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KCRoyals15 · 12-27-2024, 12:09 AM

1970

After a sub-.500 season in Norfolk in 1969, Skipper Jr. surprised many by walking away after just one season on the job. Not that leaving quickly was surprising given the previous decade, but the fact that he did so after a sub-par season was particularly noteworthy. Not only that, but he was walking away entirely.

“This past season was a hard one. Not just because of the losses, but it was hard to come to grips that it was time to step away,” Junior said. “The last 35 years have been a helluva run, but it’s time for the rocking chair.”
Skipper Jr. finished his 35-year-run (with a whopping 12 teams) going 3,198-2,722 (.540), reaching the postseason 22 times, winning 9 league/conference championships, and 3 National Championships
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As was the case with his father, Skipper Jr. mentored his son, Trey Skipper in the dugout over the past several seasons. It was time for Trey to take over his own club and various clubs expressed their interest. In the end, one offer blew Trey away, and so his first managerial job would see him tasked with attempting to turn around the Hawaii Islanders.

The 70’s dawned with several very strong teams dotting the landscape, beginning in the Northern Conference. The Brooklyn Dodgers won the New England handily, winning 103 games, their most as a big-league club, and setting a new USBF attendance record by drawing 2.23 million fans to the Dodger Dome. New York took the second playoff berth in the NEL. The Midwest Association was dominated by Milwaukee, who won a franchise-record 105 games to finish 14 games ahead of Toronto, who edged the Chicago Whales for second place.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Indianapolis Hoosiers crashed to a 48-114 finish, their worst in franchise history. A playoff drought nearly two decades long coupled with a precipitous attendance decline combined to fuel speculation that a demotion to the American Baseball League could be in the cards.

In the postseason, New York began the festivities by upsetting Milwaukee in five games. Brooklyn, meanwhile, was pushed hard by Toronto, but vanquished the Leafs in seven games. The Dodgers then took down their cross-town rivals, downing the Gothams in six games to earn their second Conference Championship, but their first since moving to the North six seasons earlier.

In the Southern Conference, the Jacksonville Tars continued their dominances, winning their third-straight Eastern League pennant and their fifth in six years. Miami finished second, edging Atlanta for second as the Gators finished second for the third year in a row. In the Western League, Louisville won a franchise-record 104 games, winning their first WL pennant since 1948 and reaching the postseason for the third year in a row. After their long playoff string was snapped the previous season, St. Louis won 97 games to comfortably take second and punch their October ticket.

In October, St. Louis began the postseason with a mild upset over Jacksonville, trapping the Tars in a six-game series. Louisville, meanwhile, took a bite out of the Gators, taking down Miami in six games as well. The Colonels then tangled with St. Louis for seven games, but ultimately beat the Browns in a thriller to earn their first Conference Championship in 27 years.

The Pacific Coast League continued to be dominated by Seattle in the regular season. Despite their home stadium (Sicks’ Stadium) falling apart, the on-field product didn’t, as the Rainiers won their second-straight pennant and punched their eighth-straight pennant. Sacramento finished second for the first time in five years, while San Diego finished third for their fifth-straight playoff appearance. Meanwhile, Los Angeles squeaked past San Francisco and Oakland for the final playoff spot, reaching the playoff field for the first time in five seasons.

The postseason saw San Diego take down Sacramento in six games. Meanwhile, Seattle took care of business, downing Los Angeles in six games. The Rainiers made quick work of the Padres in the PCL Finals, sweeping San Diego to give the Rainiers to earn their first PCL title in five years.

The Texas League had a season of remarkable parity, as no team won more than 90 games, nor lost more than 89. In the North, Oklahoma City had a league-best 90-72 record, with Fort Worth finishing second one game back to earn the second playoff spot. However, four of the TL’s five winning clubs were in the North, meaning that 88-win Galveston comfortably won the South, while 78-84 San Antonio wound up with the final playoff spot, though that meant the entire South Division was in the playoff race until the final week.

