This just in! Kansas City Royals' first baseman rips KC's GM Chuck Hunter's heart out of his skull! :cool:
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This just in! Kansas City Royals' first baseman rips KC's GM Chuck Hunter's heart out of his skull! :cool:
God, that has to hurt. The Royals are horribly inconsistent, beating the Yankees two of three but falling to the @#$@#$ Pilots.
We knew the Royals might be bad for some time; we just didn't know how long. At least when I took over the Braves it was an established team; people don't know how hard it is to build a team up from scratch.
--Pet
What's that supposed to mean?! :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by petrel
Coach Owens: Hmm...I dunno if Thompson has the right attitude for KC. Maybe Bud Selig would like him. ;)
petrel: Yes, it's hard. At least with the Cards and Expos even when I didn't win the pennant, it was usually close. We lose games we shouldn't ... and win games we shouldn't. Someday KC will win the pennant though, then the victory will be that much sweeter. :)
Coach Owens: He means we should be able to beat a team from SEATTLE of all places. ;)
*******
Late May 1970
"I was walking home last night when I noticed an old drunk staggering along the road. He passed a woman who was walking a young child.
'Lady,' said the drunk, 'that's the ugliest kid I've ever seen. ****, that is one ugly child!' As the drunk wandered off, the lady burst into tears. Just then, a mailman came to her rescue.
'What's the matter, madam?' he asked. 'I've just been horribly insulted,' she sobbed. 'There there,' said the mailman, reaching into his pocket. 'Dry your eyes with this tissue, and here's a banana for the chimp.'"
I forced myself to smile. Kevin's sense of humor might need work, but it was nice to see him relaxed and happy. Why shouldn't he be? His Pilots were in third place after a month and a half, annihilating predictions they'd barely show up to the ballpark.
Bleachers, hard metal but a short aluminum bar for the back, flanked the stadium's left and right field. In between them, beyond center field, lay a vast stretch of dirt and two construction vehicles. Here, Kevin said, Boeing would begin permanent construction to top the stadium's capacity at about 38,000.
"What's your average attendance?" I asked.
"Oh, about 17,000. Not enough, but a heck of a lot better than last year."
Boeing apparently gave him nearly a free hand. They expected him to watch his budget, but so long as the club (and attendance) approved they seemed happy. "I met the Pilots' board of directors two weeks ago. I don't think they really know much about the business end of baseball. They asked a lot of questions, but liked my suggestions."
As I told him about my woes: Specifically the Kansas City Star calling for my head, his phone buzzed and I heard his secretary: "Mr. Calahan, Dave Bristol would like to see you."
"Tell Dave I'm in a meeting with the Kansas City GM, and I'll come to his office afterwards."
"He says it's urgent, sir."
*******
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...s/ballfour.jpg
The problem was 'Ball Four' by Pilot starter Jim Bouton. 'Ball Four' is a diary. It summarizes his career with the Yankees and Astros, then picks apart the Pilots' first season. He holds nothing back: Front office incompetence (much helped by Soriano's failure to fund the club), Mickey Mantle's drinking, amphetamines, woman watching, arguments with his manager and teammates, the list goes on and on. He talks about players' personal problems: The fears of some, the arrogance and high-handedness of others.
Executives, players, even broadcasters are falling over themselves to deny this book's allegations. Are they true? Well...some of them, yes. Some more are possible - for example I have no insight into the inner workings of the Pilot clubhouse. Others, however, look very much like a bitter, declining (12-17 4.02 2 CG last year) player lashing out.
The Pilots are apparently a wreck. Team unity's destroyed. They're embarassed and avoiding each other, and especially Bouton. I don't think he realizes that sometimes living with a few white lies is in everyone's best interest.
*******
Oakland (26-16) (1st, +5.5g) at Kansas City (15-27) (6th, -11g)
16: Four hours. That's how long it took. We managed 14 hits, including 9 for extra bases (Kelly had three triples). Oliver went 2 for 4 with 6 RBI. Chico Salmon filling in at third threw the ball away in the third leading to 5 unearned runs. Athletics 18-14
17: Morehead slips early. Ellie Rodriguez hits a 2 RBI single in the ninth to try and lead a comeback, but it's too much to come back from. Athletics 7-5
18: Thompson scores on a single by Rich Severson in the ninth. We get two errors. Our .980 fielding is tied for 9th-11th in the league. Royals 3-2
*******
The Pilots went 1-2, including a 21-1 massacre by the BoSox the day we learned of Bouton's book.
*******
Kansas City (16-29) (6th, -12g) at Seattle (17-25) (3rd, -9.5g)
19: Another costly error worth 3 unearned runs. My manager's a former infielder! He should be correcting all this! I need to talk to my farm managers about this ****. Pilots 7-5
20: Salmon hits a 2 run homer to lift us up and over. Seattle catcher Bill Heath literally kicks away a routine dribbler allowing a run. With Bouton pitching, I'm not sure it's an accident. Royals 4-3
21: Kelly gets his seventh homer, but Dick Drago loses it in the ninth. Pilots 5-4
*******
How can we hold our own against better teams, yet we can't handle Seattle? Well, three more games, then we can rest for three before beginning our next long stand.
