History of Baseball - OOTP19 version

[crawdad5000]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Yes, he was an Expo for all of 38 games in 1969.

Aside from the little issue of electrical shock, which I don't think will have any ill effects on him, Donn Clendenon has been very healthy and putting up some pretty good numbers. He began his career in the Cardinals organization and played 100 games over two seasons in St Louis before the Mets took him with their 28th pick in the expansion draft. In 5 years in the Big Apple, Clendenon has missed only 7 games and is closing in on his 1000th career hit and 100th homerun.

No all-star appearances but he has 6 player of the week and 1 batter of the month awards while in the minors. In the big leagues, Clendenon hit for the cycle in a game against the Reds last April and 3 years ago enjoyed a 3 homer game vs the Milwaukee Braves. The acquisition of John Mayberry may cost him his spot in the next couple of years but he presently he leads the Mets in just about every offensive career category.

i lived in Eatontown New Jersey (north jersey) from '68 to '71 and, of course, we were all huge Mets fans. I still remember when they picked up Clendenon for the pennant push. I read the article. Pretty good. Once again, stuff I didn't know. I like how they mentioned Ed Charles. The pic of the Mets winning the 69 series shows him dancing between 3rd and the pitchers mound., memories! I still have this card, btw!

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...1&d=1531976877

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...1&d=1531976877

[Tiger Fan]

Sorry for the long delay in recaps. Been a busy couple of weeks but hopefully a little more time available going forward for the next bit.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 1967

Did not get to a recap for a while as had been pretty busy but I was still playing games out regularly. We now have one week to go in the schedule and the National League race is very much undecided. The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 4 straight games while the San Francisco Giants have been on a 4 game losing skid, the result of which now puts the Dodgers 1 game ahead of the Giants with a 91-64 record.

Los Angeles finishes the season with 7 home games, entertaining Pittsburgh for 3 starting today before the lowly Mets come to Dodger Stadium for the final 4 games of the year. The Giants are also home for the final week starting with 3 against the Mets before finishing the season with a 4-game set vs Philadelphia.

The American League race is all but decided as the Minnesota Twins, at 106-51, are 5.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. Minnesota's magic number is down to one with the Twins having 3 games at home against California before ending the season with a 2-game set at Fenway Park. The Indians have 4 games remaining - 2 in Boston followed by 2 at home to Baltimore.

As far as individual stats go, despite this season being dominated by pitching we may only have one twenty-game winner this year. Cleveland's Sam McDowell is 24-8 with a major league leading 1.82 era and 291 strikeouts. Minnesota's Jim Kaat has 19 wins with one start remaining. The top National League pitchers for wins are Dodgers teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Sutton, with 18 each. Koufax has clinched his 11th straight NL strikeout title as he has 271, a 27 k lead on runner-up Luis Tiant of Pittsburgh. Speaking of Koufax, he also threw his first career no-hitter this season. The only other one so far this year came from Kansas City Athletics rookie Fred Norman.

Norman, a 24 year old, has been a huge surprise for the A's. He was called up September 1st and won his major league debut 10-2 over Detroit before no-hitting the Indians in just his second career start. He followed that up with a complete game, 4-hit shutout of Minnesota before beating California 4-2 two days ago. At 4-0 with a 1.06 era, 3 complete games with 22 strikeouts vs 10 walks, the A's are hoping Norman could develop into a future star but it is more likely just an anomaly as Norman's minor league numbers are not overly impressive.

The other notable pitching accomplishment in the last couple of weeks came from Dodgers 23 year old righthander Bill Singer. Singer set a major league record by striking out 18 Philadelphia Phillies in a game last week. It surpassed the previous mark of 17 set by Detroit's Hal Newhouser in 1944 and equaled by Singer's teammate Sandy Koufax in 1961. Singer is 17-7 with a 2.21 era and 229 strikeouts so far this season. Talk about an imposing rotation. Here are the Dodgers starters numbers this season as they lead the majors with a starters era of 2.53:

NAME		T  GS  W  L   IP   BB   K   ERA   AVG  WAR
Sandy Koufax	L  34 18  8  262   50  271  2.06 .196  9.3
Don Sutton	R  32 18  7  248   54  218  2.03 .212  7.4
Bill Singer	R  32 17  7  244   70  229  2.21 .194  5.7
Don Drysdale	R  31 17 10  235   43  162  3.13 .238  5.9
Tommy John	L  26  9 12  195   32  124  3.45 .241  4.8

Offensively the big story is Minnesota's Harmon Killebrew, who leads the majors in homers (45) and rbi's (125). Only two American League batting qualifiers presently are hitting over .300 - Carl Yastremski (.315) of Boston and Detroit's Willie Horton (.304). The National League is faring much better in that regard led by Cincinnati's Pete Rose who is batting .344.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by crawdad5000

1965 Huh!! That's awesome. I was born in '60. Started playing Strat-o-matic in 1970 and never looked back as far as baseball stat sims go. What you said about this game hits home Tigerfan. I've learned so much about players I didn't know existed until I played all my various replays. I've been playing since OOTP3 and I've tried just about every way to play. Historical replay is still my favorite with just a little chance involved to make it interesting. Toad Ramsey finally wasn't so dominating this year!! I'm like you when I sim a replay. I get to the 60's and 70's and start watching the results more because my boyhood heroes have arrived.

