Impossible Dream???

Re: Impossible Dream???

September 1,2,3 v Minnesota Twins (61-68)

September 1-Reggie Smith went 5-5 with a HR and 3 RBI, and Denny McClain struck out 10 in 7 innings helping Boston to a 5-2 win over the Twins. (91-42)
W-Denny McClain (16-4) L-Jim McAndrew (11-7) S-Sparky Lyle (41)

September 2-Roger Moret scattered 8 hits over 7 shutout innings, and Rico Petrocelli went 4-4 with a HR and 3 RBI giving Boston an 8-0 win over Minnesota. (92-42)
W-Roger Moret (18-6) L-Dave Boswell (9-11)

September 3-Ron Guidry helped his own cause, hitting a bases clearing double, as well as pitching 1 run ball over 7 innings as Boston completed the sweep of the Twins, winning 7-3. (93-42)
W-Ron Guidry (3-1) L-Dick Woodson (3-4)

September 4,5,6 v New York Yankees (72-60)

September 4-Frank Howard went 3-4 with a HR and 7 RBI, and Roy Whitw went 4-4 with 4 runs scored as New York blitzed the Sox 13-7. (93-43)
W-Sonny Seibert (5-3) L-Ken Brett (0-1)

September 5-Tony Conigliaro and Don Baylor each went 2-4 with 2 run HR's, and Dock Ellis allowed 2 runs in 8 innings, winning his 20th game for a 2nd straight year, leading Boston to a 4-2 win. (94-43)
W-Dock Ellis (20-5) L-Jim Bouton (11-9) S-Sparky Lyle (42)

September 6-Ted Simmons went 3-3 with 2 RBI, and Denny McClain hit a 2 run single helping his cause as Boston beat New York 9-3. (95-43)
W-Denny McClain (17-4) L-Al Downing (8-12)

MLB Milestones:

Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hit for the cycle
Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers scored his 1000th run

MLB Injuries:
Bill Freehan (DET) 5 months (Torn Ankle Ligament)
Jim Qualls (KC) 3 months (Broken Ankle)

Up next for Boston is a home and home series with the Yanks, the first three in the Bronx, followed by a 3 game set in Fenway.

Re: Impossible Dream???

September 10,11,12 at New York Yankees (75-63)

September 10-Reggie Smith had 2 hits and an RBI, and Roger Moret pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball as Boston outlasted the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings. (96-43)
W-Cecil Upshaw (4-2) L-Jack Aker (4-4) S-Sparky Lyle (43)

September 11-Art Shamsky hit a solo HR, his 14th of the year, and rookie Ron Guidry continued his impressive run, pitching 8 1/3 innings of 2 run ball helping Boston beat the Yanks 4-2. (97-43)
W-Ron Guidry (4-1) L-Mel Stottlemyre (16-10) S-Sparky Lyle (44)

September 12-Al Yates hit a pinch hit 2 run HR, and Mike Hegan drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning, helping New York avoid the sweep, winning 4-3. (97-44)
W-Ron Klimkowski (8-1) L-Gene Garber (1-2)

September 16,17,18 v New York Yankees (76-65)

September 16-Tony Soliata went 3-3 with a HR and 5 RBI, as the Yankees roughed up the Sox 8-6. (97-45)
W-Mike McCormick (4-4) L-Reggie Cleveland (9-3)

September 17-Toby Harrah hit a 2 run single off Steve Kline in the bottom of the 13th inning, giving Boston a 5-4 win over New York, and their 4th straight American League Eastern Championship!!!. (98-45)
W-Rollie Fingers (7-6) L-Steve Kline (1-4) Boxscore below:

Code:

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox September 17, 1972 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Yankees (NYY) 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 11 2 Red Sox (BOS) 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 10 0 NEW YORK ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg J. Davanon (SS) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .258 B. Hansen (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241 F. Baker (P) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .154 T. Munson (C) 7 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .312 R. White (RF) 3 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 .345 A. Yates (P) 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .332 F. Howard (LF) 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 .236 T. Solaita (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235 C. Sanchez (P) 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .375 B. Grich (2B) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .264 J. Pepitone (P) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .311 J. Sipin (P) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 S. Whitaker (CF) 4 1 1 1 0 1 3 0 .237 P. Schaal (3B) 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .248 A. Downing (P) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .146 M. Hegan (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .143 G. Jones (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 R. Klimkowski (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J. Kenney (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 S. Siebert (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .391 J. Lyttle (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .196 J. Aker (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J. Morales (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 S. Kline (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .105 TOTALS 49 11 4 4 1 4 11 0 2B: T. Munson (19) HR: R. White (18) CS: T. Munson NEW YORK ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA A. Downing 6.0 4 1 0 2 2 5 96 5.10 G. Jones 1.0 2 1 0 1 1 0 25 2.65 R. Klimkowski 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2.91 S. Siebert 3.0 1 2 0 0 0 0 58 4.22 J. Aker 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 33 2.29 S. Kline 0.1 2 1 0 2 2 0 13 2.80 TOTALS 13.1 10 5 0 5 5 6 235 BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg R. Smith (1B) 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .294 T. Harrah (2B) 6 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 .284 T. Conigliaro (RF) 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .288 D. Baylor (LF) 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .289 R. Petrocelli (3B) 5 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .322 B. Conigliaro (CF) 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 .266 L. Bowa (SS) 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300 T. Simmons (C) 6 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 .250 D. McLain (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .132 G. Brett (P) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 C. Upshaw (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 T. Muser (P) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .385 S. Lyle (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 D. Evans (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 R. Fingers (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 B. Grabarkewitz (P) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .245 TOTALS 46 10 5 5 0 5 6 0 3B: R. Smith (6) HBP: R. Petrocelli CS: T. Harrah, R. Smith BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA D. McLain 7.0 6 2 1 3 3 6 119 4.08 C. Upshaw 2.0 1 1 0 0 0 2 33 3.88 S. Lyle 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 1 22 1.66 R. Fingers 3.0 2 1 0 1 1 2 45 3.00 TOTALS 14.0 11 4 1 4 4 11 219 WP: R. Fingers (7-6) LP: S. Kline (1-4) Temperature: 65F Wind: 5 MPH (out to center) Attendance: 33,379 Time: 5:12

September 18-Running out a lineup that was as followed: SS Billy Grabarkewitz, 3B George Brett, RF Dwight Evans, CF Billy Conigliaro, LF Ben Ogilvie,2B Ray Knight, 1B Jeff Burroughs, and C Ernie Whitt, the Sox gave the Yankees all they could handle as Grabarkewitz and Whitt each homered, and Roger Moret won his 19th game as the Boston JV beat the Yankees 4-2. (99-45)
W-Roger Moret (19-6) L-Joe Moeller (9-8) S-Sparky Lyle (45)

MLB Milestones:
Johnny Callison of the California Angels hit his 300th homerun

MLB Injuries:
Tommy John (CHW) 3 months (Ruptured Disc in Back)
Denny Doyle (PHI) 9 months (Broken Wrist)

Next for the Sox is 3 games in Detroit against the Tigers followed by 3 more at home against the New York Yankees.

Re: Impossible Dream???

September 19,20,21 at Detroit Tigers (74-73)

September 19-Trailing 4-0 entering the 8th inning, Tony Conigliaro and Don Baylor went back to back, and Baylor hit a 2nd HR in the 9th completing the comeback as Boston beat the Tigers 5-4. (100-45)
W-Cecil Upshaw (5-2) L-Don Leshnock (6-15) S-Sparky Lyle (46)

September 20-Bill Lee pitched 7 shutout innings, and the Sox hit 5 homeruns helping Boston blast the Tigers 9-0. (101-45)
W-Bill Lee (12-9) L-Juan Pizarro (8-13)

September 21-Ben Ogilive went 4-5 with 4 RBI, Tony Muser went 4-5 with 4 runs scored and 4 RBI, and George Brett went 3-6 with 2 triples and 3 RBI asthe Sox minor league roster beat up on the Tigers, 11-2, completing the sweep. (102-45)
W-Dock Ellis (21-5) L-Mike Krukow (3-8)

September 22,23,24 v New York Yankees (78-69)

September 22-Don Baylor went 2-4 with a grand slam, his 38th HR of the year, and Ted Simmons hit a 3 run shot as Boston outslugged the Yankees 10-5. (103-45)
W-Denny McClain (18-4) L-Joe Moeller (9-9)

September 23-The Yankees, trailing 3-1, scored single runs in the 4th, 6th and 9th innings completing the comeback, beating Boston 4-3. (103-46)
W-Ron Klimkowski (9-1) L-Rollie Fingers (7-7) S-Jack Aker (23)

September 24-Reggie Smith (34), Rico Petrocelli (33) Tony Conigliaro (22) and Art Shamsky (15) each hit 2 run homeruns as Boston took two of three from New York, winning 9-4. (104-46)
W-Ron Guidry (5-1) L-Jim Bouton (11-10)

MLB Injury News:
Don Drysdale (LA) 2 months (Broken Ankle)
Ron Cey (LA) 4 months (Broken Hip)
Steve Whitaker (NY) 3 months (Broken Leg)
Dave Boswell (MIN) 9 months (Torn ACL)
Bert Campaneris (OAK) 2 months (Torn Elbow Ligament)
Sal Bando (OAK) 7 weeks (Dislocated Hip)
Richie Zisk (SD) 3 months (Broken Tibia)

MLB Milestones:

Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs recorded his 2000th hit

MLB Retirements:
One of the all time greats decided to hang up his cleats after 21 seasons, all with one team. New York Yankees CF Mickey Mantle decided to call it quits after going through a season in which he recorded just 46 AB's, with no homeruns. Mantle is 4th on the All-Time homerun list with 591. He his .298 for his career to go along with 2698 hits, 408 doubles, and 173 steals. Mantle's resume also included 3 MVP's (1956, '57, '62), 16 All-Star Games (1952,'53,'54,'55,'56,'57,'58,'59,'60,'61,'62,'63,'64,'65,'67,'68), and one Gold Glove (1962).

Ending September and into October for Boston is 3 more against the Yankees, this time in New York followed by 3 in Detroit against the Tigers.

Re: Impossible Dream???

September 28,29,30 at New York Yankees (81-72)

September 28-Backup C Joe Azcue went 3-4 with an RBI and Tony Soliata had a 2 run single, and Jim Bouton pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just 3 hits as the Yankees blanked Boston 6-0. (104-47)
W-Jim Bouton (12-10) L-Bill Lee (12-10)

Injury News: We lost Bill Lee for the rest of the year with an elbow injury. He will be examined by the team physician tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury.

September 29-Thurmon Munson went 2-5 with 2 RBI, and Bob Hansen went 4-5 with an RBI as New York beat Boston 7-3. (104-48)
W-Al Downing (9-13) L-Dock Ellis (21-6) S-Larry Gowell (1)

September 30-Bobby Grich went 2-4 with a grand slam HR, and the Yankees beat up on Denny McClain, completing the sweep of Boston, winning 6-5. (104-49)
W-Ron Klimkowski (10-1) L-Rollie Fingers (7-8)

October 1,2,3 at Detroit Tigers (76-80)

October 1-Ron Woods hit a 3 run HR in the bottom of the 8th inning, as the Tigers came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 6-4. (104-50)
W-Ken Forsch (5-2) L-Gene Garber (1-3) S-Fred Gladding (14)

October 2-Don Baylor hit homeruns 39 and 40, driving in 3, and Tony C. added a 2 run HR as Boston ended their 4 game losing streak, winning 7-6. (105-50)
W-Ron Guidry (6-1) L-Mike Krukow (3-10) S-Sparky Lyle (47)

October 3-The Sox hit 5 homeruns, including 2 by Reggie Smith, numbers 35 and 36, as the Sox took two of three from Detroit, winning easily, 11-3. (106-50)
W-Reggie Cleveland (10-3) L-Mickey Lolich (13-13)

Ending the regular season for Boston is 3 more games in Detroit against the Tigers followed by 3 in New York to finish against the Yankees.

