The virtual 1958-68 Giants, Reds and Cardinals (Part 3: 1959-60)
We’ve completed two seasons of our journey with this trio of National League heavyweights. The outcome we achieved in 1959 could hardly have been more dramatic, with the Giants and Reds tying for the pennant (who would have won the best-of-three playoff?), and the Cardinals just three games behind.
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
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
As we begin the swinging sixties, is another championship in store for one of our ball clubs?
The 1959-60 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Nov. 21, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded pitcher Tom Acker to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher Frank House.
A secondary move to be sure, but we agree with the actual Reds that the left-handed-batting House can be of more help as a backup catcher than the right-hander Acker will provide in the bullpen.
April 2, 1960: The San Francisco Giants traded pitcher Bud Watkins to the Milwaukee Braves for infielder-outfielder Dick Phillips.
This swap of career minor leaguers makes sense for our Giants. Phillips can handle any position except catcher or pitcher, and swings a not-terrible left-handed bat.
The 1959-60 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Dec. 2, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded catcher-outfielder Gene Green and catcher Chuck Staniland to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Bob Nieman.
The actual Cardinals really soured on Green in 1959, sending him to the minors when he slumped, then trading him away. But we see him as an unusual talent, and we’ve got more patience with him. Besides, unlike the actual Cards, we’ve already traded away Gene Oliver, whose skill profile duplicates Green’s. Moreover, also unlike the actual Cards, we’ve still got Chuck Essegian on hand to serve as a right-handed platoon bat in left field.
So, as much as we like the heavy-hitting Nieman, we’ll pass.
Dec. 4, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Bobby Gene Smith and pitcher Bill Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Carl Sawatski.
Our Cardinals have Smoky Burgess, and so have no need to be adding another left-handed-batting good-hit-poor-field catcher. (Moreover, in our scenario, the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates were unable to acquire Burgess a year ago means that they would plausibly have already acquired Sawatski from Philadelphia themselves, likely in a trade involving Gene Freese, whom the Pirates actually traded away and the Phillies actually acquired in separate deals in 1958.)
Dec. 6, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded infielder-outfielder Frank Thomas to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Bill Henry and outfielders Lee Walls and Lou Jackson.
Since our Reds never acquired Thomas, we can’t make this deal. We’ll presume, however, that the Pirates (who would still have Thomas) would accept this offer from Chicago, which was quite generous given how badly the slugger had slumped in 1959.
Dec. 15, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded second baseman Johnny Temple to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Cal McLish, second baseman Billy Martin, and first baseman Gordy Coleman.
One can see Cincinnati GM Gabe Paul’s reasoning in swinging this blockbuster, as he strove to bolster the struggling pitching staff of his fifth-place ball club, as well as bring in a promising first base prospect. But our 1959 Reds were no fifth-place outfit, and so we’ll turn down Trader Lane’s energetic offer and stick with the high-spirited Temple, who’d delivered his best season in ’59 at the age of 31.
Dec. 15, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded infielder Daryl Spencer and outfielder Leon Wagner to the St. Louis Cardinals for second baseman Don Blasingame.
And the the logic of San Francisco owner-GM Horace Stoneham is apparent here. This was an effort to sharpen up the Giants’ middle-infield defense, which had been dead last in the major leagues (by a wide margin) in double plays turned in 1959.
But the combination of Spencer and Wagner is a steep price to pay for the smooth-fielding but slap-hitting Blasingame, so our Giants are hesitant. And it’s a moot point anyway, as our Cardinals, much as we’re intrigued by Wagner’s bat, don’t see a place for him to play in St. Louis, and thus this one’s a no-go.
Dec. 21, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Gino Cimoli and pitcher Tom Cheney to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Ron Kline.
Our Cards don’t have Cimoli, and therefore can’t do this one. But we’re very interested in shoring up our starting rotation with the workhorse Kline, and so, below, we’ll find another way to work this.
March 29, 1960: The San Francisco Giants traded pitcher Al Worthington to the Boston Red Sox for first baseman-outfielder Jim Marshall.
April 5, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased first baseman Dale Long from the Chicago Cubs.
These are a nice couple of left-handed bats to add to the bench, but our Giants—especially since we still have Wagner on hand—don’t have the room for them.
