Pilot of the Airwaves - The Survival of the Seattle Pilots

[DD Martin]

Pilots Story

I have been a long time Seattle Mariners fan going to games in their first season at the Kingdome. I grew up in Tacoma Washington and had followed the Tacoma Twins going to games at Cheney Stadium. I really didn’t understand the difference between minor league and major league baseball early on. My first memory of watching at game on TV was a game likely either a Saturday afternoon national game or a game on NBC Monday Night baseball in 1972 when the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates. Most likely because of my dislike of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 70’s (which would only grow as the decade continued). From that point on I was a Reds fan and enjoyed the World Series both in historic 75 and the 76 series as the Big Red Machine won both.

Back to the Seattle baseball team, there wasn’t much success with the Mariners during those early years (or honestly most years except for 1995-2003). While I was in high school, I stumbled across Jim Bouton’s book Ball Four. To my surprise it was a book about a baseball team that I have never heard of, the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Back then there was no internet to fall back on to review certain history like this and while my Dad enjoyed a game here and there he wasn’t the sports fan that I was because living in Washington State we really didn’t have any “big league” sports teams until the Sonics came to town in the 1967 (but that is another sad, painful story). I wasn’t a big reader but this book about a local pro baseball team that I didn’t even know existed had caught my attention. Later I would learn more about the Pilots at the public library on microfiche of the stories in the Tacoma News Tribune.

Apart from the zaniness that was the 1969 Pilots and their unique story and subsequent failure resulted in the team being bought out of bankruptcy court (by that carpet bagger Bud Selig) and stolen to Milwaukee where they became the Brewers 6 days before the opening of the 1970 season. Much to Milwaukee’s credit, the Brewers just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

What got me interested again in the Pilots was a new book that came out this summer that my wife and daughter got me for Father’s Day this year. It is a book that is a very interesting look at the Pilots from a front office perspective titled Inside Pitch by Rick Allen. Two of the front office staffers on that Pilots team were local young men (Team Comptroller Bob Schoenbachler and Jim Kittilsby). This story is truly a fascinating look inside what happened and what caused the demise of the Pilots (it was more than just ancient old Sicks Stadium). This book has inspired my desire to start a dynasty for the team going forward starting in the 1970 season, that will be played in Seattle and not Milwaukee (don’t worry Brewer fans you will get your team, just in 1977).

Setup – I quick simulated the 1969 season and sat on the sidelines and we will recap that season prior to beginning our Pilots journey. After the playoffs I will replace the GM of the Pilots Marvin Milkes. Also instead of bankruptcy and getting sold to Selig for $9.5 million (although Soriano had agreed with Selig during the 1969 World Series to sell for $10.8 million but the other Pilot owners turned it down).

Instead (in this story) the Pilots will be saved by local timber giant, George Weyerhaeuser who purchased controlling interest in the failing club. He would put in several million dollars to decrepit old Sicks Stadium so that the team could play they’re until their new home would be finished in 1972 (Future Kingdome).

So this turn of events will trigger several changes including no lawsuit from Washington AG Slade Gordon, the Kingdome will not be delayed because the team left town and opens as schedule for the 1972 season instead of 1976. The financial rules of the time are still under the Reserve Clause and free agency will not be a thing until the 1976 season.
Otherwise all other aspects of the game have not been changed. The 1969 season was simmed and that will be our timeline moving forward.
So can this new incarnation of the Seattle Baseball team succeed? We shall find out.

ooc - Wikipedia besides the 2 books I have mentioned has a lot of interesting information regarding the mess that was the Seattle Pilots.

[DD Martin]

1969 Seattle Pilots Spring Training –

Shockingly the team played to a record of 20-10 in spring training and “won” the “division” (since we don’t split teams via Grapefruit and Cactus League in OOTP baseball – I have never understood why that can’t be incorporated but it is a small point).

Below are the statistics of the victorious Pilots club who had to be pretty happy with themselves. In fact the performance even makes misguided GM Milkes claim the Pilots could finish as high as 3rd in the new AL Western Division (the real Pilots finished dead last 64-98, 33 games out of first place).

Will this bunch of crazy rebels in Seattle be able to finish in 3rd and flirt with a 500 record in the first season?

[DD Martin]

Seattle Pilots Minor League system and the 1969 Sporting News Pre-Season Predictions.

To start the season the Pilots entered their existence with what was rated as the 15th ranked minor league system, which was 1 spot higher than their expansion cousins (and the cause of all the issues in Seattle) the Kansas City Royals. The National League also had 2 expansion teams in the San Diego Padres (21st) and Montreal Expos (23rd) who the Pilots were ahead as well.

The Pilots had 2 top 100 players led by 18-year-old SS Gorman Thomas who was ranked 22nd overall and SP 22-year-old Skip Lockwood.

Below is a list of the Pilot top prospects and then the top 100 in the baseball.

[DD Martin]

MLB 1969 Pre-Season Predictions by the Sporting News

The Sporting News obviously went to print before the Pilots great spring training or they would have obviously adjusted their prediction thinking. The Sporting News had the Pilots finishing 6th with a 64-98 record (same of the real life record).

In the AL West the Sporting News liked the Minnesota Twins to come out on top with a 94-68 record over the Oakland A's (89-73).

In the AL East, they liked the heavy World Series favorites the Baltimore Orioles to have a pretty easy time winning the East with a 10 game cushion over the Detroit Tigers with the Yankees finished in 3rd 14 games back.

In the National League in the West they predicted the Los Angeles Dodgers to capture the division going 91-71 and holding off the Cincinnati Reds (84-78) and Houston Astros (83-79) followed closely by the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants both (82-80).

In the NL East the overwhelming favorite was the Pittsburgh Pirates favored to go 104-58 holding the New York Mets (95-67). No other NL East team was predicted to have a winning record.

[DD Martin]

The Pilots played their first game of what was truly going to be a historic 1969 season, or so stated team owner Dewey Soriano. The Pilots traveled not far from their spring training site in Arizona up to Anaheim to faced the California Angels. The Angels were a team on the rise that would likely be helped greatly by the fact that 2 expansion teams shared their division. The Pilots went with SP Marty Pattin on Opening Day and lost a heart-breaker 9-1 to the Angels.

Pattin went 5.1 innings giving up 9 hits and 3 walks while surrendering 5 earned runs to take the loss. (Pattin doesn't last the season in Seattle as he is exiled (traded) to the Phillies in early July.)

How did the Pilot hitters do against Angels SP Andy Messersmith? Well they managed to bang out 2 doubles, but sadly were only able to manage just one more hit for a total of 3. Messersmith went the distance with a line that looked like this an All-Star. 9 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run and 11 K's.

First base-runner for the Pilots was in the 5th inning as 3B Mike Ferraro hit a double. The first and only run scored was by C Greg Gossen who had singled in the 7th and then was doubled home by CF Jim Gosger.

[DD Martin]

The Pilots came home from Anaheim with a 1-1 record and would face the Chicago White Sox (also 1-1) in the first ever Major League Baseball game played in Seattle. The site was dumpy old Sick's Stadium that was originally in 1938 by Seattle Rainier Brewery Patriarch Emil Sick. The stadium was the home to a variety of Seattle AAA baseball teams most notably named the Rainiers (and later the Angels). Original stadium capacity was 11,000 when built and it had been expanded once before. But for the 1969 Seattle Pilots, capacity somehow was upped to 25,420 (in real life it was in June before this capacity was reached and opening day was around 17,000).

ooc - attendance for the real Pilots opening day was 17,150 with some of the fans who attended the having to wait until the 3rd inning to take their seats because workers were still putting them together.