I like to play random debut, starting 1920 or later also, for the what if factor. Anyway, I'm babbling. Keep the reports coming. Love this stuff.

Thank you. Much the same story for me but it was a game called Extra Innings first for me when I was about 9 or 10. I remember bugging my parents to order SOM for me when I saw ads in book but they ordered Extra Innings instead for some reason. It turned out great as not only could you play the game but you could rate your own players as well.

I remember trying to play out the entire 1973 season with that dice game. Think I got until about mid-May before it fizzled it but probably took me a year to get that far. (Cue my old man voice) Kids today don't know how easy they got it with a computer that can sim a season in minutes. Back in my day we had to roll dice and look up the result of every play.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by crawdad5000

i lived in Eatontown New Jersey (north jersey) from '68 to '71 and, of course, we were all huge Mets fans. I still remember when they picked up Clendenon for the pennant push. I read the article. Pretty good. Once again, stuff I didn't know. I like how they mentioned Ed Charles. The pic of the Mets winning the 69 series shows him dancing between 3rd and the pitchers mound., memories! I still have this card, btw!

Nice.
A celebration in '69 is looking less and less likely for the Mets. They are suffering through a terrible 1967 season as is Clendenon.

Many of the top pitching prospects have yet to live up to their billing although Nolan Ryan did make his major league debut in relief a week ago.

I think the Mets time to shine, assuming they don't make some bad deals or suffer a career ending injury, will be the early to mid seventies with a rotation of Seaver, Ryan, Koosman, Matlack and one of Bibby, Renko or Figueroa.

[Tiger Fan]

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 1967

The two National League pennant contenders were both in action on a light Monday schedule. Each was playing at home but neither could manage a victory as both the Dodgers and Giants fell by 4-1 scores. That keeps Los Angeles 1 game ahead of San Francisco with 6 games remaining for each club.

In Los Angeles the Pirates prevailed thanks to complete game 4-hitter from Pittsburgh ace Luis Tiant(17-9, 2.42). The 26 year old righthander had Dodger hitters off-balance all day as he fanned 12 while allowing just one extra base hit : a 4th inning double from Willie Davis (.290,4,47) that would lead to the only Los Angeles run on the day. Los Angeles starter Don Sutton (18-8, 2.07) only allowed 3 hits of his own through 8 innings but one of those was a 3-run homer in the third inning by Pirates young outfielder Bobby Tolan (.263,9,35). Pittsburgh final run also came via the longball as Bob Bailey (.293,17,57) hit a solo shot in the ninth off of Dodgers reliever Thomas McCaig.

Further north up the west coast the Giants were also running into a hot pitcher as Jerry Koosman (9-14, 3.07), one of the Mets large collection of young talented arms, allowed just 1 run on 7 hits to help the last place New York club deliver a small blow to the pennant hopes of Gotham's previous National League inhabitant. Ron Swoboda (.248,19,62) and Bob Harrelson (.218,0,20) each had two hits with the former driving in two runs and the latter scoring a pair as New York scratched out 4 runs on 10 hits against Giants starter Larry Jackson (11-11, 2.87).

The only other National League contest saw Alex Johnson (.354,4,32) get 5 hits to pace the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-6 win over Houston in 10 innings.

The American League also only had 3 games on it's slate for the day. Second place Cleveland was off but the Indians slim playoff hopes remained alive thanks to California's 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Jim Fregosi (.264,14,70) homered while Clyde Wright (7-9, 3.19) and reliver Al Worthington held the Twins bats in check to deny Jim Kaat (19-4, 2.39) in his bid for the second twenty-win season of his career. With the loss the Twins (106-52) lead on the Indians drops to 4 games but there is no margin of error for Cleveland as each club has just 4 games remaining in their season.

In other American League action Dean Chance (12-12, 2.39) tossed a complete game shutout while Boog Powell (.274,27,87) homered to pace Baltimore to a 4-0 win over Washington. 36 year old Willie Mays (.252,14,51) had a 2 hit game for the Orioles and now has 3034 career hits. Mays remains 4 homers shy of the 500 mark. In New York, Al Kaline (.294,31,93) and Willie Horton (.304,35,92) each went yard for the visiting Tigers while George Burnett (13-16, 3.40) allowed just 3 hits over 8 innings in a 5-1 Detroit win over the Yankees.

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES
Tommy Teem of the Arkansas Travelers was named pitcher of the year in the Texas League. The 23 year old Cardinals prospect was 16-8 with a 2.76 era to help lead the Travelers to the Texas League championship series, where they fell in 5 games to the Albuquerque Dodgers. It was Albuquerque's 4th straight appearance in the title series (they won 2). It was Teem's 4th year in the Cardinals system and, while not considered one of their top 20 prospects he has steadily improved each year. Cracking the big league roster in St Louis will be tough with veterans Bob Gibson and Ray Washburn joined by youngsters Denny McLain(23), Steve Carlton(22) and Nelson Briles (24) already on the big league roster plus prospects such as Clay Kirby, Jerry Reuss, Jack Billingham, Mike Torrez, Pedro Borbon and Tom Hilgendorf ahead of him.