*******
Detroit (25-23) (5th, -5g) at Kansas City (17-31) (5th-T, -12g)
22: Rooker held his own most of the game, while Paul Schall went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Foy 2 for 5. Royals 6-3
23: Hart goes 1 for 4, a homer and 2 RBI (4 RBI this series.) Schall gets another 2 hits. Blyleven holds them to 3 hits and gets 9 strikeouts, but allows 8 walks. Royals 5-2
24: More walks by Wally Bunker. Martin blamed the umpiring crew and got himself ejected. Tiger RP Darryl Patterson helped us out by giving up 2 wild pitches and a balk within the space of two batters. Hart hit another two homers, bringing his total to 8. Royals 8-2
*******
Like I said...how can we beat better teams, and...?
Oddly, we're now guaranteed our second best month ever. Even if we lose the rest of our games we'll finish 13-15. Our current second best month is May '69 where we went 12-15.
Curt Flood inadvertently helped our budding rivalry with the Pilots today. A reporter asked him if Bouton's book altered his opinion about playing for Seattle one way or the other.
"Those losers?" he retorted. "I'd sooner play for the ____ing Royals!"
Meanwhile, Seattle's in freefall. They've lost six straight and tumbled to fifth.
*******
Kansas City (20-31) (4th, -10.5g) at Chicago (24-24) (2nd, -5g)
28: Chicago's Tommy John (now 6-3 1.87) does an incredible job allowing only one run in eight innings. Morehead once more struggles. White Sox 4-1
29: Leading 3-1 in the ninth, Fred Rico hits a homer to extend our lead. Eddie Watt comes in to shut the 'Sox down and gives up two runs. Royals 4-3
30: Horlen and Wood hold us to 3 hits, and we give up 2 errors with predictable results. White Sox 5-2
*******
Thanks Bouton. :mad:
May 31, 1970
Standings
Code:American League East
Team W L GB
Washington 32 19 --
Baltimore 34 22 0.5
Cleveland 31 23 2.5
NY Yankees 32 25 3
Boston 29 28 6
Detroit 25 32 10
American League West
Team W L GB
Oakland 33 23 --
Chi WSox 26 25 4.5
Minnesota 24 27 6.5
Kansas City 21 33 11
LA Angels 20 34 12
Seattle 19 35 13
*******Code:National League East
Team W L GB
Philadelphia 36 18 --
Pittsburgh 33 21 3
NY Mets 31 23 5
St. Louis 31 23 5
Chi Cubs 30 24 6
Montreal 22 31 13.5
National League West
Team W L GB
San Francisco 30 24 --
Cincinnati 25 28 4.5
LA Dodgers 23 28 5.5
Atlanta 24 30 6
Houston 21 30 7.5
San Diego 14 40 16
American League Leaders
Average: Rod Carew (MIN) .381, Bobby Murcer (NYY) .354
HR: Bob Allison (MIN) 17, Norm Cash (DET) 15
RBI: Frank Robinson (BAL) 55, Bob Allison (MIN) 49
Steals: Ron LeFlore (NYY) 31, Dave Nelson (CLE) 29
Wins: Dave McNally (BAL) 9, Five tied with 7
ERA: Joe Coleman (WAS) 1.75, Tommy John (CHW) 1.87
Strikeouts: Luis Tiant (CLE) 82, Two tied with 70
Saves: Phil Hennigan (CLE) 12, Dave Baldwin (WAS) 10
National League Leaders
Average: Ron Santo (CHC) .363, Tommy Helms (CIN) .349
HR: Hank Aaron (ATL) 17, Dick Allen (PHI) 17
RBI: Dick Allen (PHI) 54, Three tied with 50
Steals: Lou Brock (STL) 27, Billy North (CHC) 17
Wins: Four tied with 8
ERA: Bob Gibson (STL) 2.11, Tom Seaver (NYM) 2.16
Strikeouts: Juan Marichal (SF) 90, Tom Seaver (NYM) 85
Saves: Kent Tekulve (PIT) 13, Tug McGraw (NYM) 9
Kansas City Royals Leaders
Average: Jim Ray Hart .338 (5th)
HR: Jim Ray Hart 9
RBI: Jim Ray Hart 33
Steals: Pat Kelly 8 (4th)
Wins: Bert Blyleven, Ken Wright 5
ERA: Bert Blyleven 3.83
Strikeouts: Bert Blyleven 70 (2nd-T)
Saves: Eddie Watt 5 (10th)
*******
Trades
Oakland to Montreal-
RP John Wyatt (70/71) [35] (1-1 6.23 3 SV)
C Jim Pagliaroni (75/76) [32] (.306 1-11 0 SB)
3B Gaylen Pitts (61/76) [23] (.238 1-8 1 SB) (now in B)
Montreal to Oakland-
1B Donn Clendenon (79) [34] (.246 2-12 3 SB)
2B Gary Sutherland (81/84) [25] (.290 0-3 0 SB)
C Phil Roof (71) [29] (.239 0-6 0 in A ball)
Sutherland's hurt, though Oakland couldn't have known that would happen. They picked up two reliable starters and a backup catcher. Montreal substantially ages with this trade, and Wyatt and Pagliaroni aren't really improvements. Advantage: Oakland
*******
Milestones
5/4: LF Bob Allison (MIN) Hit for the Cycle! (.318 17-49 2 this year)
18: 1B Orlando Cepeda (ATL): 1,000 runs. (.314 8-32 2 this year)
18: 3B Brooks Robinson (BAL): 2,000 hits. (.284 8-41 0)
18: C Carlton Fisk (BOS) Hit for the Cycle! (.249 10-38 2)
26: RF Al Kaline (DET): 2,500 hits. (.244 5-23 0)
30: RF Tony Congliaro (BOS) Hit for the Cycle! (.292 6-20 0)
*******
Retirements (8/21-8/31)
1B Chuck Harrison (lastly with Seattle) retired at age 29 after 3 seasons.
