Even the Braves

[Xen_Antares]

Congrats Petrel. Hmm I wonder if the Red Sox are going to be driven out of town. Looking forward to 1968 and another great chapter.

[bigpapi]

Congratulations to the Braves! It was a long time coming and you definitely had some ups and downs, but you stuck with it. Thinking repeat so soon???

[CatKnight]

Thanks to the baseball gods. The New York dynasty is cracked. Not broken quite yet, but well cracked!

[petrel]

November 1967
Interim

Before discussing the 1967 off-season and its effect on the Braves, this tale must attend to the actions of the nefarious rogue Charles O. Finley. The tale goes back to Finley's dealings with the lease-holders on the stadium where the Blues played, Municipal Stadium.

Finley had no particular kinship with Kansas City. He lived in Chicago and he ran the team from Chicago. Finley had wished to own the White Sox but when that became impossible he bought the Blues from the Johnson heirs.

From that moment on, Finley had tried by hook or by crook to move the Blues out of Kansas City. Finley hated the stadium and its lack of parking. As Finley didn't know how to market the Blues -- he tried selling season tickets the same way he sold insurance, but sending pamphlets through the mail -- the team suffered at the gate. The players in Kansas City soon soured on the cantankerous owner and the media in KC despised him and his lousy ballclub. (And of course, the owners didn't think much of him, either.)

His attempts to move the club out of Kansas City through an American League vote would be rejected time and again, as the American League liked seeing Finley twist in the wind. However, he had an out -- the lease with Municipal Stadium.

At the time, I didn't know it, but Finley planned to let the lease run out in 1964 and refuse to sign it. He figured it would make him a free agent -- hey, if he didn't sign a contract to play in Kansas City, then why should he be held there?

The AL refused to let Finley take the Blues elsewhere. But the problem remained that Finley had no stadium. The AL wondered what they were going to do about this problem -- there was the threat of expelling Finley from the league, but owners wanted to keep their own leasing options wide open, lest some stadium owner in the future call for the expulsion of an owner by the American League if he wouldn't sign a stadium lease.

Therefore, American League president Joe Cronin stepped in with Finley and made a deal with the devil. In return for Finley signing his lease, Cronin would do what he could to sway the American League owners to allow Finley to relocate.

(* * *)

Further complicating matters was the fact that Finley's lease had an attendance escape clause. In 1960, Finley promised Kansas City that the Blues weren't going anywhere, even going so far in 1962 to burn the lease as a publicity stunt, as a sign that Finley would never use the escape clause to abandon Kansas City.

The lease Finley burned was a standard boilerplate lease. It wasn't the real lease. He still had the escape clause, and the 1964 lease still had it.

The lease stated that if attendance ever fell below 2.5 million for any three consecutive years, or below 850,000 for any particular year, Finley would be allowed to break the lease without consequences. He had come close at the end of 1964, only drawing 891,000, but the Blues usually drew a million a year.

Not the 1967 Blues, however. The team finished 38-124, setting a franchise record for ineptitude -- and this club was the inheritor of the Browns heritage! Finley traded Sandy Koufax to the Stars, let Memo Luna go , released Rex Johnston, traded Tim Mccarver to the Braves, and the resulting lack of product showed. The Blues, in their final lease year, drew only 747,000 diehard Blues fans to the gate over the entire year. If the lease didn't end in 1967, Finley could have invoked the escape clause and left anyway.

(* * *)

After the end of the World Series, Cronin began working the AL owners. He found out, surpisingly, that Finley had been in negotiations with the other owners, trying to bury any animosity towards relocating the Blues.

There were only two holdouts. One was Rankin Smith, the owner of the Peaches, who felt that Finley had no right to abandon the community. Smith had been a long time Georgia man, and he planned on keeping the Peaches in Atlanta as long as he had the money to run the club. He was against relocation as a matter of course. Combined with his dislike of Finley, Smith could not be swayed.

The other holdout was Horace Stoneham, who owned the Seals. Stoneham knew Finley had been chatting with Oakland, and the last thing he needed was the Blues setting up shop across the bay. He got assurances from Cronin, a San Francisco/Oakland man, that Finley would not be allowed to go to Oakland. Then, fearing Finley would move somewhere else on the West Coast, voted against relocation anyway.

However, Cronin and Finley had pulled it off. Even Walter O'Malley of the Los Angeles Angels voted "yes" to a relocation, even though Finley might go west. "He's ruined baseball in Kansas City anyway, and the Blues were never good," said O'Malley. "That franchise is cursed."

Therefore, by a 10-2 vote, the American League agreed in principle to allow Finley to move out of Kansas City. The final location would have to be approved by the American League, and Oakland was probably out of the running, but other than that, Finley had his freedom.

(* * *)

There were two very interested parties to Finley's lease troubles who were not baseball men. One was Mayor Ilus Davis of Kansas City. The other was influential Democratic senator Stuart Symington of Missouri.


Mayor Ilus Davis.

Cronin broke the news. Mayor Davis threatened to file suit in Federal court in Kansas City to block the move out.

"Where's Finley going to play if he won't sign a lease, Mr. Mayor?" asked Cronin.

"I don't care," said Mayor Davis. "He can play in a cow pasture, but he'll play in Kansas City."


Senator Stuart Symington (D-MO)

The call to Senator Symington went less well. Senator Symington said that he would use his legal resources to write a bill that would be received by the Senate Antitrust Committee to reconsider Congress's antitrust exemption for baseball. Senator Symington was very powerful and had a lot of friends in a 64-36 Democratic Senate. If he spoke out against the exemption, he would be heard.

Finley's shenanigans now threatened baseball itself, and provided the first true crisis to Commissioner Pete Rozelle's career.

(* * *)

However, the American League had taken another vote, on its own accord. Pleased with the Seals almost knocking out the Yankees and with the Braves asserting the rights of non-New York teams, the AL felt that Rozelle's salary penalty was the idea that could turn baseball around. Feeling that baseball could only become more popular, they agreed to expand to 14 teams in 1972, adding one more team to the AL East and AL West.