For OOTP purposes the capacity was 25,420 for opening day and good thing as the team had over 22,000 crazy baseball fans show up for this classic battle between the White Sox and Pilots.

SP Mike Marshall drew this Home Opener assignment but was done in by a leaky defense (3 errors) and a limited offense (1 run) in losing 5-1.

[DD Martin]

April 1969

Well the Pilots survived the first month of their existence going 7-13 overall. Yes they were in last place in the AL West but were only 5 games behind the Oakland A's.

Seattle Pitcher of the Month went to SP Steve D Barber who went 1-1 in 4 starts with a 3.70 ERA. Barber would go 4-7 in 17 starts in Seattle before a July 11th trade would ship him to Detroit. His Seattle stats were as follows 4-7 4.53 ERA 17GS 109.1 IP, 93 hits, a team leading 68 walks at the time of the trade and 76 K's. His 5.6 bb/9 is obviously not a good number and he continued that trend with the Tigers but managed to lower his ERA to a sub 4.00 level at 3.92 in 15 starts going 5-6.

Seattle Hitter of the Month - C Greg Gossen hit 271/299/870 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI's driven in. Gossen is a solid defensive catcher but has never hit a ton in the big leagues and came over from the NY Mets.

AL Hitter of the Month goes the the Oakland A's Reggie Jackson, Jackson hit a robust 397 with 8 homers and 20 RBI's as the A's went 12-8 to lead the AL West by a game.

AL Pitcher of the Month honors went to Boston Red Sox SP Jim Lonborg who was 5-0 but sported a bit of a wobbly 4.30 ERA. while striking out 24 in 37.2 innings. The Red Sox are pacing the AL East early in the year with a 17-5 record

AL Rookie of the Month goes to another Red Sox as 21-year-old P Mike Nagy snags the award. Nagy went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA

NL Batter of the Month Award goes to the Pittsburgh Pirates OF Roberto Clemente who hit 438 with 3 home runs, 16 RBI's and 13 runs scored. Despite Clemente's efforts the favored Pirates struggled in April with a 10-13 record in the NL East.

NL Pitcher of the Month goes to Philadelphia Phillies veteran SP Woodie Fryman. Fryman sparkled in April with a 5-0 record and a pristine 1.99 ERA in leading the 3rd place Phils to a 13-10 record.

NL Rookie of the Month belongs to the Houston Astros 21-year-old rookie SP Tom Griffin. Griffin made 5 starts tossing 39 innings and going 3-1 with a 1.15 ERA and held batters to just a .199 batting average. The Astros are the surprise leaders in the NL West with a 15-9 record

[DD Martin]

May 1969

And what a month it was for the Pilots. The first winning month in franchise history as the Pilots go 14-13 for the month of May and end with a overall record of 21-26 after 2 months of the season. With the winning month the team climbed out of the AL West cellar ahead of the struggling California Angels who are 19-26 and owner Gene Autry is not singing happy tunes with that performance.

The Oakland A's are still atop the AL West with a record of 26-20 and still cling to a 1 game lead over the Minnesota Twins in a tight battle.

In the AL East, the Boston Red Sox are still continuing a torrid pace to the season going 34-13 through the end of May. At the beginning of the season the Red Sox were not considered serious contenders with a predicted record of only 500 at 81-81. So far they are proving the experts wrong and the heavily favored Orioles are 10.5 games back and in 3rd place.

In the NL East the New York Mets are leading the way at 31-18, followed closely by the Pirates at 2.5 games back and the Chicago Cubs at 3.5 games back.

In the NL West the NL's best record is still belonging to the Houston Astros at 33-18 as they are leading the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves by 4 and 5 games respectively. The pre-season favorite Dodgers are in 4th with a below 500 21-26 record and already double digits back of the Stro's.

Pilots May Batter of the Month - This was tight voting between 1B Don Mincher and 2B Tommy Harper. In the end power won out over speed as Mincher is given the award. Mincher hit 267/371/918 with 6 homers and 19 RBI's. Harper gets a note here as he stole 13 bases in the month to go along with a 278 average and 20 runs scored.

Pilots May Pitcher of the Month award is going to RP Dick Baney who saved 3 games and had a record of 1-0 for the month. In 12 games Baney pitched 22 innings with a 2.05 ERA and a WHIP of 1.09. Runner up goes to SP Marty Pattin who had a winning record of 3-2 with 3.19 ERA.

American League Awards
AL Hitter of the Month - Minnesota Twins slugger Tony Oliva snags this months honors. Oliva hit 342 with 6 home runs and 27 RBI's and 20 runs scored as the Twins keep in close contact with the A's in the AL West.

AL Pitcher of the Month - Is awarded to the Cleveland Indians SP Sam McDowell who went 3-1 in 48 innings pitched. McDowell struck out 54 and logged an ERA of 1.31 while only allowing hitters to hit .185 for the month. The Indians are in 4th place in the AL East with a record of 22-25 on the season.

AL Rookie of the Month - Goes to another Red Sox rookie pitcher, this time 24-year-old hurler Ivy Washington. Washington went 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA as the Red Sox continue to streak to the Majors best overall record through May.

National League Awards
NL Batter of the Month goes to the Philadelphia Phillies 1B Cal Emery who hit 359 in 24 games. He racked up 6 homers with 20 RBI's and 23 runs scored. For the season Emery is hitting 319 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI's with a 383 OBP.

NL Pitcher of the Month goes to the Pittsburgh Pirates 33-year-old veteran Bob Veale who went 4-1 with 43 K's in his 6 starts in May. His ERA for the month was reminiscent of Bob Gibson with a 1.01 mark in 44.2 innings of work. This season Veale is 7-2 with a 1.04 ERA and its hard to believe he has lost 2 games. Could be a early front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award.

NL Rookie of the Month - For the 2nd straight month Houston rookie Tom Griffin has won the Rookie of the Month award. In May Griffin went 3-0 in 40 innings of work striking out 46 and fashioning a 1.13 ERA in 5 starts. Griffin is making a very strong case for the NL Rookie of the Year honors so far in 1969.

ooc- These are just recaps of the 1969 season prior to the real start of this Seattle Pilots dynasty. Since the team is doing fairly decently for an expansion team so far I am doing monthly recaps, but don't worry the wheels are likely to fall off soon.

[DD Martin]

June 1969 - Beginning of the End?

Cracks started to show in the Pilots armor in June as the team had its worst month of the season struggling to a 10-19 record. As the calendar was turning to July and the All-Star game the Pilots had fallen back into last place with a 31-45 record.

Even with all the tough times, a young player was making a pretty big name for himself of 3B/OF Danny Walton was working his way towards possibly be named a reserve for the All-Star team. Through June Walton was hitting 263 with 8 homers and 38 RBI's, but his July will cement him into the Mid-Summer Classic. At only 22-years-old he looks like he has a bright future with the Pilots.

