Upon further review my 70’s All-Decade team would look something like this:

C – Johnny Bench easiest one! National League Rookie of the Year (1968), National League Most Valuable Player (1970 & 1972), World Series MVP (1976), 14-time All-Star, with 10 consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1980 Johnny Bench set an endurance record by catching 100 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons. Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 1989 with the fourth highest percentage of total votes cast, he is possibly the greatest catcher ever. His lifetime batting totals:.267 BA, 389 home runs, 1376 RBIs tell only a portion of his impact he was a terrific defensive catcher with a bazooka for an arm.
1B- Rod Carew (used to play 2B) Carl Yastrzemski or Willie Stargell The knock on Carew is his 92 career homers but his bat control and consistency were amazing in 18 seasons only his first 2 and final 2 were below the .300 mark, he was a fine base runner with 353 career bags pilfered and he a very good fielder at both 1st and 2nd base his .822 OPS is outstanding.
2B – Joe Morgan 2nd easiest, Morgan was only a decent fielder, but his 689 steals, 1.133 RBIs and 2,517 hits more than made up for that, Willie Randolph didn’t debut until 1975 and Frank White was a silky-smooth fielder, In 1977 he played 62 consecutive error-less games, but he was not a consistent offensive force.
3B – Mike Schmidt (over Brooks Robinson and George Brett) This was tough; Schmidt made the All-Century team but so did Brooks Robinson who was the best defensive 3rd baseman ever and Brett only had 6 full seasons in the decade.
SS – Dave Concepcion how is he not in the H.O.F! A career .267 hitter whose career bests were 16 in home runs, a .301 batting average and 84 RBIs all very respectable for the pre-Ripken/Rodriguez shortstops more importantly he had a .971 career fielding percentage.
LF- Pete Rose who played 1 B, 2B, Rose just barely edged: Carl Yastrzemski, Billy Williams or Willie Stargell. Rose is a monumental controversial and comic/tragic figure, but he is also the most prolific hitter of all-time he could play every infield position except short stop and all the outfield positions, he played maniacally hard
CF – César Cedeño just edged out Bobby Murcer. This was a young player named "next Willie Mays" with his speed, defensive skills & power by then Astro’s skipper Leo Durocher. He batted .310 his rookie season, he contended for Rookie of the Year & then hit .320 the next two seasons. From 1972-1974 he hit 20 HRs & stole 50 bases each season. He would steal over 50 bases through 1976 and be in the top four of the league leaders in steals six straight years. He led the league in doubles twice (1971-1972) won 5 straight gold gloves in center field and played in 4 All Star Games. Still his
RF – Reggie Jackson: The ‘Straw that Stirs the Drink’ Jackson one of the truly modern superstars he socked 563 HRs, 1702 RBIs, .262 lifetime BA, 2584 hits and as a bonus he posted 228 stolen bases.
Pitchers
RHP – Tom Seaver was the best pitcher of that group: 311 wins, 2.86 ERA and 3640 Ks speak to his nearly 2 decades of dominance.: During a 20-year career, Seaver compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts and a 2.86 earned run average. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage ever recorded (98.84%).
RHP – Jim Palmer: Palmer spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, where he won the Cy Young Award three times, finished second twice, third once, and fifth two more times. Palmer finished 2nd in the MVP balloting in 1973, one of eight seasons where he received MVP votes. Palmer finished his career with 268 wins, a 2.86 ERA. Palmer is a first ballot Hall of Famer, being elected in 1990 while being named on 92.6% of ballots. He was named by Bill James, in the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, as the 17th best pitcher of all time.
RHP- Catfish Hunter- When rookie phenomena Vida Blue won 24 games, and Catfish Hunter had a 21-11 campaign at the age of 25, the A's blew the West away, winning the division by 16 games over the Royals. However, the savvy Orioles were able to beat them back for the pennant in the Championship Series, with Catfish Hunter losing the second game of the three game sweep by a 5-1 score. In 1972, the A's and Catfish Hunter began a run of three straight World Series winning seasons. Catfish Hunter would go 21-7 in 1972, and in the World Series against the Reds he won Game Two 2-1 and got a no-decision in Game Five. In the deciding seventh game, Catfish Hunter came on in relief with the score tied 1-1. Pitching on one day's rest, Catfish Hunter recorded eight out, giving up one hit, and got the win when the A's scored two runs in the sixth. Catfish Hunter then had a great 1973, posting a 21-5 record and going 3-0 in the playoffs over the Orioles and the Mets. In one of the most important games he ever pitched, Catfish Hunter won the deciding fifth game of the American League Championship Series, shutting out Baltimore on October 11th, 1973, with a five-hitter. Then, with Oakland down in the Series three games to two, he forced a seventh game with a 3-1 win over Tom Seaver and the Mets; the A's won their second title the next day. The Cy Young Award came Catfish Hunter's way in 1974, as he won 25 games and lost 12, with a 2.59 earned run average. Arm problems caused Catfish Hunter to go 2-9 in 1979, and at the age of 33 he retired after the season was over. Catfish Hunter pitched long enough to produce a 224-166 record and 42 shutouts and decide he merited a plaque in Cooperstown.
RHP- Gaylord Perry his 184 wins in the 1970’s was #2 behind Palmer. Gaylord Perry is a Hall of Famer who was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in each league. He won his first Cy Young Award in 1972 while with the Indians, winning 24 games with 1.92 ERA and 234 strikeouts. In his three-plus seasons with the Tribe, Perry went 70-57 with a 2.51 ERA and had a save in his only relief outing. He was a two-time All-Star with Indians during the 1972 and 1974 seasons. Overall, Perry was a five-time All-Star with a record of 314-265 in 22 seasons (5350IP/3534Ks).
LHP- Steve Carlton- Carlton posted what might be the single-greatest season of any pitcher of the modern era. He posted a record of 27-10, hurling 346 1/3 innings, striking out 310 hitters against only 87 walks, and posted a sparkling 1.97 earned run average. At one point, Carlton reeled off fifteen consecutive wins and posted thirty complete games, unanimously winning his first Cy Young Award and garnering a few votes for most valuable player. Carlton notched an incredible, record-breaking iron man performance that began his magnificent 14-year career with the Phillies that featured four Cy Young Awards and a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Wise, by contrast, was 16-16 with a good 3.11 ERA for the Cardinals, and had a solid career that ended with a 188-181 record in 1985, including 19 wins and a World Series appearance for the 1975 Boston Red Sox. The Phillies clearly got the best of that trade; Lefty, as Carlton became known, won 329 games and posted more than 4,000 strikeouts in a Hall of Fame career.
Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson and Ferguson Jenkins were also great right-handed pitchers. Gibson’s best year, perhaps the best season ever, was 1968 when he had a 1.12 ERA, Gibson threw 13 shutouts, finishing the season with 28 complete games out of 34 games started, he’s not higher because personal problems and knee problems caused his career to end ignominiously after the 1975 season, when he went 3–10 with a 5.04 ERA.