Re: Impossible Dream???

October 4,5,6 at Detroit Tigers (77-82)

October 4-19 year old phenom George Brett hit a 2 out, 2 run HR in the top of the 9th, capping a 3 run comeback as Boston beat the Tigers 5-4. (107-50)
W-Rollie Fingers (8-8) L-Fred Gladding (4-4) S-Sparky Lyle (48)

October 5-Donn Clendenon hit a pinch hit 2 run single in the bottom of the 8th helping the Tigers overcome a 6-1 deficit en route to a 7-6 win. (107-51)
W-Don Leshnock (7-15) L-Gene Garber (1-4) S-Fred Gladding (15)

October 6-Billy Conigliaro hit his 6th HR of the year, a solo shot, and Denny McClain won his 19th game of the year in the 4-3 Sox win, (108-51)
W-Denny McClain (19-4) L-Dave Lemanzcyk (0-1) S-Cecil Upshaw (3)

October 7,8,9 at New York Yankees (86-73)

October 7-Bobby Grich went 2-4 with 3 RBI, and Joe Moeller pitched 6 solid innings as the Yanks nipped Boston 7-6. (108-52)
W-Joe Moeller (11-9) L-Ron Guidry (6-2) S-Jack Aker (25)

October 8-Billy Conigliaro hit a pinch hit RBI single off Ron Klimkowski in the top of the 9th inning, giving Boston a 4-3 win over New York. (109-52)
W-Gene Garber (2-4) L-Gary Jones (9-2) S-Cecil Upshaw (4)

October 9-Frank Howard went 4-5 with an RBI and Ron Hansen went 4-5 with 4 runs scored as the Yankees won the season finale against Boston easily, 10-4. (109-53)
W-Jim Bouton (14-10) L-Dock Ellis (21-7)

MLB Injury News:

Boston closer Sparky Lyle will miss the ALCS against the Chicago White Sox with elbow tendonitis. Cecil Upshaw will assume the role of closer until he returns.

Up next will be end of the year stats, standings, league leaders, and previews of the AL and NL Championship Series!

Re: Impossible Dream???

Final Team Batting Stats-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1972 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Baylor, Don BOS 157 .296 646 191 26 3 43 64 75 11 4 108 153 .545 .365 Smith, Reggie BOS 152 .286 615 176 37 6 36 110 86 11 7 137 108 .541 .395 Bowa, Larry BOS 158 .296 591 175 28 9 1 44 40 19 18 81 64 .379 .349 Harrah, Toby BOS 149 .298 590 176 26 1 20 99 64 29 15 107 76 .447 .397 Petrocelli, Rico BOS 147 .316 586 185 30 2 34 65 85 2 1 96 118 .548 .384 Simmons, Ted BOS 132 .254 488 124 21 4 14 52 34 0 0 58 87 .400 .324 Conigliaro, Tony BOS 102 .291 399 116 25 5 24 58 73 0 1 85 66 .559 .385 Shamsky, Art BOS 104 .301 292 88 15 5 17 38 44 1 0 50 59 .562 .382 Conigliaro, Billy BOS 62 .266 218 58 15 1 6 26 42 0 0 26 34 .427 .348 Grabarkewitz, Billy BOS 67 .261 161 42 7 1 5 24 40 12 2 31 14 .410 .355 French, Jim BOS 30 .206 97 20 2 0 0 18 10 0 0 15 9 .227 .330 McLain, Denny BOS 32 .145 76 11 0 0 0 2 35 0 0 4 4 .145 .167 Ellis, Dock BOS 33 .217 69 15 0 0 0 10 26 0 0 11 8 .217 .313 Lee, Bill BOS 32 .134 67 9 1 0 0 2 21 0 0 2 5 .149 .159 Moret, Roger BOS 31 .048 63 3 2 0 0 5 23 0 0 4 2 .079 .116 Cleveland, Reggie BOS 31 .137 51 7 1 0 0 5 18 0 0 2 5 .157 .211 Muser, Tony BOS 38 .465 43 20 4 0 0 7 3 0 0 9 10 .558 .538 Brett, George BOS 15 .370 27 10 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 5 6 .667 .414 Rico, Fred BOS 26 .308 26 8 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 .308 .308 Guidry, Ron BOS 16 .136 22 3 1 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 6 .182 .167 Evans, Dwight BOS 8 .000 18 0 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 0 1 .000 .136 Oglivie, Ben BOS 5 .412 17 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 .412 .368 Whitt, Ernie BOS 3 .167 12 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .500 .167 Knight, Ray BOS 3 .167 12 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 0 .167 .231 Sutherland, Gary BOS 11 .300 10 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 .400 .364 Burroughs, Jeff BOS 3 .200 5 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .333 Upshaw, Cecil BOS 51 .000 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 Garber, Gene BOS 58 .000 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 Fingers, Rollie BOS 68 .250 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 .250 .250 Phelps, Ken BOS 2 .500 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 York, Jim BOS 43 .000 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 Brett, Ken BOS 12 .000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 Lyle, Sparky BOS 63 .000 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1.000

Final Team Pitching Stats-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1972 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 Lyle, Sparky BOS 63.2 1.55 63 0 4 2 48 45 13 8.62 Moret, Roger BOS 200.2 2.83 31 31 19 6 0 121 73 10.99 Fingers, Rollie BOS 87.1 2.99 68 0 8 8 1 64 23 11.13 Upshaw, Cecil BOS 68.0 3.44 51 0 5 2 4 50 19 11.25 Ellis, Dock BOS 215.1 3.47 33 33 21 7 0 140 62 11.41 Lee, Bill BOS 223.0 4.08 32 32 12 10 0 111 43 11.87 York, Jim BOS 58.2 4.14 43 0 3 1 0 43 20 12.12 McLain, Denny BOS 215.1 4.18 32 32 19 4 0 164 69 12.29 Garber, Gene BOS 75.1 4.18 58 0 4 4 0 52 16 11.71 Guidry, Ron BOS 67.0 4.43 16 8 6 2 1 51 14 12.49 Cleveland, Reggie BOS 166.0 4.72 31 25 10 3 0 93 49 12.42 Brett, Ken BOS 18.2 5.30 12 0 0 1 0 12 11 16.39 Gossage, Rich BOS 1.0 9.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 27.00

Offensive MVP: Look no farther than Don Baylor. He had his coming out year, hitting .296 with 43 HR's and a whopping 153 RBI. He also scored 108 runs and stole 11 bases. He is locked up through 1976, so he should be giving the Sox plenty of offense for years.

Pitching MVP:Dock Ellis had his 2nd straight 20 win season, posting a 21-7 mark with a 3.47 ERA in 215 1/3 innings. He is a steadying force at the head of the rotation.

Offensive Disapointment: Has to be Ted Simmons. Came on strong at the end of the year, but went from .287 19-98, down to .254 15-87. He also grounded into 23 double plays on the year. Has to improve next season.

Pitching Disappointment: Stops at Bill Lee. Lee had a career record of 63-12 coming into the season, he then posted a 12-10 record with a career worst 4.08 ERA. He did complete 7 games this year which was a career high, but he has to get back to where he was in "71.

Up next are final League Standings!

1 Attachment(s)

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Final American League Standings-

1 Attachment(s)

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Final National League Standings-

Re: Impossible Dream???

1972 American League Championship Series
Boston Red Sox (109-53) V Chicago White Sox (109-53)

Boston Red Sox
Lineup:
C-Ted Simmons .254 14-87
1B-Reggie Smith .286 36-108
2B-Toby Harrah .298 20-76 29 steals
3B-Rico Petrocelli .316 34-118
SS-Larry Bowa .296 1-64 19 steals
LF-Don Baylor .296 43-153
CF-Art Shamsky .301 17-59
RF-Tony Conigliaro .291 24-66

Billy Conigliaro .266 6-34

Pitching:
Dock Ellis 21-7 3.47
Roger Moret 19-6 2.83
Denny McClain 19-4 4.18
Cecil Upshaw 5-2 3.44 5 saves
Rollie Fingers 8-8 2.99

Injuries:
SP Bill Lee 12-10 4.08 (Out for Postseason)
CL Sparky Lyle 4-2 1.55 48 saves (Will miss ALCS)

Chicago White Sox
Lineup:
C-Jim Pagliaroni .234 15-73
1B-Ossie Blanco .272 7-42
2B-Bobby Knoop .250 4-42
3B-Bill Melton .344 36-140
SS-Rich Morales .222 0-31
LF-Carlos May .310 13-79
CF-Tommy Agee .322 26-99
RF-Jim Northrup .310 30-107

Tommy Harper .261 13-45

Pitching:
Gary Peters 20-9 3.26
Wilbur Wood 14-12 3.59
Mike Caldwell 21-1 3.48
Dennis Higgins 3-5 4.13 24 saves
Cy Acosta 9-10 3.11

Injuries:
SP Tommy John 16-3 3.17 (Will miss postseason)

1972 National League Championship Series
Los Angeles Dodgers (101-61) v. New York Mets (89-73)

Los Angeles Dodgers
Lineup:
C-Duke Sims .242 22-73
1B-Steve Garvey .312 36-127
2B-Jim Lefebvre .289 23-81
3B-Bob Bailey .251 9-42
SS-Leo Cardenas .165 3-8
LF-Carl Yastrzemski .281 8-62
CF-Willie Davis .247 14-54
RF-Ron Fairly .270 21-72

Jay Johnstone .292 5-27

Pitching:
Don Sutton 17-10 2.99
Claude Osteen 16-4 2.67
Tom Kelley 11-12 3.52 w/LA and CLE
Ron Perranoski 3-5 2.50 16 saves
Bob Miller 12-4 1.75

Injuries:
3B Ron Cey .279 33-94 (Out for Postseason)
SS Chico Salmon .251 4-30 (Out for Postseason)

New York Mets
Lineup:
C-Tom Haller .277 9-48
1B-Ed Kranepool .318 26-100
2B-Mike Andrews .246 6-42
3B-Ken Poulsen .266 1-16
SS-Sonny Jackson .270 1-36
LF-Ron Swoboda .273 8-23
CF-Amos Otis .324 23-103
RF-Rocky Colavito .240 11-44

Cleon Jones .225 4-23

Pitching:
Tom Seaver 18-13 3.75
Tug McGraw 16-10 4.11
Gary Gentry 16-8 2.83
Danny Frisella 4-0 1.54 21 saves
Ed Sprague 5-11 3.17 11 saves

Injuries:
OF Ken Singleton .261 15-72 (Out for Postseason)
SP Hank Fischer 9-12 3.43 (Out for Postseason)

Playoff reviews are next!

Re: Impossible Dream???

