Historical Minors

[David Watts]

Well, in this replay the A's run of dominance has yet to take hold. The A's did win the AL West for the 2nd year in a row in 74, but were defeated by the Orioles in the ALCS. The Reds once again finished the 74 season with the best record in both league. They also once again lost to the Pirates in the NLCS. The Orioles defeated the Pirates 4 games to 1 to become the 74 World Champs.

I have decided to wield my powers as commissioner as the 75 season begins.

First change, I am going to use high fatigue for the 75 season instead of the normal fatigue I've used from 72-74.

Second and this is going to probably be controversial and I know a lot of you will not like this. I've introduced wild cards for the 75 season. Each league will feature 2 wild card entries. The first round of the playoff will now feature the division winner with the best record against the 2nd wild card. The other division winner will face off against the 1st wild card. These series will be best of 7, with all game played in the park of the division winner. The LCS will also be a best of 7, but games will be played both teams parks. The World series remains 7 games.

I love post season baseball and these changes will give me a lot more post season games. Plus, I'm hoping these changes mean I always have meaningful games to watch day in and day out. 74 was a great season to watch in the AL, but both divisions in the NL were all but decided by July 1st.

[David Watts]

I was so excited when Hank Aaron started in LF for the Braves on opening day 1975. That excitement lasted all of one day though, as opening day turned out to be the only game Aaron started over the course to the season's first week. It will be interesting to see if he gets enough playing time to reach 715.

The Red Sox are flat out loaded on offense. So much so, that Dwight Evans finds himself riding the pine to start the season. The Sox have Fred Lynn starting in LF, Cesar Geronimo starting in CF and Reggie Smith starting in RF. Jim Rice is the teams DH. The Red Sox really need to add some pitching though. Lynn McGlothen, Bill Lee and Dick Pole are the top three in the rotation. I would think they could shop Reggie Smith, Ben Oglivie and Cecil Cooper and strengthen that staff pretty quickly.

The Cincinnati Reds signed minor league free agent, Lenny Randle over the offseason. Randle is starting for the Reds in CF to start the season. At some point I expect to see Ken Griffey join the starting lineup. Pete Rose won a Gold Glove in LF for the Reds in 74, but real life would dictate he move to 3B for the 75 season. Thing is, the Reds also have Hal McRae.

I was glad to see Willie Mays retired following the 74 season. I really didn't want him to play another season in the minors. Vada Pinson also called it quits after his tour of the minors.

Frank Robinson is now a bench player for the Dodgers. The Dodgers finally start a season with the infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey.

Harmon Killebrew continues to start for the Twins, but the team has him batting 8th to start the season.


Al Kaline and Norm Cash are still on the Tigers 25 man roster. Both are bench players. With the move to high fatigue I have a feeling they may both have to play a little during the season. If not, the Tigers are severely handicapping themselves big time. The Tigers did trade away Jim Northrup during the off season. Northrup was sent to the Twins in exchange for Steve Brye. This was a good trade for the Tigers. Ron Leflore is now starting in CF for the Tigers and Jason Thompson has started the season at 1B. 74's surprise Bill NcNulty is the teams DH. Willie Horton is now starting in LF. This is interesting seeing that Horton has played very little in the field since 72. Brinkman, Freehan, Rodriguez and McAuliffe make up the rest of the Tigers starting lineup.

Preseason predictions pretty much had the same 4 teams winning the divisions once again in 75. The A's, Orioles, Reds and Pirates are once again slated to be the best teams. Just another reason I want free agency to begin. I have trading set to average and I'm scared to turn it higher, but I really wish teams would be a little bit more aggressive in terms of player movement.

One thing happened during the World Series that put a smile on my face. The Pirates actually started Roberto Clemente as the team's DH during the 2 games played at Memorial Stadium. Thought that was pretty cool.

[David Watts]

Guessing if you play historical minors as a General Manager, you would have to make some severe house rules in regards to waiver wire pickups. The AI seems to waive a lot of quality players. Keep thinking I missed a news story about a trade, only to find the guy was claimed off waivers.

[David Watts]

Looks like the Braves manager is playing Hank Aaron only against left handed pitchers.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by David Watts

The Red Sox are flat out loaded on offense. So much so, that Dwight Evans finds himself riding the pine to start the season. The Sox have Fred Lynn starting in LF, Cesar Geronimo starting in CF and Reggie Smith starting in RF. Jim Rice is the teams DH. The Red Sox really need to add some pitching though. Lynn McGlothen, Bill Lee and Dick Pole are the top three in the rotation. I would think they could shop Reggie Smith, Ben Oglivie and Cecil Cooper and strengthen that staff pretty quickly.

Who's on first? Yaz? Cooper?

Originally Posted by David Watts

The Dodgers finally start a season with the infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey.

I'm guessing an OF of Hisle, Tovar, and Buckner. Maybe W Davis, Paciorek, and Crawford on the pine?

