Pilot Power: The Alternate History of the Seattle Pilots

bubba22plus · 03-24-2010, 05:36 PM

Ok, so i decided to start this up again. The basic question is, what if the Seattle Pilots had more time to get Sick's Stadium ready? The setup is this:

In 1962, Charlie O. Finley tried several times to move the Kansas City Athletics to Dallas/Fort Worth. Two years later, he tried to move them to Louisville. Six WEEKS later he tried to move them to Oakland. All of these requests were turned down by the AL by the same margin of 9-1 each time. However, he considered many other cities in the US, including Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle and New Orleans. In real life, he was persuaded to sign a lease with Kansas City. In my universe he won't budge, setting the stage for a chain of alternate events. In 1967, Finley asked once again for approval to relocate, this time to San Diego. The AL approved this time, and the A's were off to San Diego. Since he didn't sign a lease with Kansas City, Senator Stuart Symington couldn't threaten to abolish the anti-trust exemption, because the A's weren't obliged to stay. Then, in 1967, the MLB announced 4 franchises to begin play in 1971: The Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, the Montreal Expos, and the Milwaukee Brewers (Since San Diego was taken). Because Senator Symington didn't threaten to remove baseball's anti-trust exemption, he didn't force the League to move up the franchise start date to 1969, therefore, the Seattle Pilots had two extra years to prepare, and Sick's Stadium would expand to 30,000 seats well before the first season. Thus the Pilots would be able to generate enough revenue to stay in Seattle.

I will start in 1968 and sim to the 1971 preseason, where i will do the expansion draft. I will turn off Auto-Expansion.

bubba22plus · 03-24-2010, 06:50 PM

EDIT: My old computer got fried recently and this roster is gone. However, i will be relaunching this dynasty, in the same thread, with the same back story, so don't fret!

Syd Thrift · 03-24-2010, 07:11 PM

No Jim Bouton.

Although it does have both Denny McClain and Dave LaRoche. On the flip side of THAT though, the game still does not include the LaLob/Eephus. I want to see a pitch that travels 12 mph!

captaincarl · 03-25-2010, 04:17 AM

He probably sent Bouton to the Triple-A club. I can't recall whether the club was in Vancouver, BC or in Hawaii. Bouton could be hanging around with Mike "Moonman" Marshall. Wasn't Marshall on the team also along with Steve Hovley? I remember Bouton talking about them in "Ball Four".

CatKnight · 03-25-2010, 03:06 PM

Remember this is 1971 and not 1969. The two clubs (IRL Pilots and these) probably bear no relation to each other.

bubba22plus · 03-25-2010, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Remember this is 1971 and not 1969. The two clubs (IRL Pilots and these) probably bear no relation to each other.

Well i'll get a second chance to do this over, as my computer was fried by a quick power outage. I am now on a new computer, and i'm gonna relaunch this.

However this statement is correct regardless.

bwburke94 · 03-25-2010, 04:57 PM

The '69 Pilots AAA was in Hawaii, just so you know.

EDIT: And CatKnight, please don't make a dynasty just so you can claim the computer crashed on April Fools' Day. I didn't fall for that last time.

captaincarl · 03-25-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Remember this is 1971 and not 1969. The two clubs (IRL Pilots and these) probably bear no relation to each other.

my goof. Doh!

bubba22plus · 03-25-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwburke94

The '69 Pilots AAA was in Hawaii, just so you know.

EDIT: And CatKnight, please don't make a dynasty just so you can claim the computer crashed on April Fools' Day. I didn't fall for that last time.

Mine seriously did crap out on me. I was so pissed, because i had to start over my World of Fictional Baseball Project.

bubba22plus · 03-25-2010, 07:07 PM

Recap of the last three years:

1968: Detroit Tigers over New York Mets 4-2
1969: San Francisco Giants over Detroit Tigers 4-3
1970: San Francisco Giants over Minnesota Twins 4-3

Seattle Pilots Roster:

Name: SeattlePilotsRoster.jpg
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Name: SeattlePilotsRoster.jpg
Views: 1044
Size: 72.5 KB

bubba22plus · 03-25-2010, 07:25 PM

April and May Recap
(I'm reporting bi-monthly)

April: 8-16

Not the start we wanted, but hey, we ARE an expansion team so no ill will toward the team right now. We lost more games in the ninth than i could believe, so pitching, more the bullpen, is an issue. We DID trade a washed up reliever for a washed Mickey Mantle, but it seemed to be a difference in may, as you'll see now.

May: 15-14

Yep, we had a winning month for the first time in franchise history, but barely. The team seemed to have A: needed time to gel or B: been motivated by the acquisition of Mickey Mantle.

Overall Record: 23-30

Not too shabby for an expansion team!

bubba22plus · 03-25-2010, 07:35 PM

June and July recap

June Record: 7-21
July Record: 9-15

Not much i can say here. We were terrible. Although i can say our bullpen got better. But just as fast as that happened, our bats died. Think i might order some cork now

.

bubba22plus · 03-26-2010, 02:30 PM

August, September and October Recap

August: 6-21
September: 8-19
October: 2-1
Final Record: 55-107

That's how we show that we're an expansion team. We did horrible these few months. But hey, there are some bright spots: Well, maybe not. Final team stats are as shown:

Batting

Batting Average: .216 - 12th in AL
On Base Percentage: .291 - 12th in AL
Slugging Percentage: .325 - 12th in AL
OPS: .616 - 12th in AL
Runs Scored: 540 - 12th in AL
Hits: 1148 - 12th in AL
XB Hits: 318 - 12th in AL
Home Runs: 119 - 10th in AL
Bases on Balls: 533 - 10th in AL
Strikeouts: 1013 - 12th in AL
Stolen Bases: 53 - 6th in AL

