We still haven't quite kicked off yet, giving me time to do most of the team previews for TWIFS, but also allowing me to introduce, or at least in this case, re-introduce some members of the 1975 team. There's obviously a chance players get traded or released, but for now here are some of the non-Pug White guys you may remember from the time before the fast-forward. There's too many for one post, so I'll put them out as we progress. I'd love to make some trades, but I imagine most of the roster will be the same unless a lot of attractive players become available on waivers. Even with an almost fill 40 there's a lot of guys I wouldn't lose sleep over losing, which gives you an idea of what we're working with at Cougars Park.
SS Tom Halliday
Acquired: Via Trade with Boston (1960)
Drafted: 2nd Round, 28th Overall (1957)
1974: 156 G, 643 PA, .256/.308/.361 (89 OPS+), 74 R, 27 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 17 SB, 4.6 WAR
Career: 2,189 G, 8,980 PA, .267/.320/.364 (98 OPS+), 1,010 R, 333 2B, 69 3B, 106 HR, 739 RBI, 126 SB, 55.6 WAR
Our young exciting shortstop before the fast forward, Tom Halliday is still manning short for the Cougars, and the 36-year-old veteran is still one of the best there is. Ranked 5th among FABL shortstops, his defense hasn't seen any declines, producing a 19.1 zone rating (1.054) at short in 1974. Despite that, he's never been a Diamond Defense winner, but the former Minutemen draftee has been selected to 4 All-Star games, and he'll at least have a chance to compete for a 5th in 1975. It must have been nice for the AI not to have to worry about the shortstop position, as since his first full season in 1961 he's failed to appear in 150 games just once. Unfortunately 1974 ended with a major concussion, so it's not like he's never injured, but at least for now he's not likely to see his playing time go away.
Coming off a solid season, he actually stole a career high 17 bases, and set a career best WAR of 5.8 the year before. Never a top hitter, most of his value comes with the glove, but he holds a respectable .267/.320/.364 (98 OPS+) career line in over 2,100 games as a Cougar. A member on a few of our leaderboards, he's top-10 in WAR (8th, 55.6), games (5th, 2,189), at-bats (5th, 8,147), runs (5th, 1,010), hits (7th, 2,177), doubles (5th, 333), and walks (8th, 633). An absolute rock, I think he was best in 1965, as the then 26-year-old hit .305/.345/.427 (123 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 11 triples, 8 homers, 65 RBIs, and 76 runs. His bat is still quick, allowing him to put the ball in early and often, even leading to a career high 15-homer season last year. It's the only time he's gone further then 10, but the crafty shortstop is still one of the toughest outs. We may have his eventual replacement, recent 2nd Rounder and 22nd ranked prospect Carl Carroll, but his time isn't coming anytime soon. As long as Tom's got it, he'll be at shortstop, and if that slips and he can still hold his own second would look on him too. He's a team legend and will be treated as one, even if we missed most of the seasons he gave the team.
RHP Don Griffin
Acquired: Via Trade with Boston (1963)
Drafted: 1st Round, 7th Overall (1955)
1974: 0-3, 2 SV, 37 G, 66.2 IP, 3.78 ERA (100 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP, 18 BB, 30 K, -0.3 WAR
Career: 788 G, 283 GS, 2,578.2 IP, 3.17 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 688 BB, 1,769 K, 53.9 WAR
During the second revival, the one thing I really wanted to see through the career of Don Griffin, who went from stopper to Allen winning ace and back a few times. His best time came in Boston, but they're the ones that put him in the bullpen directly after an Allen. In 1960, Griffin started a Fed high 33 games and won a triple crown, 21-6 with a 2.01 ERA (215 ERA+) and 186 strikeouts. He also led in WHIP (0.92), K/BB (6.2), FIP (2.27), FIP- (52), and WAR (9.1), and despite being just 23 he was then moved to the pen. It was a full-time role the following year and part-time the next, but that's when I made the move to
add him to our rotation.
It didn't go great, and once the AI took over he was back in the pen, but for three seasons he got to fill a full-time rotation role. The best was the final year, 1968, where he was 13-9 with a 2.69 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.12 WHIP, and 125 strikeouts. It's a shame he'll likely end up with just 283 starts, he got three more after the '68 season, as when he first came up he was just so dominant. Sure, he did really well in the pen, before, after, and between the starting jobs, but he was selected to six All-Star games by 25 and had multiple 8+ WAR seasons. He had three WHIP crowns and had impeccable command, consistently striking out farm more hitters then he walked. His 6.2 K/BB and 18.1 K%-BB% in 1960 were best in team history, and they rank inside the top-10 All-Time. His dominance was historic, but the career lines end up leaving plenty to be desired.
A veteran of 2,578.2 innings pitched, he's got an outstanding 178-112 record to go with 94 saves, holding a 3.17 ERA (125 ERA+) and 3.22 FIP (125 FIP-) that still resemble some of his peaks. Griffin has struck out 1,769 to just 688 walks, and has maintained a BB% below 10 his entire career. Just one year in the pen got him above 8.5, and his 11.1 K% this year was his second straight career low. It's sad that the version of him we have now can no longer make a difference, but since I don't really see us competing this season, I think I'll give him at least one more season in our pen. I'm hoping it pushes him closer to retirement, as I'd hate to cut him, but I can only handle so much losing and getting back in the swing of things will definitely get my trade finger itching. It's only a matter of time before we add an arm, and old 'Doc is right on the fringes.
3B Bill Grimm
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 10th Overall (1962)
1974: 127 G, 5.377 PA, .229/.283/.359 (81 OPS+), 51 R, 12 2B, 5 3B, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 17 SB, 0.5 WAR
Career: 1,319 G, 5,377 PA, .252/.349/.457 (136 OPS+), 741 R, 161 2B, 38 3B, 236 HR, 726 RBI, 119 SB, 33.4 WAR
We're coming up close to the 1975 draft, something I'm not all that prepared for, but I was when I made Bill Grimm our last
first rounder before the fast-forward. That was way back in 1962, about two and a half years before his debut season, as he made the Opening Day roster in 1965. He quickly displayed the power I was expecting, bashing 33 homers with 83 RBIs, 87 runs, and 612 walks. His .238/.316/.466 (124 OPS+) batting line was well above average, but instead of shortstop most of his time was split between second and first. A 2-Time All-Star and Diamond Defense winner at first, he's made a solid career for himself, even if he's not the elite talent I once thought he could be.
Those have been the two positions he's played the most, as after a deal that I really wanted to happen didn't happen Grimm will play first base. A prestigious slugger, he's hit 30 homers four times in his career, but injuries and limited playing time have kept him from 20 in each of the last three seasons. A veteran of ten years, the now 31-year-old enters the season with 236 career homers, behind just Jerry McMillan (256) and teammate Henry Watson (283) in team history. He hasn't quite looked the same since a torn meniscus ended his 1972 season, but it's hard to complain about a career .252/.349/.457 (136 OPS+) line. The knee shouldn't be bugging him too much, he did steal 17 bases this current season, but the bigger concern is his drop in walks. His 7% BB% is the first sub-10 year of his career, and as recently as 1970 he led the Conti with 105. He's got 676 in 5,377 career plate appearances, but I'm betting on a rebound season now that he'll be in line for a consistent role.