It was a typical enough week for the National League. The Los Angeles Dodgers started out in first place and wound up in third. The San Francisco Giants played king for a day when Gaylord Perry, who pitches the way Casey Stengel talks, baffled the New York Mets with his "slider" (meaning spitball) and won his 16th victory against only two losses. Next day they became mere pretenders again when Juan Marichal (record: 17-4) retired the first 17 Mets he faced, then inexplicably blew a five-run lead. The Philadelphia Phillies won seven games in a row, and Philly fans traded FIRE MANAGER MAUCH signs for new ones that read WE LOVE MAUCH.
By week's end only 4½ games separated the top four pennant contenders, the league lead had changed hands twice, and it seemed only natural when it finally fell into the possession of the Pittsburgh Pirates—the zaniest team in baseball.
Black Maxes. "We haven't got a sane guy on this ball club," Pirate Catcher Jim Pagliaroni announced proudly—and it was not an insane thing to say. Pagliaroni's off-duty attire includes a leather World War I aviator's helmet and goggles. El Roy Face, the Pirates' No. 1 relief pitcher, struts around in a buccaneer's hat, complete with skull and crossbones. Starting Pitcher Steve Blass sometimes forgets he has a glove; last week he fielded two hot grounders barehanded and broke a bone. Outfielder Willie Stargell has trouble ordering in restaurants, because he speaks a language all his own: "Gospel bird" is fried chicken, and "jungle plum" is watermelon. All four Pirates are charter members of an "in" group that calls itself the Black Maxes, awards clichés—that's right, clichés—to deserving teammates. Blass, for example, is the team leader in "can't-do-it-every-days" with 21: he has started 22 games, finished only one. First Baseman Donn Clendenon, who has struck out 97 times, is way ahead in "get-'em-next-times."
The wackiest pirate of them all isn't even a ballplayer. Bob Prince, 49, the team's radio-TV announcer, is a skinny character who is famous for his loud sport coat and once leaped from a third-floor window into a swimming pool to win a bet. Two weeks ago, when the Pirates changed planes in Dallas, Prince refused to let a stewardess take his tape recorder, explaining: "It's as sensitive as a bomb." He had barely settled into his seat before FBI agents arrived.