NL West Preview - 1980

1979 Standings

San Francisco Giants 104-58 (Won division, lost World Series)

Colorado Rockies 86-76

San Diego Padres 69-93

Los Angeles Dodgers 35-127

Los Angeles Dodgers

1979 was a bleak year for the Dodgers, setting the record for losses in a season in either league with 127. The offseason doesn't offer much evidence that 1980's season will be much different. Captain SP Ryan Caldwell was lost in free agency to the Chicago White Sox. Replacing Caldwell in the Dodgers' rotation is veteran Matt Pacelli, acquired through free agency. There are a few other bright spots in starting pitching for Los Angeles, including SP Andrew Espinoza and rookie SP Geoff Pentecost.

On the offense, the Dodgers will be looking to 1B Brent Wagner for run production. His 4.7 WAR in 1979 led the team. 23 year old captain LF David Brawner looks to join the squad full time after playing 10 games as a pinch hitter last season, but he may be competing for an outfield spot with fellow OF Ryan McBride who had 2.7 WAR in '79. Dodgers management will likely find a way for both of these talented hitters to get as many plate appearances as possible. Rounding out a stable of talented outfielders are RF Ruben Leyva, speedster and sparkplug CF Joe Freeman, and RF Mark Mills. Mills may be the odd man out when spring training ends as he has managed only 0.4 WAR in each of the last two seasons and, rumor has it, has been a disruptive presence in the clubhouse.

Despite having talent in some spots on both offense and pitching, the lack of major roster moves will likely mean that the Dodgers will not be competing for a playoff spot in 1980. However, future seasons may be much different. The Dodgers have 25 prospects within the top OSA 500 (including #42 SP Mark Ryan who may find his way into the majors this season) and the first overall pick in the 1980 amateur draft. Dodger fans will have to weather another tough season - perhaps they will find themselves poring over the amateur draft and prospect lists more closely than 1980 Dodgers box scores.

San Diego Padres

The 1979-80 offseason was an interesting one for the Padres, losing star LF Brian Kline who had accumulated 14.7 WAR over three seasons and made two straight all-star appearances. The Padres declined his arbitration and he became a free agent. However, San Diego may not have wanted to pay his salary when they have three other talented outfielders waiting their turn: 23 year old LF Devin Gibson (a former first round draft pick who had 4.4 WAR in '79), CF Steve Claywell, and fan favorite RF Nick Prescott. The Padres also lost Starting Pitcher Spencer Perkins (2.9 WAR in 1979) to free agency. The Padres are looking to patch these holes from within, as they only added one player this offseason: RF Micky Todd who looks to start the season with San Diego's AAA affiliate.

The Padres will once again be led this season by Gibson and captain SP Natanael Gonzalez (4.9 WAR). These two stars will need help from the rest of the team whose bright spots also include youngster SP Brian Helton (3.9 WAR) and 2B Bill Haughn (2.3 WAR), though Haughn looks to share responsibilities at second with newcomer and left-handed batter 2B Justin Brown. But, despite these talents, the Padres do not seem to have the tools needed to break through in 1980, but they will have the 8th overall pick in the amateur draft to look forward to.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies had a fantastic season on offense in 1979 with 23 year old 2B Jamie Borruso (6.4 WAR in 1979) breaking the all-time RLB home run record with 50 dingers. Borruso was joined on offense by 3B Trent Young (7.1 WAR) and LF Justin Klebes (5.8 WAR). All three made the 1979 NL all-star team. Learning the value of power hitters, the Rockies spent the off-season acquiring CF Jason Reardon (who is also a speedster) and 1B Roger LeCloux. Colorado looks to have one goal in mind on offense in 1980: homering their way into the playoffs.

The '79 Rockies pitching staff was led by 24 year old Bobby Puentes (5.1 WAR) who led the league with 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings. Ramon Montenegro was also a '79 pitching bright spot for the Rockies with 3.4 WAR. Joining Puentes and Montenegro are captain SP Josh DeVoe and two young but promising pitchers: Casey Roche and Chris McCall. Coors Field is a double edged sword however and the Rockies pitching staff will need to keep home runs down just as carefully as their batters try to accumulate them.

The major loss for Colorado this off-season was RF Zachary Cannefax, who only was with the club for one season but racked up 4.3 WAR and an all-star appearance. Cannefax went to Oakland in free agency but may be replaced with Jason Reardon, mentioned earlier. The Rockies may be looking to call up 2B Tyler DeChant from their farm system - his bat may not be as much of an asset as the Rockies power hitters, but he can play the entire infield with confidence and skill. Colorado will also be looking forward to the return of young star SS Alfonso Burgos who missed the 1979 season with a broken bone in his elbow after accruing 4.5 WAR in only 92 games in 1978.

The Rockies will have lots of opportunities to win games against San Diego and Los Angeles, but can they contend with the NL West perennial powerhouse San Francisco Giants? Unless Colorado's home run totals go completely through the roof it seems like they are a big move or two away from the divisional crown or serious wild card competition.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants had a tremendous season in 1979, winning 104 games - only one less than the Atlanta Braves, though the Braves won a tie-breaking game 163 to get to their total. The Giants proceeded to top the Reds and the Expos in the playoffs only to lose to the Brewers in the World Series 4-1. The team was led by stand out performances from 3B Jimmy Parker (7.2 WAR in 1979), SS Jesus Martinez (5.8 WAR), and LF Mike Hoefferle (5.1) on offense and starting pitchers George Johnson (6.3 WAR) and Matt Myer (5.4 WAR).

This offseason San Francisco signaled their satisfaction with the '79 season by keeping their squad largely intact. The most significant departure was veteran catcher Brad Sweet who has been a backup to Mike McVay. Replacing Sweet will be C Julio Ruiz who was acquired via free agency.

Even though the Giants won 104 games in 1979, it was perhaps a down year for some of their players. Parker did have 7.2 WAR, but this was after 8.1 WAR in '78 and a league-leading 10.5 WAR in '77. Likewise, Jesus Martinez lost 1.7 WAR between '78 and '79. Centerfielder Paul Lipinski had 6.5 WAR in 1978, but only 2.2 WAR last season and Roy Reid also declined from 6.1 WAR to 2.0 WAR. Finally, the Giants' two time Pitcher of the Year award winner Matt Myer "only" had 5.2 WAR in 1979, which was his worst season since 1976. By keeping the team together the Giants are clearly hoping that these players will revert to their past superstar performances rather than continue any kind of decline. And even if they do merely maintain their 1979 WAR totals, that was enough for 104 wins - a repeat of that performance would mean yet another division crown and trip to the playoffs for San Francisco. But if these Giants players do improve and look a little more like their past selves then the sky will be the limit in 1980.