Ron Guidry- Guidry got a bit of a late start in Major League baseball, not landing a regular gig until he was already 26-years old in 1977. But he was an immediate success, posting a 16-7 record with a 2.82 ERA, and an ERA+ of 140. Guidry might have had the greatest post 1968 season of any pitcher when he went 25-3 with a 1.74 earned run average and nine shutouts in 1978. For a short time he was the AL’s best southpaw pitcher. ‘Louisiana lightning’ was my favorite pitcher growing up and I had to fight myself to keep him out of the starting 5. The following season, Guidry led the A.L. in ERA (2.78), topped 200 strikeouts again, and posted an 18-8 record while finishing third in the Cy Young award voting. Guidry would continue to have several productive seasons with New York, finishing in the top ten in Cy Young voting in 1981, 1983, and 1985. In his ten full seasons as a starting pitcher, Guidry would finish in at least the top seven in Cy Young voting six times. He sadly had a brilliant but relatively brief period of 100% health of 6 years where he compiled the bulk of his 170-91 with a 3.29 ERA, he was in his 14-year career.

Mickey Lolich- Lolich may one day be surpassed by Justin Verlander as the Tiger’s greatest pitcher his 459 games started is #1 on the Tigers all-time list 2,679 strikeouts is #1 on the Tigers all-time list 39 shutouts is #1 on the Tigers all-time list, 329 home runs allowed is #1 on the Tigers all-time list, 109 wild pitches is #2 on the Tigers all-time list (behind Jack Morris) 207 wins is #3 on the Tigers all-time list (behind Hooks Dauss and George Mullin) 508 games is #3 on the Tigers all-time list (behind John Hiller and Hooks Dauss and his 3,361 innings pitched is #3 on Tigers all-time list (behind George Mullin and Hooks Dauss). In 1971, his 308 strikeouts paced the league, he started 45 games and completed 29, he logged an incredible 376 innings pitched that year. Lolich was nearly as effective in 1972, winning 22 games as he helped lead the Tigers back to the postseason. In his final start of the regular season, the lefty dominated the Red Sox at Tiger Stadium, fanning 15 batters to vault Detroit ahead of Boston by a half-game. As usual, Mickey was a workhorse, pitching 41 games, completing 23, and hurling more than 300 innings. He finished third in Cy Young voting behind Gaylord Perry and Wilbur Wood. In the playoffs against the A’s, Mickey pitched brilliantly, posting a 1.42 ERA in two starts, but he lost one game and got a no-decision in the other as the Tigers took Oakland to the limit before losing the decisive Game 5. Lolich captured 16 victories in both 1973 and 1974, and on May 25, 1975, he defeated the White Sox, 4–1, in a rain-shortened seven-inning game at Comiskey Park for his 200th career victory. But the season was one of frustration for the veteran southpaw. He suffered one of the worst stretches of offensive support in baseball history in the second-half of 1975. While the Tigers were on their way to their most dismal season in more than two decades, Lolich pitched effectively but had little help. Over the course of 14 starts from July 11 through September 13, Mickey received a total of 14 runs from his offense! Not surprisingly, Lolich’s record was 1–13 during the stretch, which included a 19-game losing streak by the Tigers. When Mickey toed the rubber on July 11, he was 10–5 with a 3.31 ERA. When he lost the last of the 13 games during the 14-game stretch, his ERA was just 3.88, but his record had sagged to 11–18. He won his next start September 20—his teammates scored five runs for him—but it was his final game in a Detroit uniform. After the season, Lolich was dealt to the New York Mets for Rusty Staub in a trade that was unpopular with Tigers fans. Mickey never took to the Big Apple and never moved his family there. During his one season as a Met, he battled with the trainer and pitching coach, who wanted him to run and treat his arm with ice. Lolich balked at the advice. He managed a decent 3.22 ERA for the Mets, posting an 8–13 record in 1976. His biggest highlight in a Mets uniform came July 18, 1976, when he fired a two-hit shutout over the Braves at Shea Stadium in which he fanned four and did not walk a batter. At the end of the 1976 season, fed up with New York, Lolich retired in order to get out of the last year of his two-year contract. After sitting out a year, Mickey signed with the San Diego Padres, who pursued him and gave him a two-year deal. While playing with the Mets, Lolich had enjoyed visiting San Diego and felt it would be a wonderful place to finish his career. With a young Padres club he performed well in 1978 out of the bullpen, going 2–1 with a 1.56 ERA in 20 games. The following season, Lolich introduced a new weapon to his pitching arsenal: the knuckle ball. After an inconsistent 1979 season, Lolich retired and returned to his home in Michigan. Lolich won 217 games in his 16-year career.

Vida Blue, Blue, was a six-time all-star player who pitched during 17 seasons with the A's, Giants and Kansas City Royals before retiring in 1987, he totaled 3 20-win seasons 6 All-Star Games, he had a 3.27 ERA, 209 career wins, threw one no-hitter (1970), one combined no-hitter (1975), and three one-hitters (1970, 1971 and 1976) during his career. In 1971, Vida Blue became the first American League baseball player ever to win both the Most Valuable Player award and the Cy Young award. He had a 24-8 record and led the league with a 1.82 earned run average and eight shutouts. He struck out 301 batters in 312 innings.

Wilbur Wood- One of the games’ greatest knuckleballers was Wilbur Wood, he had consecutive scoreless inning streaks of 29 in 1973 and 27.2 in 1972. He tossed three complete game two hitters with two of those taking eleven innings. He also added nine complete game three hitters. He started both ends of a double header twice (Note: Once because of rain that allowed two consecutive off days. Wilbur finished the suspended game against Cleveland that began on May 26, 1973 then after a thirty minute break, began the regularly slated game. This happened on May 28, 1973.) and was named to the White Sox 'All-Century' team. a mind-blowing 376 innings pitched in 1972!), batters faced, wins and getting hitters to ground into double plays. was a three time All Star, a four time twenty game winner, he had 57 saves and 163 wins with the White Sox. He was named the 1968 American League Fireman of the Year, he was named the American League Pitcher of the Year in 1972 and was also named as the left handed starting pitcher on The Sporting News 1972 American League All Star Team.

Steve Rogers was a 1st-round draft choice in 1971 was the 1973 Rookie of the Year from The Sporting News. He averaged a decade of double-digit winning seasons. At the time that Rogers was released by the Expos, he was their all-time leader in victories (156), losses (148), games (391), complete games (128), shutouts (37) and strikeouts (1,603). He had a 3.17 lifetime ERA and wan an All-Star 5 time. A post-season standout, Rogers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies and their ace Steve Carlton twice in the 1981 National League Division Series. He held the Phillies to one run in Game One and hurled a six-hit 3–0 shutout, helping himself with two RBI in the deciding Game Five, to send Montreal to the National League Championship Series. In Game Three of that Series, Rogers pitched a seven-hit 4–1 complete game against the Dodgers, but lost Game Five in relief when he allowed a pennant-winning home run to Rick Monday. The decision of manager Jim Fanning to use Rogers in that game, on only two-days’ rest, is still debated by Montreal fans.