National League Championship Series

Game One: The Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a double by Ed Kranepool, and extended that lead to 7-0 after two on a 2 run double by Amos Otis and a 2 run HR by Rocky Colavito. Two more runs in the third gave the Mets a 9-0 lead, the Dodgers would scratch out a pair of runs, but it wasn't enough. Mets 9-2. (New York leads Series 1-0)

Game Two: Once again, the Mets struck first on an RBI groundout by Ed Kranepool in the 1st inning. The score would remain 1-0 until the 6th when Kranepool would hit into a double play, scoring another Met run, putting them up 2-0. The scoring would end in the 7th as Don Wert singled in Cleon Jones to put New York ahead 3-0. Tug McGraw pitched a complete game, 3 hit shutout in the win. Mets 3-0 (New York leads Series 2-0)

Game Three:The Dodgers drew first blood as Bob Bailey hit a solo HR in the 3rd inning, putting LA up 1-0. In the fifth, Bailey drove in the 2nd Dodger run, as he singled in Jim Lefebvre. The Mets pulled within one in the top of the 7th as Amos Otis hit a solo HR, but Steve Garvey put the game out of reach with a 2 run HR in the bottom of the inning, to keep the Dodgers hopes alive. Dodgers 4-2. (New York leads Series 2-1)

Game Four: The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead after 6 innings on an inside the park HR by Steve Garvey, and RBI's by Ron Fairly and Jim Lefevbre. That lead stuck until the top of the 8th when the ageless Rocky Colavito hit a game tying, 3 run HR off Don Sutton. The score remained tied until the 12th, when Colavito again came up big with an RBI single, giving New York a 4-3 lead and putting them on the brink of the World Series. However, with two outs in the bottom of the inning, Willie Davis tied the score with a single off Jack Fisher with two outs. New York could not score in their half of the 13th, and Steve Garvey came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the frame and hit a ball that curled around the pole in RF off Ralph Terry to give the Dodgers a 5-4 win and tie the series at 2 games apiece. Dodgers 5-4 (Series tied at 2)

Game Five: The Dodgers jumped on Mets ace Tom Seaver early with 3 straight doubles in the first inning, giving LA a 3-0 lead after 1. The Mets then came back and scored 4 of their own on 2 RBI singles and a 2 run error by RF Ron Fairly putting New York up 4-3 after 3 innings. The Mets extended their lead to 5-3 on an RBI single by Sonny Jackson in the 6th. The score would remain there until the bottom of the 8th, when Bob Bailey drove in a run with an RBI double. The bottom of the 9th was eventful as the Dodgers had 2 on with one out and Ron Fairly up against Danny Frisella. Fairly hit a ground ball to Sonny Jackson who threw it to Mike Andrews at 2nd, who relayed to first, completing the double play and putting the Mets into their first ever World Series! Tug McGraw was named NLCS MVP after his 3 hit masterpiece in Game Two. Mets 5-4 (New York wins Series 3-2)

Up next will be the ALCS!

Re: Impossible Dream???

American League Championship Series

Game One: Boston would take a 1-0 lead on a solo HR by Rico Petrocelli in the 2nd inning. Chicago would take the lead in the 3rd on a 2 run double by Ossie Blanco. The score would stay like that until the 6th when the Red Sox would tie the game on an RBI groundout by Ted Simmons. Chicago would retake the lead in the bottom of the 7th inning as Tommy Agee would hit a sacrifice fly. Boston would tie the game off closer Dennis Higgins in the top of the 9th inning on an RBI single by Petrocelli. Boston had a chance to win it, but Larry Bowa popped out with the bases loaded to end the 9th. The score would remain tied until the top of the 12th inning when Billy Conigliaro would hit a 2 run double, scoring his older brother Tony and Don Baylor. Rollie Fingers would come in in the bottom of the 12th and set the White Sox down 1-2-3. Red Sox 5-3 (Boston leads Series 1-0)

Game Two: The game would be scoreless until the 4th when Cotton Nash hit a sacrifice fly. The White Sox would extend their lead to 2-0 when Nash would single in Wilbur Wood in the 5th. Boston cut into the lead, in the top of the 6th when Billy Conigliaro hit an RBI single. This was as close as Boston would get, as Chicago tacked on 2 more in the 8th on back to back RBI doubles by Tommy Agee and Cotton Nash, tying the series at 1. White Sox 4-1 (Series tied at 1)

Game Three: Chicago took a 3-0 lead after 1 1/2 innings on a leadoff HR and 2 run double by Carlos May. Boston cut that lead to 3-2 in their half of the 2nd on a 2 run single by pitcher Denny McClain. Jim Pagliaroni had an RBI single in the top of the 3rd, and then Boston blew up for 5 in the bottom of the 3rd, capped by a 3 run HR by Ted Simmons, giving Boston a 7-4 lead thru 3. The White Sox would nip away at the lead, scoring 1 run in the 4th, and 2 in the 5th on a single by Pete Ward. The score stayed 7-7 into the 7th, when Ted Simmons hit his 2nd HR of the game, a solo shot, putting Boston up 8-7. Jim Northrup hit a two out 2 run HR off Rollie Fingers in the top of the 8th inning, giving Chicago a 9-8 lead, a lead they would extend to 10-8 in the 9th on a solo HR by Pete Ward. Boston put 2 on in the bottom of the 9th, but were unable to score. White Sox 10-8 (Chicago leads Series 2-1)

Game Four: Boston scored single runs in the 2nd 3rd and 4th innings to take a 3-0 lead. They extended that to 5-0 after 6 on a single by Ted Simmons and sac fly by Reggie Smith. Chicago made it interesting in the 7th by scoring 3 times on a two run HR by Tommy Agee and singe by Pete Ward. Toby Harrah extended the lead to 3 with an RBI single in the 8th, and Cecil Upshaw would come in and close the door in the 9th to tie the series at 2 games. Dock Ellis was the pitching hero for Boston, pitching 5 2/3 innings of perfect ball before giving up his first hit. Red Sox 5-3 (Series tied at 2)

Game Five: Boston put rookie Roger Moret up against knuckleballer Wilbur Wood in Game Five. The White Sox jumped out early 1-0 on a solo HR by Bill Melton, however, that was the best news of the day for Chicago. Boston took the lead for good in the 4th on a 3 run HR by Tony Conigliaro, and Tony C. was just heating up. He came up again in the 7th with a man on and hit his 2nd HR of the game, a blast over the Green Monster to extend Bostons lead to 7-1. Conigliaro wasn't done just yet as he came up the next inning and hit his 3rd HR of the game, putting Boston up 10-1. Boston would eventually win the game 11-1 and advance to their 3rd straight World Series! Ted Simmons was named ALCS MVP after hitting .350 (7-20) with 2 HR's and 6 RBI. Red Sox 11-1 (Boston wins Series 3-2)

Up next will be the review of the 1972 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets!

Re: Impossible Dream???

1972 World Series

Game One: Boston took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning on an RBI single by Larry Bowa, driving in Rico Petrocelli, the score stayed that way until the top of the 4th when the Mets tied the game on an RBI single by Ron Swoboda. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Boston scored a pair of runs on an RBI single by Don Baylor and he scored on a double by Petrocelli to give Boston a 3-1 lead after 5. The Mets got one back in the top of the 6th when pinch hitter Mike Jorgensen drove in Swoboda. The score remained 3-2 Boston until the 9th, when closer Sparky Lyle, who hadn't pitched in almost a month came on to close the game out. New York tied it at 3 when Cleon Jones drove home Swoboda with a single and then Sonny Jackson laid down a suicide squeeze to put the Mets up 4-3. It was Danny Frisella's turn to try to end the game, but he loaded the bases with 1 out and Don Baylor's 2 run single gave Boston the win and a 1-0 lead in the Series. Red Sox 5-4 (Boston leads Series 1-0)

Game Two: The Mets jumped out on top 1-0 on a HR by Amos Otis, but that was the last good news of the day for New York as Boston took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on a 2 run shot by Art Shamsky and never looked back. They tacked on 3 in the bottom of the 3rd, on a RBI double by Rico Petrocelli and back to back bases loaded walks to Larry Bowa and Ted Simmons to take a 5-1 lead. It stayed 5-1 until the 7th, when Boston scored 4 more on a 2 run double by Bowa, a solo HR by Toby Harrah and a sac fly. The Mets put up 2 in the bottom of the 9th, but Roger Moret put the clamps down on New York allowing just 3 runs and 5 hits while throwing a complete game. Red Sox 9-3 (Boston leads Series 2-0)

Game Three: New York took a 1-0 lead for a 2nd straight game, this time on an RBI single by Ed Kranepool. The lead wouldn't last as Boston put up 2 runs on solo HR's by Don Baylor and Art Shamsky in the top of the 2nd inning. Both pitchers, Tom Seaver and Denny McClain settled down from there, until the bottom of the 6th when Kranepool tied the game with another RBI single, and the Mets took the lead in the 7th when pinch hitter Mike Jorgensen hit an RBI double to put New York up 3-2. Boston tied the score in the top of the 9th on an RBI single by Ted Simmons and they left the lead run on 2nd base to end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, Sonny Jackson drove in Tom Haller with an RBI single off Cecil Upshaw to put the Mets right back into the series, down just 2-1. Mets 4-3 (Boston leads Series 2-1)

Game Four: The Mets scored in the first inning for a 3rd straight game, this time taking a 3-0 lead on a 3 run blast by Amos Otis. The lead was extended to 4-0 after 2 on an RBI single by Sonny Jackson, and 6-0 after 3 on an RBI single by Tom Haller and a sac fly by Rocky Colavito. Boston got one back in the 4th on a solo HR by Toby Harrah, and then in the 6th Rico Petrocelli hit a 3 run HR to bring the Sox back to within 2 at 6-4. Danny Frisella was once again called on in the 9th to end the game, and once again he was unable as Boston tied the game at 6 on an RBI single by Larry Bowa and a double play ground out by Art Shamsky. The game went to 11 tied at 6, when the Mets loaded the bases with noone out and against a drawn in infield and outfield, Rocky Colavito hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Ken Poulsen, giving the Mets the win and tying the series at 2. Mets 7-6 (Series tied at 2)

Game Five: It was the Sox turn to get the early lead as Rico Petrocelli hit a solo HR in the 2nd to put Boston up 1-0. The Mets came right back in their half of the inning, scoring 2 on a double by Mike Andrews and a single by pitcher Gary Gentry. It stayed 2-1 until the 5th when Toby Harrah hit a game tying solo HR, making the score 2-2. The Mets retook the lead in the bottom of the inning on a solo HR by Amos Otis. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Ed Kranepool extended the lead to 6-2 when he hit a 3 run blast off reliever Cecil Upshaw. The top of the seventh would show why Boston rattled off 109 wins this year, as they got one back on a solo HR by Don Baylor, and then, with the bases loaded, Reggie Smith, who had been quiet all postseason, hit a grand slam off Gary Gentry to give Boston a 7-6 lead. Boston would extend that lead to 9-6 on an RBI walk by Art Shamsky and a sac fly by Larry Bowa. Ron Guidry would come on in the 8th, and pitch the final 2 innings, putting Boston within one win of their 2nd straight series win. Red Sox 9-6 (Boston leads Series 3-2)

Game Six: Ron Swoboda gave the Mets a 1-0 lead after twon with a sac fly driving in Rocky Colavito, who tripled. Boston tied it in the bottom of the 4th on a RBI single by Art Shamsky. The game remained 1-1 until the top of the 6th when former Sox farmhand Ken Poulsen drove in Sonny Jackson with an RBI single, they extended that lead to 4-1 after their half of the 7th on a 2 run HR by secondbasemen Jerry Buschek. It stayed 4-1 until the bottom of the 8th, when Boston tied the game at 4 on a double play groundout by Don Baylor and a 2 run HR by Rico Petrocelli. Rollie Fingers sent the Mets down in order in the top of the 9th, and in the Sox half of the 9th inning, Larry Bowa started the inning with a double down the right field line. Ted Simmons laid down a perfect sac bunt, moving Bowa to 3rd. Boston sent up rookie Billy Conigliaro to face righthanded pitcher Ed Sprague. Conigliaro hit just .216 against righthanders during the regular season, and on a 1-0 pitch, against a drawn in infield, the younger Conigliaro drove the ball between 3B and SS, scoring Bowa and giving Boston the victory and their 2nd straight World Series Championship!! Don Baylor was named World Series MVP, hitting .458 (11-24) w/ 2 HR 5 RBI and 9 runs scored. Red Sox 5-4 (Boston wins Series 4-2)

Boston Red Sox 1972 World Champions!!!!