We released him on April 1. The Pilots tried their luck, decided to release him, and so he left to play in one of the outlaw/independent leagues.
On a MLB level he finishes .251 12-89 2 SB
He played for the 65-67 Astros, and had 2 at bats for us in 1969.
Coach Owens: No, Bouton didn't do his team any favors. Historically he was pretty much a pariah for the rest of his career. In 1998 a site contacted three former managers/players (at least) asking for comments, and all three denounced him.
*******
Kansas City Royals
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...royalslogo.gif
Batting (not including pitchers) (Fld=Fielding Percentage)
Code:1970 Batting Fld G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP
Rodriguez, Ellie 1000 32 .202 94 19 3 1 0 22 20 0 2 10 7 .255 .364
Paepke, Dennis 1000 32 .138 80 11 1 0 0 7 15 0 0 4 5 .150 .207
Martinez, Buck 1000 4 .333 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 .333
Oliver, Bob 993 51 .219 187 41 5 1 7 9 33 0 3 19 23 .369 .261
Thompson, Will 1000 13 .455 22 10 1 0 2 5 1 0 0 6 7 .773 .536
Fiore, Mike 1000 12 .188 16 3 0 0 0 8 4 0 0 4 0 .188 .458
Foy, Joe 982 52 .220 182 40 5 1 1 33 38 5 7 23 18 .275 .346
Hart, Jim Ray 961 42 .338 157 53 9 3 9 15 21 3 0 26 33 .605 .391
Schaal, Paul 975 49 .371 132 49 12 1 1 22 24 3 2 18 22 .500 .458
Concepcion, Dave 1000 11 .444 9 4 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 3 .444 .500
Salmon, Chico 986 42 .268 123 33 4 2 3 9 18 3 4 14 16 .407 .323
Severson, Rich 971 38 .247 93 23 3 0 0 5 24 1 0 8 4 .280 .293
Kelly, Pat 971 54 .291 179 52 10 1 7 30 27 8 8 35 29 .475 .390
Piniella, Lou 1000 50 .287 178 51 9 2 4 12 13 0 3 24 24 .427 .333
Rico, Fred 973 46 .278 144 40 11 0 3 13 22 2 0 18 16 .417 .344
Spriggs, George 1000 23 .233 60 14 3 1 3 7 12 2 0 13 12 .467 .300
Northey, Scott 929 8 .290 31 9 1 0 1 1 3 1 2 6 2 .419 .313
Since my catchers are so far equally proficient behind the plate, and Billy's using the backup catcher quite often, we might as well go with someone who can hit. I don't know if Buck's that man, but I know Dennis Paepke isn't.
At first, I'm really tempted to go with Thompson, but Oliver's 7 homers are hard to ignore. We'll leave them both in for now and give it another month.
If Hart wasn't hitting so well, I'd bench him as the source of much of my fielding woes. He is, however, and so is somewhat impregnable. Rich Severson has a low on-base percentage and indifferent fielding, so we'll send him down for a month.
I'd really like two reserve outfielders, no matter what Billy says, so we'll bring Northey back up and hope Billy uses him as a pinch hitter. His fielding this year is horrendous.
Pitchers
Morehead becomes the latest pitcher to outlast his welcome. He isn't striking people out this year. Down to A-Omaha. Up comes Al Fitzmorris (77/87) who has a 2.38 ERA there this year. Splittorff, demoted to mopup work last month by Billy, takes the number 3 slot while Nelson becomes mopup and Fitzmorris becomes our short reliever.Code:1970 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9
Blyleven, Bert KCR 98.2 3.83 14 14 5 7 0 70 37 13.04
Bunker, Wally KCR 71.2 4.27 12 12 3 6 0 41 26 11.93
Morehead, Dave KCR 38.0 8.29 8 8 1 4 0 26 24 16.34
Rooker, Jim KCR 57.1 4.55 9 9 2 3 0 38 29 13.03
Splittorff, Paul KCR 61.0 4.28 10 10 2 4 0 24 18 12.54
Drago, Dick KCR 15.1 5.28 10 0 1 1 0 9 9 18.20
Hedlund, Mike KCR 19.1 5.59 9 0 0 0 1 7 12 13.50
Nelson, Roger KCR 22.0 3.68 8 1 0 1 0 17 10 11.45
Watt, Eddie KCR 7.1 1.23 8 0 1 0 5 3 3 11.05
Wright, Ken KCR 32.1 3.90 25 0 5 1 3 19 23 14.47
York, Jim KCR 26.0 3.46 19 0 0 2 1 25 14 15.23
Burgmeier, Tom KCR 12.1 8.03 9 0 0 1 0 7 4 18.24
Zachary, Chris KCR 16.2 8.10 10 0 1 3 0 8 5 15.66
KC Roster: May 31, 1970:
C: Rodriguez
1B: Oliver
2B: Foy
3B: Hart
SS: Schaal
LF: Piniella
CF: Kelly
RF: Rico
Bench: Martinez (C), Thompson (1B/LF), Salmon (IF),
Concepcion (SS), Spriggs (LF/RF), Northey (CF)
SP: Blyleven, Bunker, Splittorff, Rooker, Nelson (spot)
CL: Watt
SU: Wright
SR: York, Fitzmorris
MR: Hedlund
LR: Drago
May 31, 1970
Quite a bit happened in the last few days.