Mike Cuellar, A four-time All-Star, Cuellar was 185-130 overall with a 3.14 ERA. He was voted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame. In 1970, Cuellar won a career-high 24 games and again excelled in the postseason, this time with both his arm and his bat. A career .115 hitter, Cuellar highlighted Game 1 of the ALCS with a grand slam.

Jerry Koosman was one of the better LHP of the decade other than Carlton. Along with pitchers Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, he made the Mets 'Amazing' – and even landed on the cover of Life magazine in 1969. He had 222 wins and 209 losses and a 3.36 earned run average during his career, which spanned from 1967 to 1985.
In his first three ML games, in September of that year, he held opposing hitters to a .111 average and struck out 15 in one game. The following April 16, he no-hit the Phillies in his fourth ML start. His performance steadily declined with the Cubs, but he responded to a 1975 trade to the Dodgers by winning his final 12 decisions, finishing 18-9. His unusual knuckle curve made him a mainstay of baseball's best rotation through nine seasons and three pennants. He peaked at 19-10 in 1978.
The 70s really didn't have many long relievers as specialists. Starting pitchers were expected to go at least 7-8 innings all the time. Aces were expected to complete the majority of their games. Sparky Lyle deserves mention, 238 Saves, [when saves were much harder to come by], 99 Wins and a 2.88 lifetime ERA are some of the numbers that encompass his impact. Between 1967-1980, Lyle had more saves than anyone else in the AL (231). Also Lyle was the first American League reliever to capture a Cy Young Award (1977), other outstanding players included :

Relief – Rollie Fingers: Fingers, famous for his waxed handlebar mustache, is regarded as the pioneer of modern relief pitching. During his 17-year baseball career, Rollie pitched for the Oakland Athletics (1968–76), San Diego Padres (1977–80) and Milwaukee Brewers (1981–85). Because Fingers was inconsistent as a starter, the A’s quickly moved Fingers to the bull pen and eventually to his role as a closer. There he excelled quickly and frequently in his new role. Relying on a sharp slider, Rollie went on to notch 341 career saves. Rollie was a member of the Oakland A’s teams that accomplished the first modern-day “three-peat”, winning the World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974. In 1974, he won the World Series MVP Award after earning two saves and one win. He had 1,299 career Ks, 2.90 ERA,
Relief – Bruce Sutter: The story of Bruce Sutter is an amazing one, when you consider the odds of him turning around a near dead career with an injured arm into a Hall of Fame ending all due to the development of one pitch. The injury came right away, signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1971 for $500, he went to the Bradenton Cubs of the Gulf Coast League. After pitching in just two games, he was diagnosed with an elbow injury and was gone for the 1972 season. He needed an operation on the pinched nerve, got it, came to training camp in 1973, but poof, no more fastball. Bruce had paid for the surgery himself. The savior of Sutter’s career was a relative of the fork-ball, but with Sutter’s long fingers, he could force it to spin forward and then dive downward as it reached home plate. His thumb would push the ball out from between his wide spread fingers and it worked because he has huge hands to hold it. Sutter still had just enough speed so the hitters couldn’t tell the difference whether it was a fastball or the splitter coming at them; in 1976 in 52 games, he went 6-3 with a 2.70 earned run average and all in relief. A noteworthy fact were the 73 strikeouts in 83 innings. He had never started a game and never would, becoming the first player in history to make it to the Hall as a 100 percent reliever. In 1977, he came out as a National League standout, earning 31 saves, with a meager 1.31 earned run average and a trip to the All-Star Game. Try on these stats: 107 innings and 129 strikeouts and only 23 walks! 1978 wasn’t quite as dominating, with 27 saves, a 3.18 ERA, with 106 strikeouts in 99 innings. He won 8 and lost 10 after going 7-3 the year before. Then, in 1979, Sutter hit the jackpot turning in a fabulous resume. In 62 games, he posted a 2.22 ERA, gained a National League leading 37 saves, with 110- strikeouts in 101 innings. He became only the third relief pitcher in baseball history to win the Cy Young Award. Mike Marshall from the Los Angeles Dodgers had won in 1974 and in 1977 it was the New York Yankees Sparky Lyle. At the time, his 37 saves had tied a National League record held by Clay Carroll and Rollie Fingers.

C Thurman Munson Many remember his tragic death at 32‚ when he perished at Canton‚ Ohio‚ in a crash of the plane he was piloting. A crowd of 51‚151 will attended the memorial tribute at Yankee stadium. Occasionally forgotten is how good a ballplayer he was. After fewer than 100 minor league games, Munson became the Yankees' starting catcher in 1970. The Yankees went from a mediocre team to back-to-back World Championships and Munson rivaled Fisk in the AL as the decade's top catcher. After a sluggish start he rallied to finish hitting (.302) and captured AL Rookie of the Year honors. Munson's power was slow to develop, but he hit for average and usually batted second in his early years. He was an outstanding fielder, with perhaps the league's quickest release in throwing out base stealers. A sore shoulder later reduced his accuracy. During the Yankees' mini-dynasty of 1976-78 Munson was at his peak. Off the field, he was a leader in the team's vicious clubhouse humor. On the field, he piled up his career-best offensive statistics (even a surprising 14 stolen bases in 1976). He hit over .300 with 100 or more RBI three years in a row (1975-77), won the MVP Award in 1976, and hit .529 in the 1976 series and .320 in the 1977 and 1978 World Series. Munson deserves much of the credit for the late-season surge by a shaky Catfish Hunter during the Yankees' 1978 comeback.

C Carlton Fisk- While Bench was the star in the NL, Fisk was considered the best in the AL. And he continued to be among the best for 10 more years. The durable catcher Fisk caught 2,226 games, a record that stood from 1993 until 2009 (when it was broken by Ivan Rodriguez). He was the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1972 and was selected to the AL All-Star team 11 times, and he hit 376 homers with a .269 average, second all-time among catchers, and first at the time of his retirement. He was a 10-time AL All-Star who hit one of the most memorable homers all-time to end Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Of his home-runs he hit 351 as a catcher, he was a very good athlete Fisk became the first American League catcher to lead the league in triples when he hit nine triples in his rookie season of 1972.

C/RF Gary Carter ‘The Kid’ was expected to be the next Johnny Bench and was a good enough prep QB that UCLA signed him for that, however he chose baseball and shot through the Expos’ farm system, he would show a blend of offensive and defensive prowess that resulted in 3 Gold Gloves and 5 Solver Sluggers, he died earlier this year of brain cancer he is missed. He had 324 career HRs and was a .262 hitter with 1,225 RBIs, a career .773 OPS, he never eclipsed Bench but he is with Berra, Campanella Cochrane, Dickey, Fisk, Freehan, Harnett, Lombardi, Piazza, and Rodriguez as the next tier after Bench

C Manny Sanguillen- Sanguillen was speedy for a catcher, free-swinging Manny Sanguillen had great hitting ability, a strong arm, and a cat-like quality behind the plate. The ever-smiling Panamanian twice finished third in the NL batting race: in his second full season (1970), when he batted .325, and again in 1975, when he hit a career-high .328. The bad-ball-hitting Sanguillen was a good contact hitter, but rarely walked. Overshadowed by Johnny Bench, he edged out the Cincinnati catcher on The Sporting New's NL All-Star Team in 1971 – the only time between 1967 and 1975 that Bench was not selected. He was durable, catching more than 100 games in seven of his first eight full seasons with the Pirates. A lifetime .296 hitter, who was an exceptional fielder he had everything but pop in his bat..

