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Vuke Wins AL Cy Young

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced today that Pete Vuckovich of the Milwaukee Brewers is their choice for the American League Cy Young Award, given to the league’s best pitcher.

Pete Vuckovich was voted the American League’s best pitcher.

Though Vuke had been seen as one of the favorites to win the award, the announcement came as something of a surprise since Toronto’s Dave Stieb was named the American League Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In fact, even California’s Geoff Zahn beat out Vuckovich to make the Sporting News team. That said, pitching awards for the American League have been across the board this year. While Vuckovich didn’t make the TSN AL team, he was named the best right-handed pitcher in all of baseball by the Associated Press and was also named to the UPI AL team.

Forgive the voters for their lack of commitment, though, since this year marked one of the weakest AL Cy Young fields. In fact, it may have been the weakest.

Vuke finished the year 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Certainly impressive stats, but it was the first time a non-starting pitcher with fewer than 20 wins won the award since it was first handed out in 1958, and his ERA was also the highest of any Cy Young winner. Vuke also stumbled down the stretch, failing to win after a classic September 20 in 11 innings at Fenway Park (though his postseason failures were not considered).

Put all of that aside. Someone had to win, and the voters considered Vuke the most worthy candidate.

“I really feel great about it,” Vuke said, “but I can’t take full credit for it. I just happen to be lucky enough to be out there on the days the team’s playing well enough for me to be a winner. It feels great, it really does, but I’d like to break it up into 25 pieces. Thirty pieces.”

Vuke is humble, but he’s right. When you win as many games as he’s won with only six losses and a somewhat modest ERA, luck certainly plays into it.

“That’s the best election result of the day,” said satisfied general manager Harry Dalton. “I’m so happy for Pete. He’s pitched well enough to win it for two years. I knew he earned it, he should get it, but whether the people voting would recognize that, you’re never sure. This gives him the type of recognition he’s truly earned the past two years. I’m just thrilled for him.”

Speaking of the last two years, the Brewers are now a Robin Yount MVP away from sweeping the two major awards two years running. Reliever Rollie Fingers won both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards last season.

Vuckovich received 14 of the possible 28 first-place votes while the leftovers were split up among Toronto’s Dave Stieb (five), Baltimore’s Jim Palmer (four), Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry (four), and Cleveland’s Rick Sutcliffe (one).

Player – Tm	Pts	1st	W	L	SO	SV	IP	ERA
P Vuckovich, MIL	87	14	18	6	105	0	223.2	3.34
Jim Palmer, BAL	59	4	15	5	103	1	227.0	3.13
D Quisenberry, KCR	40	4	9	7	46	35	136.2	2.57
Dave Stieb, TOR	36	5	17	14	141	0	288.1	3.25
Rick Sutcliffe, CLE	14	1	14	8	142	1	216.0	2.96
Geoff Zahn, CAL	7	0	18	8	81	0	229.1	3.73
Bill Caudill, SEA	4	0	12	9	111	26	95.2	2.35
Bob Stanley, BOS	4	0	12	7	83	14	168.1	3.10
Dan Petry, DET	1	0	15	9	132	0	246.0	3.22

Yount Named TSN AL Player of the Year

November 1 Leave a Comment

1982 Donruss Robin Yount — Robin is recognized again!

The Sporting News announced their AL and NL teams today and named Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers as their pick for the 1982 TSN American League Player of the Year Award.

Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves won the award in the National League while TSN named Steve Carlton of the Phillies and Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays their pitchers of the year.

Yount was joined by teammates Cecil Cooper at first base and Gorman Thomas in the outfield. So… how in the world is Dave Stieb the AL Pitcher of the Year? And how is Geoff Zahn on the team but not Pete Vuckovich? Vuke was named the best right-handed pitcher — not only in the American League, but in all of baseball — by the Associated Press. Vuke was also named to the UPI AL All-Star Team along with Baltimore’s Jim Palmer.

So while it’s certainly exciting (if not unexpected) that Yount won the Player of the Year Award, the fact that Vuke wasn’t recognized — not only as the best pitcher in the AL, but one of the two best pitchers — is a bit of a head-scratcher. And it also raises concerns that he may not win the AL Cy Young award.