I can't find out much about the real life Teem, other than baseball reference which shows he spent two seasons with the Class A Rock Hill Cardinals, going 13-12 with a 3.62 career era before disappearing.

[JaBurns]

Every time I read this I find myself saying “I don’t remember him with them he was with xyz.”.
Really enjoy reading this and then going through scenarios in my head.
Could you post the records page?

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

Every time I read this I find myself saying “I don’t remember him with them he was with xyz.”.
Really enjoy reading this and then going through scenarios in my head.
Could you post the records page?

Sure, if there are any specific leaderboards you want to see just let me know.

[Tiger Fan]

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 1967
DODGERS INCREASE LEAD

Tommy John had one of his best outings of the season, tossing a complete game 2-hitter while fanning 10 to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers win, coupled with San Francisco's 2-1 loss to the Mets, allowed Los Angeles to extend it's lead atop the National League to two games on the Giants. Each club has 5 games remaining.

The win for the 24 year old John (10-12, 3.34) comes just 2 starts after he blanked the Giants 1-0 in another complete game victory. The only pitch that cost him a shutout this game was a second inning offering that Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski (.269,6,56) took out of the park. Bob Bailey's lead off single in the 7th inning was the only other hit John would allow. The Dodgers offense was led by a 2-hit performance from catcher Johnny Roseboro (.215,5,35), who had a solo homer and an rbi double.

San Francisco lost for the second straight day to the New York Mets, as Gary Gentry (3-1, 2.66) had a complete game 2-1 victory. Mike McCormick (2-2, 1.35) made his first start of the season for the Giants and pitched 8 innings of 4-hit ball, but was tagged with the loss because Ed Charles (.212,5,42) came through for the Mets with a 2-run double in the fourth inning.

Elsewhere in the National League Don Mincher(.245,14,54) had 3 hits, including a homerun, and drove in 4 runs to lead St Louis to a 9-4 win over Chicago, rookie Larry Colton (1-2, 3.08) threw his first career major league complete game to help Philadelphia beat Houston 1-0 while in Cincinnati Jim Wynn (.269,22,88) and Pete Rose (.345,9,52) each drove in 3 runs to pace the Reds past Atlanta 11-3.

AMERICAN LEAGUE - TWINS CLINCH

Despite losing 4-2 to California the Minnesota Twins clinched their first American League pennant since 1949 after the Cleveland Indians fell 8-1 in Boston. Dick Hughes (12-13, 4.40) outduelled Mickey Lolich (17-6, 2.47) to pace the Angels to their win while in Boston Tony Conigliaro's (.276,30,89) 30th homer of the season led the Red Sox past the defending World Champion Indians.

Other American League games saw Baltimore edge Boston 5-4 as Milt Pappas (15-8,2.88) got the win. Mickey Mantle's (.238,15,64) 578th career homerun helped the Yankees past Detroit 9-4 while Kansas City edged the White Sox 2-1.

[Tiger Fan]

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 1967
DODGER LEAD DOWN TO 1 GAME

The San Francisco Giants moved to within a game of first place Los Angeles after they beat the New York Mets while the Dodgers lost to Pittsburgh tonight. The Dodgers, at 92-66, finish their season off with a 4-game set at Dodger Stadium against the Mets while the 91-67 Giants, in search of their first pennant since 1938, end the campaign with 4 games at home vs Philadelphia.

The Giants entered they day having dropped two straight to the last place Mets, who were parading their young ace Tom Seaver to the mound today. New York took an early 3-0 lead on Giants starter Gaylord Perry (13-15, 2.68) but the Giants got to Seaver (14-16, 2.36) late in the game and pulled out a 5-4 victory. Dick Dietz (.230,4,24) hit a 2-run homer to lead the San Francisco attack.

The first place Dodgers ran into an outstanding pitcher performance, as Pirates veteran Bob Veale (12-14, 2.72) was nearly perfect in a 2-0 Pittsburgh victory. Veale allowed just one hit, a fourth inning double by Willie Davis and just one walk as the Dodgers only had two players on base all game. Bill Singer (17-8, 2.20) was nearly as good for the Dodgers, allowing 2 earned runs on 8 hits. Willie Stargell (.244,23,74) was doubled in by Richie Hebner (.261,10,51) in the 6th while rookie Mickey Stanley (.237,5,12) added some insurance with a solo homerun in the ninth to provide the Pittsburgh offense.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 1967
KOUFAX AND MARICHAL DOMINANT IN VICTORY

A pair of veteran pitchers came up with outstanding performances to keep the pennant race status quo, as both the Dodgers and Giants emerged victorious today. The result means the Dodgers retain their 1 game lead on the Giants atop the National League with 3 games remaining for each club.

In Los Angeles it was the Sandy Koufax (19-8, 1.99) show as the veteran lefthander tossed a 2-hit shutout helping the Dodgers past the visiting New York Mets 3-0. The 31 year old Koufax ran his career record to 193-119 after a six-strikeout performance that saw him notch the 58th shutout of his career, which moves him ahead of Whitey Ford and into 6th place all time in that category.

