The virtual 1969-76 Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians (Part 2: 1969-70)
Last time we got the ball rolling on an eight-season scenario involving three longtime rival franchises newly grouped in the American League East division. Though each of our ball clubs made a few moves differently than their real-life counterparts, in our first year the differences weren’t great enough to create any significant deviations from actual performance.
Yankees: Actual Red Sox: Actual Indians: Actual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 562 587 87 75 3 743 736 62 99 6 573 717
Yankees: Virtual Red Sox: Virtual Indians: Virtual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 594 617 85 77 4 775 781 68 93 6 576 658
Now we’re ready to find out if things get more distinctly counterfactual in season two.
The 1969-70 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Nov. 25, 1969: The Boston Red Sox sold pitcher Fred Wenz to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Wenz is a very hard thrower, but dishes up too many walks and too many gopher balls. We’re ready to go in a different direction.
Dec. 10, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams to the Minnesota Twins for pitchers Dean Chance and Bob Miller, outfielder Ted Uhlaender, and outfielder-third baseman Graig Nettles.
Tiant’s poor 1969 showing leaves our Indians open to trade offers, and just like the actual Indians, we’ll find this one way, way too good to pass up.
Chance is coming off a sore-arm year, but he’s not yet 29 and was one of the best pitchers in the American League for most of the 1960s. Miller and Uhlaender are both solid, dependable assets, and Nettles is a potential star. We aren’t sure what Calvin Griffith is thinking, but we won’t spoil things by worrying about that.
Dec. 13, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded infielder Dalton Jones to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Tom Matchick.
Jones has failed to meet expectations, so at this point we’ll go with Matchick as our lefty-hitting infielder. He’s a light hitter, but better defensively than Jones.
Feb. 18, 1970: The Cleveland Indians traded infielder-outfielder Jay Ward to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Steve Mingori.
The southpaw reliever Mingori is a second-tier prospect, but we readily prefer him over the minor league veteran Ward.
The 1969-70 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Nov. 21, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Jose Cardenal to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Vada Pinson.
While Cardenal hasn’t developed with the bat as expected, he’s fine in the outfield and terrific on the basepaths, and has just turned 26. We’d much rather stick with him than replace him with Pinson, who used to be terrific, but is five years Cardenal’s senior, and has really slowed down over the past couple of seasons.
Dec. 4, 1969: The New York Yankees traded outfielder-first baseman Joe Pepitone to the Houston Astros for outfielder-first baseman Curt Blefary.
It’s understandable that Pepitone’s off-field antics would drive his management to distraction. But still, if you’re going to trade him, you have to get fair value, and at this point, that’s not Blefary. A few years earlier, Blefary had been a distinctly better offensive producer than Pepitone, but not in 1968 or ’69. And whether in the outfield or at first base, there was never any comparison between the slick-fielding Pepi and “Clank” Blefary.
April 4, 1970: The Boston Red Sox sold catcher Russ Gibson to the San Francisco Giants.
We already surrendered Gibson in the Rule 5 draft (see below).
The 1969-70 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Nov., 1969: In a three-club deal, the Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Eddie Fisher and catcher Joe Azcue to the California Angels. The Angels sent catcher Tom Satriano and cash to the San Francisco Giants, and the Giants sent pitcher Bob Garibaldi and infielder Bob Schroder to the Indians.
We know that the Angels like Fisher, as they actually acquired him from Cleveland a year earlier. And we know that they preferred Azcue over Satriano, as they actually made that swap in mid-1969. And we also know that the Giants were looking for catching help, and had lost faith in the former Bonus Babies Garibaldi and Schroder.
So our Indians will give those ball clubs what they want. For our part, we think both Garibaldi and Schroder deserve genuine major league shots. And we’ve got all too much room to offer genuine major league shots in our starting rotation and in our middle infield.
Dec. 1, 1969: The Atlanta Braves drafted catcher Russ Gibson from the Boston Red Sox in the 1969 Rule 5 draft.
Actually, the Braves drafted catcher Hal King from the Red Sox. But our Bosox didn’t leave King in the minors in 1969, and we’re certainly not leaving him off the 40-man roster at this point. So we’ll let Atlanta grab the journeyman Gibson instead.
Dec. 5, 1969: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Al Downing and catcher Jerry Moses to the Oakland Athletics for infielder-outfielder Danny Cater and infielder Ossie Chavarria.
In reality on this date, the Yankees acquired Cater and Chavarria in exchange for Downing and catcher Frank Fernandez. But our Yanks traded Fernandez for Moses a year ago. It’s entirely plausible that Oakland would instead accept Moses, who had a good rookie year in 1969.
As with the actual Yankees, we’re willing to surrender the catcher because we have an even better one, the rookie Thurman Munson, ready to take over. We can leverage the line-drive-hitting Cater’s defensive versatility at either corner of the infield.
