Five Year Recap 1975 to 1979 Part 1
I’ve been spending most of my Fantasy Astrology bandwidth on creating commentary videos about my simulated FABL season. There are two out so far - Taurus vs Scorpio on “Opening Day” and Pisces vs Virgo one week later - with another slated for tomorrow. So I haven’t gone further back than 1975. But the fun part is that ‘75 is the end of a half-decade period, when going reverse-chronologically. So here’s a look at players who appeared in their sign’s starting lineups (including rotation and bullpen) for that whole five-year stretch.
The Aries lineup had been led for the last five years by Pete Rose at third base, and amazingly, only one of those years he didn’t actually qualify at third base. In my project, I’ve never not listed Rose as a third baseman, even for the six years when he played first base. Ken Griffey, on the other hand, I’ve listed in center field, out of position, in 3 of his 5 lineup appearances. Pitchers Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, and Bert Blyleven also were part of the rotation for the period, where they started to win their division heading into the mid-70s, along the time when they were joined by Catfish Hunter.
Taurus was very consistent, with star duos in their infield (George Brett and Davey Lopes) AND outfield (Reggie Jackson and Amos Otis). Pitchers Dennis Leonard (who just barely qualified, as he was a rookie in 1975) and Rick Reuschel were also consistent, but not as high impact as the Aries group. Closer Dave LaRoche is another not-too-exciting 5-for-5, kind of similar to Taurus’s current closer situation in 2022. Oh, and while Jim Sundberg puts up unexciting fantasy numbers, he was probably really good with his glove.
Two Dave’s (Parker and Concpecion) tied with a Ken (Singleton) as Gemini’s top 5-for-5 year starters. Not a single Cancer batter played all five years – only little-heralded starter Dave Goltz earns that honor. Ditto Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons, as far as Leo batters. Also rock-solid Reds starting pitcher Fred Norman, who I always confuse with golfer Greg Norman, who happens to be an Aquarius.
Two-time Negative Pole MVP Joe Morgan, three-part baseball dynasty member Buddy Bell, and slick fielding Garry Maddox are likely listed in order of recognizability, but they all three played all five years in question in the Virgo lineup. (Robin Yount played every year but one, starting the five-year period at the tender age of 19.) They’ve also got a legendary pitcher, Gaylord Perry, and a very solid pitcher, Mike Torrez, to go with all-five-years reliever Tug McGraw. (Unfortunately, Rollie Fingers missed just one season as a primary reliever, as his numbers were out of this world.)
I’ve got too much fun stuff to say about these five-year groupings to say all of it in one post, so I’ll save the second half of the karmic wheel for next week. In the meantime, stay tuned to my YouTube Channel for more game videos, or to revisit some old favorites!