The 1959-60 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Nov. 30, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Jackie Brandt, pitcher Al Worthington, and catcher Roger McCardell to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Billy O’Dell and Billy Loes.
This is very nearly the exact deal that was actually made on this date. We’ll substitute Worthington for the right-hander Gordon Jones who was actually included, which only serves to make it more attractive to Baltimore.
For our Giants, as in reality, this is a smart way to leverage surplus outfield talent—we really like Brandt, but we also have Felipe Alou, who’s a younger and better version—into beefing up the pitching staff. O’Dell is one of the better young left-handers around.
Dec. 2, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded catcher-outfielder Jay Porter, pitchers Joe Shipley and Marshall Renfroe, and cash to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Bob Nieman.
We saw above that our Cardinals declined to go after Nieman, so our Giants will instead. Porter provides the Orioles with a right-handed-batting catcher-outfielder in place of Gene Green, and tossing in a couple of mid-grade pitching prospects would make this package equivalent to that which Baltimore sought from St. Louis.
Dec. 21, 1959: In a three-club deal, the St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Gus Bell to the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitcher Tom Cheney to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers sent outfielder Gino Cimoli to the Pirates, and the Pirates sent pitcher Ron Kline to the Cardinals.
We know that the Pirates want Cimoli to serve as a center field platoon partner for Bill Virdon. And we know that the Dodgers prefer a left-handed bat in their outfield over Cimoli (the guy they really wanted was Wally Moon a year ago, but our Cards wouldn’t do that). This modifies the L.A. outfield in a way they like, while providing the Pirates with what they actually took in exchange for Kline.
April 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Bobby Gene Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies.
We didn’t trade the strong-fielding-light-hitting Smith in the fall, but at the end of spring training he isn’t going to make our St. Louis roster, so we’ll send him along to Philadelphia anyway.
April 7, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased infielder-catcher Harry Bright off waivers from the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs had taken Bright from the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft, but actually on this date returned him to Pittsburgh. Our Giants will step in and claim him instead. He’s a 30-year-old who’s spent the great majority of his long career in the minors, but he’s a defensive jack-of-all-trades with some pop in his bat, and we can find a use for him on our bench.
April 11, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Johnny Klippstein from the Los Angeles Dodgers for $25,000 cash.
Actually on this date the Dodgers sold Klippstein to Cleveland, but our Reds won’t let him clear N.L. waivers.
The 1960 season: Actual deals we will make
May 20, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals signed pitcher Curt Simmons as a free agent.
As did the actual Cardinals, ours will have space at the tail end of the staff to give Simmons a long shot. And that’s all it is: the 31-year-old sore-winged southpaw has logged a grand total of 14 entirely ineffective innings over the past season-plus. He might very, very well be burnt toast.
June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded infielder-outfielder Jim McKnight to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Walt Moryn.
The 34-year-old Moryn is clearly on the downside, but he can still hit. Picking him up makes sense, especially at the bargain price of the fringe-prospect McKnight.
The 1960 season: Actual deals we will not make
May 12, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased outfielder-first baseman Dave Philley from the Philadelphia Phillies.
May 18, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Bob Grim from the Cleveland Indians.
Neither of our teams is interested in these veterans.
May 28, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell and infielder Dick Gray to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Julian Javier and pitcher Ed Bauta.
Our Cardinals, with Don Blasingame still on board, won’t take this urgent an interest in Javier, a light hitter but a highly impressive young defensive second baseman, who’s blocked in Pittsburgh behind Bill Mazeroski. So the Pirates won’t be able to bolster their starting rotation in this way.
June 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals purchased pitcher Bobby Tiefenauer from the Cleveland Indians.
June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Jim Donohue to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder John Glenn.
We have no interest in either one of these minor league veterans.
(I remember as a small boy coming across John Glenn’s baseball card, and wondering at the versatility of that immensely famous astronaut.)
June 15, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds traded outfielders Tony Gonzalez and Lee Walls to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielders Harry Anderson and Wally Post and first baseman Fred Hopke.
Since our Reds don’t have Walls, it’s impossible for us to strictly make this trade. But we don’t think we want to reconfigure it, either. Exchanging youth, mobility, defense, and potential for experience and power isn’t something our Reds are particularly motivated to do. We’ll hang on to the key player here, the toolsy and intriguing rookie Gonzalez.