Are Ferguson & Yeager now doing the bulk of the catching?

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by thehef

Who's on first? Yaz? Cooper?



I'm guessing an OF of Hisle, Tovar, and Buckner. Maybe W Davis, Paciorek, and Crawford on the pine?

Are Ferguson & Yeager now doing the bulk of the catching?

Yaz is playing 1B. Cooper is on the bench.

Dodgers have Hisle in RF, Buckner in LF and Lee Lacy in CF against right handed pitchers. Against left handed pitchers they have Tovar in LF, Lacy in CF and Hisle in RF. Willie Davis has a busted elbow and is out for 4 months. Joe Ferguson is the starting catcher, but Yeager remains in AAA ball. Dick Dietz is the Dodgers second catcher.

The Dodgers subs are Dietz, Wes Parker, Bob Randall(2B), Steve Huntz(3B) and Frank Robinson

The Rotation is Don Sutton, Tommy John, Bill Singer, Doug Rau and Rick Rhoden. The bullpen is Mike Marshall(stopper) Jim Brewer(setup), Charlie Hough(MR) Eddie Soloman(MR), Al Downing(MR) Pete Mikkelsen(long relief)

[David Watts]

So last season the Brewers started the season with Robin Yount at 2B and Gormon Thomas playing SS. Then they moved Thomas to 3B and put Yount at SS. 75 has Yount back at 2B and Thomas at SS.

Andre Dawson has made his Expo's debut. He is starting in LF. Ellis Valentine is playing CF and Ken Singleton is in RF. Warren Cromartie is now on the bench.

The Padres and White Sox surprised everyone in 74 and easily were the leagues most improved teams. Both have started the 75 season as cold as ice. It's early, but both teams need to string together some wins to ensure they don't fall too far behind the pack.

The Reds are now finding ways to get Ken Griffey into their starting lineup. Griffey has been on fire at the plate. This team is going to have to decide if they want to hold onto Hal McRae. I still don't know if Lenny Randle is the guy they need in CF, but that's the player the Reds manager has chosen. That means the McRae and Griffey have to battle for playing time. The Reds could ship McRae to the Royals for Claudell Washington.

It still drives me nuts to see Buddy Bell stuck as the Indian's DH. Keep hoping they will trade either Bell or Nettles to solve this issue.

The Rangers have an interesting lineup with Toby Harrah(1974 AL MVP), Jeff Burroughs, Mike Hargrove and Bill Madlock. Elliott Maddux had a really good season for the team in 74 as well. Thing is, they have absolutely no pitching.

[David Watts]

Bert Blyleven is off to another strong start. Blyleven won the Cy Young in 72. Was in the running for the award in 73 and won it again 1974. He's easily been the most consistent pitcher in either league over the last 3 seasons.

Frank Tanana is back in the Angels rotation to start the 75 season. He was demoted to the bullpen in 1974 after continuing to struggle as a starter. He seems to be on the right track so far in 75. If he can pitch well the Angels may be a team to watch as Ryan and Messersmith both had strong years in 74. In what will probably be a trade to be regretted down the road, the Angels acquired Bernie Carbo from the Reds in exchange for Carney Lansford.

Will this be the season the NL East manages to have more than one team finish with a winning record? The Pirates are once again off to a good start. So are the Cardinals. I have to think the Phillies will be contenders in 75, as Luzinski seems to be ready to bounce back from an awful 74 season.

[David Watts]

The A's have won the AL West each of the last 2 years, but have yet to win a World Series. I have to wonder if their lack of success has something to do with the fact that OOTP doesn't have a way to make them have all out brawls amongst themselves, in the dugout, clubhouse, on the team plane etc. Are they simply getting along too well to succeed?

[David Watts]

[Edster007]

I had to look up Chris Knapp name was familiar but didnt really remember him. Kind of cool to me a guy who in real life gave up 9.6 hits per 9 innings pitches a no hitter.

I started a sim in 1971 on Go for my work travels. I thought of you-in 1972 the A’s traded Joe Rudi in my sim too, straight up to the Expos for Don Hahn. A real head scratcher to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Edster007

I had to look up Chris Knapp name was familiar but didnt really remember him. Kind of cool to me a guy who in real life gave up 9.6 hits per 9 innings pitches a no hitter.

I started a sim in 1971 on Go for my work travels. I thought of you-in 1972 the A’s traded Joe Rudi in my sim too, straight up to the Expos for Don Hahn. A real head scratcher to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love it when the AI trades. During the last offseason the Yankees and Cubs made a multi player trade, but the main ingredients were Sparky Lyle going to the Cubs and Bruce Sutter going to the Yankees.

[David Watts]

The California Angels are off to a 17-9 start in 1975. Unfortunately for them, the Oakland A's are off to an even better 20-5 start. Frank Tanana is off to a 4-1, 1.65 start. This is a massive for the Angels. Tanana finished the 74 season 5-14 with 1 save, 6.71. From 72-74 he was 18-46. Andy Messersmith is currently 3-2, 1.65. Andy Hassler is 3-0, 3.52. So far the big disappointment is Nolan Ryan, 2-2, 4.84 with a 1.50 whip. Ryan continues to walk batters at a crazy pace and unlike his breakout season in 74, he's allowing quite a few hits as well.