Defending champion Galveston began the playoffs with a seven-game triumph over Fort Worth, while San Antonio immediately answered snickers over their poor record by emphatically bouncing Oklahoma City in a five-game upset. The Missions weren’t done, though, as they stunned Galveston in six games to win their second Texas League crown in six years, and at 78-84 set a new record for worst league champion in United States Baseball Federation history.

That magical run for the Missions, though, ended in the national tournament, as the Seattle Rainiers (PCL) defeat the San Antonio Missions (PCL). In the east, the Brooklyn Dodgers (NOR) defeat the Louisville Colonels (SOU), setting up a National Championship tussle. The series was a good one, and in the end, the Brooklyn Dodgers (NOR) defeat the Seattle Rainiers (PCL), 4-3 to earn the reconstituted Dodgers their first National Championship, and the third title overall for Flatbush and the first since 1919.

On a club that never could quite get over the hump, the Chicago Cyclones’ Steve Boots established himself as one of the top player in the Northern Conference, and this year he took the honor as the very best with the MVP trophy. Boots slashed .330/.383/.632 with 207 hits, 115 runs, and a conference-high 49 homers and 134 RBI, winning his third home run crown and hitting the second-most homers in Northern Conference history.

The Pitcher of the Year voting was much more controversial as Steve Moreno of the Philadelphia Quakers earned the trophy. Though he led the conference with a 2.40 ERA, he was just 18-14 with very unimpressive strikeout numbers. Many observers argued that Brooklyn’s Chris Ogden, who went 23-4 with a 3.40 ERA and fanned 252 batters in 266.0 innings, would’ve been a better choice. Nonetheless, Moreno had the first and only POTY of his career.

In the Southern Conference, offense picked back up after the very low-scoring 1969 season, and the offensive numbers looked much better. As was the case the previous year, though, Jacksonville’s Steve Bishop took home MVP, his third in a row and his record ninth overall. The 35-year-old, who had battled injuries the last few years, stayed on the field for 145 games and slashed .299/.382/.586 with 170 hits, 102 runs, and led the South with 41 homers and 119 RBI. It was the fifth and final home run title for Bishop, who only played more than 113 games once more. As a result, this season also was his final MVP season, though he still had plenty left in the tank.

Birmingham’s Nick Clark was overlooked on Barons teams that rarely approached contention, but on a third-place team, Clark was noticed. He went just 15-13 but posted a 2.59 ERA, led the South with 36 starts, worked 274.2 innings, and set a conference record (tying the EBF mark) by striking out 271 batters. That was enough to earn him Pitcher of the Year.

Early in the season (April 13), Seattle’s Joseph Miller crushed his 400th home run. He added plenty more, as the Pacific Coast League’s top slugger put together a career year. Despite missing 29 games (his 171 games were a career-low through nine seasons), Miller hit .253 and still crushed a career-best 59 homers and drove in 132 runs, and added 131 runs scored, plus leading the league with 136 walks, the only time he led the PCL in that department. For his work, he earned his second-straight MVP and his sixth overall.

San Francisco’s Kasey Diamond earned Rookie of the Year in 1969 with 21 wins, and while he didn’t quite hit that figure, he posted a strong sophomore season in ’70, going 19-10 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 149 batters in 308.0 innings to take Pitcher of the Year accolades. Ironically, his next two seasons were arguably better, but this would be his only POTY in a 12-year big-league career.

After winning Texas League MVP in 1966, Oklahoma City’s Jimmy Casas slumped but bounced back in a big way, culminating in a 1970 season in which he slashed .289/.369/.567 with 174 hits, a league-leading 115 runs, and a career-high 45 homers and 132 RBI, leading the Texas League in those two categories for the fourth time in five years. All told, that was plenty enough to earn the 34-year-old his second MVP.

Casas’ teammate, 30-year-old righty Roy Hendricks, continued his remarkable success with his second-straight Pitcher of the Year award and sixth overall. Hendricks won a career-high 23 games to lead the TL, while also leading the loop in ERA (2.26), starts (36), and innings (271.1), while striking out 218 batters, one off his career best.

