Printable View
Aw, the AL West isn't easier! Remember a few years ago when it was a hard fought battle between three of the teams? There's always a couple of horrible teams in the NL Central and a couple of mediocre ones. And yes that was part of the reason I asked. The other part being that JM started out working with the Cards as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by CatKnight
Coach Owens: Ah! Well, up to that point my favorite game was with the Cardinals in BM98, so I felt a certain affinity for them. Imagine my surprise when I loaded up the '76 game back then and recognized almost none of the names. :)
*******
July 9, 1969
We missed the first day's practices, which doesn't really matter since Pat Kelly can't play with his wrist. Instead we make it to Washington in time for the Home Run Derby.
Some four or five thousand, a pittance compared to tomorrow's figure, crowded into Robert F. Kennedy Memorial (RFK) Stadium. This would be my first home run derby, and I watched them curiously: Speculators looking for autographs to sell, fathers and boys looking for autographs to treasure, young families who couldn't afford the big game, Old men who could care less about the big game and just wanted to relive some memories.
The sun's angle cast the third base side in shadow, while first base and the right field bleachers blazed near white in the bright, hot light as the new commissioner took the field.
Bowie Kuhn was a tall man, over six feet tall and nearly 250 pounds. About ten years older than me, he'd replaced William Eckert in January. He strode confidently to a large microphone set near the pitchers mound with a single black wire weaving and looping back to the clubhouse and cleared his throat.
His first duty, one of the finest duties in baseball so he said, was to welcome everyone to the beginning of All Star festivities. The crowd dutifully clapped, then he went on to talk about baseball's integrity.
"No sport is so noble as baseball, and few so great as the men I am about to introduce. Please join me in celebrating this year's Hall inductees."
79 year old Stan Covelski couldn't attend himself, but a relative came in his stead. Covelski was a five time 20 game winner as pitcher, led the AL in ERA twice (1923 and 25), shutouts twice (1917 and 23) and strikeouts in 1920. He went 24-14 in 1920 with the Indians when they won their first World Championship.
After playing for the minor league Lancaster Red Roses, he moved on to the 1912 Philadelphia Athletics, Indians (1916-24), Senators (1925-27) and Yankees (1928). He finished with a lifetime record of 215-142 2.89 ERA, 224 CG, 21 saves and 38 shutouts.
69 year old Waite Hoyt did make it. A three-time World Series champ, he had the most wins of any AL pitcher (22) in 1927 and led the Yankees in that department during their dominance in that era. After retiring he went on to be a successful commentator for the Dodgers and Reds.
Hoyt came up with the 1918 New York Giants, then went to the Red Sox for 1919-20, Yankees (21-30), Tigers (30-31), Athletics (31), Dodgers (32), back to the Giants (32), Pirates (33-37), and finished with the Brooklyn Dodgers again (37-38). He finished 237-182 3.59 ERA, 226 CG, 52 SV and 26 Shutouts.
I smiled as Stan Musial stepped forward. Certainly the greatest player I ever saw, Musial appeared in 24 All Star Games (a record), took the NL Batting title seven times, was a three-time MVP and finished with 475 HR. At the time that was good enough for sixth all time. His 3,630 hits are good enough for second all-time.
Stan came up with the 1941 Cardinals. He missed 1945, serving as a seaman in World War II, but returned in '46 to take his second MVP award and kept playing until 1963. After 3,026 games and 10,972 at bats he finished hitting .331 with a .976 OBP and 1,951 RBI as well as 78 SB.
Kuhn's voice seemed to lose some luster as he began talking about Roy Campanella. Campanella was one of the first African-Americans in baseball, joining the year after Robinson (1948), though he played ball as early as 1937 in the Negro Leagues. Campanella went to 8 All Star Games (1949-56) and was a 3 time MVP (1951,53,55).and was a World Series champ in 55. His forty homers by a catcher in 1953 are the most ever in that position, and 142 RBI that year second most by a Dodger.
One can only speculate what would have happened if Campanella actually began his career in '37: Negro League records are shockingly incomplete, and anyway they aren't a real Major League. Nor would we find out what Campanella could have achieved in the latter part of his career, for a car accident in 1958 paralyzed him forcing him out of baseball.
When all is said and done, Campanella played ten seasons in Brooklyn and finished batting .276 242-856 with 25 stolen bases.
The last entrant for 1969 was Early Wynn. A six time All Star, he won the Cy Young in 1959, was AL ERA champ in 1950, Wins champ twice (1954, 59) and strikeout champ in 1957-58. He had five twenty win seasons. During the 1950s he had more strikeouts (1544) than any other pitcher, and could also be an intimidating batter with 17 lifetime homers including a grand slam.
Wynn played for the 1939, 41-44 and 46-48 Senators before going to the Indians (1949-57), White Sox (1958-62) and back to the Indians (63) long enough to join the 300 club. A fan favorite despite his hard nosed attitude, Wynn finished 300-244, 3.54 ERA with 290 complete games, 15 saves and 49 shutouts.
Hoyt, Musial, Campanella and Wynn would have their numbers retired by the Yanks, Cards, Dodgers and Indians respectively.
*******
The Home Run Derby featured some of the hardest hitters in baseball, though some found it odd that Detroit's Willie Horton (27 HR-AL Leader) and the Cubs' Ernie Banks (26 HR-2nd NL) would be excluded in favor of Reggie Smith (17 HR) and either Willie Mays, Boog Powell or Frank Robinson (22 HR each) Nonetheless they put on a show.
The first round gave the advantage to Harmon Killebrew and took out fan favorites such as Hank Aaron, (who by the end of the season should be 3rd in all time homers) Willie Mays (2nd all time), and Billy Williams - a credible threat to Roger Maris's single season record of 61.Code:Harmon Killebrew (MIN-23 HR) 8
Frank Howard (WSA-25) 7
Frank Robinson (BAL-22) 5
Boog Powell (BAL-22) 5
Hank Aaron (ATL-23) 4
Willie Mays (SFG-22) 4
Jim Ray Hart (SFG-26) 3
Billy Williams (CHC-34) 2
Reggie Smith (BOS-17) 2
Willie McCovey (SFG-24) 1
With the National League out of the tournament, play resumed.
Washington fans booed (albeit laughingly) as the rival Orioles took the derby for themselves. With so little to cheer for this year, Senator fans quieted as Baltimore visitors cheered their heroes into the final round.Code:Frank Robinson (BAL) 4
Boog Powell (BAL) 3
Harmon Killebrew (MIN) 2
Frank Howard (WSA) 2
When all was said and done, Frank Robinson (.324 22-65) took the contest. A fourteen year veteran with 440 career homers showing no sign of slowing down, he smiled and waved at the crowd before returning to the bench.Code:Frank Robinson (BAL) 1
Boog Powell (BAL) 1
**EXTRA INNINGS**
FRANK ROBINSON 3
Boog Powell 2
Tomorrow would be the All Star game, and after that informal Summer meetings. I hoped to see my friends on the Cardinal staff again, and learn what was happening in Seattle with their finances...
July 10, 1969
A capacity crowd, well over forty thousand, filled RFK stadium the next night. Before the game I spent some time talking to Red Schoendienst, the Cardinal manager.
"So, when are you giving up and coming home?" he asked. "You're on the wrong side of the state! Not to mention the wrong side of your division."
"Maybe when Gary gives up his position I can come back."
"Gary? Heh, he'll probably be there longer than any of us."
---
As for Gary Gregg, he remained cordial. "I think giving the players you can't use in the future to contenders is a good strategy. No one's expecting you to compete this year."
"Ewing is." I told him about his expectations for the year.
"Well, the Expos are a pretty good club. In general they drafted young - not as young as you of course - but have some great pitchers. Steve Rogers is 12-11, he's going to be great in a year or two." (Historically Rogers comes in with the '71 amateur draft, and is promoted to the Majors in '73. Ah well.)
He frowned. "The Padres aren't going to be an issue for years. They're just horrible. I can't answer for the Pilots, but there's a rumor they have financial issues. Do you know anything?"
"I'm not sure." Which was the truth in a way. I like Gary, I trust him...but there's a part of me that says I'd be betraying a confidence if I told him everything I knew - that and we're now in seperate leagues. "Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow."