While the team was struggling on the field chaos was emerging behind the scenes between the ownership, MLB and the city of Seattle. Lots of complaints about the conditions of Sick's Field were being made by visiting players. The league was putting pressure on the financially strapped ownership to make upgrades to the field (while seemingly forgetting that MLB was mainly responsible for forcing the Pilots to start 2 years prior to the initial intent of the purposed expansion.) Pilot managing Partner Dewey Soriano is said to be looking for some outside ownership participation from a Seattle area local.

The Division Races are shaping up at about the half way mark.

AL East - In the East the Boston Red Sox continue to put up the Major's best record at 51-24 and hold a 9.5 game lead over the pre-season favorite Baltimore Orioles. The Tigers have fallen off the pace to 500 on the season at 38-38.

AL West - The Twins and A's continue to trade the lead back and forth and at the end of the month the Twins 45-31 are on top, but still only by 1 game. The White Sox are hanging around though at 41-34 and only 3.5 games back.

NL East - The New York Mets 51-26 having been playing some great baseball all season and have taken over as the top team in the National League. The Mets lead by Pittsburgh Pirates 50-30 by 2.5 games and all others are double digits off the pace.

NL West - The Astro's cooled off a bit in June but still lead with a 50-30 mark, up 8.5 games over the Cincinnati Reds 40-37. The pre-season favorite Los Angeles Dodgers just can't seem to get untracked and are a disappointing 35-41 at the end of June.

MLB Trades - While the Pilots won't get busy until July on the trade market there were several trades that popped up.

The expansion San Diego Padres traded veteran RP Jack Baldschun to the California Angels for a trio of prospects. The Padres received OF Lee Massey, LF Jerry Feldman and SP Vern Geishert

The next day the Padres made another deal but this time acquired a veteran in 30-year-old 2B Bernie Allen while dealing MLB prospect #66 SP Leon Everitt and C Sonny Ruberto. Sort of a curious move for an expansion team and probably one that Friars would regret.

Maybe the most baffling trade of all though was this one between the Angels and the expansion Montreal Expos. The Angels traded 46-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm to the Expos for minor league players SP Steve Renko and 1B Ross Hoffman. I have no idea why the Expos would make this move.

Pilot Players of the Month
Its tough to pick a Batter of the Month when the combined team batting average is below the Mendoza line. The Pilots hit a sub 200, 196 for the month of June explaining a lot of why the team went 10-19 for the month. If we have to give an award out I guess it would go to young Danny Walton who hit only 219 on the month but managed to drive in 17 runs while scoring 13.

Pitcher of the Month - goes to CL John Gelnar who went 2-3 but also saved half of the teams wins for the month with 5 saves. His ERA was also a fine 1.29

American League Award Winners
Batter of the Month - Chicago White Sox RF Bill Melton won the AL award with a 321 batting average along with 8 homers, 27 RBI's and 21 runs scored. The Pilots would have taken that output for sure. On the season Melton is hitting for a 296 average with 18 home runs and 54 RBI's for the 41-34 White Sox.

Pitcher of the Month - Also belongs to the White Sox as SP Tommy John racked up a 5-1 record in 7 starts with a 1.94 EA over 46+ innings. On the season John is 9-4 with a 2.58 ERA.

Rookie of the Month - Goes to the expansion Kansas City Royals SP Bill F Butler who went 5-2 with a 2.81 ERA. On the season the 23-year-old is 9-7 with 3 saves and a 3.63 ERA as a swing man in the KC pen. The Royals are also 38-39 on the season and have the record the Pilots wish they for.

National League Award Winners
Batter of the Month goes to San Francisco 1B and likely future HOF'er Willie McCovey. The big 1B hit 320 for June and socked 11 homers and drove in 30 runs with scoring 25. He is hitting 306 on the season with 23 homers and 63 RBI's for the 36-42 Giants.

Pitcher of the Month - Veteran knuckleballer Phil Niekro posted a 5-1 record in 6 start while composing a 0.70 ERA for June. Niekro has seen his dancing knuckler strike fear in opponents and has gone 9-3 with a 1.51 ERA for the 39-40 Braves who are 4th in the NL West.

Rookie of the Month - Will Astro SP Tom Griffin make it 3 in a row and put a virtual stranglehold on the end of season award? The answer is YES he will as Griffin wins again. The dominate SP was 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA this month and is 10-2 on the season with a sterling 1.65 ERA. Not only is Griffin the front-runner NL Rookie of the Year, he is looking like a solid choice for the All-Star game and has to be considered for the NL Cy Young discussion.

[DD Martin]

The Early Part of July and the loss of hope for the season

The Pilots started July a horrible 3-13 further burying themselves into the basement of the AL West. Gone were the hopes of an unbelievable 3rd place finish on the field and disarray was showing up all over the organization now. Managing Partner Dewey Soriano received a call from the wife of Majority Owner William Daley. It appears that Daley health has taken a turn for the worse and that he will not be able to assist in the teams from office anymore (not that he was around all that much anyway). What I believe she was trying to say was that baseball might have been a passion of her husband, but it wasn't hers and to not expect much if any financial support going forward. She didn't say what ailment had afflicted Daley (Mr. Daley would pass away in 1971 after a lengthy illness).

With the team fall apart on the field, the stadium leaking all over the place from the restrooms to the locker rooms, and the fans souring on the highest ticket and concessions prices in baseball, Soriano knew they were in trouble. He knew if he was going to save the team and turn around the financial mess that he would need more local owners and someone that would take over the majority (ie: money role) from William Daley.

He reached out to some of his Seattle contacts and started making calls. Hopefully he will succeed because otherwise he knew the team was headed to financial ruin.

All-Star Game Voting Results
American League

Included below are the final voting results for the AL All-Stars. The top vote getter at each position, as well as the top 3 starters and relievers, will be included on the final roster for each team. The top player, Reggie Jackson, received 1,223,011 votes.

CATCHER
1. Bill Freehan, Detroit Tigers: 877,648
2. Duke Sims, Cleveland Indians 816,715
3. Paul Ratliff, Minnesota Twin 701,277

FIRST BASE
1. Boog Powell, Baltimore Orioles 1,040,596
2. Mike Epstein, Washington Senators 964,254
3. Ken Harrelson, Boston Red Sox 878,903

SECOND BASE
1. Don Buford, Baltimore Orioles: 1,004,171
2. Rod Carew, Minnesota Twins 962,912
3. Mike Andrews, Boston Red Sox 916,813

THIRD BASE
1. Sal Bando, Oakland Athletics 948,059
2. Ken McMullen, Washington Senators: 772,174
3. Jerry Kenney, New York Yankee 768,016

SHORTSTOP
1. Rico Petrocelli, Boston Red Sox 1,212,240
2. Luis Aparicio, Chicago White Sox 929,845
3. Leo Cardenas, Minnesota Twins 834,092

LEFT FIELD
1. Frank Howard, Washington Senators 1,170,034
2. Willie Horton, Detroit Tigers 1,065,399
3. Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles 1,031,318

CENTER FIELD
1. Reggie Smith, Boston Red Sox 878,635
2. Ed Kirkpatrick, Kansas City Royals 843,027
3. Jay Johnstone, California Angels 747,976

RIGHT FIELD
1. Reggie Jackson, Oakland Athletics 1,223,011
2. Tony Oliva, Minnesota Twins 1,057,447
3. Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers 953,696

STARTING PITCHER
1. Sam McDowell, Cleveland Indians: 901,530
2. Andy Messersmith, California Angels 776,582
3. Earl Wilson, Detroit Tigers 725,950
4. Mike Cuellar, Baltimore Orioles 650,561
5. Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles 641,767

RELIEVERS
1. Sparky Lyle, Boston Red Sox 504,554
2. Bob L Miller, Minnesota Twins 410,651
3. Wilbur Wood, Chicago White Sox 346,548
4. Clyde Wright, California Angels 337,772
5. John Gelnar, Seattle Pilots 336,368

His career numbers show Jackson: is currently carrying a .254 lifetime batting average with 56 home runs and 137 RBIs.

