Book Review : "When The Game Changed"

When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age: 1969--1979 by George Castle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book a lot. Like a lot of older fans, I've gone from knowing pretty much all the players on all the teams in my youth, to being mystified as to who the 75 relievers on every team might be. This book concentrates on an era (1969-1979) well familiar to me, and beloved. From the stars of the era, to free agency, to the characters, to ten cent beer night and disco demolition, it's all stuff I love.

The layout of the book is very readable, with chapters punctuated with long boxed-off quotes from the participants such as Fergie Jenkins, Dusty Baker and Brooks Robinson among many many others. While the material was pleasantly familiar, I did learn a fair bit of stuff I hadn't known before. Who knew Dave KIngman could wrangle a 33-gallon beer keg? (4 other players together couldn't budge it.) or that John Candelaria enjoyed a 250 dollar hot dog in the dugout (including the fine.)

If you like baseball and like this era or want to know how the sport became what it is today, this book is for you.

View all my reviews

1979 NL End of May Report

He wants a Clark bar.

Despite a slight hiccup at month's end, the Pirates continue to disco their way several steps ahead of the eastern pack, while the Dodgers got it together with a 17-11 month to put at least a little daylight between themselves and their western pursuers. 

As noted in the preface to the AL report, I am re-replaying '79, it having been my first replay with the then-new cards and no tweaks. Now it's new cards, new boards, full rosters, trades, the works. Okay, let's get to the standings:

PIT    33-15  ---     LAD  29-23  ---
NY    29-21  5        SD     27-26  2.5
MON 26-21  6.5    SFG   26-26  3
STL   25-25  9       CIN    23-26  4.5
PHI    23-27  11     HOU  23-31  7
CHC  20-28  13     ATL    18-33  10.5

By comparison, in my original replay, the eventual east champion Phillies were on top by smidgen over STL and PIT with NY and MON 5th and 6th with dismal starts. Torrid Cincinnati started off 35-11 and enjoyed an 8.5 game lead in the west over HOU and LA.

Leaders, with original leaders in parenthesis:

Feed meee!

Wins: Kison-pit 9-1, Seaver-cin 8-1, Sutton-la 7-2, Niekro-atl 7-5, Perry-sd 7-5  (Seaver 9-1)

Losses: Denny-stl 2-7, Krukow-chi 2-7, Matula-atl 2-7, Shirley-sd 3-7

CG: Carlton-phi 8, Perry-sd 8, LaCoss-cin 7 

SHO: Blue-sf 3, Vukovich-stl 3

Saves: Lockwood-ny 15, Tekulve-pit 13, Littell-stl 9, Sambito-hou 9, Sosa-mon 9 (Littell 8)

He's Mike Schmidt and you're not.

HR: Schmidt-phi 18, Clark-sf 17, Horner-atl 14, Stargell-pit 14 (Stargell 19)

RBI: Clark-sf 51, Horner-atl 49, Schmidt-phi 49, Parker-pit 43, Briggs-sd 41, Garvey-la 41 (Foster 45)

Runs: Clark-sf 42, Winfield-sd 42, Garvey-la 40, Rose-phi 40 (Lopes 39)

2B: Hernandez-stl 26, Parker-pit 24, Winfield-sd 18, Taveras-ny 17

3B: Taveras-ny 7, Briggs-sd 6, Cabell-hou 6

Steals: Cedeno-hou 18, Lopes-la 14, Moreno-pit 14, North-sf 13, Smith-sd 11 (North 22)

GIDP: Buckner-chi 9, Cabell-hou 9, Hendrick-stl 9, Montanez-ny 9

Errors: Foli-pit 11, Frias-atl 11, Landestoy-hou 11

Ream capsules:

"Boy, hit a couple dingers and everybody loses their minds!"

Bucco Blatherings: The Pirates opened up a big lead in the east when they started out 31-10, but when they lost 5 of 7 to close out May, the pack caught up just a bit. "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" they opine. Bruce Kison did finally lose one after starting 9-0, but he's still on a huge roll. Bucs pitchers have surrendered a league-low 180 runs. The Pirates don't beat themselves--they have grounded into the least DP's with 25, and have only been cut down stealing 5 measly times, also an NL low. Phil Garner has crossed the plate 38 times. Dave "The Cobra" Parker leads in rbi with 43, followed by Stargell and Bill Robinson with 35 each to form a fearsome trio in the middle of the order. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Dale Berra had a two homer game before becoming invisible again. "Man that was some good coke!" he blurted to scribes after his feat.

Mets-elaneous: Whoa, Mets! They stunk like they should, the first time around, but this time they are--gasp!--contending, despite a run differential of minus 11. It's the bullpen, stupid! Skip Lockwood (4-1, 15 saves), and his pals Glynn and Allen have saved the team time and again. The relievers are a combined 13-6. Add to that the fact that the Metropolitans are a nifty 13-4 in 1-run games. Craig Swan (5-4) is really their only legit starting pitcher, though Tom Hausman somehow has managed a 5-0 log. Pete Falcone (1-5) seems to be the only Met in any kind of contact with reality. Though the team has slugged only 29 homers, they have gone doubles nutty with a crazy 109 already, led by Montanez with 16. (Montanez may be one reason they are over-achieving. I didn't do trades the first time, so they didn't have him at all. Moreover, he did most of his hitting in the final two months with Texas; here, the Mets are reaping the benefits.) Handsome young star Lee Mazzilli has just 4 homers, 3 of them in the season's early days, but has knocked in 39 runs and scored 36. The trade for Frank Taveras has worked out well, with Frank spraying gap hits all over the place. Can they keep this up? We'll see. What a story, if they can.

Expo-sitions: The Expos were the most disappointing team in my original replay, but are doing quite a lot better this time around despite a lackluster 13-14 mark in May. Larry Parrish boasts 15 doubles, 11 HR and 33 rbi. Ellis Valentine has chipped in with 32 rbi. Grizzled vet Tony Perez has scraped together just 7 rbi all season and has lost some of his playing time to Tony Solaita. The defense has been solid with a league-low 26 errors. 