Koufax, who has 1 no-hitter in his career, set the Mets down in order until Ron Swoboda singled in the fifth inning. Mets catcher Hector Sanudo had the only other hit, also a single, in the 8th. The Dodger runs came on a rbi double from Bernie Allen (.232,0,8) in the second inning and a 2-run single off the bat of Frank Howard (.282,30,98) in the bottom of the 8th.

While Koufax was shutting down the Dodgers, another veteran was doing the same in San Francisco. 29 year old Juan Marichal (17-5, 2.31) equalled Koufax's performance by throwing his own 2-hit shutout to lead the Giants past the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0. Marichal, who is 153-102 in his career, struck out 5 while walking 2 in the victory. Jim Ray Hart (.292,30,106) led the San Francisco offense with 3 hits and a pair of RBI's.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 1967
GIANTS WIN. DODGERS LOSE. TIE AT TOP OF NL

It will come down to the final weekend of the season, and maybe longer, to crown a champion of the National League. After 160 games the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first with identical 93-67 records. The Giants won their third straight game tonight, beating Philadelphia, while the Dodgers lost to the visiting New York Mets.

The Giants had to rally from a 3-0 deficit after 6 innings to beat the Phillies 5-3. Dick Allen (.305,32,106) staked Philadelphia to the early lead with 3 hits including a 2-run homer off of Giants starter Ken T Johnson (13-11, 2.87). Johnson did not factor in the decision, nor did Bruce Howard of the Phillies, who allowed just 3 San Francisco hits before leaving after 7 innings for a pinch-hitter.

San Francisco cut the lead to 3-1 with an rbi single from Jose Cardenal (.263,5,54) in the bottom of the 7th and then blew the game open off of Phillies reliever Grant Jackson, scoring 4 times in the 8th inning. Tom Haller(.232,16,52) hit a 2-run triple with Felipe Alou (.285,7,53) and pinch-hitter Ollie Brown (.174,2,7) driving in the other two runs. Bill Hands (6-2, 3.04) got the win in relief with Frank Linzy notching his 19th save of the season.

There was plenty of drama in Los Angeles as well with the visiting Mets prevailing 3-2 in 11 innings. Starters Don Drysdale (17-10, 3.12) and Earl Wilson (11-13, 3.43) each went 7 and left with the Mets up by a score of 2-1. Los Angeles tied the game in the 8th on an rbi single from Bob Aspromonte (.367,7,32) and it remained 2-2 until veteran Mets infielder Luis Aparicio (.236,0,9) delivered what would be the game winning run with an 11th inning sacrifice fly. The Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the 11th but stranded runners on first and third when Mets reliever Orlando Pena fanned pinch hitter Alberto Valdez to end the game. It was just the third career major league plate appearance for the 25 year old Valdez as the rookie, who spent most of the year at AA Albuquerque, was thrust into the spotlight of a major league pennant race.

[Tiger Fan]

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 1967
STILL TIED! GIANTS AND DODGERS BOTH WIN

It all comes down to one day as the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers remain tied for the National League lead heading into the final day of the season. If the clubs both win or both lose tomorrow then there will be a 1-game playoff on Monday to determine the pennant winner. Both clubs earned shutout victories today as the Dodgers blanked the New York Mets 3-0 while the Giants shutout Philadelphia 2-0.

In Los Angeles, Don Sutton (19-8, 2.01) allowed just 3 hits over 8 2/3 innings to blank the Mets. Thomas McCaig retired the final batter for his 9th save of the season. Sutton and losing pitcher Jerry Koosman (9-15, 3.08) where locked in a scoreless duel until the bottom of the 6th when Wes Parker (.312,8,63) led off with a single and moved to third on a Roberto Clemente (.282,16,71) two bagger. After Frank Howard was intentionally walked Bob Aspromonte hit a sac fly deep enough to plate Parker. Koosman got out of the jam with no further damage by inducing a double play ground ball out of John Roseboro. The Dodgers would add two more runs in the 8th inning thanks to a 2-run double from Willie Davis (.289,4,51).

In San Francisco Larry Jackson (12-11, 2.78) and Frank Linzy (20 saves) combined to blank Fergie Jenkins (14-13, 2.62) and the Phillies 2-0. The Giants got a run in the second on a Tito Fuentes (.240,6,58) rbi single and one more in the third when Matty Alou (.330,1,47) delivered a sac fly.


SEPTEMBER ROOKIE AWARDS
Quite a debut for Boston infielder George Scott. The 23 year old made his major league debut in September and played in just 10 games but had such an impact that he was named American League rookie of the month. Scott hit .444 (16-36) with 4 homers and 9 rbi's in his first 10 big league games. Included in that was a 2-homerun game vs Detroit and a 4-for-4 day against Cleveland. Scott was named MVP of the Carolina League in 1965.

18 year old Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons was named the National League rookie of the month. Simmons has spent the entire season with St Louis, batting .244 with 8 homers and 47 rbi's in 92 starts behind the plate. The number 5 ranked prospect in the game to start the season, Simmons hit .292 with 4 homers and 16 rbi's in September.