C Ted Simmons- Simmons was the #1 Draft Choice of Cardinal in 1967, he holds Catcher Records in Hits (2,472) & Doubles (483) and was an All-Star 8 times (1972-74, 77-79, 81, 83)
C/3B Joe Torre Torre will obviously make it to Cooperstown as a manager but has been seen as no better than a borderline Hall of Famer as a player. Many might be surprised to know he comes in with a GWAA of 38.26. That is well past borderline (which is around 25-30 GWAA)–that's pretty much slam-dunk Hall of Fame territory. Through 2005, Torre's GWAA ranked 36th among all players to debut in 1960 or later. Among players from this group eligible for the Hall, he ranks 17th. (Counting Billy Williams, who was still technically a rookie in 1960, thirty-four players from that group have been elected to the Hall of Fame.) The only Hall-eligible players with higher scores who haven't been elected is Dick Allen.

C/1st B Gen Tenace A .241 hitter with 201 homers Tenace’s numbers are not all that impressive but he was exceptional in both defense and calling games behind the plate.

1B Dick Allen (1972, totally dominant) Power, speed, smarts and style. These are the words that teammates and opponents used to describe Dick Allen, one of baseball’s most exciting and enigmatic players. Angry, surly, disruptive narcissistic. These were labels that fans and the front office often applied to the sullen superstar. His career was a tale of two Dicks, as it were. But what a career it was. For a solid decade during the 1960s and 1970s, Dick produced screaming line drives with his war-club of a bat—and he often had GMs waking up screaming due to his stubbornness and unpredictability. No one questions whether Dick was ahead of his time; he gave baseball an uncomfortable preview of the modern player. What his fans wonder, however, was how much this brooding and insubordinate slugger could have accomplished had he found his comfort zone for more than just a season or two. As a high school hoops star he once touched a spot on the backboard 16 inches above the rim, not bad since he was a shade under six feet tall. In 1970 he was moved from the Phillies to the Cardinals and across the diamond to first base. He was voted the All-Star starter over reigning MVP Willie McCovey, and by August he had reached the 30-homer, 100-RBI plateau. In 1971, now a Dodger, he managed 29 homers and 90 RBIs in a pitcher’s park. His final numbers reflected his comfort level. Playing once again in a pitcher’s park, he led the league with 37 homers, 113 RBIs, a .603 slugging average, .420 on-base percentage and 99 walks. Teammates are nearly unanimous in the observation that Dick’s numbers in ’72 only hinted at the year he had. Time and again, when the White Sox needed a hit, Dick would come through. He was as close to automatic that year as a batter could be. Allen was a no-brainer pick for AL MVP. More important, he revived the passion of fans on the South Side, thus eliminating conjecture that the club might pull up stakes and relocate to Seattle or the west coast of Florida. After the season, the White Sox gave Dick a new contract for $250,000 a year, up from $100,000. His top salary with the Phillies had been $85,000. Another benefit of Dick’s MVP campaign was that he was able to convince the White Sox to add his brother Hank to the roster. Hank, who was 85 games short of qualifying for a pension, proved to be a valuable bench player during Chicago’s 1972 run. Fate was never particularly kind to Dick. The 1973 season was a particularly painful example. In a June game against the A’s, he collided with massive Mike Epstein during a play on the first base line. Dick broke his leg and ended up missing 90 games. He was batting over .300 at the time and was on pace for a repeat of his numbers from the year before. The White Sox weren’t the same when Dick returned to the field in 1974. Ron Santo had come across town from the Cubs for his final major league season and tried to install himself as the team’s leader. This created tremendous friction between the two stars, soon Dick was fed up. Baseball wasn’t fun anymore. He gathered his teammates in the clubhouse on September 14th and announced his retirement. Despite not playing the rest of the year, he still led the AL with 32 homers and a .563 slugging average. It was the first time a retired player ever led a league in a major offensive category. However since he’d failed to file his retirement paperwork Dick was technically the property of the Atlanta Braves, who had acquired his contract from the White Sox. Dick relented and agreed to join the Phillies. Philadelphia acquired his contract after he told the Braves in so many words that he would rather sit at home than play in the South (even the New South) again. Philadelphia manager Danny Ozark pressed Dick into service right away. He asked for more time to find his groove, but the press was pushing the team to get Dick on the field. He ended up playing 113 games at first base, driving in 62 runs despite a .233 average. His main contribution to the Phillies that year was working with their two sluggers, Schmidt and Greg Luzinski. Dick taught Schmidt to hit down on the ball and told him he couldn’t take the outs he made so personally. Luzinski was a low ball hitter who constantly got himself out chasing high pitches. Dick taught the Bull how to be more of a zone hitter. He responded with a monster year, racking up 120 RBIs. The following year, he came back, upped his average to .268 and boosted his slugging average by nearly 100 points to .583. The last month of the 1976 campaign was a tumultuous one. Dick felt there was a quota system in place—how else could one explain the lack of at-bats for Ollie Brown and Bobby Tolan? Meanwhile, Larry Bowa and Tug McGraw were driving everyone crazy with their clubhouse antics and media-hogging. At one point, Bowa said he missed the team’s old first baseman, Willie Montanez, implying that Dick wasn’t scooping balls out of the dirt the way his predecessor had. Dick called Bowa out and told him to throw the balls to his glove—end of problem. When fellow renegade Charlie Finley offered him a job in Oakland, he grabbed it. But he soon realized his mistake. Finley would say one thing and do another, and according to Allen, he broke several promises he made when working out the contract. After 54 games for the A’s, Dick said goodbye to baseball for good. Allen’s final numbers in the big leagues were 351 home runs, 1,119 RBIs, 1,009 runs and a .292 average. His career slugging percentage was .534 he was among the top five in the league seven times—and his on-base percentage was .378. Dick played 807 games at first base, 652 at third and 256 as a left fielder. He also logged a handful of appearances at second, short and in center field. Dick was named to seven All-Star teams during his 15-year career.

1B Steve Garvey- A very consistent player on offense and defense he had a .294, RBI: 1,308, 2,599, with 272 career home-runs, alongside third baseman Ron Cey, shortstop Bill Russell and second baseman Davey Lopes, the four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers’ starters for eight and a half years. He set a National League record with 1207 consecutive games played, from September 3, 1975, to July 29, 1983. Garvey appeared on the NL MVP ballot 9 times with 5 times placing in the top 10. Beating out Lou Brock to win in 1974, he finished 2nd over-all in 1978 behind winner Dave Parker. He racked up 10 All-Star Games including 2 MVP Awards. 4 Gold Gloves. 2 National League Championship Series MVP Awards. The 1974 National League Most Valuable Player Award. 1981 World Series Champion. The 1981 Roberto Clemente Award.

