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Old 03-27-2007, 03:43 AM   #1
Matches
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History Rewritten: A Report

I am by no means an expert on Historical Leagues in OOTP. I had usually been engrossed in fictional leagues based in the real-world that I never got around to it. But as I wait for a couple mods to be completely released, I couldn't just sit on this game and do nothing. I have a hearty affection for baseball history so I decided to take a shot at my first ever historical league.

I used the Lahman 5.4 database. Not really knowing how to appropriately run one of these import leagues I left most settings to themselves. The result, I found, was a world that started as the real world did in 1901, and then played out fictionally after that. The amateur draft was on, so the worst teams add the best new players from the coming year. Free agents exist, trades were set to very low.

What follows is a year-by-year log of this fantasy world. I'll add new installments by decade (or until I pass out during any given stretch), as long as the game doesn't crash or expansion doesn't freak the experiment out. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll answer whatever questions you have as we go.


1901

The inaugural season of Major League Baseball encountered a few surprises, but it was not in the form of the eventual champion. The Pittsburgh Pirates, anchored by a dominant offense that scored over 5.8 runs a game and had a team batting average of .319, took the National League pennant with a 94-46 record, twelve games over the second place St. Louis Cardinals. Sam Leever (26-7, 2.74) won the Cy Young award for the Pittsburghs, who were led offensively by unknown rookie Lefty Davis. Davis hit .400 and won the NL MVP. His performance coupled with stars Honus Wagner (.359) and Fred Clarke (.364) made the Pirates’ offense nearly unstoppable.

While Leever excelled in the regular season, it was 24-year old Rube Waddell who stepped up in the World’s Series against the AL champion Cleveland Blues. Waddell pitched 2 complete game shutouts in the series, striking out 15 in 18 innings, as the Pirates dispatched Cleveland in 5 games. The Blues had squeaked out the AL Pennant over the Boston Americans by one game, posting a 77-64 record. Boston’s star pitcher Cy Young won an award for best pitcher in the league, which was immediately named after him.

The National League Boston club, the Beaneaters, posted the worst record and used their ensuing #1 draft pick to select 22-year old pitcher Addie Joss.

1902

With the Pirates struggling in second place at the trade deadline, Pittsburgh decided to unload Sam Leever for elder statesman Patsy Donovan. The irish-born Donovan hit .350 for the Cardinals in 1901 and filled a major hole in the Pirates’ lineup. But Donovan struggled for the Pirates, who finished nine games behind NL pennant-winners the New York Giants.

In the American League, it was the St. Louis Browns posting a .600 winning percentage on the strength of their pitching and defense. The Cleveland club meanwhile, went from captain to cooptain. The NL triumphed again in the world Series with 22-year old Giant Christy Mathewson posting 2 wins.

The Giants’ future looks bright with Mathewson teaming with NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young winner Carl Lundgren. The 22-year old posted 22 wins and had a 2.07 ERA. Napoleon Lajoie won his second consecutive MVP award in the American League for the Philadelphia Athletics, while across town, Big Ed Delahanty hit .347 to win the NL award.

1903

An epic pennant chase was shaping up in the National League heading into August. Pittsburgh led the Brooklyn Superbas by a game and the defending pennant-holders the New York Giants by one and a half. Over in the AL, Cy Young’s Boston Americans were holding off the New York Highlanders. Heading into September, only the AL seemed settled as Cy Young was on his way to winning his own award for the second time. The Pirates held a half-game lead on Brooklyn and 3.5 games on New York. Their league-leading .264 batting average had a lot to do with it, as well as pitcher Jesse Tannehill, who had just won his 20th game of the season. Pittsburgh went onto a 17-4 September and cruised to the NL Pennant. However in the American League, Boston folded like a house of cards, going 8-15 in September, losing the pennant to the Highlanders by 2 games.

The Pirates were favored by oddsmakers to win the World’s Series, but the Highlanders had something to say about that, sending it to a 9th and deciding game. However Pittsburgh’s Rube Waddell outdueled Harry Howell in a 3-2 game, improving his postseason record to 4-1 and giving the Pirates their second World’s Series championship in three years. For his 24-win season, the 27 year-old Waddell won the NL Cy Young Award, while Young himself won the award in the AL. Ed Delahanty earned his second straight MVP award for the Philadelphia Phillies, while young catcher Roger Bresnahan won it for the Highlanders.

The hapless Chicago Cubs added to their stable of young pitchers, drafting can’t-miss prospect Ed Walsh with the first overall pick. He joins deformed pitcher Mordecai Brown, who was selected with the second overall pick in 1902.

1904

The Pirates and Giants battled hard again in 1904, with the Pirates again taking the pennant. In the AL, New York and Washington had a brilliant pennant race that was decided on the final game of the season, in a pair of doubleheaders, no less. Washington and New York were tied for first in the morning, but by evening, Boston had exacted a measure of revenge on the Highlanders for the previous season, taking both games from New York. Meanwhile the Senators won both games to clinch the pennant. However, Pittsburgh proved to be too much for Washington in the World’s Series, as they swept it in four games, with the Senators only managing 4 runs total.

Rube Waddell posted his best season, winning 28 games with an ERA of 1.53. He added 331 strikeouts to take the pitching triple crown, and win his second straight Cy Young award. Pirate third baseman George Browne led the NL in hitting at .336, but his teammate Honus Wagner (.317-5-87) was named the NL’s best hitter. The Highlanders’ Bresnahan took home his second straight AL MVP.

In what was considered a weak draft class overall, the Chicago Cubs felt they got a steal at the number five overall pick, drafting a 17 year-old outfielder from Georgia named Ty Cobb.

1905

Pittsburgh, winners of three out of the four World’s Series, faltered early in 1905, which saw a tight race among Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago entering August. The American League had an incredibly tight race, with seven out of the eight teams within six games of first place. A disillusioned Nap Lajoie faltered with the Philadelphia Athletics well out of contention for the second consecutive season.

Washington won the AL Pennant on the strength of Miller Huggins’ second straight batting title and an impressive comeback story by pitcher Vic Willis. Willis was traded by the Beaneaters to Washington before the 1903 season. The Senators then released Willis after the pitcher suffered a mental breakdown early in the 1904 season. After spending some time in an institution, Willis recovered and was signed by the Senators for the 1905 season, in which he won 23 games and posted a 2.42 ERA, winning the AL Cy Young Award

In the National League, the New York Giants’ offense left a lot to be desired, but their pitching staff of Christy Mathewson, Hooks Wiltse, Jack Powell, and Jim St. Vrain was undeniably the best in the league. Wiltse become the league’s first 30-game winner and would go on to win the Cy Young award. The Giants dispatched the Senators in 5 games as the National League improved to 5-0 in the World’s Series.

1906

Miller Huggins was the story of the 1906 season, as he paced the Washington Senators with a batting average well above .400 most of the season. His Senators battled Lefty Caldwell and the St. Louis Browns for supremacy in the American League. The National League saw a four-way battle between now-perennial powers Pittsburgh and New York, as well as the Reds of Cincinnati and Chicago. Only one game separated the four teams at the break

Huggins and the Senators faltered down the stretch, as Miller finished with a .391 average and the St. Louis Browns took the AL flag. The star-less Cincinnati Reds held on to the NL pennant, edging out the Pirates by a game. The Browns gave the American League it’s first World Championship in a seven-game series victory over the Reds.

With the first pick in the 2006 amateur draft, the Cleveland Naps, still trying to figure out why they are named that way, selected 18 year-old fireballer Walter Johnson.

1907

The Philadelphia Athletics rode a strong early start by their Big Three of left-handed pitching aces: Eddie Plank, Irv Young and 20 year old rookie Kid Durbin. Durbin in particular was stellar, posting a 17-2 record and a 1.67 ERA over the first four months of the season. In the National League, another classic battle between New York and Pittsburgh emerged. Philadelphia faltered though, and was soon blown out by the incredible finish of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had never finished more than 12 games over .500, but finished the 1907 season with 99 wins. Meanwhile, the Pirates’ potent offense, led by NL MVP Honus Wagner (.333-4-66), edged the Giants’ pitching prowess, earning Pittsburgh it’s 4th NL pennant. The Pirates, however, tasted their first defeat in the World Series, as the Tigers defeated Pittsburgh in 6 games.

The Athletics’ Irv “Young Cy” Young lived up to his nickname, taking home the award for best pitcher, winning 27 games with a 1.68 ERA. Roger Bresnahan took home his third AL MVP award, hitting .306.

1908

The 1908 season was marked by a tight pennant race in the National League. The Chicago Cubs led for most of the second half of the season, but a late collapse by the Windy City gang and a coinciding surge by the New York Giants left the Cubs in the dark, and the Brooklyn Superbas in a a regular season tie with the Giants. Christy Mathewson’s 28-win season ended in bittersweet fashion, as the Giants star pitched a 1-hitter but lost 2-0 to Brooklyn ace Red Ames. The Superbas were led by 20-year old sophomore sensation Tris Speaker, who hit .293 and led the team with 73 RBI.

Brooklyn defeated a nondescript Washington Senators team in the World’s Series in five games. Speaker hit .450 in the series and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and third in the MVP race to the Reds’ Sam Crawford. Roger Bresnahan continued his stellar career, winning his 4th AL MVP award for the struggling New York Highlanders.

1908 also saw the retirement of Cy Young, who at age 41 finished his career with 448 wins. Young became the third pitcher named to the Hall of Fame

1909

Young Fred Snodgrass was the catalyst for the Detroit Tigers in 1909. The 21-year old led all American League hitters in OPS with .841 and led the Tigers in hitting. This plus an award-winning performance from pitcher Rip Vowinkel helped Detroit win 96 games and return to the top of the AL after a one year hiatus.

In the National League, the New York Giants faded miserably down the stretch and the Brooklyn Superbas won their second straight pennant, beating Chicago by one game and the Reds by two. Tris Speaker’s .313 batting average and 60 RBIs paced Brooklyn. Speaker and Wildfire Schulte each had a solid postseason while Detroit’s star Snodgrass hit a paltry .048 in the World Series. Brooklyn took the ring in five games and won it’s second straight world title.

Nap Lajoie returned to prominence after a terrible ’08 campaign for the Athletics. He rebounded from his .223 performance to hit .310 with 71 RBI and win the AL MVP award, although Philadelphia continued to perform poorly, finishing with the worst record among major league teams.

Last edited by Matches; 03-27-2007 at 07:06 AM.
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Old 03-27-2007, 06:25 AM   #2
rasnell
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Nice job and enjoy the game. What's great is how you begin to know these players. Don't forget that there's a new tab in the player profile that shows you their real life stats so you can compare your sim with their real numbers.
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Charlie Root won more games for the Cubs than any pitcher (201), yet was remembered for one pitch to Babe Ruth. Find out more about the 1929 World Series in my book, "Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs." See the web site at www.rootforthecubs.com. The book is at http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cubs-Char...t+for+the+cubs.

Beta tester, OOTP 2007-2023 and iOOTP 2011-2014.
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Old 03-28-2007, 07:39 PM   #3
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1910

Detroit started the 1910 season at 18-3 but soon cooled off, allowing Washington to creep into the race. In the NL, Brooklyn and Chicago dueled for supremacy, with the Giants and Reds lurking a handful of games back. Miller Huggins again got off to a torrid start to the season, hitting over .400 well into June. July saw the New York Highlanders make a move toward the top of the American League behind the pitching of Joe Wood. Washington and Cleveland remained in the hunt. Cincinnati established itself as a serious contender with Eddie Collins and Vin Campell tearing up NL pitching.

Cleveland, Washington and Philadelphia all made noise in August, and at one point, 7 teams were within 4.5 games of first place. The Naps took over first place in mid-August but faltered down the stretch and the Tigers ended up winning the pennant by seven games on the strength of Zack Wheat’s 102 RBI. The Superbas took their third straight pennant with help from 27 year-old rookie Bert Daniels who hit .344, and Wildfire Schulte’s league record 19 home runs.

The Superbas were heavy favorites to win their third straight World Series title. But Detroit took 2 games in Brooklyn to go up early. However the Superbas battled back, evening the series at two apiece. Red Ames shut out Detroit in Game 5, but Nap Rucker won Game 6 for the Tigers. The Superbas were not to be denied, however, as they poured on eight runs in the seventh game, winning 8-1.

Joe Jackson took home MVP honors for the American League, coming into his own for Washinton by hitting .365 with 9 homers and 87 RBI. The Reds’ Eddie Collins won the award in the NL, as the 23 year-old hit .327 and stole 60 bases. Cleveland’s Walter Johnson won 20 games for the third straight year and won his first Cy Young Award as he posted a 21-12 record for the Naps. Brooklyn’s Red Ames was reliable again, and his 25-11 season was rewarded with a Cy Young Award.

1911

The biggest crop of free agent talent to date hit the market in the offseason. First, 36-year old Honus Wagner abandoned Pittsburgh for the Cubs of Chicago. The once powerful Pirates organization had finished in the second division the last two years. Departing Chicago was malcontent Johnny Evers, whose sulking in the clubhouse negatively impacted the team which was always close but never able to unseat Brooklyn. But most notably, it was 24-year old Ty Cobb who left Chicago for the bright lights of New York to play for the Giants. At 24 Cobb appeared on the cusp of great things as he broke out in 1910 with a .357 batting average.

Despite the moves, it was Detroit and Brooklyn on top in their respective leagues once again in the first half. Brooklyn got a stellar season from Tris Speaker and Jim Delahanty contributed as well. Detroit’s Orval Overall won 27 games en route to a Cy Young award, as the Tigers ran away with the AL pennant. Brooklyn took the NL flag going away, posting an impressive 103-51 record.

Brooklyn defeated Detroit in the World Series for the third consecutive year, and for the second straight year it took seven games to decide the champion. Tris Speaker hit .414 during the series.

Ty Cobb posted gaudy numbers: a .409 batting average, 16 home runs and 128 RBI, to go with 117 stolen bases. The Giants found him worth every penny, and he took home the NL MVP. Joe Jackson got the honor in the AL, as he hit .372 with 64 steals. Red Ames won his second straight Cy Young for Brooklyn. 21-year old Max Carey stole 63 bases and hit .298 to win Rookie of the Year in the NL, the first non-pitcher since Lefty Davis in 1901.

1912

The Boston Red Sox emerged as the early team to beat in the AL after years of futility. The NL saw usual suspects near the top of the heap: Chicago, New York and Brooklyn. Entering the final two months of the season, Boston clung to a 1 game lead over Detroit and Washington. The New York Giants, meanwhile, got another great season from Ty Cobb and Hooks Wiltse, who would go on to win his second Cy Young award. The Giants finally closed a season strong, and won the NL pennant by 10 games over Brooklyn. The AL race saw Boston win the pennant over Detroit in a regular season tiebreak

The Giants would have been favored in the World Series, but ace Hooks Wiltse suffered a back injury in his final start of the season and was unable to go. It bumped up a past-his-prime Christy Mathewson to the number one hole. But a stellar series for Cobb, who hit .450 including a 4-for-4 day including three stolen bases in the 10-inning affair that was the deciding Game 6, led the Giants to their first World Series ring. It capped another stellar season for Cobb who won his second straight MVP, as did Joe Jackson in the American League. Washington also had the AL’s best pitcher, second-year man Pete Alexander who won 23 games and posted a 2.74 ERA.

1913

In the National League, the defending champion Giants fell apart, finishing only two games over .500 and the Cincinnati Reds, whose potent offense included Eddie Collins, Frank Baker and Sam Crawford, won the pennant by three games over Brooklyn. Boston won the AL pennant by a game over the Cleveland Naps who got another great season from Walter Johnson as he won his second Cy Young award. The Red Sox took the World Series in seven games.

Ty Cobb won his third straight MVP award for the Giants, and 28 year-old Danny Moeller of the St. Louis Browns hit .408 to win the AL MVP.

1914

Cincinnati dominated the National League in the first half of the season, while Washington maintained a small lead in the American League over Cleveland, Boston and Detroit for most of the first four months. Grover Alexander was phenomenal for the Senators while the Reds finished first in nearly every offensive category despite struggling in the second half. The Senators also faded down the stretch, going 3-4 in October and losing three games to eventual champion Boston, including the regular season tiebreaker.

The Red Sox peaked at the right time as they swept Cincinnati in the World Series. Bobby Veach hit .538 in the four games and Sherry Magee hit .471 with 6 RBI. Jack Tobin won the AL MVP for the Red Sox at age 22 with a .307 batting average and 52 steals.