Try .357!

Cardinal Numbers: The Cardinals have been a bit of an enigma so far. Vukovich is the ace with 6-2, 5 cg and 3 shutouts, but most of that came in April. Keith Hernandez got hot in the latter part of May to up his average to a gaudy .357 but his 29 runs and 28 rbi are merely good, not great, even though both marks lead the team. One thing the Redbirds do excellently is spray gap hits. They have an insane 120 doubles already. Homers are hard to come by, though. They have just 23, led by Simmons with 8. No one else has more than 3. The Cards don't run yet, either. Just 22 bags. That will change in the upcoming decade! Meanwhile here they sit at .500.

Phil My Prescription: After a stunningly inept 6-16 April showing (and last place), the Quakers revamped the line-up and righted the ship in May, going 17-11. Lefty Carlton, who started the season 0-5, is up to 5-6 now and rolling. Tug McGraw was yanked from the closer's role and Ron Reed (5 saves) installed. Mike Schmidt strikes fear into opposing hurlers, and despite being intentionally walked with frequency, he still has 18 HR, 49 rbi. "Bull" Luzinski was about to lose his LF gig when he finally started hitting. Despite just a pair of homers, Greg has 15 doubles and 2 triples to go with 21 rbi. Considering his slow start, that'll do. Gary Maddox, moved from second to fifth in the order, has 36 ribbies and great hair. Pete Rose moved from lead-off to third and seems to be always on base in front of Schmidt. So...will the real Phillies please stand up?

Baby Bear's Porridge: Your Impartial Goddess is ever the lady, and so it tells you something that when I manage these Cubs I am given to fits of shouting "Score you dumb fuckers, score!" Ahem. The Cubbies have tallied just 174 runs, 32 fewer than anyone else. It's too bad, cos they are stingy with giving runs up allowing only 197. Dave Kingman bears some of the blame for the dearth of scoring at Wrigley, with 10 bombs and 27 rbi. Both marks lead the squad, but are pretty far below what was expected at this point. On the pitching rubber, Bruce Sutter does have 8 saves, but has not always been effective, as his 1-5 record would suggest. 

Psst, chica....ask Tommy what he thinks about Dave Kingman.

So L.A.: The Dodgers rode a 17-11 May into first place in the west. Don Sutton is 7-2 and rookie Sutcliffe righted the ship and is now 6-4 after a 1-3 start. The Dodgers lead the NL with 275 runs scored and 68 bombs. They have grounded into very few DPs with just 29. If they could beat San Diego (1-6), they'd be flying high. LA has basically a one-man, one-inning bullpen in Bobby Castillo (7 saves.) After his cameo appearances, there isn't much help down there. A good time was had in Atlanta May 15-16 when the Dodgers crushed the Braves twice, 15-2 and 20-1, with a grand total of 41 hits. "We're so glad Atlanta is in the west!" they chirped, waving a map of the USA. 

Pod fans are excited!

Pod People: Its the Dan Briggs show! 11 HR, 27 runs, a whopping 41 rbi, errorless play in RF every ding dong day! Whee! In my first replay, he was a total non-factor. His card isn't that great. But he gets the rolls like crazy, and seems to always come to bat with 2 men on because of Hargrove, Tenace and Winfield hitting ahead of him. Look, peasant. It's Dan Briggs's world and we're just living in it! His heroics combined with Winfield's, have lifted the Pods to second place even though only 5 different Padres have a homer. The Pods, in their monkeyshit brown uni's, boast a pair of aces in Gaylord Perry (7-5, 8 cg, 2 sho) and Randy Jones (6-3). Lastly, the team has avoided injuries so far. We shall see if they can hang in with the Dodgers, their personal punching bag.

Giants Gibberish: Stoppit, Jack Clark! The Giants right fielder capped off a crazy May with 3 HR, 2 doubles, a single, and 17 total bases in a 16-5 demolition of the Dodgers on the 29th. He knocked in a gaudy 30 runs during the month to up his total to a league-high 51. Can nothing stop him? Meanwhile, local head case Mike Ivie has slugged 10 bombs and knocked in 37, all the while not throwing the ball any more than he has to. Darrell Evans has pitched in with 20 xbh's. So what if no one has won more than 4 games except Vida Blue (6-4)? So what if the bullpen has just 4 saves? "Mediocrity is good enough for us!" crowed skipper Joe Altobelli. 

Forget that and strap on your gear!

Rhineland Rambles: The sleepy stupid gimpy old-goat Reds staggered to a 13-15 month, completely forgetting whatever it was they did right in taking the NL flag in the first replay. George Foster has just 9 xbh's. Joe Morgan's gout keeps acting up, or something--or he changed his name to Junior Kennedy. He's been mostly MIA. Dan Driessen has 10 HR and 32 rbi to lead the team, but he is Dan Driessen and surely can't keep this up. Reserve flyhawk Champ Summers belted 6 HRs and was sold off to Detroit. Sheesh. Oh, and Johnny Bench prefers to sit and watch Vic Correll catch while J.B. paints stuff with Krylon. Their top three starters are 16-6; the other two 2-9, and the bullpen has only 4 saves, though the team leads the loop in shutouts with 6. 

Cosmic Astros: Poor JR Richard. He pitched 9 innings of no-hit shutout ball and got nothing. He was pinch hit for in the bottom of the 9th but a golden opportunity to score went a-glimmering and the game didn't end until Rafael Landestoy brought home the winner with a suicide squeeze in the 12th inning. That was on May 11th. Then on the 25th, he fanned 14 Padres but lost anyway. Nevertheless, the Spacemen put their horrid 6-17 April behind them and compiled a 17-14 May. Homers are scarce as hen's teeth, with just 13, 6 of them by Bob Watson. They've stolen 59 bases but been caught 27 times. Still, they are only 7 games out with 4 months to go. They could still get in this thing. "First we pass Atlanta, then we take Berlin!" shouted a confused Astro supporter.