*******
American League Roster
Manager: Mayo Smith (DET)
Bench Coach: Earl Weaver (BAL)
Honorary Captain: Early Wynn (CLE - retired)
Team Captain: Al Kaline (DET)
C Bill Freehan (DET) - 6th appearance
1B Harmon Killebrew (MIN) - 9 (injured)
2B Rod Carew (MIN) - 3
3B Brooks Robinson (BAL) - 10
SS Luis Aparicio (CHW) - 8
OF Frank Robinson (BAL) - 9
OF Reggie Smith (BOS) - 1
OF Al Kaline (DET) - 14
1B Boog Powell (BAL) - 2
OF Pat Kelly (KC) - 1 (injured)
IF Jim Fregosi (LAA) - 5
IF Tom Tresh (NYY) - 3
OF Frank Howard (WAS) - 2
C Carlton Fisk (BOS) - 1
P Luis Tiant (CLE) - 2
P Jim Nash (OAK) - 1
P Gary Bell (SEA} - 4
P Jim Palmer (BAL) - 1
P Catfish Hunter (OAK) - 3
P Earl Wilson (DET) - 1
P Jim Perry (MIN) - 2
P Lee Stange (BOS) - 1
P Wilbur Wood (CHW) - 1
P Bob Miller (MIN) - 1
P Hoyt Wilhelm (LAA) - 5
*******
National League Roster
Manager: Red Schoendienst (STL)
Bench Coach: Clyde King (SF)
Honorary Captain: Stan Musial (STL)
Team Captain: Willie Mays (SF)
C Joe Torre (STL) - 6
1B Willie McCovey (SF) - 4
2B Joe Morgan (HOU) - 2
3B Ron Santo (CHC) - 6
SS Woody Woodward (CIN) - 1
OF Billy Williams (CHC) - 5
OF Willie Mays (SF) - 16
OF Hank Aaron (ATL) - 15
IF Jim Ray Hart (SF) - 2 (injured)
OF Mack Jones (MON) - 1
OF Dick Allen (PHI) - 4
OF Roberto Clemente (PIT) - 9
C Chris Cannizzaro (SD) - 1
OF Pete Rose (CIN) - 4
P Don Drysdale (LAD) - 9
P Tom Seaver (NYM) - 3
P Juan Marichal (SF) - 8
P Gaylord Perry (SF) - 2
P Bob Gibson (STL) - 6
P Ken Holtzman (CHC) - 1
P Bobby Bolin (SF) - 1
P Ron Kline (PIT) - 1
P Jim Merritt (CIN) - 1
P Dick Kelley (SD) - 1
P Roy Face (MON) - 4
*******
Following the National Anthem and a tribute to Robert Kennedy, Luis Tiant took the mound for the Americans to start the game. Apparently rattled, he walked Morgan then fed a 2-1 pitch to Willie Mays that barely broke 80 mph. Mays punished him for it by slamming it over the left field bleachers. Nationals 2-0
The Nationals went down in order after that. Don Drysdale pitched to us and yielded singles to Kaline and Reggie Smith, but no one scored.
Back to back homers by Ron Santo and Joe Torre added to the lead. Nationals 4-0 Tiant settled after that and managed to get out of the inning.
Gaylord Perry pitched the American second. Brooks Robinson doubled with one out, but again we didn't capitalize.
Catfish Hunter took over for us in the National third. Other than walking Willie McCovey he escaped unscathed. Perry shut us down in order in the bottom half.
Woody Woodward singled with two outs in the National fourth, then Dick Allen slammed a towering, arcing ball to deep center field for the Nationals' fourth homer of the game. Nationals 6-0 Morgan flied out to end the inning.
*******
Growing bored with the slaughter in progress, I made small talk with Kevin Calahan - then noted some of the other GMs watching us closely. I knew I wasn't a member of their boys' club yet - not really - but at least their animosity after the draft seemed to have died down. Yet.. why were they staring? I finally made my way to Kyle Halwell of Detroit. Despite - or perhaps because - of his attempt at humor last month he seemed more approachable than the others.
He shook his head. "Relax, Hunter. You're alright, no one's worried about you. It's Calahan - there's a rumor they're all but bankrupt. If so, the League's going to have to step in."
*******
While we talked, Tom Seaver retired us in order in the fourth. Billy Williams singled with one out in the top of the fifth, and Willie McCovey hit the Nationals' fifth homer of the game! Nationals 8-0
Seaver gave up a single and walk in the bottom half of the inning, but we remained shutout.
Jim Palmer tried his luck in the National sixth. With one out Jones walked, Joe Morgan doubled, then Willie Mays reached when Boog Powell lost control of the ball. Billy Williams walked to load the bases, then Morgan came home on a sacrifice fly by McCovey. Hank Aaron singled Mays home, then Ron Santo walked to load the bases. Completely rattled, Palmer plunked Jim Torre in the arm. Torre glared and made several gestures that could have made anything, but it brought another runner home. Nationals 12-0
*******
"We suck," Calahan told me as I returned to my seat beside him.
"Kevin, what the ****'s going on in Seattle?"
He turned to me with a suddenly reserved look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean the rumor is that you guys are bankrupt."
"Rumor," he answered flatly. "And this can wait until tomorrow."
"Can it?" It could, of course. Seattle couldn't lose any more money during the Break. "Last winter you told me that if you still thought something was off in spring you'd talk to Joe Cronin."
He shifted uneasily. "We'll talk about it at the meeting."
*******
Gaylord Perry pitched the American sixth, and Reggie Smith led off with a single. One out later Powell singled to bring him to third, then Bill Freehan singled to give us our first run of the game! Brooks Robinson then singled for our second. Luis Aparicio singled to load the bases, then Tom Tresh pinch hit and grounded out for out number two and run number three. Carew and Kaline hit back to back singles, each bringing in runners, before Smith ended the rally with a routine grounder. Nationals 12-5
The senior circuit wasn't quite through mangling us however. Bob Miller pitched the seventh, and Chris Cannizzaro pinch hit and opened with a walk. Then Willie Mays homered - his second and the NL's sixth. Nationals 14-5
Following a rather haphazard attempt at "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - many fans had gone home early in the slaughter - Dick Kelly pitched the American seventh and gave up a single before retiring us.
Hank Aaron opened the Natioanl eighth with a single, advanced on Santo's walk, then scored on Joe Torre's double. Miller took out the next two batters, then Wilbur Wood finished the inning. Nationals 15-5
Brooks Robinson opened the American eighth with a double, then went to third on a wild pitch causing a momentary stir in the audience. Aparicio flew out to shallow right however. Jim Fregosi walked, but was forced on a Carew grounder, then Al Kaline flew out to left.
Hoyt Wilhelm proved he could still pitch despite being 46 years old, mowing the Nationals down in the ninth but for a Williams single.
Cincinnati's Jim Merritt came in to finish us off - but couldn't. Reggie Smith opened with a single, took second without a throw, and scored on Frank Robinson's single.
Robinson also took second on defensive indifference and came home on Powell's single. Once more, Powell took second without challenge and went to third on Bill Freehan's single.
Brooks Robinson then hit a one hop grounder to Merritt, who whirled and threw to Woodward for one, McCovey for two outs. Powell scored in the confusion. Unfortunately, the double play took the last wind out of the Americans' sails, and Luis Aparicio hit a routine fly to end the game.
National League 15, American League 8
*******
What started as an afternoon game ended with the sky darkening and crickets chirping. Players walked off in a daze, and in our guest suite AL representatives shook their heads.
As for MVP Willie Mays, he grinned. "I felt good tonight. The bat felt good! I wish we could do it again tomorrow!"
"Nothing wrong with batters now," someone chirped. I could only agree.
