The virtual 1958-68 Giants, Reds, and Cardinals (Part 10: 1966-67)
Our long and winding road has completed nine-elevenths of its imaginary journey:
1957-58
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
In the 1966 season, we witnessed a stunning reversal of the long-holding dynamic as our Cardinals, the perennial also-rans, suddenly burst out with a 105-victory performance—only to finish second to our Giants, who rose to the challenge to the tune of 106 wins. Who will come out on top in The Summer of Love?
Giants: Actual Reds: Actual Cardinals: Actual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1958 80 74 3 727 698 76 78 4 695 623 72 82 5T 619 704
1959 83 71 3 705 613 74 80 5T 764 738 71 83 7 641 725
1960 79 75 5 671 631 67 87 6 640 692 86 68 3 639 616
1961 85 69 3 773 655 93 61 1 710 653 80 74 5 703 668
1962 103 62 1 878 690 98 64 3 802 685 84 78 6 774 664
1963 88 74 3 725 641 86 76 5 648 594 93 69 2 747 628
1964 90 72 4 656 587 92 70 2T 660 566 93 69 1 715 652
1965 95 67 2 682 593 89 73 4 825 704 80 81 7 707 674
1966 93 68 2 675 626 76 84 7 692 702 83 79 6 571 577
Giants: Virtual Reds: Virtual Cardinals: Virtual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1958 83 71 2T 747 692 73 81 5 683 637 77 77 4 640 677
1959 87 67 1T 737 615 87 67 1T 802 662 84 70 4 725 685
1960 93 61 1 709 561 76 78 6 705 666 86 68 4 661 632
1961 88 66 2 787 648 106 48 1 813 629 72 82 6 689 724
1962 103 59 1 800 632 101 61 2T 779 663 84 78 6 809 703
1963 97 65 3 726 578 100 62 1 704 540 80 82 6 664 668
1964 100 62 2 726 576 101 61 1 689 533 87 75 4 662 657
1965 99 63 1 697 587 98 64 2 843 646 85 76 5 692 622
1966 106 55 1 739 581 87 73 5 769 677 105 57 2 667 514
The 1966-67 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Nov. 28, 1966: The Cincinnati Reds drafted pitcher Ted Abernathy from the Atlanta Braves in the 1966 Rule 5 draft.
The Rule 5 draft is a highly unreliable source of competent, dependable major league pitching talent. Yet the Reds in the mid-1960s got themselves on a roll of plucking such a useful needle out of the haystack over and over again. In 1961, they took Moe Drabowsky, in ‘62 Al Worthington, and in ’65, it was Don Nottebart.
And this time they’re helping themselves to the best one yet. The submarining right-hander Abernathy intermittently struggled with controlling his wickedly breaking hard sinker, and thus had been inconsistent, and 1966 was one of his down years. But that was on the heels of a brilliant performance in 1965 when he’d set major league records for appearances and saves.
Thus, the wisdom of Atlanta GM Paul Richards in leaving the 33-year-old Abernathy off his 40-man roster on Rule 5 draft day is dubious, and the decision by Cincinnati owner-GM Bill DeWitt (in one of his very final acts before selling the club) to take a flyer on the veteran isn’t. Our Reds will go along with DeWitt’s reasoning.
The 1966-67 season: Actual deals we will not make
Oct. 15, 1966: The Cincinnati Reds sold infielder Gus Gil to the Cleveland Indians.
Gil doesn’t project as anything more than a utility man, and like the actual Reds, our version doesn’t have room for him in the majors. But he’s been putting up .350-plus OBPs in Triple-A, and thus might yield more in the market than just this cash payment. If we have to settle for selling Gil, we will, but we’ll hang on to him for now and see what shakes out during trading season.
Dec. 8, 1966: The St. Louis Cardinals traded third baseman Charley Smith to the New York Yankees for outfielder Roger Maris.
Like the actual Cardinals, we’re intrigued to see what the mighty-yet-fallen Maris might have left in his tank, especially far removed from the sour atmosphere pervading the mighty-yet-fallen Yankees. After all, he’s still just 32 and once presented a marvelous breadth of skill.
But we don’t have Smith, and we certainly aren’t willing to part with Mike Shannon, the third baseman we do have. So we’ll have to pass on the single-season home run king.