"The rest of y'all need to stop blowing chunks."

Braves B.S.: You look at the bats the Braves have and think hmm, they'll score a lot! But no. They sit 11th in the loop with just 206 runs scored, and 306 given up. That last figure is 52 worse than the next most terrible club (SF). Bob Horner is a young star with 14 blasts and 49 rbi. Sarge Matthews has 31 runs and 37 rbi. But Dale Murphy isn't quite there yet with 6 HR and 19 rbi, and there isn't much after that unless you mean Barry Bonnell with his 9 HR and 21 rbi. The Braves turn the fewest DPs of any team (a measly 23) and they have only one decent starter, Phil Niekro (7-5). The staff has a microscopic 4 complete games. It will be a long season down south. 

Hope you enjoyed. On to June!

1979 Replay AL End of May Report

Hey fans. My friend Mike ("Get Mikey to try it!!") has convinced me that there is interest in this blog, so here we go. I am re-replaying the 1979 season. It was my first replay, with the then-current set of cards and I played it straight out of the box, no advanced stuff, no tweaks. Also, I used a 1980 schedule. Lo these nearly 40 years later, I am playing it again, but this time with the newest reissue of the cards, the newest boards, advanced options, and my Orsino Board (see top right.) I am curious to see how differently it may come out! Okay, on to AL end of May report, including standings, leaders, team capsules and some info about the original replay at the same point.

Why is this man smiling?

May was a great month for the Orioles and Brewers, not so great for the Twins or Yankees. Standings:

MIL  36-16  ---     TEX  32-18  ---
BAL  31-21  5      KCR  30-21  2.5
BOS  29-20  5.5   CAL  29-22  3.5
NYY  29-22  6.5   MIN  25-25  7
DET  25-24  9.5    CHI  21-28  10.5
CLE  18-31  16.5  OAK  20-32  13
TOR  13-39  23     SEA  17-36  16.5

In my original replay at May's end, the Red Sox led the east at 30-16, 1.5 over the Brewers and 2.5 over NY. The Orioles were 5th, 20-28, 11 games out. Out west, the Royals were 30-16, 3.5 up on MIN and 4.5 up on TEX and CHI. 

Leaders (with original replay leader in [parenthesis)

"Cos I'm better than you, it's the things that I do whoa whoa"

Wins: Caldwell-mil 10-1, Flanagan-bal 10-1, Frost-cal 8-3, Stanley-bos 8-3 (Frost, Splittorff 10-1)

Losses: Huffman-tor 0-8, Buskey-tor 1-8 

CG: John-ny and Wise-cle 7 

Saves: Marshall-min 15, Hrabosky-kc 14, Kern-tex 13, Gossage-ny 12, Lopez-det 11, Castro-mil 10 (Marshall 9) Not sure why I have way more saves this time.

HR: Lynn-bos 26, Singleton-bal 18, Jackson-ny 15, Thomas-mil 15 (Jackson, Lynn, Singleton 17 each)

RBI: Lynn-bos 57, Singleton-bal 53, Washington-chi 43, Brett-kc 42, Thomas-mil 42 (Lynn and Summers 57)

Runs: Lynn-bos 48, Baylor-cal 45, Gamble-tex 41 (Lynn 55)

2B: Lemon-chi 19, Cooper-mil 17, Rice-bos 17 

3B: Brett-kc 6, Molitor-mil 5, Wilson-kc 5

things go better with coke!

Steals: Wilson-kc 31, Leflore-det 27, Dilone-oak 23, Henderson-oak 20 (Cruz 31)

Errors: Cruz-sea 11, Griffin-tor 11 

GIDP: Ford-cal 17, Hobson-bos 11, 3 tied with 10

Team reports:

Beertown Babble: The Brew Crew turned in a fine 21-8 mark in May despite several injuries which shelved the likes of Larry Hisle and Ben Oglivie. Mike "Mister Warmth" Caldwell (10-1) and Jim Slaton (7-3) have given the Brewers a nice right-left combo at the top of their rotation which has yeilded a stingy 192 runs so far, second best in the loop. The Milwaukee club loves to face Toronto, drubbing the third-year Jays 7 times in 8 games. 

Bird Doo: Following a lackluster 9-14 April, the birds exploded, going 22-7 in May and charging to the top of the heap in runs scored with 303, averaging a staggering 7.24 runs a game in May. "Somebody stop me!" they say. Lee May (4 rbi all season) landed on the DH junk heap in favor of Pat Kelly (12 HR, 32 rbi), Terry Crowley (11 runs, 8 rbi splitting time between Lonesome Junction and Baltimore) and Benny Ayala. Lefty hurler Mike Flanagan has gone 10-1 to lead the staff. Inconsistent museum piece Jim Palmer is a humble 2-4, but did win his last start. On the 25th at Detroit, light-hitting Mark Belanger slugged a 2-run inside the park home run!

Hub Hubbub: The Red Sox led the league in runs at the end of April, riding Fred Lynn's insane 19 HR, 39 rbi and .437 ba. Fred had a good but less crazy May, settling in at 26, 57 and .371 by month's end but the team fell all the way to 9th in runs. Lynn isn't getting enough help. Yaz is second on the club with 11 dingers, then Hobson with 8. Rice has just 7 but has 17 doubles and 36 rbi. Fisk has yet to get untracked with just 13 rbi despite staying healthy so far except for a rag arm. Human monument George Scott was felled by an urban renewal project and has been out since mid-month. Jerry Remy also missed time but is back. The Brohamer/Wolfe/Papi replacements weren't nearly the same.

Bronx Cheer: If only the Yanks could keep Ron Guidry (4-2) on the bump! He has been great when he's been able to go out there, but keeps having nagging injuries. Tommy John has 7 CG but is a modest 6-5. Looie Tiant (4-2) recently found himself the victim of an exploding cigar and will miss time. Goose Gossage (12 saves) nails down what can be nailed down but the Yanks were just 14-15 in the month. Reggie Jackson has 15 HR, 28 runs and 30 rbi, but is hitting just .253. Chris Chambliss has been the straw that stirs the Yankee drink, with 11 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 28 runs and a team-high 35 rbi. Injuries to him, Munson, Spencer, and Rivers have left the Bronx Bombers a little thin, but Chambliss and Rivers are due back to start June.