The Pilots lone representative on the voting totals would be John Gelnar who was 5th in the reliever balloting. Would he make the All-Star game? (The answer is no because I forgot to select to have every team represented until right before so it didn't take, maybe next year Pilot fans).

National League All-Star Voting
Included below are the final voting results for the NL All-Stars. The top vote getter at each position, as well as the top 3 starters and relievers, will be included on the final roster for each team. The top player, Willie McCovey, received 1,184,137 votes.

CATCHER
1. Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds 1,099,139
2. Bob Watson, Houston Astros 790,256
3. Manny Sanguillen, Pittsburgh Pirates 696,421

FIRST BASE
1. Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants 1,184,137
2. Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates 1,033,772
3. Cal Emery, Philadelphia Phillies 880,537

SECOND BASE
1. Joe L Morgan, Houston Astros 872,507
2. Tommy Helms, Cincinnati Reds 687,152
3. Ron Hunt, San Francisco Giants 604,597

THIRD BASE
1. Tony Perez, Cincinnati Reds 1,087,680
2. Ron Santo, Chicago Cubs 906,544
3. Richie Hebner, Pittsburgh Pirates 894,487

SHORTSTOP
1. Maury Wills, Montreal Expos 841,237
2. Denis Menke, Houston Astros 817,312
3. Don Kessinger, Chicago Cubs 809,046

LEFT FIELD
1. Cleon Jones, New York Mets 1,103,787
2. Dick Allen, Philadelphia Phillies 940,770
3. Bernie Carbo, Cincinnati Reds 907,301

CENTER FIELD
1. Jim Wynn, Houston Astros 1,036,609
2. Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants 853,898
3. Willie Davis, Los Angeles Dodgers 847,723

RIGHT FIELD
1. Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates 1,157,609
2. Bobby Bonds, San Francisco Giants 997,882
3. Pete Rose Sr, Cincinnati Reds 958,231

STARTING PITCHER
1. Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves 844,846
2. Bob Veale, Pittsburgh Pirates 822,833
3. Bob Moose, Pittsburgh Pirates 803,943
4. Juan Marichal, San Francisco Giants 767,439
5. Fergie Jenkins, Chicago Cubs 737,377

RELIEVER
1. Tug McGraw, New York Mets 444,838
2. Jim McAndrew, New York Mets 444,228
3. Jim Brewer, Los Angeles Dodgers 430,300
4. Frank Linzy, San Francisco Giants 395,124
5. George H Stone, Atlanta Braves 348,939

In his 1320-game career McCovey has tagged 1201 hits with 161 doubles, 36 triples and 294 home runs. His lifetime batting average is .279 with 805 RBIs and 727 runs scored.

[DD Martin]

MLB All-Star Game

As the Pilots lost 9 of their first 10 games in July GM Marvin Milkes decided it was time to begin trading what little assets he had to gather younger players for the future.

The first trade was completed on July 11th and would be the first of many in the month for the Pilots.

Trade #1
July 11th, 1969 - The Seattle Pilots trade SP Steve Barber (31) 4-7 4.53 ERA to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for a couple of minor league 1B. Class A player Lenny Baxley (18) 1.5/1.5* was hitting 329 14-61 RBI's. Also received was Class AA 1B Robert Cole (19) who was hitting 281 with 8-40.

Thoughts - Barber was expendable as a soft tossing 31-year old LHSP, but why basically acquire the same player when the team has so many needs? I would have thought maybe one of the 2 players mentioned and another fielder might have been a better fit for the team.

Trade #2
The next deal was 2 days later between the Pilots and the Philadelphia Phillies. In this deal the Pilots trade another SP, this time 26-year-old RHSP Marty Pattin (8-9 5.02 ERA) in exchange for 19-year-old Class AA 3B Andre Thornton 2/2.5* who was hitting 298 with 21-61 (HR/RBI).

Thoughts - GM Milkes seems to be looking for young power hitters for the future of the Pilots. Thorton is the #85 overall prospect based on Baseball America Prospect Rankings but the question is who is going to start the remainder of this seasons games.

Trade #3 - Was completed on July 14th (3rd trade in 4 days) and was with the California Angels.

The Angels trade 25-year-old SS Winston Llenas 3/3* (271 1-11) to the Pilots for veteran 1B Don Mincher 207 11-35 and minor league C Jose Salado (133 1-3)

Thoughts - Well why not I guess since you acquired 3 corner infielders with a little bit of pop, might as well trade an older 31-year-old corner infielder with a low batting average 207. Llenas can also play 2B,3B and RF so he has some versatility. One concern is his defense at SS might not be up to the standards and he might be better served at either 2B or 3B.

Trade #4 - July 19th was once again with the Philadelphia Phillies and had the Pilots trading another veteran arm. This time it was 31-year-old Diego Segui who was shipped out of town. Segui (2/2*) do to an injury, never threw a pitch in Seattle and had just been cleared. Coming back to the Pilots was 24-year-old Class AAA SP Gary Schlieve 1.5/1.5* 0-0 3.68 ERA. Also thrown in the deal was Class A SP (23) Robert Snyder (11-5 2.60) 1.5/1.5*

Thoughts - While we will never know what Segui might have done with the Pilots the return is 2 younger players, but wouldn't be classified as top prospects. Not sure either of these guys will pitch in Seattle either.

Trade #5 occurred during the All-Star Break and saw the Seattle Pilots and Los Angeles Dodgers get together on a 4-player deal.

The Pilots traded (another) SP in 32-year-old Gary Bell 3-6 6.01 ERA who is likely better suited for the bullpen and young 17-year-old CF Bob Coluccio (1.5/2/5*) who was struggling in rookie ball with a 158 batting average. In return Dodgers sent 23-year-old LF Ivey Armstrong 1.5/1.5* (Class A 271 0-23) and 22-year-old C Steven Sogge 2/2.5* (Class AA 227 0-21)

Thoughts - Sogge is an excellent defensive C (80 rating) but isn't know for his bat. He does appear to be the catcher of the future. Bell was miscast in the rotation, but that just shows how little depth there is there. With the 3rd SP to be dealt (and Segui could start as well as relieve) the real question is just who are the Pilots going to trot out to the mound the last half of the season. And those thoughts would just amplify with the final deal of the month.

Trade #6 - July 31st just minutes prior to the deadline was a continuing of a conversation with the Dodgers. The Pilots traded swingman P Bruce Brubaker 1-1 5.91 ERA to the Dodgers and in return received C Frank Kimball 2/2* (23) in return.

Thoughts - A bit of a head scratchier as Kimball is another excellent defensive C but is older and hasn't figured out how to hit.