Dec. 13, 1966: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Cap Peterson and pitcher Bob Priddy to the Washington Senators for pitcher Mike McCormick.
This was a splendid deal by the actual Giants. Alas, our version has already traded Peterson to Washington, so we won’t be able to re-acquire the lefty McCormick, who’s impressively worked his way back from career-threatening arm trouble.
Dec. 14, 1966: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Len Gabrielson to the California Angels for first baseman-outfielder Norm Siebern.
Nor do we have Gabrielson, so we won’t be able to pick up the veteran Siebern.
The 1966-67 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Oct. 12, 1966: The Cincinnati Reds traded pitcher Juan Pizarro and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Wilbur Wood.
Actually, it was the White Sox trading the former star Pizarro to Pittsburgh for the young southpaw Wood.
Though he wasn’t yet 25, the Pirates were the second organization giving up on Wood, despite the fact that his minor league stats were terrific, and he’d acquitted himself decently in the limited opportunities he’d gotten in the majors. The issue, no doubt, was that Wood just didn’t throw hard, and thus wasn’t wowing anyone.
But Wood’s control of his assortment of junk is extraordinary, so our Reds, like the White Sox, are more confident in his future than that of the struggling Pizarro. And we understand the soft-tossing kid has been experimenting with a knuckleball.
Dec., 1966: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Jesus Alou and pitchers Dick LeMay and Bob Garibaldi to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Dick Kelley.
Based on his superb minor league performance (as well as his family pedigree), the 24-year-old Alou had seemed to be a star in the making, but he hasn’t been able to get it going in the majors. We’ve run out of patience with him, and also with the former Bonus Baby Garibaldi, who’s been spinning his wheels, as well, mostly in Triple-A.
The left-hander Kelley is a couple of years older than Alou and Garibaldi and has no star potential, but he appears poised for a nice run as a spot starter/long reliever. It’s plausible the Braves would take this swap, particularly given that in this scenario they don’t have Alou’s big brother in their outfield.
Dec., 1966: The St. Louis Cardinals traded first baseman-outfielder Lee Thomas to the Chicago Cubs for infielder-outfielder Jim Stewart and cash.
Our Cardinals are fed up with the maddeningly inconsistent bat of Thomas. Stewart is just a utility guy, but one with particular speed and versatility.
Dec., 1966: The St. Louis Cardinals traded second baseman Julian Javier to the New York Mets for shortstop Eddie Bressoud, outfielder Danny Napoleon, and pitcher Jerry Hinsley.
And our Cardinals are also quite concerned about the deteriorating offensive output from Javier. We still like his glove, but as he enters his 30s, we fear his value will dwindle, and so we’ll get what we can for The Phantom now. The veteran Bressoud can contribute in a utility role, and Napoleon and Hinsley are decent prospects.
(During this offseason, the Mets actually traded Bressoud and Napoleon to the Cardinals for Jerry Buchek. Unlike the actual Cards, we see the talented but erratic young Buchek as a better second baseman than Javier going forward. Oops: Javier will suddenly deliver the best hitting of his life in 1967-69.)
Dec. 14, 1966: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Walt Williams and pitcher Don Dennis to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Wayne Causey.
Actually, on this date, the Cardinals traded Williams and Dennis to the White Sox for veteran catcher John Romano. Our Cardinals see the middle infielder Causey as being far more useful than Romano, especially given that we’ve just traded Javier.
Causey is about to turn 30 and slumped a bit with the bat in 1966. But in the past he’s delivered outstanding on-base ability and the capacity to competently handle either shortstop or second base. It’s plausible that the White Sox would agree to expend him instead of the power-hitting Romano in order to get this pair of young players they like, in particular the 22-year-old No-Neck, who’d hit .330 with 54 doubles in Triple-A in 1966.
Dec. 15, 1966: The Cincinnati Reds traded third baseman-first baseman Deron Johnson, pitchers Jim O’Toole and Ted Davidson, and infielder Gus Gil to the Chicago White Sox for third baseman-outfielder Pete Ward, catcher John Romano, outfielder Floyd Robinson, and pitcher Jack Lamabe.
This builds upon the actual trade made on this date, which was simply O’Toole for Robinson, one faded former star for another. This expanded version helps the White Sox get younger, which was the theme in their acquisitions of Wood and Williams, while upgrading their power bat at third base.