Tiger Tales: Detroit is one game above .500 despite a minus-41 run differential. "Too bad we can't get anyone out!" Jack Morris got some Blue Jays out at Toronto on the 28th with a no-hitter! Jack won 6-zip. He's 6-3. Retread Jack Billingham is a surprising 6-1 but it gets thin after that except for closer Aurelio Lopez (11 saves.) The offense has been a real group effort, led by John Wockenfuss (10 HR 24 rbi) and Alan Trammell (akso with 24 rbi.) The ballclub picked up journeyman flyhawk Champ Summers from the Reds on the 25th. he hit 6 HR for Cincy as a reserve, and has belted 2 homers since arriving in the Motor City. Skipper Les Moss likes his power potential.

Tribe Wampum: The Indians don't hit or pitch, and are ordinary defensively, therefore their 6th place standing is about right. Thunder Thornton started out hot but has sagged lately, coming up with 13 HR and 37 rbi altogether. Bobby Bonds, the big off-season acquisition, has just 5 HR, 26 runs, 24 rbi and 14 thefts. The Indians did please the home fans by turning 5 DP's against the Yankees on the 25th, but naturally they lost 2-0 anyway. The Memorial Day doubleheader between the two clubs on the 27th was played in 45 degree rain. Nice!

He made Aunt Bee so proud!

Jay Walking: Toronto followed up a nightmarish 3-19 April with an ordinarily awful 10-20 in May. Whee! The Jays' "attack" is the most anemic in the AL with just 194 runs scored, and a run differential of minus-111. Otto Velez (11 2B, 11 HR, 33 runs, 32 rbi) does what he can, and creaky old Rico Carty has chipped in with 30 rbi, but John Mayberry--beset with injuries in April--has just 5 HR and 16 ribbies. The pitching staff has been a real crapshoot. Short on talent to begin with, they have lost 5 different pitchers to injury already. Phil Huffman has been glowingly healthy, but awful at 0-8. Closer Tom Buskey is 1-8 (ouch!) with just 2 saves. In a recent game, he came in to protect a two-run lead, gave up immediate back to back homers and departed. It hasn't been pretty. However, on the 21st at home against Cleveland, big John Mayberry hit for the cycle.

Waltz Across Texas: The Rangers staff is downright miserly when it comes to giving up runs, with 9 shutouts and a league low (by 26) runs given up of 166. Every starter except Steve Comer (2-7) has been stellar, even the hallucinating Dock Ellis (6-2). Doc Medich came in from long relief to make a start and combined with ace closer Jim Kern (13 saves) for, you guessed it, a shutout. However, it hasn't been just pitching that has the Rangers atop the west. On the 19th they pounded out 24 hits in an 11-1 romp at Seattle. Big-hair Oscar Gamble has been the every day DH and has responded with 13 HR, 41 runs and 35 rbi. Buddy Bell has chipped in with 34 rbi. Ee-haw, they're riding high, hoss!

Royal Tidings: This is not your father's Royals pitching staff. They are striclty average and yet Gura is 6-3 and Splittorff is 7-2, not to mention the crazed "Mad Hungarian" Al Hrabosky with 14 saves already. It can't last, but this team may hit enough to make up for it. George Brett has 14-6-10 xbh's with 36 runs, 42 rbi and ,325. The club has stolen 78 bases in 96 tries, 16 more steals than runner-up Oakland, and 19 more attempts. On the 15th, Pete LaCock, son of game show emcee Peter Marshall, blasted a 2-run inside the park homer at Seattle as part of an 11-0 laugher. 

"Hi! Watch me ruin your chance at being remembered!"

Angel Food: In Anaheim, starters have to pitch until they drop, because the bullpen can't be trusted except for Mark Clear (6 saves.) As a result, Halo hurlers have notched a league-best 25 complete games. Frost is 8-3, Ryan a pedestrian 5-5 though he has 82 K's. The Angel bats are crazy good, though. They bombed 6 homers at the Kingdome (do I sense a pattern here) on the 31st in a 12-1 win. They swept that 3-game set by a combined tally of 29-5. Don Baylor has 13 HR and 36 rbi to go with a whopping 45 runs scored. Carney Lansford tops the team with 38 rbi, but Grich, Ford and Downing all have 33 or more rbi as well. Young Dickie Thon, finding himself at shortstop due to injuries to the first two Angel shortstops, broke up a no-hit bid with 2 out in the home 8th on the 20th. "I think I'll go on to have an injury-marred, frustrating career," he opined to reporters after the game. 

Evil Twins: Jerry Koosman breezed his way to a no-hitter against the Blue Jays at Toronto on May 2nd, winning 11-0. That's the end of the good news for the Twinkies in May. After sprinting out to a 20-10 start, the Minnesotans sagged to 5-15 after that. Ken "It is the will of Landru" Landreaux and Roy Smalley, counted on to provide offense, largely fizzled in the month. The Twins lack power, with only 28 bombs so far, with nobody having more than 6. They don't run, either, with just 11 bags in 21 tries. Here's a weird tidbit: the Twins won it all in my original replay!

Pale Hosed: Rich Wortham, the poor man's Ross Baumgarten, fanned a gaudy 13 Angels on the 20th and was just 4 outs away from no-hit fame when bratty-ass Dickie Thon had to go and ruin it. But Rich won the game anyway, 6-0. The White Sox are a shocking 6-1 against powerful California, but 1-6 against Texas and 1-5 against weak sister Oakland. The Chisox have no bullpen, with their 7 saves spread among 4 no-name relievers. On the other side of the ball, Chet Lemon boasts 37 runs and 33 rbi, while Claudell Washington checks in with 15 doubles, 8 homers, and 43 rbi. The Sox hope that their hole at catcher is now filled with the acquisition of veteran Milt May from Detroit. 