In his penultimate season, 42-year-old Galveston outfielder Joel Zielinski made two bits of history on May 2. One swing produced his 3,000th hit, which also was his 400th home run, making him the first player in Texas League history to accomplish either feat. About 3 ½ seasons of his final totals came when the TL was still a minor league, but he still racked up 2,650 hits and 368 homers as a big leaguer before he finally ran out of gas the next season.

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One of the more intriguing developments in American Baseball League play had been the developments of teams banished from the big-league ranks. Miami was demoted and had already been re-elevated. Pittsburgh and New Haven had both found considerable success and Salt Lake City was doing fine, while Denver and Minneapolis mostly sputtered and Cincinnati flat-out crashed to the ground.

Come 1970, Phoenix and Newark were two castoffs finding their way again, while it was established superpowers taking the reins. In their first season at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh won 111 games to take the East, while San Jose topped that with 114 in the West. Spokane won 102 contests to earn the second West playoff spot, freezing out 99-win Phoenix. Meanwhile, in their sixth year in the league, Newark broke through to make their playoff appearance in the ABL and their first overall since 1948.

On the other side, just two seasons after 120 wins, New Haven finished just 80-82, their first losing season in 17 years in the ABL and an abrupt end to a seven-year playoff streak. Cincinnati, meanwhile, moved into shiny new Riverfront Stadium…and nose-dived to 116 losses (one more than the year before) with the worst offense in league history (.195 average and just 400 runs, or 2.47 per game, as a team).

The postseason saw some major upsets as Spokane bounced Pittsburgh in a five-game series in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Newark shocked San Jose in six games. The Eagles soared once more, edging Spokane in seven games for the American Baseball Cup, their first ABL title and first of any kind in 29 seasons.

Spokane’s 25-year-old rookie shortstop Dusty Frailey roared onto the scene with a .330/.370/.469 slash line, adding 211 hits, 99 runs, 35 doubles, 9 triples, 12 homers, 77 RBI, and a perfect 21-for-21 mark on the basepaths. All that earned him MVP honors. After following the Austin Wranglers into the Texas League, Chris Wallace was a big leaguer for a couple years before being traded back into the ABL in 1969, going to Phoenix. Prior to 1970, though, the Firebirds practically gave him to Hawaii (receiving only a pitcher who never made it out of Triple-A) and sorely regretted it. The 35-year-old went 22-6 with a miniscule league-leading 1.52 ERA, striking out a league-high 345 batters in 249.0 innings to earn an easy Pitcher of the Year Award, his third. He also collected his 3,000th ABL strikeout on June 30.

With the ABL playing it’s 17th season this year, the final active player from it’s inaugural 1954 season called it quits. John Schroeder played 24 professional seasons, mostly with Salt Lake City, debuting when the Bees were still a big-league club in 1950 and playing in the ABL from its 1954 launch through 1969. After a season in the minors with Salina, he called it a career, retiring with 3,088 professional hits, including 2,042 in the ABL.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 92-62, defeats Jackson (2nd straight)
Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 86-54, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 93-48, defeats St. Joseph
Rocky Mountain League: Cheyenne Bulls, 75-52, defeats Pueblo
Coastal League: Macon Peaches, 84-71, defeats Richmond
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 91-49, defeats La Crosse
Great Lakes League: Flint Vehicles, 86-54, defeats Harrisburg
Southwest League: Bakersfield Conquistadors, 88-66, defeats Long Beach (2nd straight)
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 80-60, defeats Little Rock
Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 81-59, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Utica Blue Sox, 71-55, defeats Portland
Mid-Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists, 72-69, defeats Greensboro
Lone Star League: San Angelo Colts, 95-45, defeats Midland-Odessa
Great Plains League: St. Paul Saints, 93-48, defeats Lincoln
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 77-64, defeats Huntsville (2nd straight)
Big Sky League: Idaho Falls Fireballs, 72-60, defeats Regina

The Mid-Atlantic League was treated to a tense race as while Greensboro won the pennant comfortably, five teams finished the regular season within two games of second place, with two of them (Asheville and Trenton) tied for second at 71-69. Asheville won the playoff and then the championship.