For our Reds, the logic is basically that Ward bats left-handed, and thus is a better fit for us as a third-base partner with our emerging young right-handed-batting Tony Perez. We’re taking a risk that the bad back that plagued Ward in 1966 won’t heal, but we think he probably can do well enough in a limited role, and we also see the veterans Romano and Robinson nicely filling spots on our bench.
Jan., 1967: The Cincinnati Reds sold catcher Dave Ricketts to the Kansas City Athletics.
With Romano on board, we no longer have room for this guy.
April, 1967: The San Francisco Giants sold infielder Andre Rodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Rodgers has had a nice career for us but is finally getting squeezed off the roster.
The 1967 season: Actual deals we will make
May 31, 1967: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Bob Lee from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This huge Horse isn’t throwing nearly as hard as he did just a few years ago, but he’s still just 29, and we’ll give him a chance in our bullpen.
Sep. 18, 1967: The Cincinnati Reds traded infielder Len Boehmer to the New York Yankees for pitcher Bill Henry.
A transaction of the merest consequence, no doubt. But it makes sense for us to convert infield surplus into a left-handed prospect, albeit a middling one. (Oh, this is this 1960s left-handed pitcher named Bill Henry, not the other 1960s left-handed pitcher named Bill Henry.)
The 1967 season: Actual deals we will not make
May 14, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Ted Savage to the Chicago Cubs.
Our Cards will keep this multi-talented spare part.
May 31, 1967: The San Francisco Giants purchased outfielder-first baseman Ty Cline from the Atlanta Braves.
Our Giants don’t have room for this journeyman.
June 22, 1967: The San Francisco Giants purchased shortstop Dick Groat from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nor for this declining veteran.
July 16, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals traded a player to be named later to the New York Mets for pitcher Jack Lamabe. (On Oct. 13, 1967, the Cardinals sent pitcher Al Jackson to the New York Mets, completing the deal.)
Our Cardinals have no interest in Lamabe.
The 1967 season: Deals we will invoke
May, 1967: The Cincinnati Reds sold outfielder Floyd Robinson to the Philadelphia Phillies.
May, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Hal Woodeshick to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher John Morris and cash.
May, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals sold infielder-outfielder Jim Stewart to the Chicago White Sox.
May, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals sold shortstop Eddie Bressoud to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
May 14, 1967: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Jim Beauchamp to the Atlanta Braves.
None of these guys will survive this year’s mid-May roster trim.
May 30, 1967: The Cincinnati Reds purchased infielder Jake Wood from the Detroit Tigers.
Actually, the Reds made this purchase a month later, but we’ll pick Wood up now to fill in for an injured Tommy Harper.
May 31, 1967: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Jack Lamabe to the New York Mets.
And our Reds will let this veteran go to make room for Lee.
1967 season results
Giants
Following our monster 106-win season, changes to the roster are minimal. Kelley joins the pitching staff, along with rookie right-hander Rich Robertson. And we’ll give spots on our bench to the former Bonus kids Bob Schroder in the infield and Ken Henderson in the outfield, both of whom did well in Triple-A in 1966.