Dec. 5, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded shortstop Larry Brown and pitchers Horacio Pina and Ron Law to the Washington Senators for pitchers Dennis Higgins and Barry Moore.
Actually the infielder Cleveland sent to Washington in this package was 25-year-old Dave Nelson. But even though Nelson suffered an injury-ruined 1969 season, we aren’t ready to give up on him. Instead, we’ll give the Senators Brown, who’s been a dependable, if quite unexciting, first-stringer.
Pina and Law are bullpen prospects. Higgins and Moore, established big leaguers, are an upgrade.
Dec. 12, 1969: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Dick Simpson and cash to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder-first baseman Bob Burda.
Actually on this date the Giants acquired Simpson as part of a trade with Seattle. Our Yankees will let San Francisco have him in return for Burda, who doesn’t have Simpson’s tools, but offers a more reliable utility bat.
Dec. 18, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded infielder Syd O’Brien and pitcher Billy Farmer to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Gary Peters and infielder-outfielder Pete Ward. (Farmer refused to report. On March 9, 1970, the Red Sox sent pitcher Gerry Janeski to the White Sox, completing the deal.)
The actual White Sox traded Peters and catcher Don Pavletich to Boston for O’Brien and Farmer (replaced by Janeski), and Ward to the Yankees for minor league pitcher Mickey Scott and cash.
Our Red Sox don’t have a spot for Pavletich, and our Yankees don’t have a spot for Ward. But we can get the White Sox essentially what they want, by removing Pavletich and Scott from the equation.
Peters and Ward are both one-time stars who’ve recently encountered hard times. Our Red Sox’s starting pitching isn’t in a position to be choosy, though, and Ward can still deliver some sock in a limited role.
Dec., 1969: The New York Yankees traded first baseman Dave McDonald to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Gary Waslewski.
In real life this trade would be made in May of 1970, but our Yankees will initiate it now. We’ve got some better first base prospects than McDonald coming along, so we’re ready to give the journeyman Waslewski a spot in the bullpen.
Jan., 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded pitchers Dick Ellsworth and Mike Garman to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Bob Miller and Gary Boyd.
The primary motivation here is just staff-balancing: our Red Sox are a bit overloaded with left-handed pitchers, while our Indians are a bit light in that department, thus the swap of the veteran southpaw Ellsworth for the veteran righty Miller.
Garman and Boyd are both minor leaguers, but the former is quite raw, at least a few years away from the majors, while the latter has already reached triple-A. Our Red Sox, much closer to the apex of the success cycle than our Indians, prefer someone ready to help the big league staff if needed, while our Indians can afford to be more patient.
Jan., 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded catcher Bob Montgomery to the Minnesota Twins for catcher Tom Tischinski.
Our Boston roster has multiple catchers with strong bats but less impressive defensive chops. So it makes sense for us to swap Montgomery, another who’s more of a hitter than a fielder, for Tischinski, who’s vice-versa.
Feb. 28, 1970: The Cleveland Indians purchased infielder Ron Hansen from the Chicago White Sox.
Actually it was the Yankees purchasing the veteran Hansen on this date, but since our Indians have more of a need for him, they’ll do it instead.
March, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold outfielder Cap Peterson to the Boston Red Sox.
As spring training winds down, it’s our Red Sox seeing more of a need for this utility man than our Indians.
April 4, 1970: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Russ Snyder to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Roy Foster and cash.
April 4, 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded third baseman Max Alvis to the Milwaukee Brewers for second baseman Frank Coggins.
In truth, on this date the Indians traded Snyder and Alvis to the Brewers for Foster, Coggins, and cash. We’ll let the suddenly-no-longer-the-Pilots (one Bud Selig just purchased the franchise on April 1, and relocated it to Milwaukee) break it up into two deals with two teams.
We cannot fathom Milwaukee GM Marvin Milkes’s purpose in trading not one, but two prospects, plus cash, for not one, but two near-the-end-of-the-line veterans. This would seem to be the last thing a second-year expansion team would want to do, but there it is.
Our Red Sox are just dumping Alvis, and will park Coggins in triple-A. Our Indians will give Foster a shot in a utility outfielder role.
April 6, 1970: The Cleveland Indians released infielder Zoilo Versalles.
April 6, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold infielder Vern Fuller to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Neither of these guys makes the Opening Day roster.
The 1970 season: Actual deals we will make
May 22, 1970: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder-first baseman Russ Nagelson and pitcher Billy Rohr to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Fred Lasher.
Nagelson and Rohr are both back in the minors, and we’ll expend them in exchange for the reliever Lasher.
June 8, 1970: The Boston Red Sox purchased pitcher Cal Koonce from the New York Mets.
