So, the recent news involving a World Series winning team stealing signs has thrown the baseball into turmoil...truly a sign of the 24 hour baseball news cycle. What should the punishment be? Should a team be stripped of its title over it? Should there be an asterisk? What does baseball need to do about it?
My answers would be, in order: none, no and nothing.
Look, stealing signs has been going on in baseball since the earliest games. Essentially, it is the reason for signs in the first place. When he was a shortstop in college, Moe Berg would tell his second baseman if there was a play in place by yelling out in Latin.
If you have seen a mound conference in the last twenty years, you'll see that the catcher will sometimes keep his mask on, while the pitcher and/or coach covers their mouth while they discuss strategy. (and more often than not, the next pitch is a fastball)
Teams look for an advantage. That's the nature of competition. So yes, a team will try to decipher third base coach signals. They will try to determine if a pitcher is 'tipping' his pitches, as in he stops chewing his gum before throwing a breaking ball, or taps his glove twice before a change-up.
A friend and I noticed that a particular player on the Mets would hold his arms in a certain position before he would attempt a stolen base. We shared that with a Mets coach, who told us that they were aware, and they were working on it. Then he told us of another 'tell' that another player had, how he would twist his left foot when he was stealing.
Bench players study everything during games. signs from the dugout, patterns from the third base coach, tics of the pitcher. It has been a part of the game.
Tipping the hitter to the type of pitch has also been happening forever. There is a story that Bobby Thompson was tipped on the pitch that he hit for THAT homer in the 1951 playoff game against the Dodgers.
Watching a game, when there is a runner on second, one will see the catcher flash a series of signs, which are coded. This is for a few reasons. First, so the runner on second can't alert the batter as to the pitch coming, and he can't see if he can take an advantage on his lead if he knows what pitch is coming.
The catcher, if you look, also does things to keep the signals hidden, as in blocking the signs with his glove, so the third base coach, or third base dugout can see them. Most times, he will also peer up at the hitter to see if he's sneaking a peak.
Does knowing what pitch is coming help the hitter? Sometimes. But several batters actually prefer NOT knowing the pitch.
There was a story involving Rod Carew, where the opposing catcher flat out told him that they couldn't get him out, so they were just going to tell him what was coming. Carew didn't like that idea at all. But he still got a couple of hits, as Carew did.
So, what will come of this scandal? Who knows. This current commissioner seems to be very intent on leaving his own indelible mark on the game. He does not seem to be one to shy away from making unprecedented decisions. So he might come down hard on the team in question. After all, he is apparently attempting to shut down a couple of minor leagues, along with dozens of teams. So, there really is no telling what will happen.
What should happen?
Maybe a symbolic fine for the team in question. And a strong suggestion to the teams that were 'victimized' to use better signals.
But that's just my humble opinions.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Friday, October 4, 2019
1969…improbable,
imperfect and lunar
1969
was a wild time. Flower children, Asian War, unpopular President, moon landing,
Woodstock. So much going on, and it all impacted the 1969 baseball season to
some degree. Many players were called to active duty, which amounted to many
players serving a week or two at camp.
Giants
outfielder Garry Maddox missed two years of his minor league career while
serving in Vietnam, 1969-70. During his Army service, he was exposed to
chemicals which damaged his skin. Due to this, and the pain that shaving caused
him, he was the first big league player that was allowed to grow a beard. This
also helped protect his very sensitive skin.
He
returned to the States and resumed his minor league career with the Fresno
Giants of the California League, then made the jump from A ball to the big
leagues the following season. The “Secretary of Defense” had a lengthy career,
mostly with the Phillies. Many people have been credited with saying,
“Two-thirds of the earth is covered with water, the rest is covered by Garry
Maddox.”
Going
back a couple of big-league seasons, a few die-hards may be familiar with Roy
Gleason. The twenty-year-old switch-hitter appeared in eight games for the 1963
Dodgers, never playing the field. He was used as a pinch-runner seven times,
scoring two runs, and as a pinch-hitter once.
He
doubled in his only at-bat, and later scored. His career batting average is
1.000, with a 2.000 slugging percentage, a 3.000 OPS and three runs scored with
one official at-bat. Not bad.
According
to baseball-reference.com, he was the 9,752nd player to
appear in major league history.
He
returned to the minors, where he played for a few more seasons, but never
getting that call-up again. But he had those eight games. And, since that
season, the Dodgers won the World Series over the Yankees, he was eligible for,
and received, a World Series ring for his efforts.
In
early 1967, he received a letter notifying him that his draft status had
changed, and that he was to report to basic training. He tried to dispute, with
the help of the Dodgers, but to no avail. He completed basic training, then
infantry school, and was shipped to Viet Nam.
