Tale of an Ace: 1967 Mets

[mets57]

After muddling for 5 years in misery, the Mets had had enough. They fired their current GM and brought in three candidates for the job: Bing Devine, Bucky Harris, and I, Eli Nachmany. Through a tough interview process it was determined that I was the right man for the job. Bing went back to St. Louis while Bucky never again got a job in baseball.

I was psyched to take over the GMing duties in New York and my vigor was well accepted by the fans who were also tired of paying money to watch the home team lose. A main sticking point for me was when Jim Bunning, a pitcher on the Phillies, hurled a perfect game at Shea Stadium in 1964 and our fans were cheering for him. It was then that I decided that I would lead this team to glory however possible and I was delighted when the Mets felt the same and found me as an interview candidate.

We had some good pitchers in the minor leagues, the likes of a young man named Jerry Koosman and a hard throwing kid from Texas, Nolan Ryan. But one player really stood out to me when I went to a Spring Training game; the media guide said he was a righty from Fresno, CA. I decided that this would be the man I would build my perennial champions around. The hurler that would lead us to title after title. The boy's name? George Thomas Seaver.

I met up with him after the game to introduce myself and started off with a jubilant, "Hi George!"

He gave me a polite smile and replied, "Call me Tom."

And so begins the tale of a dynasty, the 1967 Mets from then until who knows. So begins the tale of an ace.

[ewing6]

I'm die heart Mets fan I will be reading Tom nolan and Koozman should be great

[mets57]

Evaluating the team in Spring Training, it appeared we had a little work to do before we could talk playoffs, let alone championships. With a myriad of hurlers content on whipping the ball into the strike zone as fast as possible with complete disregard for accuracy, I went out and got a crafty veteran to teach this staff a thing or two about throwing the ball where it needed to go, while still pitching himself.

My first move as the Mets' GM was a swap:

NYM acquire

SP Vern Law (82)
$10,000

PIT acquire

RP Jesse Hudson (50/83)

I had practiced what I would say to Jesse when I called him to my office. It would be the first time I told a player that he had been traded. I went over what I was going to say mentally as I heard Jesse's footsteps approaching the door.

In stepped a lanky, 18-year old kid with a pale face. Obviously his teammates had been warning him that he had been called in here because he had been cut. This was not the case though. Feeling sympathetic for the nervous player, I threw away my rehearsed lines.

"Jesse, lighten up, you haven't been cut," I told him.

Relief washed over the kid's face as he waited for me to tell him of the significance of this visit.

"I was talking with the Pittsburgh Pirates and we hammered out a deal to bring veteran presence to the ballclub. You've been traded for Vern Law," I finished.

He pondered this for a second or two, and with a puzzled look said, "Alright."

After a second or two of awkward silence, I let him know that he was free to go and he was on the 7:00 flight to the Steel City. With a determined face he walked out of the room, ready to prove that he was worthy of a Major League job in Pittsburgh. I had just made my first trade.

I wished him good luck and called up Pittsburgh's GM to tell him that I had just finished talking to Jesse and that all was good on our front. We were ready to receive Law to the team, and that morning Vern showed up at my office with a tired smile.

I greeted him with a pleasant, "Good morning!"

He replied in a low voice, "Nice to meet you Mr. Nachmany. I look forward to helping the Mets this year."

He and Tom at the top of our rotation would be a formidable duo. We would see how it goes. Welcome to New York, Vern Law.

[mets57]

The Daily News

Vet to Mets: Lovable Losers acquire the Preacher

Queens: The New York Mets, led by new GM Eli Nachmany, acquired impact veteran Vern Law. Law is 2 years removed from a dominant 1965 in which he went 17-9 with a phenomenal 2.15 ERA. Last year, Vern showed his age by going just 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA. Despite his recent mediocrity, he could be just what the Mets need; a veteran presence to make the clubhouse more mature. Law has pitched 16 years in the Majors, all with the Pirates. He is best known for his pinpoint control and his nicknames include 'Deacon' and 'Preacher'.

The Mets are struggling to keep their heads above water as they still can't find the right formula for a winning ballclub. Nachmany promises change and so far, he is acting on his words.

Vern Law is 37 years old.

