IN THE NEWS: Steve Carlton fires a two hitter and the Phils beat the Cubs, 5–0. Mike Vail's leadoff single in the 8th is the first hit off Carlton. Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski hit back-to-back homers in the 6th, off Dennis Lamp, as the Phils remain a half-game out of first place.
The first place Expos top the Cards, 8–0, as Steve Palmer strikes out 10 in the win.
Batting 9th, Milwaukee's Charlie Moore hits for the cycle to lead the Brewers to a 10–7 win over the Angels.
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies move into a first-place tie with the Expos by beating Chicago 4–2. The two clubs will close out the season with three games in Montreal starting tomorrow.
IN THE NEWS: In Los Angeles, Houston opens a final 3-game series to determine the winner in the NL West. The Dodgers, behind by three games, tie the opening game 2–2 in the 9th, and win it in the 10th on a Joe Ferguson solo home run.
IN THE NEWS: Mike Schmidt's 2-run home run in the top of the 11th inning gives Philadelphia a 6–4 win over Montreal, clinching the NL East title for the Phillies. The home run is Schmidt's 48th of the season, breaking Eddie Mathews's single-season record for 3B set in 1953.
The Yankees clinch their 4th AL East title in five seasons, beating Detroit 5–2 in the first game of a doubleheader. Reggie Jackson hits his 41st home run of the season and will share the AL home run crown with Milwaukee's Ben Oglivie.
In a 17–1 rout of the Twins, Kansas City's Willie Wilson becomes the first ML player ever to be credited with 700 at-bats in one season. Wilson will post 705 at bats, the highest this century. He also sets the AL record for singles in a season with 184, eclipsing the mark Sam Rice set in 1925. Wilson also becomes only the 2nd player in history to collect 100 hits from each side of the plate, matching the feat accomplished by Garry Templeton in 1979. The loss ends Minnesota's club-record 12-game winning streak.
The Dodgers break a 1–1 tie on a 4th inning home run from Steve Garvey to beat the Astros 2–1. Loser Nolan Ryan goes 11–10, while Jerry Reuss wins his 18th. Houston now leads by one game with one to play.
IN THE NEWS: Capping an improbable comeback, the Dodgers beat the Astros for the 3rd day in a row to force a one-game playoff for the NL West title. Ron Cey hits a 2-run home run in the 8th to win the game 4–3. Los Angeles trailed Houston by three games with three games left in the season, and won all three by a single run.
On the final day of the regular season, Seattle's Mike Parrott surrenders an RBI double to the Rangers Johnny Grubb in the bottom of the 9th to lose 3–2. The loss is Parrott's 16th in a row since winning on Opening Day.
Jerry Coleman is fired as manager of the last-place San Diego Padres. He will return to the club's broadcasting booth, where he had spent the previous eight seasons, and will be replaced by former Senators slugger Frank Howard.
IN THE NEWS: The Astros finally win, whipping the Dodgers 7–1 in a one-game playoff at Dodger Stadium. Art Howe drives in four runs with a home run and two singles and Joe Niekro wins his 20th game of the season to put Houston in the post-season for the first time since entering the major leagues in 1962.
IN THE NEWS: Phillies stars shine in the NLCS opener. Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw hold the Astros to one run, and Greg Luzinski cracks a 2-run homer. Final score is 3–1.
IN THE NEWS: A scoreless pitchers' duel in Houston ends in the bottom of the 11th inning on Joe Morgan's leadoff triple and Denny Walling's sacrifice fly. Houston is up two games to one, but the win is costly as Cesar Cedeno injures an ankle.
George Brett puts Kansas City into its first World Series by belting a 3-run home run off the Yankees Rich Gossage in the 7th inning, giving the Royals a 4–2 win and a 3-game sweep of the LCS. It's sweet revenge for three ALCS losses to the Bombers.
IN THE NEWS: In one of the most exciting and controversial games in playoff history, the Phillies tie the NLCS at two games apiece with a 10-inning 5–3 win over the Astros. In the 4th inning, Houston is deprived of an apparent triple play when the umpires rule that pitcher Vern Ruhle had trapped Garry Maddox's soft line drive. In the 6th, Houston loses a run when Gary Woods leaves the base early on Luis Pujol's would-be sacrifice ?y.
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies capture their first NL title since 1950 with a 10-inning 8–7 win over the Astros in the 5th and final game of the NLCS. Each of the last four games was decided in extra innings. The Phils, down by three runs to Nolan Ryan in the 8th, rally, winning on Garry Maddox's double in the 10th.
IN THE NEWS: Philadelphia pitcher Bob Walk becomes the first rookie to start a World Series opener since Joe Black in 1952, and the Phillies rally from a 4–0 deficit to beat the Royals 7–6. Kansas City's Willie Aikens hits a pair of homers, becoming only the 3rd player to do so in his first World Series game. Bake McBride homers for the Phils.
IN THE NEWS: George Brett is forced out of game two of the World Series in the 6th inning with a severe case of hemorrhoids, and Philadelphia wins 6–4 to take a 2-0 lead. Brett will undergo surgery tomorrow and return for game 3. Mike Schmidt's RBI keys a 4-run rally in the 8th off ace Dan Quisenberry.
IN THE NEWS: The Reds trade P Jay Howell to the Cubs for C Mike O'Berry. Howell will play 15 seasons while O'Berry will not ripen with the six teams he backstops for.
IN THE NEWS: The Phillies win the first World Championship in their 98-year history by beating the Royals 4–1 in game six of the World Series. Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt is named MVP, hitting .381 with two home runs and seven RBI, while KC's Willie Wilson is the goat, striking out a record 12 times (including the final out of the series with the bases loaded) and hitting only .154.
IN THE NEWS: In a shocking announcement, Astros owner John McMullen fires president and GM Tal Smith, replacing him with Al Rosen, former GM of the Yankees. Smith will soon be named ML Executive of the Year. The move prompts a rebellion among the Astros 20 limited owners (who together own over 60 percent of the club), and on November 24th McMullen will give up his sole authority to run the club, accepting a position on the club's newly formed executive committee instead.
Ralph Houk, who managed the Yankees and Tigers for 16 years before retiring in 1978, is named manager of the Red Sox.
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