All A's: The double dose of speed at the top of the A's order--rookie Rickey Henderson with 20 steals and unheralded Miguel Dilone with 23--both decided to run with scissors and now a new plan must be drawn up. (And yes I know Henderson did not start the year with the team but I don't go by that.) Tony Armas (11 HR, 29 runs, 33 rbi) has been the big gun for Oakland. Weird stat: Jim Essian has 5 HR and just 6 rbi. "I don't want to overtax myself," he explained. The team was actually not-horrible in May, going 13-16. "So what if we've scored 196 runs and given up 334?" they ask. 

"Wanna see me throw one away?"

Kingdome Dumbfuckery: Here they are, ladies and germs, the league's punching bag. The M's have given up 339 runs, more even than Oakland or Toronto. Mike Parrott (5-4) is okay but after that, ay yi yi. Add to that the fact that their pitchers seem to be made of glass. I even had to give minor league veteran Roy Branch 5 starts. He went 1-3. The team has only 4 saves, all by Shane Rawley. At the plate, Willie Horton has slowed since his torrid April, and checks in with still respectable numbers: 11 HR, 31 rbi. Rupe Jones got hot in May and soared to 39 rbi. "Staring at my bat helps a lot," he told assembled scribes. Second sacker Julio Cruz kicked two ground balls on the last day of the month to surge into the league lead in errors. Larry "Devil" Milbourne is right behind him with 10, despite being shelved with a sprained glove. 

NL report soon.

1964 Final

For anyone wondering, the Cardinals roared past the Giants to take the 1964 NL flag by 2 games before losing the World Series to the Yankees in five games. Mickey Mantle had 9 rbi. 

This blog gets such sparse readership as far as I can tell, that it isn't worth the effort it takes to post. I do post updates at the Facebook APBA group. My next project, already (barely) underway, is 1979 MLB. 

1964 N.L. End Of August Report

Whoa, hold the presses! The Cardinals, 13 games back at the all-star break, and 9 and a half games out at the end of July, have come roaring from behind while the Giants have stumbled. The Redbirds are now just 3 lengths out, with a month to go. Hang on to your hats!

The NL was basically a win-one-lose-one affair for 8 of the 10 teams during August. The two exceptions were the horrible Houston Colt .45's, who went 7-20 and have lost 41 of their last 55, and the Cardinals, who went 19-9. The standings through August 31st, with August record in parentheses:

SFG  81-51  ---  (13-16)
STL  78-54  3  (19-9)
PHI  72-59  8.5  (16-12)
CIN  68-63  12.5  (15-12)
CHI  66-64  14  (14-14)
MIL  66-66  15  (14-15)
LAD  65-66  15.5  (15-14)
PIT  63-70  18.5  (14-14)
NYM 52-80  29  (12-13)
HOU  47-85  34  (7-20)

LEADERS:

Affable Bob says, "May the best team win!"

WINS: Gibson-stl 17-5, Drysdale-la 16-5, Perry-sf 16-7, LeMaster-mil 15-9

LOSSES: Farrell-hou 5-17, Jay-cin 5-17, Cisco-ny 9-16

ERA (min. 130 IP): Drysdale-la 1.80, Short-phi 1.87, Marichal-sf 1.88, Gibson-stl 2.13, Jackson-chi 2.23, Craig-stl 2.60 

CG: Drysdale-la 14, Jackson-chi 14, Short-phi 14

K's: Gibson-stl 178, Marichal-sf 177, Short-phi 176, LeMaster-mil 175, Perry-sf 175

Mr. Drysdale at his day job.

IP: Drysdale-la 229.2, Jackson-chi 222, Marichal-sf 220.3

SHO: 5 tied with 5

SAVES: Pierce-sf 24, Schultz-stl 24, Baldschun-phi 21, McBean-pit 21, Henry-cin 20

BATTING (min. 351 ab): Cepeda-sf .318, Bailey-pit .309, Williams-chi .309, Robinson-cin .307, Clemente-pit .304, Santo-chi .304

Kitty says hello to homers.

HR: Cepeda-sf 33, Mays-sf 33, Hart-ny 26, Pinson-cin 26, Williams-chi 25

RBI: Santo-chi 117, Boyer-stl 92, Williams-chi 89, Pinson-cin 87, Cepeda-sf 84

RUNS: Callison-phi 92, Allen-phi 90, Brock-stl 87, Mays-sf 87, Aaron-mil 86

My legs! I haven't got any legs! Let me out of this wooden box!

2B: Cardenas-cin 42, Groat-stl 37, Maye-mil 36, Robinson-cin 36, Torre-mil 36

3B: Santo-chi 13, Boyer-stl 9, Brock-stl 9

STEALS: Wills-la 41, W.Davis-la 33, Brock-stl 25

GIDP: Boyer-stl 26, Hunt-ny 20

ERRORS: Pagan-sf 35, Groat-stl 31

TEAM REPORTS:

The fans are sticking right by their team. Pretty much. Well, some of them are.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: It is nervous time by the bay. The Giants turned in the second worst mark in the NL for August and have lost 27 of their last 53. Juan Marichal seems permanently stuck at 14 wins. The offense depends far too heavily on 3 hitters--Mays, Cepeda and Hart. They are the top three homer hitters in the loop, and all have in excess of 70 rbi, but the fourth best run producer on SF is Hal Lanier (!) with just 40. If it weren't for Gaylord Perry, goodness knows where the Giants would be. He just keeps winning when all about him are losing their heads. Injuries to Harvey Kuenn and Jose Pagan had more effect than you might imagine, because it left the team with little maneuverability and no real right-handed pinch hitter. In essence, everything that went right in the first half is going wrong in the second half. It would be an epic choke if they don't right the ship.  

Barney Schultz loves ya, man.