Alexander’s season was one of the best to date by a pitcher as he won 28 games and had a 1.67 ERA in his third full season. Ty Cobb, who reupped with the Giants in the previous offseason, won his fourth straight MVP award.

The Pittsburgh Pirates attempted to continue a tradition of excellence at shortstop, using their first overall pick in the amateur draft to select highly-touted prospect Rogers Hornsby.

1915

Detroit and Washington again battled for first in the American League for most of the season. In the National League, Chicago, New York, Brooklyn and Cincinnati were the teams to beat. The Giants fell off the pace after trading their aging pitching stud Christy Mathewson to the Phillies for Fred Merkle. The Cubs finished two games ahead of the Reds to take the NL pennant on the strength of rookie George Sisler’s .301 season. The Cubs drafted the 22-year old with the 8th overall pick the previous fall.

The defending AL champion Red Sox were not to be denied however. A strong final two months for Boston left the American League regular season in a tie for the second straight year. And for the second straight year, the Red Sox defeated Washington in the playoff. The Sox went on to win their third straight World Series title, beating the Cubs in 5 games.

Ty Cobb had an off year by his standards (.312-1-83) but he stole 98 bases and won his fifth straight MVP award. Pete Alexander took home another Cy Young award for Washington and young Benny Kauff broke through with a .308 season for the Senators to win MVP honors in the American League.

1916

The Philadelphia Athletics made a splash in free agency, prying star second baseman Eddie Collins from the Cincinnati Reds. Collins joined the A’s, who hadn’t played above .500 ball since 1907. It didn’t do them much good. Cleveland made what many thought was a questionable move, trading Chief Bender to the Red Sox for aging Miller Huggins. But Huggins had one of his strong early starts and Cleveland led the American League out of the gate and into July. The St. Louis Cardinals emerged from out of nowhere and had a nice season triggered by Edd Roush led the majors with 79 RBI. The Cardinals lost their lead to Brooklyn in mid August, and Cleveland faltered late as the Red Sox took their 4th straight AL pennant by 9 games over Chicago. St. Louis battled the Brooklyn Robins throughout the final months but finished with a 91-63 record to take home it’s first NL title.

The World Series went as expected – the experienced Red Sox dispatched the Cardinals in 5 games. The Cardinals lost Edd Roush to injury, and their rotation was anchored by young pitchers Jesse Barnes and Eppa Rixey. Boston’s ability to counter with a veteran staff of Chief Bender, Al Demaree and Hippo Vaughn, who had turned in the best season of his career was too much for the upstart Cardinals.

Vaughn won the AL Cy Young award for his 23-12, 1.64 ERA effort and his teammate Bender finished second in the voting. Barnes won the NL Rookie of theYear award. Brooklyn Robins took home both the major awards despite their second place finish. Rube Marquard earned the Cy Young trophy for his 23-10 record and 1.67 ERA, while Tris Speaker took advantage of a bad season by Ty Cobb to win his first NL MVP.

1917

Boston came out sluggish in 1917, and found itself 6.5 games behind the Senators with 2 months remaining in the season. In the NL, the Giants found new life after a dismal 68-win season the year before and led Chicago by two games heading into August. A resurgent Pittsburgh franchise squad took over first place in late August but a poor September took them out of the running. The Reds’ 19-5 record in September took the Giants and Robins by surprise, and Cincinnati took its fourth NL title. The Red Sox aging pitching staff, which now included 37 year-old Christy Mathewson, was unable to lead a late surge, and the Senators took the pennant with a five game cushion.

The Reds and Senators had each been in the World Series three times, but neither had experienced victory. It was a great series, going seven games and even in the final game, nine innings wasn’t enough to decide the winner. The Reds parlayed a one-out single by Whitey Witt into the series-winning run with a sacrifice bunt by Sam Crawford and a single by Everett Booe, a pinch-hitter who’d only had eight at-bats all season.

Eddie Collins led his Athletics to a 78-78 record, their best in 10 years. His .320 batting average earned him AL MVP honors as the Washington duo of Joe Jackson and Benny Kauff appeared to split the vote. Hippo Vaughn followed his brilliant 1916 campaign with a similar 1917 (24-11, 1.83) and was rewarded with the Cy Young award. Ty Cobb returned to prominence, winning his 6th NL MVP award.

1918

Washington was determined to get back to the World Series in 1918 but would once again have to deal with the Boston Red Sox, as well as the Cleveland Indians, who were boosted by the emergence of failed pitcher Babe Ruth. In the National League, it was the Reds and Giants again battling for first place, as the Cardinals and Pirates both fell back into the second division.

Babe Ruth’s incredible .324-18-97 season was good enough for AL MVP and the Triple Crown, but not enough to keep Cleveland in the pennant race, as the Indians finished eight games back. In another great race, the Senators held off the Red Sox and won the pennant by two games. The Reds finished strong again, winning 10 of their last 12 games to take the NL championsip. The Reds were led by Home Run Baker, Max Carey and a pitching staff that featured 31-game winner Henry Kuepper, and were favored to win the series. But Washington, led by leadoff hitter Milt Stock (.419 in the series) exacted revenge for their loss the previous year, and won in seven games.

Boston’s Hippo Vaughn won his second consecutive Cy Young award, posting a 23-13 record and a 2.25 ERA. Ty Cobb won another NL MVP for the Giants, hitting .355. The 32-year old star became a free agent after the season and signed a 5-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in December.

1919

A star was born in 1919 as Cleveland’s Babe Ruth shattered the single-season home run record – in July. But the Indians struggled and spent most of the season in seventh place. The Philadelphia Athletics had a good start and led heading into August with Eddie Collins leading the way. But they faced lots of competition; the Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox all lurked within three games.

The National League saw Chicago win the pennant, with George Sisler leading the league in batting with .342, in home runs with 14, and RBI with 96. In the American League, the Athletics only went 12-10 in September and Boston regained the pennant after two second place finishes. The Red Sox took the World Series five games to one. Eddie Cicotte lost two games for Chicago and Boston’s leadoff man Ray Chapman hit .409 for the series. It was Boston’s fifth World Series title in six appearances.

But the league buzzed about 24-year old Babe Ruth, who hit 43 home runs to shatter the previous mark of 19 by Frank Schulte in 1910. He also hit .330 and added 113 RBIs to win the AL MVP. Sisler won the award in the National League. Boston’s Hippo Vaughn took home his fourth consecutive Cy Young award.
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Old 03-31-2007, 11:56 AM   #4
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Great reading! My setup is about identical to yours and it's been quite immersive.
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Old 04-01-2007, 05:38 AM   #5
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1920

The Senators were dealt a blow in the offseason as Pete Alexander, the longtime Washington ace, signed a 2-year contract with the New York Giants. Alexander became New York’s number one starter and put them back into the NL pennant mix with Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the emerging Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds won the pennant by one game. Wally Schang hit .338 for the Reds, who got a boost from former pitcher Smokey Joe Wood midway through the season in a trade with Cleveland. Wood, won 141 games before throwing his arm out and converting to first base.

Detroit’s Harry Heilmann paced the Tigers who earned a 10 game lead halfway through the season and held on to win their first AL pennant since 1911. Detroit got good seasons also from Carson Bigbee (.337), Sam Rice (.326) and rookie Joe Sewell (.314), the seventh overall pick in the previous fall’s draft.

The Reds took the World Series, five games to one. Schang took home the National League MVP, while Babe Ruth broke his own home run record with 47, adding 126 RBI and hitting at an impressive .369 clip.

1921

The year 1921 went down as the Year of the Bambino. Ruth signed a three-year contract with Cleveland and responded with a .382 batting average, 69 home runs and 180 RBIs. It was good for his second Triple Crown in the American League and the MVP. His presence in the Cleveland lineup also gave Cy Williams lots of good pitches to hit, as he mashed 32 homers, a distant second to the Babe.

All that offense wasn’t enough to overcome a sub-par pitching staff, and the Indians finished two games under .500. The Washington Senators defied the experts and finished the regular season tied with Chicago for first place. The Senators pulled out all the stops in the playoff, winning 17-3 to earn the right to face the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates had returned to the NL pennant picture over the last three seasons. 1921 was Rogers Hornsby’s breakout year, as he hit .386 with 28 homers and 139 RBI to win the NL MVP. The Pirates also shrewdly acquired catcher Bubbles Hargrave from the New York Yankees. The Pirates cruised in the World Series, sweeping the Senators in five games.

Jeff Tesreau won the Cy Young award in the American League, going 20-10 with a 3.79 ERA. Ty Cobb proved he had something left in his 34-year old tank, hitting .405 and hitting a career-high 11 home runs. Tris Speaker also hit .372 as a new era of lively-ball hitting appeared to be setting in.

Hornsby left the Pirates for the St. Louis Browns as a free agent in the offseason. His three-year deal made him the highest-paid player in the major leagues.

1922

As expected, the defending champion Pirates faltered without their star shortstop. The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers battled much of the season in the National League, while the White Sox, led by ace Urban Shocker, and the Indians, led by the powerful Ruth-Williams duo were tops in the American League. The Dodgers faded down the stretch and the Giants took the NL by seven games on the strength of a league-best pitching staff which posted a team 3.30 ERA. The White Sox won the pennant by 3 games, posting the league’s best batting average and ERA. The Giants had never lost in a World Series, while this was the White Sox first trip. The Giants made short work of Chicago, winning the series in 5 games.

Jack Fournier of the Reds took home the NL MVP, as he hit .408 with 25 homers. Babe Ruth walked away with another MVP award in the AL, hitting .377 with 56 home runs.

1923

Cleveland and Chicago were again at the top of the American League, but were joined by several other teams, including the Athletics, Tigers, and Browns. Cleveland held a decent lead late in the season until the final stretch, where they lost 10 of their last 13 games, losing the pennant to the White Sox.

In the National League, Brooklyn was the team to beat early, with the Cubs not far behind and the Giants a few games over .500. Brooklyn had a dominant home stretch and finished with 98 wins. But the White Sox were ready this year, and thanks to a couple of great outings from Urban Shocker, Chicago swept the Dodgers in four games.

Brooklyn’s Red Faber took home NL Cy Young honors with a 22-11 season and a 3.09 ERA. Journeyman Win Noyes won 21 games for Chicago and won the AL Cy Young award. Babe Ruth hit a career-best .392 with 48 home runs and 131 RBI to win the AL MVP, while Ike Boone got the award for the Boston Braves in the National League.

1924

The Chicago Cubs made a series of offseason moves that figured to improve the team. They signed future Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins and veteran third baseman Buck Weaver to contracts and traded for Riggs Stephenson, who had posted a .341 batting average in his first three seasons.

It didn’t work out so well for the Cubs, however, as the Philadelphia Phillies got off to a phenomenal 46-15 start. Rookie Jim Bottomley (.371-18-98) led the Phillies’ offense and Dazzy Vance (23-10, 2.77) anchored the pitching staff, and Philadelphia finished with a league-record 103-51 record.

In the American League, Cleveland again proved to be a contender, but faced opposition from Rogers Hornsby and the St. Louis Browns. Hornsby and Ruth had begun a friendly rivalry since Rogers moved over from the National League, and the Indians and Browns emerged as the class of the American League in 1924. St. Louis’ 97-win season included an MVP win for Hornsby (.412-29-109) and a Cy Young award for Joe Shaute (21-2, 3.44), but was spoiled by Cleveland’s 99-55 effort, which came with Babe Ruth out of the lineup for three months due to a fractured cheekbone. Jesse Barnes won 19 games as the ace of the Cleveland staff.

It was the first time for the Phillies in the World Series, and the Cleveland franchise hadn’t won a pennant since the league’s opening season in 1901. The series went to seven games, and the Phillies exploded for an 11-1 win to take their first World Series crown as Ruth watched hopelessly from the bench.

1925

Cleveland came back with a healthy Babe Ruth in 1925 and took first place in early May and never looked back. Ruth hit 38 homers and Harry Rice hit .356 to lead the AL’s top offense as the Indians finished at 90-65 depite a September swoon that nearly allowed the Washington Senators to sneak away with the pennant.

The NL saw a right race as the defending champion Phillies fought with a suddenly frisky Boston Braves team which was spurred by 22-year old Lou Gehrig. The Braves faded, but the Pittsburgh Pirates surged with an 18-9 record in August while the Phillies, who lost Jim Bottomley for the entire season in spring training, could only muster .500 ball in the final two months of the season. Pittsburgh won it’s 6th NL pennant with an 88-66 record.

The Indians were favored in the World Series, but Pittsburgh’s George Kelly hit .385 with a pair of homers and seven RBI as the Pirates shocked the Indians by winning in seven games. Regular season MVP Babe Ruth hit just .222 in the series.

Boston’s Lou Gehrig won the National League MVP, and his teammate Freddie Fitzsimmons won the Cy Young as a rookie, going 21-7 with a 3.60.

1926

Cleveland continued to improve, as they signed future Hall of Famer Joe Jackson in the offseason. It paid off early as the Indians held first place for nearly the entire season and Jackson was among the leaders in batting average and won the AL MVP. The Washington Senators had a strong second half but finished two games out of first.

It was the Phillies returning to the top of the National League, boosted by the return of Jim Bottomley and the breakout season of Al Simmons making up for Ty Cobb’s season-ending injury in early May. The Boston Braves also were in contention in the first half, but dropped out of the race in the second half as the Phillies cruised – winning 101 games and finishing 22 games ahead of the Braves.

The Braves were led by Lou Gehrig who won his second consecutive MVP at age 23. Philadelphia’s Dazzy Vance won the Cy Young award for his 21-8, 2.04 season, but the Phillies lost the World Series to Cleveland in 6 games.

1927

The Indians celebrated their first World Series win – some a little too hard. The great Babe Ruth, who’d ushered in a new era of baseball with his home run hitting prowess, had always been a bit of a partier. His championship celebration continued well into the 1927 season and it began to affect his play. The Babe was only hitting .285, though he was on pace to eclipse 50 home runs for the third time in his career. A particular rowdy night on the town saw Ruth wake up with blurred vision that did not improve with time. Doctors determined that a risky surgery was necessary for Ruth to have any chance of playing baseball again, however, the surgery did not improve his vision enough and the “Sultan of Swat” was forced to call a short end to a brilliant career at the age of 32. He retired with a career .343 batting average, 406 home runs, and 1225 RBI.

The loss left a gaping hole in the Indians lineup. Cleveland had traded away the likes of Cy Williams and Kiki Cuyler and now counted on 38 year-old Shoeless Joe Jackson heavily for offense. Cleveland was able to hang around in the pennant race, but Washington led most of the way and finished with a four game lead on Cleveland to win the pennant.

In the NL, the Phillies were not as dominant as a season before, but still managed to hold off the Reds, who had a promising young core of hitters in Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Chick Hafey, and win the NL pennant by nine games. Ott would win Rookie of the Year for Cincinnati as an 18-year old, and Jimmie Foxx finished third in MVP voting at just 19.

Washington on paper looked like no match for Philadelphia. The Phillies featured veteran stars Ty Cobb, Ross Youngs and Zack Wheat, as well as young talent like Jim Bottomley, Al Simmons and Gabby Hartnett. Their pitching staff was old but effective. Late bloomer Dazzy Vance had won two straight Cy Young awards and was about to win his third. Urban Shocker had two himself, and Dutch Leonard was approaching 250 career wins and would finish second in Cy Young voting this year. But the better team on paper doesn’t always win, and sometimes, as in 1927, the better team on paper loses the World Series in five games.

Joe Jackson won his second straight MVP, giving him five for his career. Lou Gehrig had already won two for the Braves in the NL, and was only getting better. His .345-37-127 campaign as a 24-year old won him his third straight MVP award.

1928

Dazzy Vance jumped from the Phillies to Cincinnati Reds, giving the Reds an ace pitcher to go with their potent offense. But Vance struggled, and it was the Brooklyn Robins who came out of the gate as a contender to Philadelphia for the NL crown. The Phillies faltered, and the Robins, led by shortstop Travis Jackson and pitcher Jack Russell took the pennant by 12 games.

In the American League, Cleveland and Washington battled early, but Chicago’s pitching tandem of Lefty Grove and Eppa Rixey made them a contender, and a 19-4 record in August gave then a 10 game lead into September that would increase to 12 as the Sox finished with a 100-54 season.