[mets57]

I was beginning to wonder whether the sentiment "You can never have too many pitchers" applied to all cases. In need of a stopgap 1B so that we could take our time with Ed Kranepool while still being a notable franchise, I brought in a fun-loving, kid-at-heart type player while moving a talented young arm. The New York Mets would be playing, too.

This would be our slogan for the 1967 season as we felt like outcasts from the league, tossed aside as team who would never win. We begged to differ. I knew we had the talent to win at some point, so what would be better than acquiring a face of the franchise for a few years in Ernie Banks? He may have been 36, but he still had hits left in him and I knew he would come to the ballpark with a smile every game and give the fans a reason to come out in the dog days of the summer. They could watch us play, too. Ernie Banks was coming to New York:

NYM acquire

1B/SS Ernie Banks (80)

CHC acquire

SP Brent Strom (66/90)
$30,000

I brought Brent into my office and he came in with a big smile on his face. Now that I had told Jesse that he had been traded, I felt good about my ability to let guys know that they've been moved. Howes was a big, broad kid and he walked into my office with a sense of confidence mixed with arrogance. The kid was cocky. I broke it to him and his face lit up. He was very excited to play for the Cubs, and was really proud that the Cubs thought him to be worth a player the caliber of Ernie Banks. Then his 'cool' sense kicked in, and I could see he thought that he was worth more than Banks and that I had been ripped off.

After he left, I thought it good that we had moved a potential malcontent. Good luck to the Cubs with him.

Ernie arrived about a half hour after Law, and when I met up with him he had a big smile on his face and he told me he wanted to make sure that the Mets won a lot of games.

"I suggest you go meet the team, they're very excited about you coming here," I advised him.

In a matter of minutes he was on his way to Shea. With veterans Banks and Law now acquired, it was time to win.

[mets57]

We were ready for Opening Day. Our lineups were set and our rosters filled out. We'd be going with our new ace, Tom Seaver, to start the season and the batting order would read like this:

1. Cleon Jones, CF (Fast, fun loving, young CF. Him and Banks will be best friends.)

2. Ken Boyer, 3B (Frustrated man who hasn't hit above .270 in 2 years. He wants to prove he still has it at 35. Starting to disrupt the clubhouse.)

3. Tommy Davis, LF (Best hitter on the team. Can make contact with anything thrown to him. He is a clean-cut, professional, 'real' ballplayer. You know the type.)

4. Ernie Banks, 1B (Very lighthearted guy reaching his upper 30's, but still plays like he hasn't reached a double digit age yet-spirit wise. No arguing with 400+ home runs, he'll be our cleanup hitter.)

5. Al Luplow, RF (Ahead of his time with a great eye and a tad of power. Going to be a big RBI guy for us, we hope. Luplow still has a lot to prove but we're confident he can get the hits and make the plays.)

6. Jerry Buchek, 2B (Recently came over from STL and still trying to feel his way through the clubhouse and he is still making friends. He is a carefree kid with a great potential to do very good things for this club. A bit young but we aren't worried.)

7. Jerry Grote, C (May be a bust, but he sure hasn't been told that. He hustles the most out of anyone on the team and is a real hard-nosed player who grinds out hits and plays dirty. A win-at-all-costs, scrappy guy. He is a great role model. The real working man of the team.)

8. Buddy Harrelson, SS (Just 22 and welcome to the show. We know Buddy can play now and that's exactly what he'll do. He's been very mature and him and Buchek are becoming friends. Buddy will be good for a while.)

9. Pitcher's slot, P (Self-explanatory)

It's time to start Mets baseball under a new GM, Eli Nachmany.

Stay tuned to see how Opening Day goes.

[ewing6]

great start you are rellay focusing on team chesmtry uh

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Going for the 2004 Red Sox approach, huh? Lots of clubhouse guys that don't know when to quit is always a good idea in real life. Not sure if Mogul has the same ideas. I'll be looking forward to see how you can develop your Big 3 (Seaver, Koosman, and Ryan). Based on their careers, you could feasibly keep them in the rotation until the late 1980s!