Hank Aaron has played in 18 games so far, starting 11 of those. He is hitting .265 with 1 home run. He now sits at 706 for his career. Based on his play so far, it's not looking great in terms of him reaching 714 and beyond. Right now he is projected to finish 75 with 6 home runs.

Frank Robinson has played in 18 games for the Dodgers so far this season, starting 7 times. He is hitting .222 with 2 home runs. Robinson needs just 3 hits to join the 3000 hit club.

Bob Forsch leads the NL with 6 wins(6-0). He's pitched in 13 games so far, all in relief.

[David Watts]

Speaking of Frank Tanana, for the life of me, I cannot find the long haired freaky person the Tigers drafted instead of him. I've scoured the Tigers system and I don't see Tom Veryzer on any of the teams minor league affiliates.

I just found Veryzer. He is in the Tigers system. Playing for the Clinton Pilots(A). Reason one I had a hard time finding him, he's playing 2B instead of SS. Reason 2, looks like he got a haircut.

[David Watts]

It's kind funny how playing this type of league can cause one to worry all day over the silliest of things. Right now, my biggest worry is the Tigers trading away a Lou Whitaker or a Lance Parrish, before they even get a chance to play a game in a Tiger uniform. Wait till next year when Jack Morris and Alan Trammell arrive. I am going to be a mess.

[David Watts]

Saturday, June 14th 1975.

Ugh, the Dodgers lost Tommy John today(torn rotator cuff) in a loss to the Phillies. The Dodgers(26-37) are already suffering through a miserable season, now they learn John's injury is severe enough to bring his career to an abrupt end. John finishes up 120-125, 3.10 with a career WAR of 42.0

The wild card experiment is no more. I ditched it and instead changed the LCS to a best of 7 instead of a best of 5.

What the heck is up with the talent loaded Boston Red Sox? The Sox are currently 22-37 and sit a 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees in 5th place in the AL East. Boston is 7th in the AL in both runs scored and runs against. They are 4th in the league with a team .269 batting average. They are 2nd in the AL with 54 home runs. They are middle of the pack or worse in most of the team pitching stats. The pitching staff is a miserable 11th in strikeout. The team is also 11th in defensive efficiency.

[David Watts]

The Baltimore Orioles(37-23) are running away with the AL East. The Orioles sit 11 games up on the second place Milwaukee Brewers(25-33).

The California Angels(45-20) hold a 1 1/2 game lead over the Oakland A's(42-20) in the AL West. This has been a great race so far with each team sharing 1st place throughout the season. If the Angels pitching continues to dominate they just might be able to hold off the mighty A's. The Angels starting rotation currently has 4 pitchers with at least 8 victories with Frank Tanana sporting 9 wins. The A's are getting their customary strong seasons out of Catfish Hunter(9-1, 2.14), Vida Blue(9-4, 3.91) and Wilbur Wood(8-4,3.31), but the usually impressive Ken Holtzman is suffering through a tough start 4-4, 4.62.

The NL East actually has 2 teams above .500 this season and it's resulted in a very close race. The St. Louis Cardinals(35-24) hold a slim 1/2 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates(35-25) The Cardinals have Lou Brock(.342), Ted Simmos(.346), Bill Robinson(.360) and Bake McBride(.324) leading the way on offense. The Cardinals have suffered some pretty big blows to the pitching staff in terms of injuries. Reggie Cleveland is currently out for 6 months and Al Hrabosky is out for 3 more months. These injuries forced Bob Forsch out of the bullpen into the rotation and John Denny into the closer role. So far neither of these changes have went too well.

The NL West is once again under the control of the Cincinnati Reds(41-22). The Reds hold a 7 game lead over the Houston Astros(35-30) and a 8 game lead over the San Francisco Giants(33-30) The Reds acquisition of Ron Reed back in 1974 is really starting to pay off. Reed is 10-2, 2.39 so far in 1975. Luis Tiant is 8-3, 2.28 as the Reds #3 starter. Clay Carroll is having a great year so far as the team's closer. Carrol has saved 18 games and sports a low 0.99 ERA. Pete Rose is having a great season so far hitting .352 primarily out of the 2 hole in the lineup. George Foster has emerged as an offensive force hitting .294, with 16 home runs and 44 RBI. Crazy thing with the Reds is they are so loaded on offense that Ken Griffey finds himself back in AAA ball.

[David Watts]

One thing I'm seeing with use of the high fatigue setting is less pinch hit tours of America. Roberto Clemente, Frank Howard and Al Kaline have all started a handful of games in 1975.

[David Watts]

[splat58]

A guy named Canada playing for the Expos.