1970 Baseball: Best Clutch Players

After careful study of baseball in the 1970s for my e-book and website, I was amazed at how many of the game’s stars seemed to succeed time and time again in the postseason. Sure, there were men like Bucky Dent and Gene Tenace, who rose from obscurity to star in a big moment or even take over a series. But it was several of the sport’s superstars who seemed to consistently stand out on the big stage. These are the guys who were in their prime with everything on the line:

Pete Rose – Charlie Hustle batted .318 with 10 doubles and 5 home runs in 43 postseason games in the 1970s. In 5 NLCS he hit a blistering .378, including 9-20 (.450) against Pittsburgh in 1972 and 6-14 (.429) against Philadelphia in 1976. In 1973 against the Mets, Pete went 8-21 (.381). ) including home runs in Cincinnati’s two 2-1 wins; a shot by Tom Seaver in the eighth to tie Game 2 and a game-winner in the 12th of Game 4. While Rose hit an overall average of .264 in 4 World Series in the decade, he captured MVP honors in the Classic Fall 1975 vs. Boston. In that series he went 10-27 (.370) and had a game-tying RBI single in Cincinnati’s Game 7 victory.

George Brett – From 1976 to 1978, Brett’s Royals failed to get past the Yankees in 3 straight ALCS. What’s amazing is that New York somehow managed to get past Brett, who scored 13 runs and drove in 10 home over the 14 games in beating the Yankees’ staff with a .375 batting average, with 4 triples and 4 home runs. No game epitomized Brett’s plight better than Game 3 of the 1978 AL Championship Series, when George became the second player to hit 3 home runs in a single ALCS game. The 3 long passes put KC ahead or tied the score, but the Yanks took the game 6-5. Brett’s heroism continued into the 1980s and he finished his career as one of the game’s standout postseason players, hitting .337 with 8 doubles, 5 triples, 10 home runs, 23 RBIs, and 30 runs scored in 43 games.

Thurman Munson – How did the Yankees captain respond to his first postseason opportunity with the Yankees in 1976? The regular season MVP hit .435 in the American League Championship Series against KC, going 10-for-23. He followed it up in the World Series in a losing effort against the Reds with 9 hits and a .529 average. . The following year, Munson hit .320 in a 6-game World Series victory over Los Angeles, neutralizing Los Angeles’ running game by eliminating 4 of 6 base stealers. Then, in 1978, in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, with the Yankees losing to Kansas City 5-4, Thurman hit a 460-foot, two-run home run in the eighth to give New York a lead. in the game and a series lead they wouldn’t lose. In 30 postseason games, Munson hit .357 with 9 doubles, 3 home runs, and 22 RBIs.

Catfish Hunter – A 5-time world champion, Hunter pitched in 6 ALCS and 6 World Series for Oakland and New York during the ’70s. He went 9-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 22 postseason games. The Catfish enjoyed their best postseasons with Oakland, going 7-2, including 4-0 in World Series competition. Hunter went 2-0 in the 1972 World Series, including a 3-2 win in Game 7. In 1973 he posted a 5-hit shutout to close out Baltimore in the deciding Game 5 of the NLCS. 1973 American League, and then outscored Tom Seaver 3-1 in a possible elimination game against New York in Game 6 of the World Series. His best postseason performance as a Yankee was a 4-1, 5-hit complete victory in Game 1 of the 1976 American League Championship Series.

Steve Garvey – Like Munson two years later, in 1974 Garvey lived up to an MVP season with a torrid League Championship Series and a World Series. Steve led LA to the Fall Classic by hitting .389 with 2 home runs in a 4-game NLCS win over Pittsburgh, then hitting .381 in a 5-game loss to Oakland. Garvey added 9 more hits and a .375 average in the 1977 World Series loss at New York. Garvey took over the 1978 NL Championship Series against Philadelphia with 2 home runs and a triple in the opening game, en route to a 4 HR, 7 RBI, .389 series. Although his Dodgers didn’t secure a World Championship until 1981, in the ’70s Steve hit .339 in 29 postseason games with 40 hits, 7 HRs, 20 runs scored and 16 RBIs.

Jim Palmer – The decade’s leading pitcher in wins had a postseason record of 5-2 in the 1970s, with 3 complete game wins and a 2.75 ERA in 12 starts. Palmer pitched the pennant game for Baltimore in 3 consecutive seasons from 1969-71. He went the distance in the 1970 American League Championship Series clincher, allowing only 1 run while striking out 12. He then opened the 1970 World Series allowing only 5 hits to Cincinnati over 8 2/3 for a win. 4-3. In 1973, Palmer pitched a 5-hit complete game with 12 strikeouts to open the American League Championship Series against eventual World Champion Oakland.

Johnny Bench – With the Reds facing elimination in Game 5 of the 1972 National League Championship Series, Bench tied the game in the ninth with a home run off Pittsburgh’s Dave Guisti, before Cincinnati won. In 1976, Bench recovered from a regular season bye to hit .333 in a 3-game NLCS sweep of Philadelphia. In the 1976 World Series against the Yankees, Bench took MVP honors, leading the Reds to another sweep by hitting .533 on 8 hits, including a double, a triple, and 2 home runs in 4 games. Bench hit an extremely productive .266 in 45 postseason games with 10 home runs, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 20 RBIs, and 27 runs scored.

Rollie Fingers – Fingers was an iron man by today’s relief pitching standards. Pitching in an era immediately following the 3-out save specialist, Fingers threw 52-plus innings for Oakland in 27 postseason games. That included 6 outputs of 3 frames or more. In the 1973 World Series he appeared in 6 games, giving up only 1 run in 13 2/3, and took World Series MVP honors in 1974 with a win and 2 saves. In all, Fingers had a postseason ERA of 2.24 with 3 wins and 8 saves in 27 games, with a 1.35 ERA in 16 appearances in 3 World Series.

Reggie Jackson – Arguably the greatest clutch hitter in the history of the game, ‘Mr.October’ lived up to his moniker with outstanding heroics for Oakland and New York throughout the decade. Jackson played in 7 ALCS and was a 5-time world champion, taking home 2 World Series MVPs. Reggie played in 53 postseason games and hit .305 with 10 doubles, 14 HRs and 38 RBIs. He hit 9 HRs and topped .360 in 24 World Series games. Best known for his 3 HR and 5 HR game, .450 run to close out LA in 1977, Jackson had at least 2 other equally impressive runs. In 1973 he made several good catches in right field and admirably filled in at center for the injured Bill North. With Oakland down 3 games to 2, he hit 2 RBI doubles in Game 6 and then a 2-run knockout punch in the deciding factor of Game 7. And in 1978, Jackson hit .391 with 2 HRs and matched his total. from 1977 with 8 RBIs.