[mets57]

Cardinals 	      AB 	H 	BB 	R 	HR 	RBI 	K 	SB 	AVG
Curt Flood CF 	        4 	3 	0 	2 	2 	2 	1 	0 	.750
Tim McCarver C  	4 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.250
Lou Brock LF 	        4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Orlando Cepeda 1B 	4 	2 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	.500
Mike Shannon RF 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Julian Javier 2B 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
Phil Gagliano 3B 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Dal Maxvill SS 	        3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
Bob Gibson P 	        2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Totals 	              33 	6 	0 	3 	2 	3 	6 	0 	 

2B: Tim McCarver (1), Orlando Cepeda (1)
HR: Curt Flood 2 (2)

	
Mets          	      AB 	H 	BB 	R 	HR 	RBI 	K 	SB 	AVG
Cleon Jones CF   	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	.250
Ken Boyer 3B 	        4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.250
Tommy Davis LF 	        4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Ernie Banks 1B 	        3 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.333
Al Luplow RF 	        4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	.000
Jerry Buchek 2B 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	3 	0 	.250
Jerry Grote C 	        4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.250
Bud Harrelson SS 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
Tom Seaver P 	        2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.000
  Johnny Lewis PH 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
  Don Cardwell P 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
Totals 	              32 	5 	1 	0 	0 	0 	9 	1 	 

2B: Ernie Banks (1)
HBP: Ernie Banks

E: Ken Boyer

Cardinals 	          IP 	H 	BB 	HR 	R 	ER 	K 	PIT 	ERA
Bob Gibson 	9.0 	5 	1 	0 	0 	0 	9 	136 	0.00
Totals 	        9.0 	5 	1 	0 	0 	0 	9 	136 	 
	
Mets 	                  IP 	H 	BB 	HR 	R 	ER 	K 	PIT 	ERA
Tom Seaver 	8.0 	5 	0 	2 	3 	3 	4 	101 	3.38
Don Cardwell 	1.0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	17 	0.00
Totals 	        9.0 	6 	0 	2 	3 	3 	6 	118 	 

WP: Bob Gibson (1-0)
LP: Tom Seaver (0-1)
	
Temperature: 56F
Wind: 8 MPH (out to center)
Attendance: 55,300
Time: 2:38

Opening Day was a hard fought, losing battle to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cards ace Bob Gibson shut us out in 9 innings, allowing just 5 hits. A bright spot was Tom Seaver allowing just 3 runs in 8 innings to a competitive Cardinals lineup. I was also pleased with the work of Don Cardwell. I met him at his locker after the game.

"Hey, Donny! Great game out there!" I said.

He gave me a mean grimace and turned back to his locker. I could see a player that was obviously upset about losing. He definitely had team spirit, so I was happy to have Don at that moment, even though he had given me the cold shoulder.

Tom was a bit different. Him and I chatted it up about what pitches he threw and the like. Tom appeared to be a very friendly guy, interested in the art of pitching. I knew he'd be very successful at this level with his attitude.

Then, our manager pulled me aside. I gave him a questioning look as he pulled me into his office.

"What's going on Gil?" I asked.

"It's Jerry, and Al. They're both injured. You remember when Cepeda railroaded Jerry? The doctors checked him out-he has a bruised kidney."

I gasped. 2 injuries already?

"What happened to Al?" I inquired.

Gil took a deep breath and said, "Bruised his shin, making that catch and running into the wall. At least he made the out."

After a moment or two I got up and left to go see the doctors about the two injuries. Thankfully, we had the best medical staff in baseball at the time.

The head team doctor, Dr. Mike A. Williamson, MD, greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Eli, we were expecting you to come. The prognosis is not all that bad. Al is only out for a day and Jerry has 4 days to go before he's ready to go. That is why you came, right?"

"Yes. Thank you," I replied.

And so began my career as a GM. And so officially began the tale of an ace.

[mets57]

I just saw Mizerak's FA negotiation mod and I love it. I will be using it to determine whether or not I will negotiate with players and for how long, how much, etc.

Stay tuned for when the Mets finish their series with the Cardinals in Tale of an Ace: 1967 Mets.

[BINGLEBOP]

I just saw Mizerak's FA negotiation mod and I love it. I will be using it to determine whether or not I will negotiate with players and for how long, how much, etc.

Good idea. It adds a bunch of realism into the game, instead of being able to sign any/every free agent before any other team possibly can. This is well-written so far. Good job.