First, we learned three pitchers from the Nishitetsu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball have been banned for fixing games. Now, normally we don't care about or pay attention to what's happening in Japan, but given how some players are behaving lately ... well, Bowie Kuhn wants us to be on our guard. He reminded us about Dodger reliever Pete Mikkelsen's suspension for bookmaking. (He came off on May 23 and is now their closer.)
Second, Jim Bouton in Seattle is hurt. Bad. The official explanation is that he was kidding around in the bleachers over in left field, near their bullpen, when he fell and fractured his eyebone. He's out for at least a month.
The rumor is a bit more sinister: It says that OF Tommy Harper, 1B Don Mincher, and some of the other relative oldsters decided to let Bouton know what they thought of his book. I wouldn't believe it, except when I began shopping players around Kevin offered both Harper and Mincher... two of his stars.
Third, Federal judge Irving Ben Cooper founded against Curt Flood. He said that while the exact terms of the reserve clause should be revisited in negotiations between owners and labor, there was nothing wrong with the way we currently enforced it: In other words, players generally should expect to be able to offer their services elsewhere upon failure to sign a new contract, but once that contract was in force owners could expect players to abide by the terms. Including trades.
Kuhn responded immediately. In an interview on ABC he thanked Cooper for his 'wisdom and foresight,' then warned Flood he was now in breach of contract.
"Some men have taken it into their heads that their own interests come before their teammates. That they can bring harm to their team simply because they can. There are several instances over the past few years, but this is perhaps the worst. It is my opinion that Mister Flood's actions have caused material harm to the Seattle Pilots in the form of victories and attendance.
By Executive Order 70-9, I advised Mister Flood's lawyers today that he is expected to report to the Pilots on or before June 15. If he fails, then we will have no choice but to render him ineligible to continue playing for Major League Baseball or any league under the National Agreement."
The Union's condemned such a heavy handed answer. With negotiations beginning between labor and management over a new two year deal underway, I think this could strain relations further.
Meanwhile, we completed a trade.
Trade:
Kansas City to Cincinnati-
IF Paul Schaal (78/79) [27] (.371 1-22 3) ($100K through 1970)
2B Luis Alcaraz (72/73) [28] (A ball) ($14.1K through Arb 71)
SP Roger Nelson (77/79) [25] (0-1 3.68 0) ($15.4K through Arb 71)
RP Tom Burgmeier (77/78) [26] (0-1 8.03 0) ($14.1K through Arb 71)
Cincinnati to Kansas City-
LF Alex Johnson (82/88) [27] (.341 1-18 6) ($116K through 1972)
This may look a little strange at first glance, however:
Schaal is having a terrific year, but he's peaked or nearly so. He's also blocking Dave Concepcion, who would probably try to take his job next year anyway. If Severson can start playing up to his potential (currently 78/84) then Paul might not even have a job next year.
I worked so hard to shore up our infield over the winter that I may have overshot.
Alcaraz is also nearing his peak, which isn't that great. While he might do if injury hits for the next year or two, Frank White (69/94) should be ready for the bench in a year or two.
Roger Nelson's done well enough and deserves better than to be our mop-up guy. There's no realistic chance he'll ever be more, not if our starters live up to their potential.
Similarly, barring vast improvement by next year, at best Burgmeier would be a short reliever. I don't see him ever being setup or closer for us.
In Alex Johnson we pick up an experienced outfielder: Our one remaining weakness. (A better catcher would be nice, but Martinez (70/94) just needs time.)
*******
As a result, Scott Northey goes back down to Omaha, while we promote Rich Severson. Concepcion and Johnson will start, while Fred Rico moves to the bench.
Dave Morehead returns to Kansas City, but in our spot start/mopup role.
Cincinnati uses our players much as we did: Schaal becomes their new shortstop, Alcaraz on the bench. Nelson and Burgmeier join their relief corps.
Random Attempts at Analysis
A Look at the Future I: VORP
Mathmeticians in Los Angeles, apparently with nothing better to do, gathered the publicly available data on payroll and put together a list of which teams are the most efficient vs. those in trouble. The theory is that a team of forty A-ball players making minimum salary should still be able to win 30% of their games. Filter that out, and you have how much each club is paying for each win above thirty percent.
