Joy in Mudville: A "Friendly" Baseball League Beginning in 1970

[Joy in Mudville]

The San Diego Padres have claimed pitcher Diego Segui off waivers and assigned him to Triple-A Clay City.

"Ever since he gave me a piece of gum as a little kid in Busch Stadium, Diego has been one of my favorites," said Dan S, San Diego GM.

[Joy in Mudville]

The Texas Rangers rode a 20-win May to the top of the Joy in Mudville American League West.

The Rangers now hold the best record in the JIM at 32-18. A five-game winning streak propeled Texas past the surprising Chicago White Sox in the AL West race.

The addition of right-hander Jim Palmer has been a key addition to Texas. The former Baltimore and Atlanta pitcher is 5-2 with a 2.97 ERA. Palmer has teamed with right-handers Andy Messersmith (7-6, 4.18) and Burt Hooton (5-0, 2.77) along with lefty Geoff Zahn (3.90).

Add to the equation that the club's new closer veteran Jackie Brown has notched a league-leading 20 saves, and it's easy to see why two-time West champion Texas has rebounded after missing the playoffs last year.

Meanwhile, third baseman Graig Nettles ranks third among AL hitters with eight home runs. Short stop Toby Harrah is sixth with 31 RBIs. Newcomer Ben Oglivie has delivered seven homers and 24 RBIs.

Don't be surprised if come October, the Rangers' ride hasn't ended.

Diamond JIM Notes: Detroit Tiger Fred Lynn continues to lead all hitters with a .409 average . . . Kansas City first baseman Dick Allen cracked eight homers in May to take the AL lead with 11 longballs . . . Chicago Cub Rick Monday hit seven May home runs to take over the NL lead with 11 . . . . The surprising Chicago White Sox have been sparked by the resurgence of pitchers Wilbur Wood (7-1, 1.52 ERA) and Tommy John (9-3, 2.28) . . . Philadelphia Phillie Larry Bowa collected the fourth five-hit game of his career on May 16. Joining Bowa in the five-hit parade were Mike Schmidt (Indians), Dave Nelson (Rangers), Sal Bando, Duane Kuiper and Joe Rudi (A's), Lou Brock (Cardinals) and Dan Driessen (Padres) . . . the San Diego Padres have recently gone with a lineup with the pitcher batting eighth and speedy infielder Lee Lacy batting ninth . . . the league's biggest surprise thus far? How about New York Met Gene Locklear leading the NL in hitting at a .378 clip?

May Awards
American League
Player of the Month--Dick Allen, Kansas City Royals
Pitcher of the Month--Wilbur Wood, Chicago White Sox
Rookie of the Month--Lyman Bostock, Minnesota Twins

National League
Player of the Month--Joe Morgan, Houston Astros
Pitcher of the Month--Rick Wise, Philadelphia Phillies
Rookie of the Month--John Knox, Atlanta Braves

Major League 1970 06-01-1975 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 30 17 .638 - 34-13 -4 14-9 16-8 1-1 8-9 110 W2 6-4 Boston Red Sox 22 23 .489 7.0 21-24 1 13-11 9-12 1-3 4-4 L1 4-6 Detroit Tigers 19 26 .422 10.0 21-24 -2 13-11 6-15 5-1 5-6 W1 4-6 Milwaukee Brewers 18 26 .409 10.5 16-28 2 7-14 11-12 0-1 4-4 L1 4-6 Cleveland Indians 17 26 .395 11.0 14-29 3 8-12 9-14 0-0 1-3 W1 6-4 New York Yankees 13 34 .277 17.0 19-28 -6 6-17 7-17 1-2 3-9 L3 1-9 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Texas Rangers 32 18 .640 - 29-21 3 17-11 15-7 3-4 13-6 113 W4 8-2 Chicago White Sox 31 18 .633 .5 30-19 1 16-7 15-11 0-1 10-4 L1 7-3 Kansas City Royals 30 20 .600 2.0 28-22 2 15-10 15-10 2-2 10-4 W1 5-5 Minnesota Twins 29 19 .604 2.0 28-20 1 13-11 16-8 2-2 7-8 W1 6-4 Oakland Athletics 26 23 .531 5.5 28-21 -2 14-10 12-13 2-1 4-6 L1 6-4 California Angels 17 34 .333 15.5 19-32 -2 9-16 8-18 3-2 6-12 L5 2-8