In June
of 1968, Sgt. Gleason was leading a patrol when they were caught in a
firefight. The soldier behind him was killed by a bomb ‘from above’, which sent
shrapnel into Gleason’s arm and leg as he was thrown to the ground by the
concussion.
Gleason
returned fire, and the fight continued to rage. Many soldiers died that day.
Gleason was airlifted by a chopper for aid. He spent lengthy time at several
hospitals before being discharged. He left his footlocker behind, with many
items that might help a homesick soldier remind them of home.
In that
footlocker was his 1963 World Series ring.
He recovered
from his wounds, but inactivity and his age worked against him, and he was
never able to make it back to his baseball career.
Long
forgotten, until a chance meeting at a car dealership, between two men who
attended the same high school twenty-years earlier, the story began to be
re-told. Gleason, the car salesman, and Wally Wasinack, a business writer,
struck up a conversation.
Gleason
shared his story with Wasinack, who was familiar with Gleason’s high school
prowess. Roy hadn’t really told anyone the entire story, and Wally finally said
to him, “Have you ever thought about writing any of this down?”
They
collaborated on a book, “Lost in the Sun, Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the
Outfield to the Battlefield”. They were helped by Dodger historian Mark
Langill and featured a foreword by Gleason’s minor league skipper Duke Snider.
The book was published in 2003.
Mark
Langill set up a ‘Welcome Home’ night at Dodger Stadium, where Sgt. Gleason was
asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, which he did. Dodger announcer
Vin Scully asked Sgt. Gleason to remain on the field, as the Dodgers came on to
the field. Manager Jim Tracy then presented Roy with a duplicate of the 1963
World Series ring.
A
befitting tribute to the last major leaguer to have been awarded a Purple
Heart.
Expansion
happened before the 1969 season, adding four teams, two in each league, one in
each of the newly categorized divisions. Two divisions in each league, an East
and a West. The winner of each division would face each other in a League
Championship Series in a best of five format, which would determine the World
Series opponents.
The
expansion was somewhat forced by the relocation of the Kansas City Athletics to
Oakland. While baseball would reluctantly approve the move, threats of legal
action, up to and including the threat to repeal baseball’s anti-trust
exemption, prompted major league baseball to speed up their expansion plans.
Those plans needed to include a franchise in Kansas City.
Also
added in this round was another southern California team, the first team in the
pacific northwest and the first international foray by a major sport.
The
Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres and Seattle Pilots all
made their debut. But not without some controversy.
Firstly,
since four teams were added, one would reason that one in each of the new
divisions would be somewhat rational. But geography forbade that. It worked in
in the National League, where Montreal in the East and San Diego in the West
was a natural fit.
In the
American League, both expansion teams were added to the West division, which
again, made geographic sense. However, that did give a slight advantage to the
‘veteran’ teams existing in that division, as the schedule makers had each team
play ninety games within their division, and seventy-two against the other.
The
Minnesota Twins won that division handily by nine games, and not to belittle
that accomplishment, the Oakland A’s were the only other team in the division
with a winning record. The Twins were 22-14 against the new expansion teams,
Oakland were 23-13 against the same teams.
The
Royals drew a little over 900,000 fans to Municipal Stadium, to watch their
fourth-place team. While posting a losing record, they did finish one game
better than the Chicago White Sox, while outdrawing the Sox by more than
300,000.
The
Houston Astros negotiated a trade with the newly anointed Montreal Expos. They
traded outfielder Rusty Staub to les Expos in exchange for first baseman Donn
Clendenon and outfielder Jesus Alou. The trade was made in late January of
1969, and all parties seemed to be complacent.
The
Expos began to market their new team by featuring the newly acquired,
red-headed, New Orleans native Staub, referring to him as “Le Grand Orange”.
The city fell in love with Staub, and even after he was traded away a few years
later, he always received a hero’s welcome.
His
number 10 was one of the few retired by the team.
In
Houston, however, there were some misgivings. After a few weeks, Donn Clendenon
decided that he would retire, taking a position with the Scripto fountain pen
company in Atlanta.
Donn, a
three-sport star at Atlanta’s prestigious Morehouse College, whose collegiate
big brother was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was not willing to play for newly
hired Astros manager Harry Walker, with whom Clendenon was associated with
during their time together in Pittsburgh.
Clendenon
thought Walker was a racist.
The
Astros wanted the trade voided, which the Expos balked at, since they focused
their marketing on Staub, who would be sent back to Houston if the trade was
voided, which would cause a ripple effect of refunds and bad press in Montreal.
Newly
appointed Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn weighed the options, knowing where
history fell on deals like this in the past, acted in what he considered to be
the ‘best interest of baseball’, and convinced the two teams to negotiate the
exchange of other players, in lieu of the transfer of Clendenon to Houston.
