1992 National League

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The 1992 season of the National League was the one hundred seventeenth season of the league.

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Season summary[edit]

The 1992 National League was a mini dead-ball era of its own. The R/G (Runs per Game) ratio was 3.88 that year, one of only a few times it has dropped below 4.0 other than in the 1960's and in the original dead-ball era of the 1900-1919 era.

The league as a whole hit .252, with the top team, the 1992 Cardinals, managing a .262 average while the worst team, the 1992 Mets, hit .235. No team slugged higher than Atlanta's .388, and no team had an OBP higher than Cincinnati's .328.

In terms of individual performances, only one batter, Gary Sheffield, hit .330, while a .475 SLG would have put you in the top ten in the league (the #10 slugger, Terry Pendleton, slugged .473). Fred McGriff led the league with 35 home runs, while hitting 21 would get you into the top 10 in the league.

The pitchers had stats that also had a dead-ball feel to them. The league had a 3.50 ERA, while the best team, Atlanta, had a 3.14 ERA overall. For an individual pitcher, a 2.75 ERA wouldn't even get you into the top 10 (Sid Fernandez, #10, had a 2.73 ERA that year). It wasn't because the pitchers were overpowering, though - 152 strikeouts would put you at #10 on the list (Tom Candiotti had 152 strikeouts for the 1992 Dodgers in 203.2 innings).

The 1992 Pirates won their division, starting out in first place and staying in first place during 154 games of the season. Even during a six-game losing streak that they had in May, they didn't fall out of first place during the time.

The 1992 Braves, who won 98 games (most in the league), had a somewhat tougher time. They were in last place for nearly a week in the last half of April, and dropped again to last place on May 26. On June 12 they were in fourth place, but the next day moved into second place and then finally took over first place permanently on August 2. The team's best month was a 19-6 June.

Barry Bonds was 27 years old that year, while Gary Sheffield was 23. Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg were 32, Barry Larkin and Will Clark were 28, and 26-year-old Craig Biggio had just shifted to second base after playing mostly catcher during 1988-91. Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, also 26, were 20-game winners and tied for the league lead in wins. Jeff Bagwell was 24, while 37-year-old Ozzie Smith was still playing regularly and hit .295 (stealing 43 bases). Lee Smith, who led the league in saves, was 34. A-Rod, who was 16 that year, played in the 1992 Junior World Championship.

It was the last year before expansion, and things would change significantly in following years.


Standings[edit]

Bold indicates league champion, Italics indicates World Series champion
Rank Team G W L T WPCT GB RS (RS/G) RA (RA/G) AVG OBP SLG ERA FPCT
Eastern Division
1 Pittsburgh Pirates 162 96 66 0 .593 -.- 693 (4.28) 595 (3.67) 0.255 0.324 0.381 3.35 0.984
2 Montreal Expos 162 87 75 0 .537 9.0 648 (4.00) 581 (3.59) 0.252 0.310 0.370 3.25 0.980
3 St. Louis Cardinals 162 83 79 0 .512 13.0 631 (3.90) 604 (3.73) 0.262 0.322 0.375 3.38 0.985
4 Chicago Cubs 162 78 84 0 .481 18.0 593 (3.66) 624 (3.85) 0.254 0.306 0.364 3.39 0.982
5 New York Mets 162 72 90 0 .444 24.0 599 (3.70) 653 (4.03) 0.235 0.309 0.342 3.66 0.981
6 Philadelphia Phillies 162 70 92 0 .432 26.0 686 (4.23) 717 (4.43) 0.253 0.316 0.377 4.11 0.978
Western Division
1 Atlanta Braves 162 98 64 0 .605 -.- 682 (4.21) 569 (3.51) 0.254 0.315 0.388 3.14 0.982
2 Cincinnati Reds 162 90 72 0 .556 8.0 660 (4.07) 609 (3.76) 0.260 0.329 0.382 3.46 0.984
3 San Diego Padres 162 82 80 0 .506 16.0 617 (3.81) 636 (3.93) 0.255 0.312 0.386 3.56 0.982
4 Houston Astros 162 81 81 0 .500 17.0 608 (3.75) 668 (4.12) 0.246 0.310 0.359 3.72 0.982
5 San Francisco Giants 162 72 90 0 .444 26.0 574 (3.54) 647 (3.99) 0.244 0.300 0.355 3.61 0.982
6 Los Angeles Dodgers 162 63 99 0 .389 35.0 548 (3.38) 636 (3.93) 0.248 0.313 0.339 3.41 0.973

