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Show Baseball Forecast By PETE FRITCHIE Will Baltimore and California Califor-nia uin acain in the American League in 1980 and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati agjin in the National'.' Na-tional'.' Every year forecasters tend to favor last year's winners. win-ners. Last year this time everyone every-one was picking the Yankees and Kansas City to repeat (though a few picked California). Califor-nia). Both missed in 1979. LIKEWISE, THE Phillies and Dodgers were favorites last vearlhis time in the National. Na-tional. They finished fourth and third. 14 and 11' : games out, in 1979. So. will 1980 produce the same four-team turnover? Chances are better than 50-50 three out of 1979's four winners win-ners won't repeat. In the National, Na-tional, Los Angeles shoulJ come back strongly. So might Philadelphia. MONTREAL IS also a good bet, as is Houston, to take their divisions. In the American the Yankees Yank-ees should be stronger, but that American East division is tough to call. Six of its seven teams finished above .500 last year. And any of five could conceivably eke out a win there this year. Milwaukee came closest to the O's last year and Boston, New York or Detroit are contenders. KANSAS CITY will be hoping hop-ing to come back this year and both Texas and Minnesota have hopes to unseat the Angels. Chances are 1979's winners will be displaced, despite de-spite this spring's predictions. |