 74 158 26 4 26 95 50 89 .270 .328 .461 .789 1976 31 586 92 151 31 2 39 98 61 95 .257 .327 .518 .846 1977 32 589 99 150 23 4 37 107 68 79 .255 .333 .496 .829 1978 33 587 81 162 23 2 27 93 59 69 .276 .343 .460 .803 1979 34 521 71 132 15 1 20 73 59 53 .253 .325 .401 .726
Perez was more celebrated than his own play merited, simply because he was on such great Big Red Machine teams. But he was in fact a key element of the success of those teams; Perez wasn’t a great hitter, but he was a very good one, highly dependable and durable. His Hall of Fame election was pretty silly, of course, but this quality and type of player is an essential ingredient of historically great teams, in just the way the steady, familiar character actor is an essential ingredient of historically great movies.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 31 564 73 177 33 3 27 101 74 117 .314 .393 .527 .920 1974 32 599 85 161 30 2 34 106 60 113 .269 .335 .498 .833 1975 33 514 78 147 30 3 24 114 53 102 .286 .353 .499 .852 1976 34 530 81 140 34 6 23 95 49 89 .264 .326 .484 .810 1977 35 559 71 158 32 6 19 91 63 111 .283 .352 .463 .815 1978 36 544 63 158 38 3 14 78 38 104 .290 .336 .449 .785 1979 37 489 58 132 29 4 13 73 38 82 .270 .322 .425 .747
Garvey’s self-inflicted plunge from media-darling superstar to endorsement-poison punchline was extraordinary, rivaled in modern history only by a few others (Pete Rose and Kirby Puckett come to mind). Lost in all the folderol seems always to have been a clear-headed assessment of Garvey the ballplayer: he was never, of course, the elite talent he was made out to be during his career, but neither does he deserve the guffawing dismissal he too often draws in retrospect.
Yes, Garvey’s power was good but not great, and yes, he drew walks far less frequently than middle-of-the-lineup guys should. But taking everything into account, the bottom line is that Garvey delivered outstanding value, in the package of run production, sure-handed defense, and exceptional durability and consistency.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 24 349 37 106 17 3 8 50 11 42 .304 .328 .438 .766 1974 25 646 100 204 34 3 26 116 30 67 .316 .346 .498 .844 1975 26 663 89 214 41 6 22 100 32 67 .323 .354 .503 .857 1976 27 635 89 204 40 4 16 84 49 70 .321 .370 .472 .842 1977 28 646 91 192 25 3 33 115 38 90 .297 .335 .498 .833 1978 29 639 89 202 36 9 21 113 40 70 .316 .353 .499 .852 1979 30 648 92 204 32 1 28 110 37 59 .315 .351 .497 .848
Studies in Inconsistency
Here are four fellows who shared four traits:
(1) Enormous strength
(2) Periodic difficulty in controlling weight
(3) Tremendous hot streaks and appalling slumps
(4) A lingering sense of unfulfilled potential
Scott’s offensive implosion of 1968 was perhaps the most severe and shocking in baseball history. To his credit, Scott stoically and steadfastly worked to reconstruct his swing; it took him a few years, but he got back to where he had been. But where he had been was as a 23-year-old with tremendous ability, and far greater heights had seemed within his reach. Scott would spend the early-to-mid-1970s on the threshold of superstardom, but his every step forward was followed by a step back.