[mets57]

We had decided that Johnny Lewis would be the interim filler in right field and that catcher would be manned by John Sullivan for a few days. I summoned them both to my office along with Gil Hodges, our manager, to tell them of our joint decision.

Sullivan was a gritty guy who was good in the field. He was a bit of a slow thinker, so he had this dumbstruck look on his face when he walked into our office. I told him to take a seat and he did as he was instructed. I wasn't sure whether he missed Detroit or if he was happy to be here.

He had just been moved from Detroit to here and I could tell he wished he hadn't become a Met. He still had many friends in Detroit (Jake Wood, Bill Freehan, Mickey Lolich, and Gates Brown) and he had a slight resentment towards our ballclub.

You see, growing up in Somerset, NJ, Sullivan was a big Dodgers fan. We were happy to have a hometown kid but I could tell he was still bitter from the Dodgers move and he blamed it, somehow, on us. Like I said, not the brightest crayon in the box. He believed that because we were a part of the system, it was our fault that the Dodgers moved. I let him go with that-all he needed to do was play ball at a satisfactory rate and when he got on the field he didn't care. All he knew how to do was field.

He wasn't that great with the bat but he held his own. I was O.K. with giving him just a few days as a starter. It would turn out I didn't know what those words meant until the doctors let me know of some grave news. But that is for later. As of now, all I knew was that he had four starts and then Grote would just take over permanently.

On the other side of things, Lewis walked in with pride and confidence; a straight shooter. He knew he'd be replacing Luplow in right field for tomorrow's matchup against the Cardinals, and he appeared ready to prove his worth to us. I was excited, as was Gil, when we saw this guy walk into our office. We knew he'd do whatever it took to make sure Luplow didn't start again. While that was not a good possibility, if he did well enough in the next game we might consider him as a candidate to at least challenge Luplow.

"Men," I started. "You have been summoned here today to be informed of auspicious fates for the both of you. Gil and I have deliberated over our roster and we came to the decision that you (I pointed at Johnny Lewis) will start tomorrow in right field for the injured Al Luplow and you (I pointed at Sullivan) will do the same over a period of four days for Jerry Grote, on the shelf with a bruised kidney. After your opportunities have passed we will reevaluate you two and come to a decision as to whether you will keep your starting jobs or be relegated to pinch hitting duties. Make the best of this, gentlemen."

John Sullivan had a look on his face that basically said, "Huh?"

"You're going to start at catcher for the next 4 games because Jerry is injured."

Understanding creeped through his thick skull. Johnny Lewis thanked the both of us (Gil and I) and gave me a firm handshake.

It was time to beat the Cardinals with this scrappy bunch of blue-collar guys.

[RedsoxRockies]

This reminds me of the early Catknight dynasties and Petrels "Even the Braves". Catknight still bounces in and out, but his new stuff is not near his old.

[mets57]

Cardinals                AB 	H 	BB 	R 	HR 	RBI 	K 	SB 	AVG
Curt Flood CF 	        4 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.500
Tim McCarver C 	        5 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	1 	1 	.222
Lou Brock LF 	        3 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	.286
Orlando Cepeda 1B 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.375
Mike Shannon RF 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1 	0 	.125
Julian Javier 2B 	3 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.143
Phil Gagliano 3B 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	.125
Dal Maxvill SS 	        2 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
  Roger Maris PH 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
  Eddie Bressoud SS 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
Steve Carlton P 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	.000
  Mike Torrez P 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
  Johnny Romano PH 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.000
Totals 	               33 	8 	4 	1 	0 	1 	5 	2 	 

2B: Curt Flood (1)
HBP: Lou Brock
GDP: Tim McCarver, Curt Flood

DP: Orlando Cepeda, Julian Javier, Dal Maxvill
E: Orlando Cepeda
	
Mets           	      AB 	H 	BB 	R 	HR 	RBI 	K 	SB 	AVG
Cleon Jones CF 	        5 	3 	0 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	.444
Ken Boyer 3B 	        3 	1 	1 	0 	0 	1 	1 	0 	.286
Tommy Davis LF 	        4 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.125
Ernie Banks 1B 	        3 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.333
Johnny Lewis RF 	3 	1 	1 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0 	.333
Jerry Buchek 2B 	4 	1 	0 	1 	1 	3 	1 	0 	.250
John Sullivan C 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	.250
Bud Harrelson SS 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	.143
Vern Law P 	        4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	3 	0 	.000
Totals 	               34 	10 	3 	6 	2 	6 	8 	0 	 