The
teams agreed, with Montreal sending pitchers Jack Billingham and Skip Guinn
(along with a reported $100,000) to Houston to complete the deal, with
Clendenon returning to Montreal. He would be traded to the Mets in June and
become a vital piece in their pennant run.
This
issue, which alluded to baseball’s ‘reserve clause’, would come into the
forefront at the end of the year, when the Cardinals would attempt to trade
star outfielder Curt Flood to Philadelphia, which Flood protested…an issue that
would eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
But,
more on that later…
The San
Diego Padres, who along with their co-expansion newbie Montreal Expos, but lost
one-hundred-ten games. San Diego drew 512,970 fans to roomy San Diego Stadium.
The baseball capacity for the stadium was set at 50,000, so there were many
empty seats available.
Of the
four inaugural teams, the Padres by far had the most modern facilities. The
other three teams had funding, and a plan in place to move to larger
facilities. San Diego Stadium was built for the Chargers of the then AFL. The
team relocated from Los Angeles after its inaugural 1960 season.
Local
sportswriter Jack Murphy was instrumental in convincing team owner Barron
Hilton to move the team to San Diego and was also a key person in driving for a
stadium for the team, who had previously played their games at Balboa Stadium.
Balboa Stadium was originally built as part of the California-Panama
Exposition.
Jack
Murphy, who was the brother on New York Mets Hall of Fame announcer Bob Murphy,
started a campaign to have San Diego build a multi-purpose stadium, which was
completed in August of 1967. The Chargers played in the first game at San Diego
Stadium that fall, and the stadium was used by the Sand Diego Padres of the
Pacific Coast League for the 1968 and final season.
When
Murphy passed away in 1980, the San Diego City Council, who owned and operated
the venue, voted to rename it in his honor. With the modern trend of selling
naming rights, the venue name was sold, and became known as Qualcomm Stadium,
but the city of San Diego named the grounds “Jack Murphy Field”. But corporate
law being what it is, the name Jack Murphy Field could not legally be used
alongside Qualcomm Stadium.
However,
from 1997, when the stadium was renamed, until his retirement in 2004, if you
listened to a Mets radio broadcast of a game from San Diego, Bob Murphy still
referred to it as Jack Murphy Stadium.
Baseball
in Canada was a rousing success. At the turnstiles anyway. With the marketing
of Rusty Staub, and a very enthusiastic fan base. The promise of a new stadium
in place for when the city hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics fueled the fans
passion, as they made their way to the relatively small Jarry Park. With a
listed capacity of 28,456, the Expos drew over 1.2 million fans, which was
tenth in the league, it placed the park at an average of 52% of capacity over
the course of the season.
To put
that in perspective, the New York Mets, whose Shea Stadium had a listed
capacity of 55,300, and led the majors in attendance with over 2.1 million
fans, averages a 47.8% capacity.
Plus,
the Expos had early success, sort of. The won their inaugural game over those
same Mets 11-10 at Shea Stadium, running Tom Seaver from the game after five
innings, and earning the win over Cal Koonce. They then lost their next three
in a row. They were at 2-4 when St. louis became the first team to travel to
Canada for a Major League game. The Expos won that game 8-7, scoring seven runs
in the first three innings off Cardinals starter Nelson Briles.
They
even had a no-hitter, as pitcher Bill Stoneman whitewashed the Phillies 7-0 in
the team’s ninth game. But as mentioned earlier, those bright spots in a long
season of losing baseball.
In
Seattle, the ownership group scrambled to get the initial funding for the
franchise fee for the newly dubbed Pilots. They also struggled to secure
funding from King County for a multi-use stadium. In the meanwhile, they made
repairs to Sick’s Stadium, which would make do as the home park for a little
while.
Dewey
Soriano, former Pacific Coast League president was able to convince William
Daley, who owned the Cleveland Indians, to help underwrite the initial purchase
price, with the promise of a substantial windfall upon the team’s success.
With an
eye towards the original expansion date, which was to be for the 1971 season,
the Seattle group seemed to be under very good guidance. However, with the
timeline advanced by two years, there was an added sense of urgency.
Now, for
Seattle to join the American League, the franchise had to compensate the
Pacific Coast League for the loss of that territory, which was the league’s
most successful at the time. One million dollars was due to be paid to the PCL.
The same had to be done for the San Diego franchise/territory.
Then,
as the voters successfully voted to proceed with a domed stadium in 1968, the
existing stadium needed major upgrading. What was once considered a crown jewel
of the PCL, Sick’s Stadium was an old AAA stadium, and it was showing its age.
As a
condition of Seattle being awarded a franchise, they had to provide a ballpark
with a minimum of 30,000 seats. Due to numerous delays, the stadium finally had
25,000 seats available in mid-June. But, the water pressure throughout the
building was an issue, especially with crowds over 8,000. And it was reportedly
non-existent after the seventh inning. (they sold a lot of beer)
The
officially listed seating capacity for the stadium at the start of the season
was 25,400.
