Winners All Around

Tight pennant races are nothing new in the National League, but American League fans for years have had to make do with sessions that effectively ended in June or July. Not this year. At one time or another since the season began, every team except two (Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins) has led the league or at least shared the lead. The farthest anybody has been in front is two games, and the spread between the first-place Detroit Tigers and eighth place last week was only seven games. Even the New York Yankees, who finished dead last in 1966, were playing .500 ball.

Under those circumstances, it hardly seems smart to make predictions. But that is exactly what everybody seems to be doing. "If we can stay within one or two games of the top until the All-Star game, we'll win," says Chicago Manager Eddie Stanky, whose White Sox trail the first-place Detroit Tigers by only 1 1/2 games. "If we stay healthy, we've got a good chance," says Manager Hank Bauer of the defending champion Baltimore Orioles. And Boston Red Sox Manager Dick Williams insists: "We have the talent. There's no telling what will happen."

The predictions all make a certain sense. Chicago's pitching staff boasts a combined earned-run average of 2.57, and White Sox base runners have already stolen 57 bases this year. Balti more has Frank Robinson, who ranks second in hitting (at .337), first in home runs (16) and first in RBIs (47). The Red Sox have Righthander Jim Lonborg, whose record so far is seven victories and only one loss.

The strongest -- or at least the most interesting -- argument may belong to Detroit. They have the league's No. 1 hitter in Al Kaline (.349); better still, after 21 years without a pennant, they are finally behaving like Tigers instead of tabbies. Beaming with approval as his players fought a donnybrook with the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Manager Mayo Smith announced: "This ball club is playing as a team, and I think that is well demonstrated by the fact that we have been in three altercations in eight days."

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