So GM Milkes made 6 trades and definitely the team got younger and added some power bats. Not sure if he really improved the team but at least didn't trade any of the top prospects in the system.

All-Star Game
NL Roster
SP Dock Ellis (PIT) - 15-3, 2.52 ERA, 161.0 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 5.2 WAR
SP Tom Griffin (HOU) - 12-3, 1.75 ERA, 143.2 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 10.2 K/9, 5.8 WAR
SP Ken Holtzman (CHC) - 12-3, 1.94 ERA, 162.0 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 4.6 WAR
SP Jim McAndrew (NYM) - 8-2, 2.36 ERA, 110.2 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Tug McGraw (NYM)* - 6-0, 1.95 ERA, 83.0 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Bob Moose (PIT) - 7-9, 2.22 ERA, 158.1 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 5.7 WAR
SP Phil Niekro (ATL)* - 11-4, 1.82 ERA, 138.2 IP, 0.81 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 5.4 WAR
SP Bob Veale (PIT) - 13-5, 1.23 ERA, 161.1 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 5.5 WAR
SP Rick Wise (PHI) - 11-4, 2.17 ERA, 169.2 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 4.2 WAR
CL Jim Brewer (LAD) - 4-5, 13 SV, 1.94 ERA, 60.1 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.2 WAR
C Johnny Bench (CIN)* - .335/.362/.564, 328 AB, 17 HR, 2 SB, 166 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
C Joe Torre (STL) - .285/.347/.422, 358 AB, 10 HR, 120 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
C Bob Watson (HOU) - .302/.343/.429, 308 AB, 7 HR, 2 SB, 124 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
1B Willie McCovey (SF)* - .286/.395/.535, 353 AB, 26 HR, 162 wRC+, 3.7 WAR
1B Willie Stargell (PIT) - .319/.376/.521, 376 AB, 17 HR, 162 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
2B Joe L Morgan (HOU)* - .270/.386/.437, 371 AB, 15 HR, 37 SB, 136 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
3B Bob Bailey (MON) - .310/.384/.483, 377 AB, 12 HR, 3 SB, 152 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
3B Tony Perez (CIN)* - .319/.380/.516, 351 AB, 17 HR, 1 SB, 155 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
SS Maury Wills (MON)* - .308/.369/.376, 396 AB, 4 HR, 21 SB, 121 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
LF Cleon Jones (NYM)* - .364/.435/.490, 365 AB, 5 HR, 11 SB, 167 wRC+, 4.9 WAR
LF Billy L Williams (CHC) - .329/.368/.519, 416 AB, 17 HR, 152 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
CF Willie Davis (LAD) - .320/.356/.486, 294 AB, 8 HR, 21 SB, 148 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
CF Jim Wynn (HOU)* - .271/.428/.438, 336 AB, 15 HR, 26 SB, 155 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
RF Bobby Bonds (SF) - .289/.374/.512, 363 AB, 20 HR, 21 SB, 151 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
RF Roberto Clemente (PIT)* - .342/.401/.536, 377 AB, 10 HR, 3 SB, 165 wRC+, 4.9 WAR

AL Roster
SP Andy Messersmith (CAL) - 11-9, 1.95 ERA, 170.1 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 WAR
SP Tom Murphy (CAL) - 8-5, 2.30 ERA, 129.0 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 4.6 K/9, 2.8 WAR
SP Roger Nelson (KC) - 9-6, 2.91 ERA, 161.0 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 4.9 K/9, 3.7 WAR
SP Blue Moon Odom (OAK) - 12-5, 2.42 ERA, 152.1 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 2.8 WAR
SP Jim Palmer (BAL) - 9-9, 2.52 ERA, 168.0 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 3.7 WAR
SP Earl Wilson (DET) - 9-2, 2.00 ERA, 162.1 IP, 0.67 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 4.3 WAR (Injured)
RP Clyde Wright (CAL) - 3-2, 1.93 ERA, 65.1 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 1.2 WAR
CL Sparky Lyle (BOS)* - 5-1, 18 SV, 0.94 ERA, 57.1 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 2.0 WAR
CL Bob L Miller (MIN) - 3-4, 17 SV, 1.82 ERA, 59.1 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 0.9 WAR
C Bill Freehan (DET)* - .277/.364/.447, 282 AB, 11 HR, 137 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
C Duke Sims- (CL) .240/.372/.412, 267 AB, 12 HR, 131 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
1B Mike Epstein (WS2) - .265/.404/.482, 359 AB, 20 HR, 162 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
1B Boog Powell (BAL)* - .334/.410/.580, 362 AB, 23 HR, 187 wRC+, 4.7 WAR
2B Don Buford (BAL)* - .312/.416/.439, 337 AB, 7 HR, 8 SB, 148 wRC+, 4.4 WAR
2B Rod Carew (MIN) - .326/.373/.477, 384 AB, 7 HR, 21 SB, 148 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
3B Sal Bando (OAK)* - .280/.400/.503, 332 AB, 21 HR, 2 SB, 163 wRC+, 4.9 WAR
SS Luis Aparicio (CWS) - .305/.369/.416, 394 AB, 8 HR, 9 SB, 126 wRC+, 4.0 WAR
SS Rico Petrocelli (BOS)* - .326/.406/.558, 353 AB, 21 HR, 2 SB, 176 wRC+, 7.6 WAR
LF Frank Howard (WS2)* - .305/.368/.559, 390 AB, 29 HR, 169 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
LF Frank Robinson (BAL) - .296/.389/.510, 355 AB, 18 HR, 3 SB, 161 wRC+, 4.2 WAR
LF Roy White: (NYY) - .322/.461/.532, 342 AB, 13 HR, 24 SB, 190 wRC+, 6.6 WAR
CF Reggie Smith (BOS)* - .275/.333/.483, 389 AB, 19 HR, 10 SB, 134 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
RF Reggie Jackson (OAK)* - .290/.432/.579, 328 AB, 26 HR, 18 SB, 191 wRC+, 5.9 WAR
RF Tony Oliva (MIN) - .320/.356/.518, 384 AB, 17 HR, 4 SB, 153 wRC+, 3.5 WAR

AL All-Stars beat NL All-Stars 10-6 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Red Sox CF Reggie Smith was the game MVP going 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI's and 3 runs scored. The AL stars jumped all of New York Mets P Jim McAndrew for 6 runs in the 2nd inning including Smith's 2-run homer.

[DD Martin]

Pilots End July with an 8-21 record

If you thought June's 10-19 record was bad, July was even worse. The Pilots had basically thrown up the white flag and accepted the fact that they would be in the cellar in the AL West in their first year. With a 39-66 record they were 23 games behind the Oakland A's who had once again taken a 1 game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the tight divisional race.

While that was going on with the on-field play, the off the field issues were piling up and so were the bills. A problem was starting to form with the new stadium as well as a group who opposed the stadium being built at Seattle Center had slowed down the progress of the construction getting started.

Dewey Soriano was staying busy though and was mainly out of the office. While some in the teams front office speculated that this was to dodge bill collectors, the truth was he was meeting with potential people would could partner and infuse money into the team to keep it in Seattle. Several rumors were flying around about who might be (suckered) encouraged to invest in the team. Only time will tell if Soriano's efforts will be enough.