Theoretically, the more efficient team, the better you will be in about two years time. An efficient team already has a tolerably good team, and can afford to spend more in their farm systems or in the market to get the last player or two they need to contend. An inefficient team is either in the midst of a rebuild and/or has overbloated salaries, and within those two years they should start to falter.
Here's a look at how payroll stood in April 1969, each team's wins, and the cost per win over replacement. The formula is:
(Payroll - ($14,100 x 40)) / (Wins - 48) where $14,100 was minimum salary last year, and 48 wins is 30% of 162 games.
The Padres won less than 48 games, so the formula doesn't work with them.Code:Team Payroll (M) Wins Cost
NY Mets 2.15 92 35,979
Chi Cubs 2.35 91 41,444
St. Louis 2.70 96 44,409
Philly 2.01 77 49,710
Pittsburgh 2.11 74 59,339
Montreal 1.72 59 104,320
Houston 1.80 89 30,235
San Fran. 2,77 111 34,980
Cincy 2.08 86 40,013
Atlanta 2.26 80 53,000
LA Dodgers 2.08 71 66,029
San Diego 1.10 46 ******
According to these folk in Los Angeles, you're looking at the final order of finish for 1971. We'll see about that. Though the information is public, executives aren't too happy that this report shows the league's payroll. They're also not too happy at this prediction over a year and a half in advance.Code:Team Payroll (M) Wins Cost
Baltimore 2.31 99 34,311
Detroit 2,21 93 36,574
Washington 1.69 76 40,301
NY Yankees 1.93 80 42,786
Boston 2.66 94 45,651
Cleveland 2.06 54 248,878
Oakland 1.75 106 20,443
LA Angels 1.46 74 34,476
Chi WSox 2.01 87 37,183
Minnesota 2.34 84 49,416
Kansas Cty 1.98 66 78,744
Seattle 1.61 59 94,847
(The 'cost per win' formula can be used to determine a club's efficiency. I recently read an OOTP dynasty which implicated a similar formula could be successfully used within that game to predict winners two years in advance. That wouldn't work in a league with full finances, especially with BM's model. However, since this is an equalized league it's worth a shot.
So far I'd have to doubt its validity. The Angels are in really bad shape, and - as you'll see below - I think KC's one trade or free agency away from being 2nd or 3rd in 1971, not 5th. It's interesting though, and we'll check in in a year and a half and see how we did.)
******
A Look at the Future II - Your 1971 Royals?
In preparing to trade Schaal I made an estimate of where the Royals would stand a year from now.
Richie's reports estimates everyone's performance on a 100 point scale. It's a bit odd though, as on that scale 50 is D league, 60 C league, 70 A league, 75 average, and 90 or so denotes a star. Anyone below 50 isn't worth talking to. On that scale he estimates a player's current value and their peak. Players usually rise more or less evenly until they peak at age 26. After 31 the player should start deteriorating. There are plenty of exceptions on both sides of the scale, but it's a good number to work off of.
IF we assume that's true, then looking at Richie's numbers our 1971 lineup looks like this:
As you see, IF the analysis holds up, Schaal and Alcaraz became expendable...and our biggest weakness was finding a decent starting outfielder so Rico could be on the bench. Hence the trade.Code:Name Current Age 1971
Rodriguez 75/76 24 76 *S*
Martinez 70/94 21 75 *B*
Paepke 70/72 25 72
Oliver 78/82 27 82 *S*
Thompson 70/92 18 73 *B*
Fiore 69/72 25 72
Foy 82 27 82 *S*
Hart 84 28 84 *S*
Severson 78/84 25 84 *S*
Concepcion 80/82 21 82 *B*
Salmon 79 29 79 *B*
Schaal 78 27 78
Alcaraz 72/73 28 73
White 69/94 19 73
Kelly 80/90 25 90 *S*
Piniella 81 26 81 *S*
Rico 68/75 25 75 *S*
Northey 69/88 23 75 *B*
Keough 69/79 24 74 *B*
Spriggs 69/90 29 70
Obviously anything can happen - a player can peak early or late, or be injured for an entire season. For example, if there are any infield injuries than White will end up on the bench. There's a risk, but Johnson (82/88) [27] (est. 88 in 1971) is worth it.
Again from the analysis, my main weakness now is catcher, where my starter this year and next is at best average. I may let it go, as Martinez is the team's future.
Pitchers:
Again, this suggested Nelson and Burgmeier were expendable.Code:Name Current Age 1971
Blyleven 86/94 19 87 *S*
Bunker 83/87 25 87 *S*
Splittorff 82/93 23 86 *S*
Rooker 82/87 27 87 *S*
Morehead 81 27 81 *S*
Fitzmorris 77/87 24 82 *R*
Butler 76/86 23 79 *R*
Nelson 77/79 25 79
Busby 73/88 20 76
Zachary 77/92 26 92 *R*
Wright 82/86 23 83 *R*
Drago 75/91 24 83 *R*
York 79/88 22 81 *R*
Hedlund 75/87 23 79
Burgmeier 77/78 26 78
Watt 77 29 77
I know well from my experience elsewhere that scouting ratings are at best fragile. Still, in this case it's nice to look ahead and see who I can spare.
