1978 Fantasy Astrology Recap
View the 1978 FABL Lineups Here!
As much as it pains me to halt the march of reverse chronological progress, I might have to take a break from my trip through Fantasy Astrology Baseball League after 1978. Most of my Astrology Baseball bandwidth for the foreseeable future will be taken up with building rosters in MLB The Show 2022, so that I can accurately simulate a full Fantasy Astrology season. I’ll likely post brief updates as I complete each team, but since I already completed my 1978 database, I might as well get this onto the Internet now.
It’s been a couple of years since we saw Scorpio take home a FABL fantasy points crown, but the Stingers are no stranger to the top spot, having won the league five times in the 1980s. Their top player was Tom Seaver (2,478 / 68.8), who just had his statue unveiled outside of Citi Field… despite pitching for the Reds in ’78. As far as positional shenanigans, I placed Jack Clark (2,292 / 14.7) at first base, a full five years before he would play a Major League game at that position, allowing Lyman Bostock (1,631 / 11.1) to slot in as an outfielder. (On a tragic note, Bostock was killed in a domestic dispute following the season.) But Scorpio still finishes in first place, even with Mike Hargrove (1,269 / 8.7) as the top legit first baseman.
Moving one spot earlier on the karmic wheel, Libra finished in first place in the Positive Polarity, mostly on the strength of a pitching staff that features five 2,000-point scorers. Jim Palmer (2,779 / 73.1) and Dennis Eckersley (2,456 / 70.2) led the charge, with the former winning a Gold Glove award and starting for the American League in the real-life All-Star Game. Filling out the rotation is Lary Sorensen (2,199 / 59.4), Ed Figueroa (2,146 / 61.3), and Paul Splittorff (2,023 / 51.9). On the offensive side only Dave Winfield (2,233 / 14.1) and Rod Carew (2,051 / 13.5) – who I cheated at second base – breaking the 2,000-point barrier.
I was somewhat surprised to see Aries at the top of the Fire Division, since they had occupied the lower rungs of the FABL ladder in recent years, including four straight last place finishes in the mid 80’s. Phil Niekro (3,034 / 69.0) had not just the most impressive season among Rams, but he also scored the most points among all Positive Polarity pitchers. I had him share the PP Cy Young Award with Aquarius ace Mike Caldwell (3,018 / 81.6), who had a superior points-per-game average because Niekro’s knuckleball style allowed him to start 42 (forty-two!) games in 1978. In a fairly weak year for PP relievers, Tigers closer John Hiller (1,532 / 30.0) finished second to Leo Doug Bair (1,893 / 27.0), who pitched for the Reds.
The winner of the Earth Division is disputed between Capricorn and Virgo, depending on how strictly you want to follow positional eligibility rules. But the spread between them was so close (70 points when bending the rules, 264 points when following them) that it’s difficult to pinpoint a true leader in terms of talent level. The Goats had an all-lefty starting pitching staff, led by Jon Matlack (2,611 / 74.6), Steve Carlton (2,243 / 66.0), and Ross Grimsley (2,222 / 61.7), Capricorn’s offensive attack was anchored around Negative Polarity MVP runner-up Steve Garvey (2,293 / 14.2) (who finished behind Pisces Jim Rice (2,959 / 18.2), who would go on to win again in ‘79) and catcher Carlton Fisk (2,046 / 13.0).
Meanwhile, Virgo’s ace Ron Guidry (3,729 / 106.5) not only won the NP CYA, he had the second-highest points total as a pitcher so far in the scope of this project. (He was surpassed only by Dwight Gooden in 1985.) Their #2 starter wasn’t bad either, as Gaylord Perry (2,587 / 69.9) finished fourth among NP pitchers, behind Guidry, Matlack, and Pisces J.R. Richard (2,799 / 77.8). In the bullpen, Rollie Fingers (2,056 / 30.7) finished third, behind NP Reliable Reliever Rich Gossage (2,296 / 36.4) and another Pisces Kent Tekulve (2,126 / 23.4). No Flowers batter reached 2,000 points, with DH Rico Carty (1,910 / 13.2) the top scorer.
To round out the yearly awards, Gemini had both of the Positive Polarity’s top-scoring batters: Pirates slugger Dave Parker (2,652 / 17.9) and Tigers speedster Ron LeFlore (2,513 / 16.2). (Sagittarius outfielder George Foster (2,393 / 15.1) finishes in third place). The Twins also sported 1978’s top rookie: starting pitcher and Parker’s Pittsburgh teammate Don Robinson (2,010 / 57.4). The top NP rookie was Roger Erickson (1,668 / 45.1), #3 in the Virgo rotation, but many down-ballot finishers in each league actually had better careers than the winners These include Capricorn Ozzie Smith (1,495 / 9.4), Taurus Lou Whitaker (1,317 / 9.5), Leo Paul Molitor (1,424 / 11.4), and Aquarius Carney Lansford (1,356 / 11.2).