BIRD SEED: Just as in real life, the acquisition of flyhawk and speedster Lou Brock has sparked the Cardinals from the middle of the pack into serious contention. The pitching has really made a return to their April form, when they were dominant. Curt Simmons (such a nice last name!) went 5-0 in August and fireman Barney Schultz picked up 7 saves while Bob Gibson got nasty with opposing hitters. Ken Boyer, who mostly just grounded into double plays in July, went off his nut in August, bashing the ball all over the place. They're the hottest team in the National League and feel like they can take the flag in '64. We'll see. 

Doctors desperately try to save Frank Thomas from a massive overdose of fake testosterone. Oh wait...wrong Frank Thomas. Close!

Quaker Oats:  The Phillies are a rotten tease. They get hot, and look like world beaters, but just when you think they might have a chance, they tank. Rinse and repeat. They do lead the league in fielding, so they don't beat themselves, but perhaps the offense relies too much on Callison and rookie hotshot Richie Allen. Allen knocked down fences in August, but Callison snoozed his way through the month until his torrid July just seemed like a dream. Another problem was reliever Jack Baldschun, who faltered badly and lost his job to Ed Roebuck after notching just one save in a month's time. The Phils acquired slugger and general dipshit Frank Thomas from the Mets some time ago, but had to wait until he healed from an injury before sticking him in the line-up. In his first Phillie at bat, he singled. Whee! But in his second, he was beaned and carried off the field, clutching his 1.000 Quaker batting average to his bosom with his broken hand. It's unclear how he broke his hand while being beaned, but don't quibble with me. The ballclub will be lucky to get a week's work out of the guy before the season ends. 

Another hopeful who just doesn't seem quite good enough.

RED SCARE: Here's a fun fact: even though it seems like they've done little else but lose all season, the Reds have actually only had one losing month. In August, they even put a little bit of daylight between themselves and .500. "We have achieved mediocrity!" they crow, dousing each other with soda pop. (Champagne seemed presumptuous.) This is an odd Reds team for the era. They have pitching up the yin yang, but can't hit to save their lives. Pete Rose struggles just to stay above the Mendoza Line, and it is doubtful whether the kid will stick in the majors--the smart money says "no." You read it here first. Vada Pinson hits homers and drives in runs but is also mired in the .200-.210 range. Only Cardenas and Robinson hit well, and even Robby hasn't been finding his HR stroke with any regularity. With rosters expanded for September, club brass looked to see who could be called up and found...no one. Arriving at Grasshopper Junction, the Reds contingent found Landfill Park padlocked and all the players gone home to their various malaria-ridden towns. There is simply no one to call up. 

Andre gets ready to peg it over to first.

WRIGLEY RANTS: The Cubs sometimes look pretty scary! When Santo, Williams, and Banks all get it going at once, they can beat the pants off anybody. Even Andre "Andre The Cub" Rodgers can hit some. If they get so much as half decent pitching, the club can do some damage. But...remember how Bobby Shantz arrived and settled what had been an erratic bullpen? Well, Bobby's been sold off to Philadelphia, cos, who really likes to win anyway? And so, Lindy McDaniel is once again serving up gopher balls and easy wins to opponents around the league. Nonetheless, any time Ron Santo takes the field, he's worth the price of admission all by himself. He leads the circuit in rbi by a whopping 25!

They have faith in Bobby Bragan.

TEEPEE TALK: Rico Carty is bitter because he lacks ten at bats from being the league's second leading batter, as he was at the end of July. However, a detached tonsil kept Rico shelved for a few days and cost him his spot, at least for now. Hey, remember back in April when Denis Menke looked like a real slugger? You don't? Well, neither does he; he's sucked ever since. While the Braves do lead the NL in runs scored with 618, too often they look meek up there at the dish. 1964 Hank Aaron just isn't your usual Hank Aaron, and Joe Torre pretty much took June and July off, before rebounding with 20 rbi in August. Spare part Mike delaHoz got his average up to .300 in the month, and is rumored to be slotted to take over for .160-hitting Frank Bolling. However, this has happened a couple of times before, and as soon as skipper Bobby Bragan gets an eyeful of delaHoz's "fielding"--mostly a spastic kind of interpretive dance involving kicking the ball away or flinging it into the stands--he reverts to penciling in "Bolling" on his line-up card again, along with his usual doodles, pleas for help, and florid love notes intended for Ginger on "Gilligan's Island." Good heavens, lovey, a Yale man! 

Kindly old poop, or Beelzebub?

SO L.A.: Don Drysdale, the scourge of the league all year, won just once during August, suffering two setbacks and a slew of no-decisions. In fact, the best pitcher on the Dodgers during the month was the ridiculous Phil Ortega, who divided his time between pitching and churning out Mexican food for grocery store shelves. Hitting continues to be the bugaboo for this team. Wills has 41 steals but doesn't get on enough, Tommy Davis languishes in the .220's, and the team sits last in the league in HR with just 64, six less than preposterous Houston. But there's this: the Dodgers are last in DP's turned, with 66, but have also hit into the fewest DP's themselves--66. What does it mean? 

"And then there's Gene Alley....just a 7 shortstop in '64 and his hitting card has..."

PITT-BURGERS: Oh who cares about the Pirates anyway? They hit, they don't pitch, they trundle along in 8th place and that's it. Bob Bailey continues to have a rocket up his butt, and actually has a chance at the batting title, should Orlando Cepeda falter. If that isn't reason enough to disband this bunch, then how about the Strange Case of Bill Virdon? Bill hit under .200 in the first half and over .300 in the second. Meanwhile, Roberto Clemente seems subject to the same bizarre damping field affecting Hank Aaron. He's hitting .304, good for most players, but not for one who is supposed to hit nearly .340. And then there's Willie Stargell, who spent the entire month knocking down fences with bookoo extra base hits, only to finish the stanza with just 12 rbi. 

The Mets bring state of the art methods to bear in figuring Christopher's and Hunt's batting marks!