Code:National League All Stars at American League All Stars
July 10, 1969
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
All Stars (NL) 2 2 0 2 2 4 2 1 0 15 14 0
All Stars (AL) 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 3 8 17 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Morgan (2B) 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 .333
W. Mays (CF) 6 2 0 3 2 4 1 0 .304
B. Williams (LF) 5 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 .377
W. McCovey (1B) 4 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 .308
H. Aaron (RF) 6 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .331
R. Santo (3B) 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 .320
J. Torre (C) 4 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 .339
W. Woodward (SS) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .322
R. Clemente (P) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .332
D. Drysdale (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
P. Rose (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .352
G. Perry (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .170
D. Allen (P) 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 .295
T. Seaver (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .139
M. Jones (P) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .265
G. Perry (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .170
C. Cannizzaro (P) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .218
D. Kelley (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .273
J. Merritt (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
TOTALS 41 14 7 15 6 14 5 0
2B: J. Torre, J. Morgan
HR: J. Torre, W. McCovey, R. Santo, W. Mays 2, D. Allen
HBP: J. Torre
ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
D. Drysdale 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 3 23 3.15
G. Perry 3.0 8 0 0 5 5 3 63 2.88
T. Seaver 2.0 1 1 0 0 0 3 37 2.88
D. Kelley 2.0 2 1 0 0 0 0 38 2.77
J. Merritt 1.0 4 0 0 3 3 0 22 3.77
TOTALS 9.0 17 2 0 8 8 9 183
AMERICAN LEAGUE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
R. Carew (2B) 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 .363
A. Kaline (RF) 5 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .348
R. Smith (CF) 5 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .331
F. Robinson (LF) 5 2 0 1 0 1 2 0 .324
B. Powell (1B) 5 2 0 2 0 1 2 0 .303
B. Freehan (C) 5 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .260
B. Robinson (3B) 5 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .308
L. Aparicio (SS) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
L. Tiant (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
F. Howard (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .293
C. Hunter (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
C. Fisk (P) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J. Palmer (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .145
T. Tresh (P) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 .261
B. Miller (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
W. Wood (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J. Fregosi (P) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273
H. Wilhelm (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 42 17 2 8 0 7 9 0
2B: B. Robinson 2
GIDP: B. Freehan, B. Robinson
ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
L. Tiant 2.0 3 1 3 4 4 0 37 3.34
C. Hunter 3.0 5 1 2 4 4 2 59 3.36
J. Palmer 1.0 2 3 0 4 1 0 40 2.84
B. Miller 1.2 3 2 1 3 3 2 42 2.70
W. Wood 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4.17
H. Wilhelm 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 2.70
TOTALS 9.0 14 7 6 15 12 5 198
WP: T. Seaver
LP: L. Tiant
MVP: W. Mays
Temperature: 88F
Wind: 7 MPH (in from center)
Attendance: 50,000
Time: 3:38
Great story so far, and I might borrow how you use the All-Star Game coding.
I loved this line:
Oh, and a handful of people mail me warning that my soul is in mortal danger.
The Moe Drabowsky Fan Club (K. C. Chapter?)
--Pet
petrel: Or at least those who think (correctly) I'm giving up on the Royals doing anything in '69 :)
*******
July 11, 1969
Joe Cronin spent his entire adult life in baseball. He joined the Pirates in 1926 at age 19, then went to the Senators and Red Sox before retiring in 1945. He stayed on as field manager through '47, then general manager until 1958 before becoming American League president. Cronin was one of the few still in baseball who'd been elected to the Hall of Fame, and his number four hung proudly, permanently retired, from Fenway Park.
Cronin had short grey hair and a rotund face which gave the impression of obesity, but a close look didn't bear it out. He was a little over average height and in good shape, with hard eyes behind his genuine smile.
"First, I wish to once more welcome Misters Hunter and Calahan to our ranks." He looked at Kevin and myself. "I'll remind you gentlemen that anything that happens in this room stays here. Isn't that right, Chuck?"
I wondered why he singled me out, but as I opened my mouth to reply someone chuckled to my right. "Relax Joe, I get it."
All eyes turned to Chuck Finley, owner of the Oakland Athletics and perennial thorn in Kuhn's and Cronin's side.
First the usual business: League wide finances seemed healthy enough, though Senator owner Robert Short came personally to complain about league disparity. "How do you expect a small market team to compete with the Bostons, New Yorks and Baltimores?"
I jerked up, but kept my mouth shut. Not so Cronin: "Since when is the nation's capital a small market?"
"We have to share our market with Baltimore!"
"Who doesn't seem to be suffering from the competition if I read the standings correctly. The New York, Chicago and LA markets are split as well."
"What do you want to do?" challenged the Twin GM. "Move to Minnesota? I suppose we can let you have Morehead!" Morehead was a small city of the North Dakota border. Few caught the joke.
Short would not go down so easily. "We welcome two expansion teams. Fine. How come they're both in the other division? How come the other teams in the West were all second division last year? The two divisions are not equal."
"Christ, Robert! Look at a map!" answered Kyle Halwell. "You really want us to put KC in the East!?"
"Atlanta's in the NL West," Finley noted, smiling.
"Yeah, well who knows why the Nationals do anything?"
The argument petered out at that point. I briefly talked about Royals Stadium opening in '72 or '73. "We're still in the design phase. As soon as we pick one, we'll forward it to the American League for approval."
"The only other league news is the DPH rule is on indefinite hold," Cronin said. "With the enormous spike in offense back in April, we're still running 29 points ahead in batting average from last year. Run production is up, and fans seem satisfied. We'll be watching to make sure the trend stabilizes before introducing a new DPH clause for your consideration."
Silence fell across the room, people mumbling back and forth. For a moment I thought the meeting was over and took out folders on the players I wanted to trade, when Cronin cleared his throat.
"Mister Calahan. Tell us about the Pilots."
Kevin looked like he'd been shot. He jolted upright and looked down at his papers. "Fine, sir. Just fine."
"No...financial issues?"
He flashed a glare at me and I half raised my hands. Cronin caught the gesture. "Mr. Hunter, do you have something to add?"
I sighed. "No, sir. I've heard the same rumors but nothing concrete."
"I see. Mister Calahan?"
"The Pilots are healthy sir. There were some problems in the beginning, but with our capacity raised to 25,000 we're still selling most of our seats, Next year we hope to focus more on the design aspects of a new domed stadium per our agreement with the American League."
"You won't mind forwarding accounting records to the American League office then," Cronin said. "Assets, bills outstanding, revenue..."
"Ah, we don't have any of those...prepared."
Cronin shot an incredulous look around the table. "Did I hear you correctly?"
Calahan nodded. "We've been so busy keeping the Pilots running that we haven't had time to..."
"What does your financial department do all day?"
"We run on a very tight budget, sir. We..."
"Do you have a financial department!?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Mr. Calahan, tell Dewey Soriano that I will have auditors in Seattle on Monday and I expect full cooperation."
*******
Kevin kept shooting furious looks at me as I walked around talking about my players. Unfortunately it was fairly obvious what I wanted to do and I had few outstanding offers.
I finally worked out a deal with the Baltimore Orioles for one of their better relievers:
Kansas City to Baltimore:
C Hawk Taylor (70) [30] (.177 0-7 0 SB) - to AA (AAA)
SP Johnny Podres (71) [36] (8-7 5.22 2 CG) - to AA
SP Dave Wickersham (75) [33] (1-4 3.86 1 CG) - to Middle Relief
SS Jerry Adair (73) [32] (.244 0-27 1 SB) - to AA
All players on the tail end of their career, all players soon to be surpassed by others (if not already there), and all players in the last year of their contract.
Baltimore to Kansas City:
RP Eddie Watt (77) [28] (1-3 2.30 13 SV) - our new closer. Also in his contract's last year and will probably get a big raise, but at least for right now I'm saving $190,000.
*******
In the aftermath Buck Martinez (67/89) comes up as our new reserve catcher. First year pitcher Bert Blyleven advances to the Bigs, and Wally Rooker gets to try and start "real" games again. Chris Zachary goes back down (again!) and is followed by Ken Wright (0-3 5.93 ERA).
July 12, 1969
We flew to Seattle for our first match against the Pilots this year. If we can take two of three we'll be ahead.
Sicks Stadium is...well, sick is a good word. It's painfully obvious this is only a refit minor league park, with bleachers jury rigged along the left field wall that only look half done. Twenty thousand fans bought tickets to our game, which I'm assured is a great turnout for Seattle.
Kevin remained distant as we met in the guest suite box (itself rather jury-rigged.)
"I don't know why you're upset," I told him. "But I didn't say anything to Joe."
"Someone did," he snapped.
"Probably, but it's not like this is a big secret. Detroit asked me what I knew, and I'd be surprised if the others hadn't figured it out either."
