The Hitters
Buck Freeman has managed to grab the top seed in this elimination season. He will test his mettle against Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett, John Kruk, Dale Murphy, who in the 1980s was one of the top players in the National League, Cecil Cooper, Steve Finley, Graig Nettles, and the patron saint of power hitters today, Dave Kingman. Let’s see if he can wrangle enough walks and homers to offset the sure-to-be numerous strikeouts. I expect some spectacular strikeout totals to report in the results. A .500 record will get them to Round 7. Anything less is a ticket back home.
Learn more about the Round 6 pitchers
| Buck Freeman Round One S24 Round Two Round 3 S46 Round 4 Round 5 S34 | W – L 84-70 BYE 90-64 BYE 65-89 |  |
| Kirby Puckett Round One S36 Round Two Round 3 S9 Round 4 Round 5 S20 | W – L 79-75 BYE 85-69 BYE 65-89 |  |
| John Kruk Round One S36 Round Two Round 3 S10 Round 4 Round 5 S12 | W – L 79-75 BYE 77-77 BYE 67-87 |  |
| Dale Murphy Round One S47 Round Two S8 Round 3 S18 Round 4 S16 Round 5 S18 | W – L 75-79 81-73 70-84 85-69 73-81 |  |
| Cecil Cooper Round One S75 Round Two S1 Round 3 S36 Round 4 S7 Round 5 S19 | W – L 73-81 81-73 70-84 83-71 70-84 |  |
| Steve Finley Round One S5 Round Two S18 Round 3 S48 Round 4 Round 5 S9 | W – L 58-96 91-63 78-76 BYE 70-84 |  |
| Graig Nettles Round One S69 Round Two Round 3 S53 Round 4 S21 Round 5 S37 | W – L 77-77 BYE 60-94 84-70 65-89 |  |
| Dave Kingman Round One S11 Round Two S24 Round 3 S53 Round 4 S28 Round 5 S22 | W – L 58-96 87-67 64-90 78-76 67-87 |  |
The Results
John Kruk played .500 ball for the first two months of the season, then turned on the gas to snatch the pennant with a solid 90 victories. Dave Kingman powered his way to second place with a tremendous number of home runs, as Cecil Cooper’s .273 team average combined with a healthy number of extra-base hits to nearly catch him. Kirby Puckett fell apart in August but managed to hang on for the sufficient number of wins to move on to Round 7. Dale Murphy led out of the gate with a 17-8 April but absolutely collapsed to finish well back of the leaders. He and Buck Freeman, Graig Nettles, and Steve Finley are done.
Season Highlights
- Buck Freeman4 paced the league with a lofty .333 batting average. He also led in RBIs with a rather paltry 80.
- Kingman5 led all hitters, banging out 45 homers despite his .226 batting average. Kind of on brand, don’t you think?
- Freeman5 slashed 17 triples.
- Puckett8 had a 26-game hitting streak.
- Murphy3, Kruk5, Murphy8, and Kingman3, all had 3-HR games.
- Kruk4 had an explosive performance, going 4 for 4 with a double and two 3-run homers, good for 8 RBIs in a 15-5 drubbing of Buck Freeman.
- Dazzy Vance6 of the Kirby Puckett team struck out 17 Dave Kingmans in a 6-3 victory.
No-Hitters
None