[Tiger Fan]

Before we get to the final day of the regular season I thought I would take a look through the minor leagues for any notable achievements or recognizable names.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
The San Diego Padres needed a 1-game playoff to beat the Denver Bears for the East Division title and then proceeded to top the Spokane Indians 4 games to one to win the PCL Series. The Padres, a farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies have been in the PCL since 1921 and have won 6 league titles. 24 year old Larry Colton, who recently had a great start for the Phillies, was the team leader, going 14-7 with a 2.99 era. Bob Aspromonte of Spokane, recently promoted to the majors by the parent Dodgers, led the league in batting with a .341 average.

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE
The Boston Red Sox AAA affiliate Toronto Maple Leafs beat Buffalo in 6 games to win the IL crown. The Leafs history in the league can be traced back to the initial season of 1898 and they have won 5 league crowns. Buffalo also goes back to 1898 and has 9 titles. Veteran Jim Gentile of Buffalo (CIN) led the league in homers with 30 and rbi's with 82 while Mets prospect Danny Napoleon of Jacksonville won the batting crown with a .317 average.

EASTERN LEAGUE
Another title for the Phillies organization as Reading beat the Waterbury Giants in 5 games to win the Eastern League playoff series. Waterbury outfielder Bobby Bonds (.311,21,53) was the star of the league before his promotion to the major league Giants. Williamsport Mets hurler Rich Folkers (13-11, 2.37) led the league in wins.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE
The Macon Peaches (PIT) led by series MVP Bob Robertson beat the Charlotte Hornets (MIN) in 5 games to win the Southern Series. Another Peaches player, third baseman Cary Overstreet, was named the league MVP and won the batting title. Overstreet, who never played in the majors in real life, was a September call-up by the Pirates but is 0-for-4 as a pinch-hitter.

TEXAS LEAGUE
I previously mentioned the Albuquerque Dodgers won the league title and they had league MVP Cleo James (.310, 10,51) as well as batting champ Angel Macias (.352,4,40) on their club. Other names of note in the league include homerun champion John Boccabella (22HR) of the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs (CHN) and Amarilo Sonics (HOU) 20 year old pitcher Dick Tidrow (13-11, 3.83)

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE
Yet another win for the Phillies organization as their Class A Bakersfield Bears beat the Stockton Ports to win the league title but the Ports, a Baltimore farm team, had some great pro talent led by league MVP Don Baylor (.315,18,89), Bobby Grich (.317,4,44) and pitcher Mike Wegener (9-4,2.88). The league has been around since 1941 and Bakersfield has been the dominant franchise with a record 13 playoff appearances and 7 league championships.

CAROLINA LEAGUE
It is one of the few leagues sitll going as the regular season wraps up tomorrow. Ralph Garr (.396,3,65) was tearing up the league for the East Division leading Kinston Eagles before the Braves called the 21 year old up to Atlanta. Garr is batting .364 (8-for-22) with the big league club. Others of note include catcher Ray Fosse (.352,12,80) of the Lynchburg White Sox, Andre Thornton (.273,16,59) of the Tidewater Tides (PHI) and Ron Blomberg (.278,22,79) from the Greensboro Yankees. Despite being more of a hitter friendly league, Jon Matlack (12-2, 1.96) was dominant this season for the Durham Bulls before moving up to the New York Mets. A pitcher to watch is Skip Guinn. THe 22 year old is 15-7 with a 2.53 era and 260 strikeouts in 252 innings for Kinston, a farm team of the Atlanta Braves.

FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE
The Leesburg A's have a 2-games to one lead on the Miami Marlins(BAL) in the league championship series after the A's scored 4 times in the 9th inning today to take a 6-5 victory. The A's roster includes 22 year old infielder Tony LaRussa (.264,5,55) and 21 year old outfielder Joe Rudi (.293,2,15 in 42 games).

MIDWEST LEAGUE
The Decatur Commodores (SF) won their second straight league title by beating the Cedar Rapids Cardinals in the playoff series. Decatur outfielder Ken Henderson (.322) narrowly won the batting title over Bob Robertson (.322,26,64) before Robertson's promotion from Clinton where he was a teammate of fellow Pirates farmhand Bob Oliver (.324,19,60). The league MVP was 21 year old Nate Colbert (.309,20,89) of the Cedar Rapids Cardinals while Ken Brett (8-4, 2.24) of the Waterloo Hawks (BOS) was named the top pitcher.

For future major league talent this is definately the league to watch as most teams had a number of recognizable names spend some time in the league this year including:
Appleton Foxes (CHA) - Lou Piniella, Bill Melton, Tony Solaita, Ray Fosse
Burlington A's (KC) - Darrell Evans, Dave Duncan, Joe Rudi, Ellie Rodriguez
Cedar Rapids Cardinals(STL)- Bernie Carbo, Nate COlbert, Clay Kirby
Clinton Pilots (PIT) - Bob Robertson, Bob Oliver, Bruce Dal Canton, Don Money, Freddie Patek, Buddy Bradford.
Decatur Commodores(SF)- Ken Henderson, Bill Sudakis,Ron Bryan, Gene Michael, Bobby Etheridge
Dubuque Packers (LA) - Dave May, Von Joshua, Willie Crawford, Ron Klimkowski
Quad City Angels (CAL)- Jay Johnstone, Tom Egan.
Quincy Cubs (CHN)- the one exception was the last place Cubs.
Waterloo Hawks (BOS) - Joe Lahoud, Billy Conigliaro, Amos Otis, Bob Montgomery, Ken Brett, Mike Nagy
Wisconsin Rapids Twins(MIN)- Steve Brye, Rudy May, George Mitterwald

NORTHERN LEAGUE
Another Phillies title as the Huron Phillies beat the Duluth-Superior Dukes (CHN) to win the league title. Joe Lis of the Phillies tied for the homerun league while Mankato Mets outfielder Mike Jorgensen led the league in stolen bases.