Following are the entire AL and NL rosters, as named by The Sporting News:

American League

Catcher: Lance Parrish (DET)
1st Base: Cecil Cooper (MIL)
2nd Base: Damaso Garcia (TOR)
Shortstop: Robin Yount (MIL)
3rd Base: Doug DeCinces (CAL)
Outfield: Dave Winfield (NYY), Gorman Thomas (MIL) and Dwight Evans (BOS)
Designated Hitter: Hal McRae (KC)
Pitchers: Dave Stieb (TOR) and Geoff Zahn (CAL)

National League

Catcher: Gary Carter (MON)
1st Base: Al Oliver (MON)
2nd Base: Manny Trillo (PHI)
Shortstop: Ozzie Smith (STL)
3rd Base: Mike Schmidt (PHI)
Outfield: Dale Murphy (ATL), Pedro Guerrero (LA) and Lonnie Smith (STL)
Pitchers: Steve Carlton (PHI) and Steve Rogers (MON)

Carlton Wins NL Cy Young

October 26 2 Comments

Carlton ran away with the NL Cy Young award.

In what falls in the “yeah, duh” category, Steve Carlton has been named the National League’s Cy Young award winner. Voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the award goes to the best pitcher in each league.

It was a formality, really. Carlton led the majors in wins with 23 and was the only pitcher in either league who won 20. His 286 strikeouts, 19 complete games and six shutouts also led both leagues, so it is not surprising that Carlton, who received 20 of a possible 24 first place votes, won the award.

Player – Tm	Pts	1st	W	L	SO	SV	IP	ERA
Steve Carlton, PHI	112	20	23	11	286	0	295.2	3.10
Steve Rogers, MON	29	1	19	8	179	0	277.0	2.40
Bruce Sutter, STL	25	2	9	8	61	36	102.1	2.90
F Valenzuela, LAD	25	1	19	13	199	0	285.0	2.87
Phil Niekro, ATL	18	0	17	4	144	0	234.1	3.61
Greg Minton, SFG	4	0	10	4	58	30	123.0	1.83
J Andujar, STL	1	0	15	10	137	0	265.2	2.47
Gene Garber, ATL	1	0	8	10	68	30	119.1	2.34
Mario Soto, CIN	0	0	14	13	274	0	257.2	2.79

Stieb TSN AL Pitcher of Year

October 22 Leave a Comment

The Sporting News today named Toronto’s Dave Stieb as the American League Pitcher of the Year, damaging the Cy Young hopes of Brewers pitcher Pete Vuckovich.

On Oct. 7, I broke down the competition and determined that Stieb is my Cy Young winner. I hoped at the time that I was trying too hard to be unbiased, that I overcompensated by choosing Stieb over Vuckovich. After today’s announcement from The Sporting News, the numbers may just stack up in Stieb’s favor after all. [Read more…] about Stieb TSN AL Pitcher of Year

Carlton TSN NL Pitcher of Year

October 21 4 Comments

The Sporting News announced today that it has named Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton the National League Pitcher of the Year.

The announcement came as a surprise to no one, as the dominant lefty is expected to take home the National League Cy Young hardware as well. The 37-year-old hurler dominated National League hitters, going 23-11 with a 3.10 ERA and 286 strikeouts. Carlton led the league in wins, games started (38), complete games (19), shutouts (6), innings pitched (295 2/3) and strikeouts. [Read more…] about Carlton TSN NL Pitcher of Year

Quotes from the American League Champs

October 10 Leave a Comment

The following quotes were taken by the Milwaukee Sentinel on the field and in the clubhouse following the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-3 win over the California Angels today to advance to the World Series. Recap of the game can be found here.

Cecil Cooper on seventh inning hit: “When I walked up there all I could think about was getting another chance. You have to go up there thinking about staying under control, going the other way. I thought I might see (left hander Andy) Hassler in that situation.”

Cecil Cooper: “I’m just so excited I got a base hit and we won. It took me away from being a goat.”

Cecil Cooper: “For a minute I thought it would be caught because when you hit line drives they have a tendency to hang, especially with the wind blowing in like it was. I was motioning for it to go down. It got down.”

