Restarting MLB in 1970

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 09:17 AM

Being a Mets fan, I wanted to see where they would finish in the years following the 69 Champs. I am using the draft so players are not starting with the same teams in many situations. I am also using the OOTP development engine so hopefully I won't have too many outliers that didn't play much but we will see.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 10:00 AM

The Mets got off to a good start leading the NL East at the end of April. But all 6 teams are within 5 1/2 games of each other. The Mets have continued to play well and are 32-17 at the end of May. they have opened up a 6 game lead on Chicago and Philadelphia, who are tied for 2nd. Heading into July, the Mets continue to roll. They are 49-27 and have the best record in baseball. The Cubs who were in 2nd on June 1st, had a brutal June going 6-23 to fall into last place 18 games behind. The Pirates have climbed into 2nd place but are 10 1/2 games back. The Pirates gained a half a game in July to finish the month 10 games behind the Mets (68-36), who now have the second best record in baseball behind Oakland (69-36). The Pirates have continued to slowly chip away at the Mets lead but only pick up 1 1/2 games in the standings. They now sit 8 1/2 games behind with a month to go. The Mets finish the regular season 103-59. They led from start to finish to win the NL East. They finish as the only 100 win team in the majors.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 10:07 AM

The Mets drew the Houston Astros in the playoffs. Houston won the NL West by 5 games over the Dodgers. Houston was led by 5 playes with 20 or more home runs, Joe Pepitone (34), Jim Wynn (28), Doug Rader (24), Don Menke (22) and John Mayberry Sr (21) and Larry Dierker, who won 20 games (22-9).
The Mets dominated the series winning 3 games to 1. But heartbreak hit for Mets fans an inning into game 1. Tom Seaver tore his rotator cuff and will be sidelined for 12 months. Is it wrong that I want to start over now? The Mets got great pitching performances from a handful of guys to help propel them into the World Series. But can they win without their best pitcher?

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 10:18 AM

In the American League, Baltimore again wins the East. In real life the O's won 108 games, winning the East by 15 games and cruised through the playoffs and World Series. In this replay, the O's struggle a bit more, winning only 94 games and finishing 5 games ahead of 2nd place Detroit. Baltimore was led by sluggers Boog Powell 34 homers 114 rbis .284 avg, Merv Rettemund 29 hr 80 rbi .308 avg and Brooks Robinson 23 hr 84 rbi .308 avg
In the West, Oakland led Minnesota by 4 games heading into September. By the 15th, both teams were tied for first. Minnesota held on to win the division for the second year in a row. This year the title went right down to the last day, with Minnesota winning by 1 game with a 98-63 record.
Baltimore outlasted Minnesota 3-2, behind Brooks Robinson's MVP performance.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 10:29 AM

The World Series is set. A replay of 1969, the Mets and the Orioles. With Seaver, the Mets were the favorites. Without him?
No surprises here. Baltimore set the tone early scoring the first 14 runs of the series, winning the first two games, 7-0 and 7-4. They went on to win the Series 4 games to 2. Boog Powell hit 3 homers and .412 to take home the MVP honors. Other than Gary Gentry and Nolan Ryan, the Mets pitchers got hammered. Oh well. Can we even compete without Tom Terrific next year? It could be a tough year.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 11:06 AM

NL Awards:
MVP: Rico Carty, ATL 32 hr 110 rbi .370 ba
Cy Young: Tom Seaver, Mets 21-7 2.65 era 257 K's
Rookie: Ken Singleton, Mets 26 hr 100 rbi .328 ba
Reliever: Dave Guisti, PIT 8-11 3.22 era 21 sv

AL Awards:
MVP: Harmon Killebrew, MIN 58 hr 122 rbi .274 ba
Cy Young: Mickey Lolich, DET 19-13 2.72 era 232 K's
Rookie: John Lowenstein, CLE 17 hr 73 rbi .315 ba 14 sb
Reliever: Rollie Fingers, OAK 5-3 1.64 era 19 sv

Milestones:

No one broke any records. A few guys are approaching some big milestones. Hopefully they will break them next year.

It looks like Ernie Banks won't hit 500 home runs for his career. After hitting 0 all season for the Cubs, he was released and picked up by the Kansas City Royals. He didn't hit any home runs for them either.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 11:27 AM

On to my favorite part of the replays, the draft. I won't recap the whole draft.

