[Matches]

My version of the game ceased to function properly a long time ago when all amateur drafts crashed the game to the desktop. No tech support helped but because I am a sucker for this franchise I ponied up for 2008 and the problem was resolved. So here now, the remainder of my historical replay:

1960

The Reds, interestingly, shook things up in the offseason. With power hitting prospects Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson coming into their own, Cincinnati management felt their lineup needed some balance. So they traded for Los Angeles’ speedy young shortstop Luis Aparicio, and then moved their own power hitting shortstop Ernie Banks to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Tito Francona. Then, to solidify their outfield even further, they signed free agent Al Kaline away from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Banks promptly led the Yankees, the franchise with the worst all-time won-loss record, to the top of the American League. New York was in first place by one game at the all-star break, holding a one-game lead over Baltimore. They held on to first place until the final two weeks of the season. The Orioles finished 8-2 in their last ten games while the Yankees struggled in September, going 9-13.

Meanwhile the Reds maintained the top spot in the National League until August when the Braves took first place thanks to the stellar outfield of Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. The Braves finished strong, going 34-15 in the final two months to reclaim the National League title after a three-year dryspell.

Milwaukee took the World Series in six games from the Orioles. The Orioles thought they had forced a game seven on a couple occasions, with a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th giving them a 6-1 lead. But Camilo Pascual and Ryne Duren surrendered a 5-run ninth inning to send the game into the 10th. The Orioles got a run in the 10th inning but the Braves came back in the bottom of the 10th. Baltimore closer Ed Roebuck was the goat as he committed an error allowing Wally Shannon to get on base to lead off the inning. Roebuck then walked the next two batters, and went 3-0 to Roman Mejias before giving up a 3-1 single that scored the tying and series-winning runs for the Braves. Roebuck had saved 16 games with a 2.98 ERA during the regular season.

1961

The new year brought two new teams into the league. The original Washington Senators packed up and moved to Minnesota, but an expansion franchise was granted to Washington. Also getting an American League team was Los Angeles, whose team was christened the Angels and would compete with the NL’s Dodgers, who along with the Giants had moved out west in 1958.

The Orioles put together a good first half but found themselves five games back of Boson at the all-star break. The Red Sox had a 58-29 record and was led by Norm Cash and Sandy Koufax. In the National League, the Braves dominated the competition thanks in large part to the dynamic duo of Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Baltimore had the league’s top three home run hitters but Boston’s pitching staff was the best in the American League. The Orioles made a deal for starter Bob Friend at the trading deadline, giving up Rocky Colavito. The team responded but Boston was just too good, winning 101 games to take the pennant. It set up an epic World Series matchup with the Braves, who went 108-46 and finished a whopping 23 games ahead of the second place Reds.

The Braves won the World Series in six games despite Roberto Clemente’s absence from the lineup due to a scratched cornea. Mickey Mantle bounced back from subpar seasons in ’59 and ’60 to win the AL MVP with a .319 batting average and 47 home runs, while Clemente (.341-21-123) edged out his teammates Mays (.312-28-107) and Carl Sawatski (.319-26-94) to win the award in the National League.

In the offseason the National League added two expansion teams, the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets.

1962

The Cleveland Indians rode a young pitching staff anchord by Al Downing, Gary Peters and Juan Marichal to a 61-26 record at the all-star break, surprising most of the experts. In the National League, the Braves fell on hard times as both Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays had relatively uninspired seasons. The Reds got a great season from Whitey Ford who won 24 games and posted an ERA of 2.32 to win the Cy Young. good season from Vada Pinson who won the National League batting title. They returned to the World Series after a two-year absence with a 101-win season. They met the Cleveland who finished 111-51. Cleveland, which hadn’t been to the World Series since 1944 took home it’s third ring in franchise history in seven games.

Cleveland’s 21-year old pitcher Al Downing finished with an amazing 25-2 record and a 1.49 ERA, considered one of the best seasons put up in history, let alone a rookie. Hank Aaron won his first MVP award, hitting .310 with 45 homers, eclipsing the 300 career home run mark at age 28.

1963

The Cleveland Indians only got better in 1963. After winning their third franchise World Series, they set the American League on fire in the first half of the season with a 63-22 win record at the all-star break. While their offense was just average, their pitching led the league in virtually every major category and 4 of their starting pitchers had 10 wins by the break and their team ERA was 2.11.

