Soaring to New Heights - The History of the Seattle Pilots

[Husky417]

July 25, 2004
Cooperstown, NY



“Ladies and gentlemen, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Dr. Gene Budig.”



A ripple of applause permeated the hallowed lawns as the commissioner stepped to the podium.

Budig couldn’t help but smile to himself — he knew he wasn’t the most popular man in baseball, but surely no one would boo him on an occasion like this. Few things were sacred these days, but surely the Hall of Fame induction ceremony would go off without a hitch.

The commissioner paused, glanced at his notes, looked out at the crowd, and began to speak.

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"Baseball is a game of memories.

Children across America remember playing catch with their dad, making their little league team, and attending their first ever big league game. While nothing could ever replace those memories, millions of fans, whether young or old, rich or poor, black or white, have been able to experience their most treasured baseball memories through television.

For the people of Seattle, one voice has been associated with those memories.

From the opening pitch in 1969 to the World Series, one man has stood in the Seattle Pilots’ broadcast booth, (or as he calls it, “The Flight Deck”) helping to bring memories to life for the past 35 years.

Now, in his final season in the game, for his work with the Pilots franchise and his contribution to baseball, he has been chosen by you as the winner of the 2004 Ford C. Frick Award.

Ladies and gentlemen: The voice of the Seattle Pilots and our newest Hall of Famer, Thomas Osborne.”

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The Pilots fans who made the nearly 3,000-mile journey from Washington to upstate New York announced their approval as Osborne stepped to the podium.

***************

“Thank you, Mr. Commissioner, and good afternoon, baseball fans.

Although I am a broadcaster by trade, I am a fan first and foremost.

Fans are the real lifeblood of the game. Baseball players, the writers, the broadcasters, no matter who they are, will come and go. But through the support of you, the fans, the game will live on for generations to come.

One of the best parts of being a broadcaster is getting the opportunity to talk to the fans every day. For 35 years you have welcomed me into your living room. In many cases, you allowed me to introduce you to the wonderful world of baseball. Not only that, you provided me the opportunity to help create and shape the memories that you hold dear.

I have a number of great memories from the past 35 years. The summer of 69 – the Pilots’ first season – well, Bryan Adams was right… those were the best days of my life. And of course, the Pilots’ glory days are hard to beat. But the memories that will stay with me the longest are the friendships I’ve made.

Baseball has given me a lifetime of wonderful memories, but receiving the Ford C. Frick Award is the pinnacle, the most special day in my life, and I thank you."

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With that short speech, a 35-year career has come to a close.

In the posts to follow, we will rewrite the legacy of one of baseball's most infamous franchises: The Seattle Pilots, telling the story through the eyes of its lead broadcaster, Thomas Osborne.

I hope you will join us on our travels.

[Husky417]

You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. - unknown

Prologue:
Edward Lorenz once famously coined the term “the butterfly effect,” which says that an event as big as a hurricane can be influenced by something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings. In this world, the metaphorical butterfly flapped its wings in the winter of 1901, when the National and American leagues came together as one.

The first act of the new Major Leagues was to create a new world, in which any statistics from its predecessor leagues would not be recognized. A year zero, so to speak. Unfortunate for 19th-century legends like Hugh Duffy, Cy Young and Wee Willie Keeler, but long since forgotten by the spring of 1969.

Nearly 70 seasons of baseball in an alternate universe have created a very different history than the one we know today.

Although more will be revealed in the posts to come, a quick scan of the record book shows Al Simmons as the all-time hit leader, Jimmie Foxx as the home run king, and The "Big Train," Walter Johnson, as the winningest pitcher.

The most successful franchise of all time? The Boston Braves, whose World Series titles have left Beantown as a two-team town for the foreseeable future.

Up next: A review of the 1968 season and expansion draft.

[Husky417]

1968 Major League Baseball season - Wikipedia


The 1968 season of Major League Baseball was the last year of baseball's pre-playoffs era, in which the team that finished in first place in each league went directly to the World Series to face each other for the "World Championship." In an all-Boston series, the Red Sox beat the Braves in five games to claim their second straight World Series title.

Story of The Season
Preseason Predictions

Fresh off winning their first World Series title since 1924, the Boston Red Sox were the clear favorites in the American League. Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News and OSA all picked the Red Sox to win the pennant. With offence declining in the previous few years, the Sox' rotation of Dean Chance (18-8), Don Wilson (18-11), Denny McLain (17-8), Luis Tiant (18-5) and Dave McNally (12-11) could intimidate any lineup.

