The virtual 1958-68 Giants, Reds, and Cardinals (Part 5: 1961-62)
We’ve maneuvered our way through four years of virtual scenario thus far:
1957-58
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
Our Giants have been the best of these three teams on an overall basis, while our Cardinals have struggled to compete. But our Reds, while wildly careening between the second division and the top of the standings, have put together by far the best single season, blowing everyone else out of the water in 1961.
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
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
Can Cincinnati keep up that pace in 1962? Can San Francisco mount a challenge? And can St. Louis find its way back over .500?
Our first order of business this time is to attend to our participation in the National League’s first-ever expansion draft. Wherever possible, we’ll have our ball clubs surrender the players they actually surrendered. When that isn’t possible, we’ll offer up an appropriate substitute.
1961-62 offseason: The National League Expansion Draft we will invoke
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the San Francisco Giants surrendered infielder Dick Phillips (in place of infielder Eddie Bressoud, actually drafted from the Giants) and pitcher Sam Jones to the Houston Colt .45s.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the San Francisco Giants surrendered catcher Hobie Landrith and pitcher Ray Daviault to the New York Mets.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Premium Phase, the San Francisco Giants surrendered infielder Daryl Spencer (in place of infielder Joey Amalfitano, actually drafted from the Giants) to the Houston Colt .45s.
Oct.10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the Cincinnati Reds surrendered pitcher Orlando Peña (in place of pitcher Ken Johnson, actually drafted from the Reds) and first baseman Dick Gernert to the Houston Colt .45s.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the Cincinnati Reds surrendered infielder Elio Chacon, outfielder Lou Johnson (in place of outfielder Gus Bell, actually drafted from the Reds), and pitcher Sherman Jones to the New York Mets.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Premium Phase, the Cincinnati Reds surrendered pitcher Jay Hook to the New York Mets.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the St. Louis Cardinals surrendered second baseman Don Blasingame (in place of infielder Bob Lillis, actually drafted from the Cardinals), outfielder Don Landrum (in place of outfielder Don Taussig, actually drafted from the Cardinals), and infielder-outfielder Ed Olivares to the Houston Colt .45s.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Regular Phase, the St. Louis Cardinals surrendered pitcher Craig Anderson, catcher Chris Cannizzaro, and outfielder Jim Hickman to the New York Mets.
Oct. 10, 1961: In the Premium Phase, the St. Louis Cardinals surrendered pitcher Bob Miller to the New York Mets.
The 1961-62 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Nov. 27, 1961: The Cincinnati Reds drafted pitcher Moe Drabowsky from the Milwaukee Braves in the 1961 Rule 5 draft.
We haven’t been bothering to list Rule 5 draftees in this series, because typically they’re inconsequential. But the former-phenom Drabowsky will have a good shot at making our Reds’ staff in 1962, as he did with the actual Reds.
Nov. 27, 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder-first baseman Joe Cunningham to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Minnie Miñoso.
Like the actual Cardinals, we’ll decide that this one, though it’s a teeny bit crazy, is just too tempting to pass up. Cunningham has had a nice run in St. Louis, but it’s clear he’s not going to be the star the Cardinals hoped for, and he’s always been out of position in the outfield. We’ll give the ever-exciting, who-knows-how-old-he-really-is Miñoso a whirl instead.
Dec. 15, 1961: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Jose Tartabull to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher Joe Pignatano.
Our Giants, like the real Giants, have more use for a workaday backup catcher than a slap-hitting speedster prospect.
The 1961-62 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Nov. 30, 1961: The San Francisco Giants traded pitchers Eddie Fisher and Dom Zanni, first baseman-outfielder Bob Farley, and a player to be named later to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Billy Pierce and Don Larsen. (On Aug. 17, 1962, the Giants sent pitcher Verle Tiefenthaler to the White Sox, completing the deal.)
We’ve already traded away Fisher, who was the key to this one for Chicago. But our Giants do have an interest in the soon-to-be-35-year-old southpaw Pierce, so below we’ll find another way to accomodate the White Sox, who are striving to get younger in all of their maneuvers this off-season.