The problem was that neither the Commissioner nor the National League had been consulted. There was still some question as to the financial health of baseball's weaker teams. Furthermore, all it did was fuel the hopes of cities that didn't have teams, and convince those cities that with the right incentives, they could pull an owner away from a weak city.

I was against any city moving anywhere. But the problem of expansion would wait for five years. The big problem was the threat to baseball's antitrust exemption.

Commissioner Rozelle remained in discussion with Finley, Mayor Davis and Senator Symington.

Finley: refused to budge. Felt that he deserved the right to move the team to where he wanted it. Was determined to put the screws to Rozelle in any way he could, so as to increase his negotiating power in future clashes. Finley would use the threat of mutually assured destruction, if necessary, knowing of Symington's threat.

Davis: refused to budge. Didn't want Kansas City to lose its team. Demanded some guarantee of a team. Davis, furthermore, had just come off a reelection. He had won the 1963 election with only 1000 out of 100,000 votes, and he felt that losing the Blues so soon after being reelected would give Kansas City voters second thoughts.

Symington: refused to budge. Felt that Missouri enjoyed a special privilege as a state with two baseball teams, and felt that the departure of Kansas City would diminish the state's honor. As a United States Senator, he felt that his conclusions were more important that that of a mere baseball man like Rozelle.

I didn't envy Commissioner Rozelle. It was an awful mess and it dominated the sports news. "Charlie O. Finley is one of the most disreputable characters ever to enter the American sports scene," said Symington on the floor of the Senate. Symington would have his bill written by November and it would be read before the subcommittee sometime in December. Rozelle had to make sure that that hearing never took place.

But how?

[petrel]

November 1967
Part I

With the end of the World Series, I was right back in my office and right back to work the next day. I had to begin negotiations to keep as much of the 1967 Braves together as possible.

Two agents would call my office that day and tell met that their clients were retiring from baseball and would not be returning in 1968. The 35-year old second baseman Ken Aspromonte called it quits. We picked him up as a free agent in May but he only played 16 games with us, going 3 for 18, all singles. He won a Gold Glove in 1961 but only played six true seasons.

The other retirement was that of Ralph Beard, a 38-year old survivor of a starting pitcher who played 11 games with the Braves over 1966 and 1967 without getting a single start or decision. He had played for the Cardinals, Cubs, and Giants before catching on with the Braves, going 1-1 in World Series games for the 1962 and 1963 National League Champion Giants. He finished with a 116-79 lifetime record and 3.73 lifetime ERA.

(* * *)

The two big arbitration cases that year would be Cecil Perkins, my best pitcher, and Dick Smith, arguably my best hitter.

Dick Smith had been a Brave since 1963. He had played one game for the Yankees in 1958, going 1 for 2, then spent four years in the minors. This was a big year for Smith, who exploded with a .347 average and 29 home runs. His asking price? $10 million in arbitration. We couldn't afford it, so we said goodbye to Dick Smith with no hard feelings.

Cecil Perkins was homegrown. A sixth-round afterthought by the Angels in 1959, the Braves picked him up in 1961. Since then, he went 51-6 with a 2.09 lifetime average. Perkins asked for a humble $14 million in arbitration. Once again, with no hard feelings, we let Perkins go.

Ellis Burton, our center fielder, wanted $6.5 million. The best we could do was $5.1 million before Burton's agent said negotiations weren't going anywhere. We agreed to part amicably with Burton and release him.

Willie McCovey wasn't averse to returning as a Brave -- for a slight raise in salary from $5.7 million to $6 million. I called Ron Stark Jr. for permission, but Stark wanted to know why I would pay $6 million for a player "who couldn't even make the World Series starting lineup". My only hope would be that the free agent market would lower McCovey's salary demands and that we could resign him.

For all the bother than Don Drysdale put us through, he said that he had won 165 of his 166 wins as a Brave and wanted to retire as a Brave. I couldn't argue with that. We managed to agree on a $5.15 million deal that would keep Drysdale in a Braves uniform until the end of 1971.

Next up was Jim "Bulldog" Bouton. Bouton said he had a goal -- "to be the staff ace" and was willing to sign with us at a decent price to get there. We signed him for $3.75 million with the potential of keeping him a Brave until the end of 1970.

Middle reliever Hank Aguirre, a 36-year old man, underestimated by our own scouts, had manged to go 3-3 for us this year, advancing his lifetime win total to 204. He wanted to stay a Brave, and we signed him for another year at $1.7 million.

The 35-year old first baseman Joe Cunningham went 14 for 83, an atypical .169 AVG in 1967. Our scouts said he was washed up, but without Smith at first, I needed someone in reserve who at least had the potential to produce. Cunningham was signed for $2.3 million until the end of 1968.

Vic Roznovsky was acquired from the Cubs in June. We didn't want him, he was a throw-in. We out and out released him. He retired later that year, his prospects dim. He had reached the end of the line.

Johnny Temple was demanding a $4.6 million dollar salary for 1968 despite severing an elbow ligament in mid-season. He wouldn't even be ready by opening day of that year. We told Temple "good luck" and we figured we'd probably acquire him off the free agent discard pile. Who would be crazy enough to sign him?

Bob Sadowski, who had never dominated as a pitcher, had to come down to $2.6 million (as opposed to the $4.1 million he earned in 1967) for us to keep him. But we kept him. Double-A prospect Jerry Stephenson stayed in, earning $1.25 million. The scouts say he's the future of the Braves, but I sure don't see it.

(* * *)

This left an interesting class of free agents for 1967-68.