Around the Major Leagues with the All-Star game and the trading deadline in the rear view mirror, the contenders started settling into the races. While the AL West race had been tight between the A's and the Twins all season, the AL East race had not been. But in July Baltimore continued to play better and slowly was creeping closer to the Boston Red Sox who had led wire to wire so far.

In the National League races
The NL East July saw the Pittsburgh Pirates move from 2 games behind to now a 4 game lead over the New York Mets. The Cubs were in 3rd but 10 games back and didn't appear to be a serious contender.

In the NL West the Houston Astros continued to dominate and led the Cincinnati Reds by 9 games for the biggest division lead in the majors. The Dodgers finally clawed their way to 500 but were 13 games out and also didn't appear to be a serious threat.

[DD Martin]

A meeting with AL President Joe Cronin

The Pilots were welcoming the New York Yankees to town for a series in early August and with that visit also came a planned visit and meeting with American League President Joe Cronin. Cronin had become concerned about all the comments he was hearing about the state of the Pilots franchise and had several phone calls with both of the Soriano Brothers and stay away owner William Daley.

When he asked what the team felt would be the attendance for a series with the Yankees the brothers responded that it was also Seafair weekend in Seattle and the Hydro races and other events with the festival were happening that same weekend. The Soriano's didn't feel that even the draw of the traditional powerhouse Yankees would do much to cause a rush of fans. Little did they know that because of a promotion and a beautiful Seattle day (which can be rare) would be a draw after all, unfortunately it wouldn't be a good day for team.

The Soriano's had hired a lot of folks in the front office that hadn't worked out and that included the promotions guy. Having fired him earlier in the season the promotions and specifically this bat promotion fell to a less experienced front office staffer who only ordered 12,000 bats. Since the team was averaging just over 8,000 fans a game it was felt that would be enough and he didn't want to over burden an already struggling financial situation. Cronin was in attendance for this game along with over 23,000 fans, which gave the President reason to smile. But then he heard the complaints, that almost half the fans didn't receive the bats they had been promised. The event had become a PR disaster and was a common event associated with the Pilots. As the game ended (The Yankees won 7-2) front office staffers were meeting fans at the gates and after making a bad situation worse at least tried to give fans receipts to pick up bats at a future game.

After the game, Cronin met with the Soriano's in a private meeting. He was disappointed in the condition of the stadium and even asked the question about why the toilets didn't flush properly (this was due to the stadium having very low water pressure which had been an issue even before the season). Cronin said he would be back in Seattle and would set up a meeting with the Mayor to discuss the lack of commitment with the city on the stadium situation.

He also stated that he was pleased with the fans that showed up for the game and felt that if the team could correct the crumbling stadium, the bumbling in the front office, a GM that had become the laughing stock of the league and get some more local ownership, that the team might have a chance.

Before he left he told Dewey Soriano that if he was serious about trying to save the team in Seattle that he would have someone he knew that was a respected baseball man that could consult. He further stated that the league would pay for this consultant services through the end of the season and possibly beyond if there was hope in saving the franchise. He also mentioned that as a last resort that there was a city that desperately wanted a team (Milwaukee) but that he didn't feel the league owners would approve a relocation of the franchise after just 1 season. He didn't feel that MLB baseball was in the business of moving a franchise after just one year and wanted to give Seattle a fair chance.

Cronin's recommendation to the Soriano's was to discuss the stadium situation with the Mayor and continue to pursue local parties to become involved. And also to meet with his appointed consultant as soon as he could possibly fly out.

Around the League

In the AL West, the Pilots were now 31.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins 76-55 who had wrest the division lead from the Oakland A's by 2.5 games. This race had been tight all year and it was likely to come down to the final games. The Pilots expansion cousin's, Kansas City Royals who had been flirting with 500 all season had a tougher go in August and their record stood at 61-70 and in 5th in the AL West, 16 games better than the Pilots.

AL East - Boston 85-47 had led all season and continued to do so but the Baltimore Orioles 82-52 were starting to press them a bit. The Red Sox lead was down to just 4 games. The Yankees had managed to climb into 3rd with a 71-61 mark but were not a threat this season.

In the NL East, the Pittsburgh Pirates 86-48 clung to a slight 2 game lead over the New York Mets 84-50. The Cubs and Phillies were in 3rd/4th but 16 and 16.5 games behind, so this was a 2-horse race.

In the NL West, the Houston Astros 79-55 were still leading comfortably at 7.5 up on the Cincinnati Reds 71-62. The LA Dodgers 68-63 had finally gotten over 500 and crept to within 9.5 games, but was it too little too late?

[DD Martin]

The Consultant and AL President visit in late-August to talk to City Mayor

Roy Hamey who was a former GM and executive with several teams including the New York Yankees had spoken to Dewey and Max Soriano by phone the week after AL President Joe Cronin had been in Seattle. He set up a meeting that he would fly into Seattle in late August and accompany AL President Joe Cronin in meeting with relatively new interim Seattle Mayor Floyd Miller. Miller had been appointed to finish out the term after former Mayor James D'Orma Braman had left in February to be a member of President Richard Nixon's administration. Miller had some involvement with the Pilots as he had been the chair of the Seattle City Council. Miller would be serving out the term for the former mayor and a new mayor would be elected in the upcoming November elections.

The baseball group sat down and discuss the rather serious nature of the financial situation with the interim mayor while also discussing the situation with the stadium and what they felt were the failed promises of the city in regards to the stadium situation. They also address the rising concern of the new dome ballpark which had passed on the ballot the previous year (62% support). The mayor informed them that the site at the Seattle Center would not be workable and that they had another site in the SoDo district that could work. The down side was that it would add an extra year to when the stadium could be ready.

Obviously this was not a good situation as it would mean that the Pilots would have to use Sick's Stadium not only in 1970 and 1971 but in 1972 as well. The mayor further stated that some on the City Council were becoming concerned because of the rumors of the demise of the baseball team and wanted to cancel the project entirely. Cronin was perfectly clear on this subject that if the stadium was not complete that the franchise would be forced to relocate. He also reiterated that if the team was going to be forced to use the stadium for up to 3 years that a solution for the lack of seating that was promised and even more importantly the water pressure situation would have to be addressed. The mayor suggested that the stadium would get the additional repairs that were originally promised, but that any further improvements would have to either go through the city council (which he indicated was unlikely at present) or through private funds.

The men then left for an airport hotel to continue their discussions. Hamey didn't want to meet in the team offices because he didn't want to cause more issues than the team and office already had. He did indicate that he would need to meet with the Comptroller to go over the financials.

The meeting continued with the Soriano's discussing that they had been involved with some favorable meetings with some local investors. Cronin and Hamey crossed off one name on the list that was Frank Colacurcio Sr. Cronin and Hamey both stated that he would never be approved by baseball owners to join. Colacurcio was a notorious Seattle crime boss and strip club magnet. But the other names on the list would be acceptable if they could form an ownership group.

Hamey also stated that if the team found local ownership that he would serve 3-5 as the Club President to add a baseball man to the front office. He also indicated that he had a young gentleman that was from the local area that he had been working with the Commissioner Kuhn office that if agreeable he would bring in as the new GM. Hamey was frank with the Soriano's that Marvin Milkes needed to be replaced as soon as the season was over. It all started Hamey stated when Milkes traded away that fireball Lou Pinella to the Kansas City Royals. Why on earth would someone trade a talented kid like that when talent was so sparse on an expansion team. (Pinella was hitting 289 with the Royals so far this season).