WESTERN CAROLINAS LEAGUE
Quite a finish to the playoff series as the Gastonia Pirates scored twice in the bottom of the 8th to beat the Greenville Red Sox 4-2 in game seven of the series. The league MVP was Gastonia outfielder Richie Zisk (.339,37,107), who had a dominant season at the age of 18. Only teammate Carl Taylor (.369,7,57) finished ahead of Zisk in batting, denying the teen a triple crown. Another Gastonia youngster, 22 year old Freddie Patek, led the league in steals with 60. Sandy Alomar Sr of the Lexington Braves(Atl) finished second in steals.

[Tiger Fan]

Last update for the night. Just watched Bill Singer and the Dodgers blank the Mets 4-0 only to see that the Giants kept pace with a 5-4 win over Philadelphia.

The National League regular season ends in a tie and tomorrow we will get Sandy Koufax vs Gaylord Perry with a berth in the World Series on the line.

Here are the box scores from today's games.

[Tiger Fan]

MONDAY OCTOBER 2, 1967
For the second time this decade the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a playoff to decide the National League Pennant. In 1961 the Dodgers rode the pitching of Don Drysdale to a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and a berth in the World Series. This time it will be the Dodgers other ace over the past decade getting the call as 3-time Cy Young Award winner Sandy Koufax will take the hill with the season on the line. The Dodgers have won 4 pennants since 1955 and 8 over their existance.

Meanwhile the San Francisco Giants will counter with Gaylord Perry (13-15, 2.68), a 29 year old who has spent a decade with the club. Perry was chosen to start over a slightly tired Juan Marichal (17-5, 2.31) as the Giants bid to win their first pennant since 1938 and only the 5th since the franchise was created in 1894. (Two of the 4 existing pennants came in 1894 and 1895 with 1909 being their only other pennant earned in the modern era.

The two clubs match up fairly evenly with Roberto Clemente (.282,16,71), Frank Howard (.281,31,101) and Willie Davis (.288,4,51) giving the Dodgers an edge over Jose Cardenal (.262,5,56), Matty Alou (.329,1,47) and Leon Wagner (.234,4,21) in the outfield.

The San Francisco infield of Felipe Alou (.285,7,53), Luis Zayas (.234,0,36), Tito Fuentes (.239,6,58) and Jim Ray Hart (.293,30,106) gets the edge over Wes Parker (.312,8,63), Bernie Allen (.234,0,8), Billy Grabarkewitz (.163,1,7) and Bob Aspromonte (.371,8,34) of the Dodgers. Injuries to Jim Lefebvre (.258,15,56) and Maury Wills (.258,0,26) hurt the Dodgers here.


Behind the plate we have a wash with Dick Dietz (.227,4,24) calling the game for the Giants against John Roseboro (.208,5,35) of the Dodgers.

The Giants won the coin toss and will be the home club for the game.

THE GAME

Both Koufax and Perry are perfect through two innings but the Dodgers break through in the top of the third inning and it starts with an error by first baseman Felipe Alou. He fails to hold on to a throw from Jim Ray Hart allowing Bernie Allen to reach base. Billy Grabarkewitz follws by lacing a triple to score the game's first run. After Koufax grounds out to a drawn in infield, Perry gets a huge strikeout of Willie Davis and then induces an inning-ending grounder from Wes Parker to keep the damage at just 1 run.

The Giants attack in the bottom of the third as Tito Fuentes hits a lead-off single and moves to third on a double off the bat of Luis Zayas. Koufax bears down with 2 on and none out and escpaes the jam by getting Perry to hit an infield fly, Jose Cardenal to foul out to the catcher and then ends the inning with a strikeout of Felipe Alou to keep the score 1-0 Los Angeles after three.

Each club gets a base runner in the fourth but neither does anything with it. Perry strikes out the side in the Dodger fifth and is aided by a double play ball in the sixth. Meanwhile Koufax continues to roll as well and through six it remains 1-0 Dodgers with each pitcher having allowed just 3 hits.

Dick Dietz gives the hometown Giants fans something to cheer about in the bottom of the 7th when he hits a 1-out double. Youngster Bobby Bonds comes in as a pinch-hitter and ties the game with a triple to plate Dietz. With the go ahead run on third base Koufax bears down and strikes out Zayas and pinch-hitter Ollie Brown to escape the jam. Brown came on to pinch-hit for Perry ending the Giants starter's day.

After Juan Marichal comes on to record the first two outs of the 8th he is replaced by closer Frank Linzy. Linzy proceeds to walk Willie Davis, throw a wild pitch allowing Davis to move to second and then give up an rbi single to Wes Parker putting the Dodgers back in front. Linzy gets Clemente to end the inning with a ground out but the damage is done and the Dodgers are leading 2-1.