"And now they're sending in auditors." Calahan stared out the window as the Pilots took the field. "I'm good at this, Chuck. I enjoy it. I can't do anything without a proper budget, though. It's not like my payroll is bankrupting us, we're eleventh in the league!"
"So what is? Bankrupting you I mean?"
He flashed me a look. "Dewey. The team had almost no cash on hand when I started, and with our low attendance it's only gotten worse. Lack of television revenue, trying to hire the right staff to help the Pilots going forward..." He shook his head. "I'd lower my salary if it would make a difference, but it'd be like using a twig to stop a river."
"Maybe the auditors are a good thing then."
He spat. "Sure, Chuck. Look at Kevin Calahan. Bankrupted his team in his first year."
"They might force Soriano to sell to someone who can give you the money you need."
"Or just take the team away entirely," he shot back.
On the field, Wally Bunker took a one-hitter into the fifth. 1B Mike Fiore gave up two errors for two unearned runs as Seattle's Gary Bell (now 10-4 3.37) was simply brilliant and the Pilots beat us 4-1.
*******
July 14
Joe Gordon moved Bert Blyleven up in the pitching rotation to try his hand against the Pilots instead of Oakland. Bert had a bad first inning, giving up two runs, but we took the lead back and they tied it at three. He didn't run into trouble until he started to tire in the seventh, when two singles and two walks loaded the bases and brought a runner home. Joe decided to let Bert try to pitch hmself out of the jam though, and he succeeded striking out the side.
8 IP, 4 ER, 9K, CG ... not bad for someone playing in high school two months ago!
*******
July 18
The Football War.
Wars have broken out for some pretty silly reasons: Petty insults, accidental invasions met with very real responses, liberating people who didn't need liberating from anyone ... I could see a war breaking out over baseball one day....but Soccer!?
As near as I can make out, El Salvador beat Honduras in a soccer game. Rioting broke out with Hondurans raping, looting and killing Salvadoran immigrants who'd already lost land due to some redistribution scheme in Honduras. The Salvadorans had enough and invaded, advancing several miles before their attack bogged down due to fuel shortages. El Salvador had the stronger army, but Honduras had the better air force and bombed their depots.
CBS reported that a cease fire is in place. The war lasted four days.
...Soccer!?
*******
July 20
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
After taking 2 of 3 in a rematch with the Pilots, this was nice to come to my hotel to. Walter Cronkite, anchor for CBS News, rubbed his hands and smiled as the grainy images filtered in from 240,000 miles away.
It's hard to describe how I...how millions of people must have felt at that moment. Pride, of course - and a little thrill of fear, as if something horrible might go wrong at the last minute. Apollo 1 was destroyed in a flash fire in January 1967 killing everyone aboard, and that was on Earth. I think at the moment I felt a sense of wonder. We'd been to the Moon. Could Mars and colonies be far behind?
Neil Armstrong jumped/strode off the ladder of his landing module and took a few bouncing steps on the grainy lunar surface. "One small step for man," he said. "One giant leap for mankind."
*******
July 23
The Baltimore Orioles took two of three from us. Then, just in case that weren't enough, they took Lou Pinella as well. Pinella was hit by pitch, fractured his wrist, and will be out about a month. George Spriggs takes his spot in the lineup (.280 1-7 0) while Joe Keough (66/79) (.290 1-37 5 in AA) will sit on the bench.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros offer to trade me C/1B Cliff Johnson (67/77) [22] (.265 2-9 0) (currently in AA) in exchange for RP Tom Burgmeier (75/80) (25) (2-3 2.85 7 SV)
I have better catchers. I don't have great relievers. Go away.
*******
July 26
Dave Morehead's now allowed five hits in sixteen innings, taking wins from Baltimore and the White Sox. Unfortunately he's the one bright spot, as the rest of our pitchers are really suffering. We'll have a few great batting performances - Joe Foy's almost caught Kirkpatrick in the home run race with 10, and Bob Oliver had a brilliant 4 for 4 performance, but no one's really catching fire and we're tumbling through the standings. My only comfort is Seattle's lost the last six...
*******
July 27
I spoke too soon. 1B Mike Fiore (.230 6-28 1) sprained his back reaching for fries at McDonalds. Well, that decision is easy enough: Bob Oliver takes over first, and we'll give Dave Concepcion (.250 in 4 AB with Cincy) (.246 0-6 2) a chance to impress us from the bench.
Oh, and the White Sox shut us out 10-0 today.
*******
July 28
Before a sell out home crowd Hank Aaron, who tied the Mick's 536 homers last night, hits a sixth inning two run shot over the left field wall. He is now third all time, chasing Mays (613 and still going) and the Babe! The Braves went on to win 10-8 in thirteen innings.
(Historically Aaron passed Mantle on the 30th. Close enough for a sim!)
*******
July 30
We're number five!
Bert Blyleven's 0-3 record doesn't begin to do him justice. He's simply been unlucky. This time he got no decision despite 8 innings of 1 run, 5 hit ball. Tom Burgmeier and Eddie Watt didn't give up any hits in the next three innings.
Scott Northey opened our eleventh by hitting a long fly to Angel CF Jay Johnstone that he somehow lost in the evening sky. It dropped for a two base error. Ellie Rodriguez and Joe Foy hit back to back sacrifice bunts to bring him home and we won 2-1.
If I were Bill Rigney, the Angels manager, I'd be ready to spit nails. Neither run was earned. Our other run came when Ed Kirkpatrick reached second on an error by RF Bubba Morton, then scored on a George Spriggs single.
August 1, 1969
Standings
Code:American League East
Team W L GB
Boston 64 38 --
Baltimore 64 40 1
Detroit 60 47 6.5
Washington 47 60 19.5
NY Yankees 45 50 20
Cleveland 42 62 23
American League West
Team W L GB
Oakland 70 32 --
Minnesota 55 49 16
Chi WSox 55 50 16.5
LA Angels 46 55 23.5
Kansas City 38 66 33 *****
Seattle 37 65 33
National League East
Team W L GB
St. Louis 60 44 --
Chi Cubs 56 48 4
Philadelphia 53 46 4.5
NY Mets 55 49 5
Pittsburgh 49 58 12.5
Montreal 39 63 20
National League West
Team W L GB
San Francisco 74 30 --
Cincinnati 61 43 13
Houston 60 47 15.5
Atlanta 48 56 26
LA Dodgers 43 61 31
San Diego 27 80 48.5
*******Code:Expansion Teams
Team W L GB
Montreal 39 63 --
Kansas City 38 66 2
Seattle 37 65 2
San Diego 27 80 14.5
American League Leaders
Average: Harmon Killebrew (MIN) .368, Rod Carew (MIN) .361
HR: Willie Horton (DET) 31, Boog Powell (BAL) 30
RBI: Willie Horton (DET) 95, (Two tied with 85)
Steals: Bert Campaneris (OAK) 49, Sandy Alomar (CHW) 28
Wins: Jim Palmer (BAL) 15, Jim Nash (OAK) 14
ERA: Jim Nash (OAK) 2.67, Jim Perry (MIN) 2.97
Strikeouts: Bob Veale (DET) 139, (Two tied with 138)
Saves: Sparky Lyle (BOS) 20, John Wyatt (OAK) 19
National League Leaders
Average: Billy Williams (CHC) .370, Joe Torre (STL) .348
HR: Billy Williams (CHC) 37, Hank Aaron (ATL) 28
RBI: Billy Williams (CHC) 126, Willie McCovey (SF) 93
Steals: Lou Brock (STL) 43, Joe Morgan (HOU) 28
Wins: Juan Marichal (SF) 17, (Two tied with 15)
ERA: Ken Holtzman (CHC) 2.63, Tom Seaver (NYM) 2.76
Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan (NYM) 180, Gaylord Perry (SF) 176
Saves: Five tied with 9
Kansas City Royals Leaders
Average: Lou Pinella .294
HR: Ed Kirkpatrick 11
RBI: Lou Piniella 48
Steals: Fred Rico 8
Wins: Wally Bunker, Johnny Podres 8
ERA: Wally Bunker 4.50
Strikeouts: Dave Morehead 118 (9th)
Saves: Eddie Watt 16 (4th)
*******
Trades
White Sox to San Diego:
RP Cy Acosta (70/85) [22] (0-2 7.97 1SV)
San Diego to White Sox:
SP Clay Kirby (81/83) [21] (5-6 4.72 1CG)
Minnesota to Cleveland:
SP Dick Woodson(72/83) [24] (3-1 4.43 0)
Cleveland to Minnesota:
SP Steve Hargan (80) [26] (7-9 3.09 3CG)
Minnesota to Atlanta:
RP Tom Hall (77/90) [21] (2-1 4.96 2SV)
SP Vic Albury (70/82) [22] (0-6 6.94 2SV)
Atlanta to Minnesota:
SP Milt Pappas (88) [30] (7-5 3.18 5CG)
Cleveland to Houston:
RF Jimmie Hall (81) [31] (.264 9-50 4SB)
Houston to Cleveland:
SP Tom Griffin (71/82) [21] (1-0 5.40 0)
Boston to Seattle:
RP Mike Garman (64/76) [19] (1-1 3.12 0)
2 minor leaguers (2xC)
Seattle to Boston:
SP Steve Barber (82) [31] (4-12 4.66 1CG)
Montreal to Philadelphia:
SP Larry Jaster (74) [25] (6-10 3.86 1CG)
Philadelphia to Montreal:
One minor leaguer (RP)
Detroit to Pittsburgh:
SS Chuck Scrivener (60/80) [21] (.000 0-1 0 in 6 AB)
1B Joe Staton (67/78) [21] (.000 0-0 0 in 1 AB)
Pittsburgh to Detroit:
SP Bob Veale (85) [33] (8-8 4.15 3CG)
Yankees to Philadelphia:
CF Bill Robinson (82) [26] (.244 5-36 3SB)
Philadelphia to Yankees:
RP Mac Scarce (66/76) [20] (4-5 5.14 10SV)
RP Jerry Johnson (66/78) [25] (Last played in Majors: 68 Phillies)
*******
Milestones
20: CF Vada Pinson (STL) hit his 2,000th hit.