After the meeting in early September the Soriano's had a meeting with another potential person that was interested in buying the team. A deal was quietly and quickly put together for theater mogul Fred Danz to purchase a controlling interest in the club. His application was presented to the league owners who gave "tentative" approval to move forward. For whatever reason in early November the deal fell apart. Whether Danz changed his mind or didn't have the funds was a never known.

Around Baseball
For the Pilots, September would be players showcasing their talents so that would be invited back. The Pilots actually won 6 out of 7 games at one point early in the month but by the 15th they had lost 5 straight and their September record stood at 6-9 and appeared there was no stopping the team from losing 100 games.

The division races were coming down to the home stretch. Over in the AL West, the Oakland A's had once again regained a slim lead over the Twins by 1 game again. This had been the closest league race all season long and looked to go down to the last day.

AL East - Baltimore was closing fast now and had moved to just 1.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox. The Sox had cooled off considerably to play around 500 ball since the end of August and Baltimore was playing well over 650 ball. Was it the pressure building on the Sox who weren't expected to even be close? Can they hang on?

In the NL East it was still the Pirates leading the Mets by just 2.5 games so it looked like this would be a race down to the wire.

In the NL West the Houston Astros had increased their lead to 10 games over the Reds and 10.5 over the Dodgers. Barring a major collapse, it appeared the Astros would be the first team to punch their post-season ticket.

[DD Martin]

The End of a Forgettable Season, but will it be the Last Season in Seattle?

The Pilots finished the season with a MLB worst 53 wins to go along with 109 losses and 43 games behind the division lead. Can't get much worse than that, so there is only one way to go from here (we hope).

From August 1st until the end of the season the Seattle Pilots rotation looked like this (with season ending numbers).

Mike Marshall 5-22 4.05 ERA
Gene Barbender 8-20 4.62 ERA
Fred Beane 8-10 6.26 ERA
Marceleno Lopez 2-3 4.69 ERA
George Brunet 0-6 5.36 ERA
Dick Bates 2-5 5.79 ERA

The American League had 2 20-game losers and both pitched for the Seattle Pilots.

The offense was led by young CF Danny Walton who ended the season with a 264 average and 24 home runs with 84 RBI's. The 22-year-old became led the team in both homers and RBI's.

2B Tommy Harper stole 54 bases to set his name atop the season record book for the club and finished 2nd to the Oakland A's SS Bert Campeneris' 61 steals.

C Greg Gossen clubbed 22 homers as the defensive first catcher.

Below are the Pilots 1969 Team Stats

[DD Martin]

Final Standings 1969 Season

The division races in baseball were tight in 3 of the 4 divisions. Only the Houston Astros won going away by 8 games in the NL West over the LA Dodgers. The West might have been interesting if the Dodgers had started to play before July 4. After the All-Star break the Dodgers were the best team record wise in the NL West but they just had too much ground to make up after their 35-41 sleep walk through the first 3 months of the season. For the Astros it will be their first foray into playoff baseball in their 8 seasons of existence.

In the NL East, the Pittsburgh Pirates went 8-2 over their last 10 games compared to the New York Mets 6-4 and that was the difference in the season. The Pirates won 104 games and the Mets won 102. The Mets made it a race to the end winning 3 out of 4 against the Pirates on the next to last weekend of the season. The difference was when the Mets were home in the next series against the 5th place St. Louis Cardinals, they lost both games of the 2 game series. Those losses at home costs them their first playoff appearance.

In the AL West the Oakland A's and the Minnesota Twins battled until the last day of the season. Both teams won their last 4 games of the season and went 8-2 in the last 10. The difference between these 2 teams came down to who won the season series 10-8, and that team was the Oakland A's. So the A's won the West by a single game. Many months end had these two teams within a game of each other all season.

Finally in the AL East, 162 wasn't enough to decide it. The Baltimore Orioles went 8-2 down the stretch to make up a to make up a 3 game difference to force a tie-breaker game. The game was held in Fenway Park and was tied at 3 entering the 8th inning when Brooks Robinson hit a solo home run to lead off the top of the 8th to give the Orioles the division title in a thrilling 4-3 game. What a season for the Red Sox who were expected to be a 500 club, it was truly a heartbreaking result for Red Sox faithful.

[DD Martin]

World Series Champions Crowned

[DD Martin]

After the World Series MLB News

The San Francisco Giants fired GM David Sizemore following the teams 77-85 4th place finish. Sizemore stated that "All he could do was the best job possible. Sometimes things just don't work out and I'm looking forward to new opportunities in baseball."

In a surprising move the Los Angeles Dodgers fired long time manager Walter Alston after the disappointing 2nd place finish in the NL West. The Dodger's slow start to the season was one which they fully couldn't recover from and in the end it cost Alston his job. Alston had managed the club since 1954 when it was still in Brooklyn and compiled a 1405-1127 (554 winning percentage) to go along with 6 playoff appearances and 4 World Series Championships.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a new owner and a member of the Anheuser Busch Company, Sam Hutton. Cardinal fans seem to be pleased with this announcement as well as the followup announcement that GM Danny Garcia was fired. New team owner Hutton stated that the team wished to go in a different direction but had nothing but the utmost respect for Garcia.

Veteran manager Gene Mauch was fired by the expansion Montreal Expos after only 1 season which saw the Expo's go 56-106 in their inaugural season. Management felt that the objectives for the expansion team were not met and that they needed to shake things up to move forward. The team also fired GM Isaiah Jones as well in the shake up.

Cleveland Indians latest poor season cost both GM Mike Bartel and Manager Alvin Dark their jobs today after the Tribe went 62-100.

[DD Martin]

After the Series, Business Must Go On No Matter Where the Team Goes

For the Seattle Pilots it was getting business started for the franchise. No matter where they played next season, the organization had to prepare for the amateur draft that was going to be held in December. The Pilots had the #1 overall pick and needed to make a smart decision for the future wherever it may be.

Based on a recommendation from consultant Roy Hamey, the Pilots parted ways with GM Marvin Milkes who made a lot of noise going out the door. This would be the last job Milkes had in baseball although he later resurfaced briefly as a GM for the New York Raiders (1972) in the World Hockey Association. That gig last 8 months. Later in (1981) for the North American Soccer League’s LA Aztec’s but the team folded later that season. In February Milkes pass-away of a heart attack at the age of 58.

The team also announced the firing of manager Joe Schultz as well.

Hamey recommended that his young protégé DD Martin be named the interim GM and report directly to Hamey. The team would operate on a budget and be cost effective, but the other AL teams had decided to at least for now fund the team through the winter to give everyone time to find new ownership.

New Ownership Group Comes Together
On that front, the Soriano’s had put together a fairly impressive list of folks and with the blessing of Hamey presented the list to AL President Joe Cronin. The local folks willing to step in and buy the franchise were:

George Weyerhauser - President of Weyerhauser a Pacific Northwest Timber company. Weyerhauser and his family would be listed as the majority owners in the new baseball operation if it all came together and was approved by MLB.

WW Phillip – President of Puget Sound National Bank. PSNB was a local bank that had over 3.1 billion dollars in assets and was well respected in the Seattle area market. If the ownership group comes together the bank would replace the $4 million debt held by the Bank of California that was being called.