Dec. 15, 1961: The Cincinnati Reds traded catcher Bob Schmidt and pitcher Dave Stenhouse to the Washington Senators for outfielder-first baseman Marty Keough and pitcher Johnny Klippstein.
Nor can our Reds, who don’t have Schmidt, make this one. But our Giants have Schmidt, and our Reds like the toolsy and versatile Keough, so we’ll also see about giving the Senators what they want.
The 1961-62 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Oct.13, 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals sold pitcher Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell to the New York Mets.
Actually on this date St. Louis sold pitcher Al Cicotte to the Mets. We don’t have Cicotte, but we’ll let them have Mizell instead, who slumped terribly in 1961.
Nov. 8, 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Ellis Burton to the Milwaukee Braves.
Actually on this date the Braves purchased Burton from Toronto. Our Cards will let them take the 25-year-old switch-hitter, who’s failed to develop as we anticipated.
Nov. 30, 1961: The San Francisco Giants traded first baseman-outfielder Bob Farley and pitchers Ron Herbel and Verle Tiefenthaler to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Billy Pierce.
Here our Giants re-work the actual Pierce deal. In place of Fisher and Zanni we’ll include the soon-to-be-24-year-old Herbel, who went 16-5 in triple-A in 1961. Herbel isn’t as good as Fisher, so we’ll allow the White Sox to keep Don Larsen.
Nov., 1961: The Cincinnati Reds sold infielder Alex Grammas to the Chicago Cubs.
The smooth-fielding Grammas has had a good long run as our infield handyman, but it’s time to go younger in that role.
Nov., 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals sold infielder Bob Sadowski to the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox were actually acquiring Sadowski from the Phillies this off-season. Our Cardinals, acknowledging that we won’t have a spot for this utilityman, will let Chicago have him.
Dec. 1, 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals traded first baseman Fred Whitfield, outfielder Doug Clemens, and pitchers Jim Donohue and Bob Sadowski to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder-first baseman Lee Thomas.
The not-yet-24-year-old Whitfield is a free-swinging left-handed slugger who’s hit for both average and power in every one of his four years in our minor league system, and now he’s ready for the majors. Delightfully, we have Bill White handling first base and don’t see a role for Whitfield.
Meanwhile, the soon-to-be-26-year-old Thomas, after being freed from long servitude in the Yankees’ chain, busted out a splendid rookie performance for the Angels in 1961. But he can’t play first base and right field simultaneously, and the fledgling Angels need him in both spots. This deal allows them to deploy Whitfield at first and Clemens (who hit .331 in a combined double-A-and-triple-A assignment at the age of 22 in 1961) in right field, as well as providing a couple of pitching prospects.
(That’s the other Bob Sadowski there, the pitcher—yes, it’s really weird that not only were there two Bob Sadowskis to play major league baseball, but they both played at the same time in the same organization.)
Dec. 14, 1961: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Marshall Bridges to the New York Yankees for catcher Jesse Gonder.
Actually on this date it was the Reds swinging this deal with the Yankees, but since our Cardinals still have Bridges, we’ll do it instead. The southpaw reliever had a bad year in 1961, and we like Gonder, whose minor league stats suggest he might be a younger version of Carl Sawatski.
Dec. 15, 1961: The Cincinnati Reds traded pitchers Dave Stenhouse and John Briggs, catcher Jerry Zimmerman, and cash to the Washington Senators for outfielder-first baseman Marty Keough and pitcher Dave Sisler.
Dec. 15, 1961: The San Francisco Giants traded catcher Bob Schmidt and infielder-outfielder Harry Bright to the Washington Senators for infielder Billy Klaus and pitcher Carl Mathias.
Here the Senators are able to acquire Stenhouse and Schmidt while surrendering Keough and Sisler, as they actually did in this off-season. Our Giants will also take the lefty-batting veteran Klaus, whom Washington also dealt away during this off-season, while providing them with Bright, whom we know they like.
April 5, 1962: The San Francisco Giants sold infielder Billy Klaus to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Alas, Klaus won’t make our Giants’ Opening Day roster, and so we’ll send him along to the Phils, who actually purchased him from Washington on this date.
The 1962 season: Actual deals we will make
May 7, 1962: The Cincinnati Reds traded third baseman-outfielder Cliff Cook and pitcher Bob Miller to the New York Mets for infielder Don Zimmer.