1B Tony Perez-One of baseball's greatest run producers, Perez retired as the 14th-best RBI man in ML history. After sharing Cincinnati first-base job in his first two years, Perez was switched to third base from 1967 to 1972 to get slugger Lee May into the lineup. For ten years (1967-76) Perez was one of the leaders of The Big Red Machine, six times topping 100 RBI. With Perez in the infield, the Reds won four pennants. In 1970, his top season, he hit .317 with 40 homers and 134 RBI.
1B Willie McCovey (best years in 60s) led NL in HRs 3 times and RBI twice; MVP in 1969 with SF; 521 career HRs; “McCovey Cove,” the bay outside the right field fence at San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park is named for him. McCovey had his banner year in 1969 and won the MVP award. In addition to leading the NL with 45 homers, 126 RBI, and a .656 slugging percentage, he drew a record 45 intentional walks and finished fifth with a .320 batting average. His 9.2 home run percentage that year is one of the highest ever. McCovey's appearance in the 1969 All-Star Game was his third of six, and he paced the NL to a 9-3 victory with two home runs. McCovey was an integral part of an ever-changing Giants team that contended for a decade, reaching the World Series in 1962 and the NL playoffs in 1971. Giants owners devastated Bay Area fans by sending McCovey, their favorite player, to the upstart San Diego Padres prior to the 1974 season. Tagged Big Mac in deference to Padres and McDonald's owner Ray Kroc, McCovey had two good seasons and one poor one before the Padres sold him to the Oakland Athletics, the Giants' cross-bay competition. He played in only 11 games for the A's, who released him at the end of the season. McCovey was invited by new Giants ownership to San Francisco's spring training camp in 1977, and he responded with a 28-homer, 86-RBI comeback at the age of 39.

1B Orlando Cepeda (best years in 60s) The ‘Baby Bull’ a lifetime .297 hitter had one last 30+ HR season in 1970 with 34. He had 379 career and homers and like Oliver Madlock and Dwight Evans he makes many best players not in the H.O.F lists and again this is a player whose career numbers are very similar to Al Kaline’s.

2B Bobby Grich- Here's Bobby Grich for you: in 4100 career at-bats with the Angels, he posted an OPS+ of 124. signed a Free Agent deal with the Angels after the 1976 season. A rare Middle Infielder with power, and Grich had an All-Star year with the Angels in 1979, belting 30 HR and 101 RBI to help the Angels win their first 3 AL West titles. as deserved first inductee in the Angels’ Hall of Fame, is the team’s career leader with: – 859 DP turned, he played almost 1,100 games at the keystone sack His best year with the Angels came back in 1979 when he made the All-Star team while finishing 8th in the voting for the MVP Award. Grich played in 153 games in 1979 and he was 157 for 534 (.294 BA, .903 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 30 homers, 101 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Grich played in 1,222 games in his 10 years with the Angels and he was 1,103 of 4,100 (.269 BA, .806 OPS) with 601 runs scored, 154 homers, 557 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Grich is #6 in Angels’ history in games played with 1,222. He is also #6 in hits (1,103), #6 in runs scored (601), #8 in doubles (183), #7 in homers (154), #7 in RBIs (557) and #3 in walks (630) in Angels’ history. Grich made it to 3 All-Star teams and he won 1 Silver Slugger Award in his 10 years with the Angels
2B Willie Randolph-After a 30-game stint with the Pirates in 1975, Randolph was one of three players traded to the Yankees for pitcher Doc Medich in the off-season. Randolph immediately became the starting second baseman, and stayed in that role through 13 seasons and 32 shortstops. During Randolph's first six seasons with the Yankees, they won five division championships, four AL pennants, and World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. He left the Yankees ranking high on their star-studded all-time lists: second in stolen bases, seventh in at-bats and runs, eighth in games, tenth in hits, and 19th in triples; Randolph was also an outstanding defensive player, known especially for his ability to turn the double play. However, he never received the Gold Glove Award, which was perennially awarded to his equally sure-handed and more acrobatic and wide-ranging contemporaries: Frank White of the Kansas City Royals and Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers. He was the Yankees' starting second baseman on the 1977 and 1978 World Series Championship teams.

2B Frank White-Frank White and Bill Mazeroski had almost identical careers. Mazeroski is in the Baseball Hall of Fame while White is left out. The reason for Mazeroski being in the Hall of Fame can be traced back to a ball he hit on October 13, 1960 and handful of Hall of Fame voters. The career stats of both of these players are eerily similar: .255 White to .260 for Mazeroski, both had 8 Gold Gloves, White had 10 fewer career hits, .383 slugging % for White to.367 for Mazeroski
SS Bert Campaneris- A .259 hitter who was a .963 fielder, the other and perhaps most outstanding element of Campaneris’ game was as a base runner, other than Lou Brock, Joe Morgan and Maury Wills there few could match the speed and disruptiveness of Campaneris who finished with 649 steals.

SS Mark Belanger – best defensive SS in the AL during the decade. Mark Belanger had a .280 slugging percentage for his career. He hit .228. His on-base percentage was an even .300. His park-adjusted OPS+ was 68.
In short, Belanger was a bad, very bad hitter. It took him 6602 plate appearances to hit 20 home runs. But the man could play shortstop. He could pick it with the best of them. From 1968 through 1978, Belanger won eight Gold Gloves and played in at least 140 games every year except for 1972 (105) and 1978 (134). Weaver had the pitching and the three-run homers covered by others. Belanger was there to be a golden example of the fundamentals, and he did his job excellently. Belanger was not a great player. A great shortstop, sure, but that and a little bit of speed were basically his entire game. He never once posted an OPS better than the league average, and his best offensive season in comparison to the league was 1976 (.270/.336/.326 with one homer, 40 RBI, 22 doubles and 27 steals) He had a best OBP of .426 in 1971 and a career best 5 long ones in 1974, .345 in 1969 was his best SLG%. But many think he was the best defensive SS ever.

SS Bud Harrelson (defensive wizard, could get on base) In 1971 he won the Gold Glove, and led the Mets with 28 stolen bases. Like Belanger he was a light hitter of his 1120 career hits only 192 were extra base hits, 7 of them home runs. His excellent fielding kept him in the lineup no matter what his average, but he also contributed with his speed on the base paths and by drawing more than his share of walks. His best year was 1970, when he reached career highs in five offensive categories and tied the since-broken NL shortstop record of 54 consecutive error-less games.

SS: Toby Harrah- Harrah was a very good glove man and had uncommon sock in his bat for a SS of his era, he had 4 20 HR seasons in the 1970’s. He only had one .300 season and was a .960 lifetime fielder, but he was one of a very few power hitting shortstops at that time.

SS/CF Robin Yount, his best years were in the 80’s. Robin Yount was a productive hitter who excelled in the field at two of baseball's most challenging positions — shortstop and center field. Playing his entire 20-year career with the Milwaukee Brewers, he collected more hits in the 1980s than any other player and finished with an impressive career total of 3,142. An everyday Major Leaguer at age 18, Yount earned MVP Awards at two positions and his 1982 MVP campaign carried the Brewers to the World Series. Yount finished with a career .285 average, 3,142 hits, 251 homers, 271 stolen bases and 1406 RBIs, he was a complete player but he was just 23 when the 1979 season began.