Koufax sets the Giants down in order in the bottom of the 8th and the Dodgers are 3 outs away from the World Series. LA goes quietly in the top of the ninth and Koufax is back on the mound. He starts in fine fashion with his 7th strikeout of the game, fanning Giants clean-up hitter Jim Ray Hart, who hit 30 homers this season. Next up is Leon Wagner and he hits a fly ball to short center that is an easy catch for Willie Davis. Two away. Dick Dietz is the Giants last hope and he, too, flies out to Davis ending the game and the season for the Giants.

Koufax, with 8 k's, 1 walk and 5 hits allowed is named the player of the game and the Dodgers are ready to prepare for the Minnesota Twins in the 1967 World Series. Meanwhile in San Francisco, even though the club has only been in town for a decade, Giants fans are starting to understand what fans in New York went through for decades.

[JaBurns]

Thank you for the records page. Noticed the single season RBI mark from the 1880’s. Who was this guy? How did Cy Young do in your sim?
Koufax still has it in your sim.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

Thank you for the records page. Noticed the single season RBI mark from the 1880’s. Who was this guy? How did Cy Young do in your sim?
Koufax still has it in your sim.

Yes Koufax is rolling along nicely.

SAM THOMPSON
Sam Thompson's single season rbi record dates back to before the sim started as his mark of 166 was established based on his real life performance in 1887. I started the sim in 1894 and he did drive in 155 rbi's that season, good for what is now the 5th best total of all time and good enough for the first of two straight National League MVP's Thompson would win in the sim.

Already 34 years old when I started the league, he was selected by the Giants in the inaugural 1894 draft and would lead the club to the first two National League pennants. He was named MVP of the 1894 series, hitting .615 with 10 rbi's in 6 games but the Giants lost to Milwaukee in my first World Series and would lose again the following year as well. His 1304 career rbi's place him 39th all-time, 1 ahead of Ernie Banks right now.

In real life Thompson was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1974 after playing from 1884-1898 for the Detroit Wolverines, Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers. His career rbi to games played ratio (1305 rbi's in 1410 games) remains the highest in major league history. The ratio is a little lower in the sim as he finished with 1304 rbi's in 15043 games.


CY YOUNG
Young's career got cut short in compared to real life as he suffered an arm injury in 1905 at the age of 38 that led to his retirement a year after winning 20 games for the Senators. He was never named pitcher of the year in my league but did post some big seasons for Washington and finished with a 341-269 career record despite the fact Washington was not very good during his decade with the organization. Young did win 4 gold glove awards in his career. His numbers certainly pale when compared to what he did in real life but by anyone else's standards he had an outstanding career.

[Tiger Fan]

WORLD SERIES PREVIEW

This will be the first ever meeting between the Twins and Dodgers organizations and our first chance outside of an all-star game to witness the power bat of Harmon Killebrew square off against the left arm of Sandy Koufax. This is why, in my opinion, the game was so much better before interleague play. The World Series matchup the best offense in either league against the best pitching staff is a complete unknown. Who will prevail? The Twins, who led the majors with 791 runs scored this season or the Dodgers who allowed just 458 runs against.

The Dodgers have made 8 trips to the World Series including two since their move west. In 1961 they lost to the New York Yankees but they defeated the same Yankees 3 years later. While based in Brooklyn the Dodgers also won one World Championship, but that was back in 1914.

The Twins, transplanted from Washington in 1961 are making their first appearance in the World Series since 1949. The team, then known as the Washington Senators, lost to the Philadelphia Phillies that year but they did win the World Series in each of their two previous trips: 1938 over the Giants and 1929 over the Cardinals.

While major league baseball is relatively new to both cities they each have a long tradition of success at the minor league level. Minnesota natives celebrated 6 titles in the now defunct American Association including 5 for the Minneapolis Millers and 1 for the St Paul Saints while in Los Angeles the Pacific Coast League Angels claimed 20 championship banners before moving to Spokane when the Dodgers arrived.

The Series begins Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

[skyballer455]

Haven't done one of these in a while, so here we go. here are the top ten records in the US as ranked by the three major music industry magazines as of the beginning of October 1967. From left to right they are: Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World.

[JaBurns]

One thing I never realized was that Cy Young also has the career record for most losses.
I also just learned that Brown Eyed Girl is an older song than I realized, two new facts this weekend.

[Tiger Fan]

1967 WORLD SERIES GAME 1

Roberto Clemente hit a walk-off rbi single with two out in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a come from behind 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of the 1967 World Series. The Clemente hit scored Wes Parker, who had doubled as one of his three hits in the game, capping a Dodger comeback from a 4-1 deficit. Tommy John, who retired the final two Twins in the Minnesota ninth, earned the victory in relief of Don Drysdale while Twins reliever Hal Woodeshick was tagged with the loss.

Minnesota starter Mickey Lolich allowed just 3 hits and 1 run through 5 innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter with the Twins ahead 2-1. Minnesota's early runs came on a Pablo Mitchell groundout to score Joe Foy, who had doubled, in the second inning and a third inning rbi double off the bat of Reggie Smith to plate Pat Kelly, who had reached on an error. The Dodgers got a run of their own in the third inning after Johnny Wehas tripled and scored on John Roseboro's sac fly.

