Revisiting The 1977 NL MVP Ballot
In the decade of the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati had already produced MVP seasons from Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Joe Morgan. Leftfielder George Foster was added to that list when he won 1977 NL MVP award. Here’s a look back at the voting, from the top 5, to some notable action down the ballot.
George Foster (LF, Cincinnati)
*.382 on-base percentage
*.631 slugging percentage
*52 home runs
*.320 batting average
*149 RBIs and 124 runs scored
Additional Notes: Foster’s slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs and runs scored all led the league. The Cincinnati offense, second-best in the National League had to carry a poor pitching staff to an 88-win season. Foster won the award with 15 of 24 first-place votes, and an 87% vote share (percentage of available ballot points).
Greg Luzinski (LF, Philadelphia)
*.394 on-base percentage
*.594 slugging percentage
*39 home runs
*.309 batting average
*130 RBIs, 92 runs scored
Additional Notes: The Phillie offense was the best in the National League, keying their run to 101 wins and an NL East title. Luzinski picked up the nine first-place votes Foster didn’t get, and had a 76% vote share.
Dave Parker (RF, Pittsburgh)
*.397 on-base percentage
*531 slugging percentage
*21 home runs, 88 RBIs
*.338 batting average
*107 runs scored, 17 stolen bases
Additional Notes: The Cobra won the batting title and helped the Pirates hang in there with the Phils in the old NL East, ultimately winning 96 games. This is also the point in the ballot where there is a very sharp drop in voter support. There are no more first-place votes, and Parker’s share was 46%. The voters clearly saw this as a two-man race between Foster and Luzinski.
Reggie Smith (RF, LA Dodgers)
*.427 on-base percentage
*576 slugging percentage
*32 home runs
.307 batting average
*104 runs scored, 87 RBIs
Additional Notes: Smith’s Dodgers won the NL West, with his OBP being the best in the league. Smith’s final vote share was 33%.
Steve Carlton (SP, Philadelphia)
*2.64 ERA
*283 IP
*23-10 record
Additional Notes: Carlton won the second of what would end up as four Cy Young Awards in his Hall of Fame career. While the Phillies were an offensive juggernaut, Carlton was the key to a pitching staff that still ranked a solid fourth in the NL for composite ERA.
Notable Down the Ballot
Ron Cey (3B, LA Dodgers) & Mike Schmidt (3B, Philadelphia): I’m grouping Cey and Schmidt together, because both might finish higher today. Cey’s batting average was .241 and Schmidt’s was .274. In an era where this stat was highly valued, that likely explains their respective 8th and 10th-place finishes. Both hit 30-plus homers and drove in over 100 runs.
Schmidt in particular had a terrific all-around season, finshing with an OBP of .393, a slugging percentage of .574, and he even mixed in 15 stolen bases.
Jeff Burroughs (RF, Atlanta): He finished 16th, and I’m not going to argue he should have been a contender. But his 41 homers and 114 RBIs for a horrible Braves team deserved a mention.
ANALYSIS
I think the voters got the big decision—the top line—correct, both in terms of the winner and the margin. Foster was definitely the best overall player, the key to keeping the Reds afloat. It is appropriate, however, that it wasn’t a complete landslide, given the amount of quality offensive support (Bench, Morgan, Rose, and several others all having strong years) that surrounded him.
Whether that alternative support to Foster went to the right places is another question. Viewed with our modern statistical lens, Schmidt deserved to be much higher. Even viewed with the lens of the late 1970s, Reggie Smith deserved more consideration. Smith played in a Dodger Stadium park that’s tough to produce big numbers in and still delivered.
Moreover, Luzinski was more of a defensive liability than any of the other corner outfielders who contended for the honor. He deserved his recognition, but not second place and certainly not 40 percent of the first-place votes.
My own revised top 5 would look like this:
1)Foster
2)Schmidt
3)Smith
4)Parker
5)Luzinski