2B: Ken Boyer (1)
3B: John Sullivan (1)
HR: Jerry Buchek (1), Cleon Jones (1)
GDP: Vern Law

DP: Ernie Banks 2, Jerry Buchek, Bud Harrelson 2, Vern Law

Cardinals 	IP 	H 	BB 	HR 	R 	ER 	K 	PIT 	ERA
Steve Carlton 	3.2 	8 	3 	2 	6 	5 	5 	80 	12.27
Mike Torrez 	4.1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	3 	47 	0.00
Totals 	        8.0 	10 	3 	2 	6 	5 	8 	127 	 
	
Mets 	          IP 	H 	BB 	HR 	R 	ER 	K 	PIT 	ERA
Vern Law 	9.0 	8 	4 	0 	1 	1 	5 	111 	1.00
Totals 	        9.0 	8 	4 	0 	1 	1 	5 	111 	 

WP: Vern Law (1-0)
LP: Steve Carlton (0-1)
	
Temperature: 41F
Wind: 6 MPH (out to left)
Attendance: 54,972
Time: 2:38

Victory.

I had won my first game as a GM against the extremely competitive Cardinals. I knew of the magnitude of what had just happened. It was our turn to have a guy go 9 innings, and Vern Law answered the bell better than we could have asked him to. He came through for us with 5 K's in 9 IP, 4 BB's, and he surrendered just 8 hits. Pretty good for a guy in his upper-30's and I was prepared to tell him.

We jumped out to a huge lead in the first and never gave it up. Cleon Jones was the main catalyst of our offense, going 3-5 with a HR. I was also happy that Jerry Buchek made some noise with a home run.

I summoned the heroes of the game, Jones and Law, to my office.

Cleon walked in with a youthful, ear-to-ear grin that told me he knew how to have fun both on and off the field. Law was the polar opposite. He came in a few minutes later with ice wrapped around his arm, a weary face, and as he sat down I could see an involuntary wince shoot across his face as his knees ached from a long career in the game.

"Good job, men," I began. "I really liked the effort you put forth in today's ballgame. Let's see more of the same in the future."

Cleon flashed a superstar smile and said with confidence, "Anytime Mr. Nachmany."

Law ended the meeting by saying, "I've still got some pitching left in this aging arm of mine."

They both got up and left the room and I smiled after they had gone. Maybe this team wasn't all that bad.

(On a side note, the Orioles GM called me up.

"I have an offer for you," he said, getting quieter as he progressed through the sentence. I could tell he was tired from the stress of talking over the offer with scouts.

"Let's hear it!" I said with enthusiasm.

"I'll give you Vic Roznovsky, Bob Johnson, Russ Snyder, Boog Powell, and 2 Minor League scrubs if you give up Cardwell, Tommie Reynolds, Ron Taylor, Ken Boyer, Teddy Martinez, and Al Schmelz," he said very matter-of-factly.

"Thanks but no thanks my friend. I wouldn't like to mess with the clubhouse chemistry, especially after we just got our first victory," I told him.

He sighed, said, "Alright. Thanks," and hung up.

I heard the piercing dial tone and hung up the phone, too. I had just declined my first trade offer.)

[mets57]

Al Luplow was ready to go. I wasn't sure what to do now that Lewis had not had that bad of a game and my scouts were telling me that Luplow looked weakened from his injury. I still had high hopes for Al and decided that he would be the guy I'd go with in this crucial rubber game. I brought Lewis into my office to inform him of my decision.

He walked in with his head held high, the same confidence he had yesterday. I dreaded breaking it to him, but he was a professional ballplayer and there were mandates to the game that you had to cope with. If I wanted Luplow over Lewis for today, that would be my choice.

"Have a seat, Johnny, I've got some bad news," I began.

The smile disappeared and his confidence commenced a slow decline. He knew what was coming, at least to some extent.

"The good news is that you haven't been cut, and you haven't been sent down," I continued.

"That's good," escaped his mouth.

"We're giving Luplow the start today," I finished.

He understoood, said, "Alright," and left. It was then that I wished we could play both.

Time for the rubber game.