The
stadium issue, while it passed, became an issue of location. Delays befell that
project as injunctions were filed, lawsuits threatened, etc. That project was
forced to come to a halt. (But later revived)
The
team was losing money quickly, and it became apparent that something needed to
be done. Daley was not going to fund the
impending disaster. Some front office people were let go; payroll checks were
becoming an issue. The crumbling stadium was feeling worse for wear.
Soriano
began meeting in secret with a group from Milwaukee, who had unsuccessfully
tried to block the relocation to Atlanta by the Braves a few years earlier. He
met with car salesman Allen “Bud’ Selig, and agreed to sell the Seattle
franchise to him, and Selig would then move the franchise to Milwaukee, where
there was a major league stadium in place, sitting empty.
The
deal was announced during the World Series, but…the two Senators from
Washington pressed the minority owners of the Pilots to decline the deal, while
they tried to renegotiate a deal for themselves. Soriano and Daley had both
said publicly that they would prefer to sell to a Seattle group, for less money
than Milwaukee offered if need be.
An
offer was made by a local Seattle businessman for $10 million, but one of the
creditors called in a $4 million loan for the initial purchase by Daley and
Soriano, which called for much greater expediency than was thought.
Spring
Training of 1970 started with the nomadic Pilots unsure of where their home
would be, as they toiled in Arizona preparing for the upcoming season. Aon
April 1st, the Seattle Pilots ballclub was declared bankrupt,
clearing the way for the franchise to move to Milwaukee.
The
team’s equipment was in a literal holding pattern in Provo, Utah, unsure whether
to head west to Seattle or east to Milwaukee. The east won out, and the team
became the Milwaukee Brewers.
The
Brewers’ name pays homage to the beer industry, obviously, and is a name that
had been around from the beginning. In
1901, Milwaukee was one of the original eight teams in the newly formed
American League. That lasted one season, as they moved the franchise to St.
Louis as the Browns, and then to Baltimore to become today’s Baltimore Orioles.
(Further,
the 1901-1902 Baltimore Orioles also moved their franchise to New York and
became first the Highlanders, and then the Yankees)
Every team in the league lost
players a to Reserve Duty at some point during the season. The stars, however,
lined up well for the Mets. Their players’ obligations ended during late
August/early September. They were fully loaded going into their improbable
pennant run.
“They’ll
put a man on the moons before the Mets win a World Series!”
Well…
They
had the pitching. Led by a tandem of righty Tom Seaver (1967 NL Rookie of the
Year) and lefty Jerry Koosman (1968 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up) the Mets
would finish as the top pitching team in the National League.
The
first place Cubs began to feel the pressure of the upstart Mets. Notably during
a game in New York on July 9th. The Cubs committed three errors in a
4-0 loss at Shea. In what Tom Seaver would refer to as his ‘imperfect
game’, The Franchise retired twenty-four straight batters. In the top of the
ninth, Cubs catcher Randy Hundley attempted to bunt for a base-hit, abut was
thrown out at first by Seaver.
The
next batter, center-fielder Jimmy Qualls hit a clean single to left. Seaver
retired the next two batters to complete the one-hit shutout. Years later, I
heard Seaver asked how he felt after giving up that lone hit, he asked where
Qualls was at the end of the game. The answer was ‘still on first base’, to
which Seaver replied, ‘well, that’s all that mattered.’
The
Mets then the next night to complete a three-game sweep of the Division
leaders.
Leo Durocher was asked if “These
were the real Cubs that lost this game?”, to which he answered, “No, these were
the real Mets that won it”.
Another turning point happened on
July 30th during a miserable doubleheader against the Astros. The
first game was won by Houston in historic fashion, as they became the first
team to hit two grand slam homeruns in the ninth inning of a game, while
scoring eleven runs on their way to a 16-3 win.
In the second game, during an
eventual ten-run inning by the Astros, time was called, and Mets manager Gil
Hodges emerged from the first base dugout. While many thought he was coming to
visit the mound, Gil kept walking past the bump, and into left field. He walked
slowly and deliberately out to left-field, where he believed Mets left-fielder
Cleon Jones didn’t hustle as he should have on a hit into the corner. The two
chatted briefly, and Hodges turned and walked back to the dugout, Jones falling
in behind him. Ron Swoboda replaced Jones in left. The Mets lost that game, and
then the next as they were swept by the Astros.
Was Hodges trying to inspire his
team? If he was, it didn’t work right away, as they still played sluggishly over the next few games. However, to a man, the Mets players
have always pointed to that incident as an inspiring moment for the team.
Their
offense was not exactly overwhelming. They were essentially middle of the
pack…until September.
However,
from June 2nd through August 12th, the Mets were in
second place. A loss to Houston on the 12th dropped the Mets to
third, they recaptured second place the next day, and kept their place until
September 7th.