In the National League, the Reds battled with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Milwaukee for the pennant. But as the final month of the season rolled around the Cardinals and Pirates ended up the only two contenders. The Cardinals finished strong and won 98 games to finish first. They faced Cleveland, who won 111 games for the second straight year, and for the second straight year won the World Series in seven games. Al Downing (23-3, 1.77) won his second Cy Young award

After the season, Ted Williams called it a career at the age of 45. He finished with 715 career home runs and a batting average of .328. He was named MVP 15 times but never won a World Series ring.

1964

The infant Los Angeles Angels were the first expansion team to emerge as contenders, as they held first place in the American League for the first couple months. But the defending champion Indians held first place by a game at the all-star break. The Angels faded quickly and it was the White Sox and Red Sox both battling Cleveland in the final month of the season. Cleveland and Boston went back and forth at the top of the standings several times in the last week before the Red Sox pulled out a win on the final game of the year to win the pennant by one game.

The Braves, Phillies and Reds battled for first place after the Cubs faded after a solid first couple months. The Braves were in first most of the way but their 13-17 record in the final 30 games of the season cost them the pennant and the Reds returned to the World Series for the fourth time in the last eight years.

Boston took the World Series in seven games. They were led by Sandy Koufax, who broke his own major league record with 375 strikeouts during the regular season. The effort earned him his first Cy Young award, as he edged Cleveland’s Al Downing in the voting. It also came in the final year of his contact, but the Red Sox were able to re-sign Koufax to a five-year deal, as well as bring back cleanup hitter Norm Cash.

1965

The California Angels had another good start to the season, but again struggled and were only .500 at the break. The Kansas City Athletics, led by 25-year old Carl Yastrzemski, held first place at the all-star break. In the National League, the Reds looked to return to the World Series but they faced a challenge by the San Francisco Giants in midseason. The Athletics rolled to an easy pennant win, taking the AL championship by 11 games despite only going 9-20 in September. The A’s finished with 100 wins but were outdone by the Reds who finished incredibly strong, winning 103 games and their 14th pennant in franchise history.

The Athletics won the 1965 World Series in six games. Right fielder Joe Pepitone hit .455 for the series and has 8 RBIs. It was the Athletics second World Series win in franchise history in just three trips.

Two top pitching prospects entered the draft after the season. The Houston Astros used the first overall pick totake Don Sutton, while the New York Yankees had the third overall pick and selected 18-year-old Nolan Ryan.

1966

The Reds came back with a vengeance in 1966, after losing two straight chances in the fall classic, they came on like gangbusters with a 37-9 record to start the season. The Reds did fall off that blistering pace a bit but still had 60 wins at the all-star break. They struggled early after the break and had to fend off a push from the New York Mets, but they picked up the pace again in August and cruised to a 105 win season and won the pennant by 19 games as the Mets fell apart down the stretch.

The American League saw several teams battling for first place midway through the season. Baltimore and California went back and forth but no fewer than seven teams were within six games of first place at the break. Only the Yankees, Twins and Indians appeared out of contention. The Orioles had a three game lead going into August over the Boston Red Sox. Boston faded and the Orioles held on to win the pennant by four games over the Washington Senators.

The Orioles returned to the World Series for the first time since 1960. Their heyday which began in 1954 saw them win five pennants in seven years but they won only one ring. The Reds were back in the Series for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five years. This time the Reds were winners, taking the series in six games.

The Reds’ Harmon Killebrew won the NL MVP award for his .258-38-113 season. Teammate Ron Santo finished second in the voting and Lee Stange and Bob Shaw finished second and third in the Cy Young vote. In the American League 25-year-old Pete Rose (.348-17-80) won the MVP and Sandy Koufax won his second Cy Young award.

The Reds lost starting third baseman Ron Santo to the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency in the offseason. They replaced him with 23-year-old rookie Sal Bando

1967

The addition of Santo paid off for the Cardinals at first as they were in first place by a game and a half at the all-star break. In the American League the Indians were in first place thanks to a dominant start by rookie pitcher Jerry Koosman. Koosman was 12-0 at the break with a 1.55 ERA. Cleveland was 2 games up on Chicago, but the White Sox took over first place soon after the break. For much of the season, Alou brothers Matty of Cleveland and Felipe of the Phillies lead both leagues in batting average.

St. Louis continued to play well into August and they had a comfortable lead of about 10 games over the Giants. Chicago played well in the second half and Cleveland fell behind, leaving Boston and New York chasing the White Sox, who were led by star pitchers Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich.

The White Sox faced the Cardinals in the World Series, with both teams finishing with a 97-65 record and a 6 game lead at season’s end. Chicago, a dominant team in the late 1930s, had not won a pennant since 1950 and featured a dominant pitching staff with Gibson, Lolich (the eventual Cy Young award winner with a 19-5 record and a 1.99 ERA), Phil Niekro and Jim Maloney. St. Louis featured a lineup with seven hitters who hit 15 or more homers and a 3-4 punch of Ron Santo and Hank Aaron. Chicago won the first game but St. Louis came back to win four straight and win the series.