Position players:

1. Dick Smith, 1B, $13.6 million. Dick Smith basically played himself in 1967 into the top spot in the free agent market -- his other years have been so-so. The Spurs want to add him to a lineup that includes Dave Nicholson.
2. Ellis Burton, CF, $11 million. '67 was the best year of Burton's career last year when he hit 30 HR. The Minnesota Twins want to move up in the AL West. They're interested.
3. Gene Stephens, RF, $7.3 million. Hit .284 for the Angels despite only playing since June.
4. Willie McCovey, 1B, $6.9 million. He'll probably cross the 300 HR barrier next year.
5. Ed Sadowski, C, $5.9 million. He's 36 but still skilled behind the plate. The White Sox are chatting with him.
6. Bob Bowman, RF, $5.8 million. This 35-year old has hit over .300 the past three years. The Braves have him on the short list for outfielders.
7. Eric Morrisson, 3b, $5.7 million. A Gold Glove in 1966 doesn't overcome a .203 lifetime AVG. He's crazy to price himself this at $5.5 million.
8. Johnny Temple, 2b, $5.6 million. At 39, his health is a real question.
9. Deacon Jones, 1B, $5.6 million. Saw no time for the Red Sox last year, he wants to move to a place where he'll play.
10. Milt Bolling, ss, $5.5 million. A good defensive shortstop with some pop in the bat.
11. Bob Hazle, RF, $5.5 million. .280 lifetime AVG but only a .329 lifetime OPS. No patience at the plate.

Pitchers:

1. Cecil Perkins, $17 million. The Seals want him, and want him bad. The ink is almost dry on the contract.
2. Bill Graham, $16.8 million. The Seals are thinking of getting Perkins and Graham together. They won 49 games for the 1967 Braves.
3. Bill Kirk, $7.8 millon. The Giants had to cut corners and let Kirk go. The Angels might sign him.
4. Juan Marichal, $5.8 million. Washington's loss will probably be the Angels' gain.
5. Carl Duser, $5.2 million. Either we'll get him, or the Reds will.
6. Whammy Douglas, $4.7 million. Has an appealing 3.26 lifetime ERA.
7. John Fitzgerald, $4.7 million. Houston let him go. We're willing to take a chance with him.
8. Bob Giallombardo, $4.3 million. A big question mark.
9. Fred Gladding, $3.8 million. 3.32 lifetime ERA with the Tigers. The Seals might pick him up.
10. Cal Koonce (RP), $3.8 million. Great reliever for the Cards, 22-9 lifetime with 3.64 ERA. Might end up a Los Angeles Star.

(* * *)

Before even discussing the major player awards, time to name the major statistical leaders of both leagues.

American League:

Home Run Leader: Bob Johnson, Seals (43). He's just 20 home runs away from having more home runs as a shortstop than any other player in history, and he's only 31.
Batting Title: Bob Johnson, Seals (.362). A banner year for Johnson, who has a .331 lifetime batting average.
Runs Batted In Leader: Roberto Clemente, Yankees (124). Johnson's RBI total was 106.
Stolen Bases Leader: Vada Pinson, White Sox (25). Not much of a year for the stolen sack in the AL.

Earned Run Average Leader: Jim Proctor, Yankees (2.01). He stays amazing year after year.
Strikeout Leader: Giacomo Cristo, Red Sox (256). Injuries have kept him from a shining career.
Win Leader: Jim Proctor, Yankees (24). Only 105 Ks, so no pitching Triple Crown.
Saves Leader: Don McMahon, Yankees (40). Set the record for most saves in a season.

National League:

Home Run Leader: Boog Powell, Orioles (56). Only his third year as a major league, and he surpassed 1965 and 1966 put together.
Batting Title: Gary Geiger, Phillies (.365). But only 397 AB this year, spending a lot of time on the DL with a broken finger.
Runs Batted In Leader: Boog Powell, Orioles (138). Boog only hit .275 this year.
Stolen Bases Leader: Lou Brock, Stars (45). His fourth straight stolen base championship, he has an amazing 265 lifetime stolen bases.

Earned Run Average Leader: Claude Osteen, Giants (1.66). Third straight sub-2.00 ERA season.
Strikeout Leader: Mukisa Sato, Giants (262). His strikeout title made the news all over Japan -- they were following Giants games on TV in Japan when he pitched!!
Win Leader: Cecil Perkins, Braves (26). He was instrumental in our championship season.
Saves Leader: Don Carpenter, Braves (35). Four saves short of the NL record.

[petrel]

November 1967
Part II

November 15 was now the day designated by the commissioner as the day for the Season Awards -- the MVP, the Cy Young, the Rookie of the Year and all the Gold Glovers. Everyone had their suspicions as to who would win, but baseball still looked forward to the announcements with anticipation.

American League:

Cy Young Award: Jim Proctor, Yankees. This was his fifth Cy Young and the third Cy Young in a row for the Yankees ace. He was only 31 and had 167 wins under his belt, going 24-7 with a 2.01 ERA and 105 Ks in 1967.
Most Valuable Player: Bob Johnson, Seals. His line was .362/44/106 traditional with a .479 OBP. It was his best batting average ever as Johnson took advantage of his first year in the American League. It it his second straight MVP, making him a winner in the NL (1966, Giants) and AL (1967, Seals). Johnson was the key reason why the Seals won the American League West.
Rookie of the Year: Dave Campbell, Detroit. This 25-year old second baseman only batted .233 in 343 games. The award has become a joke. How about pinch-hitter Len Boehmer, appearing his first year ever in the Major Leagues, and hitting .307 for the Yankees as a pinch-hitter? The problem with the award is that the definition of "Rookie" is so strict it excludes anybody good.

Gold Gloves:

P: Jim Proctor, Yankees (3, second straight)
C: Joe Torre, Yankees (4 consecutive)
1B: Harmon Killebrew, Yankees (1)
2B: Tony Wood, Tigers (1)
3B: Brooks Robinson, Twins (1)
SS: Bob Johnson, Seals (4 consecutive)
OF: Vic Davallilo, Spurs (1)
OF: Roger Repoz, Tigers (1)
OF: Albie Pearson, Senators (2)

National League

Cy Young Award: Cecil Perkins, Braves. A big part of the Braves World Championship team, he went 26-3 with a 1.95 ERA and 122 strikeouts. He only gave up five home runs all year, and he's just 25 years old. He'll be around the Major Leagues for a long time, barring injury.
Most Valuable Player: Boog Powell, Orioles. This 25-year old led the majors with 56 home runs and was really the only reason to go see an Orioles game. The Orioles will have him for one more year, then it's arbitration time.
Rookie of the Year: Davey Johnson, Astros. His .205 average must have impressed the voters. At least he started at second base. The problem is, I can't really think of any other choice.