Up next will be final League Leaders!

Re: Impossible Dream???

Final 1972 Batting Leaders:

AL BAA: Bobby Tolan (TEX) .349, Rod Carew (MIN) .345, Bill Melton (CHI) .344
NL BAA: Pete Rose (CIN) .332, Tom Paciorek (MON) .326, Tim McCarver (STL) .326

AL HR's: Don Baylor (BOS) 43, Reggie Smith (BOS) 36, Bill Melton (CHI) 36
NL HR's: Darrell Evans (ATL) 52, Bobby Bonds (SF) 45, Dave Kingman (SF) 39

AL RBI's: Don Baylor (BOS) 153, Bill Melton (CHI) 140, Rico Petrocelli (BOS) 118
NL RBI's: Darrell Evans (ATL) 129, Steve Garvey (LA) 127, Bobby Bonds (SF) 126

AL Doubles: Dave Robinson (KC) 49, Jose Cruz (MIL) 42, Rod Carew (MIN) 39
NL Doubles: Ed Kranepool (NY) 43, Tom Paciorek (MON) 42, Bobby Etherdige (SF) 39

AL Triples: Rick Monday (OAK) 11, Johnny Callison (CAL) 10, Larry Bowa (BOS) 9
NL Triples: Gene Alley (STL) 10, 3 tied with 9

AL Hits: Manny Sanguillen (BAL) 209, Rod Carew (MIN) 200, Roy White (NY) 199
NL Hits: Tito Fuentes (SF) 199, Curt Flood (STL) 198, Steve Garvey (LA) 190

AL Runs: Reggie Smith (BOS) 137, Roy White (NY) 116, Rod Carew (MIN) 115
NL Runs: Darrell Evans (ATL) 121, Bobby Bonds (SF) 119, Johnny Briggs (PHI) 116

AL OBP: Bill Melton (CHI) .448, Roy White (NY) .444, Rod Carew (MIN) .423
NL OBP: Darrell Evans (ATL) .443, Johnny Briggs (PHI) .418, Pete Rose (CIN) .409

AL SLG: Bill Melton (CHI) .619, Tommy Agee (CHI) .563, Jim Northrup (CHI) .562
NL SLG: Darrell Evans (ATL) .661, Bobby Bonds (SF) .592, Steve Garvey (LA) .567

AL OPS: Bill Melton (CHI) 1.067, Rick Monday (OAK) .973, Roy White (NY) .969
NL OPS: Darrell Evans (ATL) 1.104, Bobby Bonds (SF) .975, Steve Garvey (LA) .947

AL HBP: Bill Melton (CHI) 11, 3 tied with 9
NL HBP: Bobby Etheridge (SF) 10, Gene Tenace (SF) 9, 3 tied with 8

AL Sacrifices: John Knox (MIL) 18, Tim Foli (MIL) 17, Dick Schofield (CLE) 16
NL Sacrifices: Mark Belanger (MON) 19, Don Kessinger (PHI) 18, Marty Martinez (SD) 18

AL Steals: Bert Campaneris (OAK) 37, Mickey Rivers (MIL) 34, Davey Lopes (MIL) 30
NL Steals: Joe Morgan (HOU) 27, Frank Taveras (PIT) 26, Pat Kelly (MON) 23

AL Strikeouts: Frank Howard (NY) 128, 3 tied with 120
NL Strikeouts: Dave Kingman (SF) 142, Bob Chance (CHI) 132, Bobby Bonds (SF) 126

AL Walks: Reggie Smith (BOS) 110, Bobby Grich (NY) 110, Roy White (NY) 101
NL Walks: Johnny Briggs (PHI) 125, Mike Schmidt (CHI) 123, Darrell Evans (ATL) 120

Next will be final pitching leaders!

Re: Impossible Dream???

Final 1972 Pitching Leaders:

AL Wins: Dock Ellis (BOS) 21, Mike Caldwell (CHI) 21, Gary Peters (CHI) 20
NL Wins: Gaylord Perry (SF) 24, Juan Marichal (SF) 21, Tom Seaver (NY) 18

AL Losses: John Denny (CLE) 24, Dennis Leonard (MIL) 19, Jerry Koosman (CLE) 18
NL Losses: Marco Margues (SD) 22, Ken Holtzman (CHI) 19, Sam McDowell (SF) 18

AL ERA: Chuck Dobson (OAK) 2.63, Roger Moret (BOS) 2.83, Jonah Stickles (KC) 2.85
NL ERA: Gaylord Perry (SF) 2.38, Claude Osteen (LA) 2.67, Gary Gentry (NY) 2.83

AL IP's: Pat Dobson (DET) 263.1, Mel Stottlemyre (NY) 262.1, Catfish Hunter (CAL) 257.0
NL IP's: Gaylord Perry (SF) 298.2, Juan Marichal (SF) 266.2, Don Sutton (LA) 259.0

AL K's: J.R. Richard (TEX) 208, Mickey Lolich (DET) 203, Gary Peters (CHI) 199
NL K's: Gaylord Perry (SF) 247, Fergie Jenkins (CHI) 205, 3 tied with 202

AL Complete Games: 4 tied with 7
NL Complete Games: Gaylord Perry (SF) 12, Juan Marichal (SF) 11, Claude Osteen (LA) 9

AL Shutouts: Gary Peters (CHI) 5, Jim Palmer (BAL) 4, Jim Bouton (NY) 4
NL Shutouts: Phil Niekro (ATL) 6, Gaylord Perry (SF) 5, Claude Osteen (LA) 4

AL Appearances: Kent Tekulve (TEX) 82, Steve Bailey (CLE) 81, Don Secrist (MIL) 80
NL Appearances: Jerry Cram (MON) 77, Ed Sprague (NY) 74, Bill Wilson (PHI) 74

AL HR's Allowed: Mickey Lolich (DET) 33, Jerry Koosman (CLE) 29, John Denny (CLE) 29
NL HR's Allowed: Ken Holtzman (CHI) 31, Luis Tiant (CHI) 29, Marco Margues (SD) 29

AL Saves: Sparky Lyle (BOS) 48, Jack Aker (NY) 25, Dennis Higgins (CHI) 24
NL Saves: Tom Dukes (HOU) 25, Gary Wagner (PHI) 25, Pedro Borbon (MON) 23

Up next will be the OffSeason Awards, all the Free Agent activity and any Trade News!

Re: Impossible Dream???

1972 Off-Season Awards:

AL Gold Gloves:
P-Mel Stottlemyre (NY) 1st
C-Bill Freehan (DET) 5th
1B-Jack Hiatt (OAK) 1st
2B-Ted Kubiak (OAK) 1st
3B-Ron Santo (KC) 4th
SS-Jerry Davanon (NY) 1st
OF-Paul Blair (BAL) 3rd
OF-Carlos May (CHI) 1st
OF-Jim Howarth (MIL) 1st

AL Rookie of the Year:
Roger Moret (BOS) 19-6 2.83

AL Cy Young:
Gary Peters (CHI) 20-9 3.29

AL MVP:
Bill Melton (CHI) .340 36-140

NL Gold Gloves:
P-Phil Niekro (ATL) 1st
C-Joe Torre (ATL) 4th
1B-Wes Parker (MON) 3rd
2B-Don Money (SD) 1st
3B-Phil Linz (PHI) 1st
SS-Dennis Menke (ATL) 1st
OF-Bobby Brooks (NY) 1st
OF-Keith Lampard (SD) 1st
OF-Curt Flood (STL) 8th

NL Rookie of the Year:
Mike Schmidt (CHI) .257 34-102

NL Cy Young:
Gaylord Perry (SF) 24-4 2.38 (5th in a row)

NL MVP:
Darrell Evans (ATL) .322 52-129

The Free Agent List along with Trade News is upcoming!

Re: Impossible Dream???

1972 Free Agent Class (Top 3 at each position)

Catcher:
Gene Tenace .239 25-82 (86)
Joe Ferguson .200 8-49 (83/92)
Bruce Look .296 2-45 (79/80)

Firstbase:
Rod Carew .345 8-75 (93)
Mike Epstein .273 8-33 (83)
Dave McDonald .228 2-20 (77/77)

Secondbase:
Joe Foy .282 11-51 (76/77)
Ted Kubiak .229 2-36 (83)
Remy Hermoso .219 0-6 (79/84)

Thirdbase:
Doug Rader .270 22-90 (92/95)
Jim Ray Hart .281 16-75 (84)
Bobby Etheridge .261 2-40 (72/73)

Shortstop:
Steve Huntz .250 18-58 (88/94)
Darrel Chaney .229 0-11 (77/81)
Bobby Floyd .274 0-14 (79)

Left Field:
Hal McRae .349 14-77 (93)
Dave Robinson .257 12-79 (84/85)
Keith Lampard .311 7-42 (79/80)

Centerfield:
Jimmy Wynn .263 27-99 (94)
Al Oliver .289 20-76 (86)
Willie Mays .289 18-59 (81)
Jim Qualls .252 4-41 (89)
Jose Cardenal .278 9-36 (88)

Right Field:
Jim Northrup .310 30-107 (90)
Tom Paciorek .326 12-89 (88)
Bobby Tolan .349 20-91 (87)
Roberto Clemente .301 14-83 (84)
Rusty Staub .255 10-54 (89)

Starting Pitchers:
Carl Morton 10-13 4.96 (87)
Dick Woodson 5-5 3.81 (86/90)
Wayne Simpson 8-16 4.55 (86/89)
Jonah Stickles 13-6 2.85 (86)
Archie Reynolds 4-4 3.69 (85/86)
Tug McGraw 16-10 4.11 (86)

Relief Pitchers:
Pedro Borbon 4-1 3.53 23 saves (85/86)
Phil Hennigan 2-8 4.21 17 saves (85/86)
Ken Reynolds 2-1 3.41 (85/86)
Dan McGinn 6-5 4.37 15 saves (85/86)
Fred Beene 3-2 2.85 (84)
Tom Dukes 1-5 3.19 25 saves (84/85)

The Sox have made a couple of roster moves during the Winter Meetings this year. First they came to terms with arbitration eligible pitcher Ken Brett on a one year deal worth $40,000. Brett was 0-1 with a 5.30 ERA in 12 games last year, but provides insurance in case of injury.