On the
8th, the first place Cubs came to Shea Stadium with a two and a half
game lead on the upstart Mets. The Cubbies sent Bill Hands to the mound against
Jerry Koosman in the opener, which the Mets won 3-2. The next night, future
Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins faced future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Seaver
and the Mets won handily, 7-1. The Mets were just a half a game out of first
place.
That second
game of the series was infamous for an ethereal moment at Shea.
On
September 9th, in the top of the fourth inning, as the Cubs were
batting against Tom Seaver. Seemingly from out of nowhere, a black cat
mysteriously appeared on the field, ran around Cub’s third-baseman Ron Santo in
the on-deck circle, and then sauntered in front of the Cubs dugout.
The cat
left the field never reported to be seen again.
The
Expos were up next, with five games scheduled over the next three days. The
Mets 3-2 win in the first game put them in first place. They never looked back.
They were on a run of winning ten in a row, and thirteen of their next fourteen
to cement their pennant. The Mets won thirty-eight of their last fifty games
With
1969 was the first season which featured divisional play, so the Mets were the
National League Eastern Division Champions. They won the pennant by eight games
over the Cubs, winning 100 games. Had they played under the rules prior to this
expansion season, with no divisional play, the Mets would have had a seven-game
lead over the Atlanta Braves, the NL West Champion.
The
Mets swept the Braves in three games, and the Orioles did the same with the
Twins, to set up the Fall Classic.
Baltimore
won the opener, 4-1, and figured that the Mets would be little more than fodder
for the dominant AL champion, but it was not to be. The Mets took the second
game in Baltimore, returning the Series to Shea for the middle three games.
While
Baltimore scored four runs in the opener, their bats were silent for the rest
of the Series, and they still hold the American League record for the lowest
batting average for a Series. They batted .146.
And it was Cleon Jones who caught the final out, a flyball hit by Oriles second-baseman, and future Mets manager, Davey Johnson.
The
Mets, as we know, won those three more in New York to claim the four games to
one victory, and setting off a celebration on the field that few had witnessed
prior. The Mets were the toast of the town, and the toast of the baseball
world. They appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and sang the song, “You
Gotta Have Heart” from the Broadway play “Damn Yankees.”
The
1969 World Series trophy is historic and unique for three reasons:
· It was the first with twenty-four teams
· It was the first with a Canadian team
· It is the only one with the
Seattle Pilots on it
Now, how the teams finished and
made the post season is found in their team’s rankings, beginning with team
batting performances, our top three in each league:
National League
|
American League
|
Reds
|
Twins
|
Pirates
|
Orioles
|
Cubs
|
A’s
|
Then
the pitching, which performed on average 29.9% better than the offense across both
leagues, we have this list:
Mets
|
Orioles
|
Cardinals
|
Twins
|
Braves
|
Tigers
|
This
brings our overall Power Rankings to the following:
Orioles
|
American League Champion
|
Twins
|
AL West Champion
|
Mets
|
World Series Champion
|
Reds
|
3rd in NL West
|
Cubs
|
2nd in NL East
|
Other
items of note from the 1969 season:
Matty
Alou of Pittsburgh became the third Pirate player to amass 225 hits in a
season. He was the first whose last name was not Waner, as brothers Paul and
Lloyd were the first two.
And
Alou’s 183 singles stand as the second highest total in a season.
The
Mets were the first World Series champion to have collected more than 1,000
strikeouts.
On
September 12th, Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell each win a game in a
doubleheader sweep of the Pirates. The score of each game was 1-0, with each
pitcher earning the only RBI for their game. That has never happened before or
since.
Baltimore
lefty Dave McNally won fifteen straight decisions.
Outfielder,
and team leader Frank Robinson, was famed for his ‘kangaroo court’ that ruled
the clubhouse for the Orioles. He would don a ridiculous judge wig, and
dispense fines for various infractions, real or imagined. Things like using the
last coffee cup…that’s a dollar. Having your shoe untied…that’s a dollar. It
kept the club loose.
Robinson
had a reputation as a hard-nosed player, a tough competitor, and was one of the
all-time greats. But there was another side that didn’t get publicized.
During
his kangaroo court in 1969, “Judge” Robinson collected $475 in various fines,
which he donated to the “Pat Corrales Fund”, which was formed the help
Corrales’ three children’s education costs after his wife passed during
childbirth.
Back to
the game…baseball in the Bronx went on without Mickey Mantle, who retired in
April. The “Commerce Comet” finished his career fourth on the all-time home run
list.
Reds
hurler Don Maloney no-hit the Houston Astros. Astros hurler Don Wilson returned
the favor, and no-hit the Reds the following day.
Giants
youngster Bobby Bonds became the first player with 30 homers and 45 stolen
bases in a season.