Chicago’s Tony Lazzeri drove in 11 runs for the White Sox in their 4-2 World Series win over the Robins. It was the franchise’ second World Series win and third pennant of the ‘20s. Lou Gehrig won another MVP in the National League, with 41 homers, while Rogers Hornsby returned to the top of his game posting a .336 average and 28 homers after a couple sub-par seasons.

1929

A multi-team race shaped up halfway through the American League’s season. Washington, Cleveland, St. Louis and an emerging Yankees franchise challenged Chicago for the pennant. It was an incredibly tight race, and as late as September 9, only one game separated the top four teams, with Cleveland lurking just four and a half back. Washington played best when it counted, going on an 11-game winning streak in late September to win the title.

In the National League, Brooklyn saw Pittsburgh challenge them in a tight race as well. The Pirates’ offense was tops in the NL, while the Robins hung their hats on pitching. It went down to the last day of the season but the Pirates defeated the Cubs while Brooklyn fell to Philadelphia.

The Pirates went on to beat Washington in 6 games in the World Series. It was their third championship of the decade and 6th in franchise history. Pittsburgh was led by pitcher Charley Root (24-10, 3.47), who won the Cy Young award. Lefty Grove won his second straight Cy Young for the White Sox in the AL while Rogers Hornsby had a phenonmenal .368-38-126 campaign to win the AL MVP. Lou Gehrig won his fifth straight MVP but remains stuck on the last place Boston Braves.
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Old 04-01-2007, 12:15 PM   #6
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Great stuff!!
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Old 04-02-2007, 07:31 PM   #7
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As a Clevelander, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Ruth's career-ender. There's a lot of people in this city who think negatively about sports, to the point where it doesn't surprise anyone if I tell them that I replayed history and Ruth was signed by the Indians only to suffer a career-ending injury the year he hit 60 homers for the Yankees in reality...



1930

Pittsburgh and Washington continued their success into 1930. Pittsburgh was challenged by Brooklyn and Philadelphia in a close race in the last couple months. Philadelphia got a specatular season from Al Simmons, who hit .420-41-158 and won the NL MVP. Brooklyn featured six of the NL’s top seven base stealers, including free agent signee Chick Hafey who came over from Cincinnati and led the league with 47 swipes. The Dodgers actually had the second-worst team batting average in the NL and lost the pennant in a regular season tiebreak with Pittsburgh. The Phillies finished a game and a half back.

Washington was chased by Rogers Hornsby’s St. Louis Browns but win the AL pennant by 4 games. Washington had signed Kiki Cuyler away from the Yankees in the offseason, and he along with Charlie Gehringer and Showboat Fisher led the league’s most potent offense. The Senators also made a midseason trade for pitcher George Uhle, which really solidified their pitching staff. Pittsburgh beat the Senators in the World Series for the second straight year. This one went seven games and the MVP of the series was undoubtedly Pirate third baseman Ed Morgan, who hit .517 with 6 HR and 16 RBI during the series.

Chicago’s Lefty Grove won his fourth straight Cy Young award with his third straight 20-win season.

1931

The Boston Red Sox were a surprise success in the American League. Boosted by Hack Wilson’s best season and a midseason trade for pitcher Red Ruffing, the Red Sox took the AL by storm and won their first pennant in 12 years, after failing to win more than 65 games the previous year. Meanwhile the Washington Senators went from captain to cooptain, with George Uhle suffering a season-ending injury and a poot efford from Charlie Gehringer contributing to their demise.

In the NL it was the Chicago Cubs as the surprise winners of the pennant. The Cubs had finished no better than sixth place in the last five seasons. They had actually signed Ruffing in the offseason, only to trade him away, apparently not subscribing to the theory that you can never have too much pitching. The Cubs’ Bill Walker won 20 games and a Cy Young award as their pitching staff made up for a mediocre offense and helped Chicago win 95 games, the most in club history. Their season was capped by win in the World Series over the Red Sox. Fans questioned the trade of Red Ruffing to the Red Sox for Chicken Hawks, but Hawks hit .429 in the series while Ruffing lost both his starts, though he did pitch well, surrendering only 2 earned runs. It was the Cubs’ first World Series win in three trips; Boston had beaten them back in 1915 and 1919.

1932

The surprise success of the Cubs and Red Sox didn’t carry over to the next season. The Cubs finished sixth in the National League, 28 games out of first. Pittsburgh returned to the top of the league in the first half of the season, but the Cincinnati Reds went 57-21 in the final three months of the season to take their first pennant since 1920. 41-year old Dazzy Vance (19-7, 2.57) won his fourth Cy Young Award for the Reds and 23-year old Mel Ott (.329-33-111) won the NL MVP. Third baseman Stan Hack (.339, 28 steals) won the Rookie of the Year award as well.

In the American League, the Detroit Tigers were anchored by their pitching staff, which featured Carl Hubbell and 22 year-old Mel Harder. The young Harder faded in August and September and the Tigers played less than .500 ball down the stretch. A 17-6 September for the New York Yankees gave them their first pennant in 29 years. The Yankees drafted shortstop Arky Vaughan with the 6th pick in the draft the previous fall, and the 20-year old hit .325 during the season to win the A.L. Rookie of the Year award and .367 during the World Series as New York’s leadoff man. The Yankees beat the Reds in seven games to win their first World Series title.

1933

A couple of big names changed addresses in the offseason. With Paul Waner a free agent, the Brooklyn Dodgers decided to upgrade by signing Mel Ott from the Cincinnati Reds. Waner took his .330 career batting average signed with Chicago, as he signed with the Cubs. The result was the Reds falling into the bottom half of the National League and the Cubs rising to the top with an amazing 107 wins, the most ever in the major leagues. Waner led the NL in batting average for much of the year but lost the title by .001 to Lou Gehrig. The Cubs also got a nice season from Pinky Higgins who hit .322-10-111 in his second season with Chicago.

The AL champion Yankees were well out of the pennant race as well. Dizzy Dean had a 23-win season for the Boston Red Sox who won the pennant by 10 games over St. Louis. Dean’s effort earned him the A.L. Cy Young award.

Chicago defeated the Red Sox in six games to win their second ring in three years. Waner hit .500 in the series to win the MVP. He finished third in the regular season MVP voting to Lou Gehrig and Mel Ott. Cubs ace Lon Warneke (23-8, 2.88) won the Cy Young award.

1934

The up-and-down nature of baseball continued as Boston, one year removed from winning the A.L. pennant, spent most of the next season in the cellar. Detroit’s Carl Hubbell (21-7, 1.53) had another great year in leading the Tigers, but the team again faded miserably down the stretch, going 23-31 in the final two months, essentially handing the pennant over to the Philadelphia Athletics.

In the NL, a three team race emerged. Chicago couldn’t duplicate the magic of their 107-win season of the previous year, and along with Brooklyn chased the Cincinnati Reds early on. The Dodgers faded and the Reds held on to win the pennant by three games. Catcher Jimmie Foxx led the Reds with a .322 batting average. The Reds came back from down two games to win the World Series in six.

Arky Vaughan won the A.L. MVP at age 22 for his .330-15-104 season in New York. Lou Gehrig continued to toil away in relative obscurity for the Boston Braves, hitting .351 with 40 homers and 143 RBI., which was good for his third Triple Crown and his seventh NL MVP award.

1935

Both leagues had several teams in contention for first place midway through the season. Cincinnati led the National League, but only by two games over Brooklyn, and there were three other teams within six games of first place. The American League had a similar story, with five teams in contention, and the St. Louis Browns in first place heading into the final two months of the season. By September, the races had shaken out a bit more. St. Louis and Washington were neck and neck in the American League, with the White Sox lurking three games back. In the National League, Cincinnati had emerged with a four game lead on the Dodgers.

St. Louis went 9-17 in September, and the Senators went 13-15, opening the door for the White Sox, who on the strength of Lefty Grove’s 5-1 month, went 19-7 to win their first pennant since 1928. In the NL, the Reds went 19-8 and cruised to their second straight league championship and third in four years. Jimmie Foxx’s switch to first base paid dividends for the slugger, who toiled behind the plate for ten years. Foxx hit a career-high 41 homers and 151 RBI, but were beaten in the World Series in 5 games.

Foxx finished second in MVP voting to Lou Gehrig (.324-40-133), whose Boston club changed its name to the Bees with terrible results, as the team won only 59 games. Arky Vaughan won another MVP for the struggling Yankees.

1936

Chicago battled with Washington again at the top of the American League, with the Athletics lurking in the race as well. In the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals, who hadn’t finished above .500 in the 1930s, had amassed an impressive 51 wins at the break. 22-year old Paul Dean was putting together his best season and 23-year old Johnny Mize, drafted the previous fall, proved to be an instant success.

The Cardinals held on for the NL title despite a strong surge from the Pittsburgh Pirates, who got a stellar 41 home runs and 141 RBIs from rookie outfielder Joe DiMaggio. The White Sox went back and forth with the Senators and won the AL pennant with an 85-69 record. Lefty Grove continued his Hall of Fame career with a 23-11 record and a 2.96 ERA and won his eighth Cy Young.

Despite their paltry 85-win season, the White Sox took the Cardinals out in 5 games to win their second straight ring. Lou Gehrig passed Babe Ruth (406) on the all-time home run list in May and became a free agent in the fall. The Pittsburgh Pirates made a huge splash, signing the sure-fire Hall of Famer to a two year deal worth nearly $200,000 a season, making Gehrig the highest paid player in baseball and teaming him with Earl Averill and young Joe DiMaggio to form one of the most potent 3-4-5 combinations in baseball history.

1937

Pirates’ ownership was unable or unwilling to keep three superstars on the payroll, and in midseason they dealt longtime Pirate Earl Averill to the St. Louis Cardinals. Pittsburgh held a six-game lead at the break, and finished with 89 wins, five ahead of the second place Brooklyn Dodgers.

The White Sox continued their stay at the top of the American League. Dixie Walker led the league in hitting league and Lefty Grove again won 20 games and another Cy Young award as Chicago finished the season with 101 wins, 17 games ahead of Boston. Pittsburgh, however, was unimpressed by the two-time defending champions and their 101 wins, and won the World Series in seven games.

Charlie Gehringer continued his stellar career with Washington, and was rewarded with his first MVP trophy for his .350-15-78 season. 24-year-old Hal Trosky had an amazing year for the Cubs, hitting .357 with 47 home runs to win the NL MVP. He came .002 in average away from the Triple Crown.

1938

The Pirates struggled the following year, hovering around .500 as Lou Gehrig began showing signs of age. Brooklyn had the best pitching staff in the league and were in first place at the break. Cubs and Cardinals made some noise early in the second half, but faded as the Dodgers won the pennant with a 94-60 record. Catcher Bill Dickey hit a club-record 42 homers to pace the Dodgers and won the NL MVP.

In the American League, the Red Sox got a breakout season from young fireballer Bob Feller. It was a 4-team race for the AL pennant into mid-August, as the White Sox took over first place, with Detroit and New York within 5 games. But Chicago proved why they were the AL’s elite team posting a 43-16 record in the final two months. Dixie Walker again led the team in batting while Lefty Grove won a career-high 28 games and had a 2.20 ERA at age 38.

The Dodgers hadn’t been to the World Series in 10 years and hadn’t won one since their string of four consecutive ended in 1911. But they took it to the White Sox, who were overwhelmed by Brooklyn’s offense. Dickey hit .417 for the series and had 10 RBIs as the Dodgers won the series in 5 games.

1939

It was an eventful offseason in the big leagues. Perhaps the most highly touted prospect ever was selected first by the Philadelphia Athletics. Ted Williams, a 20-year-old outfielder from San Diego, was heralded as the savior of a Philadelphia franchise that won just 49 games the previous season. The Boston Bees, the majors’ least successful franchise, got a lovely consolation prize in the form of a young pitcher named Hal Newhouser.

The offseason also included a strong class of free agents. The New York Yankees made splash by signing Joe Medwick, a former Phillies outfielder just hitting his prime at age 27. They also re-signed Paul Derringer, who entertained offers before returning to the team he’d won 107 games with so far. Hank Greenberg, who had been drafted by the Tigers and hit 41 home runs in 1938, took a 4-year deal from the Red Sox and Lou Gehrig signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Brooklyn signed sweet-hitting shortstop Arky Vaughan away from the Yankees, a move that made them the odds-on favorites to retain their National League title.

The Dodgers held a three game lead over the Cubs and Pirates at the all-star break. Boston’s Bob Feller won 12 games in the first half and led the Red Sox to a 4.5 game lead over the Tigers. The Dodgers though had a terrible second half and the Cubs ended up winning 96 games and taking the pennant. The Red Sox, however, held on to win their ninth American League championship.

Neither team had been to the World Series since the 1933 series, which the Cubs won. 1939 was another story as the Red Sox won it in 5 games. Bob Feller won the AL Cy Young award as he won the pitcher’s Triple Crown, winning 21 games, posting a 2.67 ERA and striking out 240. Ted Williams proved worthy of the hype, as he hit .379-39-123 as a 21-year-old rookie and won the AL MVP.
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Old 04-04-2007, 01:14 PM   #8
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This is a great read !
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Old 04-04-2007, 08:41 PM   #9
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Great stuff. I started a league in the mid-50s and will be interested to see how your results compare to mine (It's June 1961 and Pittsburgh's Roger Maris has only 16 homers and a Mendoza-like batting average, but as he had only one homer on May 1, I wouldn't count out a run at 61.) Mantle, with the Yankees, has been hurt twice and is hitting .232 w/ single-digit homers.
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Old 04-06-2007, 02:32 AM   #10
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1940

Still stinging from their second half collapse a year earlier, the Brooklyn Dodgers came roaring out of the gate and at the all-star break had posted a gaudy 61-20 record. They finished with a major league record 112 wins.

The Chicago White Sox returned to the top of the American League after a rough ’39 season. They won the pennant after a tight three-team race with Detroit and Cleveland. Chicago finished in a regular season tie with Detroit and won in the playoff to take home their 5th AL title in six years. The White Sox’ experience in the postseason paid dividends, and they upset the Dodgers in seven games.

Bob Feller won his second straight Cy Young, winning 24 games and striking out 252 batters while posting a 2.24 ERA. Ted Williams won another MVP for Philadelphia as the team improved to have an 85-win season. They could be a contender if rookie SS Pee Wee Reese continues to develop.

1941

Brooklyn continued to play well in the National League, fighting off the Cubs and Pirates in the first half of the season. The Pirates won 94 games but still finished 8 games behind the Dodgers.

The Boston Red Sox had baseball’s best record at the all-star break, thanks to stellar first half performances by pitchers Bob Feller and Marius Russo. The defending champion White Sox had a solid season, winning 92 games, but it was no match for Boston, who set an American League record with a 109-45 record. Their pitching staff was phenomenal, as they led the league on all major categories, but suffered a blow late as ace Bob Feller (21-9, 2.27) injured his knee in the final week of the season, putting him out of the World Series. Boston posted a team ERA of 2.67, while the American League on average had an ERA of 3.80.

The World Series was one to remember for the Dodgers. Still stung from their poor showing the previous year, the Dodgers found themselves down 3-0 to Boston. But they exploded for four runs in the first inning of Game 4 and cruised to an 11-4 win. Charlie Gehringer hit a walk-off home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth in Game 5. Game 6 in Boston went 10 innings and went in Brooklyn’s favor. The Dodgers completed the comeback with a 3-2 win in Game 7.

Boston’s Big Three of pitchers finished 1-2-3 in the Cy Young Award voting, with Marius Russo (24-4, 2.22) beating out Feller and Johnny Vander Meer (22-6, 2.17). Boston’s Stan Hack and Hank Greenberg finished behind Philadelphia’s Ted Williams in MVP voting.

1942

Brooklyn lost Buddy Lewis to Pittsburgh in free agency, and the move created a little more parity at the top of the NL. The Cubs, led by rookie shortstop Johnny Pesky and a great first half by veteran pitcher Si Johnson, led at the break. The Red Sox were not as dominant in the American League, which saw four teams contending halfway through the season. Boston fought off both Cleveland and Detroit to win the American League by three games, while in the National League, the Dodgers fell out of the race and the Cubs edged Pittsburgh by a game to win their second pennant in four years.

In the World Series, Johnny Vander Meer won two games for Boston as they won their seventh World Championship. Vander Meer also won the AL Cy Young for his 21-11 season. Philadelphia’s Ted Williams won another MVP award, despite being hurt late in the season and only playing 109 games. He finished with a .352 batting average and 29 homers.