12-27-2024, 12:09 AM	#80
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	There's a New Skip in Town 1970 After a sub-.500 season in Norfolk in 1969, Skipper Jr. surprised many by walking away after just one season on the job. Not that leaving quickly was surprising given the previous decade, but the fact that he did so after a sub-par season was particularly noteworthy. Not only that, but he was walking away entirely. “This past season was a hard one. Not just because of the losses, but it was hard to come to grips that it was time to step away,” Junior said. “The last 35 years have been a helluva run, but it’s time for the rocking chair.” Skipper Jr. finished his 35-year-run (with a whopping 12 teams) going 3,198-2,722 (.540), reaching the postseason 22 times, winning 9 league/conference championships, and 3 National Championships . As was the case with his father, Skipper Jr. mentored his son, Trey Skipper in the dugout over the past several seasons. It was time for Trey to take over his own club and various clubs expressed their interest. In the end, one offer blew Trey away, and so his first managerial job would see him tasked with attempting to turn around the Hawaii Islanders. The 70’s dawned with several very strong teams dotting the landscape, beginning in the Northern Conference. The Brooklyn Dodgers won the New England handily, winning 103 games, their most as a big-league club, and setting a new USBF attendance record by drawing 2.23 million fans to the Dodger Dome. New York took the second playoff berth in the NEL. The Midwest Association was dominated by Milwaukee, who won a franchise-record 105 games to finish 14 games ahead of Toronto, who edged the Chicago Whales for second place. On the other end of the spectrum, the Indianapolis Hoosiers crashed to a 48-114 finish, their worst in franchise history. A playoff drought nearly two decades long coupled with a precipitous attendance decline combined to fuel speculation that a demotion to the American Baseball League could be in the cards. In the postseason, New York began the festivities by upsetting Milwaukee in five games. Brooklyn, meanwhile, was pushed hard by Toronto, but vanquished the Leafs in seven games. The Dodgers then took down their cross-town rivals, downing the Gothams in six games to earn their second Conference Championship, but their first since moving to the North six seasons earlier. In the Southern Conference, the Jacksonville Tars continued their dominances, winning their third-straight Eastern League pennant and their fifth in six years. Miami finished second, edging Atlanta for second as the Gators finished second for the third year in a row. In the Western League, Louisville won a franchise-record 104 games, winning their first WL pennant since 1948 and reaching the postseason for the third year in a row. After their long playoff string was snapped the previous season, St. Louis won 97 games to comfortably take second and punch their October ticket. In October, St. Louis began the postseason with a mild upset over Jacksonville, trapping the Tars in a six-game series. Louisville, meanwhile, took a bite out of the Gators, taking down Miami in six games as well. The Colonels then tangled with St. Louis for seven games, but ultimately beat the Browns in a thriller to earn their first Conference Championship in 27 years. The Pacific Coast League continued to be dominated by Seattle in the regular season. Despite their home stadium (Sicks’ Stadium) falling apart, the on-field product didn’t, as the Rainiers won their second-straight pennant and punched their eighth-straight pennant. Sacramento finished second for the first time in five years, while San Diego finished third for their fifth-straight playoff appearance. Meanwhile, Los Angeles squeaked past San Francisco and Oakland for the final playoff spot, reaching the playoff field for the first time in five seasons. The postseason saw San Diego take down Sacramento in six games. Meanwhile, Seattle took care of business, downing Los Angeles in six games. The Rainiers made quick work of the Padres in the PCL Finals, sweeping San Diego to give the Rainiers to earn their first PCL title in five years. The Texas League had a season of remarkable parity, as no team won more than 90 games, nor lost more than 89. In the North, Oklahoma City had a league-best 90-72 record, with Fort Worth finishing second one game back to earn the second playoff spot. However, four of the TL’s five winning clubs were in the North, meaning that 88-win Galveston comfortably won the South, while 78-84 San Antonio wound up with the final playoff spot, though that meant the entire South Division was in the playoff race