AL East Preview - 1980

Welcome one and all to the booming 80's. Gone are the days of bell-bottoms and Saturday Night Fever, lost in a sea of sweat, sex, and excess. What is there to look forward to with the glorious 70's over? Maybe some reliable 30-day weather forecasts! (Seriously. That was a scientific prediction for the 1980's, before the decade started: https://fusion.tv/story/161697/heres-what-scientists-in-1979-predicted-would-be-the-breakthroughs-of-the-1980s/)

Here in the RLB, all we know is baseball. And without further ado, your 1980 AL East preview:

1979 Standings:

New York Yankees 102-60 Boston Red Sox 94-69 Detroit Tigers 93-69 Baltimore Orioles 75-87 Toronto Blue Jays 70-92

The year 1979 held promise for so many, but none more than the AL East. Your eventual division champions New York Yankees had high hopes of getting their first World Series win of the 1970's, but wound up losing their second AL Championship Series matchup in three years. The Boston Red Sox were looking to put their talented group of prospects and young stars to use to ensure their first playoff appearance in recent memory, while the Detroit Tigers were attempting to make the playoffs after missing the dance after their 1977 World Series victory. Baltimore and Toronto were continuing their rebuild, with a few bright spots from 1B Carlos Negrete, LF Dave Martinez, and RF Simone Beato (Baltimore) and infielders Josh Theis, Ruben Mendez, Billy Avery, and star closer Justin Moore (Toronto).

(Side note before the preview, 4 of the top 10 teams in WAR added this Off-Season are in the AL East, and 3 of the top 5!!!)

Toronto Blue Jays

Prior to the 1979 season beginning, The Toronto Blue Jays shocked many of their fans by trading away top prospect and former 3rd overall pick Jeff Karr to the vilified Cincinnati Reds for a gaggle of prospects which included Dennis Kane (#4 OSA, now with the New York Mets), Terry Easley (now #22 OSA), and Ernesto Iniguez (former top 70 prospect who has seen his stamina erode into oblivion). That appeared to be the lone highlight for the young and inexperienced franchise, who wound up at the bottom of the division when the dust settled. This offseason has shown that the fans patience may just be rewarded as the Blue Jays (as of the writing of this post) have added the second-most WAR leaguewide behind their AL counterparts, the Oakland Athletics. They inked Free Agent SP Shawn Walker to a 6-year, $3,450,000 contract that will likely ensure his career ends as a Blue Jay. As a high movement pitcher, the future looks bright for Walker in his new home. The Jays continued their spending spree by trading for RF Jeff Berger from Seattle and a few relievers from Atlanta. But most importantly, the acquisition of star 3B Josh Tufford from the New York Mets. They were forced to part with the aforementioned Dennis Kane, but with back to back 6+ WAR seasons there is only optimism from both Toronto and Tufford's camp for future success - and a big pay day. 1980 Bold Prediction: 76-86. I think Toronto has added some nice hitting pieces to compliment their plus-defenders across the board (as long as Mike Washington gets 1B reps instead of Ruben Mendez, who is a better DH than 1B), and Walker/Cruz/Ogura make a nice top 3 in the rotation. The rebuild is chugging along, but expect a bit more pain before glory.

Baltimore Orioles

You might want to avert your eyes, Orioles fans. The 1979 season was one of more downs than ups for the O's, and while they bested their 1978 record, it wasn't enough to keep pace with the top of the division and they fell well short of the playoffs. 1B Carlos Negrete had a breakout season, posting 5.4 WAR at the 1B spot, to go with LF Dave Martinez's 4.1 WAR and RF Simone Beato's 2.8. On the other hand, hampered by 3B Jeremy Humphrey's wet noodle in place of a bat, the O's faced some batting challenges across the board. The pitching staff was average, but got no help from their batters. 1980 is a fresh start, however, and the acquisition of fan favourite 2B Troy Walsh should help to draw some more fans to the stadium. Not known for his glove, the smooth swinging Walsh will hope to revitalize a lackluster offence - apart from it's "big three". Fans may question whether a 706,000 AAV for Walsh over the next four years is worth it, but if the money isn't being spent anywhere else then why not? With no other additions, and the loss of bright spots SP Matt Pacelli (2.6 WAR) and 1B Brock Benton (1.4 WAR in a limited role), it's hard to feel excited over the Orioles chances this season. Losing nearly 3 WAR this Off-Season doesn't help, either.