Like the actual Reds, we’ll decide that the big-swinging Cook probably isn’t going to make it, and we’ll be better off with the feisty journeyman Zimmer on our bench instead.
(And that throw-in pitcher is the other Bob Miller. Actually one of the other Bob Millers. Now, “Bob Miller” is such an ordinary name it isn’t surprising there have been four of them reaching the major leagues. But how about the fact that all four were pitchers, and three of the four were active simultaneously?)
May 8, 1962: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Ted Wills from the Boston Red Sox.
Luis Arroyo is on the shelf with a sore arm this spring, so our Reds will give this guy a shot at in a left-handed bullpen role. (He’ll take the spot vacated by Bob Miller.)
June, 1962: The Cincinnati Reds signed pitcher Joe Nuxhall as a free agent.
Our old friend has had a really rough time of it in the American League over the past year-plus, being released by three different teams. At nearly 34, he’s probably done, but like the actual Reds, we’ll take a chance on him and see what he can do in triple-A.
July 4, 1962: The San Francisco Giants signed pitcher Bob Garibaldi as a Bonus Baby.
After having been rescinded in 1957, the Bonus Baby rule is back in a modified form in 1962. Our Giants will be required to keep this Santa Clara star on the active big league roster for the balance of the season.
The 1962 season: Actual deals we will not make
April 20, 1962: The Cincinnati Reds purchased catcher Hank Foiles from the Baltimore Orioles.
The veteran Foiles hits quite a bit better than your typical backup catcher, but our Reds just don’t have room for him.
April 28, 1962: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Bobby Locke and cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Don Ferrarese.
We haven’t decided whether our Cardinals would have had the journeyman right-hander Locke in the organization or not at this point, but it won’t matter, since we don’t have a spot for the journeyman lefty Ferrarese.
May 7, 1962: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Carl Warwick and pitcher John Anderson to the Houston Colt .45s for pitcher Bobby Shantz.
Since we don’t have Warwick, we can’t do this one, but below we’ll figure out a way for our Cards to pick up that smooth-as-silk little 36-year-old southpaw.
July 13, 1962: The San Francisco Giants sold catcher Joe Pignatano to the New York Mets.
Unlike the actual Giants, our version will keep Pignatano around as third-string catcher all year.
Aug. 13, 1962: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Moe Drabowsky to the Kansas City Athletics.
Nor will our Reds give up on Drabowsky in August.
The 1962 season: Deals we will invoke
Apr. 28, 1962: In a three-club deal, the St. Louis Cardinals traded catcher Carl Sawatski and cash to the Milwaukee Braves, and pitcher John Anderson to the Houston Colt .45s. The Braves sent pitcher Don McMahon to the Colt .45s, and the Colt .45s sent pitcher Bobby Shantz to the Cardinals.
Actually in this time frame Houston was purchasing McMahon from Milwaukee and trading Shantz to St. Louis. The arrival of Jesse Gonder allows our Cardinals to offer the power-hitting veteran Sawatski to the Braves, who would find Swats to be of more help to their catching situation than the rookie Bob Uecker.
1962 season results
Giants
A few changes are in store as we compete with the 1961-runaway-Reds. At second base, replacing the veteran Spencer is lefty-hitting rookie Chuck Hiller, who’ll platoon with Jose Pagan. At catcher, replacing Schmidt is righty-hitting rookie John Orsino, whom we project to platoon with left-handed-batting sophomore Tom Haller.
And on the mound we’re bringing in the veteran Pierce to replace Toothpick Sam Jones.