Gold Gloves

P: Claude Osteen, Giants (4, second straight)
C: Ed Sadowski, Cubs (3)
1B: Tony Perez, Reds (1)
2B: Frank Bolling, Cubs (3)
3B: Tom Carroll, Braves (1)
SS: Lee Elia, Astros (1)
OF: Al Kaline, Cubs (3, second straight)
OF: Carl Yastrzesmki, Giants (6, second straight)
OF: Hank Aaron, Reds (2 consecutive)

(* * *)

With all of the above in mind, it was left for the Braves to fight their way through the Free Agent market.

The very first day, the Seals signed the two big contracts: Cecil Perkins to a $17 million/3 year contract and Bill Graham to a $14.5 million/2 year contract. The Seals would be unstoppable in the AL West. Furthermore, they picked up Fred Gladding for $3.9 million, and Gladding had won another 7 games for the Tigers.

The Angels also picked up Giants starter Bill Kirk for $7.8 million. The next day, the 14th, Juan Marichal would pack his bags and go to Philadelphia to join the Phillies.

Afterwards, the market cooled down -- all of the big ticket non-position players remained unsigned. Clearly, batting had the supply, but pitching had the demand. The only position players to sign with a team were Willie McCovey, who was signed by the Minnesota Twins, and Gene Stephens who signed with the Dallas Spurs. Looks like the AL West will be a very interesting division in 1968.

[petrel]

November 1967
Part III

Around the World:

President Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Carl B. Stokes is elected mayor of Cleveland, becoming the first African-American mayor of a major American city.
In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, three United States prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "New Left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.
The definition of "murder" in the United States is extended to include the killing of blacks.
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara resigns. His recommendations to President Johnson about the war -- for the US to freeze troop levels, stop bombing North Vietnam and turn the ground fighting over to South Vietnam -- had been rejected outright by President Johnson, prompting McNamara's resignation.
Anna Nicole Smith is born.

In baseball:

Jimmy Piersall retired at the age of 37.



Piersall was a second baseman for the Red Sox, Braves, Indians, Senators, and Red Sox (again) over a career that spanned from 1950 to 1967. He finished with a .283 lifetime AVG, 1773 hits and a .350 lifetime OBP.

He would be "Cleveland's Designated All-Star", appearing five times on the All-Star and three times (1960-62) for the hopeless Indians. He was an instrumental player on the 1956 and 1957 Boston Braves World Championship teams.

However, Piersalll was tormented by unexplained headaches and psychological problems, which were at their worst in 1952, the year his season ended with his hospitalization in a psychiatric facility for about seven weeks. He recovered, but his career was remarked with the occasional outbreak of irrational exuberance, or moments where he did strange things like come to the plate with a Little League helmet on or run the bases backwards or wear a "Beatle" wig while playing the outfield. However, as a Braves he was a remarkable player and I don't think we could have won in '56 or '57 without him.

Preston Ward retired at age 39. This remarkable first baseman's career stretched from 1948 to 1967, with stops with the Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, Cubs (again), Indians, Phillies, Braves. However, Ward was traded to the Yankees in 1959, where he would spend the rest of his career as a Yankees substitute, pinch-hitter and man of all work. He would win Gold Gloves in 1957 and 1958, and go to the All-Star Game in 1958, but his greatest achievement was his five World Series rings, all with the Yankees, from 1954, 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1966. He finished with a .274 lifetime batting average and 153 home runs in 1554 games.

Andy Carey retired at age 35. As a third baseman, Carey won two Gold Gloves (1959, 1965) over an career with the Yankees from 1952 to 1965. He was an instrumental part of the run of Yankees championships from 1960-63, finishing his career with a lifetime .285 BA and .362 OBP. He finished his career with the Angels in 1966 and the Spurs in 1967. Carey, married to "Glamour Girl" Lucy Marlow, plans on going into the brokerage business.

Dean Stone retired at age 36. Stone was a reliever for the Senators, White Sox, and Braves from 1953 to 1965, finishing with a 61-49 record and a 3.49 lifetime ERA. Stone's career ended with a broken leg in 1965, and he was signed by both the Astros and Dodgers afterwards but never got out of the minors.
Chico Fernandez retired at age 35 after a career spanning from 1957 to 1967 as a shorstop. He was the starting shortstop of the "SuperDodgers" teams of 1958 and 1959, winning two World Series rings and played as an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1961. He would spend his final two years with the Astros and the Red Sox. He would finish with a .291 BA, .346 OBP and 1,243 hits.
Earl Averill hung up his catcher's gear at age 35 after 11 years in baseball. Starting in 1953, he had played for the Indians, Angels, Braves, Yankees and Astros, finishing with a .236 AVG and 152 lifetime HR. He was an All Star for the Angels (1961) and Braves (1962) and won a Gold Glove in 1961.

Dick Hyde finished his career as a relief pitcher at age 38. From 1958 to 1966 he was a reliever for the Baltimore Orioles, and before that, starting from 1953, he pitched for the Senators, Yankees and Blues before joining up with Baltimore. He finished with 231 saves, a 67-78 record and a 3.38 lifetime ERA. Oddly enough, his two All-Star appearances -- in 1955 for the Senators and 1957 for the Yankees -- were not with the Orioles.
Relief pitcher Russ Kemmerer retired at age 35. From 1954 to 1965 he had pitched for the Red Sox, Angels and Astros. Rusty would be a three time All-Star (58-60-62), finishing with a 78-48 record, and 3.53 lifetime ERA -- but he would also earn two World Series losses as a member of the Red Sox against the 1958 SuperDodgers.
Charlie Neal retired as a second baseman at age 36. A backup second baseman for the Dodgers in 1956, he was traded to the Pirates that same year and would play for the Pirates, Cardinals and Brewers. He was an All-Star for the Pirates in 1957 and won a Gold Glove with the Cardinals in 1963. He finished his career with a .252 lifetime batting average.
Johnny Romano retired after a career spanning 12 years at age 32. Since 1956, he played with the White Sox, Braves, Pirates, Giants and Angels. Primarily a back-up catcher, he would earn three World Series rings, one with the Braves in 1957 and two with the New York Giants in 1964 and 1965.
Bill Virdon retired at age 35. A centerfileder for the Cardinals since 1953, he played sporadically and missed a couple of years until the expansion draft in 1958, where he caught on with the Orioles, finishing his career there. He would go to the All-Star game and win a Gold Glove for the Orioles in 1959.
Shortstop Jack Kubiszyn retired after a seven-year career with the Brewers. He spent the last half of 1967 with the Orioles. Despite finishing with a .204 lifetime BA, he was an All-Star and a Gold Glove winner for the Brewers in 1963, where he hit .239 as a full-time infielder.