First Round
1. Milwaukee - Mike Schmidt, SS (21)
2. Montreal - Ron Guidry, SP (20)
3. Chicago (A) - Steve Rogers, SP (21)
4. San Francisco - George Brett, 3B (17)
5. Kansas City - Jim Rice, RF (17)
6. Washington - Sixto Lezcano, LF (17)
7. Chicago (N) - Burt Hooton, SP (20)
8. Cleveland - Steve Busby, SP (21)
9. California - Stan Thomas, SP (21)
10. St Louis - Rick Rhoden, SP (17)

Best Drafts:
Milwaukee - Mike Schmidt, Art Howe, Dane Iorg
Cincinnati - Dennis Lamp, Terry Whitfield, Jerry Royster
San Francisco - George Brett, Phil Garner, Ron Washington

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:25 PM

Going into 1971, it was going to be tough for the Mets. Trying to replace a two time Cy Young winner is tough. But the Mets have lefty 21 year old Jon Matlack in the bullpen. Hopefully, he is ready to step into the rotation. For some reason the Mets kept Ray Sadeki in the rotation and Matlack in the pen. In real life Matlack was dominant as a starter. The Mets made no other changes to their rotation. And the only lineup changes from 1970 were replacing Cleon Jones in LF with John Milner and SS Bud Harrelson with former #1 pick Tim Foli.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:29 PM

The Mets started slow and were 9 games back on June 5th. From that point on they made their climb to the top of the East. Unfortunately, they fell one game short and just missed the playoffs finishing behind the Cardinals.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:42 PM

Baltimore and Minnesota continued their domination in the AL. Each winning their division for the third consecutive season. Unfortunately, for Minnesota being the best regular season team wasn't quite enough as they took Baltimore to the limit for the third straight season but lost 3 games to 2 once again to fail to advance to the World Series.
St Louis made short work of Cincinnati in the NL winning the series 3 games to 1. St Louis's pitching staff of Steve Carlton, Jerry Reuss and Wade Blasingame was too much for Cincinnati to overcome.
Baltimore got up 3 games to 0 before finally putting St Louis away in 6 games. Baltimore has now won its second straight title and third in six seasons.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:46 PM

For the third straight season a Met has won the Cy Young Award. 1969 and 1970, Tom Terrific won. Now, this year, fireballer, Nolan Ryan won for the first time. Ryan led the NL in wins, strikeouts and strikeouts/9 innings.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:49 PM

NL Award Winners:

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:50 PM

AL Award Winners:

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 06:56 PM

Willie Mays (22 homers), Hank Aaron (27 homers) and Harmon Killebrew (37 homers) are all still trying to catch Babe Ruth.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 07:04 PM

On to the draft. Milwaukee hit the jackpot last year, drafting Mike Schmidt with the first overall pick. Schmidt won the AL Rookie of the Year and Milwaukee has the first overall pick once again. Will they strike gold for a second straight season?

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 07:26 PM

Heading into the 1972 season, the Mets have a surplus of starting pitching with Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jim McAndrew, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and Jon Matlack. Somehow, Matlack still can't crack the rotation and will pitch out of the pen.

The Mets lineup is unchanged from last year. The bench does feature some talented new faces in Cecil Cooper, Jim Dwyer and Bill Cotton. The Mets are going to need to find room in the lineup for Cooper in the near future.

Preseason predictions says the Mets will be the only 100 win team with a 100-62 record. They predict Tom Seaver to win 20 games and have a 2.24 era. I hope he bounces back. Having a prime Nolan Ryan is nice, but Seaver was the Mets in the 70s.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 07:34 PM

Wow, I guess the predictions were correct. Tom Seaver pitched like he was never injured. In fact, he had the best season of his career, winning his third Cy Young Award.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 07:50 PM

The Mets were playing pretty good ball going into the trading deadline with a 65-38 record and a 12 1/2 game lead. Then they traded SP Jim McAndrew to the Houston Astros for Catcher Bob Watson. Over their final 60 games, they went 43-17 to finish with a 25 game cushion and a team record 107 wins. The Reds won their second straight division title.
In the American League, the Yankees and Athletics finally stopped Baltimore and Minnesota's division title streaks at 3 a piece.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 07:58 PM

Oakland swept the Yankees, 3-0. In a series dominated by pitching, the Yankees scored 1 run, losing games 3-1, 1-0 and 2-0.
The Mets also swept Cincinnati but it took a Ken Singleton homer to pull out a 4-3 win in game 3.
The Mets won their second title in the last four seasons. After dropping the first game, the Mets won the next 4 to take the Series.

hvs1717 · 06-05-2019, 08:05 PM

NL Awards:
Rico Carty just missed winning the triple crown by one home run.