(According to an article by Clay, the average career window in BM peaks a player at age 26-31. Growth up to that point is linear, decay afterwards exponential. Personally if I were to estimate an older player, I'd probably assume they'd hit 68 at age 38...just off the top of my head. Again, examples proving me wrong abound.
Therefore, for example, if you take Blyleven he's 8 points off peak..and should hit peak in 7 years. 8/7 = 1.1 growth in overall next year. Blyleven's actually well ahead of schedule, I think he's picked up 6 points in a year so far. Then again, I spend very heavily on my farm system as befits an expansion club.)
June 2, 1970
Draft Day!
Preparing for the draft means taking a long, hard look at the future of your team. The choice last year was pretty easy: We had the first pick, and Bert Blyleven had future star written all over him. He's already there.
This year we have fifth pick, which takes a little more thought. According to Richie, here are the players with the greatest futures (highest peaks) ahead of them.
Catcher: Buck Martinez (94)
First: Will Thompson (92)
Second: Frank White (94)
Third: Jim Ray Hart or Rich Severson (84)
Short: Dave Concepcion (88)
Left: Alex Johnson (88)
Center: Pat Kelly (90)
Right: Al Cowens (90)
Starter: Bert Blyleven (94)
Starter: Paul Splittorff (93)
Starter: Steve Busby (87)
Reliever: Chris Zachary (92)
Reliever: Dick Drago (91)
Reliever: Jerry Cram (91)
So...Third Base, and I wouldn't say no to a starter, shortstop and left field.
It can be a bit boring waiting for your turn. I had a pretty good idea who I wanted and in what order, but Richie and I constantly updated our list as the teletype reported on those who picked before us.
The Top 10 were:
1. San Diego: CF Fred Lynn (66/94) (starting with D-Tri City Padres)
* By far the best player in this draft.
2. Cleveland: RP Cardell Camper (46/90) (D-GCL Indians)
3. Montreal: SP Dan Warthen (64/78) (D-GCL Expos)
4. Seattle: C Ernie Whitt (58/91) (D-Newark Co-Pilots)
5. Kansas City: SS Roy Smalley (58/93) (D-Kingsport Royals)
* I was tempted to go for 3B Jim Morrison instead, but Smalley has a history of playing there as well. I think he'll do fine.
6. LA Dodgers: CF Jerry Mumphrey (60/89) (D-Ogden Dodgers)
7. LA Angels: RP Joe Sambito (56/90) (D-Idaho Falls Angels)
8. Pittsburgh: CF Omar Moreno (57/82) (D-GCL Pirates)
9. Washington: RP Dave Woods (66/80) (C-Burlington Senators)
10. Philadelphia: 3B Jim Morrison (52/89) (D-Pulaski Phillies)
Other Royal Picks:
2. RF Reggie Walton (50/90) - A solid player. Might be moved to left.
3. SP Mike Krukow (51/85) - The better part of the draft was mostly pitchers at this point. Krukow might find himself a spot if he works hard.
4. 2B Jerry Remy (50/79) - Another infielder.
5. SP Mike Eckerd (48/82) - Possible trade bait in a few years
6. C Greg Mahlberg (52/71) - The best of the remaining catchers. I shouldn't need one, but you never know.
*******
Something funny/sad happened during the draft. With their fifth pick Cleveland took Mike Ivie (49/80).
So far so good, except in high school he was touted as a decent catcher, and that's what they wanted: An eventual successor to Duke Sims.
There's only one problem: Ivie's afraid of pitchers! I suppose High School pitching, usually topping out around 75-85 mph, is one thing and 100 mph fastballs are another. Cleveland's GCL manager now has his hands full trying to convert the kid to first base.
I called to congratulate Mister Bradley on his acquisitions. I don't think he liked that.
Good Lord in heaven!!! Ernie Whitt's a peak 91???? That's crazy!!!
Good job on grabbing Smalley, hope he developes well for you.:)
Be prepared for Krukow to become the Royals broadcaster when he retires and have the telecasts full of "You can't hit the ball without swinging the bat, meat!" and "You don't get too many chances like that one big BOYYY!"</end MVP 2005 joke>Quote:
Originally Posted by CatKnight
Great work, keep it up.
Overbay17: Here's hoping! Yeah, Whitt surprised me a little too. It'll be interesting to see how he develops in a couple of years.
Coach Owens: Uhm...hm. I'll be careful. :)
royalsblue5: Thanks!
*******
Early June 1970
In preparing for the trade and draft I felt really confident about our future. Now we just have to live up to this shining potential.
*******
Kansas City (21-33) (4th, -11g) at Los Angeles (20-34) (5th, -12g)
5/31: Angel 3B Winston Llenas goes 0 for 1 with FOUR walks. No one really dominates on our side, though Kelly (2 for 4 with a double) leads the pack. Angels 9-4
1: Splittorff returns from mopup duty with a complete game. Oliver gets a double and homer with an RBI. Royals 3-1
2: This time Rooker can't hold it, though another ____ing error doesn't help. We're held to six hits and just can't put anything together. Angels 4-2
*******
We ended May 14-14, which is our second best month ever. Now we're home until the 15th, but against all sorts of tough teams. I talked to Billy Martin.
