Reading Eagle - July 1, 1980
Dodger Blue Colors N.L. Star Lineup
NEW YORK (AP) – “Dodger Blue” was the primary color in the National League All-Star starting lineup announced by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn Tuesday as four Los Angeles Dodgers were selected to the mid-season classic.
Second baseman Davey Lopes, the leading vote-getter in the majors, headed the Dodger contingent which includes first baseman Steve Garvey, shortstop Bill Russell and outfielder Reggie Smith.
Joining the four Dodgers on the NL squad for the July 8 game at Los Angeles are catcher Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds; third baseman Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies and outfielders Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs.
“Obviously, we have some outstanding players on this team and the fans have shown it by the way they have backed their club,” said Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda.
And did they ever back their club. Twelve players in the senior circuit received over two million votes and seven were Dodgers.
The American League team was announced Monday. It was headed by California first baseman Rod Carew and included Milwaukee second baseman Paul Molitor; Kansas City third baseman George Brett and New York shortstop Bucky Dent and outfielder Reggie Jackson. Boston Red Sox outfielders Fred Lynn and Jim Rice and catcher Carlton Fisk complete the team.
Lopes, the Dodgers captain, drew 3,862,403 votes to end the three-year-reign of Carew as the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game. Lopes had over two million more votes than Pittsburgh’s Phil Garner, his nearest rival at second base.
“I’ll be there, “ said Lopes, who earlier this season felt he wasn’t performing up to All-Star caliber. “I’m gratified that many people put the time into voting. It’s nice to know you’re that popular.”
Garvey had the toughest battle although the voting wasn’t that close. He had to beat out last year’s co-MVP’s Willie Stargell of the Pirates and Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals – currently leading the National League in batting this season.
Garvey collected 3,009,005 votes – the only other NL player besides Lopes to poll 3 million. Stargell finished with 1,872,434 while Hernandez wound up with 1,517,081.
Smith, the NL’s second leading batter this season, finished second among outfielders with 2,283,416. The 35-year-old switch-hitter was a member of six pervious All-Star teams. This was his first starting assignment.
Parker topped the outfielders with 2,896,643 votes while Kingman just nipped Dusty Baker of the Dodgers, 2,133,252 to 2,108,727 for the final spot in the outfield.
Russell, whose error last week prevented teammate Jerry Reuss from pitching a perfect game, edged Cincinatti’s Dave Concepcion for the shortstop spot, 2,123,488 to 1,838,779. St. Louis’ Garry Templeton, No. 3 in the league in batting, was third with 1,658,984.
Schmidt, who leads the NL in homers, won his second selection at third base, outdistancing Los Angeles’ Ron Cey, 2,693,037 to 2,320,959.
Bench, the only player to poll over a million votes in each year of balloting, came from behind to win the starting spot at catcher for the 10th time in 11 years. The veteran receiver finished with 2,179,169 votes, edging Steve Yeager of Los Angeles, who got 2,119,196.
Moreland Thrilled!
Keith’s Slam, Pete’s Blast Highlight Seven-Run Fourth
Montreal (AP) – Catcher Keith Moreland found a surprise waiting for him at home plate – three Philadelphia Phillies teammates.
“I didn’t really think about the home run being a grand slam until I saw everybody standing at home plate,” said Moreland, who cracked the first bases-loaded homer of his career, sparking a seven-run fourth inning in the Phillies 7-5 victory over the Montreal Expos Monday night.
The blast, combined with Pete Rose’s two-run homer the same inning, moved Philadelphia to within two games of the front-running Expos in the National League East Division.
“It was probably the biggest thrill of my career but I don’t think it would have been half as exciting if we had lost the game,” added Moreland, who collected his second homer of the year.
Between them, Moreland and Rose had accounted for only one of the 54 homers crashed by the Phillies this season but the statistic didn’t bother the Phillies second-string catcher.
“It’s a team game,” he said. “You’ve got to play it with 25 men. When I get into the ball game I try to do the best I can and tonight I was lucky enough, along with Pete, to help us win a game, and that’s the most important thing.”
Rose, who hasn’t hit more than 10 home runs in any of his last eight seasons, didn’t regard his blast as vital at the time, but it turned out to be the margin of victory as the Expos chipped away at the lead against starter Dickie Noles, 1-3.
“When you’re playing the Expos you can never get enough runs because they’ve got a good offense,” said Rose. “They keep scrapping and they’ve got some good base stealers. They keep making things happen, so anytime you can add on, you have to do it against a team like that.”
The Expos hastened their demise by failing to cash in on excellent opportunities to score in both the first and second innings.
Ron LeFlore led off the first with a triple but was caught off third when Rodney Scott hit a bouncer to third baseman John Vukovich.
Consecutive singles by Larry Parrish, returning after missing 29 games with an injured wrist, and Rowland Office gave the Expos two runners with no one out in the second. But Noles retired the next three batters in order.
“We didn’t quit, though,” said Manager Dick Williams. “We wasted a couple of chances early but we battled them.”
Williams said that starter Bill Gullickson, 0-2, the victim of the Phillies home-run barrage, had trouble with his location.
“He was up high with everything in the fourth. The first pitch he threw to Moreland was right in his wheelhouse.
The Expos sent Noles from the mound when Office’s run-scoring double and a two-run single by Scott produced three runs in the seventh that closed the gap to 7-4 but reliever Ron Reed pitched the final three innings to record his fourth save.