YEAR IN REVIEW : 1984 National League

Off the field...

Republican President Ronald Reagan was reelected after defeating Democratic candidate Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, who was the first female Vice Presidential candidate to represent a major party.

Doctor's replaced the ailing heart of an infant girl known as "Baby Fae" with that of a baboon's at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. Although she died twenty-one days later of organ failure, doctors discovered that she hadn't rejected the heart as many had expected. That gave hope to the doctors and inspired continued research to find a cure for neonatal heart disease.

James Huberty gunned down twenty-one children and adults in a McDonalds restaurant in San Ysidro, California before being shot dead by the police at the scene. The incident was one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history.

In the American League...

On May 9th, Harold Baines hit a 420-foot homerun in the twenty-fifth inning to give the White Sox a 7-6 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. The eight hour and six minute marathon set an all-time record for the most innings ever played in an American League game as well as the longest game ever in the Major Leagues.

Sparky Anderson's Detroit Tigers echoed the glory days of Cobb as they dominated the American League with a 104-58 record and one-hundred eighty-seven home runs. Lance Parrish hit thirty-three home runs and ninety-eight RBIs while batting .237, Kirk Gibson added twenty-seven round-trippers and ninety-one RBIs plus a .282 average and Alan Trammell led the team with the top average of .314. Jack Morris anchored the Tigers' pitching staff with a 19-11 record and Guillermo Hernandez tallies thirty-two saves in thirty-three opportunities.

On the 17th Anniversary of his first round-tripper, Reggie Jackson launched a Bud Black fastball into the right field stands for his five-hundredth career homer. He was the thirteenth player ever to reach that mark following Willie McCovey in 1978. Unfortunately, "Mr. October" and his Anaheim Angels fell 10-1 to the visiting Kansas City Royals.

In the National League...

Pete Rose, then with the Montreal Expos, played in his 3,309th Major League game on June 29th beating Carl Yastrzemski's record as well as his former team the Cincinnati Reds (7-3).

At Fulton County Stadium, the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres erupted in a ten-minute brawl over a pitching duel that resulted in sixteen major ejections by the officials. Several Major League umpires stated that it was the worst disgrace ever witnessed on a baseball diamond and that it clearly set the game back fifty years in the minds of many fans.

The Chicago Cubs finally won their first title (of any kind) since 1945 after they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 for the National League East.

Around the league...

Due to a strike by the Major League umpires, the first game of the National League Championship Series was called by college replacement officials. The labor dispute was predominately over a pool of $340,000 that the regulars wanted distributed to all umps, including those that were not working the post-season.

"The Natural," an instant classic based on the novel by Bernard Malamud, debuted on the big screen with Robert Redford starring as Roy Hobbs, an aging slugger with the New York Knights. The climatic finale is still considered one of the greatest scenes ever filmed on a baseball diamond.

Al Schacht, better known as "The Clown Prince of Baseball" died on July 14th at the age of ninety-one. The former Washington Senators pitcher turned top hat jester had entertained the crowd before twenty-five World Series and eighteen All-Star Games.

Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth warned the city of Chicago that he would move all future playoff games involving the Cubs to St. Louis unless outdoor lights were installed at Wrigley Field.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"If I stole a base, it was to help us win a game, and I like to think that's what made me special." - Joe Morgan

1984 National League Player Review

1983 | 1984 Hitting Statistics League Leaders | 1985

Base on Balls Gary Matthews Chicago 103 Top 25
Batting Average Tony Gwynn San Diego .351 Top 25
Doubles Tim Raines Montreal 38 Top 25
Johnny Ray Pittsburgh
Hits Tony Gwynn San Diego 213 Top 25
Home Runs Dale Murphy Atlanta 36 Top 25
Mike Schmidt Philadelphia
On Base Percentage Gary Matthews Chicago .417 Top 25
RBI Gary Carter Montreal 106 Top 25
Mike Schmidt Philadelphia
Runs Ryne Sandberg Chicago 114 Top 25
Slugging Average Dale Murphy Atlanta .547 Top 25
Stolen Bases Tim Raines Montreal 75 Top 25
Total Bases Dale Murphy Atlanta 332 Top 25
Triples Juan Samuel Philadelphia 19 Top 25
Ryne Sandberg Chicago
1984 N.L. History | 1984 A.L. History | Year-by-Year History

1984 National League Pitcher Review

1983 | 1984 Pitching Statistics League Leaders | 1985

Complete Games Mario Soto Cincinnati 13 Top 25
ERA Alejandro Pena Los Angeles 2.48 Top 25
Games Ted Power Cincinnati 78 Top 25
Saves Bruce Sutter St. Louis 45 Top 25
Shutouts Joaquin Andujar St. Louis 4 Top 25
Orel Hershiser Los Angeles
Alejandro Pena Los Angeles
Strikeouts Dwight Gooden New York 276 Top 25
Winning Percentage Rick Sutcliffe Chicago .941 Top 25
Wins Joaquin Andujar St. Louis 20 Top 25
1984 N.L. History | 1984 A.L. History | Year-by-Year History

1984 National League Team Standings

1984 All-Star Game | 1984 Team Standings | 1984 World Series

Chicago Cubs 96 65 .596 0
New York Mets 90 72 .556
St. Louis Cardinals 84 78 .519 12½
Philadelphia Phillies 81 81 .500 15½
Montreal Expos 78 83 .484 18
Pittsburgh Pirates 75 87 .463 21½
San Diego Padres 92 70 .568 0
Houston Astros 80 82 .494 12
Atlanta Braves 80 82 .494 12
Los Angeles Dodgers 79 83 .488 13
Cincinnati Reds 70 92 .432 22
San Francisco Giants 66 96 .407 26
National League Team Standings

1984 National League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Chicago 567
Batting Average Philadelphia .266
Doubles Philadelphia 248
Hits San Francisco 1,499
Home Runs Philadelphia 147
On Base Percentage Philadelphia .335
Runs Chicago 762
Slugging Average Philadelphia .407
Stolen Bases St. Louis 220
Triples Houston 67

1984 National League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Los Angeles 39
ERA Pittsburgh 3.11
Fewest Hits Allowed San Diego 1,327
Fewest Home Runs Allowed Los Angeles 76
Fewest Walks Allowed Chicago 442
Saves St. Louis 51
Shutouts San Diego 17
Strikeouts Los Angeles 1,033
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Why did we choose a Joe Morgan quote for our page introduction? Because on the 24th of June he hit his two-hundred sixty-fifth career home run as a second baseman passing Rogers Hornsby for the all-time mark for that position.

On April 13, 1984, Pete Rose became the second player in major league history to record four-thousand career hits. Do you remember which pitcher gave up this significant hit? Do you know what kind of hit it was?

On September 12, 1984, Dwight Gooden of New York struck out sixteen Pittsburgh batters bringing his rookie season total to two-hundred forty-seven - passing the American League and previous major league leading Herb Score strikeout record of two-hundred forty-five.