"The boys will do well enough," he said. "Once we're past this rut in the schedule it'll be smooth for the rest of the year!"
*******
Chicago (29-25) (2nd, -2.5g) at Kansas City (22-35) (4th-T, -11g)
3: 3B Jim Ray Hart bobbles a ninth inning grounder leading to SIX unearned runs. 'Nuf said. White Sox 11-5
4: Bunker pitches well, and Northey hits a pinch hit double scoring Severson (see below) in the ninth for the win. Royals 3-2
5: We again try a comeback, this time with Fred Rico singling in Will Thompson in the ninth, but this time the 'Sox lead is too great. White Sox 4-3
*******
In what will make the blooper reels, On May 3rd 2B Joe Foy and 1B Bob Oliver slammed into each other chasing a ground ball. Both fell injured, Foy fractured his foot and Oliver left clutching his shoulder. They'll miss two and three weeks respectively. Thompson and Salmon get the starting nods, while Mike Fiore and Scott Northey will sit on the bench.
Meanwhile, Flood's reported to the Portland Beavers, Seattle's A-club, for conditioning. He's expected to make the lineup some time in the latter half of the month. Given the situation with Jim Bouton however, and his own comments, I don't want to be in the Pilot clubhouse when that happens.
*******
Oakland (35-25) (1st, +2.5g) at Kansas City (23-37) (4th, -12g)
6: After losing two pitchers to injuries Oakland weakened substantially. Not against us though! Rooker has another 5 unearned runs off errors by 2B Salmon and RF Piniella. Athletics 13-5
7: More unearned runs. I think I'm buying these guys bigger gloves. Jim Ray Hart hits his tenth homer. Athletics 6-2
8: Oakland wins in the ninth on a..yep! Error by LF Johnson! Athletics 4-3
*******
Suddenly our future isn't looking quite so brilliant. Why can't these guys play basic defense? Are we really THAT bad? Our fielding is tied for 9th with Seattle at .981.
Meanwhile, we've tumbled to sixth. Grr. I keep reminding myself we're in a difficult part of the schedule with two starters down.
*******
Chicago (33-27) (2nd, -3.5g) at Kansas City (23-40) (6th, -15g)
9: Johnson hits a three run homer to lift us over the Sox. Splittorff performs well enough for six innings to earn the win. Royals 4-3
10: An even better pitcher's duel, but this time we come up on the short end. Blyleven goes 8 innings, Thompson goes 2 for 4 with a double and RBI. White Sox 3-2
11: Thompson goes 2 for 4 with a double and a run, Kelly 2 for 4 with an RBI. Bunker pitches a complete game. Royals 4-1
*******
Better. At least we're back in fifth place (ahead of the struggling Pilots.)
*******
New York (35-31) (4th, -5.5g) at Kansas City (25-41) (5th, -13g)
12: Splittorff holds New York to 4 hits and 0 walks in 8 innings. 1968 RoY SP Stan Bahnsen loses it in the sixth giving up two consecutive wild pitches with bases loaded. Royals 5-2
13: A huge first inning with six runs, then we hold on tight. The 4-9 batters all get at least 1 RBI. Rodriguez goes 2 for 5 with 2 RBI, SP Rooker also has 2 RBI. Royals 9-6
14: Blyleven stumbles a little, but comes out with a 5 hit complete game. Northey goes 0 for 1 with 3 walks and 3 runs. Piniella hits his fifth homer. Royals 6-3
*******
AL East: Baltimore (42-24), Boston (-4.5g), Washington (-5.5g)Code:Team W L GB
Oakland 41 28 --
Chicago 36 30 3.5
Minnesota 32 34 7.5
Kansas City 28 41 13
Los Angeles 25 38 13
Seattle 22 44 17.5
NL East: Philadelphia (45-24), St. Louis (-4g), Chicago (-5g)
NL West: San Francisco (38-31), Cincinnati (-2.5g), Houston (-3.5g)
Code:Team Leaders:
AVG: Jim Ray Hart (.344)
HR: Jim Ray Hart (10)
RBI: Jim Ray Hart (40)
SB: Pat Kelly (9)
W: Bert Blyleven, Ken Wright (6)
ERA: Paul Splittorff (3.64)
K: Bert Blyleven (90)
SV: Eddie Watt (6)
Late June 1970
We have a new labor agreement. Sort of. More like Bowie Kuhn called 'time out.'
Following Judge Cooper's ruling in our favor, but his advisory that it might be time to pin down what holding a player in "reserve" means anyway following our slackening of restrictions in the '50s, negotiations between the Player's Association and Kuhn (representing the owners) intensified.
The agreement he finally mailed to us for ratification delays the question until 1972 while the commissioner, league offices, and union compare notes. It raises the minimum salary by approximately 9% per year to $16,800 in 1971, $18,300 in 1972. This is in line with the last agreement.
(Historically the minimum in 1970 was $12,000 not $15,400, and it went up $750 for the next two years. However BM raises the minimum about 9%/year between 1966 and 69.)