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 St. Louis Cardinals 27 19 .587 - 28-18 -1 17-9 10-10 5-1 9-8 111 L1 4-6 Chicago Cubs 23 25 .479 5.0 24-24 -1 12-13 11-12 0-8 6-8 W1 6-4 Philadelphia Phillies 23 26 .469 5.5 25-24 -2 13-12 10-14 3-4 8-11 L1 2-8 Pittsburgh Pirates 20 26 .435 7.0 19-27 1 8-14 12-12 2-2 5-5 L3 3-7 Montreal Expos 18 26 .409 8.0 16-28 2 12-11 6-15 4-1 5-6 W1 5-5 New York Mets 18 26 .409 8.0 18-26 0 12-12 6-14 1-5 4-2 L2 4-6 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Houston Astros 32 19 .627 - 36-15 -4 16-7 16-12 4-1 5-6 109 W1 6-4 San Diego Padres 28 22 .560 3.5 27-23 1 16-10 12-12 4-3 8-8 W2 8-2 Atlanta Braves 27 23 .540 4.5 28-22 -1 12-9 15-14 4-4 8-10 W3 5-5 San Francisco Giants 26 23 .531 5.0 25-24 1 13-11 13-12 6-3 8-6 L1 7-3 Los Angeles Dodgers 25 25 .500 6.5 21-29 4 13-13 12-12 3-1 10-6 L1 4-6 Cincinnati Reds 21 28 .429 10.0 22-27 -1 10-13 11-15 2-5 9-9 W1 6-4

[Joy in Mudville]

Major League 1970 06-01-1975 League Stats Page

American League Batting Leaderboards Batting AVG F. Lynn DET .409 R. Carew MIN .381 S. Garvey BAL .380 L. Bostock MIN .350 K. Singleton BAL .345 On-Base PCT F. Lynn DET .456 R. Carew MIN .445 G. Gross CHA .443 B. North BAL .415 B. Murcer NYA .415 Slugging PCT F. Lynn DET .648 D. Collins OAK .552 S. Garvey BAL .530 D. Parker CLE .529 R. Smith BOS .528 On-Base + Slugging F. Lynn DET 1.104 D. Collins OAK .956 R. Carew MIN .945 S. Garvey BAL .938 D. Allen KCA .894 VORP F. Lynn DET 33.7 R. Carew MIN 26.5 S. Garvey BAL 25.1 D. Collins OAK 20.9 K. Singleton BAL 19.5 Runs Created F. Lynn DET 51.0 R. Carew MIN 43.1 S. Garvey BAL 41.6 L. Bostock MIN 39.6 D. Collins OAK 38.0 Runs Created / 27 outs F. Lynn DET 12.52 R. Carew MIN 8.94 D. Collins OAK 8.91 S. Garvey BAL 8.57 L. Bostock MIN 7.80 Isolated Power D. Allen KCA .251 R. Smith BOS .247 F. Lynn DET .239 D. Collins OAK .224 D. Parker CLE .206 Games J. Spencer CAL 51 J. Tatum CAL 51 W. Crawford TEX 49 J. Johnstone KCA 49 G. Maddox CAL 49 At-Bats L. Johnson MIN 213 B. McBride OAK 213 J. Spencer CAL 204 L. Bostock MIN 203 S. Garvey BAL 200 Runs R. Carew MIN 36 R. Smith BOS 36 D. Allen KCA 35 G. Matthews MIN 35 R. White NYA 35 Hits S. Garvey BAL 76 R. Carew MIN 74 F. Lynn DET 72 L. Bostock MIN 71 J. Johnstone KCA 64 Total Bases F. Lynn DET 114 S. Garvey BAL 106 R. Carew MIN 97 L. Bostock MIN 95 R. Smith BOS 94 Singles R. Carew MIN 57 L. Bostock MIN 55 S. Garvey BAL 54 B. Murcer NYA 54 M. Rivers CAL 52 Doubles G. Maddox CAL 17 S. Garvey BAL 16 F. Lynn DET 15 D. Parker CLE 15 D. Collins OAK 14 Triples G. Maddox CAL 6 T. McCraw CHA 6 J. Mumphrey BAL 6 M. Rivers CAL 6 B. McBride OAK 5 Home Runs D. Allen KCA 11 R. Smith BOS 9 G. Nettles TEX 8 F. Lynn DET 7 G. Matthews MIN 7 Runs Batted In D. Allen KCA 41 F. Lynn DET 40 T. McCraw CHA 39 R. Zisk MIN 38 R. Jackson OAK 33 Stolen Bases M. Rivers CAL 21 B. McBride OAK 20 P. Kelly KCA 16 J. Cardenal CHA 15 W. Randolph BOS 14 Bases-On-Balls G. Gross CHA 37 J. Briggs KCA 33 E. Rodriguez KCA 32 J. Tatum CAL 31 G. Matthews MIN 30 Intentional Walks G. Matthews MIN 5 D. Allen KCA 4 G. Maddox CAL 4 B. McBride OAK 4 B. Oglivie TEX 4 Hit-By-Pitch E. Rodriguez KCA 6 B. Grich BAL 5 R. Cey BOS 4 E. Maddox DET 4 B. McBride OAK 4 Strikeouts D. Kingman DET 44 T. Harper NYA 41 M. Schmidt CLE 41 G. Scott BOS 38 R. Jackson OAK 37 Sacrifice Hits S. Bando OAK 7 S. Hovley ML4 4 K. Singleton BAL 4 P. Varney KCA 4 D. Chalk CLE 3 Sacrifice Flies J. Johnstone KCA 6 R. Zisk MIN 6 D. Allen KCA 5 L. Johnson MIN 5 B. McBride OAK 5 League Pitching Leaderboards ERA W. Wood CHA 1.52 K. Holtzman BAL 1.81