3B Brooks Robinson/George Brett Robinson was Selected to the Hall of Fame in 1983, AL Most Valuable Player by Baseball Writers' Association of America (1964) All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (1966), World Series Most Valuable Player (1970) AL Player of the Year by The Sporting News (1964) he was the 3rd baseman on The Sporting News AL All-Star Team (1961 to 1962, 1964 to 1968 and 1971 to 1972). Robinson was selected the AL Gold Glove as third baseman (1960 to 1975). He might be the best defensive 3rd baseman of all time, but his best years were in the 1960’s.

George Brett- Brett was the 1st player in history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, 600 doubles, 100 triples, 1,500 RBIs and 200 stolen bases. The 13-time All-Star played his entire 21-year career for the Kansas City Royals, earning an American League Most Valuable Player Award, a Gold Glove, three batting titles and a lifetime batting average of .305. His .390 average in 1980 was the highest since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. He had 3,154 career hits, 317 HRs, and 1,595 RBIs to go with his .305 average. Even as a Mets, Reds and Yankees fan as a kid, I loved how hard and how well Brett played. Though not a great fielder he had a .971 career % and I consider him a top 5 player of the 1970’s.

3B Ron Santo- Was named third baseman on The Sporting News NL All-Star Team (1966 to 1969 and 1972) He won NL Gold Glove as third baseman (1964 to 1968), Santo was a very good hitter and a solid fielder. He had 342 homers, .277 BA, 1331 RBIs, but his best years were 1961-1969.

3B Ron Cey-. A .261 hitter the ‘Penguin” was like Wynn, a smaller player with impressive pop, a good but not great fielder, Cey was a crucial part of the Dodger’s 70’s revival; 6 times an All-Star in the 1970s, Cey got his nickname from his stocky build, short legs, and choppy running style. In 1981 his string of eleven seasons with 20 or more homers was interrupted by the players' strike and a late-season broken arm.

3B Craig Nettles-At the plate, Nettles had league leading power — he led the league once in homers (32 in '76) and just missed once (37 in '77), and perennially was amongst the top 5 to 7 in the league in homers, even though that number was generally in the twenties. His average was usually around .250. Some feel that Bell and Nettles were about as good as Santo and Robinson, who are now enshrined in the H.O.F many consider Nettles the 3rd greatest defensive 3rd baseman of all time. Once established he led the American League with a .967 fielding percentage in 1970. He showed power by clouting a team-leading 26 home runs. In his 21 years Nettles put up the power numbers desired for a corner infielder, but his batting average was unusually average. He hit .267 in 1975, his second highest average in the big leagues, he might never make the hall but his name will always garner some comments from those who saw him play.

3B Bill Madlock Madlock’s record of four batting titles as a third baseman in only exceeded by Wade Boggs. Madlock replaced Ron Santo and thrived he was one of the best hitters of the era. in 1973, Madlock was traded to the Cubs with Vic Harris for Ferguson Jenkins. Madlock replaced Ron Santo at third base and hit .313, the highest average for a Cubs third baseman since 1945. The stocky Madlock had a compact swing, one of the most consistent in baseball, and scattered line drives throughout the National League. He easily won the 1975 batting title and edged Ken Griffey in 1976. A sometimes moody player who earned a reputation early in his career for sitting down against tough pitchers, Madlock was dealt to San Francisco on February 11, 1977 with Rob Sperring for Bobby Murcer, Steve Ontiveros, and Andy Muhlstock. The Giants moved Madlock, at best an adequate fielder, from third base to second, and his batting tailed off. The unhappy infielder was rescued by Pittsburgh on June 28, 1979. Madlock and Len Randle came to the Pirates for Ed Whitson, Al Holland, and Fred Breining and brought a pennant to Pittsburgh. Madlock returned to third base, batted .328 during the season, and hit .375 in the World Series.

1B/3B Darrell Evans While he was only a .248 career hitter he had impressive power evidenced by multiple 40 HR seasons and 414 career homers, he was a .946 career fielder he was often overshadowed by teammates. 414 career home runs ranked 25th all-time when he retired1605 career bases on balls still ranks 11th all time, 8th among 3B with 132 fielding runs despite only playing half of his career there
Grounded into fewer double plays per PA than Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, and Barry Bonds.

3B Buddy Bell- Bell first appeared in the Major Leagues with the Indians in 1972, appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to the All-Star team in 1973. After the 1978 season Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Toby Harrah – another solid, veteran third baseman. Bell enjoyed his best season with the Rangers in 1979, collecting 200 hits, 101 RBI, and his first Gold Glove Award. From 1979 through 1984, Bell won the gold glove for third base in The American League. He also won the silver slugger award in 1984. He finished in the top 10 in Batting Average in 1980 and 1984. In fielding, Bell was spectacular and often played far off the third base line, taking many hits from opposing batters. In Total zone runs (a defensive statistic) he is 9th all time(ahead of Willie Mays) and 2nd among all third baseman (behind Brooks Robinson). His Range factor (another defensive stat) is 5th all-time among 3rd baseman. He was in the top 10 in fielding pct. 10 times and finished first 3 times. A career .279 hitter with 2,514 career hits and 201 career homers, Bell like Robinson, was such a fine fielder that his offense production was nearly seen as a bonus.

3B Doug DeCinces- DeCinces hit 237 home runs during a 15-year career in the major leagues. From 1973 until 1987 he offered a good blend of glove and bat for the Baltimore Orioles from his debut until early 1982, when he was traded to the Angels. He played here until late in the 1987 season and he was signed by the Angels as a free agent he manned the ‘hot corner’ for them until the last year of his career which was spent with St. Louis Cardinals, he was mostly remembered as the bridge between Robinson and Ripken, but he was also a .259 hitter with good power and a .959% fielder.

3B Sal Bando-During the A's championship years of 1971-75, he captained the team and led the club in runs batted in three times. He was the second American League third baseman to hit 200 career home runs, joining Brooks Robinson, and retired among the all-time leaders in games (5th, 1896), assists (6th, 3720) and double plays (7th, 345) at his position. In a 16-season career, Bando was a .254 hitter with 242 home runs and 1039 RBI in 2019 games played.

OF Hank Aaron (best years in the 50s and 60s of course) ‘Hammering Hank’ is remembered as one of the game’s greatest power hitters, however he is still underrated as an all-around player who was a fine fielder, he could steal bases 31 in 1963, he hit for average and he was astonishingly consistent In 1973, at the age of 39, Aaron was still a force, he clouted a remarkable 40 dingers. From 1955-1971 he was one of the top 10 or so players in the game, few others can claim to be that good for that long.

OF Carl Yastrzemski- In 1961, Yastrzemski finally arrived in the Major Leagues as the heir apparent to the legendary Ted Williams in left field. For 23 years, Yastrzemski proudly wore his famous "#8" for the Red Sox, with his extraordinary batting style and his unmatched skill in patrolling the grounds in front of the Green Monster. In the Red Sox' 1967 "Impossible Dream" season, he won the American League Triple Crown and was named the A.L.'s Most Valuable Player. At the time of his retirement, Yastrzemski was the all-time American League leader in games played (3,308) and was the only American League player to amass 3,000 hits and 400 home runs (finishing with 3,419 and 452 respectively, to go along with 1,844 RBI). A seven-time Gold Glove winner, Yaz earned the honor of 18 All-Star Game appearances, and is generally considered one of the finest defensive left fielders of all-time. Yastrzemski officially retired after the 1983 season, taking his memorable final lap around Fenway Park.