The second move was a larger one as the 2 year experiment with Denny McClain has come to an end. Boston sent McClain to the Milwaukee Brewers for 23 year old SP Doug Rau and defensive specialist Jose Ortiz. McClain went 38-15 in his 2 full years with the Sox, but was extremely inconsistent, posting ERA's over 4 in both seasons. Rau will start the year in AAA for Boston after going 10-2 with a 2.81 ERA in AA last year and 4-4 5.97 with the big club. Ortiz isn't much of a hitter, although he posted a line of .298/.351/.442 last year to go along with 6 HR's and 42 RBI. Ortiz biggest talent is his glove, and acquiring him will allow Boston to move Don Baylor to 1B and move Reggie Smith to the Designated Hitter position, a newly instituted role in the American League in which each team names one player who will only bat, but will not play the field. This player will bat in place of the pitcher and should provide for increased offense in the AL.

Next will be a recap of the Free Agent period. I will paste the above list, along with the teams they signed with and what they signed for.

Re: Impossible Dream???

Catcher:
Gene Tenace .239 25-82 (86) San Diego- 3 years/$309,000
Joe Ferguson .200 8-49 (83/92) San Fransisco- 2 years/$258,000
Bruce Look .296 2-45 (79/80) Chicago (NL)- 4 years/$277,000

Firstbase:
Rod Carew .345 8-75 (93) San Diego- 5 years/$380,000
Mike Epstein .273 8-33 (83) St. Louis- 4 years/$178,000
Dave McDonald .228 2-20 (77/77) New York (NL)- 3 years/$177,000

Secondbase:
Joe Foy .282 11-51 (76/77) Detroit- 4 years/$260,000
Ted Kubiak .229 2-36 (83) San Fransisco- 4 years/$225,000
Remy Hermoso .219 0-6 (79/84) Chicago (AL)- 3 years/$128,000

Thirdbase:
Doug Rader .270 22-90 (92/95) St. Louis- 3 years/$319,000
Jim Ray Hart .281 16-75 (84) New York (AL)- 4 years/$278,000
Bobby Etheridge .261 2-40 (72/73) Philadephia- 3 years/$149,000

Shortstop:
Steve Huntz .250 18-58 (88/94) San Diego- 3 years/$281,000
Darrel Chaney .229 0-11 (77/81) Los Angeles- 2 years/$152,000
Bobby Floyd .274 0-14 (79) Houston- 3 years/$161,000

Left Field:
Hal McRae .349 14-77 (93) Montreal 4 years/$345,000
Dave Robinson .257 12-79 (84/85) Oakland 3 years/$340,000
Keith Lampard .311 7-42 (79/80) San Diego- 3 years/$265,000

Centerfield:
Jimmy Wynn .263 27-99 (94) Texas- 5 years/$390,000
Al Oliver .289 20-76 (86) Cincinnati- 3 years/$316,000
Willie Mays .289 18-59 (81) San Diego- 2 years/$272,000
Jim Qualls .252 4-41 (89) Cleveland- 3 years/$265,000
Jose Cardenal .278 9-36 (88) Kansas City- 5 years/$281,000

Right Field:
Jim Northrup .310 30-107 (90) Detroit- 4 years/$370,000
Tom Paciorek .326 12-89 (88) St. Louis- 3 years/$346,000
Bobby Tolan .349 20-91 (87) Houston- 5 years/$350,000
Roberto Clemente .301 14-83 (84) Philadelphia- 2 years/$280,000
Rusty Staub .255 10-54 (89) Texas- 5 years/$326,000

Starting Pitchers:
Carl Morton 10-13 4.96 (87) California- 3 years/$247,000
Dick Woodson 5-5 3.81 (86/90) Houston- 3 years/$179,000
Wayne Simpson 8-16 4.55 (86/89) New York (AL)- 2 years/$214,000
Jonah Stickles 13-6 2.85 (86) Boston- 2 years/$313,000
Archie Reynolds 4-4 3.69 (85/86) Chicago (AL)- 2 years/$184,000
Tug McGraw 16-10 4.11 (86) New York (AL)- 4 years/$280,000

Relief Pitchers:
Pedro Borbon 4-1 3.53 23 saves (85/86) Chicago (AL) 3 years/$159,000
Phil Hennigan 2-8 4.21 17 saves (85/86) Chicago (NL) 2 years/$166,000
Ken Reynolds 2-1 3.41 (85/86) Philadelphia- 2 years/$159,000
Dan McGinn 6-5 4.37 15 saves (85/86) San Fransisco- 3 years/$153,000
Fred Beene 3-2 2.85 (84) Detroit- 3 years/$257,000
Tom Dukes 1-5 3.19 25 saves (84/85) Texas- 2 years/$120,000

Other Re-Signings:
Luis Tiant- Chicago (NL) 4 years/$259,000
Frank Reberger- Chicago (NL) 3 years/$207,000
Tommy John- Chicago (AL) 5 years/$297,900
Steve Hargan- Cleveland 4 years/$206,000
Bill Freehan- Detroit 5 years/$265,000
Mickey Lolich- Detroit 4 years/$275,000
Pat Dobson- Detroit 5 years/$283,000
Larry Dierker- Houston 4 years/$270,000
Jim McAndrew- Minnesota 3 years/$250,000
Steve Arlin- Montreal 3 years/$200,000
Ed Sprague- New York (NL) 3 years/$227,000
Reggie Jackson- Oakland 5 years/$284,000
Bobby Bonds- San Fransisco 5 years/$360,000
Dick Bosman- San Fransisco 4 years/$243,000
Bob Reynolds- San Fransisco 3 years/$238,000
Jerry Reuss- Texas 3 years/$259,300
Joe Coleman- Texas 4 years/$222,000

Other FA Signees:
Mack Jones- San Fransisco 3 years/$289,000
Cleon Jones- Montreal 5 years/$225,000
Merv Rettenmund- Cleveland 3 years/$275,000
Al Ferrara- San Diego 3 years/$277,000
Derek Pritchard- New York (AL) 2 years/$233,000
Chris Nelson- New York (AL) 2 years/$262,000
Bob Miller- Detroit 3 years/$336,000
Jerry Cram- Los Angeles 2 years/$257,000
Milt Pappas- San Diego 3 years/$262,000
Ron Perranoski- Chicago (AL) 2 years/$161,000
Bill Landis- Chicago (NL) 3 years/$209,000
Juan Pizarro- Pittsburgh 2 years/$225,000
Jay Johnstone- Cincinnati 3 years/$234,000
Ron Woods- Houston 2 years/$255,000

Re: Impossible Dream???

Still reading, still loving it. You know I'm a sucker for career stats, individual records, etc. How are your franchise cornerstones doing? Any MLB milestones lately?

Re: Impossible Dream???

bigpapi: First wanted to say that I'm still reading, though I've run quiet for awhile. Congrats on the Series! I grew up loving the 'Sox and you'll soon be entering the period where I was able to start really paying attention. (mid-70s)

Have Dwight Evans, Rice and Lynn appeared on scene yet? Are you thinking about getting them? For me nothing really symbolizes the mid/late 70s Red Sox like that outfield!

Re: Impossible Dream???

Pip, here are the cornerstones of my franchise currently, age in parentheses:

Reggie Smith (27)- 923 G, 3788 AB's, 1110 H, 760 Runs, 198 2B, 29 3B, 206 HR's, 603 RBI, 585/530 BB/K, 115 steals .293/.389/.524

Tony Conigliaro (28)- 1059 G, 4182 AB's, 1217 H, 708 Runs, 210 2B, 34 3B, 269 HR's, 777 RBI, 402/793 BB/K, .291/.356/.550

Rico Petrocelli (29)- 1121 G, 4326 AB's, 1239 H, 682 Runs, 216 2B, 14 3B, 213 HR's, 692 RBI, 520/738 BB/K, .286/.363/.491

Don Baylor (23)-483 G, 1880 AB's, 489 H, 83 2B, 7 3B, 114 HR, 355 RBI, 196/253 BB/K, .260/.343/.494

Bill Lee (26)- 75-22 3.14, 1020 IP, 972 H, 453/228 K/BB, 20 CG, 4 SO

Sparky Lyle (28)- 20-14 2.35, 337 IP, 270 H, 240/95 K/BB, 244 saves in 270 chances (All Time Saves Leader)

Dock Ellis (28)- 72-50 3.93, 1023.1 IP, 1050 H, 637/346 K/BB, 15 CG, 4 SO

Cat: Here is the history of that Sox outfield so far in my world:

Dwight Evans- Drafted 1st round by Kansas City Royals in 1969. Traded to Boston along with George Brett in exhcnage for 1B John Mayberry. Hit .354 23-104 at 4 stops last season, including an 0-18 stint in September with the big club. Is currently a (78/96) and will start this year in AAA, but will probably make an appearance during the summer.

Fred Lynn-Drafted first round by Kansas City in 1970. Hit .300 8-32 in 1971 in Rookie ball, and followed that up with .366 10-40 in 1972, also in Rookie Ball. Will start this season in A ball for the Royals, and sits at (66/86) right now.

Jim Rice-Drafted 3rd overall by the Cleveland Indians in 1971. Hit .322 7-33 that year in Rookie Ball, and .341 14-53 last season, also in Rookie Ball. He will start his 3rd season in the Rookie Leagues for the Indians and is currently a (66/93).

Re: Impossible Dream???

1973 World Champion Boston Red Sox

Lineup:
DH Reggie Smith (94)
2B Toby Harrah (92/93)
RF Tony Conigliaro (94)
1B Don Baylor (94/96)
3B Rico Petrocelli (91)
C Ted Simmons (88/95)
CF Billy Conigliaro (80/95)
RF Art Shamsky (72/73)
SS Larry Bowa (82)

Bench:
IF Billy Grabarkewitz (82/86)
1B Tony Muser (80/81)
C Jim French (66/67)
IF Gary Sutherland (71/72)
OF Jose Ortiz (77/81)

Rotation:
Dock Ellis (93)
Roger Moret (84/93)
Bill Lee (90)
Jonah Stickles (86)
Ron Guidry (83/93)

Bullpen:
Closer- Sparky Lyle (92)
Setup- Rollie Fingers (88)
Short- Cecil Upshaw (85/86)
Short- Jim York (84/85)
Middle- Gene Garber (80/82)
Long- Reggie Cleveland (84/89)

Leading off the '73 campaign will be 3 on the road against the Royals, followed by 3 in Oakland against the A's. (In lieu of team by team previews, prior to each season series, will give the stats for the main threats for each opponents.)

Re: Impossible Dream???

April 1,2,3 at Kansas City Royals (0-0)

April 1-In front of 40,613 fans in KC, Ted Simmons went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI and Reggie Smith went 3-6 with 3 RBI as Boston outslugged the Royals 9-6. (1-0)
W-Gene Garber (1-0) L-Steve Rogers (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (1)

April 2-Toby Harrah went 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI and Rico Petrocelli went 4-5 with a HR and 4 runs knocked in as Boston beat up on Royal pitching, winning 13-3. (2-0)
W-Roger Moret (1-0) L-Vida Blue (0-1)

April 3-Larry Bowa went 4-5 with 2 RBI, and 3 other Sox drove in a pair as Boston continued the domination of Royal pitching, sweeping the series, winning 12-7. (3-0)
W-Bill Lee (1-0) L-Dave McNally (0-1)

April 4,5,6 at Oakland A's (3-0)

April 4-Tony Conigliaro went 2-4 with 3 RBI, and Ron Guidry allowed 1 earned run over 7 innings as Boston beat the A's 6-5. (4-0)
W-Ron Guidry (1-0) L-Jerry Crider (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (2)

April 5-Rookie Dwight Evans, up because of an injury to Reggie Smith hit a pinch hit, solo HR around the right field pole in the 8th inning, helping Boston to it's 5th straight win, a 3-2 decision over Oakland. (5-0)
W-Reggie Cleveland (1-0) L-Paul Lindblad (1-1) S-Sparky Lyle (3)

April 6-Rick Monday hit a grand slam, and Reggie Jackson hit a 2 run HR as Oakland avoided the sweep, beating up on Dock Ellis and the Sox 8-3. (5-1)
W-Chuck Dobson (1-0) L-Dock Ellis (0-1)

Around the MLB:
Bob Hansen of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle
Richie Zisk of the San Diego Padres became the 10th player in MLB history to hit 4 homeruns in a game, when he blasted 4 on April 5th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zisk also drove in 8 runs in the victory.