06-05-2019, 06:29 PM	#9
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	The Mets started slow and were 9 games back on June 5th. From that point on they made their climb to the top of the East. Unfortunately, they fell one game short and just missed the playoffs finishing behind the Cardinals. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 06:42 PM	#10
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Baltimore and Minnesota continued their domination in the AL. Each winning their division for the third consecutive season. Unfortunately, for Minnesota being the best regular season team wasn't quite enough as they took Baltimore to the limit for the third straight season but lost 3 games to 2 once again to fail to advance to the World Series. St Louis made short work of Cincinnati in the NL winning the series 3 games to 1. St Louis's pitching staff of Steve Carlton, Jerry Reuss and Wade Blasingame was too much for Cincinnati to overcome. Baltimore got up 3 games to 0 before finally putting St Louis away in 6 games. Baltimore has now won its second straight title and third in six seasons. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 06:46 PM	#11
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	For the third straight season a Met has won the Cy Young Award. 1969 and 1970, Tom Terrific won. Now, this year, fireballer, Nolan Ryan won for the first time. Ryan led the NL in wins, strikeouts and strikeouts/9 innings. Last edited by hvs1717; 06-05-2019 at 06:48 PM. Reason: Attachment isn't showing up

06-05-2019, 06:49 PM	#12
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	NL Award Winners: Attached Images

06-05-2019, 06:50 PM	#13
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	AL Award Winners: Attached Images

06-05-2019, 09:17 AM	#1
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Restarting MLB in 1970 Being a Mets fan, I wanted to see where they would finish in the years following the 69 Champs. I am using the draft so players are not starting with the same teams in many situations. I am also using the OOTP development engine so hopefully I won't have too many outliers that didn't play much but we will see. Last edited by hvs1717; 06-05-2019 at 09:31 AM.

06-05-2019, 10:00 AM	#2
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	The Mets got off to a good start leading the NL East at the end of April. But all 6 teams are within 5 1/2 games of each other. The Mets have continued to play well and are 32-17 at the end of May. they have opened up a 6 game lead on Chicago and Philadelphia, who are tied for 2nd. Heading into July, the Mets continue to roll. They are 49-27 and have the best record in baseball. The Cubs who were in 2nd on June 1st, had a brutal June going 6-23 to fall into last place 18 games behind. The Pirates have climbed into 2nd place but are 10 1/2 games back. The Pirates gained a half a game in July to finish the month 10 games behind the Mets (68-36), who now have the second best record in baseball behind Oakland (69-36). The Pirates have continued to slowly chip away at the Mets lead but only pick up 1 1/2 games in the standings. They now sit 8 1/2 games behind with a month to go. The Mets finish the regular season 103-59. They led from start to finish to win the NL East. They finish as the only 100 win team in the majors.

06-05-2019, 10:07 AM	#3
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	The Mets drew the Houston Astros in the playoffs. Houston won the NL West by 5 games over the Dodgers. Houston was led by 5 playes with 20 or more home runs, Joe Pepitone (34), Jim Wynn (28), Doug Rader (24), Don Menke (22) and John Mayberry Sr (21) and Larry Dierker, who won 20 games (22-9). The Mets dominated the series winning 3 games to 1. But heartbreak hit for Mets fans an inning into game 1. Tom Seaver tore his rotator cuff and will be sidelined for 12 months. Is it wrong that I want to start over now? The Mets got great pitching performances from a handful of guys to help propel them into the World Series. But can they win without their best pitcher?

06-05-2019, 10:18 AM	#4
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	In the American League, Baltimore again wins the East. In real life the O's won 108 games, winning the East by 15 games and cruised through the playoffs and World Series. In this replay, the O's struggle a bit more, winning only 94 games and finishing 5 games ahead of 2nd place Detroit. Baltimore was led by sluggers Boog Powell 34 homers 114 rbis .284 avg, Merv Rettemund 29 hr 80 rbi .308 avg and Brooks Robinson 23 hr 84 rbi .308 avg In the West, Oakland led Minnesota by 4 games heading into September. By the 15th, both teams were tied for first. Minnesota held on to win the division for the second year in a row. This year the title went right down to the last day, with Minnesota winning by 1 game with a 98-63 record. Baltimore outlasted Minnesota 3-2, behind Brooks Robinson's MVP performance.

06-05-2019, 10:29 AM	#5
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	The World Series is set. A replay of 1969, the Mets and the Orioles. With Seaver, the Mets were the favorites. Without him? No surprises here. Baltimore set the tone early scoring the first 14 runs of the series, winning the first two games, 7-0 and 7-4. They went on to win the Series 4 games to 2. Boog Powell hit 3 homers and .412 to take home the MVP honors. Other than Gary Gentry and Nolan Ryan, the Mets pitchers got hammered. Oh well. Can we even compete without Tom Terrific next year? It could be a tough year.