July 20, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Luis Arroyo to the New York Yankees.
One of the blunders Paul committed in his long GM tenure in Cincinnati was failing to grasp what he had in his hands in Arroyo. At the point of this sale, all the left-hander had done in 1959 and 1960 at the triple-A level of the Reds’ organization was put up an ERA of 1.66 in 212 innings, allowing just 146 hits while striking out 193. Why in the world was it only George Weiss’s Yankees figuring that maybe this guy might be worth a gamble?
July 29, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Don Newcombe to the Cleveland Indians.
The 34-year-old Newcombe is slumping again, but we think he still might have something left.
Aug. 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold pitcher Marshall Bridges off waivers to the Cincinnati Reds.
There was no conceivable point in St. Louis GM Bing Devine just tossing the entirely worthy 29-year-old southpaw Bridges aside. Though our Reds would love the chance to take him, our Cards won’t let that happen.
September 19, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded infielder Bob Sadowski to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Don Landrum.
We already have Landrum, so won’t have to give up the lefty-batting Sadowski, who might have a utility career ahead of him.
The 1960 season: Deals we will invoke
May, 1960: The San Francisco Giants sold pitcher Billy Loes to the Cleveland Indians.
The 30-year-old journeyman won’t make our final staff cut. The Indians can have him instead of Klippstein.
June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Chuck Essegian to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Making room for Moose Moryn.
July 18, 1960: The San Francisco Giants sold pitcher Pete Burnside to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Making room for some rookie named Juan something-or-other. The Pirates couldn’t pry Mizell loose from St. Louis, so they’ll take the lefty Burnside as better than nothing.
1960 season results
Giants
We’ve made minor alterations to the roster that tied for the pennant last year. Nieman replaces Brandt in the outfield, and the versatile Phillips and Bright take the last two bench spots. O’Dell joins the front-line pitching staff, and we’re giving opportunities to 21-year-old former Bonus Baby left-hander Mike McCormick (whom we recalled from the minors in the second half of ’59), as well as rookie right-handers Eddie Fisher and Frank Funk.
1960 San Francisco Giants Won 93 Lost 61 Finished 1st
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B W. McCovey* 22 143 479 82 119 24 6 23 66 81 87 .248 .357 .468 .825 129
2B D. Spencer 31 148 507 73 127 19 4 11 53 81 74 .250 .357 .369 .726 104
SS A. Rodgers 25 148 528 64 131 22 9 7 47 60 107 .248 .328 .364 .691 94
3-1-L O. Cepeda 22 151 541 81 161 34 3 23 91 32 86 .298 .342 .499 .842 133
RF W. Kirkland* 26 146 515 59 130 21 10 21 70 44 86 .252 .314 .454 .768 113
CF W. Mays 29 153 595 113 190 29 12 29 103 61 70 .319 .381 .555 .936 159
LF-RF F. Alou 25 113 368 55 98 19 4 9 47 19 48 .266 .300 .413 .713 98
C B. Schmidt 27 110 344 34 92 12 1 8 37 26 51 .267 .315 .378 .693 93
LF L. Wagner* 26 86 196 24 42 4 1 7 23 28 41 .214 .316 .352 .668 87
LF B. Nieman 33 81 188 19 51 13 5 3 31 24 31 .271 .358 .441 .800 123