The California Angels, led by 1966 MVP Bob Chance were expected to be the best of the rest, with the Indians and Yankees chasing close behind.

The Kansas City Athletics and Detroit Tigers were expected to be cellar dwellers, despite the Tigers possessing a lineup full of stars including Frank Robinson, Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski.

If the American League wasn't expected to be close, the National League was seen as a two-horse race between the most successful franchise in Major League Baseball history, the Boston Braves, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Braves, who finished one game out of first in 1967, looked awesome on paper. Ace, and six-time Walter Johnson Award winner Sandy Koufax, was still one of baseball's most intimidating pitchers. Koufax was supported by Jim Nash, who had compiled a 36-9 record in his first two years in the big leagues, and 21-game winner Mel Stottlemyre. Deeper in the rotation, young-gun Steve Carlton looked ready to have a breakthrough year, while in the bullpen, Gaylord Perry, acquired from the New York Giants in the off-season, took on the role of closer.

The Braves were no slouches with the bats, either. Home run king Mickey Mantle continued to lead the way, supported by Orlando Cepeda, Bobby Murcer, and second-year man Reggie Jackson, who would bat cleanup.
The Cardinals were led by their pitching rotation with Joe Gibbon, Sam McDowell and Mickey Lolich all expected to be among the ten best pitchers in the league. Leading the offence were outfielder Hank Aaron, and infielders Bert Campaneris and Dick Stuart.

The defending NL champion Chicago Cubs were expected to be in a group of teams around the .500 mark, including the Reds, Phillies and Giants. The New York Mets and Astros were expected to struggle.

Up next: The season leads off.

[Husky417]

Author's Note: I apologize for the complete ghettoness of the coding in here. I intend to significantly improve it for the 69 season.

Recap: The American League

There was no World Series hangover for the Boston Red Sox, who shot out of the gate in 1968 and had the best winning percentage in baseball at the end of April. Running them close were the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees. The A's were led by April's Player of the Month, Fred Valentine.

The Yankees and Red Sox pulled away from the pack in May, with both teams maintaining a winning percentage north of .650 heading into the dog days of summer. The A's had a miserable May and sunk to sixth in the league.

One team without much to cheer about in 1968 were the Washington Senators. The Sens were 16-33, half-a-game out of the basement by the end of May. One of the few highlights of the year occurred on May 28th when Moe Drabowsky won his 200th game, defeating the Twins 6-2. Drabowsky would end the year with a pathetic 8-22 record, leaving his career win-loss total at 205-170, with 2712 strikeouts. Drabowsky ranks 6th all time in Ks and is tied for 50th all-time in wins.

All-Time Strikeout Kings 

Rank    Player          		Strikeouts       Years Active 
4       Willie Mitchell* 		2828 		 1909-1932 
5 	Christy Mathewson* 		2784 		 1901-1919 
6 	Moe Drabowsky# 			2712 		 1956-1968 
7 	Guy Morton* 			2632 		 1914-1934 
  
All-Time Winningest Pitchers 

Rank 	Player 				Wins 		Years Active 
48 	Paul Dean 			207 		1934-1950 
49 	Frank Sullivan# 		206 		1953-1968 
50 	Moe Drabowsky# 			205 		1956-1968 
50  	Ed Walsh 			205 		1904-1923

June 9, 1968 saw the California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 in 17 innings. The Angels used seven pitchers in the game before eventual-winner Dave Dowling knocked in the winning run in the top of the 17th. The 17-inning marathon was the first half of a double header that day; the Angels won the second half in nine innings by the same 7-3 score line.

A day later, on June 10th, with the team sporting a major-league worst record of 16-43, the Washington Senators cleaned house, firing GM Johnny Mize and Manager Cleo Carlyle. In a year-and-a-half in charge, Carlyle had an 84-137 record with the Senators. Carlyle would land on his feet, though; getting the Chicago White Sox job later in the year, after the firing of Hal Trosky.

As the American League reached the All-Star break, the surprise leaders were the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe caught fire in June, led by pitcher Denny Lemaster, who posted a 5-0 record and claimed Pitcher of the Month honors. The Red Sox sat one game back of the lead.

Standings At The All-Star Break 

Cleveland Indians 	56-31 
Boston Red Sox 		54-31 
New York Yankees 	49-37 
Detroit Tigers 		48-38 
Baltimore Orioles 	44-40 
Kansas City Athletics 	43-44 
California Angels 	43-45 
Chicago White Sox 	34-49 
Minnesota Twins 	33-53 
Washington Senators 	24-60

[Husky417]

August started no differently than July, with Cleveland holding a one-game lead over the Red Sox.