1943

Brooklyn returned to the top of the National League in 1943, holding an eight and a half game lead over the Cardinals at the break. Boston faced opposition from Washington, Cleveland and Detroit, and the race only got tighter as the summer wore on. Detroit was a game up on Cleveland going into September, with Boston and Washington fading out of the picture. The Indians’ 18-8 September put them over the top, and Cleveland won it’s first pennant since the too-short Babe Ruth era in the mid-20s. Brooklyn, meanwhile, finished with 99 wins and a comfortable 18 games ahead of Cincinnati and St. Louis, with the defending champion Cubs suffering a 69-85 season.

The Dodgers were heavily favored in the World Series, most of their players having been there before, and they did not disappoint, sweeping the Indians to win their third title in six years.

Ted Williams (.355-29-128) won yet another MVP award for the Athletics, who continued to struggle.

1944

Pennant races in both leagues were hot and heavy in 1944. The AL defending champs were two games out of first place at the break, with Stan Musial and the Washington Senators in first, and the Detroit Tigers, led by Frank McCormick, hovered five and a half games back. The Tigers faltered and it became 2-team race going into September, but Washington’s lead slipped away as they completely folded in September, going 6-17 for the month. Cleveland’s league-best pitching staff led the team to it’s second straight pennant.

In the National League, the Reds held a one game lead over the Cardinals, with the Philadelphia Blue Jays three and a half out. Pittsburgh, Chicago, and even the Dodgers, who were four games under .500, all considered themselves in contention. The Blue Jays scuffled in the second half, finishing 9 games under .500. St. Louis’ strong finish put them in the World Series for only the third time in franchise history.

The Indians took the World Series in 5 games. Third baseman Ken Keltner, who signed a 5-year deal with the team the previous fall, hit .450 with a homer and 7 RBIs in the series.

In what appeared to be becoming a ritual in the American League, Ted Williams and Stan Musial finished 1-2 in MVP voting. Boston’s Pete Reiser had a breakthrough year at age 25, hitting .354 and stealing 38 bases. Cleveland’s Jack Kramer won the Cy Young Award. St.Louis’ Charle Keller earned the MVP in the NL for his 39 homer season. He added 126 RBI to lead the majors in both categories.

1945

8-time All-Star Mel Ott signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason. The Pirates signed the veteran away from Brooklyn as their right fielder for the last seven years, Enos Slaughter, signed with the last-place New York Giants. Ott had spent 11 seasons in Brooklyn and was at the tail end of a long career that began back in 1926 with the Reds. The Dodgers, for their part, improved by signing shortstop Lou Boudreau from Detroit.

The American League experts were divided. Some thought Cleveland would repeat. Others thought the Senators would finally put a full season together, and still others felt that Boston’s crack pitching staff of Bob Feller, Ken Raffensberger, Harry Brecheen and Preacher Roe would win out. It was the third group that looked like geniuses early, as they held a 6.5 game lead over Cleveland, which was the only other team above .500 going into August. Raffensberger was particularly dominant the first 4 months, going 17-3 with a 2.61 ERA. Their success continued and Boston finished with 101 wins to take the pennant.

In the National League, the Cardinals and Pirates battled for first, with the Cubs and Dodgers within striking distance. St. Louis’ Johnny Mize had his best season since his second year in the majors, hitting .353 with 30 homers and 100 RBI, as that Cardinals maintained their lead and won their second straight pennant.

The Red Sox were favored in the World Series, since good pitching beats good hitting. But this year, “vice versa” was the case as the Cardinals stunned Boston by winning in six games. Tiny Bonham was the star of the series, pitching two complete game wins and posting an ERA of 1.50.

Mize took home the NL MVP, the first of his career. Ted Williams and Stan Musial finished 1-2 again in the American League. Ted Williams had played seven seasons, won seven MVP awards, but still was without a pennant. The Spendid Splinter opted for free agency at the end of the year, as did NL MVP Johnny Mize. Williams signed a $419,000 a year deal with the struggling NewYork Giants franchise, becoming the highest paid player in baseball. Johnny Mize signed the game’s second-richest contract, opting for the Phillies, who hadn’t finished better than fifth place since 1931.

1946

The Giants made some noise in the offseason, signing Ted Williams to create a potent core of the lineup with Williams, Enos Slaughter, and Ernie Lombardi. They also signed Claude Passeau to be their new number one starter, and hoped for a boost from rookie draft pick Ellis Kinder. But for all the offseason noise the Giants made about a renaissance, in the regular season they were quiet. The Cardinals were in first at the break, and the Giants were 18 and a half games back, in last place. To add injury to insult, Ted Williams tore his groin muscle in mid-June and was lost for the year. A phenomenal season for Johnny Mize in his new home in Philadelphia made the Phillies pennant contenders. Mize hit .355 with an NL record 62 home runs and 145 RBI, winning the Triple Crown and the NL MVP. In the end, it was not enough as it was the Pirates who finished strong, taking the pennant by one game over Philadelphia.

Boston and Chicago were tied for first in the American League, with the St. Louis Browns a half game out. Hank Greenberg led the AL in homers for Boston and led them to another pennant, as the Browns; first half turned out to be a fluke and Chicago couldn’t keep pace.

The World Series was a matchup of two of baseball’s most successful franchises. It was Boston’s 13th appearance (no team had been there more often), and Pittsburgh had won World Series eight rings (no team had won more often). Boston again found itself on the losing end, as the Pirates won it in five very close games. No game was won by more than two runs, and the final three were all one-run ballgames. Joe DiMaggio had a .474 batting average for Pittsburgh to silence some of his critics who said he’d been underachieving for most of his career.

The Giants finished with the baseball’s worst record, and so had the fortune of picking from of a loaded draft class which included Duke Snider, Al Rosen and Ted Kluzewski as well as the game’s first black players, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. However, they passed on all of them and selected pitcher Harry Perkowski. Fans were crestfallen. Snider was the first to go, 4th overall to the Athletics. The Reds took Rosen and the Browns made Jackie Robinson the game’s first African-American player with the 8th pick, figuring that they had never won a pennant with all white guys.

1947

The Giants, determined to get back to the top of the National League, made another offseason splash, signing former Boston Braves ace Hal Newhouser to a multi-year contract. The 25-year old Newhouser was coming of a 24 win season in which he won the NL Cy Young award. But experts figured they still didn’t have the horses, especially with Ted Williams’ status unsure as he returned from his groin injury a week after the season started.

The Giants did hover around .500 in the first half, but it was not good enough to really be in contention. The Pirates continued their success from the previous season, with Joe DiMaggio among the leaders in home runs and Max Butcher winning a career-high 26 games and posting a 3.01 ERA. Pittsburgh won the pennant by 12 games over the Dodgers with a 94-60 record. Mel Ott hit 32 home runs, overtaking Lou Gehrig as the all-time home run king.

The Red Sox continued to play well in the Amerian League, and had a six game lead at the break over Chicago, with the Senators right behind the White Sox. Washington’s Stan Musial flirted with .400 as late as August but the Senators were unable to keep pace with the Red Sox, who finished with 96 wins, taking their third straight pennant.

This time around, Boston was able to take care of business, and they dispatched the Pirates in a four-game sweep. Harry Brecheen won his two starts and had a 1.50 ERA, w hile Hank Greenberg and Jim Russell each hit two home runs in the series.

Butcher won the NL Cy Young, while Bob Feller (19-10, 2.31) won the award in the American League. Stan Musial’s .384 batting average and 27 homers earned him his second straight MVP award. Johnny Mize followed his historical ’46 season with another MVP performance, hitting .309 with 45 homers and 136 RBI.

1948

The Red Sox fell horribly out of contention in 1948, falling to last place by the All-Star break, as the Chicago White Sox rose to the top of the American League. The Red Sox pitching, once the envy of all of baseball, fell apart. The White Sox were led by pitchers Ellis Kinder and Dizzy Trout, while the Indians had a nice rotation that included former Boston pitcher Ken Raffensberger, Curt Simmons, and free agent acquisition Early Wynn.

The National League had a measure of parity at the All-Star break. Even the last place Reds were just nine games back of first place, which was held once again by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs and Braves were each within two games of first. Thinks still weren’t settled into mid-August, with seven of the eight teams within a paltry 4 games of first place, with Pittsburgh still clinging to the top spot. As the season wound down the Pirates remained steady and clinched the pennant on October 1 with two games remaining. It was a scant 83 wins that won it for the Pirates, led by Joe DiMaggio’s .315-28-113 performance and a September in which he hit .373.

The White Sox took the World Series, four games to two, as after getting shut out in Game 1, the Chicago offense woke up, including a 13-2 win in Game 6. It was Chicago’s sixth World Series victory in franchise history. Ralph Kiner won the AL MVP for the White Sox, hitting .327 with 42 home runs and 125 RBI in a breakout season for the 25-year old outfielder. Raffensberger (19-10, 2.55) of Cleveland won the AL Cy Young award.

The Giants’ Hal Newhouser (18-12, 3.23) took home the NL Cy Young and Ted Williams got healthy and hit .338 with 35 homers and 126 RBI to win his eighth MVP award.

1949

The Boston Red Sox returned to the pennant race after a year in the basement. They were in first place by games at the all-star break, over second place Washington. Harry Brecheen had 14 wins at the all-star break for Boston, and the Senators’ Stan Musial was again leading the league in batting. The Red Sox held on to their lead despite going 2-8 in their last 10 games. They won the pennant by one game over Washington. It was their sixth American League title in the decade.

The National League saw another very crowded race. St. Louis held a one game lead over Chicago, with Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Philadelphia all within five games. Pittsburgh took over first place in mid August but the Cardinals came back. They dueled all through September and in the end, the Cardinals won out, winning the pennant by one game.

The Red Sox cemented their status as the team of the decade, winning their fourth World Series title in the 1940s by taking the Cardinals in five games. Ron Northey hit four homers in the five game series and Harry Brecheen improved his postseason record to 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA.
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Old 04-24-2007, 04:50 PM   #11
TheeeeeeeeeYankeesWin
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Funny

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matches View Post
As a Clevelander, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Ruth's career-ender. There's a lot of people in this city who think negatively about sports, to the point where it doesn't surprise anyone if I tell them that I replayed history and Ruth was signed by the Indians only to suffer a career-ending injury the year he hit 60 homers for the Yankees in reality...
That is funny. Cudos to you though for not 'fudging' it and replaying it!

PS: Maybe the Knicks will get Bron when I play TPB
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Old 04-28-2007, 11:43 PM   #12
Matches
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Back to it after a hiatus...

1950

Another tight race in the National League was shaping up as the season reached its midway point. The Cardinals were five and a half back of the Pirates at the break. The Brooklyn Dodgers were two games out and the Reds five. Also making noise in the second half were the Phillies, led by Johnny Mize. Pittsburgh held a 3 game lead going into September and ended up edging the Dodgers out by one run.

Chicago had a three game lead on the Red Sox in the American League at the break, but the Indians and Tigers both had designs on hanging around to take down the two major powers in the American League. Boston struggled in the second half and Cleveland made some noise in early September, but the White Sox finished on top with a 91-63 record, six games ahead of Cleveland.

The Pirates won their 10th World Series, taking it in six games over Chicago. Warren Spahn won two games for the Pirates and Bobby Doerr hit .400 for the series.

Ted Williams won another MVP award hitting 40 homers despite finishing with a batting average under .300 for the first time in his career. In the American League it was Duke Snider’s 46 homers and .321 batting average that netted the 24-year old Athletics star his first MVP award.

A pair of highly touted centerfielders entered the league via the amateur draft in the Fall. The St. Louis Browns used the first overall pick to select 19-year old Mickey Mantle, while the Boston Braves, drafting second, took 19-year old Willie Mays.

1951

The Brooklyn Dodgers were the team to beat in the National League early in the season. Led by catcher Yogi Berra and second baseman Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers were up by 5 games at the all-star break. The Dodgers acquired Robinson after his rookie season with the Browns, and he proved to be a success, enjoying his best year in the majors in 1951. He hit .342 to lead the Dodgers and added 35 stolen bases, and was named the NL’s Most Valuable Player. They also got a great season from Andy Pafko, who hit .317 with 30 homers as the Dodgers finished with 92 wins and their 11th pennant.

Meanwhile, in the American League, it was a tight race. The Indians had a half-game lead on the Red Sox, and a one game cushion over the Athletics. Also in the hunt were Chicago and Washington, both within five games of first place. Philadelphia put together a great stretch in July and August and held on to win the American League pennant by six games over Cleveland. Led by a couple 25-year old stars in center fielder Duke Snider and third baseman Minnie Minoso, the A’s won just their second pennant in team history.

The Dodgers had the edge in pitching and the Athletics had the better hitting staff. But it was considered to be a pretty even matchup and the result proved it, as the World Series went to seven games, with Philadelphia winning it’s first ever world title by a score of 4-1 in Game Seven. Snider hit 3 home runs in the series.

Larry Doby hit .322 with 35 homers and 114 RBIs, and won the American League MVP. Both Doby and Robinson were pioneers as they were the first black players to be selected in the draft, and this year both became the first to be voted MVP of their respective leagues.

1952

The Boston Braves, baseball’s most historically futile franchise, found themselves in a strange position in 1952: in first place, and with a bright future ahead of them. They’d had special talents before; Lou Gehrig became known as one of the all-time greats and Paul Waner was inducted to the Hall of Fame. Both started their careers in Boston, and went on to bigger and better things later on. The Braves felt that something was different now, as they had a top pitching prospect in 23-year old Whitey Ford, and the exciting 21-year old centerfielder Willie Mays. 21-year old pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell was having great rookie season. Catcher Smoky Burgess also showed promise and Richie Ashburn and Ted Kluzewski were also fan favorites. This young core contributed to the Braves fine first half as they were 55-26 at the all-star break and seven games up on the Pirates.

The Senators signed free agent pitcher Allie Reynolds to their rotation, and traded Bobby Thomson and Dutch Leonard to Pittsburgh for Warren Spahn, forming the most impressive pitching staff in the game. They led the Senators to a 54-27 record at the all-star break.

Both the Senators and Braves cruised to their respective league championships. The Senators won 97 games and finished 10 games ahead of the White Sox. Meanwhile, the Braves put together one of the best seasons by any team, let alone in franchise history, going 107-47 and winning the pennant by 20 games. Whitey Ford won 25 games and had a 1.91 ERA to win the Cy Young award.

The Braves’ first trip to the World Series started off rocky, as the Senators pounded them 11-1 and then won Game 2 6-4. Then The Series went back to Washington and Allie Reynolds pitched a 1-run complete game to win Game 3 and then Warren Spahn, the American League’s Cy Young award winner, shut the Braves out in Game 4 to complete the sweep. Musial hit .438 in his first taste of World Series action and was later named the AL’s MVP. The Senators’ Eddie Mathews hit 34 homers and won the Rookie of the Year award.

The Braves decided to move to Milwaukee after their franchise-best showing didn’t fail to woo enough fans away from their ties to the more historically successful Red Sox.

1953

The Braves had success in Milwaukee as well. Willie Mays had 24 home runs at the break, but the Giants were hanging around thanks in part to Ted Williams who was chasing the triple crown. The Giants took first place briefly but the Braves retook control in mid-August when Whitey Ford returned from an elbow injury that had kept him out since May, and never looked back. They went 39-11 over the final two months to win 100 games and the pennant.

The Senators were only four games over .500 at the break after winning the World Series the previous year. The usual suspects found themselves near the top of the standings; Chicago was in first and the Red Sox were a game back. Cleveland was five games out. The race heated up in September, with Boston and Chicago tied for first and the Senators just a half game out with two weeks remaining. Losing streaks by the Red Sox and White Sox put the Senators in first going into the last week of the season. Washington won it’s last 4 games to clinch and head back to the Series.

In the rematch of last year’s series, writers figured the Senators would be more prepared, with their young core all a year wiser. Still, the Senators 3-4 combo of Stan Musial and Eddie Mathews was as feared as any in baseball, and Spahn and Reynolds were tough pitchers to get by. Spahn won Game 1 for Washington, and the Senators were up 6-1 in Game Two before a 7-run explosion in the seventh inning gave the Braves the win, evening the series. The Braves saved Whitey Ford for game three, and he shutout the Senators, giving up only four hits. The Braves went up 3-1 by winning 1-0 in 10-innings in Washington, and wrapped up their first world title in Game 5.

