"Bill Virdon said it for the whole baseball world on New Year's Eve when he heard the news that Jim Hunter, the American League's Cy Young Award winner in 1974, had signed a record five-year $2.8 million contract with the New York Yankees.
'There's no question ... no question at all ... that we'll have to be rated the pick to win the pennant,' admitted the Yankee manager. 'If I could have picked anyone to add to the ball club, Hunter would have been the man. Our starting rotation now rates as Hunter, George Medich, Pat Dobson and Rudy May, with the fifth starter open.
'This sort of thing might cause some the players to ask for more money,' Virdon continued, 'but I don't think it will create any jealousy among the rest of the club. Hunter enhances the players' chances to win the pennant and that's what they're after in the first place.'
To say that the Hunter deal was a shock to all those Yankee-haters out there in 'Middle America' is an understatement. The Yankees had previously enhanced their 1975 American League pennant chances with the acquisition of Bobby Bonds from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Bobby Murcer in baseball's first straight-up trade (no money or fringe players on the side) between two $100,000 stars.
Since the two key men, then, are Hunter and Bonds, let's examine their prospects first.
Hunter, 28, compiled 21-11, 21-7, 21-5 and 25-12 records for the Oakland A's during the last four seasons. He must make any list of the two or three best pitchers in baseball. Although he's been around since 1965, there are no signs of deterioration in his arm. He has always wanted to pitch in New York and, naturally, is eager to live up to his status as the highest-paid player in baseball history. He is well aware that the Yankees are paying as much money for his services as Del Webb, Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail paid for the New York franchise in 1945.
'I don't believe in the philosophy that winning is everything,' says Hunter, referring to the gung-ho philosophy expressed by former Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s. 'Wanting to is. I don't believe in setting goals like 20 or 25 wins, because if you fall behind the pace you have set for yourself you can panic. Baseball is a game of competition, not of statistics.'
With Hunter likely to work more than 300 innings, the rest of the staff falls neatly into place. The foursome of Hunter (318 innings in 1974), Medich (19-15 and 280 innings), Dobson (19-15 and 281) and May (8-5 and 141) should work about 1,100 of the normal 1,450 innings during the season, leaving light work for the secondary starters and bullpen.
A strong front four such as the Yankees possess should increase the effectiveness of pitchers like Mel Stottlemyre, making a comeback after a 6-7 season; Larry Gura, effective in the September stretch run; Dave Pagan, blessed with the livest arm on the staff; and Dick Tidrow (12-12 in 210 innings last season).
With Sparky Lyle, 9-3 and a 1.66 earned run average in 66 appearances in 1974, in the bullpen, the Yankees have the strength in depth to handle the long season.
Bonds is a player of enormous talent and may have the best all-around skills of any performer in the league. He was probably the best player in the National League in 1973 when he had a .283-39-96 offensive output. If he repeats that performance, the Yankees could win easily.
Bonds will be in right field with the brilliant-fielding Elliott Maddox (.303-3-45) in center and Lou Piniella (.305-9-70), perhaps the most consistent Yankee of all in 1974, in left. The infield will be comprised of Chris Chambliss (.255-6-50) at first; Sandy Alomar (.261-1-28), credited with stabilizing the Yankee defense in 1974, at second; Jim Mason (.250-5-37) at shortstop; and Graig Nettles (.246-22-75) at third.
The Yankees have at least four capable designated hitters and/or utility infielders and outfielders in Ron Blomberg (.311-10-48), Alex Johnson (.287-5-43), Roy White (.275-7-43) and Bob Oliver (.243-8-59).
Thurman Munson had an off season in 1974 (.261-13-60), but played most of the time with injured hands. He's a fine competitor likely to be at his best with a pennant contender and should make a solid comeback. Young Rick Dempsey is a capable fill-in, although the Yankees would hardly like to see him have to step into the starter's role.
PITCHING: The acquisition of free agent Hunter just about puts the Yankee mound staff over the top. He was 25-12 with Oakland in 1974 and should approach those figures in 1975.
If Stottlemyre's winter of rest (to recover from a torn tendon in his pitching arm) is successful, New York will be hip deep in starters. Medich is a splendid young pitcher lacking only an explosive fastball, and the veteran Dobson turned in a fine season. Tremendous late-year help from Gura, May and Wallace contributed to the Yankees' pennant drive. Tidrow can also be a capable starter.
Pagan has an excellent arm and is considered a great prospect by pitching coach Whitey Ford. Lyle, despite a late-season slump in 1973, has been one of the best relievers in baseball for the past three years.
Performance Quotient: 1 [1 through 5, 1 being best]
CATCHING: Munson played most of the 1974 season with injured hands. He is capable of being the No. 1 catcher in the league.
Dempsey is a gutsy kid who can sting the ball.
Performance Quotient: 2
INFIELD: The Yankees solved their complicated infield problems in 1974 when Alomar took over at second base, and Mason took over at short. Alomar is a pro all the way and gave the club defense at second base it hadn't had in three years.
Chambliss should do better than .255-6-50. Nettles hit 11 homers in April and finished with 22 for the season. Given a leader (like Bobby Bonds), he could become an effective pennant winning slugger.
Oliver can play first and third and hits with power. Leon is a solid utility man.
Performance Quotient: 3
OUTFIELD: The acquisition of Bonds means the Yankees could have the best all-around player in the AL should he perform as he did for San Francisco in 1973. It also means that Blomberg, a batter with great power potential, will play more often as the designated hitter of even at first base.
Maddox was sensational as a defensive center fielder and Piniella may have been the best day-to-day performer on the club in 1974.
White is a mighty good substitute to have around.