OF Lou Brock-Brock played a major role in changing the way baseball was played by using the stolen base as an important offensive weapon. He retired as Major League Baseball’s all-time stolen bases leader, a record that stood until 1991. Brock was considered a promising power hitter, and he became the second player to hit a home run to dead center at New York’s Polo Grounds. His Cubs career would prove a disappointment, however. He hit .263 and .258 his first two seasons and was a poor fielder. He was fast but stole only forty bases combined over the two seasons. During the 1964 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. The trade was widely considered a steal for the Cubs. They received a pitcher, Ernie Broglio, who had won eighteen games the previous year. History has more than vindicated the Cardinals. In 1966, he stole seventy-four bases to lead the National League in steals, beginning a streak in which he would lead the league in steals in eight of nine years. He helped St. Louis win the World Series in 1967 by setting a series record with seven stolen bases while batting .414. The Cardinals returned to the World Series in 1968, and Brock hit .464 while stealing seven bases again, though the team lost in seven games. St. Louis struggled in the following years, and the team became more dependent on Brock’s ability to score runs, encouraging him to steal more often. In 1974, Brock stole 118 bases, setting a major league single-season record. On August 29, 1977, Brock got his 893rd career stolen base, breaking Ty Cobb’s longstanding record. He played two more seasons, finishing with 938 career stolen bases. Before retiring he archived another milestone, becoming only the fourteenth player [at that time] to reach 3,000 career hits. Brock was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, the fifteenth player [at that time] to be elected in his first year of eligibility.

Dwight Evans- Evans was a player who did many things very well, he was a power hitting outfielder who won eight Gold Gloves, he had 385 career homers, 290 or better five times in eight years; however on-base percentage was his real strength. Unfortunately for Evans he was born at the wrong time, there were several very good right fielders born in 1951, the same year as Dwight Evans. Dave Winfield was born that year; he's already in the Hall of Fame, and should be. Dave Parker was born that year; a lot of people think he's a Hall of Fame candidate. Al Cowens was born that year; he wasn't a Hall of Fame player, but he was a good player and he was second in the MVP voting in 1977; four MVP voters actually thought Cowens was better than Rod Carew, and Carew hit .388 and had 239 hits. Jeff Burroughs was born that year; he did win an MVP award, although he's not a Hall of Fame player, either. Evans posted a career .272, .370 OBP, and 1384 RBIs, many think Evans deserves induction to the H.O.F, his numbers are very good and he was an even better player than his numbers suggest. Other than batting average his production was nearly the same as Al Kaline's.

OF Bobby Murcer- This gentleman of the outfield was under the heavy burden replacing Mickey Mantle, he handled it as well as anyone could. Murcer was the star of the Yankees throughout the early 70’s. Murcer was expected to be the next Mickey Mantle, the hope of the future for a baseball franchise that was mired in mediocrity and was being mismanaged by the management at CBS. None other than Ted Williams described Murcer in 1972 as baseball's best chance for a triple crown (leading the league in homers, RBIs, and average). Murcer's 1971 campaign, when he hit .331 with 25 homers and 94 RBI was likely one of the top 5 seasons of the decade. He finished with 252 homers and a .277 lifetime average, had he played his enter career in the pinstripes he might have made the H.O.F.

OF Dave Parker- ‘The Cobra’ He is remembered as a true 5-tool player. Parker was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 12, 1973, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. When he wrapped up his career in 1991 he had 2,712 hits, .290 BA, 1,493 RBIs and 339 HRs, he also had two 20 steal seasons and posted a .966 fielding %.

OF Fred Lynn If more of his career had been in the 70’s I would have selected him at CF. Fred Lynn played in his first game on September 5, 1974 and proceeded to smash major league pitching to the tune of a .419 batting average and a .698 slugging average over his first 15 games. He followed that up with one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the Red Sox to the World Series and earning the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and Gold Glove awards for the 1975 season hitting .331 with 47 doubles, 21 home runs, 103 runs, and 105 RBIs. He earned honors as American League MVP and Rookie of the Year and won a Gold Glove for fielding excellence. He led the league in runs, doubles, slugging average, OPS and runs created per 27 outs. He finished second in runs created and in batting average and fifth in on-base average.. Lynn was the first player to achieve this trifecta, an accomplishment matched by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners in 2001. In 1979, he enjoyed perhaps his best season. He led the American League in hitting at .333, on-base average at .423 and slugging at .637. He also slugged a career-high 39 home runs, scored a career-high 116 runs, and had a career-high 122 runs batted in. He was named to the American League All-Star team for the fifth time and earned his third Gold Glove. He finished fourth in American League MVP voting.

OF Frank Robinson This all-timer was on his last legs by the 70’s. The American League Triple Crown winner in 1966, Robinson amassed 586 home runs and ended his career just 57 hits shy of the 3,000-hit club. His intelligence and leadership helped him become the Major Leagues' first African-American field manager in 1975, when he skippered the Cleveland Indians. By 1970 he was 35, but in 1973 he hit 30 homers, his last 30 HR season.

OF Amos Otis- A very fine all-around player Otis was an integral part of the speed and defense oriented Golden Era Royals.

OF Billy Williams- Largely remembered as power hitter but he was .976 career fielder and .986 during his time patrolling center. He was a fine LF From 1961 to 1973, Williams annually hit at least twenty home runs and was responsible for eighty-four or more RBIs. His best years were in the 60’s but he was still productive in the early 70’s.

OF Ken Griffey (Senior) The 2nd best player from Donora PA., after Musial in 1976 he was just edged out by In 1,997 games, Griffey compiled a lifetime batting average of .296, with 152 home runs and 859 RBI. He once stole 34 bases. This was in 1976, with the Big Red Machine. He had 2,143 career hits and 77 career triples.
OF Dave Winfield (probably the best player who never won an MVP award) Not only was he a true 5-tool player, he was a 3 sport star drafted by the NBA and NFL as well as baseball. He is one of only 7 players in the history of Major League Baseball to reach over 3,000 hits and over 450 home runs. He won 7 Gold Gloves and 6 Silver Sluggers 12-time All-Star is amongst the all-time leaders in hits, home runs and RBI. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility.

OF Willie Davis- Known for his offense, Davis played center field for the Dodgers for 13 seasons starting in 1961. He hit in a team record 31 consecutive games in 1969 and batted .305 or above three years straight in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Davis left the Dodgers in 1973. His last season in the major leagues was in 1979 with the Angels. For his career his offense numbers: 182 HR, .279 BA, 1053 RBIs, only tell part of the story, his base running and defense were excellent.
OF Willie Wilson- Wilson only spent 3 full season in the majors during the 70’s he was a speedy player and top defensive player. His best years, including the year he edged Yount for a batting title were in the 1980’s.

