1979 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1979 MLB season
League Major League Baseball
Sport Baseball
DurationApril 4 – October 17, 1979
Number of games162
Number of teams26
TV partner(s) ABC, NBC, USA
Draft
Top draft pick Al Chambers
Picked by Seattle Mariners
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Don Baylor (CAL)
NL: Willie Stargell (PIT)
        Keith Hernandez (STL)
Postseason
AL champions Baltimore Orioles
  AL runners-up California Angels
NL champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-up Cincinnati Reds
World Series
Champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  Runners-up Baltimore Orioles
World Series MVP Willie Stargell (PIT)
MLB seasons
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      Athletics
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Tigers    
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Locations of teams for the 1977–1981 American League seasons
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   Giants
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      Phillies
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Pirates   
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Locations of teams for the 1977–1992 National League seasons
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The 1979 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Baltimore Orioles in seven games in the 1979 World Series. None of the post-season teams of 1977 or 1978 returned to this year's postseason.

Contents

Standings

American League

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 10257.642—55‍–‍2447‍–‍33
Milwaukee Brewers 9566.590852‍–‍2943‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox 9169.56911½51‍–‍2940‍–‍40
New York Yankees 8971.55613½51‍–‍3038‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers 8576.5281846‍–‍3439‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians 8180.5032247‍–‍3434‍–‍46
Toronto Blue Jays 53109.32750½32‍–‍4921‍–‍60
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
California Angels 8874.543—49‍–‍3239‍–‍42
Kansas City Royals 8577.525346‍–‍3539‍–‍42
Texas Rangers 8379.512544‍–‍3739‍–‍42
Minnesota Twins 8280.506639‍–‍4243‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox 7387.4561433‍–‍4640‍–‍41
Seattle Mariners 6795.4142136‍–‍4531‍–‍50
Oakland Athletics 54108.3333431‍–‍5023‍–‍58

National League

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 9864.605—48‍–‍3350‍–‍31
Montreal Expos 9565.594256‍–‍2539‍–‍40
St. Louis Cardinals 8676.5311242‍–‍3944‍–‍37
Philadelphia Phillies 8478.5191443‍–‍3841‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs 8082.4941845‍–‍3635‍–‍46
New York Mets 6399.3893528‍–‍5335‍–‍46
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 9071.559—48‍–‍3242‍–‍39
Houston Astros 8973.5491½52‍–‍2937‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers 7983.48811½46‍–‍3533‍–‍48
San Francisco Giants 7191.43819½38‍–‍4333‍–‍48
San Diego Padres 6893.4222239‍–‍4229‍–‍51
Atlanta Braves 6694.41223½34‍–‍4532‍–‍49

Postseason

Bracket

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)		 World Series
East Baltimore 610*938
West California 384*0
ALBaltimore5289101
NLPittsburgh4346744
East Pittsburgh 5113107
West Cincinnati 221

*Denotes walk-off

Umpires

Awards and honors

Baseball Hall of Fame

Regular Season Awards

Postseason Awards

Gold Glove Award

Statistical leaders

Statistic American League National League
AVG Fred Lynn BOS.333 Keith Hernandez STL.344
HR Gorman Thomas MIL45 Dave Kingman CHC48
RBI Don Baylor CAL139 Dave Winfield SD118
Wins Mike Flanagan BAL23 Joe Niekro HOU
Phil Niekro ATL		21
ERA Ron Guidry NYY2.78 J. R. Richard HOU2.71
SO Nolan Ryan CAL223 J. R. Richard HOU313
SV Mike Marshall MIN32 Bruce Sutter CHC37
SB Willie Wilson KC83 Omar Moreno PIT77

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers [47] 79−16.8%2,860,954−14.5%35,320
Philadelphia Phillies [48] 84−6.7%2,775,0117.4%34,259
New York Yankees [49] 89−11.0%2,537,7658.6%31,330
California Angels [50] 881.1%2,523,57543.8%31,155
Cincinnati Reds [51] 90−2.2%2,356,933−6.9%29,462
Boston Red Sox [52] 91−8.1%2,353,1141.4%29,414
Kansas City Royals [53] 85−7.6%2,261,8450.3%27,924
Montreal Expos [54] 9525.0%2,102,17347.3%25,953
Milwaukee Brewers [55] 952.2%1,918,34319.8%23,683
Houston Astros [56] 8920.3%1,900,31268.7%23,461
Baltimore Orioles [57] 10213.3%1,681,00959.8%21,279
Chicago Cubs [58] 801.3%1,648,5878.1%20,353
Detroit Tigers [59] 85−1.2%1,630,929−4.9%20,387
St. Louis Cardinals [60] 8624.6%1,627,25627.3%19,845
Texas Rangers [61] 83−4.6%1,519,6715.0%18,761
San Diego Padres [62] 68−19.0%1,456,967−12.8%17,987
San Francisco Giants [63] 71−20.2%1,456,402−16.3%17,980
Pittsburgh Pirates [64] 9811.4%1,435,45448.9%17,722
Toronto Blue Jays [65] 53−10.2%1,431,651−8.4%17,675
Chicago White Sox [66] 732.8%1,280,702−14.1%16,211
Minnesota Twins [67] 8212.3%1,070,52135.9%13,216
Cleveland Indians [68] 8117.4%1,011,64426.4%12,489
Seattle Mariners [69] 6719.6%844,447−3.8%10,425
New York Mets [70] 63−4.5%788,905−21.7%9,621
Atlanta Braves [71] 66−4.3%769,465−14.9%9,740
Oakland Athletics [72] 54−21.7%306,763−41.8%3,787

Events

January–April

May–August

September–December

Television coverage

Twenty-two teams (all but the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals) signed a one-year cable deal with United Artists Television and Columbia Pictures Television, then-owners of the USA Network. [76] The deal involved the airing of Thursday Night Baseball [77] in markets at least 50 miles (80 km) from a major league park. [78] The deal earned Major League Baseball less than $500,000, but led to a new two-year contract for 40–45 games per season. [79] [80]

ABC aired Monday Night Baseball and the World Series. NBC televised the weekend Game of the Week , the All-Star Game, and both League Championship Series.

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References

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  50. ↑ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  61. ↑ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  62. ↑ "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  63. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  65. ↑ "Toronto Blue Jays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  66. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  67. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  68. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  70. ↑ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  71. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  72. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  78. ↑ Gross, Jane (July 12, 1981). "Sports on cable". The New York Times . USA agreed to the baseball limitations rejected by ESPN and shows a Thursday-night game in cities that do not have a major-league team. In New York City, Manhattan Cable broadcasts USA's programs, but cannot televise the weekly baseball game because the Yankees and Mets declined to grant the waivers necessary under major-league statutes.
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