Boomer’s last hurrah was upon his return to the Red Sox in 1977. At the age of 33, he surged to 25 homers and 68 RBIs through July 10th, but then the agonizing slump bugaboo overtook him; he would manage just 8 dingers and 27 ribbies the rest of the way, and his days as a productive hitter would prove to be finished.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 29 604 98 185 30 4 24 107 61 94 .306 .370 .488 .858 1974 30 607 78 173 39 2 21 86 58 91 .285 .348 .459 .806 1975 31 620 90 179 28 4 44 114 50 98 .289 .342 .561 .903 1976 32 609 77 169 23 5 22 81 52 119 .278 .335 .440 .775 1977 33 584 103 157 26 5 33 95 57 112 .269 .337 .500 .837 1978 34 412 51 96 16 4 12 54 44 86 .233 .305 .379 .684 1979 35 346 46 88 20 4 6 49 31 61 .254 .317 .387 .704
Burroughs’s 1974 MVP award is sometimes laughingly derided, but the fact is he had a terrific year, and at the age of 23 no one anticipated the manner in which he would immediately regress. But he seemed to have gotten it going again with the Braves a few years later, only to flop again, this time even harder. After the second fall, he would never get up.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 22 526 71 147 17 1 30 85 67 88 .279 .355 .487 .842 1974 23 557 88 170 36 2 31 124 89 105 .305 .401 .541 .943 1975 24 587 85 134 22 0 35 99 78 156 .229 .319 .447 .766 1976 25 607 74 146 24 2 22 90 68 94 .240 .317 .395 .712 1977 26 579 91 157 19 1 41 114 86 126 .271 .362 .520 .882 1978 27 488 72 147 30 6 23 77 117 92 .301 .432 .529 .961 1979 28 397 49 89 14 1 11 47 73 75 .224 .347 .348 .695
Luzinski’s career perhaps represents the most vivid illustration of the very fine line treaded by a young player of immense bulk. The slightest deterioration in flexibility, the smallest reduction in bat speed, can quickly render a devastating slugger into a common journeyman.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 22 610 76 174 26 4 29 97 51 135 .285 .346 .484 .830 1974 23 304 30 84 15 1 9 50 29 77 .275 .337 .416 .754 1975 24 599 89 182 38 3 42 126 88 152 .304 .393 .586 .979 1976 25 536 78 165 30 1 26 100 49 108 .308 .366 .512 .878 1977 26 554 99 171 35 3 39 130 80 140 .309 .394 .594 .988 1978 27 540 85 143 32 2 35 101 100 135 .265 .388 .526 .914 1979 28 452 47 114 23 1 18 81 56 103 .252 .343 .427 .770
Mayberry was truly a great young hitter, clearly the most talented of this quartet. The career he sacrificed to cocaine and who-knows-what-all may very well have been of Hall of Fame quality.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 24 510 87 142 20 2 26 100 122 79 .278 .417 .478 .895 1974 25 429 66 102 14 1 27 72 76 73 .238 .352 .463 .815 1975 26 557 100 164 41 1 42 111 117 74 .294 .417 .596 1.012 1976 27 597 80 141 24 2 16 100 81 74 .236 .327 .362 .689 1977 28 543 73 125 22 1 23 82 83 86 .230 .336 .401 .737 1978 29 515 51 129 15 2 22 70 60 57 .250 .329 .416 .745 1979 30 464 61 127 22 1 21 74 69 60 .274 .372 .461 .833
The Kong Stands Alone
We did our best to attempt to explain this bizarre phenomenon here, but if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes I would be strongly inclined to wonder, as Bill James memorably did with regard to Hal Chase, as to whether Kingman truly ever existed at all, or if he was instead just a macabre invention of the darkest fiction.
Year Age AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1973 24 305 54 62 10 1 24 55 41 122 .203 .300 .479 .779 1974 25 351 43 79 19 2 22 58 36 126 .226 .299 .481 .780 1975 26 504 68 118 24 1 44 92 33 154 .234 .282 .547 .829 1976 27 476 73 115 15 1 45 90 28 136 .242 .283 .563 .846 1977 28 439 47 97 20 0 26 78 28 143 .221 .276 .444 .720 1978 29 395 65 105 17 4 28 79 39 111 .266 .336 .542 .878 1979 30 532 97 153 19 5 48 115 45 131 .288 .343 .613 .956
Next Time
We’ll examine the livened-up performances of the very best players in baseball in the mid-1970s.
References & Resources
Equalizing the average rates of 1974-75-76 with those of 1973-77-78-79 is achieved by using the following multipliers:
Runs: 1.0493
Hits: 1.0187
Doubles: 1.0774
Triples: 1.0572
Home Runs: 1.2221
Walks: 0.9834
Strikeouts: 1.0078
An impact of a greater rate of hits is an increase in at-bats, of course. I use a simple method to increase at-bats: every batter’s at-bats are increased by his number of increased hits. Outs are constant, of course, and I assume as well a constant rate of double plays and baserunning outs—probably not exactly proper assumptions, but close enough for our purposes.