3B J. Davenport 26 84 182 22 44 7 2 3 17 12 30 .242 .287 .352 .639 78
IF E. Bressoud 28 77 154 15 33 8 2 3 15 13 30 .214 .275 .351 .626 74
C H. Landrith* 30 59 127 12 30 7 0 1 13 15 7 .236 .310 .315 .625 76
UT D. Phillips* 28 56 78 8 18 2 0 1 10 8 8 .231 .303 .295 .598 69
UT H. Bright 30 42 77 9 17 3 1 2 12 5 14 .221 .265 .364 .629 74
Others 33 5 9 2 1 0 2 1 4 .273 .294 .394 .688 91
Pitchers 417 34 77 10 1 0 20 29 132 .185 .225 .213 .438 24
Total 5329 709 1369 236 62 151 657 539 906 .257 .325 .409 .734 104
* Bats left
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
S. Jones 34 39 35 13 18 13 1 234 200 112 83 18 91 190 3.19 110
M. McCormick* 21 36 31 13 14 9 3 228 204 78 67 13 59 140 2.64 133
E. Broglio 24 42 19 7 17 6 4 181 131 54 45 9 80 152 2.24 157
B. O'Dell* 27 34 18 4 6 9 2 162 155 61 55 12 58 118 3.06 115
J. Sanford 31 33 19 6 8 9 1 146 128 70 58 6 66 86 3.58 98
J. Marichal 22 11 11 6 6 1 0 81 59 29 24 5 28 58 2.67 132
P. Burnside* 29 10 5 1 1 1 1 38 41 19 17 5 15 26 4.03 87
S. Miller 32 45 3 1 7 4 5 92 89 43 39 8 28 60 3.82 92
J. Antonelli* 30 39 10 1 6 5 11 101 94 45 41 6 42 52 3.65 96
E. Fisher 23 28 4 1 4 2 0 61 57 24 23 6 11 39 3.39 103
F. Funk 24 25 1 0 5 2 1 62 55 17 15 5 17 40 2.18 161
Others 0 0 1 0 1 16 16 9 8 4 5 9 4.50 78
Total 156 53 93 61 30 1402 1229 561 475 97 500 970 3.05 115
* Throws left
There are a couple of small frustrations for the offense. Wagner doesn’t hit nearly as expected, and loses his primary status. Willie McCovey, in his sophomore year, struggles to hit for average, though he produces good power and abundant walks.
These setbacks aren’t significant, as on balance our offense, led by the ever-stupendous Willie Mays as well as Stretch and The Baby Bull, is even better than it was in 1959. We have a deep and solid attack.
And on the pitching mound our Giants brightly shine. McCormick is superb, but terrific as he is, he’s upstaged by the 24-year-old sophomore right-hander Ernie Broglio, who forces his way out of the bullpen with dazzling work. And in late July we call up 22-year-old Dominican right-hander Juan Marichal, who calmly baffles hitters.
Top to bottom, it’s hard to find another staff as strong as ours. Taking full advantage of the pitcher-friendly conditions at newly-opened (and roundly derided) Candlestick Park, we allow the league’s fewest home runs, earned runs, and just plain runs.
It’s enough to place the Giants securely in first place, no ties necessary. Russ Hodges could repeat it: “The Giants win the pennant!”
Reds
The only changes we’re undertaking in Cincinnati are to give chances to several impressive young talents graduating from our farm system. The left-handed-batting Gonzalez will become part of the outfield mix, and fellow rookies Jim O’Toole, Jay Hook, and Dave Stenhouse will all get opportunities in the starting rotation.
1960 Cincinnati Reds Won 76 Lost 78 Finished 6th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-LF F. Robinson 24 139 464 90 138 33 6 31 87 82 67 .297 .407 .595 1.002 169
2B J. Temple 32 98 381 50 103 13 1 2 19 29 22 .270 .315 .325 .641 75
SS R. McMillan 30 124 399 42 94 12 2 10 42 35 40 .236 .297 .351 .648 75
3B D. Hoak 32 154 553 87 154 24 6 21 87 73 75 .278 .359 .458 .817 120
RF T. Gonzalez* 23 117 340 41 93 22 5 10 52 15 74 .274 .311 .456 .767 105
CF V. Pinson* 21 154 652 112 187 37 12 20 64 47 96 .287 .339 .472 .811 118