1967 San Francisco Giants Won 84 Lost 78 Finished 4th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B W. McCovey* 29 135 456 73 126 17 4 31 91 71 110 .276 .377 .535 .912 159
2B-SS B. Schroder* 22 128 322 35 75 9 1 0 17 29 33 .233 .293 .267 .560 62
SS H. Lanier 24 121 263 19 56 8 2 0 21 8 31 .213 .232 .259 .491 41
3B-OF J. Hart 25 158 578 98 167 26 7 29 99 77 100 .289 .373 .509 .882 151
RF-CF J. Cardenal 23 108 381 44 93 14 6 6 27 14 60 .244 .270 .360 .629 79
CF W. Mays 36 141 486 83 128 22 2 22 70 51 92 .263 .333 .453 .785 123
LF-1B O. Cepeda 29 151 563 86 182 35 0 27 105 62 75 .323 .398 .529 .927 164
C T. Haller* 30 141 455 54 114 23 5 14 49 62 61 .251 .341 .415 .756 116
OF F. Valentine# 32 121 357 45 87 14 2 9 31 41 64 .244 .333 .370 .702 101
SS-2B D. Schofield# 32 110 255 25 58 11 1 3 15 33 44 .227 .310 .314 .623 80
2B T. Fuentes 23 111 261 19 57 10 1 4 21 22 45 .218 .271 .310 .581 66
3B-1B K. Boyer 36 85 231 21 58 9 2 5 23 23 30 .251 .315 .372 .687 97
OF K. Henderson# 21 89 215 20 44 8 1 4 16 27 51 .205 .294 .307 .601 73
C D. Dietz 25 28 60 5 13 1 0 2 10 12 23 .217 .351 .333 .685 98
C T. Talton* 28 46 59 7 15 4 1 0 5 7 12 .254 .324 .356 .679 95
C B. Barton 25 22 37 2 8 1 0 0 3 1 6 .216 .237 .243 .480 38
Others 113 17 25 3 1 2 12 11 20 .221 .299 .319 .618 78
Pitchers 447 24 63 11 1 0 12 8 191 .140 .144 .170 .314 -10
Total 5539 677 1369 226 37 158 627 559 1048 .247 .315 .387 .702 101
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
G. Perry 28 39 37 18 16 16 1 293 231 98 85 20 84 230 2.61 128
J. Marichal 29 26 26 18 15 9 0 202 195 79 62 20 42 166 2.76 121
R. Robertson 22 41 29 3 7 9 0 192 207 107 97 8 111 158 4.55 73
D. Ellsworth* 27 32 21 3 7 6 0 125 147 70 59 7 36 45 4.25 79
B. Bolin 28 37 15 0 7 7 0 120 120 71 65 16 50 69 4.88 69
D. Estelle* 25 13 13 1 4 4 0 64 64 34 26 6 38 44 3.66 91
B. O'Dell* 34 18 7 1 4 3 0 58 55 38 37 7 26 22 5.74 58
D. McMahon 37 63 0 0 7 1 5 109 74 30 27 9 38 80 2.23 150
F. Linzy 26 57 0 0 8 6 14 96 67 21 16 4 34 38 1.50 223
S. Miller 39 42 0 0 4 8 8 81 69 28 25 5 34 59 2.78 120
D. Kelley* 27 42 12 1 3 9 2 113 107 54 49 7 48 85 3.90 86
Others 2 0 2 0 0 21 19 9 6 1 11 11 2.57 130
Total 162 45 84 78 30 1474 1355 639 554 110 552 1007 3.38 99
* Throws left
Some things turn out just fine. Orlando Cepeda’s knee trouble is fully in the past as he delivers a peak-level performance. Jim Ray Hart is better than ever, Gaylord Perry proves that his 1966 breakout was for real, and Don McMahon and Frank Linzy are superb heading up the bullpen.
But our list of emerging problems is long. Willie Mays suddenly looks every bit his 36 years of age. Juan Marichal misses nearly a third of the year with a leg injury. Bob Bolin and Dick Ellsworth both slump badly, and the rookie Robertson, consequently pressed into heavier service than planned, struggles.
Sophomore second baseman Tito Fuentes flops, Schroder hits poorly when given the opportunity to replace him, and our middle infield overall is an offensive disaster. In the outfield, Jose Cardenal slumps and at first base, Willie McCovey begins to be bothered by a sore knee.
It’s an aggravating year as, despite our real strengths, we’re unable to put together any sustained hot streaks. We stumble in just six games above .500, our least-impressive performance in our decade in San Francisco.
Reds
Attempting to bounce back from our disappointing 1966, we’ve largely revamped the bench via the big trade with the White Sox and also with the promotion of rookie first baseman-outfielder Lee May. Our pitching staff includes multiple new faces as well, with Abernathy joining the bullpen. Additionally, Wood and Lamabe—as well as journeymen Dick Stigman and Rollie Sheldon—all compete for starts.
Perhaps our most significant alteration is a position shift. We’ll allow impressive youngsters Tommy Helms and Cesar Tovar to battle it out for the second base job and move Pete Rose to left field, easing incumbent left fielder Tony Gonzalez into a part-time role. This will improve us defensively as well as insulate our terrific young star Rose from the injury risks inherent in the middle infield.