OF Bill North- With determination, speed, toughness, swagger, and a resolve to never back down from conflict or confrontation, Bill North forged an impressive eleven-year major league career with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. All the while, he secretly played with, and overcame, a serious and permanent injury suffered during a high school game that could easily have derailed his dream of becoming a big league ballplayer. North was the starting center fielder on four playoff teams, and earned World Series Championship rings on two of them, the Oakland A's of 1973 and 1974. His fielding range was excellent; from '73 through '76, he recorded more putouts than any other major league outfielder. Despite a .261 career batting average, which was roughly on par with the league, his career on-base percentage of .365 was forty-three points above the league average. Batting first or second in the lineup for most of his career, Bill knew his offensive value to the team was to get on base. He racked up 395 stolen bases, leading the American League in '74 and '76, narrowly missing a third title in '73 due to injury. North received very little national recognition. He never was selected to an all-star team, nor honored with a Gold Glove Award. He received just two votes in league MVP balloting during his career. Despite that all who played with and against him would tell you how hard and well he played, all this and he played his whole career being blind in one eye and became a switch-hitter in 1971, very late but While posting better numbers in far fewer at-bats batting right-handed (1134 AB, .287 average, 17 HR, .397 slugging %.) compared to left-handed (2766, .250, 3, .297), his career OBP (.378 RH, .360 LH) showed consistency from both sides of the plate. North compiled the finest defensive season of his career in 1974, yet was denied an AL Gold Glove Award, a slight that rankles him to this day. Bill finished third in the league with 437 putouts, and his .991 fielding average, 9 assists and only 4 errors were better stats than those posted by the award-winners Paul Blair, Amos Otis and Joe Rudi. North stole clutch bases with an 80% success ratio in innings 7-9. Though often overlooked he was just the kind of player needed at the top of a good lineup. A versatile switch-hitter blessed with great speed and instincts in the outfield and more pop in his bat than many realized.

OF Garry Maddox- “Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Garry Maddox.” So said Ralph Kiner, about the Phillies eight-time Gold Glove winning center-fielder. Maddox was also an accomplished base stealer, swiping 20 or more bases in nine straight seasons. Maddox had considerable smarts to go along with his athleticism. In the field, Maddox always knew how to play the hitters. At bat, he used all fields. As a base stealer, Maddox knew when to pick his spots. Perhaps remembered best for his defense, Maddox hit a solid .285 lifetime, with 1802 hits, 337 doubles, 62 triples and 117 home runs.

OF Lyman Bostock- Bostock was 27 when pellets from a shotgun blast struck his right temple, robbing him of a career that would have demanded he be remembered He was a 6-foot-1 electric tapestry. Manager Gene Mauch said Bostock would get so worked up before games that,

"He had to be rested periodically, otherwise he would have exploded."

Best friend and teammate Larry Hisle said Bostock played the game so hard, "you would have been embarrassed to be on the field with him and not give 100 percent." Bostock learned to back up his talk by watching two of the Twins' finest hitters, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew. Oliva taught Bostock how to set up pitchers during Bostock's rookie season in 1975. Carew demonstrated how to put Oliva's advice into action. Over the course of the next three seasons, Bostock emerged as one of baseball's elite hitters. Comfortably obscured by the shadows of teammates Tony Oliva (who would win three batting titles in his 15-year career) and Rod Carew (who would win seven batting titles in 19 seasons), Bostock hit .323 in 1976, then a career-best .336 the following year. Standing uncommonly far back in the batter's box, leaning heavily on his right foot, the left-handed Bostock evoked stylistic comparisons to Stan Musial. Lyman Bostock was a batter with power potential, he had 30 triples and 23 home-runs in his 3+ year career. He was a plus fielder with .979 career %, a good arm and 45 career steals, 15 of them in his final season at the time of his death. He , broke his ankle making a play at the center field wall, which ended Bostock's rookie season with a .282 batting average. Bostock followed with seasons of .323 and .336, with more walks than whiffs. Baseball free agency was in its toddler years then, and the Twins regularly lost star players to higher bidders. After Bostock hit 14 home runs, drove in 90, and slugged .506 in 1977, he and Hisle headed for greener pastures. Bostock opted for the state he loved: California. Bostock had earned $20,000 in his final year with Minnesota. He signed a five-year, $2.5 million pact with California, a fabulous contract at the time. When April of '78 ended Bostock told Angels' owner Gene Autry to take back his salary. He hadn't earned it. When Autry demurred he instead donated his pay. After his act of charity, Bostock's batting improved quickly, and in June he went 44-for-109 – a .404 clip. He was batting .296 and hot enough to expect to once more hit .300 for the season. Tragically on September, 24, 1978, Leonard Smith, the estranged husband of a friend of Bostock shot him thinking he was her boyfriend. Like North and Maddox, Bostock was a speedy and graceful player; baseball men of the era recall his bat control, a .311 lifetime hitter who, former Orioles manager Earl Weaver once predicted, "will win five or six batting titles before his career is over." If not for one tragic moment he may have been right.

OF Paul Blair, like North he was a defensive wizard often overlooked due to his lack of pop or ability to hit for high average. Despite that in the 1970 World Series, Blair batted a team-high .474, a feat overshadowed by Robinson’s stellar play at third base against the Cincinnati Reds Eight times, Blair won a coveted Gold Glove award, including seven straight from 1969 to 1975. Only Brooks Robinson (16) won more defensive honors as an Oriole.
OF Jimmy Wynn The ‘Toy Cannon’ had 291 career homers despite 11 seasons in the, then cavernous’ Astrodome.

Best World Series of the decade (maybe of all time) was the 75 Series between the Reds and Red Sox.

Best pitching staff – Orioles 1971, four 20 game winners (Cuellar, Dobson, McNally and Palmer)

Best infields: Reds mid 70s Orioles '70-76 Dodgers '73-79

Best Outfield – Red Sox '75-79 (Rice, Lynn, Evans)

Most underrated players: 1. Al Oliver: Oliver was a career .303 hitter with 219 home runs and 1326 RBI in 2368 games. He batted .300 or more eleven times and retired with 2,743 hits (45th on the all-time list). He also ranks among all-time top 50 in games played (2368), total bases (4083), RBI (1326) and extra-base hits (825). He was among the league's top ten in doubles nine times and among the league's top ten in hits nine times as well and finished in the top ten in batting average nine times. Five times he was among the league's top ten in total bases and four times he was in the top ten in RBIs.
2. Vada Pinson- Pinson, was one of the best center fielders of the 1960s, for a long time the man with the most hits (2757) who wasn’t in the Hall of Fame; Pinson’s 2,757 hits, coupled with 256 home runs and 305 stolen bases, made him, only 1 of a handful to reach 2,500 hits, 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases. But by 1970 his best years where behind him, he was so fast and elegant an outfielder that he had been compared to DiMaggio and Mantle and was timed from home to 1st in 3.3 seconds.
Honorable Mentions for most underrated: Willie Davis, Bobby Grich, Amos Otis, Freddy Patek, and Frank White.