Yakima Vintners

79-83, eighth in the ACL
April: 12-9. May: 14-15. June: 15-12. July: 15-10.
August: 11-17. September: 9-18. October: 3-2.

First season: 68-86, sixth.

NOTES
Yakima was looking like a contender through July, but a weak August and a dreadful September buried them. They beat Seaview on the last day of the season, forcing them into a three-game playoff for the pennant.

Vintner statistics

What went right?
Jack Morris won 16 games. Frank Viola won 14. Eddie Murray batted .312, sixth in the league, but didn't get much MVP consideration because of a puny 21 homers and 72 RBI. Rickey Henderson stole 47 bases to lead the league.

What went wrong?
Yakima finished seventh in the league in runs. They might have been a better club had Henderson not been one of the loop's big flops. Though he lead the ACL in steals, he was also caught 20 times. Henderson also batted just .220. His 91 walks pushed his OBP "up" to .335. Not good enough to ignite an underpowered offense.

Sparky Anderson was actually the top AL winner in the 1980s with 895, and is the only manager to qualify to manage in either league. LaRussa gets the nod as second-place finisher with 824 wins.