The Twins scratched out another run in the 6th to go up 3-1 thanks to an error and a wild pitch from Dodger starter Don Drysdale and the score would be extended to 4-1 in the top of the 7th when Reggie Smith followed Pat Kelly's double with an rbi single.

The Twins were cruising along with the lead until the wheels fell off in the bottom of the 7th when the Dodgers tied the game with 3 runs despite getting just one base hit - a Wes Parker single - in the inning. Twins reliever Camilo Pascual walked 4 batters in the inning and was further hurt by an error from shortstop Zolio Versalles.

Minnesota had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth with runners on first and second and one out but Tommy John came on in relief of Turk Farrell, who had replaced Drysdale for the 8th. John walked Harmon Killebrew, loading the bases, before, with the infield drawn in, got a ground ball hit right at his second baseman Johnny Werhas. Werhas came home for the force out and catcher John Roseboro's relay was in time to get Joe Foy at first to end the inning.

Veteran Minnesota reliever Woodeshick, who won a World Series with St Louis in 1959, retired the first two Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth before Wes Parker doubled to set up Clemente's game winning heroics.

[Tiger Fan]

WORLD SERIES GAME 2
DODGERS TAKE 2-0 LEAD WITH DRAMATIC WIN

In the words of legendary A's and Phillies catcher Yogi Berra "It's like deja vu all over again." Game two of the 1967 World Series was in many ways a mirror image of game one but in terms of sheer drama, it was also so much more. Just like in Game One the Dodgers walked it off with a run in the bottom of the ninth after the Twins had led at one point in the game, and just like in the opener Tommy John got the win in relief while Hal Woodeshick was tagged with the loss. It was how Minnesota lost with 3 dramatic plays at the plate in the ninth inning that will have this game go down in history as one of the most dramatic World Series contests of all-time.

The Dodgers prevailed 4-3 after Ron Fairly led off the bottom of the ninth with a pinch-hit single to left that skipped off the glove of veteran outfielder Ernie Banks allowing Fairly to end up on second base. Willie Davis then followed with an rbi single to right and a sliding Fairly just barely beat the relay home to send Dodger Stadium into a wild celebration.

Just half an inning earlier the Twins in the top of the ninth, after having had Ernie Banks score the tying run on a Pat Kelly single, had two tight plays at the plate both go against them. On the Kelly single with one out and the bases loaded Minnesota catcher Ramses Chena was waived home on Banks' tail to try and get the go-ahead run but he was nailed at the plate on a close play thanks to a perfect throw from Dodgers centerfielder Willie Davis. That play left two out but the Twins still had runners on first (Pat Kelly) and second (Tony Taylor) with Rod Carew at the plate. Carew hit a single to left field that nearly got between outfielders Roberto Clemente and Davis. Clemente did an incredible job to cut the ball off and then fired a perfect strike to Dodgers catcher John Roseboro who made a sweeping tag that was ruled to have grazed Taylor in the arm before the sliding Twins runner could touch the plate with his foot. Minnesota had the go-ahead run thrown out at the plate not once, but twice in the top of the ninth inning only to see the Dodgers win the game on another close play at the plate in the home half.

It was a wild 9th inning even without the plays at the plate as the Dodgers made two errors in the top half of the inning allowing the Twins to load the bases before Kelly came to the plate. Add in the Minnesota miscue by Banks and the inning gets even stranger.

It is tough to see the veteran Banks be considered the goat of the game. One of the greats in the sport has endured some lean seasons first in Chicago and later with the Twins before finally getting his first taste of World Series action - only to make an error that cost his club a game and perhaps the Series. The Twins find themselves down 2 games to none and it will be interesting to see how they react when the series shifts to the Twin Cities. One on hand they can be confident they can hit against the mighty Dodgers pitching staff as they scored 7 runs in two games, but that confidence might also have been badly shaken by the walk-off losses, especially the heartbreak of having the go-ahead run thrown out at the plate not once, but twice in the ninth inning.

The ninth inning excitement overshadowed a pretty solid pitching performance from Los Angeles starter Sandy Koufax, who fanned 11 while allowing 2 runs on 5 hits through 6 innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. Minnesota starter Dave Boswell was also solid, giving up 3 runs over 6 innings before he, too, was pinch-hit for. The big bats on both sides - Reggie Smith and Harmon Killebrew of Minnesota and the Dodgers Roberto Clemente and Frank Howard - were held in check as they went a combined 1-for-13 in the game. Instead it was the table-setters who led the way with Rod Carew getting 3 hits and a pair of rbi's for Minnesota while Willie Davis was 3-for-5 with an rbi and a run for the Dodgers. Wes Parker also continued to be hot at the plate, going 2-for-2 with 2 rbi's and 2 runs to boost his series average to .714 with 4 rbi's.



As a side note this is the most dramatic finish to a game I have seen watching them be played out by OOTP19. The interaction with the players moving around the field looked perfect and for all 3 plays at the plate I had no idea if they were safe or out until the play by play caught up with the action.