Up next for the Sox is 3 games at home against the Chicago White Sox who are currently lead by new acquistion Ellie Hendricks (8-12 1 HR 6 RBI), followed by 3 in Fenway against the Twins who have gotten off to a torrid start lead by Andy Kosco .500 (11-22) 4 HR 11 RBI and Jose Morales, who is trying to replace Rod Carew and has put up a line of .407 (11-27) 1 HR 12 RBI.

Re: Impossible Dream???

April 7,8,9 v Chicago White Sox (2-1)

April 7-Toby Harrah went 2-4 with 3 RBI at the top of the order, and Jose Ortiz, batting last, went 2-4 with 2 RBI as Boston beat up on Chicago 10-4. (6-1)
W-Roger Moret (2-0) L-Jim O'Toole (0-1)

April 8-Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the 8th inning, Dwight Evans, who went 4-4 drove in the game winning run with an RBI single, after Don Baylor had tied it two batters earlier, helping Boston to a 4-3 win. (7-1)
W-Gene Garber (2-0) L-Pedro Borbon (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (4)

April 9-A 6 run 3rd, capped by a 3 run HR by Don Baylor, along with 3 other Boston HR's on the day, helped the Red Sox sweep the White, winning 9-5. (8-1)
W-Ron Guidry (2-0) L-Gary Peters (0-2)

April 10,11,12 v Minnesota Twins (9-0)

April 10-Held scoreless for 6 innings, Boston exploded for 3 runs in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th, and Reggie Cleveland pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball as Boston beat Minnesota 6-1. (9-1)
W-Reggie Cleveland (2-0) L-Jim McAndrew (2-1) S-Rollie Fingers (1)

April 11-Herman Hill went 3-5 with 4 RBI, and Andy Kosco hit a solo HR as Dock Ellis struggled for a 3rd straight start, as Minnesota beat Boston 7-5. (9-2)
W-Jim Merritt (2-0) L-Dock Ellis (0-2) S-Tom Hall (1)

April 12-Zoilo Versailles went 2-4 with 2 RBI, and Bobby Bolin pitched 8 2/3 of 1 run ball, striking out 8 helping the Twins take two of three from the Sox, winning 3-1. (9-3)
W-Bobby Bolin (3-0) L-Roger Moret (2-1) Tom Hall (2)

MLB Milestones:
Felipe Alou of the Kansas City Royals drove in his 1000th Run
Joe Morgan of the Houston Astros stole his 300th base
Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles picked up his 2500th hit

Up next for Boston is 3 games in Minnesota against the Twins followed by 3 games at home against the KC Royals.

Re: Impossible Dream???

April 16,17,18 at Minnesota Twins (11-1)

April 16-Herman Hill singled in Dan Monzon in the the bottom of the 9th inning off Bill Lee, as Minnesota beat the Sox 5-4. (9-4)
W-Jim Strickland (3-0) L-Bill Lee (1-1)

April 17-Tony Oliva hit a solo HR in the 7th off Ron Guidry to tie the game at one, and in the bottom of the 9th inning, hit an RBI triple, giving the Twins back to back wins in their last at-bat, beating Boston 2-1. (9-5)
W-Jim Merritt (3-0) L-Rollie Fingers (0-1)

April 18-Don Baylor homered and drove in 3 and Rico Petrocelli had 2 RBI as Boston avoided the sweep, beating Minnesota 5-1. (10-5)
W-Reggie Cleveland (3-0) L-Dave Goltz (0-1)

April 19,20,21 v Kansas City Royals (6-9)

April 19-Rico Petrocelli drove in 3 and Don Baylor hit a 2 run HR as Boston beat up on the Royals 10-2. (11-5)
W-Dock Ellis (1-2) L-Wilco Rhodes (1-1)

April 20-Former Sox Ron Santo and John Mayberry each hit 3 run homeruns, as KC put ten runs on Boston in its 10-4 win. (11-6)
W-Steve Rogers (3-2) L-Roger Moret (2-2) S-Matt LaKosh (1)

April 21-Lee Lacy and Tommy Davis each had RBI singles to bring the Royals back from a 3-1 defecit to tie the game at 3, Rico Petrocelli hit a game ending, solo HR with no outs in the bottom of the 9th to give Boston a 4-3 win. (12-6)
W-Sparky Lyle (1-0) L-Greg Shanahan (0-1)

MLB Milestones:
Norm Cash of the Atlanta Braves hit his 400th career HR

MLB Injuries:
Tony Conigliaro of the Boston Red Sox will be gone for the year after tearing a ligament in his right knee. This is just another injury in the career of Tony C., who may never live up to all the hype if he cannot stay healthy. Dwight Evans will stay up with the big club now, at least until Reggie Smith comes back from his injury in about 2 weeks.

2B John Knox (SEA) 4 Months--Broken Hip
1B Gomer Hodge (CLE) 2 months--Broken Wrist

Up next for the Sox is 3 games at home vs the Twins followed by a 3 game set in Fenway against the California Angels.

Re: Impossible Dream???

April 22,23,24 v Minnesota Twins (14-4)

April 22-Toby Harrah homered and drove in a pair and Billy Grabarkewitz had 2 hits and 2 RBI as Boston nipped Minnesota 5-4. (13-6)
W-Cecil Upshaw (1-0) L-Ray Corbin (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (5)

April 23-5 different Twins drove in runs, and in doing so, knocked Dock Ellis out of the starting rotation for at least one turn, as the Twins beat up on Ellis and the Sox 7-4. (13-7)
W-Bobby Bolin (5-0) L-Dock Ellis (1-3) S-Mike Marshall (2)

April 24-Toby Harrah hit a grand slam, his 5th HR of the year, and Art Shamsky finally connected on his 1st of the year as Boston hammered Minnesota 11-2. (14-7)
W-Roger Moret (3-2) L-Dean Chance (1-1)

April 25,26,27 v California Angels (13-8)

April 25-Catfish Hunter pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 8, and Chris Coletta had an RBI double as the Angels blanked Boston 2-0. (14-8)
W-Catfish Hunter (3-1) L-Bill Lee (1-2)
Note: After the game it was discovered that Lee was pitching with a frayed tendon in his elbow. He will undergo surgery and will miss at least 3 months.

April 26-Ron Guidry pitched 7 shutout innings, and Don Baylor supplied all the offense with a 4th inning two run HR, his 8th of the year as Boston shutout the Angels 2-0. (15-8)
W-Ron Guidry (3-0) L-Andy Messersmith (4-2) S-Sparky Lyle (6)

April 27-Reggie Cleveland pitched his first career complete game, and first career shutout, scattering 9 hits, walking none and striking out 2, as the Red Sox shutout California for a 2nd straight day, this time 5-0. (16-8)
W-Reggie Cleveland (4-0 L-Marcelino Lopez (2-3)

MLB Trade News:
With all the injuries to Boston's offense, the Red Sox have gone back in time to pick up one of the all time great sluggers, reacquiring Rocky Colavito from the Kansas City Royals for minor leaguer Larry Herndon. Colavito had been with the Mets since Boston traded him there in 1969. He hit .240 with 11 HR's and 44 RBI last year in just 196 AB's for the Mets. He was hitting a robust .341 2-9 in 41 AB's in his first year with KC. Herndon hit .426 in just 54 AB in rookie ball last season.

Pittsburgh sends P Steve Blass, C Danny Breeden, 1B Larry Fritz
Oakland sends P Steve Mingori
Mingori is the best talent here, but will the Pirates attempt to resign him at seasons end when his contract expires, or will he leave with nothing in return?

MLB Injury News:
P Bill Lee (BOS) 2 months--Torn Elbow Ligament
P Ron Reed (ATL) 3 months--Elbow Tendonitis
OF Keith Lampard (SD) 3 months--Broken Leg

Ending April and into June for the Sox are 6 more at home, the first three against the Oakland A's, followed by the Texas Rangers and new acquistion Jimmy Wynn and his .360 9-28 line coming to town for 3. End of the month stats and standings are next!

Re: Impossible Dream???

Complete Team Batting Stats Through April 30-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1973 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Harrah, Toby BOS 27 .291 110 32 4 0 6 20 21 3 2 25 24 .491 .397 Petrocelli, Rico BOS 26 .367 98 36 6 0 5 19 16 0 1 18 25 .582 .466 Simmons, Ted BOS 25 .292 96 28 5 1 4 22 7 0 0 22 12 .490 .424 Bowa, Larry BOS 27 .232 95 22 3 0 1 11 7 3 2 13 8 .295 .311 Baylor, Don BOS 22 .372 86 32 4 2 9 12 14 1 2 23 21 .779 .446 Conigliaro, Billy BOS 19 .266 79 21 5 0 1 4 15 0 0 7 7 .367 .301 Grabarkewitz, Billy BOS 20 .230 74 17 1 3 1 8 13 4 0 9 9 .365 .305 Evans, Dwight BOS 19 .225 71 16 3 1 2 5 18 0 0 7 13 .380 .273 Conigliaro, Tony BOS 15 .281 64 18 1 2 6 3 18 0 0 10 13 .641 .314 Shamsky, Art BOS 18 .197 61 12 3 0 1 7 16 0 0 5 7 .295 .290 Colavito, Rocky BOS 15 .333 48 16 5 0 2 6 6 0 0 7 10 .563 .400 Ortiz, Jose BOS 13 .317 41 13 2 0 0 3 5 6 0 6 7 .366 .364 Muser, Tony BOS 7 .111 18 2 0 0 0 6 7 0 0 2 0 .111 .333 Brett, George BOS 3 .250 12 3 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 0 .250 .357 Smith, Reggie BOS 2 .556 9 5 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 3 3 1.000 .667 French, Jim BOS 3 .375 8 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 .375 .444

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through April 30-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1973 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 Fingers, Rollie BOS 12.2 0.71 11 0 0 1 1 15 2 8.53 York, Jim BOS 8.0 1.13 6 0 0 0 0 4 2 5.63 Cleveland, Reggie BOS 36.0 2.00 5 5 4 0 0 17 5 8.50 Upshaw, Cecil BOS 16.1 2.20 9 0 1 0 0 8 2 8.82 Lyle, Sparky BOS 8.0 2.25 8 0 1 1 6 8 2 12.38 Guidry, Ron BOS 42.0 2.36 6 6 4 0 0 29 12 10.50 Moret, Roger BOS 40.0 3.60 6 6 3 2 0 26 11 12.38 Lee, Bill BOS 30.2 3.82 4 4 1 2 0 18 3 12.62 Garber, Gene BOS 13.2 4.61 9 0 2 0 0 14 5 13.17 Ellis, Dock BOS 27.2 7.48 6 5 1 3 0 14 20 19.19 Brett, Ken BOS 1.0 9.00 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 Stickles, Jonah BOS 5.0 12.60 1 1 0 1 0 4 1 19.80

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American League Standings Through April 30-

1 Attachment(s)

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National League Standings Through April 30-