06-05-2019, 11:06 AM	#6
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	NL Awards: MVP: Rico Carty, ATL 32 hr 110 rbi .370 ba Cy Young: Tom Seaver, Mets 21-7 2.65 era 257 K's Rookie: Ken Singleton, Mets 26 hr 100 rbi .328 ba Reliever: Dave Guisti, PIT 8-11 3.22 era 21 sv AL Awards: MVP: Harmon Killebrew, MIN 58 hr 122 rbi .274 ba Cy Young: Mickey Lolich, DET 19-13 2.72 era 232 K's Rookie: John Lowenstein, CLE 17 hr 73 rbi .315 ba 14 sb Reliever: Rollie Fingers, OAK 5-3 1.64 era 19 sv Milestones: No one broke any records. A few guys are approaching some big milestones. Hopefully they will break them next year. It looks like Ernie Banks won't hit 500 home runs for his career. After hitting 0 all season for the Cubs, he was released and picked up by the Kansas City Royals. He didn't hit any home runs for them either.

06-05-2019, 11:27 AM	#7
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	On to my favorite part of the replays, the draft. I won't recap the whole draft. First Round 1. Milwaukee - Mike Schmidt, SS (21) 2. Montreal - Ron Guidry, SP (20) 3. Chicago (A) - Steve Rogers, SP (21) 4. San Francisco - George Brett, 3B (17) 5. Kansas City - Jim Rice, RF (17) 6. Washington - Sixto Lezcano, LF (17) 7. Chicago (N) - Burt Hooton, SP (20) 8. Cleveland - Steve Busby, SP (21) 9. California - Stan Thomas, SP (21) 10. St Louis - Rick Rhoden, SP (17) Best Drafts: Milwaukee - Mike Schmidt, Art Howe, Dane Iorg Cincinnati - Dennis Lamp, Terry Whitfield, Jerry Royster San Francisco - George Brett, Phil Garner, Ron Washington

06-05-2019, 06:25 PM	#8
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Going into 1971, it was going to be tough for the Mets. Trying to replace a two time Cy Young winner is tough. But the Mets have lefty 21 year old Jon Matlack in the bullpen. Hopefully, he is ready to step into the rotation. For some reason the Mets kept Ray Sadeki in the rotation and Matlack in the pen. In real life Matlack was dominant as a starter. The Mets made no other changes to their rotation. And the only lineup changes from 1970 were replacing Cleon Jones in LF with John Milner and SS Bud Harrelson with former #1 pick Tim Foli.

06-05-2019, 06:56 PM	#14
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Willie Mays (22 homers), Hank Aaron (27 homers) and Harmon Killebrew (37 homers) are all still trying to catch Babe Ruth. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 07:04 PM	#15
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	On to the draft. Milwaukee hit the jackpot last year, drafting Mike Schmidt with the first overall pick. Schmidt won the AL Rookie of the Year and Milwaukee has the first overall pick once again. Will they strike gold for a second straight season? Attached Images

06-05-2019, 07:26 PM	#16
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Heading into the 1972 season, the Mets have a surplus of starting pitching with Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jim McAndrew, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and Jon Matlack. Somehow, Matlack still can't crack the rotation and will pitch out of the pen. The Mets lineup is unchanged from last year. The bench does feature some talented new faces in Cecil Cooper, Jim Dwyer and Bill Cotton. The Mets are going to need to find room in the lineup for Cooper in the near future. Preseason predictions says the Mets will be the only 100 win team with a 100-62 record. They predict Tom Seaver to win 20 games and have a 2.24 era. I hope he bounces back. Having a prime Nolan Ryan is nice, but Seaver was the Mets in the 70s.

06-05-2019, 07:34 PM	#17
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Wow, I guess the predictions were correct. Tom Seaver pitched like he was never injured. In fact, he had the best season of his career, winning his third Cy Young Award. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 07:50 PM	#18
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	The Mets were playing pretty good ball going into the trading deadline with a 65-38 record and a 12 1/2 game lead. Then they traded SP Jim McAndrew to the Houston Astros for Catcher Bob Watson. Over their final 60 games, they went 43-17 to finish with a 25 game cushion and a team record 107 wins. The Reds won their second straight division title. In the American League, the Yankees and Athletics finally stopped Baltimore and Minnesota's division title streaks at 3 a piece. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 07:58 PM	#19
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	Oakland swept the Yankees, 3-0. In a series dominated by pitching, the Yankees scored 1 run, losing games 3-1, 1-0 and 2-0. The Mets also swept Cincinnati but it took a Ken Singleton homer to pull out a 4-3 win in game 3. The Mets won their second title in the last four seasons. After dropping the first game, the Mets won the next 4 to take the Series. Attached Images

06-05-2019, 08:05 PM	#20
hvs1717 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 129	NL Awards: Rico Carty just missed winning the triple crown by one home run. Attached Images