22: RF Roberton Clemente (PIT) hit his 2,500th hit
*******
Retirements
1B Dick Stuart (Angels) retired at age 36 after nine seasons.
He batted .297 5-15 0SB in 74 AB in 1969 despite a foot stress fracture in late May.
Lifetime he finishes .266 232-754 with 1,069 hits and 2 SB. He only played in 89 games from 1966-69.
Stuart came up with the '58 Pirates and played there til '62. He then played for the Red Sox (63-64), Phillies (65), Mets (66), Dodgers (66) and Angels (69).
He was an All Star in 1961.
RP Hoyt Wilhelm (Angels) retired at age 47 after seventeen seasons.
This year he was 3-0 2.66 ERA, 10 saves and an All Star apparently quitting before age caught up.
Lifetime he finishes 133-108 2.48 20 CG 206 SV. That's most all time, though Roy Face of Montreal is only seven behind at age 41.
Wilhelm's 27 saves with the 1964 White Sox tie him for 8th most in a single season.
Hoyt began with the 1952 Giants, stayed in New York through '56, then went to St. Louis (57), Indians (57-58), Orioles (58-62), White Sox (63-68) and Angels (69)
He was an All Star in 1953, 59, 61, 62 and 69.
RP Hank Aguirre (Pilots) retired at age 38 after fourteen seasons.
He was traded from the Cubs in April and combined to go 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA.
Lifetime Aguirre finishes 72-75 3.28 ERA, 44 CG 31 SV.
He played for the 1955-57 Indians, 58-67 Tigers, 68 Dodgers, 69 Cubs and 69 Pilots.
Aguirre was an All Star in 1962.
August 1, 1969
Let's look at the team.
Batting, Minimum 80 AB: * = starter, & = injured ]
Alas, Pat Kelly. Where would we be if he hadn't been hurt back in June? Even today he's third in homers and RBI. Then, for kicks, we lose arguably our # 2 hitter, Piniella.Code:1969 Batting Pos G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP
Alcaraz, Luis IF 64 .213 202 43 7 2 1 7 40 4 0 13 19 .282 .237
Fiore, Mike 1B& 80 .230 244 56 9 0 6 36 54 1 0 30 28 .340 .330
Foy, Joe 3B* 99 .259 324 84 15 4 10 55 44 4 4 53 45 .423 .368
Gagliano, Phil SS* 69 .225 204 46 9 0 1 24 38 1 0 29 14 .284 .313
Kelly, Pat OF& 54 .325 209 68 14 1 7 29 42 7 6 42 44 .502 .406
Kirkpatrick, Ed RF* 100 .243 325 79 9 1 11 55 47 3 3 63 46 .378 .355
Oliver, Bob 1B* 80 .272 235 64 9 4 6 12 45 0 0 22 33 .421 .312
Piniella, Lou OF& 93 .294 326 96 21 3 5 19 32 1 1 35 48 .423 .330
Rico, Fred CF* 75 .256 246 63 10 1 3 22 51 8 0 29 27 .341 .315
Rodriguez, Ellie C* 76 .275 258 71 6 0 0 50 36 0 0 35 20 .298 .394
Severson, Rich IF 60 .195 154 30 6 0 1 9 31 3 1 20 18 .253 .239
Looking ahead, Oliver will probably stay at first with Fiore on the bench. Oliver's OBP is a little worse, but his BA is better, as well as fielding (.995 to .983).
Pinella will, of course, go back in the lineup pushing out Rico or Spriggs (.279 1-9 0 in 68 AB). Joe Keough (65/78, 0 for 2) will probably go back down at that point leaving Northey and Rico/Spriggs on the bench, and Pinella, Rico/Spriggs and Kirkpatrick in the starting lineup.
There's nothing to be done about the infield right now. Severson, Alcaraz and Concepcion (.200 in 5 AB) were on the bench. I'll send Dave Concepcion down to work on fundamentals and bring up Jackie Hernandez (67) [28] (.285 0-21 4 in A (AA)). He'll probably go back down once Fiore becomes available for bench work. Either that or Severson...his batting average and .979 fielding spells trouble.
Catcher is the one place I feel reasonably comfortable: Ellie Rodriguez is doing fine, and Buck Martinez (67/89) shows a lot of promise on the bench.
Pitching, Minimum 26 IP
("Gordon" is using his own logic for the pitchers. Grr.)Code:1969 Pitching Pos IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9
Blyleven, Bert S1 26.0 6.23 4 4 0 3 0 22 11 14.88
Bunker, Wally S2 166.0 4.50 25 25 8 14 0 99 59 12.85
Burgmeier, Tom SU 49.1 2.74 39 0 2 3 7 22 11 10.22
Drago, Dick SR 63.0 3.71 25 4 1 1 0 29 28 12.71
Fitzmorris, Al MR 54.1 7.29 27 0 2 2 2 18 35 17.23
Morehead, Dave S3 135.2 5.11 22 22 6 10 0 118 78 13.80
Nelson, Roger SR 27.1 6.91 15 0 3 4 1 13 12 15.15
Rooker, Jim S4 98.1 6.59 16 16 2 12 0 55 56 16.84
Splittorff, Paul LR 44.2 4.43 10 5 1 2 0 15 19 12.49
Wright, Ken (AA) 30.1 5.93 15 0 0 3 0 16 21 15.43
Blyleven's numbers lie. He's doing quite well. Between him, Bunker, and Splittorff we should have a pretty good staff next year. Eddie Watt's doing just fine in relief (2-3, 1.83 16 SV).
We have several pitchers in AAA with ERAs under 3 who could conceivably make a difference. Two have failed in earlier attempts, but maybe it's time to let them try again.
We send down Al Fitzmorris, Roger Nelson and Jim Rooker in exchange for:
Bill Butler (74/87) [22] (5-2 2.78 in AA (AAA))
Ken Wright (74/81) [22] (0-3 5.93) (1-2 2.51 in AA)
Chris Zachary (73/85) [25] (1-1 11.45) (5-2 2.49 in AA)
Joe says Butler will be our new LR (Splittorff to S4), Wright will be in SR, Zachary in MR.
This is the team that will hopefully save my job. We need to stay ahead of Seattle and catch the Expos. As far as I'm concerned, we're two games out with 58 left to play.