Tom Flanagan retired at age 32 after a six-year career as a reliever for the White Sox, finishing with a .356 lifetime ERA. He was an All-Star in 1958.
Johnny Padres retired at age 34, finishing a career as a reliever for the Dodgers spanning from 1953 to 1966. He was on the SuperDodgers World Series team in 1958.
Williard Schmidt, a 38-year old reliever, ended a career with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers and White Sox spanning back to 1952. He spent nine of those years as a Brewer, finishing with a 4.85 lifetime ERA.

[jvencill]

VERY nice work on this - I am VERY impressed by the amount of time and thought you've put into this... BRAVO!

[petrel]

jvencill: Thanks! I just hope I can keep it interesting!

December 1967

December 4th, 1967 would be a fateful day if Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri had anything to say about it. On Friday, December 1st, he introduced his bill that would examine the antitrust exemption of baseball on the floor of the United States Senate. The bill was assigned to the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee and was scheduled for its first hearing before the committee on Monday, December 4th.

That weekend, several very important people in baseball were invited to testify before the committee the following week. The invitation was optional, of course, but the threat didn't need to be stated. I received a call from one of the staff members of Stuart Symington, "inviting" me to testify before the Senate committee on December 8th, 1967 -- three days before baseball's Winter Meetings.

What was I supposed to do? I said "yes", fearing that my testimony would be subpoenaed. Besides, I considered myself a patriotic man and I couldn't imagine turning down an invitation to speak.

That weekend, Commissioner Pete Rozelle was flooded with phone calls. Time had run out, and the three parties in the dispute -- Blues owner Charlie O. Finley, Mayor Ilus Davis, and Senator Symington -- refused to budge. There was no way any of them could be persuaded, cajoled, threatened, anything. Commissioner Rozelle was facing a crisis as the owners persuaded, cajoled, and threatened him to do something -- anything -- to avert it. No one wanted to sit in front of a hostile Senate subcommittee.

On Sunday, he would call Senator Symington and the two would speak face to face. Rozelle rightly recognized that Symington was the real problem, and that Symington held all the cards. All Rozelle could do was beat a retreat with as much grace as possible.

Symington wanted either a team to replace the Blues the next year if they departed, or he wanted the Blues to be forced to stay. It would not be possible to force Finley to stay. Therefore, Rozelle asked if the replacement of Kansas City's team could be delayed until 1969 if the right "assurances" were made and appropriate "support" was given.

Symington, hoping to get more for Kansas City, said that, of course, he was a man willing to compromise. And so, very slowly, Rozelle moved the time frame down to where the American League had initially planned to expand -- 1972.

The deal was a simple one: Kansas City would get one of the replacement franchises in 1972. In return for the patience that Kansas City would show, baseball would provide "meaningful support" to the future of baseball in Kansas City. Each team active in 1971 would commit $2 million to a special cash fund for the new team. If the team had less than $2 million in cash, it would commit half its available cash; if the team was in debt it would not be asked to contribute.

If twenty teams were out of debt and doing well in 1971, Kansas City's new team stood to gain $40 million plus in starter money to use to sign players for the 1972 season. It was a deal that pleased the Senator very much, and Symington thanked Rozelle for his willingness to listen to reason. The Senator would make a call to his good friend Mayor Davis in Kansas City and explain that a lawsuit would neither be necessary nor wise.

That Monday, Senator Symington very quietly withdrew his bill and the Antitrust Committee got on with its planned business. Rozelle let Charlie O. Finley know that he would be allowed to move out of Kansas City. And then...there was the job of telling the other owners.

(* * *)

The owners were very unhappy. Even though each team would only be asked to contribute $2 million in 1971 -- the price of one extra replacement player a year over the next four years -- ownership blamed Rozelle and his "free spending" ways. Anything involving money offended the owners.

The poorer teams were unhappy because they saw themselves as missing a sweet deal. Why couldn't they have a deal just like the 1972 Kansas City team? The rich teams saw themselves as being put-upon. Rozelle sees us as moneybags! The nerve!

In short, Rozelle had lost all of the good will that had resulted from his salary cap measures. He was back at square one with the owners, and O'Malley, the man who had supported his candidacy for the commissionership, now turned against him. To take money out of Walter O'Malley's pocket, even in the name of strengthening baseball, was not the measure of a true business-oriented commissioner. Rozelle was a baseball socialist, and from this moment on, Rozelle and O'Malley would be at odds with each other.

(* * *)

This year the Winter Meetings were held in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the very first time that the Winter Meetings have been held outside of the United States. Phyllis, now five months pregnant, has tagged along to go shopping.

Aside from avoiding Montezuma's Revenge, the highest point for the Braves was the transfer of our AA Austin Braves franchise. We have found out that we can run the AA club much more cheaply in Shreveport, LA and we have agreed to move there. The AA Shreveport Braves will begin play in 1968 -- Texas already has two pro teams, and it's cut into attendance in Austin.

While the owners were giving Commissioner Rozelle a piece of their collective mind (you'd need a magnifying glass to find it), Charlie O. Finley was finishing the touches on a new deal for the former Kansas City Blues. He wanted the deal finished before the end of the Winter Meetings, and he got it. A group from Seattle has come to terms with Finley, and Finley has agreed to move the Blues to the West Coast.

The tenative name for the former Blues is the Seattle Pilots, after the AAA team -- Finley will have to pay off the Pacific Coast League and Walter O'Malley for taking over O'Malley's territory. The deal was presented to the owners -- not that we would turn it down, we were tired of it all -- and we approved of the deal by a 24-0 vote, with the proviso that Seattle have Sick's Stadium upgraded to major league status by the beginning of the 1968 season.