1962 San Francisco Giants Won 103 Lost 59 Finished 1st
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B W. McCovey* 24 156 585 101 166 19 4 44 108 66 105 .284 .360 .556 .915 142
2B C. Hiller* 27 122 422 60 119 18 2 2 33 43 32 .282 .350 .348 .698 89
SS A. Rodgers 27 152 553 63 150 25 8 6 50 55 109 .271 .339 .378 .717 93
3B K. Boyer 31 160 631 114 177 26 4 22 71 78 107 .281 .359 .439 .798 113
RF W. Kirkland* 28 114 312 43 69 8 1 16 51 30 53 .221 .284 .407 .692 84
CF W. Mays 31 159 610 120 184 36 5 47 130 75 85 .302 .380 .608 .988 161
LF O. Cepeda 24 159 612 95 188 26 1 34 106 37 97 .307 .349 .520 .869 130
C T. Haller* 25 99 272 47 71 13 1 18 52 51 59 .261 .381 .515 .895 138
OF M. Alou* 23 113 282 43 84 11 2 5 23 19 25 .298 .346 .404 .751 101
C J. Orsino 24 79 255 26 70 11 1 7 35 29 33 .275 .344 .408 .752 102
2B-SS J. Pagan 27 74 181 21 48 7 2 3 18 15 23 .265 .313 .376 .689 85
OF B. Perry 27 61 126 14 30 3 1 4 12 8 36 .238 .287 .373 .660 76
C J. Pignatano 32 38 70 5 16 2 0 0 3 7 12 .229 .299 .257 .556 52
SS-2B E. Bowman 26 54 52 10 10 1 0 1 5 1 13 .192 .211 .269 .480 28
LF B. Nieman 35 32 31 1 9 2 0 1 4 1 10 .290 .303 .452 .755 100
Others 11 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .273 .333 .273 .606 66
Pitchers 441 35 78 6 0 1 34 19 130 .177 .198 .198 .395 7
Total 5446 800 1472 214 32 211 735 535 934 .270 .335 .438 .772 106
* Bats left
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
J. Sanford 33 38 37 13 24 8 0 260 231 109 100 23 89 143 3.46 109
J. Marichal 24 36 35 18 17 11 1 256 225 108 95 33 89 151 3.34 113
E. Broglio 26 34 30 11 15 9 0 222 183 74 65 20 93 132 2.64 144
B. Pierce* 35 28 22 6 14 6 0 152 144 67 63 19 34 70 3.73 102
B. O'Dell* 29 39 14 5 10 8 4 140 131 57 49 7 36 103 3.15 120
M. McCormick* 23 21 11 1 4 4 0 74 84 48 44 13 34 32 5.35 71
G. Perry 23 9 5 1 2 1 0 29 36 19 17 2 9 13 5.28 72
S. Miller 34 56 0 0 5 7 21 96 95 49 43 7 38 71 4.03 94
F. Funk 26 47 0 0 4 1 8 81 72 37 30 10 29 54 3.33 114
B. Bolin 23 38 8 2 7 3 6 92 87 43 39 10 34 72 3.82 99
B. Garibaldi 20 9 0 0 0 0 1 12 13 7 7 1 5 9 5.25 72
Others 0 0 1 1 0 22 26 14 12 3 9 16 4.91 77
Total 162 57 103 59 41 1436 1327 632 564 148 499 866 3.53 107
* Throws left
We have some setbacks. 23-year-old Mike McCormick, who’d been so good in 1960-61, is rendered ineffective this year with a sore arm. Rookie Gaylord Perry struggles in a brief opportunity, and is sent down to make room for Garibaldi. And right fielder Willie Kirkland not only fails to break through as the star we’d hoped, but sees his batting average crater at the age of 28.
But by and large this is one of those lovely seasons in which just about everything goes according to plan. Right-handers Ernie Broglio, Juan Marichal, and Jack Sanford all rebound from so-so 1961 performances. Pierce does just fine, as does ever-steady southpaw Billy O’Dell, and thus our front-line pitching is solidly effective.
Our power-packed lineup explodes. The amazing Willie Mays leads the league in home runs, and right behind him in that category is the wonderfully maturing Willie McCovey. Orlando Cepeda doesn’t hit as spectacularly as he did in ’61, but he’s still outstanding, as is Ken Boyer. Haller surprises with robust power production. We become the first team in major league history to post back-to-back 200-home run seasons.
We’re just excellent all around, and we rack up 103 wins, the most by any Giants ball club in half a century. And it turns out we need just about every one of those victories to grasp the pennant in a tremendous race.
Reds
We’ve made no significant alterations to the roster that laid waste to the National League last year. Keough is on hand to provide help off the bench, and flamethrowing rookie right-hander Jim Maloney will compete for starts.