Early August 1969
Two games out, 58 games left. That's what Joe Gordon and I decided we'd tell anyone who asked. Forget Oakland. We only cared about Seattle and Montreal. The media approved of our distinction: Far easier to talk about a team in a pennant race, even a contrived one, then one thirty-three games out of contention. The Kansas City Star took it one step further, adding an 'Expansion Division' to its standing page.
*******
August 1: Angels 8-6 (12)
Ed Kirkpatrick's twelfth inning error proved fatal as it paved the way for an Angel win at Municipal Stadium. An uncharacteristically strong offensive performance, including Paul Schall's second homer of 1969 and a 2 RBI single by Bob Oliver kept us close, but Tom Burgmeier's struggles wasted Dave Morehead's 7 IP 7 K performance.
Braves 1B Orlando Cepeda hit his 300th homer as the Braves beat Los Angeles 6-5 at home. For a team in fourth place Braves fans have had alot to celebrate this year including Hank Aaron's passing Mickey Mantle for third in all-time homers.
August 2: Senators 2-0
Senator SP Frank Bertaina dominated the Royals, holding us to three hits in eight innings pitched with nine strikeouts. Splittorff gave up only 2 ER in 8 IP, but that was enough. 1B Gary Holman doubled, and 3B Ken McMullen tripled in the first to give Washington the only run they would need.
During the game SS Ed Brinkman collided with 2B Bernie Allen, fell and didn't get up. Doctors and trainers from both team rushed the field and we delayed the game twenty minutes while an ambulance came. Brinkman (.244 2-34 1) is out for the season with a broken vertebrae.
SS Ruben Amaro became the third Angel to jump ship, retiring after 10 seasons at age 33.
Amaro batted just .133 in 15 AB this year with 2 RBI.
Lifetime he batted .234 with 501 hits, 8 HR, 157 RBI and 11 SB.
He played for the 58 Cardinals, 60-65 Phillies, 66-68 Yankees and 69 Angels.
Amaro won the Gold Glove in 1964.
August 3: Senators 5-4
Washington leapt to a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the fourth as Bert Blyleven struggled badly, but held on to pitch 8 innings. Our attempted comeback came on the back of Ed Kirkpatrick's two run homer as well as RBI singles by Bob Oliver and Ellie Rodriguez.
Boston annihilated Los Angeles 12-0 for their twelfth consecutive win, putting them up 1.5 in the AL East. This was their second consecutive shutout, with Jim Lonborg getting the complete game and Reggie Smith going 3 for 5 with a homer and 5 RBI.
August 4: Royals 3-2
Wally Bunker pitched a four hit complete game as the Royals scraped by for their first win of the month. Two Senator errors in the fifth allowed us to take a 2-0 lead. Washington tied it on a sacrifice bunt and single in the seventh. In the bottom of the ninth Bob Oliver singled with one out, advanced on a groundout, and scored on Ellie Rodriguez's single to center.
August 5: Twins 14-3
Morehead and Ken Wright lost control in the sixth giving up 8 runs and letting the Twins take an unbreakable 11-3 lead. None of our pitchers did well today, with the only (questionable) bright spot being George Spriggs' 3 for 4, 2 RBI (on a single) performance.
August 6: Royals 2-1
A pregame fight brought Royals fans some extra merriment as Twins manager Billy Martin slugged his own pitcher! SP Dave Boswell and LF Bob Allison exchanged words during pregame practice which quickly escaled into shoves. Martin stepped between them, and I swear I could hear him yelling from the suite. Boswell kept jabbing his finger at Allison, so Martin turned and punched him.
Splittorff and Twins SP Jim Kaat both pitched complete games in a true pitching duel. The Twins took a 1-0 lead (despite only getting four hits) into the bottom of the ninth. Spriggs singled with one out and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Phil Gagliano then hit a line drive down third for a standup double to tie it, and Bob Oliver laced a single between second and third for the win. We're now half a game in front of Seattle.
August 7: Twins 6-5
Minnesota took the rubber match hitting 2 homers off Blyleven. I'm beginning to think despite Bert's raw talent he's just not ready - he gets rattled easily. Still, we almost held on with Joe Foy going 2 for 3, a walk, triple, homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs. Kirkpatrick hit 2 RBI of his own (both scoring Foy) in our near comeback. Twin SS Leo Cardenas hit a ninth inning homer off Burgmeier to win.
Phillies manager Bob Skinner, frustrated over the lack of front office support in his efforts to deal with slugger Dick Allen (.294 23-87) resigned. Allen has been late for or missed several practices, and Skinner's attempts to suspend or discipline him were continually blocked as the Phils continue to be in contention for the NL East crown.
August 8: Royals 6-5 (10)
We travelled to Chicago to visit the 'Sox and won in the tenth inning on a Joe Foy homer, his twelfth. We each only managed five hits, but Chicago gave up four errors to our one and Ken Wright pitched two innings of no hit ball for his first lifetime win.
Angel starter George Brunet gave up only two hits in eight innings pitched as he led his team past the Washington Senators 3-0. Los Angeles won despite giving up four errors.
August 9: White Sox 5-1
Chicago SP Joe Horlen held us to 3 hits in 8 innings as our offense continues to fade in and out like a UHF broadcast signal. (For those of you who don't know what UHF is, take a good look at an older TV.) Two of our three hits were doubles, with Spriggs scoring our only run on a double and two groundouts.
Detroit annihilated Seattle 20-5 scoring in every inning but the second. Seattle went through five pitchers in their defeat and gave up four homers. Detroit's offense was led by C Bill Freehan (2 for 3, 3 walks, 4 R, 4 RBI) and RF Jim Northrup (3 for 5, 4 runs, 2 homers, 4 RBI).
August 10: Royals 5-3
We win our first series in awhile, giving up 12 hits but getting 10 of our own including two homers (Spriggs (2) and Kirkpatrick (13)). Splittorff had another solid game, giving up 3 ER and 7 IP as Eddie Watt earned his 17th save. Kirkpatrick led with 3 hits, 2 RBI. Schall also managed 2 RBI going 1 for 3 (a single.)
*******
Nixon Doctrine
President Nixon announced the 'Nixon Doctrine.' In a nutshell, while the United States would honor her treaty commitments and continue to act as a shield against a nuclear power's threats, he expected any nation invoking defensive treaties with the US to take primary responsibility for their own defense. America would continue to offer military and economic assistance, but it was their war to win.
In early August, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with North Vietnamese representatives in France to begin working out a cease fire. Negotiations are ongoing and, so far, reasonably positive.
Nixon took office promising to get us out of Vietnam "with honor." This is his way of doing that, I suppose. I'm just worried the VC will take it as an indication they're winning and push all the harder to drive us out.
Helter Skelter
Charles Manson and his "family" of cultists began their reign of terror in Los Angeles. Based on alleged 'codes' in Beatles songs, Manson believed they prophesized a war of annihilation between blacks and whites. The "family" would take over in the resulting chaos.
After defrauding and killing a black drug dealer in June, they went to acquaintance Gary Hinman's house to persuade him to give him their money. He resisted, and they killed him drawing a panther paw on the wall signifying the Black Panthers.
On August 9 they brutally murdered five at Roman Polanski's home, including his eight month pregnant wife, stabbing them over a hundred times. The next night they killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, wealthy business people.
After several missteps the last of the murders was taken into custody on December 2. The trial began on June 15, 1970 (the day I was born!!) with four sentenced to death on April 19, 1971. In February 1972 California temporarily abolished the death penalty, automatically reducing all sentences to life imprisonment.
*******
AL West
Oakland (75-36)
Minnesota (60-51)(15)
Chicago (58-56)(18.5)
Los Angeles (52-59)(23)
Kansas City (42-72)(34.5)
Seattle (39-72)(36)
Expansion 'Division'
Montreal (44-67)
Kansas City (42-72)(3.5)
Seattle (39-72)(5)
San Diego (27-87)(18.5)
Other Divisions
ALE: Boston (68-40), Baltimore (69-45)(2), Detroit (66-51)(6.5)
NLE: St. Louis (66-48), Chicago (61-53)(5), New York (59-52)(5.5)
NLW: San Francisco (82-32), Cincinnati (67-47)(15) ... San Diego eliminated.