(* * *)

Of course, it wouldn't be the Winter Meetings without the occasional sartorial display as teams adopt new uniforms!

The Reds have moved away from home pinstripes and have gone for plain white home uniforms with a stylized "C" logo:




The Baltimore Orioles, on the other hand, have adopted a "cutoff" uniform of the type worn by Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Dallas. The uniform will be an "alternate" uniform -- just in case they don't know what they want to wear.




But the biggest change was from the Milwaukee Brewers. They've given up their "ice cream whites" and the swinging barrel man for their home uniform. They've ditched the Braves-imitation red and dark blue cap and have adopted new colors entirely, changing from what little navy and red they wore to a blue and gold color.




The weakness of this uniform is the mixed typefaces on the visiting uniform. It looks like something a college student would design. But anything beats those plain home whites! (The joke in Milwaukee was that the home club was ashamed to admit they were the Brewers.)

(* * *)

As Seattle celebrated the arrival of something resembling major league baseball (they have bats and everything!), someone asked Senator Stuart Symington what he thought of the Kansas City move. His statement will go down in baseball history: "Seattle is the luckiest city since Hiroshima," he said, and people in baseball's inner circle agreed.

There was no movement on the free agent market, however -- a few nibbles, but no bites. Cal Koonce was the only big signing, as the White Sox added him to their bullpen.

(* * *)

A new development in the world made me wonder if baseball will be limited to just the United States.



This month, a brand new airplane called the Concorde was revealed in France. It is supposed to be able to carry around 140 passengers in a supersonic flight at half the time it now takes to fly from New York to Paris. The plan is scheduled to be ready for commercial flight in about four years time.

Could it be that someday a flight to Mexico, or to Europe, or to Asia, will be as commonplace and as inexpensive as a flight from Boston to New York? The mind boggles at the very prospect....

(* * *)

Around the world:

Christian Barnard carries out the world's first heart transplant operation in Capetown, South Africa.
Dr. Benjamin Spock and Allen Ginsberg are arrested in New York City for protesting the Vietnam War.
Nicolae Ceaucescu becomes Chairman of the Romanian State Council and ruler of Romania.
King Constantine II of Greece flees the country when his coup attempt fails.
The term "black hole" is used for the first time.

[CatKnight]

The term "black hole" is used for the first time.

When referring to the collective minds of baseball owners!??

Great job as always, pet. I always look forward to your updates

[petrel]

January 1968
Part I

A long time ago, someone asked a question: "Take someone from the year 1900 and move him to 1950. Then, take someone from 1950 and move him to the year 2000. Which of the two people will have a worse time of it?"

One might think that the person from 1900 would have the worst time of it. There were all sorts of technological changes between 1900 and 1950, which would bewilder our traveler. On the other hand, there were very few social changes....

...our traveler would still wear business clothes to work.
...he would probably work his whole life for his new company.
...assuming our traveler is a white male, he would primarily still be working with other white males.
...women and blacks would be rarely seen in business, and would primarily be working as caregivers or menial workers.
...social life, movies, sports would all be the same.

In short, after our imaginary 1900s traveler got used to telephones, TV and other technology, he'd probably have a pretty easy time of it.

Now, let's look at our 1950s traveler. Technology is...well...pretty much the same. A phone is a phone is a phone even if it's wireless. A computer is just a TV screen combined with a typewriter, and a mouse isn't that hard to use. There are still cars, still airports. Aside from a few quirks, the modes of technology are simply improvements on the old ones from 1950.

However, the social landscape has transformed radically.

...the concept of "business casual" has been introduced.
...no one stays with their company anymore.
...women and blacks would be our travelers companions...and bosses.
...social behavior is completely different. A multitude of options. "Political correctness". Discrimination is frowned upon. Homosexuality is accepted in some quarters.

The argument goes that our fellow from the 1950s would have the worst time of it. It's a lot harder to learn new ways of thinking than it is to master a few gadgets.

(* * *)

The year 1968 would bring a lot of changes in my life. The summer before was the beginning of the hippie revolution. Hair on men was becoming longer and longer.

For the very first time, I began to notice this "hair creep" in the front office, particularly in the marketing department. Hair in baseball was never down-to-the-shoulders long, but what I saw looked more and more...unkempt. There were still the crew-cutted holdouts...and those brave fellows would hold out till the mid 1970s...but more and more lassitude was seen. Hair might creep over the top of the ears, or it might fall slightly over the forehead. A small, one-half inch stub of a sideburn might be seen. This would have been unacceptable in 1960, but was now being seen as acceptable in front office and the younger men were wondering how far they could push the envelope.

No one pushed that envelope more than my assistant general manager, Chuck Sullivan. The nephew of my departed friend, Morris Stark, was now thirty-three. Up until 1967, he had conformed with Boston Braves policy but he was a single man and began to throw caution to the wind.

He showed up at work with a green shirt. A green shirt, and some kind of awful paisley looking tie. His hair began to creep down below his ears...he was letting it grow out. As I said, he wasn't turning into a full-fledged hippie. He never grew a beard or a mustache. But the back part of his hair was getting long, long like a girl's.

At first, I began to kid him about it. "Those clothes of yours could blind a mule, Chuck!" "I think your barber is missing you!" He would laugh it off, and he even said that he'd get his hair cut "soon". But I began to suspect that he would not be getting his hair cut soon.

The men in marketing, men he had worked for and with in his first front-office job, were starting to follow his lead. Lapels were getting a bit wider down there, and there were some...interesting...choices of patterns. Pink plaid on white! Larger buttons and cuffs! They looked like a bunch of primadonnas!

I saw some fellow -- I don't remember his name -- come in with some kind of caterpillar over his lip. He was clearly growing a mustache. And he was wearing a turtleneck! I "flipped out" and called him on the carpet right in the hallway.


The most forward looking men's fashions of 1968.

"Listen here young man," I said, "I don't know what kind of town you came from or what kind of company you keep, but we wear ties in the front office. Your hair looks like s hit. And god **** it, get a shave! I want to see you looking presentable, or I'll have your sorry *** fired!"