1962 Cincinnati Reds Won 101 Lost 61 Finished 2nd (tied)
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B W. Moon* 32 120 370 50 95 14 2 9 48 46 50 .257 .336 .378 .715 89
2B-OF C. Flood 24 136 476 73 136 22 3 10 52 31 42 .286 .333 .408 .741 95
SS L. Cardenas 23 153 589 68 173 31 4 10 60 39 99 .294 .335 .411 .746 96
3B D. Hoak 34 121 370 45 91 13 4 8 44 41 43 .246 .319 .368 .687 81
RF F. Robinson 26 162 609 132 208 51 2 39 136 76 62 .342 .421 .624 1.045 172
CF V. Pinson* 23 155 619 106 181 31 7 23 100 45 68 .292 .341 .477 .817 114
LF T. Gonzalez* 25 118 393 67 122 14 3 21 55 36 72 .310 .376 .522 .898 135
C E. Bailey* 31 96 254 29 60 9 1 18 40 41 41 .236 .352 .492 .844 121
C-1B G. Oliver 27 110 276 34 66 15 1 13 36 39 46 .239 .333 .442 .775 103
2B-3B J. Temple 34 84 227 29 60 7 1 1 19 27 22 .264 .335 .317 .652 74
LF J. Lynch* 31 103 230 33 65 12 3 10 46 19 30 .283 .337 .491 .829 116
1B-OF M. Keough* 28 99 192 28 53 7 2 6 23 17 26 .276 .336 .427 .763 100
C J. Edwards* 24 67 151 15 36 9 2 3 15 13 25 .238 .295 .384 .679 78
3B D. Zimmer 31 63 144 12 35 8 2 1 12 10 23 .243 .297 .347 .644 70
3B-LF T. Harper 21 35 106 17 27 3 1 3 12 17 28 .255 .357 .387 .744 97
OF J. Gaines 25 64 87 17 22 4 0 2 11 12 25 .253 .340 .368 .708 87
Others 73 8 17 3 0 0 5 6 12 .233 .296 .274 .570 52
Pitchers 440 36 66 6 1 5 28 20 158 .150 .179 .202 .382 1
Total 5606 799 1513 259 39 182 742 535 872 .270 .334 .427 .761 100
* Bats left
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
B. Purkey 32 35 33 16 21 4 0 259 232 97 80 25 58 129 2.78 145
J. Jay 26 36 31 13 18 11 1 241 234 106 100 22 89 139 3.73 108
J. O'Toole* 25 32 32 10 14 11 0 227 198 101 87 18 78 155 3.45 117
J. Pizarro* 25 38 30 8 14 11 2 203 181 101 89 15 93 182 3.95 102
J. Maloney 22 24 16 3 9 6 1 115 89 51 44 11 66 106 3.44 117
C. Osteen* 22 30 10 3 8 4 3 100 93 40 38 7 29 45 3.42 118
H. Haddix* 36 45 1 0 5 2 12 71 67 35 30 9 21 55 3.80 106
M. Drabowsky 26 39 3 0 3 6 4 89 87 52 46 14 33 67 4.65 86
D. Sisler 30 35 0 0 4 3 2 44 44 19 19 4 26 27 3.89 103
L. Arroyo* 35 27 0 0 1 3 7 34 32 22 19 5 18 20 5.03 80
T. Wills* 28 9 0 0 0 0 1 12 12 7 7 2 5 12 5.25 77
Others 6 2 4 0 1 66 68 32 30 4 27 43 4.09 98
Total 162 55 101 61 34 1461 1337 663 589 136 543 980 3.63 111
* Throws left
Unlike 1961, this time around our Reds encounter some problems. Arroyo’s sudden collapse hits the bullpen hard, as Drabowsky, Sisler, and Harvey Haddix have a hard time picking up the slack. Veterans Don Hoak at third base and Wally Moon at first both start to run out of gas.
However, the great strengths of this team are in evidence. The scintillating Frank Robinson has never been better. Vada Pinson, Tony Gonzalez, Ed Bailey, and Jerry Lynch all hit a ton, and our young double-play combo of Leo Cardenas and Curt Flood is really good. And our very best feature, that killer starting rotation, is rendered even better with the emerging 22-year-olds Maloney and Claude Osteen doing their best to squeeze in edgewise.
