Bruce Sutter was one of the first great modern closers; he had exploded
on the scene in 1977, and this year was the first of four straight seasons
that he led the NL in saves. He threw a split-fingered fastball that was
among the most feared pitches in the league; he also wore a long, unkempt
beard, apparently so that he would look more intimidating on the mound. Many
closers over the years have grown facial hair for similar reasons, though
I'm not sure if anyone has ever had more than Sutter. Sutter's last big
season was in 1984, after which he hurt his arm; he retired with 300 career
saves.
The Niekro boys, Joe and
Phil, led the NL in wins. Phil also lost 20 games, not because he didn't
pitch well, but because the Braves were very stinky. Joe and Phil combined
to pitch for 26 seasons, and also combined for a record 549 wins. Phil
was 40 years old this year; he still had eight years left, and won 318
games in his career. Joe was a spring chicken at 34; he had nine years
left, and retired with 221 wins.
The best starting pitcher
in the league was Joe Niekro's fireballing teammate, J.R. Richard. Few
pitchers have been nastier on the mound than Richard, who was entering
what should have been his prime years. But midway through the 1980 season,
Richard's career was prematurely ended by a stroke.
The Spaceman also had
one of his best seasons. Spaceman Bill Lee was a flaky lefty who pitched
for 14 years. His best seasons came with the Red Sox earlier in the decade;
while in Boston, Lee was a vocal critic of of his managers, whom he claimed
cost the Red Sox championships in 1972, 1975, and 1978, all because they
didn't use Lee often enough. Lee once described Don Zimmer, the ill-fated
skipper of the '78 Sox, as "a cute, puffy-cheeked gerbil" This was Lee's
first year with Montreal, where he made public his fondness for marijuana
(not for smoking, but for putting on pancakes). He began to pitch poorly
afterwards, and his career soon ended; he left behind the a cornerstone
of pitching philoposphy: "You are the ball, and the ball is you."