Herb and Ralph Schoenfeld – Owners of a furniture store chain that opened in 1864. Ralph (60) is the Chairman of the Board and his young nephew Herb (32) is President of the company.

Alan Ferguson – Not many people known the name Alan Ferguson but he was the President of the Rainier Brewing Company in Seattle and was the nephew (and adopted son) of Emil Sick, the man who the stadium was named after. City officials and Max Soriano came to Ferguson to discuss the shape of the stadium that bore his uncles name. After several meetings Ferguson decided to step up to join the group and his contribution would be to provide up to $1 million dollars to help the city update and finish the process of repairing Sick’s Stadium. Knowing the stadium would become obsolete for the MLB team once the proposed new domed stadium was built, it was Ferguson’s intention to donate the stadium to the Seattle School District to be the home of baseball for high schoolers in the city and for the state baseball playoffs.

This group of investors, along with the Soriano Brothers retaining a 10% ownership in the new group would purchase the club for $9 million and pay off all existing debts (save for the $4 million bank loan which would be taken over by Puget Sound Bank). This would give the club sufficient operating cash flow to met the needs of the team for the 1970 season.

Bud Selig in Milwaukee had announced that he would go as high as $10.8 million to move the Pilots to Milwaukee, but that was not the leagues first choice. Although another situation was developing in another AL city that would see a franchise potentially move in 1972.

Official Ownership Bid Submitted to MLB
In November the new Seattle Pilots ownership group submitted its official bid to MLB owners and the AL President.

MLB Approves the Sale of the Pilots to Local Investors
At the winter meetings, the ownership group bid was approved on the condition that the club announce Roy Hamey as Club President. The owners quickly agreed that Hamey, who they all liked, was the perfect baseball man to lead their club and he immediately took the “interim” tag off his GM DD Martin.

Hamey agreed to a 3-year contract with 2 single option years to be the Pilots President. Martin was given a 5-year contract as well.

[DD Martin]

The Off-season begins

My first priority was to review our players on the big league roster and then start to review the top prospects. I'm only going to review what I would term keepers for more than a season.

The name that jumped out to me right away was CF Danny Walton who was just 22-years-old. The youngster had what I would call a break out season with the expansion team hitting 261/324/787 with 24 HR's and 84 RBI's. I would like to see his OBP tick up a bit from the 324. His defense is solid if not spectacular in CF (rating 55) and he could move to a corner if we find a proto-type leadoff CF with speed and good defense.
(Walton's rookie season in the real world would not be as spectacular hitting just 217 with 3 homers and 10 RBI's in 102 PA).

2B Tommy Harper (29) has the speed to lead-off but he struggled a bit last season with his batting average at 248. His OBP was 333 which is ok but I'd like more out of my lead-off hitter, say 370. He stole 54 bases and was caught 24 times, He plays an average defense at 2B and could play at 3B likely as effectively and can sub in all 3 OF spots.
(His RL 1969 with the Pilots was similar to what we saw here. He hit 235/349/660 with 9 homers and 43 RBI's but did get 73 steals with only 18 times caught stealing. Our hope is that he has a 70 season like he did in RL with Milwaukee).

At C we have Greg Gossen (23) who hit 221/287/685 with 22 homers and 68 RBI's. The average and on-base percentage leave a lot to be desired, but he plays an above average defense. I can live with a defensive-first catcher as long as we have other pieces to the puzzle. Somebody has to hit 7th or 8th in the lineup. (RL 1969 stats Gossen hit 309/385/982 with 10 homers and 24 RBI's in only 157 PA's. His work load was much higher in our Pilot universe, so maybe a platoon might better serve him).

SS Winston Llenas (26) came over in a trade with Angels and was an upgrade for us. He was one of only a couple of players we had who flashed an OPS+ over 100 (116 with us). Overall he hit 274/333/758 with 9 homers and 36 RBI's in 318 AB. He hit much better against right-handed hitters than left (305-188) so again if we can find a short side of the platoon for him that might be our best bet. His defense at short is average at best but he was a significant upgrade for the Pilots when he came over. (RL Stats 1969 - California he hit 170 in just 49 PA)

Mike Ferraro (26) is a defensive minded 3rd baseman who can play short (better D rating than Llenas). He is not your typical power hitter 3rd sacker though. Probably not a longer term solution at the hot corner but a serviceable utility infielder.

On the pitching side of things the pickings are even slimmer than the position player pool. While Mike Marshall (26) and Gene Brabender (28) both lost 20 games, a lot of that was the offense. They are not going to win an Cy Young awards or likely be consistent All-Stars but they could be capable inning eaters at the bottom of the rotation instead of the top like they are here.

The player in real life (well there was 2 actually as Don Mincher was the other) that made the All-Star team in 69 was Pilots stopper John Gelnar (26). Gelnar notched 19 saves to go along with a 2.93 ERA. He certainly can continue in that role going forward for us.

The other decent player in the bullpen is RP Jack Acker (29). He proved to be a quality right-hand arm for the Pilots in the pen with a 3.71 ERA along with RP Dick Baney (22) who pitched to a 2.73 ERA. Certainly not superstars but pieces that we can begin to build around.

Prospects -
SS Gorman Thomas (18) - #26 overall Prospect
For some strange reason GM Milkes decided to promote the youngster after he played in just 56 games at Class A Clinton. He hit a fine 288 with 10 homers in his 250 PA's, but there was just no need to rush him. Based on his defense at Clinton and once he was promoted, I'm not sure SS is where his future lies. He dabbled in LF and 1B too and certainly has the power to play there. I would not expect him to be on the big league club in 1970, that was a mistake by previous GM.

RHSP Skip Lockwood (23) - #33 overall Prospect
Thankfully the team did not rush Lockwood up even though the team was lacking capable starting pitchers. Lockwood went 6-2 (with 3 saves) as he split time between starting and relieving. His ERA was 2.09 and if the team had a Double-A squad last season I would have promoted him there. Lockwood throws 3 pitches and our scout sees him as a #2 starter in the future. I'd prefer him as a #3

RP Bill Parsons (21) #73 overall Prospect
Young reliever who was 6-0 with a 0.42 ERA at Class A Clinton figures to be a reliable arm in the future.

3B Andre Thornton (20) - #118 overall Prospect
Base on a quick evaluation Thorton will be moved across the diamond to
1B next season. He has some ability to play 3B but to maximize his value it is his bat and not his glove. Coming over in a trade with Philadelphia, the slugger hit a combined 42 home run across 6 minor league teams in 1969.

Danny Walton was our #5 overall prospect, but spent most of the season in Seattle.

So we have a lot of work to do (and since we are in the era of no free agency it will be a slow build up the minor leagues and scouting process). The draft is on the horizon and we will have to prepare for that. Right now on the top of Baseball America's boards they have 2 catchers in Mike Ivie and Darrell Porter. There is also a young RF named Dave Parker that has our eye as well. Pitching looks to be more of a 2nd round and later round choices for us this season. Picking #1 overall is nice, but there is a lot of pressure not to screw it up.

Besides the amateur draft, there is also the Rule 5 draft where we might also be very active. The biggest thing we can do right now is acquire talent and as much of it as we can. We will also be watching the waiver wires very closely as well. Lots to do between now and the December drafts.

Below is the current top picks as projected by Baseball America