was second in wins (98) and ERA (3.63). The Orioles won the American League East by six games over the Detroit Tigers. They then defeated the Chicago White Sox, three games to one, in the American League Championship Series. Philadelphia Phillies The average age of the players on the Phillies' roster was 32 years. They were aptly nicknamed the "Wheeze Kids," a contrast to the 1950 Phillies team whose average age of 26 years earned them the moniker "Whiz Kids." Sports writers in Philadelphia joked at the time that this older team emphasized the veteran in their home ballpark, Veterans Stadium. The Phillies were trying to win Philadelphia its second World Title of the year as the Philadelphia 76ers had won the NBA Title back in June, as well as their second championship in four seasons — having won the 1980 World Series. Joining 42-year-old first baseman Pete Rose were his Cincinnati Reds teammates from the "Big Red Machine" era, first baseman Tony Pérez (age 41) and second baseman Joe Morgan (age 39). The team was led offensively by 33-year-old Mike Schmidt, who would have another MVP-type year with 40 home runs and 109 RBIs. No other teammate would hit over 16 home runs (Morgan) or drive in over 64 runs (catcher Bo Díaz). Although veteran pitcher Steve Carlton won his 300th major league game during the regular season, he actually had a mediocre year at 15–16 — his first losing season since 1973 when his record was 13–20. In his first full season with Philadelphia, John Denny would win the Cy Young Award with a league leading 19–6 record, and a 2.37 ERA, winning 13 of his last 14 decisions. Closer Al Holland would finish second in the league with 25 saves and win the NL Rolaids Relief Award. A pair of relief pitchers, 40-year-old Ron Reed and 38-year-old Tug McGraw, were on the active roster but McGraw would not see any World Series action. The Phillies outpaced their intrastate rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, by six games to win their fifth National League East division title in eight years. This was followed by a three-games-to-one victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. It was only the fourth league championship for the Phillies in franchise history. Summary Matchups Game 1 John Denver, whose "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" was played at the seventh-inning stretch