It may not be the fairy-tale perfection of 1961, but our 1962 Reds are an extremely formidable competitor. They’ll battle it out not only with those Giants, but also with a dauntingly multi-faceted Los Angeles Dodgers club in a three-way dogfight for the ages, the first time a single major league has ever produced a trio of 100-victory contenders.
Cardinals
We aren’t introducing much shake-up this year, relying instead upon continued improvement in our many young players. Thomas is set to be the primary right fielder, with Miñoso sharing left field with Stan Musial in a colorful geriatric pairing. With the departure of Sawatski, Gene Green, on the basis of his greatly improved hitting in 1961, will step up to be our primary catcher.
Sophomore Julian Javier will settle in as our full-time second baseman, and rookie right-hander Ray Washburn will compete for a spot in the starting rotation.
1962 St. Louis Cardinals Won 84 Lost 78 Finished 6th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B B. White* 28 159 624 95 202 32 3 20 104 59 70 .324 .385 .481 .866 122
2B J. Javier 25 155 568 65 149 24 5 7 52 45 69 .262 .310 .359 .669 72
SS D. Schofield# 27 147 466 72 122 14 2 5 33 74 82 .262 .359 .333 .691 79
3B J. Davenport 28 144 485 83 151 27 6 16 58 45 76 .311 .365 .491 .855 118
RF-LF L. Thomas* 26 152 534 84 164 22 3 23 96 45 74 .307 .361 .489 .850 117
CF F. Alou 27 154 570 98 188 33 4 27 95 34 67 .330 .369 .544 .912 131
LF-RF S. Musial* 41 135 440 58 145 18 1 19 83 65 47 .330 .415 .505 .920 136
C G. Green 29 120 372 45 105 14 3 19 60 25 60 .282 .326 .489 .815 107
IF E. Kasko 30 89 213 30 59 10 1 2 16 13 19 .277 .322 .362 .683 76
OF M. Mota 24 77 183 28 43 7 2 2 14 14 20 .235 .296 .328 .624 61
C J. Gonder* 26 72 168 22 48 8 0 5 30 11 34 .286 .328 .423 .750 92
RF C. James 24 65 155 20 43 5 2 3 24 3 24 .277 .298 .394 .692 76
IF J. Gotay 23 64 123 16 29 4 0 1 9 8 17 .236 .291 .293 .584 51
C J. Schaffer 26 70 120 13 29 4 1 1 13 10 28 .242 .293 .317 .610 57
OF-1B B. Burda* 23 56 101 11 23 5 0 2 13 11 10 .228 .307 .337 .644 66
LF M. Miñoso 36 39 97 14 19 5 0 1 10 7 17 .196 .269 .278 .547 41
Others 56 10 17 3 0 1 4 6 12 .304 .371 .411 .782 101
Pitchers 438 45 68 9 2 3 25 23 141 .155 .194 .207 .401 3
Total 5713 809 1604 244 35 157 739 498 867 .281 .337 .418 .755 93
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
L. Jackson 31 36 35 11 16 11 0 252 267 121 105 25 64 112 3.75 115
B. Gibson 26 32 30 15 15 12 1 234 174 84 74 15 95 208 2.85 151
A. Jackson* 26 35 33 9 10 12 0 208 216 111 96 13 70 108 4.15 104
E. Fisher 25 47 16 3 10 7 2 183 182 81 70 17 40 95 3.44 125
R. Washburn 24 34 25 2 11 9 0 176 187 90 80 25 58 109 4.09 105
R. Sadecki* 21 22 17 4 6 8 1 102 121 74 63 13 43 50 5.56 78
L. McDaniel 26 52 2 0 3 9 9 96 86 47 43 11 26 72 4.03 107
J. Brosnan 32 43 0 0 4 3 8 59 70 26 23 5 16 48 3.51 123
D. LeMay* 23 31 3 0 2 3 1 51 49 29 26 6 23 23 4.59 94
B. Shantz* 36 28 0 0 5 3 4 58 45 22 14 7 20 47 2.17 198
P. Toth 27 6 1 1 1 0 0 17 18 10 10 1 4 5 5.29 81
Others 1 0 1 1 2 26 21 8 7 2 16 13 2.42 178
Total 163 45 84 78 28 1462 1436 703 611 140 475 890 3.76 115
* Throws left
We expected to make progress this season, and we do. Thomas is a perfect fit in right field, solidifying the lineup and becoming one of five St. Louis regulars to hit .300. Among that quintet is the 41-year-old Musial, rallying to put together one final terrific season, filling the void left when Miñoso struggles early and then breaks an ankle.