Team Leaders
AVG: Ellie Rodriguez (.277)
HR: Ed Kirkpatrick (13)
RBI: Ed Kirkpatrick (53)
SB: Fred Rico (9)
W: Wally Bunker (9)
ERA: Wally Bunker (4.35)
K: Dave Morehead (134)
SV: Eddie Watt (17)
Sorry I haven't been around much to comment. Hang on, Royals! Beat the Pilots!
Although it is rather sad that you're going to have to grind Kevin Calahan into the dust.
--Pet
How sad, just a few weeks ago Podres was throwing complete games, then scuttled off to Baltimore, sent to AA.
Then I wake up to day to find that he has passed away at the age of 75. What a strange turn of events. My line between real and fiction is a bit blurred.
Seriously, though that is sad, as he was great for Brooklyn teams of yesteryear.
Keep up the good work
petrel: It is, though perhaps a good object lesson. The business of baseball can be ruthless and brutal. The only question is what will happen to him with the Pilots in financial trouble?
royalsblue5: Wow. Now I feel bad. I looked up the article right after I read your reply. Yes, it's sad what's happening to Johnny. Unfortunately Baltimore does have better pitchers, and Podres isn't doing that well in AA/AAA. (2-1 4.40) I think 'Hunter' still needs to learn that there are people behind all the stats he's reading and analyzing.
*******
Mid-August 1969
"Chuck Hunter speaking."
"Chuck, this is Ewing." Kauffman spoke quicker than he usually did, which means about normal. "I need to know how much we have in our operating fund."
"Uhm...shouldn't you ask our accountant?"
"He's on lunch. I'm asking you. Give me your best guess if you have to, I have Joe Cronin on the phone."
I pulled out a dogeared piece of paper. "Okay, as of July 31st...a million, fifty thousand. We took in a little over $75,000 in July."
"We're profiting? Good. The League will be borrowing $100K from each of the clubs."
I frowned at the black handled receiver. "Why?"
"The Pilots went bankrupt. The League's buying out Soriano's debts and returning his expansion fee."
*******
None of this reached the media, of course. Bad press to admit you let in a team that couldn't cover basic expenses. As the League quietly solicited buyers, I called Kevin Calahan and told him what was happening.
"I know," he groaned. "I'm ruined."
"Ruined? You'll have enough to get through the season. You'll have a real budget!"
"Auditors are handling the finances," he said. "Joe told me to keep my hands off!" I heard glass tinkle on his end of the line.
I gripped the phone. "They're just being careful."
"No, they're blaming me for what happened. I'm ruined."
*******
Aug 11: Royals 5-4
Joe privately told me before the game that if we lost, he'd ask me to demote Bert - not because Blyleven is doing that badly, but because he wants Bert to get used to winning again. Well, we did. He pitched a complete game and we scored three in the ninth to pull it out. Paul Schall's 2 RBI double gave us the win.
Aug 12: Royals 5-2
Wally Bunker had a credible performance through 7.2 IP and Tom Burgmeier earned his eighth save as we won our 3rd straight, 4 of 5 and 5 of 7. Ellie Rodriguez led the way going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. We took the lead in the second on a Bob Oliver single and never looked back.
Mike Fiore (.230 6-28 1) came off the DL. He'll sit on the bench since 1B Bob Oliver (.269 6-38 0) continues to do well. Rich Severson (.188 1-18 3) will go down to AA-Omaha to work on fundamentals until September.
Aug 13: Twins 4-2
Well, perhaps a sweep was too much to hope for. Morehead didn't do well, giving up 4 ER in 5 IP though he did get 5 K. Twin SP Jim Kaat overpowered us for a complete game. Only George Spriggs seemed to have his number, going 3 for 3 with a walk, double, run and RBI.
Yankee CF Joe Pepitone (86) [28] (.304 27-75 1) went AWOL yesterday for what he called personal problems. He returned today but did not play.
In San Diego, Giant 1B Willie McCovey hit his 300th homer as his team manhandled the Padres 8-1. At age 31, McCovey is batting .300 with 32 homers on the year.
Aug 14: Athletics 3-2
Splittorff struggled in the first inning, yielding three runs and five hits to the first five batters. That was it. He gave up only one walk in the next seven innings, but took the loss as KC's offense couldn't get it together. Our one rally came from when Ellie Rodriguez doubled and scored on Paul Schall's single. Schall in turn advanced on a Northey single and scored on a bunt by George Spriggs.
White Sox SP Clay Kirby gave up 1 ER, 4 hits in 8 IP and LF Brian Downing hit a two run homer to led the ChiSox over Los Angeles 4-2.
Aug 15: Athletics 5-4
A's C Jim Pagliaroni went 5 for 5 with a homer, 2 runs and 2 RBI to lead his team in another close victory. On our side, Joe Foy went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI and SP Bert Blyleven went 2 for 3 with an RBI of his own.@
Aug 16: Athletics 2-0
Oakland finished their sweep as Blue Moon Odom pitched a complete game shutout giving up only four hits. Despite credible defense and pitching, our offense just couldn't get it together. Scott Northey 'led' our attack by virtue of his one hit being a double.
Aug 17: Red Sox 8-5
We began a homestand that will take us through the end of the month. It's now five straight losses and Boston caught up to the streaky Baltimore Orioles to tie them for first in the AL East. We actually led 5-3 entering the top of the ninth, buoyed by nine walks including three each to Rodriguez and George Spriggs, until Tom Burgmeier died on us giving up 5 R, 4 ER.
Aug 18: Royals 4-3
A close, hard fought game. Gagliano singled to start the bottom of the ninth, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Scott Northey's single for the win. It shouldn't have been that close: None of the runs were earned, the Sox picking up three after Gagliano threw the ball away.
The Pilots limped by the Angels 10-9 in 12 innings to begin what would be a three-game winning streak through the 20th. Pilot LF Tommy Harper went 5 for 7 with a steal, double, two homers, three runs and six RBI to lead a 16 hit, 9 walk attack on hapless Los Angeles. Together both teams went through ten pitchers.
Aug 19: Red Sox 5-2 (11)
Boston broke a 2-2 tie when Dick Drago gave up four hits including two doubles to let the 'Sox score three in extra innings. Up to then Jim Lonborg and Blyleven duelled masterfully, Bert getting ten strikeouts in 8 IP.
Between this and Senator SP Frank Bertaina dominating the Baltimore Orioles (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER) the BoSox once more retook first place.
Aug 20: Twins 4-1
Another CG for Jim Kaat. I'll be happy when we don't have to deal with the Twins anymore. Again a good starting performance, and again Burgmeier struggled in relief. Mike Fiore went 2 for 4 with our only RBI.
Expo RP Roy Face retired at age 41 after 15 seasons.
In 1969 he was 4-6 6.29 with 12 saves. Like Wilhelm he was an All Star this year.
Lifetime he finished 104-99 3.51 with 6 CG and 200 saves.
Those 200 saves are enough for second all time behind Wilhelm (206) who retired in late July.
He had 28 saves for the 1962 Pirates, which is 6th all time.
Face played for the Pirates (53, 55-68), Tigers (68) and Expos (69)
He was an All Star in 1959, 60, 61 and 69.
**************
Woodstock
In upstate New York nearly 500,000 'hippies' descended on a 600 acre dairy farm for a three day festival. Thirty two of the best known musicians of the day battled rain, technical problems and even disease (insufficient toilets or first aid facilities) to put on the show.
What could have been a recipe for disaster instead turned out to be three days of music and peace, a quiet counterpoint to war abroad and racism at home. Max Yasgur, owner of the dairy farm, added that "..if we join them, we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future."
All was not rosy. Aside from disease, two died (one from heroin, the other run over by a tractor), there were at least two births and four miscarriages. Abbie Hoffman, high on LSD, invaded the stage during the Who's performance and tried to give a speech about jailed activist John Sinclair. Enraged at this intrusion, guitarist Pete Townshend struck him with his guitar and threatened to kill the next person who walked on his stage.
Camile
On August 17 a Category 5 hurricane smashed into Mississippi with winds up to 190 miles per hour and a storm surge of 24 feet. It obliterated the Mississippi coastline and ground its way northeast, survivng the Appalachain Mountains and causing massive flooding across Virginia before finally returning to the Atlantic.