League leaders[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Games Played Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio
Steve Finley
Houston Astros
Houston Astros
Houston Astros
162
At Bats Marquis Grissom Montreal Expos 653
Runs Scored Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 109
Hits Terry Pendleton
Andy Van Slyke
Atlanta Braves
Pittsburgh Pirates
199
Doubles Andy Van Slyke Pittsburgh Pirates 45
Triples Deion Sanders Atlanta Braves 14
Home Runs Fred McGriff San Diego Padres 35
Total Bases Gary Sheffield San Diego Padres 323
Runs Batted In Darren Daulton Philadelphia Phillies 109
Stolen Bases Marquis Grissom Montreal Expos 78
Caught Stealing Ray Lankford St. Louis Cardinals 24
Walks Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 127
Intentional Base-on-Balls Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 32
Hit by Pitch Dave Hollins Philadelphia Phillies 19
Strikeouts Ray Lankford St. Louis Cardinals 147
Sacrifice Hits Brett Butler Los Angeles Dodgers 24
Sacrifice Flies Jeff Bagwell Houston Astros 13
Grounded into Double Plays Darrin Jackson San Diego Padres 21
Batting Average Gary Sheffield San Diego Padres 0.330
On-Base Percentage Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 0.456
Slugging Percentage Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 0.624
On-Base plus Slugging Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 1.080
On-Base plus Slugging Plus Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates 205

Pitching[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Wins Tom Glavine
Greg Maddux
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
20
Losses Tom Candiotti
Orel Hershiser
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
15
Win-Loss Percentage Bob Tewksbury St. Louis Cardinals 0.762
Appearances Joe Boever Houston Astros 81
Games Started Steve Avery
Greg Maddux
John Smoltz
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Atlanta Braves
35
Complete Games Terry Mulholland Philadelphia Phillies 12
Shutouts David Cone
Tom Glavine
New York Mets/Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta Braves
5
Games Finished Doug Jones Houston Astros 70
Saves Lee Smith St. Louis Cardinals 43
Innings Pitched Greg Maddux Chicago Cubs 268.0
Batters Faced Greg Maddux Chicago Cubs 1061
Hits Allowed Andy Benes San Diego Padres 230
Home Runs Allowed Bud Black San Francisco Giants 23
Base-on-Balls Allowed David Cone New York Mets/Toronto Blue Jays 82
Intentional Base-on-Balls Jim Gott
Orel Hershiser
Roger McDowell
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
13
Hit Batsmen Greg Maddux Chicago Cubs 14
Strikeouts John Smoltz Atlanta Braves 215
Wild Pitches John Smoltz Atlanta Braves 17
Balks Bud Black
Trevor Wilson
San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
7
Runs Allowed Tim Belcher Cincinnati Reds 104
Earned Runs Allowed Tim Belcher Cincinnati Reds 99
Earned Run Average Bill Swift San Francisco Giants 2.08
Walks plus Hits
per Inning Pitched
Curt Schilling Philadelphia Phillies 0.990

All-Star Game[edit]

The National League lost the sixty-third midsummer classic at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, CA on Tuesday, July 14, 1992 by a score of 13 to 6. The league's manager was Bobby Cox.

Postseason[edit]

The National League Championship Series, featured Pittsburgh Pirates, the Eastern Division winner, and the Atlanta Braves, the Western Division winner. The Braves defeated the Pirates, 4 games to 3.

In the World Series, the National League champion Atlanta Braves were defeated by the American League's Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 2.

Award winners[edit]

The winner of the league's Most Valuable Player Award, given its Most Valuable Player, was Barry Bonds, an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the award's voting, he had 304 out of a possible 336 points and 18 first place votes.

The winner of the league's Cy Young Award, given its best pitcher, was Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs. In the award's voting, he had 112 out of a possible 120 points and 20 first place votes.

The winner of the league's Rookie of the Year Award, given its best rookie player, was Eric Karros, a first baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the award's voting, he had 116 out of a possible 120 points and 22 first place votes.

Gold Gloves[edit]

The following players won the Gold Glove Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.

Position Player Team
P Greg Maddux Chicago Cubs
C Tom Pagnozzi St. Louis Cardinals
1B Mark Grace Chicago Cubs
2B Jose Lind Pittsburgh Pirates
3B Ozzie Smith St. Louis Cardinals
SS Terry Pendleton Atlanta Braves
OF Andy Van Slyke Pittsburgh Pirates
Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates
Larry Walker Montréal Expos

Silver Sluggers[edit]

The following players won the Silver Slugger Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.

Position Player Team
C Darren Daulton Philadelphia Phillies
1B Fred McGriff San Diego Padres
2B Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs
3B Gary Sheffield San Diego Padres
SS Barry Larkin Cincinnati Reds
OF Barry Bonds Pittsburgh Pirates
Andy Van Slyke Pittsburgh Pirates
Larry Walker Montreal Expos
P Dwight Gooden New York Mets

Monthly Awards[edit]

Hall of Fame Game[edit]

The forty-seventh annual Hall of Fame Game was played on August 3 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY near the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the game, the National League's New York Mets defeated the Chicago White Sox of the American League by a score of 3 to 0.

Notable events[edit]

Umpires[edit]