1954

The Braves looked to entrench themselves as the dominant team of the day, and had a great measure of success following up their 1953 World Series victory. The Braves had impressive 62-23 record at the all-star break, 14 games ahead of the second place Dodgers. They cruised in the second half as well, winning 114 games to break the previous record of 112 held by Brooklyn’s 1940 team. Their pitching staff was stellar, with Vinegar Bend Mizell (22-4, 2.09) and Whitey Ford (25-2, 2.07) leading the way. Ted Kluzewski led the majors with 54 home runs, and won the NL MVP.

In the American League, Washington battled with Philadelphia in a close race during the first half. Eddie Mathews led the Senators while Duke Snider paced the Athletics. The two stars battled for the lead in both batting average and home runs. The Baltimore Orioles, formerly the St. Louis Browns, crept into the race in mid-August, as did Detroit. The Orioles took over first place on August 25th and held on as the surprise pennant winners by one game over Washington.

The Orioles franchise hadn’t won a pennant since 1906, and with the Braves juggernaut looming, experts predicted a quick exit for the Orioles. Milwaukee’s aces took care of business at home, each surrendering just 1 run. Baltimore managed a win in a 14-inning game three at home, and took game five as well. But the Braves got it together and won game six, 6-2.

Mathews (.341-46-133) edged Snider (.350-42-141) in MVP voting in the American League.

1955

Milwaukee’s hopes for a Braves dynasty got cloudier when 30-year old Ted Kluzewski opted to sign a new contract with the Boston Red Sox. Boston had fallen to 8th place the previous year and hoped to get back on top with the acquisition of Big Klu and their 1st overall draft pick, pitcher Sandy Koufax, a 19-year old who immediately was slotted as the team’s #1 starter.

The Red Sox hovered around .500 as the Senators led the American League at the all-star break. In the National League, the Giants rose to the top with Ted Williams and Gil Hodges leading the way. But they faced a second-half challenge from the Phillies, who took over first place at the end of July and held on to win the pennant by one game. The Senators returned to the World Series after a one-year hiatus, taking their third pennant in four years.

The Phillies NL-leading offense was stymied by the Washington’s AL-best pitching staff, as the Senators swept Philadelphia in four games to win their 4th World Series ring. Warren Spahn improved his career World Series record to 6-0, with a 1.86 ERA. He also finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Kansas City’s Billy Pierce, who won 24 games for the Athletics in their first year since moving from Philadelphia. 37-year old Ted Williams proved he still had some good years left in him, as he hit .370 with 26 homers to win his 11th MVP award, and also passed Mel Ott for the all-time home run record. Baltimore’s Mickey Mantle won the award in the AL, as he hit .329 to go with 44 home runs and 19 steals at the tender age of 23.

Both Williams and Pierce became free agents in the fall. Pierce defected to the Brooklyn Dodgers, while Williams opted to stick with the Giants.

1956

Washington and Baltimore were the class of the American League in 1956. The Senators’ Stan Musial and the Orioles’ Mickey Mantle led their teams to 50+ wins by the all-star break. In the National League, the Milwaukee Braves, led by pitcher Whitey Ford, had a comfortable lead on Philadelphia heading into the final two months of the season.

The Orioles had a stellar second half of the season, capping it with 20 wins in September to finish with 106 wins and nine games ahead of Washington. Mantle hit .345 with 46 home runs and won the AL MVP. Rocky Colavito, a first round pick of the Orioles from 1954, hit 31 homers and won Rookie of the Year honors. The Orioles, however, were beat by the NL champion Braves in the World Series, four games to two. Richie Ashburn hit .467 in the series for Milwaukee.

Ted Williams won another NL MVP, hitting .347-30-100 at age 38.

1957

The Braves lost ace Whitey Ford to the Pirates in free agency, but that did not stop them from contending again in the National League. At the all-star break they were only a half-game behind the Cincinnati Redlegs, who were led by young stars Frank Robinson and Ernie Banks. But Cincinnati faltered down the stretch and the Braves took the National League with a 91-63 record.

The Orioles held first place at the break by 4 games over Cleveland. Boston and Washington were in contention as well, hanging six games out of first place. Mickey Mantle’s emergence as a superstar in the league was cemented as he hit .378 with 53 home runs to lead Baltimore to its second straight pennant. Rocky Colavito added 46 homers and 137 RBIs.

In the World Series rematch, Baltimore got the best of the Braves, winning in five games. It was the second championship in franchise history, and the first since 1906 when the St. Louis Browns won it all.

1958

Cincinnati’s young stars led the Redlegs to 56 wins in the first half of the season and they held a 6 game lead over the Milwaukee Braves at the all-star break. The Braves played well all year, winning 96 games, but it was no match for the Reds who went 106-48 to win their first pennant since 1935. Meanwhile, the Orioles continued their reign at the top of the American League. They won 97 games and their third straight pennant. Karl Spooner went 16-6 with a 2.49 to win the AL Cy young award.

The Reds went on to win the World Series with Ernie Banks hitting .400 and 2 homers in five games.

The Tigers had the first overall pick in the draft and selected Bob Gibson. Baltimore inked 40-year old Ted Williams to a 3-year deal to add veteran bat to their already strong lineup. Williams missed almost the entire 1959 season due to an Achilles tendon tear.

1959

The Boston Red Sox began the 1959 season strong, with rookie first baseman Norm Cash having an impact in his second pro season. They held a slight lead over the Orioles at the all-star break. In the National League, Cinicnnati stayed at the top early on, fending off challenges from Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the first half. The Redlegs held on in the NL, winning the pennant by the slim margin of 1 game over Milwaukee with the Phillies only 2 games back. The Red Sox turned around a subpar decade by holding on to first place in the American League to win their first pennant in 10 years. The Orioles scuffled as Mickey Mantle hit just .226 despite good protection in the lineup from Rocky Colavito and Ted Williams.

The power-hitting tandem of Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson, who combined to hit 75 home runs in the regular season, led Cincinnati. They hit .391 and .348 in the World Series as the Redlegs beat the Red Sox in six games. Perhaps the big story was 31-year old rookie Jim Baxes who hit 4 homers in the series to lead the Reds to their second straight World Series title.

Ted Williams (.309-29-87) won an unprecedented 14th MVP award despite his advanced age of 41 years. His teammate Camilo Pascual won the AL Cy Young award with 21 wins and a 2.98 ERA.
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Old 02-09-2008, 07:09 PM   #13
Matches
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Join Date: Dec 2001
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Posts: 112
Resurrection: the 1960s

My version of the game ceased to function properly a long time ago when all amateur drafts crashed the game to the desktop. No tech support helped but because I am a sucker for this franchise I ponied up for 2008 and the problem was resolved. So here now, the remainder of my historical replay:

1960

The Reds, interestingly, shook things up in the offseason. With power hitting prospects Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson coming into their own, Cincinnati management felt their lineup needed some balance. So they traded for Los Angeles’ speedy young shortstop Luis Aparicio, and then moved their own power hitting shortstop Ernie Banks to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Tito Francona. Then, to solidify their outfield even further, they signed free agent Al Kaline away from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Banks promptly led the Yankees, the franchise with the worst all-time won-loss record, to the top of the American League. New York was in first place by one game at the all-star break, holding a one-game lead over Baltimore. They held on to first place until the final two weeks of the season. The Orioles finished 8-2 in their last ten games while the Yankees struggled in September, going 9-13.

Meanwhile the Reds maintained the top spot in the National League until August when the Braves took first place thanks to the stellar outfield of Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. The Braves finished strong, going 34-15 in the final two months to reclaim the National League title after a three-year dryspell.

Milwaukee took the World Series in six games from the Orioles. The Orioles thought they had forced a game seven on a couple occasions, with a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th giving them a 6-1 lead. But Camilo Pascual and Ryne Duren surrendered a 5-run ninth inning to send the game into the 10th. The Orioles got a run in the 10th inning but the Braves came back in the bottom of the 10th. Baltimore closer Ed Roebuck was the goat as he committed an error allowing Wally Shannon to get on base to lead off the inning. Roebuck then walked the next two batters, and went 3-0 to Roman Mejias before giving up a 3-1 single that scored the tying and series-winning runs for the Braves. Roebuck had saved 16 games with a 2.98 ERA during the regular season.

1961

The new year brought two new teams into the league. The original Washington Senators packed up and moved to Minnesota, but an expansion franchise was granted to Washington. Also getting an American League team was Los Angeles, whose team was christened the Angels and would compete with the NL’s Dodgers, who along with the Giants had moved out west in 1958.

The Orioles put together a good first half but found themselves five games back of Boson at the all-star break. The Red Sox had a 58-29 record and was led by Norm Cash and Sandy Koufax. In the National League, the Braves dominated the competition thanks in large part to the dynamic duo of Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Baltimore had the league’s top three home run hitters but Boston’s pitching staff was the best in the American League. The Orioles made a deal for starter Bob Friend at the trading deadline, giving up Rocky Colavito. The team responded but Boston was just too good, winning 101 games to take the pennant. It set up an epic World Series matchup with the Braves, who went 108-46 and finished a whopping 23 games ahead of the second place Reds.

The Braves won the World Series in six games despite Roberto Clemente’s absence from the lineup due to a scratched cornea. Mickey Mantle bounced back from subpar seasons in ’59 and ’60 to win the AL MVP with a .319 batting average and 47 home runs, while Clemente (.341-21-123) edged out his teammates Mays (.312-28-107) and Carl Sawatski (.319-26-94) to win the award in the National League.

In the offseason the National League added two expansion teams, the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets.

1962

The Cleveland Indians rode a young pitching staff anchord by Al Downing, Gary Peters and Juan Marichal to a 61-26 record at the all-star break, surprising most of the experts. In the National League, the Braves fell on hard times as both Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays had relatively uninspired seasons. The Reds got a great season from Whitey Ford who won 24 games and posted an ERA of 2.32 to win the Cy Young. good season from Vada Pinson who won the National League batting title. They returned to the World Series after a two-year absence with a 101-win season. They met the Cleveland who finished 111-51. Cleveland, which hadn’t been to the World Series since 1944 took home it’s third ring in franchise history in seven games.

Cleveland’s 21-year old pitcher Al Downing finished with an amazing 25-2 record and a 1.49 ERA, considered one of the best seasons put up in history, let alone a rookie. Hank Aaron won his first MVP award, hitting .310 with 45 homers, eclipsing the 300 career home run mark at age 28.

1963

The Cleveland Indians only got better in 1963. After winning their third franchise World Series, they set the American League on fire in the first half of the season with a 63-22 win record at the all-star break. While their offense was just average, their pitching led the league in virtually every major category and 4 of their starting pitchers had 10 wins by the break and their team ERA was 2.11.

In the National League, the Reds battled with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Milwaukee for the pennant. But as the final month of the season rolled around the Cardinals and Pirates ended up the only two contenders. The Cardinals finished strong and won 98 games to finish first. They faced Cleveland, who won 111 games for the second straight year, and for the second straight year won the World Series in seven games. Al Downing (23-3, 1.77) won his second Cy Young award

After the season, Ted Williams called it a career at the age of 45. He finished with 715 career home runs and a batting average of .328. He was named MVP 15 times but never won a World Series ring.

1964

The infant Los Angeles Angels were the first expansion team to emerge as contenders, as they held first place in the American League for the first couple months. But the defending champion Indians held first place by a game at the all-star break. The Angels faded quickly and it was the White Sox and Red Sox both battling Cleveland in the final month of the season. Cleveland and Boston went back and forth at the top of the standings several times in the last week before the Red Sox pulled out a win on the final game of the year to win the pennant by one game.

The Braves, Phillies and Reds battled for first place after the Cubs faded after a solid first couple months. The Braves were in first most of the way but their 13-17 record in the final 30 games of the season cost them the pennant and the Reds returned to the World Series for the fourth time in the last eight years.

Boston took the World Series in seven games. They were led by Sandy Koufax, who broke his own major league record with 375 strikeouts during the regular season. The effort earned him his first Cy Young award, as he edged Cleveland’s Al Downing in the voting. It also came in the final year of his contact, but the Red Sox were able to re-sign Koufax to a five-year deal, as well as bring back cleanup hitter Norm Cash.

1965

The California Angels had another good start to the season, but again struggled and were only .500 at the break. The Kansas City Athletics, led by 25-year old Carl Yastrzemski, held first place at the all-star break. In the National League, the Reds looked to return to the World Series but they faced a challenge by the San Francisco Giants in midseason. The Athletics rolled to an easy pennant win, taking the AL championship by 11 games despite only going 9-20 in September. The A’s finished with 100 wins but were outdone by the Reds who finished incredibly strong, winning 103 games and their 14th pennant in franchise history.

The Athletics won the 1965 World Series in six games. Right fielder Joe Pepitone hit .455 for the series and has 8 RBIs. It was the Athletics second World Series win in franchise history in just three trips.

Two top pitching prospects entered the draft after the season. The Houston Astros used the first overall pick totake Don Sutton, while the New York Yankees had the third overall pick and selected 18-year-old Nolan Ryan.

1966

The Reds came back with a vengeance in 1966, after losing two straight chances in the fall classic, they came on like gangbusters with a 37-9 record to start the season. The Reds did fall off that blistering pace a bit but still had 60 wins at the all-star break. They struggled early after the break and had to fend off a push from the New York Mets, but they picked up the pace again in August and cruised to a 105 win season and won the pennant by 19 games as the Mets fell apart down the stretch.

The American League saw several teams battling for first place midway through the season. Baltimore and California went back and forth but no fewer than seven teams were within six games of first place at the break. Only the Yankees, Twins and Indians appeared out of contention. The Orioles had a three game lead going into August over the Boston Red Sox. Boston faded and the Orioles held on to win the pennant by four games over the Washington Senators.

The Orioles returned to the World Series for the first time since 1960. Their heyday which began in 1954 saw them win five pennants in seven years but they won only one ring. The Reds were back in the Series for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five years. This time the Reds were winners, taking the series in six games.

The Reds’ Harmon Killebrew won the NL MVP award for his .258-38-113 season. Teammate Ron Santo finished second in the voting and Lee Stange and Bob Shaw finished second and third in the Cy Young vote. In the American League 25-year-old Pete Rose (.348-17-80) won the MVP and Sandy Koufax won his second Cy Young award.

The Reds lost starting third baseman Ron Santo to the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency in the offseason. They replaced him with 23-year-old rookie Sal Bando

1967

The addition of Santo paid off for the Cardinals at first as they were in first place by a game and a half at the all-star break. In the American League the Indians were in first place thanks to a dominant start by rookie pitcher Jerry Koosman. Koosman was 12-0 at the break with a 1.55 ERA. Cleveland was 2 games up on Chicago, but the White Sox took over first place soon after the break. For much of the season, Alou brothers Matty of Cleveland and Felipe of the Phillies lead both leagues in batting average.

St. Louis continued to play well into August and they had a comfortable lead of about 10 games over the Giants. Chicago played well in the second half and Cleveland fell behind, leaving Boston and New York chasing the White Sox, who were led by star pitchers Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich.

The White Sox faced the Cardinals in the World Series, with both teams finishing with a 97-65 record and a 6 game lead at season’s end. Chicago, a dominant team in the late 1930s, had not won a pennant since 1950 and featured a dominant pitching staff with Gibson, Lolich (the eventual Cy Young award winner with a 19-5 record and a 1.99 ERA), Phil Niekro and Jim Maloney. St. Louis featured a lineup with seven hitters who hit 15 or more homers and a 3-4 punch of Ron Santo and Hank Aaron. Chicago won the first game but St. Louis came back to win four straight and win the series.

Cleveland’s Koosman Struggled in the second half, going 6-10 to finish with an 18-10 record and a 2.21 ERA, but he still won the Rookie of the Year award for the American League. Phil Niekro’s brother Joe won the award for the Astros in the National League. Cleveland’s Matty Alou (.332) won the batting title, but his brother Felipe finished with a .292 average, which was third in the National League.

After winning the World Series, the Cardinals added aging veteran Willie Mays to the roster. Mays, a long time member of the Braves organization, was added for veteran leadership and to compete with Bobby Agee, acquired in a trade with Washington to replace departed center fielder Don Lock.

1968

The White Sox started the 1968 season 27-10 but the Yankees, long-time doormats, were playing well above .600 ball as well. The Reds were back atop the National League after the first couple months of the season thanks to a hot start by Tony Oliva, who was hitting .367 through mid-June. The defending champion Cardinals found themselves struggling and playing just .500 ball.