Teammate
Willie Mays slugged his six-hundredth homer, as a pinch hitter for George
Foster.
Going
back to an earlier theme, White Sox first baseman Carlos May injured his thumb
severely in a military accident while on reserve duty. He lost the tip. But…my
favorite Carlos May trivia bit is that he wore jersey number seventeen. When
the Sox added players names to their jerseys, Carlos became the first and only
player to wear his birthday on his jersey. He was born on May seventeenth. May
17.
Houston
first baseman Curt Blefary participated in a record seven double plays in one
game.
And outfielder Jim “Toy Canon” Wynn became the third National Leaguer to
reach 140 walks in a season.
Los
Angeles Dodger ace Don Drysdale retires at thirty-three with shoulder issues.
Drysdale was the last active player from the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The
Mets were playing at Dodger Stadium, with Mets outfielder Ron Swoboda’s wife
was home in New York, pregnant. She went into labor and their son was born.
The odd
message on the Dodger Scoreboard, where they were playing three hours behind, said,”
Congratulations, Ron Swoboda, your son was born tomorrow morning”.
Minnesota
Twins second baseman (and hitting machine) Rod Carew stole nineteen bases on
the season. Seven of those were steals of home.
On May
18th, the Twins stole five bases in one inning against the Tigers,
including two steals of home.
On June
21st, the Twins scored eleven runs in the top of the eleventh inning
against Oakland. That equaled a record set by the Yankees in 1928.
Seattle
Pilot first sacker Don Mincher became the only Pilot to ever appear in
an All-Star game.
The
Cleveland Indians finished in last place for the first time since 1914. They
finished with a record that was worse than the two AL expansion teams.
Tribe
southpaw “Sudden” Sam McDowell became the first pitcher to lead the AL in
strikeouts for a last place team.
Cubs
lefty Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta, without striking out a
batter. Only the second no-hitter without a strikeout. Sam Jones of the Yankees
over the A’s in 1923.
Cincinnati
nave and Reds outfielder Pete Rose became the first switch-hitter to lead the
NL in batting in 1968. He would win again in 1969, becoming the only
switch-hitter to win consecutive batting titles. He would add a third in 1973.
Red Sox
shortstop Rico Petrocelli became the first player to hit forty homers in a
season, and then never reach thirty homers in a season afterwards.
And I
know this is a stretch, but…Petrocelli and Carl Yastrzemski became the first
teammates with at least ten letters in their last name to hit forty homers in
the same season.
And in
Little League news, Santa Clara, California won the Little League World Series.
One of the players was Carney Lansford, who would appear in the 1990 World
Series, becoming the third player to appear in both.
The
June baseball amateur draft featured some very good first round picks. Jeff
Burroughs, J.R. Richard Don Gullet and Gorman Thomas were all taken. But
further down the draft, there were some quality picks as well. Bert Blyleven
was picked by the Twins in the third round, Dwight Evans by the Red Sox in the
fifth, Bob Boone by the Phillies in the sixth, Bucky Dent by the Cardinals in
the ninth, Buddy Bell by the Indians in the sixteenth and Ken Griffey in the
twenty-ninth by the Reds.
Dent
did not sign with St. Louis, nor did Bill Madlock, who was drafted by the Cards
in the eleventh. They went through the secondary draft, with Madlock being
drafted and signed by the Senators in 1970. Bucky went through his first
secondary draft and was again drafted by the Cardinals but did not sign so he
went through a second secondary draft and was chosen in the first round by the
White Sox, with whom he signed.
Other
drafted non-signees of note were John Stearns who was drafted by Oakland in the
thirteenth round, and Dave Winfield who was the Orioles fortieth round pick.
Both were drafted out of high school, and both opted to take scholarships to
attend college. Stearns went to
Colorado, while Winfield went to Minnesota.
Four
years later, in the 1973 draft, Winfield was the overall number one pick, by
the Padres, and Stearns was the number two overall pick by the Phillies.
I have
seen reference made to the ’6o’s as baseball’s second dead-ball era. With the
last thirty-game winner in Denny McClain and Bob Gibson’s 1.12 ERA, combined
with the dominance of Koufax, if only for a short time. Hitting was becoming
scarce.
In
1968, Carl Yastrzemski led the American league with a .301 average, the lowest
ever for a league leader. Baseball decided to address this by lowering the
pitching mound and altering the strike zone. Combining this with the dilution
of talent, by adding four teams, increasing the number of players by around
twenty percent.
With an
average of ten pitchers per team, adding those pitchers, who in the previous
year would not have been of major league caliber, should have increased the
offensive numbers, and decreased the pitching numbers. Well they did, but not
at the same pace. The pitching was statistically 4.3% below the average
performance of 1968, and the offense performed a whopping 16.7% better. But
overall, the pitching was still far outpacing the hitting. An average of 23%
better.
