A Splendid September

Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, must dream about Septembers like this. All too often the coming of crisp evenings means limp competition --pennant races already decided, games being played for the sake of the schedule. Last week, for a change, there were tight races in three of the four major league divisions, providing more drama than any September has seen since baseball expanded in 1969.

Adding to the pennant excitement, St. Louis Cardinal Leftfielder Lou Brock was on the verge of shattering one of baseball's most celebrated records: Maury Wills' mark of 104 stolen bases in a single season. Finally, at least half the teams still in contention were there because young, relatively obscure players have suddenly become stars.

Only a month ago, the season seemed dull. With the exception of the Eastern Division of the National League, where St. Louis and Philadelphia were battling for the lead, all was quiet on the first-place front. Then the balance abruptly began to shift.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Until just before Labor Day, the story in this race focused on Lou Brock and Philadelphia's third baseman Mike Schmidt. Brock was making headlines with his running, but he was also winning games by being in scoring position on second after his steals. Schmidt, who hit .196 as a rookie last year, boosted himself and the Phillies this season by leading the league in home runs and RBIs through the end of August.

As summer waned, though, Pittsburgh Pirate Slugger Willie Stargell announced that "the race doesn't start until September 1." A week before Stargell's target date, the rapidly improving Pirates took over first place. Leading the charge has been Richie Zisk, not exactly a household name among ball fans. Until this year the Brooklyn-born rightfielder was best known as a dreamer. "He'd stand out in the field and think about a movie he'd seen," recalls Pirate Manager Danny Murtaugh. Going into last weekend, the former woolgathering champ was hitting .325, second best in the league. With the Phillies fading fast, the Pirates and Cardinals are headed for a showdown series next week.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

No one could blame the Dodgers last week if they had a frightening sense of dej`a vu. Just a year after they had fallen apart in the second half of the sea son, the Dodgers seemed ready for a repeat performance. Their 10 1/2-game lead earlier this year had dwindled to a margin of 2 1/2, and they still had six games with the surging Reds.

Even so, prospects for the Dodgers were hardly hopeless. Though the Los Angeles lineup lacks big-name bats like Cincinnati's Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, the Dodgers have their share of potent hitters. First Baseman Steve Garvey, who was the Dodgers' bat boy 15 years ago, sports a healthy batting average of .324, followed not far behind by young Leftfielder Bill Buckner. Jim Wynn, the "Toy Cannon," adds the power of 30 home runs and 99 RBis. And there is always iron-arm Mike Marshall in the bullpen.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

This race has become a three-team tossup. After looking invincible during August, the Red Sox have tumbled into a tail spin. Even 20-game Winner Luis Tiant could not halt a losing streak that dropped the Red Sox into second place late last week. While Boston has been losing, New York and Baltimore have been winning. The surprising Yankees, who have not won a pennant in ten years, sport no Mantles or DiMaggios this year. Some frantic trading eventually paid off, though, and the erratic Bombers began to wring winning performances out of an assortment of new arrivals and old journeymen. Outfielders Elliott Maddox and Lou Piniella have been hitting over .300. Rudy May, a recent acquisition, has helped an ailing pitching staff, backing up young Doc Medich.

Baltimore, with Hurler Jim Palmer injured much of the season, has stayed close to first on the strength of Brooks Robinson's bat and the healthy arms of Pitchers Mike Cuellar and Ross Grimsley. Says smooth-fielding Second Baseman Bobby Grich: "If we're close and we have Palmer, we'll win."

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Baseball's Cinderella team this season is the Texas Rangers. With second-year Rightfielder Jeff Burroughs leading the majors in RBIs and Ferguson Jenkins winning 21 games, last year's cellar dwellers have stubbornly pursued the Oakland A's. It would take a miracle, though, for Texas to catch the world champions. The A's have the pitching and long-ball power to run away in the West. Catfish Hunter had already won 20 games when September began, and Ken Holtzman is rapidly closing in on the mark. In Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi, the A's have three of the top-six run producers in the league. That is the kind of record that will make other division winners long shots to take the World Series.

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