Jim Gantner on scoring go-ahead run: “I think I flew most of the way home. When Cecil walked up there, I had a feeling he was going to get a hit and I knew I was going to score from second. I had already made up my mind that I was going to score.”

Bob McClure on Marshall Edwards’ eighth inning catch of Don Baylor fly ball: “I thought it was out when he hit it. I just stood on the mound and said stay in, stay in and then I saw it go in his glove.”

Marshall Edwards: “I knew I had to jump. You know how tall I am.”

Harvey Kuenn: “We haven’t done things easy all year and that was just another example of it.”

Pete Ladd, who saved the game: “Pure ecstasy. I don’t ever think I’ve ever jumped for joy like that when I saw the ball hit Cecil’s glove. I didn’t care who was up in that situation. I wanted the ball in that kind of an opportunity. I’ve faced (Carew) three times now, and I’ve gotten him out three times. I’m sure in the future he’ll get his hits off me, and that’s fine – as long as he didn’t get one in that situation.”

Charlie Moore on his throw to nail Reggie Jackson at third in the fifth inning: “It turned out to be a big play because it kept them from scoring another run. Inside I was cheering myself on.”

Bob McClure on throwing one pitch to Reggie Jackson in the eighth: “I wasn’t even trying to get him to hit into a double play. I was trying to get a strikeout and see what would happen to the next hitter (Lynn). But it worked out.”

Paul Molitor: “I think what happened today typifies t he character of this team. Today was a great example. We were down, but not out. We came back.”

Pete Vuckovich, on if the Brewers are invincible: “That’s a heavy word. There are too many good teams and good players for anyone to be invincible. But we’re a very confident team. I’m so proud to be a part of this unit.”

Cecil Cooper on tagging Bob Grich with an empty glove: “I didn’t argue. I knew I had made a bone headed play. I simply panicked. Realized I couldn’t reach him with the ball in my bare hand, so I tried to do it that way. I turned to Bobby at first base and told him I screwed up. And I told the guys when I got to the dugout, ‘Just give me another chance to redeem myself.'”

Bud Selig, on comparing this win to final day win against Orioles: “I don’t know. Last weekend was gut wrenching. I’ve never been filled with such anxiety. I called it an ordeal. That’s what it was.”

Bud Selig, pointing to swarming fans on the field: “Look at that scene. That makes it worth it. It’s like living a dream.”

Paul Molitor: “One of the more gratifying things has been playing for Mr. Selig. Some of it goes back to Baltimore last week when he told us ‘win or lose’ he was proud of us. That’s why it was so great to go full cycle and win it for him.”

Harvey Kuenn, on his pick for ALCS MVP (Fred Lynn won it): “Why, I would have to pick Pete Ladd. And why would you have to say why?”

Pitching coach Pat Dobson on Ladd: “When he came here (July 15) he was a one pitch pitcher. He had no slider. But he’s very easy to instruct. He learned the slider and it’s helped him 100%. It’s a pitch he needed for his career.”

Rollie Fingers on Ladd: “What he did was no surprise to me. If he has his control you know he’ll be ok. This just goes to show you that one guy doesn’t win it for you.”

Don Sutton on Harvey Kuenn: “The man is like a conductor of an orchestra. He can’t play a single instrument but he sure blends everyone else together. He’s much like Walter Alston. He doesn’t believe people come to watch manager’s manage. He believes they come to see the players play.”

Harvey Kuenn: “Words can’t express how I feel. I’ve had a lot of thrills in this game, and this is the biggest of my whole life. This is a club molded of 25 guys and coaches. Everybody loves everybody else. They don’t care who gets the winning hit or who’s the winning pitcher as long as we win.”

Ben Oglivie: “We knew we couldn’t give up. We knew we had to be stalwart. We’ve had to fight a continuing battle all year. This club always battles.”

Gorman Thomas: “I could care less about my knee right now. I’m going to go out and get smoked tonight.”

Charlie Moore on his dance in right field: “I couldn’t stand still. I guess when you’ve never been there before, you don’t know how to react. I guess I kind of reacted stupidly. But there are no regrets. Not one regret.”