The Yankees took first place on July 14th as young pitcher Nolan Ryan was emerging as a true ace. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Dodgers, led by Feguson Jenkins, were trying to contend with the Reds, and were five games out heading into August. The Yankees faltered a little in mid August but were up 6 going into the final month and won the pennant going away, with a 99-63 record, 11 games ahead of Chicago, Oakland, and Washington, who all tied for second. The Reds also won 99 games, winning their fifth pennant of the decade and seventh in the last eleven years.

The Reds’ strength was their offense. Veteran Harmon Killebrew and youngster Reggie Jackson combined for 64 homers and Tony Oliva and Rusty Staul also contributed with solid numbers all around. The Yankees were anchored by the American League’s best pitching staff, which featured 22-game winner Gary Nolan as well as Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Luis Tiant. Their offense did not have much power at all, but their .254 batting average did lead the A.L. Pitching won the day as the Yankees won the World Series in 5 games, their first since 1932. Nolan Ryan won both his starts, and struck out 17 batters in 13 innings, posting an ERA of 1.38.

The league expanded once again, with the N.L. adding the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos. The A.L. replaced the Athletics franchise, recently moved from Kansas City, with the Royals, and added a team in Seattle, the Pilots. The Padres’ first amateur draft pick was pitcher Vida Blue. The Expos took Tom Bradley, the Pilots chose Dave Roberts, and the Royals went with Jerry Reuss. The first hitter to go was George Foster, to the Giants at number 10.

1969

A loaded free agent class gave some of the expansion teams with money to spend a chance to add some talent. Pete Rose, two-time AL MVP with Washington, signed a free agent deal with Montreal to bat third and play second base. The Expos also added third baseman Brooks Robinson, veteran pitcher and 300-game winner Whitey Ford and former 21-game winner Jim Maloney. Frank Robinson, after an injury plagued final season with the Cubs, signed a four-year deal with the Royals.

The addition of all the new teams resulted in baseball going to a 2-league, 4-division format. Each league was split into East and West divisions, with the winners of each division facing each other in the League Championship Series. The winners would then face off in the World Series.

Out of nowhere the Detroit Tigers were the early leaders in the AL East, and were chased by the Yankees. Detroit, without a pennant in 49 years, had finished in 9th place the last two years and had only one season over .500 going back to 1955. Young Al Oliver, whom the Tigers drafted in the second round two seasons ago hit 14 homers and .339 in his first 69 games and would go on to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, hitting .340 with 24 home runs.

Cincinnati was the top team in the majors at the all-star break, with a 50-25 record. Chicago, Montreal and the New York Mets all were tied for first in the NL East.

Heading into the final two months, Detroit held a 1 game lead on NY, the White Sox were in control in the AL West, while the Cubs and Reds had comfortable leads in the National League. The Reds finished with an impressive 108-54 season while the Tigers and White Sox each had 101 wins. Cincinnati swept Chicago in the NLCS and mowed down the AL Champion Tigers in the World Series, four games to one.

Harmon Killebrew had the best season of his 15 years with the Reds, hitting .332 with 41 homers and 138 RBI to win the NL MVP. The World Series title cemented the Reds as the Tam of the Decade, as they won six pennants and never finished worse than third place throughout the 1960s. Frank Howard of the Baltimore Orioles became the third player to hit 60 homers in a season, as he hit 61 at the age of thirty-three. Whitey Ford retired after a well-traveled career that saw him win 328 games, most of any pitcher since the dead-ball era.
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Old 02-09-2008, 07:11 PM   #14
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The 1970s

1970

The Seattle Pilots lasted just one season and moved to Milwaukee for 1970. The Yankees and Reds got off to good starts, playing over .700 ball into mid-May. The Reds cruised in the NL West but the Yankees had to fend off the Senators before taking control in the middle of August. The California Angels won the AL East, while the Pirates held off the Phillies to advance to the postseason for the first time in 20 years.

The Reds, winners of 101 regular season games, swept the Pirates to advance to their sixth World Series in seven years. Meanwhile the California Angels upset the Yankees to win their first AL Pennant in the team’s 10-year history. The Reds looked to sweep the Angels as they took the first three games but the Angels showed gumption and rallied back in the next three to force a game seven. The Reds broke the 3-3 tie in the 7th inning by scoring 3 runs off Marcelino Lopez.

Harmon Killebrew hit 44 homers and had a .298 batting average and won his second straight MVP award. Willie Stargell (.322-51-141) won it in the AL for the Senators.

1971

A big crop of free agents came out in the offseason. Long time Washington Senator and A.L. MVP Willie Stargell signed a four-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. All-star third baseman Dick Allen signed a five-year deal with the Chicago White Sox and veteran Hank Aaron left St. Louis after 17 seasons, signing with Pittsburgh.

The powerhouse Reds did not have a great first half and were four games back of the first place Braves at the all-star break. The AL champion Angels were in a tie for first place with Oakland, while the Yankees had baseball’s best record at 52-23.

The Yankees won a franchise-high 109 wins and won the AL East by 19 games. The Angels held off the White Sox to win the West by one game. The Braves faced the Mets in the NLCS and were upset in a 3-game sweep. That plus the Yankees sweep of the Angels set up a New York versus New York World Series. The Yankees won it in six games with Steve Carlton pitching a complete game in Game 6 to clinch the series. Yankees pitchers finished 1-2-3 in the Cy Young voting with Roger Nelson’s career year (21-7, 1.97) getting the nod. Steve Carlton (19-7, 2.31) finished second and Jerry Koosman (19-9, 2.53) was third.

1972

The Yankees lost Steve Carlton to free agency in the offseason, and faced a challenge from the Red Sox, who behind Sandy Koufax were looking to become contenders again. The Mets found themselves in last place in the NL East as the Cubs were atop that mediocre division. The top team in baseball for much of the year was the Los Angeles Dodgers, led by rookie lefty pitcher Mike Caldwell. The Yankees took over first place in early August and never looked back. Meanwhile in the AL West the Angels picked up their play late in the season to cruise to their second straight division title. The National League saw two ties: The Cubs beat the Pirates in a regular season playoff, and the Dodgers beat the Braves in the West Division.

The Yankees came back from a 2-0 deficit to take down the California Angels in the ALCS for the second straight year. The Dodgers took care of the Cubs in 4 games to reach their first World Series since 1951. The Series went back and forth and all the way to a seventh game. Tom Seaver outpitched Nolan Ryan, giving Los Angeles 9 innings and giving up only one run for his fourth win of the postseason as the Dodgers won 2-1.

1973

The Cleveland Indians bounced back after a 67-win season the prior year and had a 6 game lead on the Yankees at the all-star break thanks to their league-best pitching staff, which featured 22-year old Bert Blyleven as the emerging ace. The Indians weer also lead by Bobby Bonds, who has 27 homers going into the month of July. The NL West was hotly contested as the Braves, Reds and Dodgers all were playing .600 ball or better at the break. The White Sox emerged as the top team in the AL East thanks to another great season by Dick Allen and stellar pitching by Andy Messersmith.

The Yankees took over first place from Cleveland in late July. The hotly contested NL West went was solved in Septmeber as the Braves and Reds played poorly, leaving the Dodgers to return to the NLCS. They faced the Mets, winners of just 85 games, and won in 4 games. Also winning in four games were the Chicago White Sox, who gto great pitching from Messersmith as they took out the New York Yankees.

The Dodgers went on to win their second straight World Series title, taking it in six games. Messersmith won the Cy Young award for the White Sox, finishing with a 25-8 record and a 2.68 ERA. Cleveland’s Bobby Bonds ended up taking the AL MVP award, hitting .314 with 41 homers.

1974

The White Sox lost Andy Messersmith to Detroit in free agency but signed former Indian Bobby Bonds to a huge deal that made him the second-highest paid player in baseball behind veteran Norm Cash, the longtime Red Sox first baseman who was traded to the Reds before the 1973 season.

Despite the loss of Bonds the Indians played good baseball in the first half and were in first place by 7 games. The top team in baseball at the all-star break was the New York Mets, whose offense was mediocre, but had the NL’s best pitching staff. The White Sox were locked in a major race in the AL west with five teams (all but the Texas Rangers) within 2 games of first place.

The AL West race remained that close into the beginning of August. Cleveland opened a 14-game lead on the rest of the East, while in the National League, the Cubs and Mets battled in the East, while the Giants, led by Rod Carew, led in the West. The Kansas City Royals emerged as the winner in the AL West, getting red hot down the stretch and finishing with 103 wins. The Mets edged the Cubs by three games and faced the Giants in the NLCS.

The Royals, 44-14 since August, had the league’s best pitching staff, led by Ken Forsch (18-13, 2.92) and the outstanding pitching of closer Frank Bork, who saved 39 games and posted a 1.10 ERA. They were upset, though, by the Indians, in the ALCS. Cleveland went on to face the Mets in the World Series, but the Mets took the title in six games. It was the Mets’ first World Series win in three trips to the playoffs since 1971.

Hank Aaron and Willie Mays both retired after the season. Aaron spent 20 seasons in the majors, mostly with St. Louis, and finished with 547 home runs, third on the all-time list behind Ted Williams and Mickey Manthle. Mays played 23 seasons and had 458 homers and 416 steals for his career. Both were inducted to the Hall of Fame.

1975

Some big names were paid handsome amounts of money to change uniforms in the offseason. Hal McRae, one of California’s big three hitters, left in free agency and signed with the Pirates to form a potent 3-4 combo with Steve Garvey. The Angels rebounded by signing John Hiller, the game’s best closer last season, to a two year contract. Cleveland added long time Braves third baseman Bobby Murcer to bolster their offense.

The Indians and White Sox were the top teams in the American League, and both had won 50 games at the all-star break. The Indians struggled a bit in the second half while Chicago played even better ball and flirted with a .700 winning percentage as late as Setpember 8 before letting up a bit late. In the National League, the Dodgers again were the team to beat in the West, while the Cubs and Mets battled again for control of the East before a 22-5 September for New York sealed the deal.

The White Sox, winners of 109 games in the regular season, advanced past the Cleveland Indians in 5 games in the ALCS thanks to two strong pitching performances by Bill Lee. The Mets needed all five games to dispatch the Dodgers and earn the right to defend their World Series title. And for the second straight season, the Mets won the World Series in 6 games.

The Dodgers’ Tom Seaver had a phenomenal season, going 27-4 with a 2.55 ERA, winning his 4th Cy Young award in the last 5 years.

Sandy Koufax decided to end his Hall of Fame career after winning 314 games in his 20 seasons. His 4,667 strikeouts were by far the most of any pitcher in baseball history. Second on the all-time list at the time of Koufax’s retirement was Walter Johnson with 3,470 strikeouts.

1976


The White Sox again were looking like the best team in the regular season. They virtually stole Steve Carlton away from Cleveland in a trade and he joined Bill Lee and Jim Palmer in the starting rotation. The National League had a couple of close races shaping up. The Cardinals, Mets and Cubs were contenders in the Eastern Division, while the Dodgers attempted to hold off the Reds and emerging Padres in the West. The Boston Red Sox rose to the top of the AL East with Cleveland and New York not far behind. Cleveland come on strong in the second half and ended up with a 101-61 record, the best in the major leagues. They faced a struggling Chicago team in the ALCS and but lost in four games.

In the National League, it was some new blood in the playoffs for the first time in a while. The Cardinals dethroned the Mets in the East and the Padres, who had never finished above .500, unseated the Dodgers. The NLCS went 5 games with the Cardinals going on to the World Series for the first time since 1967.

The White Sox, who played below .500 ball in the last two months of the season, got their act together and beat the Cardinals four games to two in the World Series.

1977


Two new teams entered the league for the 1976 season: the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners’ biggest name came from free agency as they signed free agent pitcher Vida Blue. Blue seemed to feel at home with expansion clubs, as he entered the league as the first overall pick in the amateur draft by the expansion San Diego Padres in 1969. Just as the Padres began to make some noise, Blue bolted for another expansion team.

The Reds added veteran slugger Carl Yastrzemski in free agency. While Yastrzemski didn’t have a great year the Reds had the best record in the NL after the first three months. The White Sox were on top again in the AL West, thanks to a great season from Jim Palmer (22-10, 2.54). The AL East was dominated by the resurgent Yankees franchise, while the NL East saw the New York Mets back on top. The Reds lost their grip on first place to the Dodgers in mid-September and battled back and forth but in the end it was the Dodgers returning to the playoffs for the 4th time in six years.

The New York Mets were a team that shunned the long ball in favor of speed. The team hit just 77 homers (lowest in the majors), but stole a whopping 317 bases, 98 more than any other. The Dodgers were a poor hitting team but had the best pitching in the National League. But the pitching let them down as the Mets won the NLCS in 5 games. They went on to face the Yankees, who came from behind in Game 5 of the ALCS to upset Chicago.

The second Mets-Yankees World Series of the decade went the same way as the 1971 Series. The Yankees won their fourth world championship, taking the series in five games.

1978

The White Sox were again the pacesetters in the AL West, but the World Champion Yankees found themselves 8 games behind the Cleveland Indians heading into the second half of the season. The Tribe’s pitching was unparalleled in the American League, and led by Bert Blyleven. Offensively, Bake McBride was having his best season since coming into the league 6 years prior. In the NL the Dodgers and Giants battled in the West, while the Phillies took advantage of a struggling Mets team and hoped to make their first postseason since 1955.

Cleveland actually improved it’s play early in the second half and had the division wrapped up in August. Meanwhile the Angels were trying to get back into the championship picture and moved into a tie with Chicago on August 21. San Francisco took over first from the Dodgers thanks to the hitting of batting title winner Rod Carew (.376) and the pure power of Dave Kingman, who hit 45 homers. The Mets, who stole 351 bases as a team, finished the season strong and overtook the Phillies to face the Giants in the NLCS.

Two uncharacteristically bad outings by Jim Palmer in the postseason led to Cleveland winning the ALCS in four games. The Giants beat the Mets in 5 games to reach their first World Series in 56 years, and then took out the Indians in 5 in the Series. It was the Giants’ fifth win in five trips to the fall classic.

1979

The Dodgers were dealt a blow when star third baseman Mike Schmidt, one year removed from an NL MVP season, signed a 4-year contract with the struggling Brewers franchise. But the team managed to hold first place in the NL West at the all-star break. Meanwhile Milwaukee stayed buried in the AL East basement.

The Indians, however, were the story of the first half, as they roared out of the gates and set a blazing pace and maintained it. They held the a 57-18 record at the break, an unprecedented .760 winning percentage. The pitching rotation was the strength of the team with Bert Blyleven, Joe Niekro, Bill Singer and Doc Medich. They also improved their offense, having signed perennial all-star Joe Morgan to a two-year deal at age 35.

The Indians finished with 115 wins, 26 games ahead of the second place Red Sox. The California Angels returned to the postseason after a six season absence. The Dodgers held on for the NL West title and the Mets won the NL East for the third straight year. The defending champion Giants had a rough season, finishing four games under .500. Cleveland, winners of 115 games, was stunned in the ALCS by the Angels, who swept the Indians in three games. The Mets advanced to the World Series by defeating the Dodgers in four games in the NLCS, and then won the World Series in seven over California.
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Old 02-09-2008, 07:14 PM   #15
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The 1980s

1980

Having blown a golden opportunity the previous year, the Indians fell well out of contention after star pitcher Bert Blyleven left in free agency for the St. Louis Cardinals. The new decade also began an unhappy transition for the AL Champion Angels, who were in last pace midway through the season. The team to beat early was the Detroit Tigers, led by first baseman Eddie Murray, coming into his own after a strong .335-34-112 season in 1979. Murray would finish the 1980 campaign with .337-32-109 and the AL MVP award.

In the National league, the West had a heated race as the defending champion Dodgers fought with the Reds, Braves and Padres in the final two months. It was a 2-game lead on Rickey Henderson and the Padres at the beginning of September, but the Braves came on strong, mounting a late charge and taking first place on the final day of the season to make the postseason for only the second time since 1961.

The Braves faced the Phillies, another long-suffering team, in the NLCS. For Philadelphia it was only the fifth postseason appearance in franchise history. The Braves won the NLCS in five games and faced the Tigers, who beat the Minnesota Twins, in the World Series.