The rest of the Basic Agreement remains the same from that negotiated in 1968: Technically we can reserve players, but we agree to release anyone we don't want instead. We agree to buy out contracts at 50% rate of anyone we intend to release. They can retire without penalty if they want, but not simply abandon a contract and switch teams. More uncertain younger players can still ask for federal arbitrators. Etcetera. After some grumbling about the 9% hike per year, the new Agreement passed 12-0 in the American League, 11-1 in the National.
After it was over Pat Kelly, the team representative on the MLBPA executive council, thanked me. "Marv Miller's up in arms about the Commissioner coming down on Curt (Flood) like that. This could have been a lot uglier."
Sure. What are the players going to do anyway? Strike?
*******
Meanwhile, the team flew into Seattle. We're on a four game winning streak, while they've lost six. Can we extend that a bit?
*******
Kansas City (28-41) (4th-T, -13g) at Seattle (22-44) (6th, -17.5g)
15: Trailing 4-2, a big three run blast by Jim Ray Hart followed by a solo by Thompson put us ahead. Jim York and Eddie Watt hold the game together for the win/save. Royals 6-4
16: Johnson hits an inside-the-park homer, but Splittorff falls apart early and only pitches four. Pilots 5-3
17: Salmon and Hart each go 3 for 6, while Rooker allows only two earned runs (and two unearned as our fielding woes continue.) Royals 8-4
*******
Our five game winning streak (6/11-15) is the longest in team history, for what that's worth. We have one more bad stretch (August 11-September 6), but that's far in the future. For now our schedule becomes somewhat sane as we get a day off.
*******
Minnesota (32-37) (3rd, -11g) at Kansas City (30-42) (5th, -14.5g)
19: They hit Blyleven early for 4 runs while Minnesota's Jim Perry holds us to 4 hits, all singles. Twins 4-2
20: Bunker and Hedlund both get hammered, ruining 2 RBI performances by Hart and Johnson. Twins 9-5
21: We finally get some measure of offense. Ellie Rodriguez goes 3 for 3 - all doubles - to drive in 2 RBI. Splittorff pitched 8.2 innings, giving up 11 hits but only 2 runs. Royals 5-2
*******
Another two days off gives us both Oliver and Foy back from their injuries early this month. Spriggs (.225 3-12 3) and Fiore (.211 0-0 0) return to Omaha. Thompson (.280 3-13 0) and Salmon (.291 3-21 5) go to the bench, while Rico (.305 3-21 4) gets to try and take Piniella's (.274 6-30 0) job away in right field. Billy also wants to let Severson (.250 0-4 1) compete with Concepcion (.309 0-15 1) in short.
In Seattle, Curt Flood made his debut to rousing boos. So far he's batting 2nd with a .286 average and 1 homer.
*******
Minnesota (34-38) (3rd, -11g) at Kansas City (31-44) (5th, -15.5g)
24: A real bunt fest late as teams scraped for every run. Buck Martinez singled and thrown out at second when reliever Eddie Watt tried to bunt. Watt in turn advanced on a bunt by Pat Kelly and scored on Rico's single for the win. We used our entire bench. Royals 5-4 (11)
25: There's only one inning we didn't score as Twin pitching disintegrated. We hit 5 doubles and 3 homers in 20 hits. Hart went 5 for 5, 2 runs 3 RBI, Kelly 4 for 4, 2 runs and 5 RBIs. Bunker meanwhile only allows 4 hits. Royals 17-1
26: Following that the bats are silent. We tie the game on two singles in the eighth, then win when Joe Foy singles home Hart in the eleventh. Royals 2-1 (11)
*******
Cleveland's woes continue. 1B Tony Horton had shared the bench with 1B Chuck Hinton most of the season, both distant shadows to Chris Chambliss. On June 22 at Baltimore he had a chance to win the game in the ninth trailing by a run with two men on. How many of us have dreamt of just such a scenario? Well...he struck out. And crawled back to the dugout on all fours, humiliated.
I know very little about psychology, but I read somewhere that some think that a man's brain chemistry can be so far off as to actually cause someone to be always sad or always angry. It's not always enough, as our fathers told us, to just buck up. Apparently Tony's one of these people, and the stress of Major League baseball as well as constantly fighting for the backup 1B position is slowly destroying him.
Later Indian manager Alvin Dark would call this one of the darkest moments in his career. Horton asked to go home today - he's retiring from professional baseball after seven seasons with the Red Sox (1964-67) and Indians (1967-70). He's only 25. Hopefully he can recover.
*******
Kansas City (34-44) (5th, -15.5g) at Chicago (41-34) (2nd, -7g)
27: A big sixth inning and 8 IP performance by Rooker lifts us to our fifth consecutive win. Severson goes 3 for 5, 2 RBI. Piniella 2 for 2, 2 RBI. Royals 7-2
28: Blyleven put in a great 8 innings, and we tied it when Oliver came home on a sacrifice fly by Piniella pinching for him. Wright came in and blew it though. White Sox 4-3
29: We get hammered despite them giving up 3 errors. Bunker doesn't make it out of the third inning. Oliver and Severson get 4 of our 5 hits, Salmon goes 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs. White Sox 7-2
*******
Our win on the 27th guarantees us an over .500 record for June. Also, our second five game streak (6/21-6/27) ties for our best performance.