Finally, three years after the slate of games for July was completed, the National League award winners for that month have been selected. Check out the complete list below; for a more detailed look at prior recipients, a description of each award, and photos of the trophies and plaques awarded, check the ‘SP78 Awards’ section of the Statistics dropdown link above.
NL Player of the Month
Richie Hebner, Philadelphia Phillies
.419 BA, 39 hits, 20 runs, 23 RBI, 2-HR game
NL Pitcher of the Month
Dick Ruthven, Philadelphia Phillies
4-0, 0.23 ERA, 2 shutouts, pitched the first SP78 no-hitter
Fire Chief Trophy
Doug Bair, Cincinnati Reds
1-0, 9 saves, 0.68 ERA, league-leading 16 appearances
Crystal Slugger Award
Richie Hebner, Philadelphia Phillies
.774 slugging percentage
Barnes Memorial Trophy
Richie Hebner, Philadelphia Phillies
.419 batting average
Bradley Memorial Trophy
Dick Ruthven, Philadelphia Phillies
0.23 earned run average
Diamond Glove Award
C – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds
1B – Richie Hebner, Philadelphia Phillies
2B – Manny Trillo, Chicago Cubs
SS – Larry Bowa, Philadelphia Phillies
3B – Ron Cey, Los Angeles Dodgers
OF – Dave Kingman, Chicago Cubs
OF – George Foster, Cincinnati Reds
OF – Warren Cromartie, Montreal Expos
Iron Glove Award
Bill Almon, San Diego Padres
10 errors – 3B
Hothead of the Month Award
Gene Tenace, San Diego Padres
3 ejections
Also, two additional awards that were presented during the SP78 All-Star Game were recently discovered while I was researching historical notes from the game, and have now been included on the All-Star Game awards page.
Where are the comments from the SP78 fans on this data? My vote for overall player of the month is to Dick Ruthven with the impressive era and no hitter.
No kidding! I think I scared everyone off with my regal diction and cheeky banter! And Ruthven had been only so-so until July, when he suddenly became unstoppable…we’ll see if he keeps it up in August. And Hebner really came out of nowhere…I had no idea he was doing so well until I finalized the July stats, and he started winning all of those July awards. And he’s kept that pace through the first two weeks of August, adding a 3-HR game to his list of SP78 accomplishments.
And Gene Tenace had too many hot tamales in July. Maybe he should cool off at DQ for next month! I think that is where Bill Almon stores his glove.
And speaking of hot: this particular NL catcher is so hot under the collar in August, he’s already tied Tenace’s July ejection mark, with three…and we’re only halfway through the month! He should also spend some time cooling off at DQ…perhaps a Dilly Bar from a Queen City location would help.
Regal Diction and Cheeky Banter? Sounds like two new Ben & Jerry’s flavors. Hebner is a bit of a surprise, but deserving – having had a fairly pedestrian “real” ’78, but King Kong wins a defensive award? That’s a bit of a shock, I’d say.
I was surprised by Kong’s accomplishment as well, but it should be noted that he’s also stolen a base this year, is among the league leaders in home runs, and knocked Steve Ontiveros out of action for eight long, frustrating years. Those are MVP qualifications in my book.
And those two examples alone are why I prefer to spend my dessert money at Baskin-Robbins.