Detroit’s John Candelaria shook off a few bad postseason starts and stepped up on the game’s biggest stage – Game 7 of the World Series. He threw a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits as the Tigers beat the Braves 6-1 for their second World Series in club history. Their only other ring came in 1907.

1981

Longtime Yankee starter Nolan Ryan packed up and signed a big deal with the Cincinnati Reds, who made the move in anticipation of losing all-star catcher Gary Carter (who signed with the AL West champion Twins) and promising shortstop Robin Yount, who went to Montreal. Meanwhile the Mets shored up their offense, adding former Oakland first baseman Keith Hernandez.

The Toronto Blue Jays, in their 5th year of existence, looked to go from cooptain to captain after a 100-loss season in 1980. They held first place by 9 games over the Tigers in the AL East at the all-star break. The Pirates were the top team in baseball with a 50-25 record at the break and the NL West saw another tight four-team race, though only the Reds and Giants were over .500 at 38-37. Meanwhile the NL champion Braves sunk to the bottom of the league.

Toronto’s miracle season hit a rough patch in July as the Tigers made a move to take first in the AL East, and they did on August 6th. The teams battled fought closely into September, when the Blue Jays folded (11-18 in their last 29 games). The West saw Oakland, led by Wally Backman, trying unsuccessfully to hold off the Twins, who ended up winning their second straight AL West title by five games. In the NL it was the Pirates, led by eventual Cy Young winner Jerry Koosman’s 20-win season, taking the East, while the Padres who took the NL West.

San Diego, built around speedsters Willie Wilson and Rickey Henderson, advanced to the World Series for the first time in franchise history but were defeated in five games by the Minnesota Twins.

1982

The defending champion Twins faced stiff competition in the first half of 1982, as they battled the Athletics and White Sox for first place in the AL West. The Blue Jays and Tigers fought on the East, while the Reds put together the league’s best record and a 9 game lead in the NL West. Meanwhile in the NL East, a 4-team race brewed, with the Mets a game up on Philadelphia, two up on St. Louis, and three ahead of the Pirates.

Toronto faded in the second half, and Detroit, led by J.R. Richard in the rotation took the AL East title. The Phillies emerged as the only contending team in the NL East to play much better than .500 ball, while the Reds, led by young Cal Ripken and veteran pitcher Nolan Ryan, held off the Dodgers in the West. Oakland and California battled deep into September as Chicago faded late and Minnesota played terrible ball in the second half. The Athletics and Angels fished the regular season tied for first, and in the playoff the Angels took it, only to be swept in the NLCS by Detroit in three games. The Phillies, led by Andre Dawson, swept the Reds, but were ousted in the World Series by the Tigers in 5 games.

1983

The Tigers and their potent 3-4-5 combo of Eddie Murray, Pedro Guerrero and Harold Baines posted 50 wins in the first half of the season and had a four game lead on the Boston Red Sox at the all-star break. Young bats Kent Hrbek and Tony Gwynn led the Dodgers to a first place finish in the NL West, while the NL East was baseball’s weakest division. The White Sox and Athletics battled in the AL West through August, but the White Sox went 10-19 the remainder of the season, and the Athletics made it to the postseason for the first time since 1965.

The Dodgers had a scorching second half but needed all 5 games to take out the 85-win Cubs in the NLCS. The Athletics upset the Tigers, winners of 104 regular season games, and advanced to the World Series, where they had won two rings in three tries in the history of the franchise. They faced the Dodgers, winners of 9 World Series titles. The series went 7 games, and the Athletics scored 2 runs in the top of the ninth inning and held on to become World Champions.

The Tigers’ Eddie Murray won his third AL MVP, and their ace J.R. Richard won his third Cy Young award, with his fourth consecutive 20-win season. In the National League Kent Hrbek (.326-39-135) put together a great year for the Dodgers at the young age of 23. The Dodgers also featured Rookie of the Year winner Andy Van Slyke.

A draft loaded with pitching prospects saw Roger Clemens go first overall to the Minnesota Twins, and Dwight Gooden go second to the Texas Rangers. Bret Saberhagen was chosen third overall by the Braves.

1984

J.R. Richard, one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers, had won two World Series titles with the Tigers, but a three-year contract offer worth over $15 million was enough to persuade the mercurial 33-year-old to sign with the San Francisco Giants. It made him the league’s highest-paid pitcher. The signing did not help the Giants fortunes early as they were in last place one month into the season. The Cleveland Indians played .700 ball early on, led by Steve Carlton on the mound and their young first baseman Don Mattingly. They held the top record in baseball at the all-star break with 50 wins, but the Red Sox were in the hunt, just a few games back, and took over first place on July 11. The Dodgers positioned themselves for a return to the playoffs in the NL West, while the AL West and NL East were generally weak. The New York Mets finished strong and won 90 games while the California Angels snuck out of the AL West with 83 wins. The favored Dodgers swept the Mets in the NLCS, while the Angels shocked the world by sweeping Boston in the ALCS. In the battle California the Dodgers dispatched the overwhelmed Angels in 5 games.

Don Mattingly took home AL hardware for MVP for his .342-21-111 performance at the young age of 23. Mel Hall won the award in the NL for the Giants.

1985

The Giants made another splash in free agency in the offseason. Last year’s signing of J.R. Richard in fact resulted in three fewer wins than the season before, despite the surprising MVP performance of Mel Hall. This season they signed another former Tiger, the 29-year-old Eddie Murray. The three-time AL MVP was penciled into the third spot in the lineup, to be followed by reigning MVP Hall and promising rookie Kevin Mitchell. The Tigers reign early in the decade appeared to be fading as yet another star, Pedro Guerrero, left in free agency, signing with California. The addition kept California in the playoff hunt as he and Ken Phelps were among the league leaders in home runs most of the season. Baltimore battled Boston at the top of the AL East for nearly the entire season, but Wade Boggs and the Red Sox finished strong again and cruised to the division title, setting up a rematch of last year’s ALCS with the Angels. The Dodgers struggled in September and lost the NL West race to Atlanta, who faced the Phillies in the NLCS. Both championship series went seven games, with Boston avenging last season’s upset and advancing to the World Series against the Phillies. The Phillies won just their second World Series title in over 80 years in five games.

Don Mattingly won his second straight MVP award, hitting .350 and 41 homers for the sixth-place Indians. California’s Ken Phelps went off for a stunning 57 home runs but only hit .240.

The Houston Astros, who had never been to the playoffs, hoped to turn their future around, selecting 19-year old Greg Maddux first overall in the draft. The Cardinals selected second and took Barry Bonds, the 21-year old outfielder with a strong baseball pedigree. The Brewers continued to build a strong young foundation with the selection of Kevin Brown third overall.

1986

The biggest move in the offseason was once again made by the San Francisco Giants. This year their big signing was of Mike Scott, from divisional rival Los Angeles. Scott, coming off back-to-back 20 win seasons with the Dodgers, joined JR Richard in the rotation. However this move didn’t do much for the Giants either as they played under .500 once again.

It was the Reds’ resigning of Nolan Ryan that made the biggest impact, perhaps, as Cincinnati rose to the top of the NL West, competing with the Astros for first place. In the NL East it was the Cubs, behind Steve Sax and George Brett, leading the way. In the American League, the Indians surprised a lot of people, leading the East at the break with 48 wins. Don Mattingly continued to dominate AL pitching, and had 29 home runs going into July and coupled it with an equally impressive .394 batting average. Their potent offense was the best in the league, leading nearly all major offensive categories, but their pitching was near the worst in the league. Most felt their run could not last, and that the surging Brewers or the seasoned Red Sox would come on strong, but the Tribe held their ground and while Mattingly scuffled in the second half, rookie Mike Greenwell stepped up, finishing with a .364 batting average, 43 homers and 159 RBI, good for the AL MVP. They faced the Athletics in the ALCS and won in 5 games. However they ran into the 101-win Chicago Cubs in the World Series. The Cubs had beaten the Reds in the NLCS in five games and did the same with Cleveland in the World Series. George Brett led the way for the Cubs hitting .409 with 14 RBI in the postseason.

1987

Cleveland’s pitching staff was their weakness in 1986 so in the offseason they attempted to bolster their rotation by signing free agent JR Richard from the Giants. The 37-year old strikeout artist won 49 games in three years with the Giants, and signed a 2-year deal with the Indians. The Giants dramatically retooled their squad in advance of Richard’s departure, trading last year’s free agent prize Mike Scott back to the Dodgers in exchange for all-star outfielder Tony Gwynn. Scott was a major disappointment for the Giants, going 7-19 with a 4.19 ERA.

The first half belonged to the Chicago White Sox and California Angels, who won 50 and 49 games, respectively. Cleveland remained a contender in the East with Boston and Baltimore also in the hunt. In the National League, the Cubs’ Kirby Puckett flirted with .400 into early July and they led the NL East. In the West, Dan Diego emerged as a top team, with the Astros and Giants lurking.

The Indians and White Sox played tremendous baseball in the second half, and the ALCS pitted the 105-57 Indians against the 107-55 White Sox. The Indians were winners of 24 of their last 29 games, but lost in 5 games to Chicago. The Cubs looked to set up a crosstown World Series with the Sox, but were beaten back by the Astros in 6 games. The heavily favored White Sox needed seven games in the World Series, but in the deciding game they scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win the Game 4-3, for their first championship in 11 years.

Cleveland’s Mike Greenwell won his second MVP award in the American League, while rookie Fred McGriff hit 50 homers for Houston to take the trophy in the NL.

1988

The Cubs were not content with their NL West title and in the offseason went out and got Wade Boggs, the American League’s batting champion who hit .387 in 1987. Boggs was penciled into the third spot in the lineup and along with Kirby Puckett, George Brett and Cal Ripken, made the Cubs preseason favorites to win the NL pennant.

Cleveland plummeted to the bottom of the AL East as the Toronto Blue Jays surprised people by holding first place at the all-star break. The Brewers and Red Sox were also in contention. The Angels and Athletics led the West, as the defending champion White Sox struggled mightily. In the National League, the Cubs continued to shine, with Boggs leading the NL in hitting. But it was the Padres pacing the majors with 49 wins at the break on the strength of an overachieving pitching staff anchored by a dominant bullpen which posted a 1.93 ERA before the break.

The Padres faltered in July and August, however, and Atlanta too control of the West. Chicago dominated the hapless NL East while California stole the AL West from Chicago with a 20-7 September and Toronto took the AL East title with 101 wins.

California won the ALCS in 7 games over Toronto, but then lost in 5 in the World Series to Frank Viola and the Atlanta Braves, who knocked off the Cubs in six in the NLCS. Viola had a career year, going 22-4 with a 3.01 ERA and was 3-0 in the postseason with a 2.94 ERA. He won the Cy Young award in the NL while Bob Ojeda of the Angels won the honor in the AL. California’s Ken Phelps did not have his best year but apparently .235-35-96 was good enough for the AL MVP. Don Mattingly (.321-24-83) arguably had a better year but his Indians finished in last place.

1989

In the offseason, Don Mattingly left the Indians for Boston, signing a 5-year contract with the Red Sox. The Pittsburgh Pirates, a once-proud franchise that had seen only 2 playoff appearances since 1951, signed the reigning Cy Young holder Frank Viola to a 5-year deal. Finally, the Angels, in contention nearly every year since 1982 but never able to win the World Series, brought in free agent Tony Gwynn. The four-time all star selection had spent his first seven seasons on the west coast in the NL with the Dodgers and Giants, and he decided to stay near home but switch leagues.

The Chicago Cubs continued to own the NL East, with Wade Boggs again leading the way. The Dodgers returned to the top of the NL West with young Will Clark leading the way. In the American League, the Chicago White Sox were again strong, while the Detroit Tigers came from out of nowhere and led the AL East halfway through the season. All four division leaders at the break finished at the top at the end of the season, with the Cubs winning 105 games. They beat the Dodgers in seven games and the White Sox took care of Detroit, setting up a Cubs-White Sox World Series. It was an epic clash and went the full seven games. The Cubs’ Terry Mulholland won all 4 starts during the postseason and gave up 1 run on 5 hits in Game 7 to win another World Series.

Frank Viola won his second straight Cy Young with 21 wins and a 2.38 ERA in his first year with the Pirates. Roger Clemens of Minnesota won his first Cy Young in the American League.
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Old 02-11-2008, 05:40 AM   #16
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Nice job. I love reading this kind of stuff, especially for the era that you chose. Could you post some leaderboard or career numbers on a few highlighted stars?

Did you sim history up until the point that you took over? Or did you import history?
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Old 02-15-2008, 07:28 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matches View Post

1962

Cleveland’s 21-year old pitcher Al Downing finished with an amazing 25-2 record and a 1.49 ERA, considered one of the best seasons put up in history, let alone a rookie.

1963

Al Downing (23-3, 1.77) won his second Cy Young award
Interesting...in real life, Downing had once been touted as "a black Sandy Koufax." Suffice to say, those numbers were truly Koufaxesque (Koufaxian?)!
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Old 02-16-2008, 05:39 PM   #18
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Hm.. I like "Koufaxian". Downing ended up having a very solid career, but not nearly what seemed in store for him after three great seasons from 1962-1964. He regressed significantly and battled recurring blisters on his finger, to a point in 1967 when he was actually demoted to Cleveland's AAA club. He was traded to Atlanta and appeared to be resurrecting his career, winning 19 games for the Braves in 1968, but he was chosen by the Pilots in the expansion draft and then released before he ever pitched a game for them. He spent the year out of baseball before catching on with the White Sox. He wound down his career as a serviceable #4-5 starter for the Sox in the early 70s and ended up with 193 career wins.


@rasnell The entire history is being simulated starting with the year 1901. All teams are being managed by the CPU. I can post some numbers here, let me know if you have any you'd like to hear about.

Experts generally agree that the greatest player of all time is Ted Williams. He won 15 MVP awards while the next closest is Lou Gehrig with 9. He's the all-time home run king with 715 bombs; Mickey Mantle is a distant #2 with 584.
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Old 02-19-2008, 06:42 PM   #19
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1990

The St. Louis Cardinals emerged early in 1990 as a threat to the Cubs, who had won the NL East the last 4 seasons. They were tied with 47 wins at the all-star break, and the Cardinals were led by Julio Franco’s .346 batting average and Danny Darwin’s 10 wins and 2.11 ERA. Oakland’s Cecil Fielder was mashing homers at an impressive rate, clubbing 26 in the first three months and leading Oakland to first place in the AL West. Cleveland’s free agent signing of Bret Saberhagen paid dividends as the Tribe returned to contention and battled Boston in the East while the Dodgers chased the Padres in the NL West.

Fielder ended up with 51 homers but the Athletics slipped to second and the Seattle Mariners won their first division title in franchise history by 3 games. Cleveland held on in the East as the Red Sox disappeared and finished under .500. In the NL, the Cardinals battled but in the end the Cubs took the East by one game. The 87-75 Dodgers won the West and upset the Cubs in 5 games. The Indians beat Seattle in 7 games in the ALCS but the Dodgers took the World Series in six games.

Saberhagen had a career year (18-11, 2.23) and won the Cy Young award for the Indians. In the National League it was Wally Whitehurst, traded in the offseason by the Twins to Chicago for Terry Pendleton, winning the award. Rookie David Justice (.309-47-131) of the Dodgers won the NL MVP while 31-year old veteran Harold Baines of the Tigers won it in the AL.

1991

A solid rotation featuring Frank Viola, Doug Drabek and Jack McDowell led the Pirates to a 49-26 record at the all-star break and first place in the NL East. Cleveland dominated the AL east with Larry Walker putting together and impressive year. Both the AL and NL west were weak. Pittsburgh struggled heading into August and faced a challenge from the Cubs and Cardinals. The Dodgers held onto a 2 game lead in the NL West while a 4-team race ensued in the AL West, with the Twins leading early on the White Sox, Rangers, and Athletics. Chicago tied Minnesota on August 18th and Houston soon did the same in the NL West on Los Angeles. However the White Sox swooned in late August and gave way to the Rangers. Houston ended up edging the Dodgers to make the postseason for the second time in team history. The Pirates held off the Cubs for a 96 win season, and the Texas Rangers entered the postseason for the first time ever, 30 years after the team’s inception.