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April 28,29,30 v Oakland A's (12-15)

April 28-Sal Bando homered twice, driving in 3 runs, and Joe Hague added a 2 run shot as Oakland beat up on the Sox 7-1. (16-9)
W-Jerry Stephenson (2-3) L-Jonah Stickles (0-1)

April 29-Shut down completely for 8 innings, the A's scored 3 times off closer Sparky Lyle in the 9th inning, aided by a throwing error on Larry Bowa, as Oakland beat Boston 4-3. (16-10)
W-Paul Lindblad (3-2) L-Sparky Lyle (1-1)

April 30-Rico Petrocelli went 4-6 with 6 RBI, and Don Baylor added 4 hits and and a 2 run HR as Boston hammered Oakland and avoided the sweep, winning 14-4. (17-10)
W-Ron Guidry (4-0) L-Hank Fischer (1-4)

May 1,2,3 v Texas Rangers (14-10)

May 1-Billy Conigliaro went 3-4 with 3 RBI, and Larry Bowa and Billy Grabarkewitz added a pair of RBI each as Boston beat up on Texas 11-3. (18-10)
W-Reggie Cleveland (5-0) L-Jim Maloney (2-3)

May 2-Rusty Staub went 3-4 with 3 RBI, and Gene Martin added 2 hits and 2 RBI as the Rangers pounded out 17 hits and beat Boston 7-3. (18-11)
W-J.R. Richard (3-2) L-Dock Ellis (1-4)

May 3-Rusty Staub had two hits, including a solo HR, as well as 2 RBI as Texas came back from a 3-1 defecit to win 4-3. (18-12)
W-Tom Dukes (1-0) L-Roget Moret (3-3) S-Kent Tekulve (1)

Around the MLB:

The surprising Cleveland Indians have taken over the lead in the American League East, with a 17-10 record, they sit 0.5 games ahead of the Red Sox.

MLB Injuries:

C Joe Torre (ATL) 3 months--Broken Leg

Up next for the 2nd place Red Sox is 3 in California against the Angels, a series in which we will get Reggie Smith back after a month off, followed by 3 in Texas to face the Rangers.

Re: Impossible Dream???

May 4,5,6 at California Angels (17-13)

May 4-A 4 run top of the 9th, capped by a 2 run single from Don Baylor and a 2 run double from Rico Petrocelli, made a tight 2-1 ballgame, an easy 6-1 Red Sox victory. (19-12)
W-Ron Guidry (5-0) L-Andy Messersmith (4-3)

May 5-5 Different Angels drove in runs, and Van Kelly had 3 hits in 4 at bats, helping the Angels to a 5-3 win over Boston. (19-13)
W-Marcelino Lopez (4-3) L-Reggie Cleveland (5-1) S-Dave Sells (2)

May 6-Light hitting Larry Bowa hit his 2nd HR, and 3rd in two years, a 2 run shot in the top of the 10th inning, giving Boston a 3-1 lead they would not surrender. Jonah Stickles pitched 8 innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball in the victory. (20-13)
W-Rollie Fingers (1-1) L-John Strohmayer (0-2) S-Sparky Lyle (7)

May 7,8,9 at Texas Rangers (18-12)

May 7-Reggie Smith hit a 3 run HR, and Toby Harrah added 2 hits and an RBI as Boston beat the Rangers 6-5. (21-13)
W-Dock Ellis (2-4) L-J.R. Richard (3-3)

May 8-Al Gallagher had 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Jerry Reuss pitched 7 strong innings helping the Rangers get by the Red Sox, winning 5-4. (21-14)
W-Jerry Reuss (5-1) L-Roger Moret (3-4) S-Bill Laxton (6)

May 9-Don Baylor homered twice (11,12) and Rocky Colavito hit his 1st HR, since being reacquired, his 3rd of the year, a 2 run shot as Boston beat up on Texas 9-4. (22-14)
W-Ron Guidry (6-0) L-Jim Maloney (3-4)

MLB Injury News:

C Tim McCarver (STL)--Out for the season with a broken wrist suffered in a home plate collison. He was hitting .340 3-18 so far this year.
SS Bobby Floyd (HOU)--Out until at least September, breaking his hip in his first season with Houston. Was hitting .274 so far.
SS Ed Brinkman (TEX)--Out for the year with a broken bone in his neck suffered after being taken out during a double play. Hitting .243 1-13 at the time of the injury.

Up next for the Sox is 6 games at home, all against the New York Yankees. New York is lead this season by 1B Bob Hansen, who is hitting .363 4-11 and Roy White who is at .294 3-20. Pitching staff is lead by Mel Stottlemyre (3-5 4.42) and former Montreal Expo farmhand Derek Pritchard (4-2 4.53).

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May 11,12,13 v New York Yankees (18-18)

May 11-Trailing 7-1 entering the 5th inning, the Yankees put up 5 in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th, on 3 homeruns, 2 solo shots by Frank Howard and a grand slam by Bob Hansen to take a 8-7 lead. Boston tied it in the 7th, and in the bottom of the 10th, Don Baylor singled in Toby Harrah who had singled and stolen second to give Boston a 9-8 win. (23-14)
W-Rollie Fingers (2-1) L-Gary Jones (1-2)

May 12-Rocky Colavito hit a pair of homeruns, driving in 5 runs, and Ted Simmons added a 3 run shot as Boston beat up on the Yankees 8-4. (24-14)
W-Dock Ellis (3-4) L-Derek Pritchard (4-3)

May 13-Thurman Munson had 2 hits, including a 3 run HR as the Yankees avoided the sweep, beating Boston 8-5. (24-15)
W-Sonny Siebert (1-1) L-Cecil Upshaw (1-1)

May 15,16,17 v New York Yankees (19-20)

May 15-Roy White went 3-5 with 3 RBI, and Steve Whitaker hit a 2 run HR as the Yankees beat up on Ron Guidry, handing him his first loss of the year, beating Boston 7-6. (24-16)
W-Wayne Simpson (4-3) L-Ron Guidry (6-1) S-Jack Aker (1)

May 16-Trailing 4-0 in the 6th inning, Boston put up 4, capped by a two run single by Rico Petrocelli, tying the game at 4. It stayed tied until the bottom of the 12th, when Toby Harrah drove in Reggie Smith, giving Boston a 5-4 win. (25-16)
W-Rollie Fingers (2-1) L-Jack Aker (1-1)

May 17-Rico Petrocelli went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI, and Jonah Stickles pitched 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs for his 2nd straight solid start, helping Boston to a 5-3 win. (26-16)
W-Jonah Stickles (1-1) L-Derek Pritchard (4-4) S-Sparky Lyle (9)

MLB Injuries:

3B Don Buford (HOU)--suffered a possibly career ending ankle injury. He will miss the rest of the year. He was hitting .257 2-14 so far this year.
2B Bobby Grich (NYY)--will have surgery on his right knee, and will probably miss about a month. Grich was hitting .271 4-26 at the time of the injury.
P Jim Maloney (TEX)--will miss the next 2 months at least with an elbow injury. He was in the first year of his contract with the Rangers, putting up a line of 3-5 7.62 so far this year.
P Gary Neibauer (KC)--is suffering from elbow tendonitis, and the Royals have decided to shut him down for the foreseeable future. He isn't expected back until the end of August. Was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 8 games this year.

MLB Milestones:

It was a busy week for Kansas City Royals 1B Felipe Alou, as he picked up both his 2000th hit and scored his 1000th run.

Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins knocked in his 1000th run.

Up next for Boston is 3 games in the Bronx against the Yankees followed by a trip to Comiskey Park to play the struggling White Sox.

Re: Impossible Dream???

Heckuva job bigpapi. I haven't read through it all, but the detail is great! I am suddenly inspired :cool:

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May 19,20,21 at New York Yankees (20-22)

May 19-Bob Hansen went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, and the Yankee bullpen pitched 4.1 innings of hitless ball as New York beat Boston 4-2. (26-17)
W-Ron Klimkowski (2-2) L-Dock Ellis (3-5) S-Jack Aker (2)

May 20-Thurman Munson went 2-3 with an RBI double, and Wayne Simpson allowed just 1 unearned run over 7 innings as the Yankees got past the Sox 4-1. (26-18)
W-Wayne Simpson (5-3) L-Roger Moret (3-5) S-Jack Aker (3)

May 21-Ted Simmons hit a solo HR and Jose Ortiz went 3-4 with an RBI, and Ron Guidry pitched 7 innings, allowing just 1 run while striking out 8 as Boston took the final game of the series, winning 2-1. (27-18)
W-Ron Guidry (7-1) L-Mel Stottlemyre (3-6) S-Sparky Lyle (10)

May 22,23,24 at Chicago White Sox (20-25)

May 22-Tied 3-3 in the 11th inning, Boston took a 5-3 lead on a groundout and an RBI single by Toby Harrah, but the White Sox scored 3 off Sparky Lyle in the bottom of the inning, capped by a RBI single by Carlos May, scoring Tommie Agee, who had driven in the tying runs with a double, helping Chicago beat Boston 5-4. (27-19)
W-Pedro Borbon (3-3) L-Sparky Lyle (1-2)

May 23-Pat Kelly laid down a suicide squeeze with 2 outs in the 9th inning, ruining a teriffic performance by Jonah Stickles, who allowed 1 earned run in 8 2/3 innings. He was overshadowed by Tommy John who allowed 1 run in 8 innings as the White Sox nipped Boston 2-1. (27-20)
W-Bruce Howard (2-1) L-Jonah Stickles (1-2)

May 24-Rocky Colavito had 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Don Baylor added a 2 run double as Boston avoided the sweep, beating Chicago 7-5. (28-20)
W-Rollie Fingers (4-1) L-Ron Perranoski (1-4) S-Sparky Lyle (11)

Red Sox News:

The Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates apparantely had a deal completed that would see SS Larry Bowa and 1B/OF prospect Jeff Burroughs head to the Pirates in exchange for SS Freddie Patek and minor league OF Tony Armas, only to see Patek refuse to sign a contract extension with Boston, saying only, "It's nothing against Boston or the Red Sox organization, but this is my first opportunity to test the free agent market and I want to see what I am worth."
Upon hearing this news, Boston pulled the deal off the table, commenting that without an extension, Bowa and Burroughs are too much to give up for a rental of Patek. Stay tuned however as Boston is trying to find an upgrade for Bowa, who is hitting just .226 this year. One option may be St. Louis SS Dave Concepcion, who cannot seem to crack the Cardinal lineup, playing behind Gene Alley.

Next for Boston is 6 games back in Fenway, the first three against the Oakland A's, followed by 3 against the 2nd place Cleveland Indians.