1967 Cincinnati Reds Won 94 Lost 68 Finished 1st
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B B. White* 33 110 308 35 81 7 2 9 36 51 60 .263 .367 .386 .753 106
2B-OF C. Tovar 26 109 325 52 88 17 4 3 24 21 25 .271 .320 .375 .696 90
SS L. Cardenas 28 108 379 33 97 14 3 2 23 34 77 .256 .318 .325 .643 76
3B T. Perez 25 140 480 68 139 22 6 21 90 26 82 .290 .326 .492 .818 121
RF F. Robinson 31 129 479 91 155 25 8 28 103 67 80 .324 .410 .585 .994 169
CF V. Pinson* 28 150 585 89 169 25 12 16 65 23 77 .289 .317 .455 .772 109
LF-2B P. Rose# 26 148 585 97 176 32 8 12 80 56 66 .301 .363 .444 .808 120
C J. Azcue 27 95 325 43 86 14 7 12 44 23 36 .265 .315 .462 .776 110
2B-SS T. Helms 26 123 373 33 101 20 3 2 29 17 32 .271 .297 .357 .654 78
1B-OF L. May 24 102 297 40 80 21 2 9 44 14 49 .269 .315 .444 .759 105
OF T. Gonzalez* 30 99 254 45 89 12 5 5 33 23 29 .350 .405 .496 .901 145
3B-1B P. Ward* 29 97 234 30 59 9 2 11 37 29 52 .252 .347 .449 .796 116
C J. Edwards* 29 72 188 11 39 5 0 2 18 14 25 .207 .256 .266 .522 43
OF T. Harper 26 52 122 22 27 6 1 2 7 14 17 .221 .297 .336 .633 73
C J. Romano 32 24 58 1 8 1 0 0 2 12 14 .138 .286 .155 .441 24
IF L. Boehmer 26 24 43 5 8 1 0 1 3 3 5 .186 .234 .279 .513 40
2B J. Wood 30 16 17 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 .118 .167 .118 .284 -21
OF B. Perry 32 14 16 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 .188 .188 .250 .438 19
Others 52 6 7 2 0 1 3 6 11 .135 .220 .231 .451 24
Pitchers 439 22 60 11 2 2 28 19 164 .136 .162 .184 .346 -6
Total 5559 725 1474 245 65 138 672 453 907 .265 .321 .407 .728 98
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
C. Osteen* 27 35 35 12 18 12 0 259 288 122 112 22 49 136 3.89 98
J. Maloney 27 30 29 6 16 10 0 196 181 76 71 8 72 153 3.26 117
S. Ellis 26 32 27 8 9 10 0 176 197 86 75 18 67 80 3.84 99
M. Queen 25 21 15 4 10 4 0 130 103 46 40 11 35 103 2.77 137
B. McCool* 22 31 11 0 4 6 2 97 92 45 37 8 56 83 3.43 111
D. Stigman* 31 21 15 2 6 9 0 93 101 52 47 13 45 67 4.55 84
G. Nolan 19 11 11 3 6 2 0 76 64 24 22 6 21 69 2.61 146
R. Sheldon 30 10 5 1 3 2 0 48 62 25 22 4 17 31 4.13 92
T. Abernathy 34 70 0 0 7 3 28 106 63 19 15 1 41 88 1.27 298
W. Wood* 25 54 11 0 8 2 4 116 131 55 46 4 30 53 3.57 106
D. Nottebart 31 47 0 0 1 3 5 79 75 25 17 4 19 48 1.94 196
B. Lee 29 27 1 0 4 3 2 51 51 26 25 0 25 33 4.41 86
J. Lamabe 30 11 1 0 1 1 0 22 22 10 9 1 6 14 3.68 103
Others 1 0 1 1 1 17 11 10 10 2 15 13 5.29 72
Total 162 36 94 68 42 1466 1441 621 548 102 498 971 3.36 113
* Throws left
We may have protected Rose from an injury, but this year our team is nonetheless riddled with injuries. Harper, first baseman Bill White, shortstop Leo Cardenas, and, most ominously, superstar right fielder Frank Robinson all miss significant time with various hurts.
This makes frantic lineup-juggling a necessity and, moreover, the back end of our starting rotation is a jumble, as well. There are ample reasons for this team to swoon.
But we don’t swoon. Instead, we demonstrate the value of tremendous depth. Ward and May prove quite useful off the bench, and Gonzalez hits a ton in spot duty. Neither Romano nor our other veteran catcher, Johnny Edwards, hits at all, so Joe Azcue calmly takes over and performs wonderfully.