They would face, however, the Indians, winners of 104 games in the regular season. The Tribe’s offense was weak, as they hit only .249 as a team, but their starting rotation was tops in the AL and featured the league’s Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen. They gave Cleveland a run, but fell in seven games. The Indians moved on to face the Pirates in the World Series. It went seven games, and in the final game the Pirates took advantage of wildness by closer Mike Henneman in the top of the 10th inning. Henneman gave up a leadoff single to Juan Samuel, who then stole second. Rick Manning was then walked intentionally, bringing up Gary Carter, who was hit by a 1-2 pitch. With the bases loaded, Terry Kennedy drew a walk, and then Alex Cole hit a sacrifice fly to give the Pirates a 2 run lead and the Series win. It was Pittsburgh’s first World Series win since 1950, and for Cleveland, it was the ninth consecutive playoff appearance that fell short of a ring.

1992

The Cubs, denied their divisional title for the first time since 1986 last year, solidified their rotation, signing former Tiger David Cone to a 3 year contract. Cone, coming off back-to-back seasons of 20 or more wins, became the second-highest paid pitcher in baseball next to Cleveland’s Bret Saberhagen. The Indians for their part were not pleased with their lack of offense in 1991, and made a major signing themselves, inking 27-year old left fielder Barry Bonds to a three-year deal. Bonds hit .303 with 43 home runs with St. Louis in 1991 and won the NL MVP.

Cleveland had a strong first half but found themselves 5 games behind the 50-25 Milwaukee Brewers at the break. And what happened to Chicago? The Cubs were 5 games under .500 as David Cone had an abysmal 6.48 ERA at the end of June. The Braves were the top team in the National League with Dwight Gooden having a solid season. The defending World Series champion Pirates held a slim lead on the Mets going into July and expanded it to 4 by August and then 11 going into September.

Milwaukee continued their great season in the second half and wrapped up the AL East despite a 94-win season from the Indians. Oakland tried to hold off the Rangers in the West, but played 3 games under .500 in the last 2 months so the Rangers won their second straight divisional title. Atlanta lost its division lead to the Dodgers, who returned to the postseason after a 1-year hiatus. The Dodgers caught fire in October and swept through both the NLCS and the World Series to win their second championship in 3 years. Milwaukee needed 7 games to get rid of the Rangers but then lost four straight to Los Angeles. The Dodgers signed 37-year old closer Dennis Eckersley in the offseason and while he struggled in the regular season, he paid dividends in the postseason, saving 4 games and not giving up any earned runs.

Barry Bonds won another MVP award, this time in the American League for the Indians. The Dodgers’ Chili Davis belted 36 homers and 122 RBI and won the award in the National League.

The National League added 2 teams for the coming 1993 season – the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. Neither team got big prizes in the expansion draft, and the Rockies chose Steve Karsay #1 overall in the amateur draft, while the Marlins chose outfielder Jim Edmonds. The Royals swooped in and gobbled up 20-year old Manny Ramirez with the third pick.

1993

The Marlins made news before they even played a game, signing 2-time Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen to a five-year contract worth nearly $50 million. Bret had spent the last 3 years in Cleveland and won 57 games with them, and retuns to the National League at age 28.

Toronto was the top team in the majors in the first half, posting a 53-22 record at the all-star break. Oakland led again early in the AL West, with the Rangers a few games under .500. Chicago and California were also strong, as well as Seattle.

In the National League, the Cardinals became one of the top teams as the Pirates were 6 games out heading into July. The Cubs continued to struggle mightily. In the West, the Dodgers were a handful of games behind Atlanta and Houston and would slip even farther in the second half as Houston played great baseball and finished with 104 wins.

The Blue Jays kept a reasonable pace and finished with 101 wins, just 5 games ahead of Cleveland who again finished second despite a strong season. California and Seattle were neck and neck in the West, but the Angels went just 10-19 in August, digging a hole from which they could not climb. Juan Gonzalez mashed 49 homers for the Mariners, tying Barry Bonds for the most in the majors. Pittsburgh rose to the top of the NL East but a strong finish by the Mets put New York back in the playoffs for the first time since 1984.

The highly favored Astros barely beat the Mets in the NLCS, winning in 7 games. Toronto, as expected, took care of Seattle to advance to their first World Series. It would go a full 7 games but the Astros had the last one at home and won it 6-4. Houston’s Greg Maddux went 4-1 in the postseason with a 2.00 ERA.

The Astros’ Frank Thomas won the MVP, while Barry Bonds won his second for the Indians and third of his career. Bonds was to become a free agent in the offseason but signed a 1-year extension for $11.4 million.

1994

After toiling away for the lowly Expos for seven years, Tom Glavine signed a 3-year deal with the Astros to bolster their rotation. The Astros penciled him in as the #3 starter behind Greg Maddux and Jeff Fassero.

The majors went to a three division format in 1994. Cleveland, who had finished second in the tough AL east the last few years, hoped to take advantage, but were only 5 games over .500 at the all star break. The signing of Glavine was a good one for Houston, as he went 11-1 in the first half with a 2.57 ERA. But interestingly enough, Glavine’s former team, the Expos, came alive after several consecutive losing seasons and were 51-24 at the break. It got even more interesting when Glavine was shipped off to Minnesota in exchange for Kevin Bass, a move that had Houston fans irate.

The big story, however, was Toronto’s Mark McGwire, who had an astonishing 39 home runs at the all-star break. The Blue Jays were 3 games behind Boston in the AL East and by mid-July had taken over first place. McGwire got to 52 homers at the start of August and the chase for Babe Ruth’s 71 was officially on. He stayed on his absurd pace and tied the record on September 10th at home against Minnesota, then broke the record the very next day with his 70th homer of the season. He slowed down a bit in mid-September, but finished strong, clubbing two homers on the 30th and then 2 more on the final day of the season, finishing with 79 homers and an inhuman 199 runs batted in, which crushed Babe Ruth’s 1921 mark of 180. McGwire’s souped up season overshadowed a great year for 32-year old veteran Giant Kevin Mitchell, who hit .368 with 56 home runs and 169 RBIs. His RBI total placed him third on the single-season list.

Another round was added to the playoffs in 1994 as well. The Houston Astros had the top record in the NL and played the wild card Montreal Expos, but were upset 3-1. NL East champs Atlanta faced the Dodgers and swept in 3 games. In the NL, Milwaukee swept the Red Sox in three while Big Mac’s Blue Jays did the same to California. Toronto went on to oust Milwaukee in seven games in the ALCS to make their second straight World Series. Atlanta dispatched Montreal in 5 in the NLCS and then beat Toronto in a seven game World Series. The Braves counted heavily on 26-year old closer Jerry DiPoto, who saved 8 games in the playoffs without giving up a run.

1995

The big free agent prize in the offseason was Cleveland outfielder Barry Bonds. Bonds had four consecutive seasons of 43 or more home runs and hit his 300th of his career on the final day of the season against the Royals.

Bonds waited until January to make his decision, signing a three year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for over $40 million. The Brewers emerged as a top team in the early nineties and now had one of the game’s top sluggers in Bonds to team up with their current 40-homer man Jose Canseco.

McGwire continued to destroy American League pitching, as he had 32 homers at the all-star break. Bonds was near that pace with 31 homers for his new team, though the Brewers found themselves in last place in the AL Central, 9 games behind the Royals. The Astros were 55-20 at the break, tops in the majors. They did it behind a strong pitching staff of Greg Maddux, Jeff Fassero, Chan Ho Park, and the rejuvenated David Cone, who signed with Houston as a free agent in the offseason.

Bonds finished with 55 HR and 156 RBI to go with a .358 batting average, but the Brewers couldn’t get out of 4th place. McGwire finished with 66 homers and 152 RBI to create a tough decision for MVP voters. The Blue Jays were the wild card in the AL and faced the Royals in the first round. Meanwhile the Astros finished with with a franchise-record 109 wins, but were upset by the upstart expansion Rockies in the Division Series. The Rockies would go on to upset the Braves in 7 games in the NLCS. The Rockies would face the Red Sox in the World Series. The Sox got there by beating the Western champion Angels in 5 and then taking out the Royals in the ALCS in 6 games. Boston won two close games at home over Colorado and then cruised in the next two games to complete the sweep and win their first title since 1964.

It was close but in the end the writers gave the AL MVP to Mark McGwire, with Bonds coming in second and his Brewer teammate Gary Sheffield (.319-54-134) coming third. Frank Thomas took home the MVP in the National league after a .337-48-134 season in a contract year with the Astros. Houston’s Greg Maddux had his finest season with 20 wins and a 2.37 ERA and won his second straight Cy Young Award. In a rare move, the AL winner of the award was a closer; Trevor Hoffman saved 40 games for the Yankees.

1996

Frank Thomas ended up moving from the top regular season team in the NL the last three seasons to another contender in the NL, the Atlanta Braves. Thomas becomes the #3 man in the lineup, batting ahead of sluggers Jim Thome and Tim Salmon and cements Atlanta’s status as a favorite in the National League.

However, the Braves found themselves three games out of first in the NL East at the all-star break. Thomas only had 14 homers and was hitting just .270. Mark McGwire continued to hit home runs at an amazing clip but this year it was Larry Walker of Cleveland who wowed the sports world with 33 home runs and 89 RBI to lead the majors at the break. He also had a .357 batting average, which made him a Triple Crown threat. Unfortunately the Indians, too, were three games out of first place and four out of the wild card spot. Walker slumped immediately after the all-star break and the emergence of Manny Ramirez in Kansas City put his triple crown hopes in jeopardy.

Atlanta soon got hot moved into first place in late July, but the Montreal Expos also played very well and would not go away quietly. Houston chased the Cubs in the Central while Colorado, San Diego and Los Angeles battled closely in the West. The defending champion Red Sox and the Blue Jays were close once again in the A.L. East. Cleveland did not make things easy for the Royals in the Central, while John Smoltz and the Rangers challenged the Angels in the West. The American League shook out just the way it did in 1995: Boston won the East, with Toronto getting the wild card. The Royals won the Central and the Angels won the West. Over in the NL, Atlanta played dominant ball down the stretch and ended with an impressive 109-53 record. The Rockies slipped to .500 and finished 5 games behind the Dodgers in the West. The Cubs won 86 games to win the Central and Montreal was the NL wild card with a 99-63 record.

Boston swept the Angles in 3 games, but then were swept themselves by Mark McGwire and the Toronto Blue Jays, who took out the Royals once again in 5 games. In the National League, Atlanta beat the Cubs three games to one. They went on to face the Dodgers and won the NLCS in 6 games for the right to face the Blue Jays in the World Series. Atlanta had home field advantage and was favored. The series went the full seven, with the Braves getting the best of Toronto in the deciding game, 5-3.

Larry Walker (.339-51-137) did not win the Triple Crown but his season was good enough to edge Ramirez (.344-33-125) and McGwire (.282-58-137) for the A.L. MVP. In the National League, Atlanta’s Jim Thome took home the honors, while their ace Scott Erickson won the Cy Young Award.

1997

The struggling Orioles franchise made a couple moves to reposition their team as a contender in the AL East. First they signed veteran pitcher Kevin Brown to a 5-year deal worth $56 million. Brown struggled for the Brewers in 1996 but in 1995 was a 20-game winner. The O’s also traded shortsop Omar Vizquel to the Reds for N.L. Rookie of the Year outfielder Brian Giles.

In other free agent news, Greg Maddux, the ace pitcher of the Houston Astros, departed for divisional rival Chicago, signing a 6-year deal with the Cubs. The Indians signed leadoff man Kenny Lofton, who had been a rock at the top of the Phillies lineup for several years. The Phillies for their part signed slugger Jeff Bagwell, while Juan Gonzalez, who had been toiling in obscurity for the Mariners since coming into the league, signed with the Montreal Expos.

The Cleveland Indians had the best record in baseball (46-29) at the all-star break, but Kansas City edged them out in the end for another AL Central title. The Red Sox fell to the bottom of the AL as the Blue Jays continued their string of playoff berths, and the Orioles won the wild card with a powerful lineup featuring Andres Galarraga, Giles, and rookie Vladimir Guerrero. Texas won the West despite a brutal 78-84 record. The Braves won the NL East again, while Mo Vaughn led the Reds to the wild card. The Padres won the NL West for the first time since 1981. The Texas Rangers upset the world by advancing all the way to the World Series to face the Cubs, who swept the Braves and edged the Reds in five games in the NLCS. The Rangers almost pulled off the upset of the century, but lost to the Cubs in 7 games. Greg Maddux was unbeatable in the playoffs and pitched 8 innings and gave up one run in Game 7. He ended with a 5-0 postseason record and a 0.56 ERA. Maddux also won the NL Cy Young Award. Kevin Brown won it in the AL.

1998

In the offseason, Sammy Sosa, who had back-to-back 44 homer seasons with the Rangers, signed a $47 million deal to play with the expansion Devil Rays for the next four seasons. Gary Sheffield moved from Milwaukee to Cincinnati while Mo Vaughn, who had three straight 40-homer seasons, left the Reds to play for the Athletics. But the biggest name, Mark McGwire, stayed in the friendly confines of Skydome in Toronto. Since signing with Toronto in 1993, Big Mac had hit 308 home runs in just 5 seasons and he was not about to leave, especially with the Blue Jays’ success over that period. Toronto had made the playoffs in every season but was still without a World Series title.

However, while McGwire continued to hit balls out of the yard at an amazing clip, his batting average continued to trend downward in 1998, and the Jays were well under .500 and McGwire was hitting just .243. The Orioles were on top of the suddenly weak AL East, and the Indians had the best record in the American League at 51-24. However the real story was the Atlanta Braves, who despite trading away Frank Thomas in the offseason due to money and expansion draft concerns, were playing .700 ball in the first half. They backed off that pace in the second half but still finished with a comfortable lead in the NL East. The Cubs and Reds battled for the Central title whilst Colorado easily took the West.

The AL West was won easily by the Rangers, while Cleveland surrendered first place to the Minnesota Twins, who finally got going around Ken Griffey Jr, who hit .326 with 57 homers and 153 EBI en route to the MVP award. The Indians won 98 games and got the wild card and then defeated Texas in the Division Series. Baltimore upset Minnesota in 5 games, but was then taken out by the Indians in the ALCS, 4-1. In the National League, Cincinnati upset the Braves and then took out the Rockies, who had swept the wild card Florida Marlins. It set up an intra-state World Series between Cincinnati and Cleveland. Despite being the wild card team in the AL, the Indians had the better regular season record, and ended up sweeping the Reds 4-0. It was the Tribe’s first World Series win since they won back-to-back titles in 1962-1963.

1999

The Indians attempted to bolster their team by adding 2B Jeff Kent, a veteran formerly of the New York Mets expected to add some pop to the middle of the lineup and be an upgrade over Delino DeShields.

Conventional wisdom was again turned on its head, as the Indians actually fell all the way to last place in the central early in the season. The Royals returned to the top of the division, led by their trio of young sluggers Manny Ramirez, Carlos Delgado and Alex Rodriguez. Starter Andy Pettitte was also a key player for Kansas City, and they finished the season as baseball’s best team.

Baltimore and Boston played very close most of the year in the AL East, and the West also had a great race between the Athletics and Angels. The Orioles won the East and the Red Sox got the wild card. In the West, the Athletics took the division by 2 games.

In the National League, the offseason signing of pitcher Randy Johnson paid off for the Pirates as they took first place in their division. In the West, the Giants shook off years of futility and a late surge gave them the division title over the Padres and Diamondbacks. The Expos nearly choked away their lead in the East, going 9-18 in September, but they hung on to edge the Phillies by one game.

As was the case in so many years, a wild card team defeated the favorite in the Division Series. This time it was the Red Sox spoiling another Royals playoff run early. In the NL, the wildcard was Philadelphia, but they were beaten by the Pirates in 4 games. The Pirates went on to beat the Giants in a 7-game NLCS, while the Red Sox were swept by their division rival Baltimore. The Pirates won their 12th World Series in franchise history in 6 games over the Orioles.

The AL MVP award was a no brainer; Manny Ramirez 198 RBI came one shy of Mark McGwire’s single-season record, his .359 batting average led the league, and he added a career-high 59 home runs for good measure. In the National League, third-year Expos shortstop Nomar Garciaparra had a breakout campaign, hitting .389 with 43 homers and 141 RBI to win the NL MVP award.

Pirates fans’ celebration was tamed some, when ownership decided to trade Randy Johnson away after one season. Johnson had just one year remaining on his contract and the Pirates did not feel like he was going to be worth re-signing at age 38, so they dealt him to the Marlins for outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who hit .305 with 22 homers in 1999.
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Old 02-20-2008, 12:33 PM   #20
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