L-R-1 W. Moon* 30 138 469 74 133 24 4 16 76 69 58 .284 .370 .454 .824 123
C E. Bailey* 29 133 441 55 115 19 3 13 70 59 70 .261 .345 .406 .751 103
2B-OF C. Flood 22 126 356 34 81 18 1 7 36 33 51 .228 .295 .343 .638 73
SS-2B A. Grammas 34 102 196 20 47 4 1 4 17 12 16 .240 .282 .332 .613 66
RF-C G. Oliver 25 78 180 26 43 6 1 6 24 23 37 .239 .324 .383 .707 91
LF-RF J. Lynch* 29 97 175 25 51 9 2 7 32 18 27 .291 .357 .486 .843 127
1B W. Dropo 37 53 90 8 22 4 0 2 11 9 11 .244 .310 .356 .666 81
C D. Dotterer 28 33 79 4 18 5 0 2 11 13 10 .228 .330 .367 .697 89
C F. House* 30 23 28 0 5 2 0 0 3 0 2 .179 .179 .250 .429 15
Others 137 12 25 2 1 0 10 11 32 .182 .234 .212 .445 22
Pitchers 388 25 61 8 0 0 24 27 143 .157 .200 .179 .379 4
Total 5328 705 1370 242 45 151 665 555 831 .257 .325 .405 .730 97
* Bats left
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
B. Purkey 30 41 33 11 17 10 0 253 259 113 101 23 59 97 3.59 107
J. O'Toole* 23 31 28 6 11 10 1 176 177 83 74 13 59 112 3.78 101
H. Haddix* 34 29 28 4 10 10 1 172 185 86 77 16 37 98 4.03 95
J. Hook 23 28 20 4 6 10 0 139 136 71 66 18 48 69 4.27 90
D. Newcombe 34 36 17 1 5 8 1 123 145 69 61 16 19 61 4.46 86
D. Stenhouse 26 31 15 2 6 8 0 112 124 65 55 11 48 70 4.42 87
L. Arroyo* 33 55 0 0 8 5 17 89 71 28 27 6 43 71 2.73 141
J. Klippstein 32 49 0 0 5 5 16 74 55 31 25 6 31 51 3.04 126
O. Peña 26 45 7 2 6 4 4 115 120 49 44 10 36 67 3.44 112
J. Nuxhall* 31 35 3 0 0 6 0 96 111 44 43 6 23 64 4.03 95
Others 3 0 2 2 0 42 44 27 22 5 24 20 4.71 81
Total 154 30 76 78 40 1391 1427 666 595 130 427 780 3.85 100
* Throws left
Two of our key talents are nagged by injuries. Frank Robinson is bothered by a sore right arm which inhibits his throwing, forcing him to play just first base and left field this year, and while it keeps him on the sidelines a far amount in the second half, it scarcely diminishes his very loud hitting.
Johnny Temple, on the other hand, is dinged up to the extent of missing about a third of the season’s games, and hits with far less than his accustomed authority when he does play. We’re eager to find a place for talented 22-year-old sophomore Curt Flood, so we give him the primary opportunity to fill in for Temple, but Flood doesn’t hit well either.
Thus despite strong years from third baseman Don Hoak and outfielders Vada Pinson and Wally Moon, our hitting isn’t overall quite as strong as it was in 1959.
Nor is our pitching as good as last year either. Bob Purkey does well, but neither Newcombe nor Harvey Haddix is particularly sharp. O’Toole is impressive, but Hook and Stenhouse, less so. The bullpen is strong, but overall it’s just a league-average staff.
And thus we’re a middle-of-the-pack finisher, underperforming against Pythag by five wins, slogging in at 76-78, all the way down to sixth place. This is highly frustrating, because we really think we’re better than this.
Cardinals
We were willing to part with Gus Bell because our farm system has graduated not one but two toolsy 23-year-old center fielders with impressive minor league resumés: switch-hitter Ellis Burton and lefty-hitting Duke Carmel will compete for the job.
Kline joins standbys Mizell and Larry Jackson in the starting rotation. Competing for the remaining starts will be a pair of hard-throwing rookie right-handers: Dick Ricketts and one Bob Gibson.