1980 Bold Prediction: 69-93. Baltimore's young staff will need to be on top of their game to combat the relative inefficiency of some of their bats. Expect strong campaigns from Negrete and Martinez once again, now entering their prime, but it's hard to do it alone. Look for one or both of those batters to be made available for a haul of prospects.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are at a crossroads. After their second straight season with no playoffs following their second straight 93-69 showing, the Tigers have some decisions to make over the course of the 1980 season. With some hefty contracts (Seth Dawson, anyone?) limiting their ability to make a big play in Free Agency, the Tigers will instead look to homegrown talent looking to make the leap to full-time MLB regulars this year. With the athletic ability of a slug but a bat that projects to be superb, John Price poses an interesting scenario for Detroit as he's limited to a DH role. Meanwhile, SS, CF, and their RP staff could pose some problems for the Tigers - and with two of those being premier positions, it's hard to see them improving on their 1979 showing by much. The Tigers added to their wealth of SP by picking up SP Dave Savino (5.4 WAR in 1979) from the rebuilding Astros, and their batting depth with 1B Salvador Rodriguez (1.6 WAR in 1979). Losing one of their top pitching prospects in the Savino trade (Casey Jaffe) emphasizes the Tigers effort in competing with the Yankees and Red Sox (more on them later). Questions surround the Tigers outlook on 1980. Do the perennial 15 game winning threats like SP Savino and SP Sal Mendez hold true to form? Does young star SP Jeremy Goldberg break out this year? Will SP Nick Hymer start to show his age? Can 3B Dan Poston continue his nearly MVP-caliber play after signing a big extension, and can OFer Phil Morris learn his new position in RF?

1980 Bold Prediction: 95-67. With so many variables in play, despite adding some good talent, it's hard to see Detroit making up any ground on the perennial powerhouse Yankees and the emerging and ever-improving Red Sox. Until they resolve some of these question marks, it's not likely the Tigers make the jump into the upper echelon that the Yankees are in, and that Boston is knocking on the door of. 95 wins probably won't cut it for Detroit this season. (Also vote Seth Meek for HoF, you heathens)

Boston Red Sox

What a ride 1979 was for Boston! Marked improvements over the last three years has led Boston to finally getting into the playoffs - yes, a Wild Card loss counts in my book. The sky is the limit for Boston, and with a strong Off-Season in terms of additions by WAR and their own young stars' development, the BoSox are poised to challenge the Yankees for the division crown. Former first overall pick Joseph "Spiderman" Daigle leads the batting charge for Boston, where he put up 3.2 WAR in less than 100 games in his rookie year. Movement-god SP Adam Brogan is looking to build on his AL-leading 6.3 WAR from last season along with his 1-2 punch mate SP Miguel Gutierrez. A formidable bullpen, and the rest of Boston's young, sweet-swinging OF will look to provide the spark to lead them to 100 wins and a playoff birth. It's hard to find a batting hole, and as the BoSox have hitters up and down the lineup. Scary. Boston didn't add much this Off-Season, just cut ties with an underperforming infielder. When you have a young and inexpensive core, maybe it's not a bad idea to bank your extra funds and put it toward player development. The BoSox are likely an Ace away from being considered as the AL East favourite - and truthfully they might not even need that. If you aren't on the Red Sox hype train yet, this is probably your last chance before this thing leaves the station - next stop, playoff glory. 1980 Bold Prediction: 99-63. Boston is here, they are my dark horse for a World Series birth, so prepare yourselves appropriately.

New York Yankees

Capping off our 1980 AL East preview is the New York Yankees. Where to begin with New York? Young, star 2B Wilson "Midnight" Vielma is officially here for the Yankees, if it wasn't clear before last season - breaking out with 5.5 WAR. His middle infield counterpart Pete Riley showed he's no slouch either, posting 6.5 WAR with sublime defense at SS. Anchored in LF by the ageless wonder J.D. Johnson (6.2 WAR in his age-33 season, no signs of slowing down), the Yankees were already returning a lineup poised for more success (shocker!).

And then... it happened. November 13, 1979. The Yankees acquired the possible "Sultan of Swat" (no Yankee has been nicknamed that, right?) RF Joe Goergen and five-time reliever of the year, future Hall of Famer CL Carter Moomey. The Yankees parted with a future #1/2 SP and future starting CF, but they signaled to the AL East and the rest of the league that they are not going anywhere. Bringing in movement-man P Travis McLain (move over Adam Brogan!) and his 1.5 WAR, along with returning capable bench bat 1B Jim Hicks after allowing him to walk at the end of the '79 season, both aid the Yankees in their AL East title defense. I've already claimed that Boston is my dark horse to emerge, and I love the way these two offenses stack up with each other. Expect some high scoring showdowns with these two squads. 1980 Bold Prediction: 102-60. A diverse and difficult batting lineup, a formidable bullpen and strong, consistent SP rotation leads me to believe the Yankees will continue their excellence this season in a top heavy AL East.

1980 AL East Predictions:

New York Yankees 102-60 Boston Red Sox 99-63 Detroit Tigers 95-67 Toronto Blue Jays 76-86 Baltimore Orioles 69-93 Disclaimer: Of course, this goes without saying, I don't know any more than the next guy. These are made for fun, not meant to attack or get anyone feeling down about it. I hope anyone who made it this far enjoyed the read, took me a couple hours to get this the way I wanted it. Welcome to the 80's, y'all!