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May 25,26,27 v Oakland A's (24-25)

May 25-Rico Petrocelli hit a grand slam in the first inning and Ted Simmons hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd, giving Boston all the runs they would need in a 6-2 win over the A's. (29-20)
W-Roger Moret (4-5) L-Jerry Stephenson (2-4)

May 26-Rocky Colavito hit a solo HR, his 495th of his career, and Rico Petrocelli added a 2 run double, helping Boston to a 5-1 win over Oakland. (30-20)
W-Ron Guidry (8-1) L-Chuck Dobson (3-4)

May 27-Reggie Smith went 5-5 with a HR, two doubles and 4 RBI, and Rico Petrocelli hit a 3 run HR, as Boston completed the sweep of the A's, winning 9-2. (31-20)
W-Reggie Cleveland (6-1) L-Steve Blass (6-3)

May 28,29,30 v Cleveland Indians (28-23)

May 28-Jonah Stickles pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits, while striking out 4, and Reggie Smith had 2 hits and an RBI as Boston blanked Cleveland 2-0. (32-20)
W-Jonah Stickles (2-2) L-Jim Gideon (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (12)

May 29-Don Baylor hit a 512 ft, 2 run shot off Charles Lemay, and Rocky Colavito added number 496 as Boston beat the Indians again, today 5-3. (33-20)
W-Roger Moret (5-5) L-Charles Lemay (4-6) S-Sparky Lyle (13)

May 30-Trailing 8-6 entering the 8th inning, Cleveland scored 4 times off Rollie Fingers, the inning capped by a 2 run single by Matty Alou, helping Cleveland to a 10-8 win over the Sox. (33-21)
W-Mike Paul (1-1) L-Rollie Fingers (4-2) S-Bob Terlecki (1)

MLB Retirements:

Bill Mazeroski retired this week after spending 17 years in the big leagues, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, before finishing up with the Texas Rangers for his final season. "Maz", hit .268 for his career, racking up 2230 hits to go along with his 9 Gold Gloves and 8 All-Star Game appearances. Mazeroski is most known for his HR in the bottom of the 9th inning off Ralph Terry in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees, giving the Pirates the World Series victory.

Up next are end of the month stats along with League Standings, followed by 3 games in Milwaukee against the Brewers and 3 in Oakland against the A's, with the 1973 Amateur Draft in between. It will be a busy week!

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Complete Team Batting Stats Through May 31-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1973 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Harrah, Toby BOS 51 .273 209 57 7 1 8 34 34 7 2 39 36 .431 .373 Petrocelli, Rico BOS 51 .307 199 61 16 0 9 30 37 0 2 26 42 .523 .394 Simmons, Ted BOS 50 .298 198 59 9 2 9 33 15 0 0 41 28 .500 .397 Baylor, Don BOS 49 .301 196 59 11 2 16 25 28 2 5 42 44 .622 .379 Bowa, Larry BOS 50 .217 184 40 6 2 2 14 15 9 2 24 16 .304 .273 Ortiz, Jose BOS 38 .254 134 34 8 2 0 12 25 14 1 18 17 .343 .313 Conigliaro, Billy BOS 32 .254 130 33 7 1 2 7 25 0 0 12 12 .369 .292 Grabarkewitz, Billy BOS 35 .244 127 31 3 3 2 16 19 6 0 13 14 .362 .333 Colavito, Rocky BOS 33 .339 121 41 7 0 8 10 20 0 0 18 24 .595 .391 Smith, Reggie BOS 24 .369 103 38 12 1 4 19 15 2 1 26 21 .621 .467 Shamsky, Art BOS 29 .202 99 20 4 1 1 8 22 0 0 10 9 .293 .275 Evans, Dwight BOS 24 .261 92 24 6 1 2 6 21 0 0 9 16 .413 .303 Conigliaro, Tony BOS 15 .281 64 18 1 2 6 3 18 0 0 10 13 .641 .314 Muser, Tony BOS 17 .226 53 12 3 0 0 10 15 1 0 7 1 .283 .359 French, Jim BOS 5 .231 13 3 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 2 0 .231 .375 Brett, George BOS 3 .250 12 3 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 0 .250 .357 Sutherland, Gary BOS 1 .000 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through May 31-(team leaders in bold)

Code:

1973 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 York, Jim BOS 14.2 0.61 10 0 0 0 0 8 4 6.14 Upshaw, Cecil BOS 33.2 2.41 20 0 1 1 0 17 5 8.82 Fingers, Rollie BOS 29.0 2.48 23 0 4 2 1 28 8 10.86 Stickles, Jonah BOS 36.2 2.70 5 5 2 2 0 20 9 9.08 Garber, Gene BOS 24.1 3.33 16 0 2 0 0 23 7 11.47 Guidry, Ron BOS 82.0 3.40 12 12 8 1 0 69 28 11.96 Lyle, Sparky BOS 22.1 3.63 21 0 1 2 13 21 3 9.67 Cleveland, Reggie BOS 74.0 3.65 11 11 6 1 0 42 16 11.55 Moret, Roger BOS 79.2 3.73 12 12 5 5 0 50 19 12.43 Lee, Bill BOS 30.2 3.82 4 4 1 2 0 18 3 12.62 Ellis, Dock BOS 58.1 6.63 11 10 3 5 0 31 33 17.59 Brett, Ken BOS 1.0 9.00 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9.00

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American League Standings Through May 31-

1 Attachment(s)

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National League Standings Through May 31-

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June 1,2,3 at Milwaukee Brewers (25-32)

June 1-Trailing 5-4 entering their half of the 6th inning, the Brewers scored 6 times, capped by a grand slam by Gene Stone, and Milwaukee held off Boston 10-6. (33-22)
W-Ken Frailing (1-0) L-Reggie Cleveland (6-2) S-Joe Henderson (1)

June 2-Toby Harrah went 4-5 with a HR and 4 RBI, Reggie Smith went 2-6 with a 3 run HR and Jonah Stickles allowed just 2 runs over 7 innings while striking out 8 as Boston hammered Milwaukee 14-2. (34-22)
W-Jonah Stickles (3-2) L-Dennis Leonard (5-5)

June 3-Rico Petrocelli and Ted Simmons each had 3 hits and an RBI and Reggie Smith hit a solo shot, helping Boston take two of three from Milwaukee, winning 5-2. (35-22)
W-Dock Ellis (4-5) L-Brian Mogford (1-5) S-Sparky Lyle (14)

June 5,6,7 at Oakland A's (26-31)

June 5-Rocky Colavito, Tony Muser and Larry Bowa each drove in single runs, helping Boston overcome a 2-0 defecit to win 3-2. (36-22)
W-Cecil Upshaw (2-1) L-Jerry Stephenson (3-5) S-Sparky Lyle (15)

June 6-In a game featuring 29 hits and 21 runs, Don Baylor lead the way with 3 hits and 3 RBI, and Rico Petrocelli had 2 hits and 3 RBI as Boston nipped Oakland 11-10. (37-22)
W-Sparky Lyle (2-2) L-Paul Lindblad (3-4)

June 7-Dave Robinson went 3-4 with 3 RBI and Larry Fritz had 2 hits and 3 RBI as Oakland avoided the sweep, beating Boston 8-3. (37-23)
W-Steve Blass (7-4) L-Jonah Stickles (3-3)

Up next will be a review of the 1973 Amateur Draft!

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1973 Amateur Draft

1-Jack Morris P (CLE)
2-Chet Lemon CF (MIL)
3-Dennis Martinez P (CIN)
4-Danny Darwin P (PIT)
5-Robin Yount SS (KC)
6-Floyd Bannister P (SD)
7-Dwayne Murphy CF (OAK)
8-Bryn Smith P (MON)
9-Rick Peters OF (DET)
10-Keith Comstock RP (MIN)
11-Jack Clark RF (CHI NL)
12-Angel Moreno P (CAL)
13-Randy Niemann RP (HOU)
14-Len Barker P (TEX)
15-Lonnie Smith LF (PHI)
16-Bruce Benedict C (ATL)
17-Mike Scott P (STL)
18-Willie Wilson CF (NY AL)
19-Jeff Rineer RP (BAL)
20-Fred Breining P (SF)
21-Steve Mura P (LA)
22-Ruppert Jones OF (CHI AL)
23-Jeff Reardon RP (NY NL)
24-Jeff Leonard LF (BOS)--Hit .318 over his H.S. career with 28 HR and 116 RBI in 128 games. Hit .408 7-29 as a junior and dipped to .280 6-37 as a senior, so there is concern there.

Other Sox Picks:

2nd Round (48th overall) La Marr Hoyt P--5-2 2.41 covering 74.1 innings with a 61/7 K/BB ratio as a senior. Allowed opponents to hit just .183 off him. Went 7-2 2.35 as a junior in 72.2 innings with a 47/7 K/BB ratio. Projects to a middle of the rotation starter.

3rd Round (72nd overall) Mike Heath C--Hit .325 3-23 as a senior with a 20/12 BB/K ratio. Also hit .316 3-27 as a junior, so not alot of power, but could be a pretty good doubles hitting C when it's all said an done.

4th Round (96th overall) Damaso Garcia 2B--.404 2-24 as a senior. Strictly a slap hitter, hitting .355 throughout H.S., but with just 38 extra base hits in 473 AB's but will steal some bases as he swiped 26 in 33 chances in high school.

5th Round (120th overall) Tommy Boggs P--5-2 1.80 in 60 IP's with a 40/8 K/BB ratio. Cut his walks in half from his junior to senior years, while pitching more innings. We hope this is a sign of him harnessing his control and not just a freak occurrence. Held batters to a .185 average as a senior and .204 as a junior.

6th Round (144th overall) Bob Ferris P--3-2 2.26 in 63.2 innings as a senior with a 73/13 K/BB ratio. Allowed batters to hit just .156 off him as a senior, could end up being a pretty good steal as the last overall pick.

Next for the Sox are 3 games in Milwaukee followed by 3 in Texas to face the Rangers.

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June 9,10,11 at Milwaukee Brewers (28-35)

June 9-Billy Conigliaro hit a bases loaded, 3 run triple in the 7th inning, and Don Baylor added a 2 run shot as Boston came from behind to beat Milwaukee 5-4. (38-23)
W-Reggie Cleveland (7-2) L-Randy Moffitt (3-1) S-Sparky Lyle (16)

June 10-Ted Simmons went 3-4 with a pair of HR's and 5 RBI, Billy Grabarkewitz hit a 3 run HR and Reggie Smith had 4 hits as the Sox beat up on the Brewers 9-5. (39-23)
W-Dock Ellis (5-5) L-Dennis Bennett (3-6)

June 11-Don Baylor had 2 hits, including a grand slam, and drove in 5, and Billy Grabarkewitz hit a 2 run shot as Boston swept Milwaukee 11-4. (40-23)
W-Roger Moret (6-5) L-Denny McClain (4-7)

June 12,13,14 at Texas Rangers (39-27)

June 12-Rusty Staub homered and drove in 3 runs and Charlie Hough pitched 4 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball in relief as the Rangers beat Boston 7-6. (40-24)
W-Charlie Hough (1-3) L-Rollie Fingers (4-3)

June 13-J.R. Richard, throwing 155 pitches, pitched 8 shutout innings, and 3 different Rangers drove in runs as Texas blanked Boston 4-0. (40-25)
W-J.R. Richard (6-3) L-Jonah Stickles (3-4)

June 14-Tom Ragland and Rafael Robles each had 2 hits and 2 RBI helping the Rangers sweep the Sox, winning 6-3. (40-26)
W-Jerry Reuss (9-4) L-Reggie Cleveland (7-4) S-Bill Laxton (13)

MLB Milestones:

Tommy Harper of the Chicago White Sox stole his 300th base.

MLB Trade News:
Big trade news between the Kansas City Royals and San Fransisco Giants, as KC sends veteran 3B Ron Santo (90) to the west coast in exchange for SS Dwain Anderson (81/92). Not a bad return for a 33 year old in the middle of a 300k a year contract. Anderson won't hit for alot of power, but he'll hit for a high average, steal some bases and play stellar defense. Santo solidifies a Giant offense and pushes Ed Goodson back to AAA.

Up next is 3 games in Detroit to play the now 2nd place Tigers followed by Boston travelling home to play 3 against the Kansas City Royals.