Word: pennant
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After six baleful, bitter years, a full 16 seasons after Willie Mays & Co. brought them their first West Coast pennant in 1962, the Giants for most of 1978 have been leading the league in a ding-dong race. Giant fans, regarded as an endangered species likely to be spotted only on beaches, at discos and in therapy groups, are flocking to Candlestick Park, breaking all attendance records (1.3 million, nearly doubled since last year). Now they dance in the stadium after victory, howl for Dodger blood and scream their affection for a new-found love, Pitcher Vida Blue. "Bloo! Bloo...
...eaglet outfield may not be the most reliable form of transportation to carry the Giants to the pennant. During a hot stretch drive, especially against relentless veterans, they have been known to flutter dangerously, not to say grow flustered, under stress. The Dodgers are such an enemy. Though they have thus far stumbled along, beset by injuries, they are still at or near the top, an established team of stars capable of leaving anybody in the dust...
...perhaps prematurely hailed remains to be seen. What they have surely done is to give a fierce rivalry a new lease on life in California. Since the Giants are young and fast, they are likely to be going at the Dodgers full tilt for years. However the wrenching, grueling pennant drive turns out, there are plenty of brush-'em-back pitches, spikes-high slides into second, empty-the-dugout confrontations and plain, hard baseball ahead...
Cincinnati is in the pennant race primarily on the strength of Rose's resonant bat. The Big Red Machine has spent most of the season in the shop for repairs as a rash of injuries crippled key players. The first team played together only 22 times in the first 78 games. Catcher Johnny Bench has missed 33 games with a back injury suffered during an aborted slide. Wearing a thick corset, he is hitting .254 (compared with...
Still, the Reds are in contention in the National League West, where a fine pennant race is shaping up with the surprising San Francisco Giants, leaders for most of the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, all within a series sweep of each other. Cincinnati's sturdy bullpen has helped save the day, and Rose is trying harder than ever, disregarding a bad shoulder and a gimpy knee. Says Rose, who separated from his wife this summer: "Nobody has as many personal problems as I have, and I think I have as many injuries as anybody. But I play...