1960 St. Louis Cardinals Won 86 Lost 68 Finished 4th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-LF B. White* 26 144 554 81 157 27 10 16 83 42 83 .283 .332 .455 .787 107
2B D. Blasingame* 28 129 471 65 120 11 7 2 30 44 48 .255 .316 .321 .637 70
SS D. Schofield# 25 131 427 53 119 20 4 1 39 64 73 .279 .369 .351 .721 93
3B K. Boyer 29 151 552 95 168 26 10 32 102 56 77 .304 .370 .562 .932 144
RF-1B J. Cunningham* 28 139 492 68 138 28 3 6 41 59 59 .280 .361 .386 .747 99
CF E. Burton# 23 106 221 34 47 9 1 5 23 33 52 .213 .312 .330 .642 71
LF-1B S. Musial* 39 116 331 49 91 17 1 17 66 41 34 .275 .354 .486 .841 121
C S. Burgess* 33 110 337 30 101 15 2 9 39 33 12 .300 .358 .436 .794 110
IF E. Kasko 28 84 240 28 71 10 1 3 27 22 19 .296 .358 .383 .742 97
LF-RF W. Moryn* 34 75 200 24 49 4 3 11 37 17 38 .245 .299 .460 .759 98
OF D. Landrum* 24 65 171 24 42 5 2 5 20 15 22 .246 .313 .386 .698 85
C H. Smith 29 85 169 10 38 8 0 1 15 14 16 .225 .281 .290 .571 52
OF-C G. Green 27 72 157 14 37 5 1 4 24 18 20 .236 .315 .357 .671 78
OF-1B D. Carmel* 23 49 118 12 23 1 2 2 12 14 35 .195 .278 .288 .566 51
OF C. James 22 55 101 9 22 3 0 2 8 4 19 .218 .245 .307 .552 46
OF J. Hickman 23 48 84 12 19 3 1 2 12 12 20 .226 .327 .357 .684 82
2B B. Sadowski* 23 35 79 7 19 2 1 2 6 6 10 .241 .291 .367 .658 74
LF C. Essegian 28 26 40 4 9 2 0 1 6 4 13 .225 .289 .350 .639 69
SS-2B W. Shannon* 27 18 23 2 4 0 0 0 1 3 6 .174 .296 .174 .470 29
Others 34 4 7 0 0 0 1 2 10 .206 .243 .206 .449 21
Pitchers 404 36 70 8 1 1 20 20 110 .173 .207 .207 .414 11
Total 5205 661 1351 204 50 122 612 523 776 .260 .326 .388 .714 89
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
L. Jackson 29 43 38 14 19 13 0 282 277 123 109 22 70 171 3.48 118
W. Mizell* 29 32 32 8 14 8 0 211 206 94 87 18 74 113 3.71 110
C. Simmons* 31 23 17 3 7 4 0 152 149 50 45 11 31 63 2.66 154
B. Gibson 24 30 18 4 4 9 0 122 128 73 67 10 64 94 4.94 83
R. Kline 28 31 17 1 4 8 1 112 126 82 75 20 41 51 6.03 68
D. Ricketts 26 24 15 3 4 8 0 92 101 56 51 11 38 61 4.99 82
L. McDaniel 24 62 2 1 11 4 24 104 75 24 23 7 21 96 1.99 206
J. Brosnan 30 54 2 0 6 2 3 89 72 27 24 4 20 58 2.43 169
M. Bridges* 29 34 1 0 6 2 1 57 47 18 15 3 23 53 2.37 173
C. Stobbs* 30 32 5 0 8 4 1 75 71 33 30 9 24 43 3.60 114
T. Wieand 27 7 2 0 0 2 0 16 21 13 12 5 10 10 6.75 61
Others 6 1 3 4 1 59 62 39 32 7 34 38 4.88 84
Total 155 35 86 68 31 1371 1335 632 570 127 450 851 3.74 110
* Throws left
In mid-season, the now semi-regular Stan Musial volunteers to shift back to left field, to open up first base full-time to the budding young star Bill White.
Alas, the rookies-in-center-field experiment bombs, as neither Burton nor Carmel hits at all. In addition, both second baseman Blasingame and (especially) right fielder Joe Cunningham deliver off-years with the bat.
Thus a career-best performance from third baseman Ken Boyer isn’t enough to lead this ball club to improved run production. Our offense sags to below-average status.
Top starter Jackson delivers his best year so far, leading the league in starts and innings and racking up 19 wins. But Kline is a disaster, suddenly and completely ineffective at the age of 28. Neither of the rookie starters does well, either, creating real problems in the starting rotation. Fortunately, the scrap-heap pickup Simmons is startlingly rejuvenated, doing his best to save the day.
They’re backed by a bullpen that’s remarkably good, indeed as good as any yet assembled anywhere. It’s topped by an amazing year from 24-year-old Lindy McDaniel, the 1960 Fireman of the Year in a landslide.
But the very strong pitching is married to the lackluster offense, and our 86-68 record (dramatically outperforming Pythag by six games) leaves us repeating with a fourth place finish. We remain a step below that of serious contender.
Next time
We’ll see if this saga will continue as mostly the Giants’ show.
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
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 2 747 692 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