until the final week. Defending champion Galveston began the playoffs with a seven-game triumph over Fort Worth, while San Antonio immediately answered snickers over their poor record by emphatically bouncing Oklahoma City in a five-game upset. The Missions weren’t done, though, as they stunned Galveston in six games to win their second Texas League crown in six years, and at 78-84 set a new record for worst league champion in United States Baseball Federation history. That magical run for the Missions, though, ended in the national tournament, as the Seattle Rainiers (PCL) defeat the San Antonio Missions (PCL). In the east, the Brooklyn Dodgers (NOR) defeat the Louisville Colonels (SOU), setting up a National Championship tussle. The series was a good one, and in the end, the *Brooklyn Dodgers (NOR) defeat the Seattle Rainiers (PCL), 4-3* to earn the reconstituted Dodgers their first National Championship, and the third title overall for Flatbush and the first since 1919. On a club that never could quite get over the hump, the Chicago Cyclones’ Steve Boots established himself as one of the top player in the Northern Conference, and this year he took the honor as the very best with the MVP trophy. Boots slashed .330/.383/.632 with 207 hits, 115 runs, and a conference-high 49 homers and 134 RBI, winning his third home run crown and hitting the second-most homers in Northern Conference history. The Pitcher of the Year voting was much more controversial as Steve Moreno of the Philadelphia Quakers earned the trophy. Though he led the conference with a 2.40 ERA, he was just 18-14 with very unimpressive strikeout numbers. Many observers argued that Brooklyn’s Chris Ogden, who went 23-4 with a 3.40 ERA and fanned 252 batters in 266.0 innings, would’ve been a better choice. Nonetheless, Moreno had the first and only POTY of his career. In the Southern Conference, offense picked back up after the very low-scoring 1969 season, and the offensive numbers looked much better. As was the case the previous year, though, Jacksonville’s Steve Bishop took home MVP, his third in a row and his record ninth overall. The 35-year-old, who had battled injuries the last few years, stayed on the field for 145 games and slashed .299/.382/.586 with 170 hits, 102 runs, and led the South with 41 homers and 119 RBI. It was the fifth and final home run title for Bishop, who only played more than 113 games once more. As a result, this season also was his final MVP season, though he still had plenty left in the tank. Birmingham’s Nick Clark was overlooked on Barons teams that rarely approached contention, but on a third-place team, Clark was noticed. He went just 15-13 but posted a 2.59 ERA, led the South with 36 starts, worked 274.2 innings, and set a conference record (tying the EBF mark) by striking out 271 batters. That was enough to earn him Pitcher of the Year. Early in the season (April 13), Seattle’s Joseph Miller crushed his 400th home run. He added plenty more, as the Pacific Coast League’s top slugger put together a career year. Despite missing 29 games (his 171 games were a career-low through nine seasons), Miller hit .253 and still crushed a career-best 59 homers and drove in 132 runs, and added 131 runs scored, plus leading the league with 136 walks, the only time he led the PCL in that department. For his work, he earned his second-straight MVP and his sixth overall. San Francisco’s Kasey Diamond earned Rookie of the Year in 1969 with 21 wins, and while he didn’t quite hit that figure, he posted a strong sophomore season in ’70, going 19-10 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 149 batters in 308.0 innings to take Pitcher of the Year accolades. Ironically, his next two seasons were arguably better, but this would be his only POTY in a 12-year big-league career. After winning Texas League MVP in 1966, Oklahoma City’s Jimmy Casas slumped but bounced back in a big way, culminating in a 1970 season in which he slashed .289/.369/.567 with 174 hits, a league-leading 115 runs, and a career-high 45 homers and 132 RBI, leading the Texas League in those two categories for the fourth time in five years. All told, that was plenty enough to earn the 34-year-old his second MVP. Casas’ teammate, 30-year-old righty Roy Hendricks, continued his remarkable success with his second-straight Pitcher of the Year award and sixth overall. Hendricks won a career-high 23 games to lead the TL, while also leading the loop in ERA (2.26), starts (36), and innings (271.1), while striking out 218 batters, one off his career best. In his penultimate season, 42-year-old Galveston outfielder Joel Zielinski made two bits of history on May 2. One swing produced his 3,000th