Camile killed 259 and caused over $1 billion ($9 billion today) in damages, including several thousand homes. All five major branches of the Armed Forces helped in evacuation and restoring order as the Department of Defense sent $34 million and 16,500 troops. The Department of Health added $4 million for medicines. Later the Department of Commerce allocated $30 million to help rebuild the devastated areas. Compared to Katrina, the government reacted quickly and decisively to deal with the carnage.
In the aftermath, the Saffron-Simpson Hurricane Scale came into effect rating hurricanes on a scale of 1 (74-95 mph) to 5 (156+ mph). Up until then weathermen only talked about low barometic pressure and high wind speeds when speaking of hurricanes, and they felt this would give viewers a better indication of how severe a storm is, and how dire the need to get out of its way.
**************
American League West
Oakland (83-38)(--)
Minnesota (64-54)(17.5)
Chicago (63-58)(20)
Los Angeles (56-65)(27)
Kansas City (45-79)(39.5)
Seattle (43-78)(40)
Expansion 'Division'
Montreal (48-73)(--)
Kansas City (45-79)(4.5)
Seattle (43-78)(5)
San Diego (32-92)(17.5)
ALE: Boston (71-47), Baltimore (74-50)(--), Detroit (68-56)(6)
NLE: St. Louis (71-50), New York (66-55)(5), Chicago (65-56)(6)
NLW: San Francisco (87-36), Cincinnati (72-52)(15.5) (1 team eliminated)
Team Leaders:
AVG: Ellie Rodriguez (.274)
HR: Ed Kirkpatrick (13)
RBI: Ed Kirkpatrick (55)
SB: Fred Rico (9)
W: Wally Bunker (10)
ERA: Wally Bunker (4.13)
K: Dave Morehead (139)
SV: Eddie Watt (17)
How about preventing the Pilots from moving? *Wink wink*.
Coach Owens: I was going to ask you last time how you felt about the Pilots, but I went over 10,000 characters. (GRR!)
COMMENTS: After much experimenting with styles, I've decided things flowed best for me with a format I used for most of "Cardinal" and parts of "Destiny." Thanks for bearing with me as I kept testing new ideas.
*******
Late August 1969
Municipal Stadium in late summer. As the Kansas City Chiefs trotted off field, laughing and nudging each other, groundskeepers rushed out to get ready for tonight's game between the Royals and Twins. Cleats pockmarked the outfield, infield dirt was scattered to the four winds, and a considerate linebacker left a message for his baseball cohorts: "Grow a pair."
Fortunately the Chiefs had a seperate clubhouse, but some had the habit of punching their lockers and the sound of thumped metal echoed through the wall to where the Royals quietly, grimly wrapped themselves up and stretched. No joy here, not nearly forty games out of first. For awhile they rallied under the idea they only had to beat the other expansion teams, but Montreal now sat 4.5 games in front.
I sat outside Gordon's office, waiting to go over our upcoming six game set with the Pilots. I couldn't really connect with these players - for the most part they were simply awful. I knew most of their basic stats, plus or minus a few points, and if I had my way I'd throw most of them on the street. Perhaps they sensed this, for none seemed eager to speak to me.
"God **** it, man!" roared Gordon, barely audible through his closed door and window. Looking in, I could see him haranguing Charlie Metro. Metro started in our front office, but after expressing a desire to return to managing became Joe's bench coach. He sat back, wide eyed, and answered quietly. This only seemed to make Joe angrier.
"He's always like that these days," a voice said next to me. I looked up and Pat Kelly smiled. He'd been on the DL list since June, and dressed for every game despite not being on our 25- or 40-man roster. Perhaps he liked the 'C' on his sleeve which marked him as team captain after Podres got traded.
"How's the wrist?"
He grimaced. "Don't ask." He sat down and watched them argue for a moment - actually Gordon argue and Metro just take it. "He wants this bad."
THUMP! Fred Rico looked up and glared at the wall adjoining the Chiefs' clubhouse.
"So do we all, I hope."
Kelly nodded. "Oh, I'm sure. But Joe really wants this. He says he doesn't want to go out on a sour note."
"So he's thinking of leaving?"
He shrugged. "Don't know, but I don't think he likes it here."
THUMP!
"Oh, that's ****ing it!" Gordon screamed. He stood, threw open his door and stormed past us like he planned to march on Vietnam, and so into the adjoining hall. He banged on the Chiefs' door. "Alright, girls! It's time to teach you some respect!"
*******
Charlie Metro will serve as manager while Joe recovers from a nasty 'fall.'
Minnesota (64-54)(2nd, -17.5g) at Kansas City (45-79)(5th,-39.5g)
(-4.5g vs Montreal, +0.5g vs Seattle)
21: Joe Foy goes 2 for 3 with 2 RBI, but Morehead is horrible. (3 IP 5 ER) Twins 6-4
Seattle and we are the first AL teams eliminated.
22: This time it's Mike Fiore going 2 for 3, 2 RBI with a double. Splittorff does acceptably and Burgmeier holds the line in relief. Royals 5-3
*******
The great news: Lou Piniella is ready to come back. Fred Rico (.239 3-29 9) will warm the bench and Joe Keough (.182 0-1 0) goes to A-Wichita until September call ups.
The good news: Seattle is coming to town for six games over nine days. Maybe we can put them away once and for all. Joe Gordon's back as well.
The bad news: Splittorff started the eighth inning with a line drive that he instinctively tried to catch bare-handed. It bounced off his ring finger, broke it, and ricocheted to short. Paul will miss about a month. (4-4 3.41 2 CG)
The really bad news: Joe Cronin called....
*******
"Yes, Mister Cronin?"
Silence on the other end, as if he wasn't quite sure how to begin. "Did you read the Seattle Times today?"
"I'm a little outside their delivery area, sir."
"Don't get snide with me! I'm surprised it isn't all over the radio. We've been getting calls all day. and I'm sure it'll be on the networks tonight."
I waited patiently.
"They know the Pilots are bankrupt and the League's stepping in. They're asking questions, Hunter. Why did the American League expand if we couldn't guarantee the health of the new teams? Why didn't we demand that the new clubs have more ready cash available? Why didn't we step in sooner? Why are we soliciting bids for buyers from outside the Seattle Metro area?"
Very good questions, I thought but didn't dare say.
"I told you that League business is confidential!" Cronin shouted. "You're Calahan's friend. Did you tell them?"
"Who? The Times? No! If I was going to tell anyone, it'd be the Star."
"Don't you dare, you..." He bit off whatever he wanted to say. "You know nothing about this?"
"Nothing."
"Fine. But when, not if, I find out who our leak is, you can be certain they will be out of baseball!"
*******
Seattle (43-80)(6th, -41g) at Kansas City (46-80)(5th, -39.5g)
(-4.5g vs Montreal, +1.5g vs Seattle)
23: Blyleven struck out ten and went 2 for 2 with a double and run scored for his first career shutout. Royals 2-0
24: Rodriguez went 3 for 4, Schall 2 for 4 with a run and RBI as Bunker again shut the Pilots down. Royals 5-2
25: Losing 3-2 in the tenth, Northey hits a homer to tie it. Two innings later, he hits a sac bunt to bring George Spriggs home. Royals 4-3 (12)
*******
SWEEP! The Kansas City Star seems much more excited about that then the fate of the Pilots. Thank God. Joe Cronin's follow up call and letter left no room to wiggle: We had no comment. Not if we liked actually being paid.
Calahan didn't travel with the team. Too bad, I'd have liked to talk to him.
Three days off allow us to get everyone but Splittorff (and Kelly) rested and ready for the final push.
*******
Seattle (43-83)(6th, -44.5g) at Kansas City (49-80)(5th, -40g)
(-2g vs Montreal, +4.5g vs Seattle)
29: Eddie Watt, who'd spent some time resting a sore arm, returned long enough to give up an 11th inning homer. Pilots 7-6 (11)
30: Schall and Kirkpatrick hit homers in a rare show of power, but Seattle does better. Pilots 6-4
31: Losing 3-0 in the ninth, we rally with RBI by Rodriguez and Gagliano, but not quite enough. Pilots 3-2
*******
Ending the series with Seattle right back where we started....