1976 NL Stargell Award

The Cincinnati Reds won their second straight pennant, then destroyed the Yankees to win their second straight World Series. The Big Red Machine had a lineup full of great players; the best was second baseman Joe Morgan, won his second straight MVP Award, and had arguably the greatest season ever by a second baseman. It was the last hurrah for the Machine; after this season they began to get old, and two years later manager Sparky Anderson was fired.

National League 1976

			AVG	OBA	SLG	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
LF	G FOSTER	CIN	306	369	530	562	172	21	9	29	86	121	52	17	894
1B	B WATSON	HOU	313	377	458	585	183	31	3	16	76	62	62	3	835
1B	S GARVEY	LA	317	363	450	631	200	37	4	13	85	80	50	19	813
1B	G LUZINSKI	PHI	304	369	478	533	162	28	1	21	74	95	50	1	847
LF	R ZISK	PIT	289	343	465	581	168	35	2	21	91	89	52	1	808
RF	D PARKER	PIT	313	349	475	537	168	28	10	13	82	90	30	19	824
LF	G MATTHEWS	SF	279	359	443	587	164	28	4	20	79	84	75	12	802

3B	P ROSE	CIN	323	406	450	665	215	42	6	10	130	63	86	9	854
3B	B MADLOCK	CHI	339	415	500	514	174	36	1	15	68	84	56	15	912
CF/1B	R MONDAY	CHI	272	346	507	534	145	20	5	32	107	77	60	5	853
CF	C CEDENO	HOU	297	357	454	575	171	26	5	18	89	83	55	58	811
RF	K GRIFFEY	CIN	336	403	450	562	189	28	9	6	111	74	62	34	851

CF	G MADDOX	PHI	330	383	456	531	175	37	6	6	75	68	42	29	833
3B	M SCHMIDT	PHI	262	380	524	584	153	31	4	38	112	107	100	14	900
3B	R CEY	LA	277	386	462	502	139	18	3	23	69	80	89	0	848
2B	J MORGAN	CIN	320	453	576	472	151	30	5	27	113	111	114	60	1020
SS	D CONCEPCION	CIN	281	335	401	576	162	28	7	9	74	69	49	21	736

         The runner-up was George Foster, who had good power numbers, but who also had liabilities. Foster's on-base percentage wasn't great, and he didn't score a lot of runs. He was also mediocre with the glove. Mike Schmidt had a great year, despite his low batting average. He had lots of power and walks, and was a tremendous defensive player. I'm picking Schmidt for second spot.
         I don't think Foster was the best player in his own outfield; Ken Griffey was. Griffey is famous for being the father of a superstar, but was a pretty good player in his own right. Griffey Senior produced more runs than Foster, and was a much better defensive player and baserunner. This was Senior's best season; he played in the majors for 19 seasons, was a career .296 hitter with over 2100 hits, and had 200 stolen bases. He wasn't much of a power threat, but he did everything else well; he even homered in the same game as his son on one occasion.
        Two others players who had their best seasons were Garry Maddox and Bill Madlock. Maddox played for 15 years, most of them with the Phillies. He was an ordinary hitter who batted .285 lifetime and had good speed, but he didn't walk much and he didn't have much power. The key to Maddox's game was his defense; he was a great defensive centre fielder, and won eight Gold Gloves in his career.
        Bill Madlock was never known for his defense; he did his talking with his bat. Madlock won four batting titles in his career, and bashed out over 2000 lifetime hits. Madlock had his share of flaws; in 15 years, he only played two full seasons. He didn't have much power, and he had his problems with the glove. But when he was up at the plate with a bat in his hand, Madlock was a very dangerous player.
        Come to think of it, I'll take Pete Rose ahead of Foster as well. Rose didn't have as much power, and his defense at third may have been inadequate. But he was vintage Pete Rose, hitting for average, getting on base, hitting doubles. Given the choice, who would you take?