Perez busts out as a star, and Vada Pinson persists as one.
Our pitching problems are overcome via two mid-season promotions from Triple-A: first, converted outfielder Mel Queen and then teenage sensation Gary Nolan, both of whom perform like veteran stars down the stretch. And all season long, our bullpen is staunchly anchored by Abernathy, who is dominant, astoundingly good.
This Cincinnati ballclub courts disaster but deftly sidesteps it and finds itself at the head of the parade when the season ends, back in the winner’s circle after a two-season absence. We’ve featured better Reds teams, but perhaps never one with more organizational resilience.
Cardinals
Thrilled though we were with our 105-victory breakthrough last year, we’re not blind to the fact that we achieved it despite some offensive weaknesses. And we’ve made several bold moves to address them.
Moving from shortstop to second base will be Buchek, who hasn’t yet developed as we thought he might but is still young and could benefit from a bit less defensive stress. Taking over as the primary shortstop is the veteran Causey.
Art Shamsky will open the season as our primary first baseman, but if speedy rookie Bobby Tolan proves ready for a regular job in the outfield, then we might slide the veteran Felipe Alou in to first base instead.
1967 St. Louis Cardinals Won 90 Lost 71 Finished 3rd
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-RF F. Alou 32 140 574 68 161 28 4 11 68 32 49 .280 .324 .401 .725 108
2B J. Buchek 25 124 411 44 98 11 3 13 46 27 100 .238 .285 .375 .660 89
SS-2B W. Causey* 30 124 350 34 83 13 5 1 37 36 40 .237 .302 .311 .614 77
3B M. Shannon 27 130 482 48 118 18 3 12 69 37 89 .245 .301 .369 .670 92
RF-CF B. Tolan* 21 110 319 42 83 9 3 7 34 22 50 .260 .311 .373 .684 96
CF C. Flood 29 134 514 61 172 24 1 5 45 37 46 .335 .375 .414 .790 128
LF L. Brock* 28 159 666 99 199 31 12 20 66 23 105 .299 .326 .471 .797 127
C T. McCarver* 25 138 471 61 139 26 3 14 62 54 32 .295 .367 .452 .819 135
SS D. Maxvill 28 122 286 20 64 8 2 1 22 28 41 .224 .292 .276 .569 65
1B-C D. Pavletich 28 74 231 25 52 14 3 5 34 22 39 .225 .301 .377 .678 94
IF P. Gagliano 25 73 217 18 48 7 0 2 19 19 26 .221 .280 .281 .561 62
1B A. Shamsky* 25 88 182 9 35 4 1 3 18 18 41 .192 .271 .275 .546 58
OF T. Savage 30 88 155 24 33 7 1 3 20 26 38 .213 .332 .329 .661 91
3B E. Spiezio 25 55 105 8 22 2 0 3 9 7 18 .210 .265 .314 .580 67
C B. Uecker 32 36 78 6 12 2 0 1 7 9 25 .154 .236 .218 .454 32
Others 36 5 5 0 1 0 1 4 9 .139 .225 .194 .419 22
Pitchers 430 34 64 5 0 0 15 24 163 .149 .185 .160 .346 1
Total 5507 606 1388 209 42 101 572 425 911 .252 .306 .360 .666 91
* Bats left
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
L. Jackson 36 40 37 11 13 15 0 262 240 97 87 16 56 142 2.99 110
S. Carlton* 22 30 28 11 13 10 1 193 173 71 64 10 62 168 2.98 110
B. Gibson 31 24 24 10 12 8 0 175 151 62 58 10 40 147 2.98 110
L. Jaster* 23 34 23 2 9 8 3 152 141 57 51 12 44 87 3.02 109
D. Hughes 29 25 18 8 10 5 2 148 109 48 44 15 32 107 2.68 123
J. Hoerner* 30 57 0 0 4 4 15 66 52 25 19 5 20 50 2.59 127
N. Briles 23 49 14 4 13 6 6 155 139 45 42 8 40 94 2.44 134
E. Fisher 30 46 0 0 4 2 3 90 89 42 39 7 25 50 3.90 84
L. McDaniel 31 41 3 0 2 6 5 73 69 32 29 4 25 48 3.58 92
A. Jackson* 31 38 11 1 8 4 1 107 117 61 47 7 29 43 3.95 83
J. Gelnar 24 10 1 0 0 1 0 19 30 17 17 4 11 5 8.05 41
Others 2 0 2 2 2 28 20 12 10 0 15 17 3.21 102
Total 161 47 90 71 38 1468 1330 569 507 98 399 958 3.11 106
* Throws left
Our middle infield shuffle isn’t a resounding success, but it does deliver marginally more offense at those positions. And while Shamsky lays an egg, the young Tolan stands up well enough that, with Alou at first, we’ve got every position at least reasonably productive, supporting star turns by Lou Brock in left field, Curt Flood in center, and Tim McCarver behind the plate.