Going
forward, that difference would shrink, as offense began to catch up. But for
now, getting back to the season at hand. We will look at the offense, beginning
with the American League, where those batters fared slightly worse than the NL
hitters. The difference was 0.1%, so they are very close.
Our
initial top ten hitters were:
Player
|
Team
|
HR
|
RBI
|
AVG
|
RCG
|
Reggie Jackson
|
A’s
|
47
|
118
|
.275
|
1.28
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
Twins
|
49
|
140
|
.276
|
1.22
|
Frank Robinson
|
Orioles
|
32
|
100
|
.308
|
1.21
|
Frank Howard
|
Senators
|
48
|
111
|
.296
|
1.08
|
Boog Powell
|
Orioles
|
37
|
121
|
.304
|
1.10
|
Sal Bando
|
A’s
|
31
|
113
|
.281
|
1.16
|
Reggie Smith
|
Red Sox
|
25
|
93
|
.309
|
1.08
|
Tony Oliva
|
Twins
|
24
|
10
|
.309
|
1.13
|
Rico Petrocelli
|
Red Sox
|
40
|
97
|
.297
|
0.97
|
Mike Epstein
|
Senators
|
30
|
85
|
.278
|
0.98
|
Ans
then, as compared to their team’s average performances, we get this list:
Reggie Jackson
|
Above
|
||||
Roy White
|
Yankees
|
7
|
74
|
.290
|
0.94
|
Carlos May
|
White Sox
|
18
|
62
|
.281
|
1.06
|
Frank Howard
|
Above
|
||||
Ken Harrelson
|
Red Sox/Indians
|
30
|
92
|
.221
|
0.95
|
Bobby Murcer
|
Yankees
|
26
|
82
|
.259
|
0.91
|
Tony Horton
|
Indians
|
27
|
93
|
.278
|
0.90
|
Rick Reichardt
|
Angels
|
13
|
68
|
.254
|
0.84
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
Above
|
||||
Mike Epstein
|
Above
|
Analyzing,
combining and comprehending the stats brings us to this list of the top ten
offensive players:
Reggie Jackson
|
5th in MVP
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
AL MVP
|
Frank Robinson
|
3rd in MVP
|
Frank Howard
|
4th in MVP
|
Sal Bando
|
16th in MVP
|
Boog Powell
|
2nd in MVP
|
Carlos May
|
No MVP votes, 3rd in Rookie
of the Year
|
Reggie Smith
|
22nd in MVP
|
Mike Epstein
|
25th in MVP
|
Rico Petrocelli
|
7th in MVP
|
Now
switching to the National League hitters, our initial top ten list is:
Willie McCovey
|
Giants
|
45
|
126
|
.320
|
1.22
|
Pete Rose
|
Reds
|
16
|
82
|
.348
|
1.19
|
Roberto Clemente
|
Pirates
|
19
|
91
|
.345
|
1.15
|
Dick Allen
|
Phillies
|
32
|
89
|
.288
|
1.15
|
Ron Santo
|
Cubs
|
29
|
123
|
.289
|
1.19
|
Jim Wynn
|
Astros
|
33
|
87
|
.269
|
1.12
|
Tony Perez
|
Reds
|
37
|
122
|
.294
|
1.18
|
Hank Aaron
|
Braves
|
44
|
97
|
.300
|
1.04
|
Cleon Jones
|
Mets
|
12
|
75
|
.340
|
1.13
|
Johnny Bench
|
Reds
|
26
|
90
|
.293
|
0.99
|
And
against their team’s performances, we get this list:
Nate Colbert
|
Padres
|
24
|
66
|
.255
|
0.76
|
Dick Allen
|
Above
|
||||
Willie McCovey
|
Above
|
||||
Cleon Jones
|
Above
|
||||
Roberto Clemente
|
Above
|
||||
Ollie Brown
|
Padres
|
20
|
61
|
.264
|
0.77
|
Mack Jones
|
Expos
|
22
|
79
|
2.70
|
0.96
|
Rusty Staub
|
Expos
|
29
|
79
|
.302
|
0.88
|
Jim Wynn
|
Above
|
||||
Willie Stargell
|
Pirates
|
29
|
92
|
.307
|
1.05
|
These
rankings and stats help bring us to our final top ten National League hitters:
Willie McCovey
|
NL MVP
|
Dick Allen
|
No votes
|
Cleon Jones
|
7th in MVP
|
Roberto Clemente
|
8th in MVP
|
Jim Wynn
|
15th in MVP
|
Ron Santo
|
5th in MVP
|
Hank Aaron
|
3rd in MVP
|
Pete Rose
|
4th in MVP
|
Willie Stargell
|
21st in MVP (tied)