Performance Quotient: 2"
-Fred Down, Major League Baseball 1975
HITTING
"And now, heeeeeeere's Bobby.
Yes, Bobby Bonds can be said to be out of his league. The way the Yankees understand it, he's in a league of his own. In baseball's biggest two-man transaction in some time, Bonds became an American Leaguer. His mission, simply put, is to return to the AL pennant to its rightful owners.
Bonds averaged 30 homers and 41 stolen bases in six full seasons with the San Francisco Giants, and an average season by Bonds may well push the Yankees over the top. They have assembled a strong supporting cast, one which narrowly fell short of the objective a year ago when the Bobby in right field was named Murcer.
Elliott Maddox (.303) and Lou Piniella (.305) are consistent hitters. Thurman Munson batted .261 a year ago despite physical problems and is capable of .300 when healthy. Graig Nettles can hit for power although he is a notorious streak hitter and both Sandy Alomar (.269) and Jim Mason (.250) are productive infielders. In reserve, Roy White (.275) and Bob Oliver are excellent insurance.
Perhaps the real beneficiary of Bonds' presence in the lineup will be Ron Blomberg, the hugely talented left-handed batter who will see more right-handed pitching and perhaps get the chance to double his 10 homers of 1974."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition
PITCHING
"Using $3 million-plus as bait, the Yankees caught a Catfish. And now they expect to reel in a pennant. Catfish Hunter, a 20-game winner for the past four years with the A's, is the ace the team has been seeking. His addition will give manager Bill Virdon a pitching staff the equal of any in the league.
George Medich and Pat Dobson had identical records a year ago and will share the burden with Hunter this time. Rudy May (8-4) was a valuable mid-season acquisition, and along with surprising Larry Gura (5-1) gives the Yankees left-handed balance. Behind those starters there is sturdy Dick Tidrow (3.87) and Mel Stottlemyre, the former staff leader whose 1974 season was curtailed by arm problems. A healthy Stottlemyre would boost the Yankees' chances considerably. The team can't wait to push young Scott McGregor, a southpaw of exceptional promise, into the rotation."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition
FIELDING
"The improvement was startling in 1974, and it may be no less so this year when Bonds carries his Gold Glove out to right field. Maddox was a revelation in center and Piniella overcome a lack of speed with hustle. Alomar has tightened the inner defense, which is weak only at first base.
Such is Munson's reputation as a catcher that even in a year when a sore arm forced most of his 22 errors, he was awarded a Gold Glove."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition
OUTLOOK
"Brighter than in a long time. The arrival of Hunter and Bonds has excited the Yankees and their fans alike. The Yankees will be doing more running and more bombing than in some time."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition
"Gabe Paul, baseball's Executive of the Year for 1974, made his New York Yankees into powerful contenders through a series of shrewd trades, then paused to analyze the team.
'We have something really great here now,' he said. 'A hard-nosed, tough ball club that meshes well together. We can't let any rotten apples in to spoil the barrel.
'This is the pattern we must follow from now on, adding only guys who will fit in with what we have.'
He rejected a potential rotten apple in enigmatic Dick Allen, peddled by the White Sox at the winter meetings, but landed a plum in slugging outfielder Bobby Bonds, rated by many experts as the best player in the game.
Bonds, 28, cost the Yanks Bobby Murcer. Both Paul and Yankee Manager Bill Virdon insist New York got the better end of the bargain.
'We needed a right-handed bat in our lineup,' said Virdon, the Sporting News Manager of the Year last season. 'Bonds gives us more speed and more power. There's nothing I can see that he can't do.'
A rifle-armed outfielder with several Gold Gloves on his trophy shelf, Bonds has the potential to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season. He and Willie Mays are the only players ever to produce 30-30 seasons twice. In an 'off year' in 1974, Bonds belted 21 homers, knocked in 71 runs and swiped 41 bases. His only weakness is a tendency to strike out too much.
With Bonds in right, Elliott Maddox in center and Lou Piniella in left, the Yankees could have an all-.300 outfield that is also outstanding on defense. Ron Blomberg, another .300 hitter who also plays first base and serves as designated hitter, heads a fine group of reserves that also includes Roy White and Alex Johnson.
If All-Star catcher Thurman Munson shakes off physical problems which beset him late last year, the Yanks will be strong behind the plate. Rick Dempsey is a fine No. 2 receiver.
Through the infield can hardly be compared with Baltimore's, it is adequate on offense and above average on defense. Graig Nettles, last year's Yankee home run leader with 22, is one of the league's best at third, and shortstop Jim Mason and second baseman Sandy Alomar know all the moves at their positions. At first, Chris Chambliss will have to improve his disappointing .255 average or risk ouster by Blomberg or power-hitting Bob Oliver, acquired from Baltimore.
Pitching, strong suit of the team a year ago, should be the force that propels New York to the top of the AL East. Jim (Catfish) Hunter, strong-armed right-hander with 88 wins in the past four seasons, joins the Yanks after winning his free agency from the Oakland A's in a salary dispute. Hunter, 28, had a 25-12 mark and league-leading 2.49 ERA in 1974 to earn the AL's Cy Young Award for the first time in his career.
He'll head a powerful rotation that also includes 19-game winners Doc Medich and Pat Dobson plus left-handers Rudy May and Larry Gura. Tobacco-chewing southpaw reliever Sparky Lyle returns after posting a 9-3 mark, 1.66 ERA and 15 saves in a club record 66 games. Veteran Mel Stottlemyre, plagued by injuries in '74, and International League All-Star Scott McGregor, a lefty, top a list of candidates for other spots on the staff.
The team is much stronger than it was at the end of last season, and there's no reason to doubt it's now the class of the league."
-Dan Schlossberg, Baseball Illustrated 1975
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