And though our pitching can’t sustain the dazzling pace it kept in 1966, it’s very good. A broken leg suffered by ace Bob Gibson is a significant challenge, but the depth of this staff is up to it. Nelson Briles strides forward, as does retread Dick Hughes, but perhaps most impressive is the showing of 22-year-old left-hander Steve Carlton, back from a year in the minors following his Bonus Baby debut of 1965.
We’re a genuinely good team; the ’66 beauty proves to be no fluke. But we aren’t as good as the Reds, who outpace us by three-and-a-half games, nor quite as good as an upstart Chicago Cubs team that comes in just a shade ahead of us in second. Finishing in third place again is frustrating, no doubt, but we are a serious contender. We know it won’t take much more to get to the top.
Next time
In our eleventh and final season, will the Giants rebound? Will the Reds defend their title? Will the Cardinals break their two-decade pennant drought?
Giants: Actual Reds: Actual Cardinals: Actual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1958 80 74 3 727 698 76 78 4 695 623 72 82 5T 619 704
1959 83 71 3 705 613 74 80 5T 764 738 71 83 7 641 725
1960 79 75 5 671 631 67 87 6 640 692 86 68 3 639 616
1961 85 69 3 773 655 93 61 1 710 653 80 74 5 703 668
1962 103 62 1 878 690 98 64 3 802 685 84 78 6 774 664
1963 88 74 3 725 641 86 76 5 648 594 93 69 2 747 628
1964 90 72 4 656 587 92 70 2T 660 566 93 69 1 715 652
1965 95 67 2 682 593 89 73 4 825 704 80 81 7 707 674
1966 93 68 2 675 626 76 84 7 692 702 83 79 6 571 577
1967 91 71 2 652 551 87 75 4 604 563 101 60 1 695 557
Giants: Virtual Reds: Virtual Cardinals: Virtual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1958 83 71 2T 747 692 73 81 5 683 637 77 77 4 640 677
1959 87 67 1T 737 615 87 67 1T 802 662 84 70 4 725 685
1960 93 61 1 709 561 76 78 6 705 666 86 68 4 661 632
1961 88 66 2 787 648 106 48 1 813 629 72 82 6 689 724
1962 103 59 1 800 632 101 61 2T 779 663 84 78 6 809 703
1963 97 65 3 726 578 100 62 1 704 540 80 82 6 664 668
1964 100 62 2 726 576 101 61 1 689 533 87 75 4 662 657
1965 99 63 1 697 587 98 64 2 843 646 85 76 5 692 622
1966 106 55 1 739 581 87 73 5 769 677 105 57 2 667 514
1967 84 78 4 677 639 94 68 1 725 561 90 71 3 606 569
As a Cincy fan, I’m loving this, but, since it didn’t happen this way, I’m hating it, too. Mixed emotions, such is life…
Started rooting for Cincy in the ‘56 season. Wished you’d started there for this exercise. The darkest day of my life til then was when the Reds traded Frank R to the Orioles. I knew they’d be sorry, but I had NO idea how sorry…
Really love this series of what-ifs. Great job!
Thanks for the kind words, Tony.
That ‘56 team must have been a blast to watch. They’re definitely one of my all-time favorite Strat-o-Matic teams. Who couldn’t love a team, when it’s a key late-inning situation and you need a pinch hitter, the bench offers up not one, not two, but three terrifying left-handed power bats?
Have to agree with you both. This is a fascinating series and I enjoy every installment. I also am a life-long Reds fan (only since ‘67) and to see the amount of talent given away or not utilized by the Reds is amazing. It seems this club could have dominated the 60’s and 70’s like earlier Yankee teams did. Well done, Steve, and I hope there are more such series in the future!!