|
Tony Perez
|
10th in MVP
|
Now, we’re
going to look at the pitching, beginning with the American League, which was
0.1% off their National League counterpart performances, I present this initial
top ten list:
Pitcher
|
Team
|
W-L
|
ERA
|
Svs
|
Jim Palmer
|
Orioles
|
16-4
|
2.34
|
0
|
Mike Cuellar
|
Orioles
|
23-11
|
2.38
|
0
|
Mel Stottlemyre
|
Yankees
|
20-14
|
2.82
|
0
|
Ken Tatum
|
Angels
|
7-2
|
1.36
|
22
|
Dick Bosman
|
Senators
|
14-5
|
2.19
|
1
|
Denny McLain
|
Tigers
|
24-9
|
2.80
|
0
|
Fritz Peterson
|
Yankees
|
17-16
|
2.55
|
0
|
Andy Messersmith
|
Angels
|
16-11
|
2.52
|
2
|
Mickey Lolich
|
Tigers
|
19-11
|
3.14
|
1
|
Sam McDowell
|
Indians
|
18-14
|
2.94
|
1
|
Then,
as compared to their team’s averages, we got this list:
Sam McDowell
|
Above
|
|||
Ken Tatum
|
Above
|
|||
Mel Stottlemyre
|
Above
|
|||
Dick Bosman
|
Above
|
|||
Andy Messersmith
|
Above
|
|||
Fritz Peterson
|
Above
|
|||
Denny McLain
|
Above
|
|||
Bob Locker
|
White Sox/Pilots
|
5-6
|
3.14
|
10
|
Jack Aker
|
Pilots/Yankees
|
8-6
|
3.17
|
14
|
Moe Drabowsky
|
Royals
|
11-9
|
2.94
|
11
|
And this
help bring us to our final AL Pitcher top ten overall performers:
Jim Palmer
|
No votes
|
Ken Tatum
|
29th in MVP (tie)
|
Mel Stottlemyre
|
18th in MVP
|
Mike Cuellar
|
Cy Young Award (tie), 8th in
MVP
|
Dick Bosman
|
26th in MVP (tie)
|
Denny McLain
|
Cy Young Award (tie), 6th in
MVP
|
Sam McDowell
|
No votes
|
Fritz Peterson
|
No votes
|
Andy Messersmith
|
20th in MVP (tie)
|
Mickey Lolich
|
No votes
|
Now,
the National League initial top ten:
Tom Seaver
|
Mets
|
25-7
|
2.21
|
0
|
Juan Marichal
|
Giants
|
21-11
|
2.10
|
0
|
Bob Gibson
|
Cardinals
|
20-13
|
1.18
|
0
|
Steve Carlton
|
Cardinals
|
17-11
|
2.17
|
0
|
Phil Niekro
|
Braves
|
23-13
|
2.56
|
1
|
Jerry Koosman
|
Mets
|
17-9
|
2.28
|
0
|
Larry Dierker
|
Astros
|
2013
|
2.33
|
0
|
Bill Singer
|
Dodgers
|
20-12
|
2.34
|
1
|
Bill Hands
|
Cubs
|
20-14
|
2.49
|
0
|
Gaylord Perry
|
Giants
|
19-14
|
2.49
|
0
|
And compared to their teams, we get
this list:
Rick Wise
|
Phillies
|
15-13
|
3.23
|
0
|
Juan Maricahal
|
Above
|
|||
Larry Dierker
|
Above
|
|||
Tom Seaver
|
Above
|
|||
Grant Jackson
|
Phillies
|
14-18
|
3.34
|
1
|
Bob Gibson
|
Above
|
|||
Phil Niekro
|
Above
|
|||
Steve Carlton
|
Above
|
|||
Steve Renko
|
Expos
|
6-7
|
4.01
|
0
|
Bill Singer
|
above
|
Tallying,
compiling and comparing brings us these final top ten performers:
Tom Seaver
|
NL Cy Young Award, 2nd in
MVP
|
Juan Marichal
|
23rd in MVP (tie)
|
Bob Gibson
|
30th in MVP (tie)
|
Larry Dierker
|
23rd in MVP (tie)
|
Steve Carlton
|
No votes
|
Phil Niekro
|
2nd in Cy Young, 9th
in MVP
|
Jerry Koosman
|
23rd in MVP (tie)
|
Bill Singer
|
No votes
|
Bill Hands
|
No votes
|
Gaylord Perry
|
No votes
|
After
all the calculations, figuring and such, I present my top performers in each
league, which varies slightly from the BBWAA final awards.
American League
Reggie Jackson
AL Player of the Year
Harmon Killebrew
Frank Robinson
Jim Palmer
AL Pitcher of the Year
National League
Tom Seaver
NL Player of the Year
Willie McCovey
NL Offensive Player of the Year
Juan Marichal
Dick Allen
Bob Gibson
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