Pitching

ERA: 4.40 - 12th in AL
Runs Allowed: 799 - 12th in AL
Hits Allowed: 1432 - 10th in AL
Opponent's Average: .262 - 12th in AL
Home Runs Allowed: 173 - 12th in AL
Walks: 675 - 11th in AL
K's: 787 - 12th in AL

03-24-2010, 05:36 PM	#1
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	Pilot Power: The Alternate History of the Seattle Pilots Ok, so i decided to start this up again. The basic question is, what if the Seattle Pilots had more time to get Sick's Stadium ready? The setup is this: In 1962, Charlie O. Finley tried several times to move the Kansas City Athletics to Dallas/Fort Worth. Two years later, he tried to move them to Louisville. Six WEEKS later he tried to move them to Oakland. All of these requests were turned down by the AL by the same margin of 9-1 each time. However, he considered many other cities in the US, including Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle and New Orleans. In real life, he was persuaded to sign a lease with Kansas City. In my universe he won't budge, setting the stage for a chain of alternate events. In 1967, Finley asked once again for approval to relocate, this time to San Diego. The AL approved this time, and the A's were off to San Diego. Since he didn't sign a lease with Kansas City, Senator Stuart Symington couldn't threaten to abolish the anti-trust exemption, because the A's weren't obliged to stay. Then, in 1967, the MLB announced 4 franchises to begin play in 1971: The Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, the Montreal Expos, and the Milwaukee Brewers (Since San Diego was taken). Because Senator Symington didn't threaten to remove baseball's anti-trust exemption, he didn't force the League to move up the franchise start date to 1969, therefore, the Seattle Pilots had two extra years to prepare, and Sick's Stadium would expand to 30,000 seats well before the first season. Thus the Pilots would be able to generate enough revenue to stay in Seattle. I will start in 1968 and sim to the 1971 preseason, where i will do the expansion draft. I will turn off Auto-Expansion. __________________ OOTP Resident Brony

03-24-2010, 06:50 PM	#2
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	1971 Expansion Draft Complete EDIT: My old computer got fried recently and this roster is gone. However, i will be relaunching this dynasty, in the same thread, with the same back story, so don't fret! Attached Images __________________ OOTP Resident Brony Last edited by bubba22plus; 03-25-2010 at 04:31 PM.

03-25-2010, 04:17 AM	#4
captaincarl Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Barrington, RI Posts: 4,363	He probably sent Bouton to the Triple-A club. I can't recall whether the club was in Vancouver, BC or in Hawaii. Bouton could be hanging around with Mike "Moonman" Marshall. Wasn't Marshall on the team also along with Steve Hovley? I remember Bouton talking about them in "Ball Four". Last edited by captaincarl; 03-25-2010 at 04:21 AM.

03-25-2010, 04:57 PM	#7
bwburke94 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Belchertown, MA, USA Posts: 4,523	The '69 Pilots AAA was in Hawaii, just so you know. EDIT: And CatKnight, please don't make a dynasty just so you can claim the computer crashed on April Fools' Day. I didn't fall for that last time. Last edited by bwburke94; 03-25-2010 at 04:58 PM.

03-25-2010, 07:07 PM	#10
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	Recap of the last three years: 1968: Detroit Tigers over New York Mets 4-2 1969: San Francisco Giants over Detroit Tigers 4-3 1970: San Francisco Giants over Minnesota Twins 4-3 Seattle Pilots Roster: __________________ OOTP Resident Brony

03-25-2010, 03:06 PM	#5
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	Remember this is 1971 and not 1969. The two clubs (IRL Pilots and these) probably bear no relation to each other.

03-25-2010, 07:25 PM	#11
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	April and May Recap (I'm reporting bi-monthly) April: 8-16 Not the start we wanted, but hey, we ARE an expansion team so no ill will toward the team right now. We lost more games in the ninth than i could believe, so pitching, more the bullpen, is an issue. We DID trade a washed up reliever for a washed Mickey Mantle, but it seemed to be a difference in may, as you'll see now. May: 15-14 Yep, we had a winning month for the first time in franchise history, but barely. The team seemed to have A: needed time to gel or B: been motivated by the acquisition of Mickey Mantle. Overall Record: 23-30 Not too shabby for an expansion team! __________________ OOTP Resident Brony

03-25-2010, 07:35 PM	#12
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	June and July recap June Record: 7-21 July Record: 9-15 Not much i can say here. We were terrible. Although i can say our bullpen got better. But just as fast as that happened, our bats died. Think i might order some cork now . __________________ OOTP Resident Brony

03-26-2010, 02:30 PM	#13
bubba22plus All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Equestria Posts: 808	August, September and October Recap August: 6-21 September: 8-19 October: 2-1 Final Record: 55-107 That's how we show that we're an expansion team. We did horrible these few months. But hey, there are some bright spots: Well, maybe not. Final team stats are as shown: Batting Batting Average: .216 - 12th in AL On Base Percentage: .291 - 12th in AL Slugging Percentage: .325 - 12th in AL OPS: .616 - 12th in AL Runs Scored: 540 - 12th in AL Hits: 1148 - 12th in AL XB Hits: 318 - 12th in AL Home Runs: 119 - 10th in AL Bases on Balls: 533 - 10th in AL Strikeouts: 1013 - 12th in AL Stolen Bases: 53 - 6th in AL Pitching ERA: 4.40 - 12th in AL Runs Allowed: 799 - 12th in AL Hits Allowed: 1432 - 10th in AL Opponent's Average: .262 - 12th in AL Home Runs Allowed: 173 - 12th in AL Walks: 675 - 11th in AL K's: 787 - 12th in AL __________________ OOTP Resident Brony