That afternoon, Chuck Sullivan asked to see me in my office. "Pet," he said, "not to be offensive, but what business is it of yours what we wear in the front office? Marketing talks to a lot of people, and the days of Brylcreem are over. We work with all kinds of people, and like it or not, Pet, hippies buy tickets. That's a real lack of class talking to someone like that."

I tried to held my tongue, "Chuck, the only reason I never said anything is because you're a good friend of mine and you're Morris's nephew. What the **** has happened to you? You look like one of these hippie pukes. That kid looked like a freak. Who the **** hired him?"

"I hired him!"

"Jesus Christ, Chuck, you want this whole place to fall apart? What's next? Yellow and green uniforms? Handlebar mustaches on the players? Chuck, get it straight. There's friendship and there's the employee relationship. You are my subordinate. I am enforcing the dress code. You will wear normal business attire in this office. You will get a haircut, and you can send whoever the **** you hired right back to the Boston University Hootenanny if he doesn't do the same."

Chuck stormed out of the office. I walked into the outer area of my office where my six months pregnant wife was working.

"I heard all of that, Ron," she said.

"What the **** is he thinking?" I said.

"I don't know," said Phyllis. "I think Chuck wears it well. He doesn't go over the top. And it gets mighty tiring to see everybody looking the same."

"You're standing up for him? What is every other front office in the major leagues going to think if we let people in this office running around like that? They're going to think we're not a class organization! They'll think we're some coffeehouse with folk music."

"Ron, have you ever been inside any other organization? You never leave the office. Do you think Tom Yawkey has a dress code?"

"Tom Yawkey's bums can wear whatever they want. They haven't won a championship since 1918. As long as I have anything to say about it, we'll look like a class organization."

[petrel]

January 1968
Part II

Late in the office, after Phyllis had gone home, I got a call. "Pet. Ron Stark. How are you doing?"

"Fine, Ron." I hated talking to Ron Stark Jr., because it meant a thirty minute conversation about trivia.

"Listen, Pet, you had some words with Chuck today. I hear it was about a dress code."

I was taken aback. "Yes. It was about professional deportment and appearance."

"Well," said Ron, "I don't think Chuck looks that bad. I saw him two days ago at the family get together. Did you say that you were going to fire him if he didn't get his hair cut?"

Now I was on the defensive. "Mr. Stark," I said, "that is emphatically not true. I did say that I would fire one of his new hires who showed up in a turtleneck. He looks like Sonny Bono."

"Pet," Stark said, "baseball's not banking. I don't want to hear any more talk about firing anyone. Not Chuck, and not whoever Chuck hired. At least, not for fashion issues. If he comes in nude, or if he can't pull his weight, that's one thing. Looking like a normal young man is another. Forget that conversation, Pet."

"I see," I said. "May I please get off the line? I have some business to do."

"Of course," he said. "Talk to you later."

He hung off. I slammed the phone into the cradle so hard you could hear it ring three doors down the hall, if anyone had been there.

Chuck Sullivan had gone over my head! I didn't like that. I felt that he had undermined my authority as general manager.

The next day, I called Chuck Sullivan to my office. I told him, coldly, "Chuck, the next time you call your uncle and go over my head, I want to hear about it first. I'm still the GM of this club, at least in name. You don't own the f-ucking thing yet...although you might think you do, being the owner's nephew."

He said that he did not go over my head. He did not bring the episode up specifically. It came up during a conversation, and he told a story.

"Fine. Then don't tell stories out of school. Braves policy stays right here, in this office, and if you intend to make an issue out of it to Ron Stark, I will be the one who brings it up. Not you. But I don't like this, Chuck. We've trusted each other for years, and now, there's a lack of trust. It's going to take some time to repair that breach."

"All right," he said.

"Tell your hires they can dress in drag if they want to," I said, "ask me if I give a royal ****. I'm not going to be anyone's policeman if the owner refuses to back me up. You can look like a bunch of f-ucking savages, and if someone bellyaches about it, I'll send them right to your uncle's office. I guess he has a lot of free time on his hands."

(* * *)

But enough drama. We were still concerned about finding replacements. We needed a first baseman, an infielder, an outfielder, and at least two starting pitchers.

During the beginning of January, it looked like we might sign Memo Luna (108-97, 3,41 lifetime ERA) to a contract -- but the first words from Luna's agent, in any conversation, was "Memo thinks that he might retire this year. After all, he's thirty-six." After about a week of this, we got tired of hearing about Memo's "advanced" age and realized this as a negotiation ploy. We kept Memo on our short list, but we figured we'd wait for his price to drop before putting up with any ****.

As other teams began to show nominal interest in the players on our short list, we figured that it might be smart to secure at least one of those players now, before they ended up getting signed from under our noses. The winner, on January 15th, was Phil Niekro (24-23, 4.60 ERA). His ERA isn't impressive, but he had his best year ever last year for the Phillies and he's only 27, heading into his peak years. With some confidence, Niekro might blossom. (His brother Joe was starting for the Pirates last year at age 22.)

(* * *)

Around the world:

Prague Spring: Alexander Dubcek is elected leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia.
Singer Eartha Kitt (singer, actress) denounces the Vietnam War directly to President Lyndon Johnson during a White House conference on crime.
North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters.
The Tet Offensive begins -- Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam, including attacking the United States embassy in Saigon.

[petrel]

February 1968

In February 1968, Phyllis was seven months pregnant, and definitely noticable. With leg pains and back spasms, she bailed out of the secretarial role, leaving me in the hands of my English-born secretary, Connie. Connie had picked up a lot from watching Phyllis, and despite frequent calls to Phyllis whenever she had questions, she was quite servicable in the role of secretary. Normally, it was very difficult to get Phyllis out of the office, but she said that she had no great love in going back the way she felt. Furthermore, she would not be going to Spring Training with me, and we'd wait until April for the birth of our son (or daughter).

The free agent market had pretty much dried up, but the White Sox were the most active team, picking up the dregs of the free agent pitching market: Don Rudolph (3.21 lifetime ERA as a reliever), Bob Allen (5.19 lifetime ERA as a reliever), and Bob Giallombardo (an ex-Brave with a 29-14 record and a 3.94 lifetime ERA). They also scooped up RF Angelo Dagres (.281 BA/.311 OBP).