Both teams had players achieve milestones in August. Cleveland first baseman, Joe Cunningham reached the 2,500 hit mark on August 4th; Boston catcher Ed Bailey reached 2,000 hits on August 6th. Both players are in the Cooperstown conversation depending upon how the final couple of years of their careers wind up.

As September rolled around, the league continued to be a two-horse race with Boston holding a half-game lead over the Indians. Third-place California was 13 games out of the lead. A 12-game win streak saw Boston began to stretch its lead to 4.5 games, an insurmountable lead with under three weeks to go. The Sox were able to coast across the line and claim their second straight pennant, finishing two games ahead of the Indians, with an MLB-best record of 103-59.

 
Final Standings 
x- Boston Red Sox 	103-59
Cleveland Indians	101-61
California Angels 	91-71 
New York Yankees 	86-76
Baltimore Orioles 	84-78
Kansas City Athletics 	80-82 
Detroit Tigers 		79-83
Minnesota Twins 	69-93 
Chicago White Sox 	62-100 
Washington Senators 	55-107

League Leaders
Average - Jose Cardenal (BOS) .328
Home Runs - Graig Nettles (CLE) 28
RBI - Graig Nettles (CLE) 93
SB - Joe Morgan (NY) 82
WAR - Joe Torre (NY) 5.6

Wins - Don Wilson (BOS) 21
ERA - Dave Boswell (CAL) 2.03
Strikeouts - Don Wilson (BOS) 245
Saves - Dennis Aust (KC) 29
WAR - Dean Chance (BOS) 9.9

[Husky417]

Recap: The National League

The last week of spring training gave bad news to the second and third-favorites in the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals lost their star man, Hank Aaron, for two months, while LA star Roberto Clemente was lost for the entire season with a torn muscle in his shoulder. For either team to challenge the Braves their pitching staffs would have to step up.

In April, Cards starter Joe Gibbon showed he was up to the challenge, putting the defending NL champion Chicago Cubs to shame twice in a week. On April 14th, Gibbon threw a four-hit shutout of Cubs, and followed it up with a five-hit shutout of the same team five days later. Gibbon would end the year with an 18-9 record, and an ERA of 1.86, the second year in a row he had an ERA under 2.00.

For all Gibbon's heroics, the league's star pitcher early in the year was Phillies ace Jerry Koosman. Koosman compiled a 4-1 record and an ERA of 0.86 in April, and the Phillies were the surprise league leaders early on.

If 1968 was proving to be the year of the pitcher in the NL, an old warhorse was the lone exception. 36-year-old Mickey Mantle was named player of the month in April. The Braves legend was leading the league with a .357 batting average.

The Braves had a star pitcher, too, and his name is Sandy Koufax. Koufax dominated in the month of May, going 5-0, with an ERA of 0.46 and 37 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Mantle had another strong month in May, and was supported by young slugger Reggie Jackson, and the Braves were into second by month end. The Cincinnati Reds were doing it without a star player and were setting the pace at the end of May with a 30-15 record, four games ahead of Boston.

Stuck in mid-pack were the New York Giants. The Giants chances of contending were officially ended on June 2nd when their ace Ray Washburn was lost for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. One of few highlights for the Giants came on the same day as Washburn's injury occurred, when 28-year-old outfielder Willie Stargell hit for the cycle in an 8-4 victory over the Reds.

What of the defending league champion Chicago Cubs? A perfect representative of the team's struggles is second-year pitcher Bob Moose. Moose won the Rookie of the Year award in 1967 and finished 3rd place in Walter Johnson Award voting after achieving a 19-2 record. On June 9th, Moose suffered a herniated disc in his back which would put him on the DL for two months. At the time of his injury, Moose had a 6-5 record and the Cubs were in seventh place, three games under .500.

By the all-star break, the Braves class had started to show. With a record of first half record of 53-33, the Braves had a three-game lead on the Dodgers and Reds.

Standings At The All-Star Break 
Boston Braves		53-33
LA Dodgers		50-36
Cincinnati Reds		48-34
Chicago Cubs		46-42
New York Giants		44-42
St Louis Cardinals	42-43
Philadelphia Phillies	42-44
Houston Astros		38-48
Pittsburgh Pirates	35-51
New York Mets		31-56

[darkcloud4579]

Glad they're getting a 2nd go round.