Cleveland’s Koosman Struggled in the second half, going 6-10 to finish with an 18-10 record and a 2.21 ERA, but he still won the Rookie of the Year award for the American League. Phil Niekro’s brother Joe won the award for the Astros in the National League. Cleveland’s Matty Alou (.332) won the batting title, but his brother Felipe finished with a .292 average, which was third in the National League.

After winning the World Series, the Cardinals added aging veteran Willie Mays to the roster. Mays, a long time member of the Braves organization, was added for veteran leadership and to compete with Bobby Agee, acquired in a trade with Washington to replace departed center fielder Don Lock.

1968

The White Sox started the 1968 season 27-10 but the Yankees, long-time doormats, were playing well above .600 ball as well. The Reds were back atop the National League after the first couple months of the season thanks to a hot start by Tony Oliva, who was hitting .367 through mid-June. The defending champion Cardinals found themselves struggling and playing just .500 ball.

The Yankees took first place on July 14th as young pitcher Nolan Ryan was emerging as a true ace. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Dodgers, led by Feguson Jenkins, were trying to contend with the Reds, and were five games out heading into August. The Yankees faltered a little in mid August but were up 6 going into the final month and won the pennant going away, with a 99-63 record, 11 games ahead of Chicago, Oakland, and Washington, who all tied for second. The Reds also won 99 games, winning their fifth pennant of the decade and seventh in the last eleven years.

The Reds’ strength was their offense. Veteran Harmon Killebrew and youngster Reggie Jackson combined for 64 homers and Tony Oliva and Rusty Staul also contributed with solid numbers all around. The Yankees were anchored by the American League’s best pitching staff, which featured 22-game winner Gary Nolan as well as Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Luis Tiant. Their offense did not have much power at all, but their .254 batting average did lead the A.L. Pitching won the day as the Yankees won the World Series in 5 games, their first since 1932. Nolan Ryan won both his starts, and struck out 17 batters in 13 innings, posting an ERA of 1.38.

The league expanded once again, with the N.L. adding the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos. The A.L. replaced the Athletics franchise, recently moved from Kansas City, with the Royals, and added a team in Seattle, the Pilots. The Padres’ first amateur draft pick was pitcher Vida Blue. The Expos took Tom Bradley, the Pilots chose Dave Roberts, and the Royals went with Jerry Reuss. The first hitter to go was George Foster, to the Giants at number 10.

1969

A loaded free agent class gave some of the expansion teams with money to spend a chance to add some talent. Pete Rose, two-time AL MVP with Washington, signed a free agent deal with Montreal to bat third and play second base. The Expos also added third baseman Brooks Robinson, veteran pitcher and 300-game winner Whitey Ford and former 21-game winner Jim Maloney. Frank Robinson, after an injury plagued final season with the Cubs, signed a four-year deal with the Royals.

The addition of all the new teams resulted in baseball going to a 2-league, 4-division format. Each league was split into East and West divisions, with the winners of each division facing each other in the League Championship Series. The winners would then face off in the World Series.

Out of nowhere the Detroit Tigers were the early leaders in the AL East, and were chased by the Yankees. Detroit, without a pennant in 49 years, had finished in 9th place the last two years and had only one season over .500 going back to 1955. Young Al Oliver, whom the Tigers drafted in the second round two seasons ago hit 14 homers and .339 in his first 69 games and would go on to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, hitting .340 with 24 home runs.

Cincinnati was the top team in the majors at the all-star break, with a 50-25 record. Chicago, Montreal and the New York Mets all were tied for first in the NL East.

Heading into the final two months, Detroit held a 1 game lead on NY, the White Sox were in control in the AL West, while the Cubs and Reds had comfortable leads in the National League. The Reds finished with an impressive 108-54 season while the Tigers and White Sox each had 101 wins. Cincinnati swept Chicago in the NLCS and mowed down the AL Champion Tigers in the World Series, four games to one.

Harmon Killebrew had the best season of his 15 years with the Reds, hitting .332 with 41 homers and 138 RBI to win the NL MVP. The World Series title cemented the Reds as the Tam of the Decade, as they won six pennants and never finished worse than third place throughout the 1960s. Frank Howard of the Baltimore Orioles became the third player to hit 60 homers in a season, as he hit 61 at the age of thirty-three. Whitey Ford retired after a well-traveled career that saw him win 328 games, most of any pitcher since the dead-ball era.