In the meantime, there was very little to do but wait until the market dropped enough for us to make our acquisitions. I supposed we'd wait all the way until February 28th, one day before Spring Training games began.

(* * *)



This was a picture taken February 1st, 1968, during the Tet Offensive. The shooter was Nguyen Ngoc Loan, a South Vietnamese police chief. The unknown Viet Cong officer (the "shoot-ee") was a leader of an assassination squad sent to kill South Vietnamese police, or failing that, their families. I probably would have shot the man, too.

On the 24th of February, the South Vietnamese captured Hue and that was the end of the North Vietnamese Tet Offense. Tactically, in large scale combat, the Viet Cong were beaten, and from what I understood, the Viet Cong were beaten in every large scale tactical engagement. Unfortunately, the war would not be decided by the "move large numbers of forces" methods of World War II or Korea. It was a completely different kind of war.

The year 1967 was a tale of two stories: on one side, huge marches against the Vietnam War, as America's youth had become radicalized. Furthermore, the number of troops in South Vietnam reached an amazing 500,000. Young men, realizing they could be drafted to go to South Vietnam, turned against a war that they thought was pointless.

On the other side were the war supporters, (symbolically) led by the Johnson Administration. In November 1967, the decision had been made that Americans should be given more optimistic reports about the war's progress. On the 17th of November, President Johnson told the American people, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...we are making progress."

Four days after President Johnson's speech, General William Westmoreland said, "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had suggested that we turn over the responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese and freeze troop levels. However, his recommendations were rejected out of hand by President Johnson. Clearly, the "wise men" were not in agreement about the war.

...

Then, the Tet Offensive came. It was a massive military defeat for the Viet Cong. But it was a sort of "reverse domino theory", the first domino in a long line of dominos that rippled through the United States.

During the offensive, General Westmoreland defended the northern provinces of South Vietnam from an impending attack while the Viet Cong attacked the cities. Westmoreland, communicating with Washington, called for an additional 200,000 troops. That would have brought us to around 700,000-750,000 troops in Vietnam. The Johnson administration debated this request. To paraphrase one of the president's advisors, "How can we tell the American people we're winning the war one day and call for a forty percent increase in troop strength the next?"

Indeed, with a month of press coverage of the Tet Offensive, the American people got the point. Even me, cementheaded me, got the point. The rosy predictions of the success of the war were ****. If we had been whipping the Cong for the last two years, how did they suddenly show up en masse for the Tet Offensive? It didn't matter what either the Johnson Administration or the theoretically-anti-war-liberal media were saying. If the Viet Cong were on the ropes, if they were "almost beaten", where did this offensive come from?

(* * *)

On February 27, 1968, Walter Cronkite broadcast "Who, What, When, Where, and Why?" He had visited Vietnam, talked to several people there, and concluded the broadcast with this quote.



We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds... Any negotiations must be that- negotiations, not the dictation of peace terms... it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in stalemate. For every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the north, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to the battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster. To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe in the face of evidence the optimist that have been wrong in the past. To say we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion. It seems increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.

Supposedly, after hearing of Cronkite's words, President Johnson said, "If I've lost Walter Cronkite, I've lost Middle America". There are still some people who blame Cronkite as a defeatist. I saw him as a realist. Vietnam was no bed of roses -- democracy was not blooming there. I was no hippie, far from it, but I didn't see how Americans fighting there were going to achieve anything.

(* * *)

Two days later, Robert McNamara resigned as Secretary of Defense. Whether he resigned voluntarily or was given a shove is a matter of debate. However, he managed to leave the boat just as soon as leaks were springing in the hull.

(* * *)

But enough boring political stuff. More baseball. There was nothing more lovely than those words "pitchers and catchers report today", and by the later part of February, I escaped to West Palm Beach, Florida. It was so strange seeing the Seattle Pilots taking their place among the Florida teams. Finley had decided on a new uniform for his Seattle players, a sort of cross between a boat captain and an airline pilot:



Furthermore, it looked like Seattle was going to support the Pilots in a big way. Voters in Seattle approved a $40 million bond issue to build a brand new stadium for the Pilots. When it would be completed was a matter of conjecture, but until then, the minor-league Sick's Stadium would be expanded for major league use.

(* * *)

In the meantime, the Braves made the last of their Free Agent acquisitions. All signings were done on February 28th, 1967.

The biggest was for Ellis Burton (.268/.364/.496, 30 HR in 1967). After a year with the Braves, he went on the free agent market...but found no takers and his price had plummeted to $5.4 million dollars. This time, we signed Burton to two years with the Braves. He was only 30, and a fan favorite, and actually discounted his price to come back to Boston!

At first base, we picked up Bob Hale (.375 OBA for KC/DAL). The Blues had traded him to the Spurs in mid-67 but he had been with the Blues since 1955 before then. He was a 10-year veteran, and we were glad to release him from the Kansas City Asylum, figuring that he would hit better now that he didn't have to face the cream of the crop of the American League.

Denis Menke, a 26-year old Cleveland shortstop (.245/.352/.366) , would back up Pumpsie Green. Ron Santo (.284/.359/.457) had had an excellent year with the Angels and we bought him for peanuts for a couple of years.

Our final free agent acquisition going into Spring Training was that of John Fitzgerald, formerly a starter for the Giants who had spent a couple of years in Houston. He had a 3.06 lifetime ERA and was 93-37 over seven seasons. We made him our long relief man, and if one of our starters fails, we can just plug Fitzgerald into the rotation.

We're hoping that it's going to be a great year in Boston, and a great year for the Braves.

(* * *)

Around the world:

The Boeing 747 makes its maiden flight.

In baseball:

Former major league player and manager Lena Blackburne dies. Blackburne has been the source for his eponymous rubbing mud‚ used by umpires in both leagues to rub down new balls. He leaves the mud business to his boyhood friend‚ John Haas.

[lilbman07]

i really like this Dynasty. Can you PM me some tips to keep it intresting

[Xen_Antares]

lilbmamn07, if you look at page 52 on post 772 Pet gives a brief rundown on how he created Even the Braves, this includes links as well.