METS-ALLANEOUS: When I played 1969 NL, the Expos and Phillies did the old switcheroo with each other. The Expos finished 5th in the east with a bad but not awful record, and the Phillies took their place in the cellar with just 57 wins. Well, the Mets have done that with the Colts, it would seem. The Metropolitans finished August with just one less win than their actual season total of 53, while the Colts can't seem to lose fast enough. Joe Christopher (.303) and Ron Hunt (.299) had hot months and both moved into the top ten in batting. Nonetheless, the Mets sit 8th in the league in scoring. When Charlie Smith is your Big Man, you're probably doomed. A veteran of the goshawful 1961 Phillies, Charlie has come to New York to undo first the Mets, and eventually the Yankees as well. But...but...won't the arrival of hurlers Denis Ribant and Tom Parsons make all the difference???? No. 

Houston's new base running coach, shown with a prospect.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: Ugh. The Colts, as mentioned earlier are on a 14-41 "tear." They have scored a microscopic 351 runs, 119 fewer than the popgun Dodgers. They have 37 fewer doubles than the next lowest team. They are next to last in HR with 70. They don't even run, with a sickly 24 steals (and 24 caught.) September brings opportunity for call-ups from their Slough O' Despond farm team, offering the likes of Johnny Weekly, Walter "No-Neck" Williams and and Dave Adlesh. Goodness, who wouldn't want to sit in mosquito-infested heat-scorched Colt Stadium and watch them stagger to another loss? Skipper Harry Craft can't chug the Lone Star fast enough to keep the despair from enveloping him totally. Food for thought: the Colts "boast" 41 players, more than any other team. Right now they have injuries, but should the team become completely healthy, one player would have to be left off the 40-man roster. Can you imagine being the one player so bad that even the Colt .45's tell you to go home, they can't use you? It could happen.

 
 See you next time for the final results!

Who will win? Sylvia Plath says she's sticking with the Giants.

 

1964 AL End Of August Report

Hello fans! August is over on the A.L. side of my 1964 replay. The Yanks came back to earth just a bit in the month, which is to say they stopped being superhuman, not that they aren't still winning with regularity. Here's the standings through August 31st, with August record in parentheses:

NYY  87-44  ---  (17-12)
BAL  78-55  10  (16-12)
CHI  75-60  14  (14-18)
DET  70-65  19  (18-11)
WAS  67-68  22  (15-12)
LAA  67-69  22.5  (16-12)
CLE  64-70  24.5  (13-15)
MIN  61-71  26.5  (17-11)
BOS  54-79  34  (10-19)
KCA  46-88  42.5  (7-21)

Leaders:

"Fear me, puny mortals!"

WINS: Chance-la 19-7, Ford-ny 18-8, Peters-chi 17-8, Wickersham-det 17-10

ERA (131 ip min.): Chance-la 1.66, Ford-ny 2.17, Peters-chi 2.20, Bunker-bal 2.46, Osteen-was 2.70

LOSSES: Pena-kc 8-17, 3 tied with 15 

IP: Chance-la 249, Kaat-min 229, Peters-chi 229, Horlen-chi 221.1

From out of nowhere, Arrigo Man!

K's: Chance-la 200, Arrigo-min 170, Lolich-det 167, Wilson-bos 164, Pena-kc 161 

SHO: Kaat-min 6, 4 tied with 5

SAVES: Kline-was 31, Radatz-bos 27, Hall-bal 24, Wilhelm-chi 24 McMahon-cle 23

CG: Chance-la 18, Kaat-min 18, Peters-chi 16

Eddie assumes his fielding stance.

ERRORS: Bressoud-bos 36, McAuliffe-det 35

BA (min. 354 ab):  B.Robinson-bal .310, Fl.Robinson-chi .308, Allison-min .297, Fregosi-la .297, Piersall-la .297

HR: Powell-bal 40, Killebrew-min 37, Mantilla-bos 31, Mantle-ny 29, Versalles-min 29, Wagner-cle 28

"Accept that I am a star or perish!"

RBI: B.Robinson-bal 104, Bowens-bal 103, Killebrew-min 91, Hansen-chi 88, Mantilla-bos 88, Maris-ny 88

RUNS: Versalles-min 93, Aparicio-bal 91, B.Robinson-bal 91, Tresh-ny 91, Hall-min 90

2B: Bressoud-bos 38, Davalillo-cle 33, B.Robinson-bal 33, Tresh-ny 32, Howard-ny 30

3B: Hinton-was 10, Oliva-min 10, Rollins-min 10

SB: Aparicio-bal 57, Davalillo-cle 23, Hinton-was 18

"BOGO!"

GIDP: Green-kc 23, Adair-bal 21, Skowron-chi 20, Yaz-bos 20

TEAM REPORTS:

Stottlmyre's medical staff meets over breakfast.

YANKEE DOODLES: Tom Tresh absolutely went off in August for the Yanks, nearly getting into the batting leaders. Let *that* sink in. He was still a dandy little player in '64, but this month he thought he was right there with Mantle and the rest. Meanwhile, Elston Howard, who was scorching hot in July and had taken over the AL batting lead, cooled off badly in August. Rookie phenom Mel Stottlemyre was shelved when he came down with pink eye and chicken pox, the usual childhood ailments. After a few weeks in bed with Mister Cuddle Bear, he is expected back for the final run-up to the inevitable World Series for the New Yawks. 

Brooks and Sam sent away for the brochure.

BIRD DOO: Brooks Robinson is having the season of his life, with Sam Bowens right behind him doing the same. They stand head and shoulders above the rest of the league in RBI, both having already surpassed the century mark. Brooksie also happens to lead the loop in batting average. "It's leg hits," he told reporters with a smirk. Boog Powell's bid for a 50-homer season was derailed when he choked on a plate of ribs and had to leave the line-up for a while, stalling him at 40 dingers. Kid chucker Wally Bunker has been in the league ERA leaders all year, but has only 8 wins to show for it, against 4 losses. He is the king of the no-decision. 

Animated skeletons vie to impress skipper Al Lopez and win jobs as scabs.