hit, which also was his 400th home run, making him the first player in Texas League history to accomplish either feat. About 3 ½ seasons of his final totals came when the TL was still a minor league, but he still racked up 2,650 hits and 368 homers as a big leaguer before he finally ran out of gas the next season. --- One of the more intriguing developments in American Baseball League play had been the developments of teams banished from the big-league ranks. Miami was demoted and had already been re-elevated. Pittsburgh and New Haven had both found considerable success and Salt Lake City was doing fine, while Denver and Minneapolis mostly sputtered and Cincinnati flat-out crashed to the ground. Come 1970, Phoenix and Newark were two castoffs finding their way again, while it was established superpowers taking the reins. In their first season at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh won 111 games to take the East, while San Jose topped that with 114 in the West. Spokane won 102 contests to earn the second West playoff spot, freezing out 99-win Phoenix. Meanwhile, in their sixth year in the league, Newark broke through to make their playoff appearance in the ABL and their first overall since 1948. On the other side, just two seasons after 120 wins, New Haven finished just 80-82, their first losing season in 17 years in the ABL and an abrupt end to a seven-year playoff streak. Cincinnati, meanwhile, moved into shiny new Riverfront Stadium…and nose-dived to 116 losses (one more than the year before) with the worst offense in league history (.195 average and just 400 runs, or 2.47 per game, as a team). The postseason saw some major upsets as Spokane bounced Pittsburgh in a five-game series in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Newark shocked San Jose in six games. The Eagles soared once more, edging Spokane in seven games for the American Baseball Cup, their first ABL title and first of any kind in 29 seasons. Spokane’s 25-year-old rookie shortstop Dusty Frailey roared onto the scene with a .330/.370/.469 slash line, adding 211 hits, 99 runs, 35 doubles, 9 triples, 12 homers, 77 RBI, and a perfect 21-for-21 mark on the basepaths. All that earned him MVP honors. After following the Austin Wranglers into the Texas League, Chris Wallace was a big leaguer for a couple years before being traded back into the ABL in 1969, going to Phoenix. Prior to 1970, though, the Firebirds practically gave him to Hawaii (receiving only a pitcher who never made it out of Triple-A) and sorely regretted it. The 35-year-old went 22-6 with a miniscule league-leading 1.52 ERA, striking out a league-high 345 batters in 249.0 innings to earn an easy Pitcher of the Year Award, his third. He also collected his 3,000th ABL strikeout on June 30. With the ABL playing it’s 17th season this year, the final active player from it’s inaugural 1954 season called it quits. John Schroeder played 24 professional seasons, mostly with Salt Lake City, debuting when the Bees were still a big-league club in 1950 and playing in the ABL from its 1954 launch through 1969. After a season in the minors with Salina, he called it a career, retiring with 3,088 professional hits, including 2,042 in the ABL. --- Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 92-62, defeats Jackson (2nd straight) Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 86-54, defeats Pittsfield River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 93-48, defeats St. Joseph Rocky Mountain League: Cheyenne Bulls, 75-52, defeats Pueblo Coastal League: Macon Peaches, 84-71, defeats Richmond Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 91-49, defeats La Crosse Great Lakes League: Flint Vehicles, 86-54, defeats Harrisburg Southwest League: Bakersfield Conquistadors, 88-66, defeats Long Beach (2nd straight) Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 80-60, defeats Little Rock Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 81-59, defeats Tacoma Can-Am League: Utica Blue Sox, 71-55, defeats Portland Mid-Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists, 72-69, defeats Greensboro Lone Star League: San Angelo Colts, 95-45, defeats Midland-Odessa Great Plains League: St. Paul Saints, 93-48, defeats Lincoln Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 77-64, defeats Huntsville (2nd straight) Big Sky League: Idaho Falls Fireballs, 72-60, defeats Regina The Mid-Atlantic League was treated to a tense race as while Greensboro won the pennant comfortably, five teams finished the regular season within two games of second place, with two of them (Asheville and Trenton) tied for second at 71-69. Asheville won the playoff and then the championship.