But while the improvement in our offense is genuine, the gaudy stats we produce—leading the league in hits, batting average, and on-base percentage, second in the league in runs scored, a franchise record 157 home runs—are mostly a product of extreme hitter-friendly conditions prevailing at Sportsman’s Park. In truth, our hitting is just league-average.
It’s our pitching, enduring the same home-field effects that our hitters enjoy, that’s an authentic strength. Bob Gibson, at 26, matures into one of the league’s top starters. Eddie Fisher steps forward with a splendid swingman performance. A slipping-backward year from 21-year-old sophomore Ray Sadecki is the only chink in this staff’s armor, as altogether it’s among the best in the league.
Alas, none of this progress yields an improvement in the standings, as we remain stuck in sixth. But that result is mostly a product of an underperformance against our Pythagorean record by a whopping eight wins. So despite some frustrations, on balance we like the direction we’re headed in St. Louis.
Next time
We’ll find out if our Cardinals are ready to join our Giants and Reds as titans battling for supremacy at the lofty pinnacle of the National League.
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
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
I simulate the old-fashioned way: on a spreadsheet. I just adjust each player’s actual stats as appropriate, factoring in park and league effects, the possible effect of facing slightly different competition, and the effects of playing time/role.
Glad you’re enjoying it!
I love the premise of this project. I just discovered your project a few days ago. How are you simulating the season?
There was no bonus baby, or bonus, rule in 1962. There was a first-year player draft, which applied to all players after their first year, regardless of whether they received a signing bonus.
So, in this scenario, the Reds would gain three wins, the Giants would gain two wins, the Dodgers and Cardinals don’t win or lose any more than they did in real life… to which teams do the five losses required to balance this out go to? Would the Mets have lost even more than 120?
“There was no bonus baby, or bonus, rule in 1962.”
Yes, there was. It wasn’t in the same form in which it applied most aggresively in 1953-57, but its existence is what explains the early-career major league roster time served by Garibaldi, as well as Tony LaRussa, Dave Duncan, Steve Carlton, Ken Henderson, and Willie Crawford, among others.
“So, in this scenario, the Reds would gain three wins, the Giants would gain two wins, the Dodgers and Cardinals don’t win or lose any more than they did in real life… to which teams do the five losses required to balance this out go to? Would the Mets have lost even more than 120?”
Possibly, since they wouldn’t have had Al Jackson.
Other loser 1962 NL teams in this scenario would be the Phillies (without Tony Gonzalez), the Cubs (without Andre Rodgers), and the Pirates (without Don Hoak, Harvey Haddix, or Dick Schofield).
Steve, these alternative histories you’ve put together are real gems. I especially love the ones from the early sixties since I get a baseball card flashback from nearly every name mentioned.
I understand that you have the benefit of hindsight in your decision making but even at that it seems that back in the day teams were not all that good in evaluating players or roster management. Do you think that the reserve clause and the absence of the draft contributed to the stunted development of effective player evaluation methods?
Hmmm … interesting comment and question. I’m not so sure I agree that teams in general were significantly worse at talent evaluation/management in that era than today. Obviously in the current era teams have access to far more sophisticated medical diagnoses and treatments, as well as more sophisticated statistical analyses, and it’s clear that this helps them predict and project future performance more reliably. But it hasn’t struck me as all that huge an improvement. Teams still make mistakes all the time; this stuff isn’t easy, and humans are fallible.
I think you do have a point about the reserve clause and the absence of a free agent draft having an effect. But I’d say the effect was largely in making life easier for the “have” teams, and harder for the “have nots.” It took more skill to build a team up from the bottom then than it does today.