SOUTH SIDE HITS: Ron Hansen has emerged as a bonafide run producer, with 88 knocked in so far. Who knew? However, the Good Ship White Sox took on water when as many as 9--yes, 9--players were injured at the same time. In fact, backstop Cam Carreon and kid flyhawk Ken Berry both died and could not be revived. The rest of the team must carry on for the rest of the campaign without their services. This leaves the preposterous duo of J.C. Martin and Gerry McNertney to do the catching. "I got a hit once," bragged McNertney. "Liar!" said Martin, jealous at the very thought. 

...and starring Larry Sherry as The Beaver!

TIGER TALES: I have good news and bad news, Tiger fans. The bad news is, the bats turned to mush in August. The good news is, the pitching over-performed and the team got healthy. As a result, the club was able to forget the misery of July and win as many as 8 in a row during August. Fred Gladding, suddenly iffy, lost his closer spot to Larry Sherry, who notched his first 3 saves. Dave Wickersham went 5-1 in the month and soutpaw Mickey Lolich pitched brilliantly though his .500 record doesn't show it. When Ed Rakow and Denny McLain fell down a hole together, Phil Regan and Buckeye Joe Sparma stepped in to fill the gap. 

"But it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me la la la..."

WASHING-TOON:  Just when it seemed safe to make fun of the Senators again...they keep getting back up like a monster in a cheap horror flick. I mean, c'mon, they traded their best hitter, Moose Skowron, to Chicago for freaking Frank Kreutzer. Also, when even I was shamed at my over-use of sore-armed Tom Cheney and sent him off to Crocodile Springs to rest for the remainder of August, one would think they would fade with ass clowns like Dave Stenhouse and Alan "Cokehead" Koch starting games. But, no. With their top hitter for average being oft-injured backstop Mike Brumley at .248, they came back from 4 games under .500 at month's start, to go back over the break-even mark before falling a smidge short at the end, despite a winning month. How are they doing it? That old black magic is as good an explanation as I have, and I played the games. 

He likes Wall Of Voodoo

HOLY WRIT: The Angels have gone 34-24 since July 1st and actually moved into the first division for a day before falling a half game behind the redonkulous Senators again. Dean Chance seems a shoo-in for the AL Cy Young award. The Halos' 2.67 team ERA is a third of a run ahead of any other team. Too bad they suck at hitting, having scored 50 fewer runs than the next wimpiest team. Ancient Joe Adock (23 HR) is their only real power hitter, though Jim Fregosi has an unexpected 20 blasts. When Jim had to sit out a couple of games, the Angels turned to versatile Tom Satriano at shortstop and it didn't turn out well. Lead-footed late bloomer Felix Torres went on a late August homer binge to get his total up to 12. He was interviewed on the Mexican radio but no comprende, what does he say?

He's 3-12 with a million strikeouts! Whee!

TRIBE WAMPUM:  Stupid Cleveland, if they could just once catch a baseball, or throw it, without comical mishap, they might go somewhere. But no, they lead the league with a whopping 161 errors. Add to that the fact that as Daddy Wags goes, so goes the offense. Leon Wagner has 28 HR and 81 ribbies, but the rest of the line-up is a hodgepodge. Gone are the halcyon days of July, when Woodie Held swallowed TNT and hit everything he saw out of the park. He has turned back into a pumpkin. They can't find a middle infielder who can hit Twiggy's weight, let alone his own. On the mound, they have a stable of young power arms, but the results aren't there yet. And the bullpen is superannuated Don McMahon and a bunch of dolts with C's on their caps. "Watch and learn, kids," chuckles Don.

They've been called up to The Show.

MINNY HA HA'S: Okayyyy, HERE's the Twins team we've been waiting to see! The usual home run barrage continued unabated, but the big news is, the pitching did much better in August. Jim Kaat tossed five (!) complete games and increased his win total to 15 while shaving half a run off his ERA. Camilo Pascual found the win column a few times, too, and Gerry Arrigo fanned everybody he could find, to surge into second place in the league in K's with 170 K's in 170 innings. The bullpen still isn't all that reliable, though, placing last in the league in saves, despite mid-season additions. Tony Oliva, a season-long disappointment in terms of batting average, finally woke up and improved his batting mark to .265. Whee. With rosters expanded in September, the Twins now call up everyone who isn't nailed down or dead from their Moldview Unsightly Stains farm club, giving them 40 faces to choose from each day from here on in. 

Therrrrre's Johnny!

BOSTON BEANINGS:  The crew of sedated lap dogs the Red Sox call a pitching staff continues to get shelled at every opportunity, leading to a sorry total of an even 700 runs against so far. Moreover, the hitting went quiet for almost the entire month. Dick Stuart, despite a respectable .280 average, has but 18 HR. Frank Malzone was discovered to be asleep at third base, and except for Yaz and upstart retread Felix Mantilla, the will to win just isn't there. The Carmine Hose don't even have their one claim to fame left anymore, having been surpassed by the Yankees in double plays turned. (See "Malzone, slumber")  Skipper Johnny Pesky is rumored to be on the hot seat, and has, in fact, burst into flames. 

He can't bear to look.

MULE SHIT: The A's staggered through a month in which they won just 7 games and sank ever further into the far reaches of last place. Between them, chuckers Pena, Segui and Drabowsky have taken it on the chops for the "L" 47 times. The A's have been even more generous to opposing batters than the Red Sox, having given up 703 tallies to date. In August, Jim Gentile refused to set down his lemonade and get busy. He swatted just one lonesome HR and knocked in a paltry 5. "I'm resting," he opined. Dick Green did what he could, and Ray, er, Ed Charles surpassed the 20 HR plateau, but it was all wasted effort. Nonetheless, both players insist that they see World Series play in their futures. Stop sniffing glue, fellas. In a last ditch effort, the ballclub called up a bunch of schmoes en masse from their Whiskey River farm team, including personal pet Larry Stahl, who is 2-for-3 with a grand slam in an earlier cup of coffee with the big club. 

Come back in a few days for the NL report. Things have really tightened up!