Like the real Red Sox, our staff can find room for this journeyman.
Aug. 7, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Dick Ellsworth to the Milwaukee Brewers.
And like the real Indians, our version has seen enough of the ever-more-soft-tossing Ellsworth.
Sep. 10, 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded a player to be named later to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Bob Bolin. (On Oct. 6, 1970, the Red Sox sent outfielder Al Yates to the Brewers, completing the deal.)
Why not?
Sep. 18, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Dean Chance to the New York Mets.
Chance hasn’t been terrible this season, but neither has he been good, and so we’ll cash out.
The 1970 season: Actual deals we will not make
May 13, 1970: The Cleveland Indians signed third baseman Rich Rollins as a free agent.
Seriously? No, thanks.
May 28, 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded infielder Tom Matchick to the Kansas City Royals for first baseman Mike Fiore.
Our Red Sox don’t have a need for Fiore, so we’ll hang on to Matchick.
June 15, 1970: The Cleveland Indians traded pitchers Bob Miller and Barry Moore to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Buddy Bradford and pitcher Tommie Sisk.
Our Indians no longer have Miller and don’t have a need for Bradford, so no deal.
June 26, 1970: The Boston Red Sox purchased infielder John Kennedy from the Milwaukee Brewers.
In our scenario, the Yankees have Kennedy, and don’t wish to sell him to Boston.
July 20, 1970: The New York Yankees traded pitcher John Cumberland to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Mike McCormick.
The soft-tossing young Cumberland is nothing special, but we see no point in swapping him for the veteran McCormick, who’s getting battered so far this year and looks likely finished.
Sep. 9, 1970: The New York Yankees sold pitcher Steve Hamilton on waivers to the Chicago White Sox.
Nor can we understand the logic behind this one. The proto-LOOGY Hamilton is 34, but still performing effectively.
The 1970 season: Deals we will invoke
May 22, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Lee Stange to the Chicago White Sox.
Making room for Lasher. The 33-year-old Stange is not doing well.
June 5, 1970: The Boston Red Sox signed pitcher Orlando Pena as a free agent.
The 36-year-old Peña has been throwing his strikes in triple-A instead of the majors for the past couple of seasons, but he has been throwing strikes, and our Boston bullpen can use some help. So what the heck.
Sep. 1, 1970: The Boston Red Sox sold pitcher Bob Miller to the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs actually purchased the 31-year-old Miller from the White Sox on this date. He hasn’t had a good year, and we don’t see a future for him on our staff.
1970 season results
Yankees
Over the closing weeks of 1969, we’d adjusted our defensive alignment, moving Pepitone from center field to first base, and Bobby Murcer from third base to center field. This improved us defensively at three positions. We’ll continue with those assignments into 1970, with the addition of Cater manning third base.
The leading candidate to fill our right field hole is Danny Walton, the kid we acquired in exchange for Tommy Davis. And we’re handing the first-string catcher opportunity to Munson.
1970 New York Yankees Won 95 Lost 67 Finished 2nd
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-RF J. Pepitone* 29 131 492 60 120 15 5 29 70 33 41 .244 .290 .472 .762 112
2B H. Clarke# 30 150 617 73 155 22 2 4 39 33 32 .251 .288 .313 .601 70
SS-3B J. Kenney* 25 123 303 35 58 8 5 3 23 38 34 .191 .278 .281 .559 58
3B-1B D. Cater 30 140 466 51 140 21 4 5 61 27 35 .300 .340 .395 .735 107
RF D. Walton 22 102 298 24 75 15 2 11 41 40 96 .252 .347 .426 .773 117
CF B. Murcer* 24 159 581 95 146 23 3 23 78 87 100 .251 .346 .420 .766 115
LF R. White# 26 162 609 109 180 30 6 22 94 95 66 .296 .386 .473 .859 142
C T. Munson 23 132 453 59 137 25 4 6 53 57 56 .302 .382 .415 .797 125
IF J. Kennedy 29 89 242 25 57 11 3 4 24 16 38 .236 .284 .355 .639 80
OF-1B F. Tepedino* 22 95 229 24 61 11 0 4 21 14 32 .266 .312 .367 .679 91
SS G. Michael# 32 80 174 17 35 4 0 1 11 19 38 .201 .281 .241 .523 49
OF-1B B. Burda* 31 88 163 12 38 5 0 3 16 14 14 .233 .301 .319 .620 75
1B-C J. Ellis 21 78 151 15 36 8 1 5 21 11 32 .238 .291 .404 .695 94
C J. Gibbs* 31 49 153 23 46 9 2 8 26 7 14 .301 .331 .542 .874 143
OF J. Lyttle* 24 87 126 20 39 7 1 3 14 10 26 .310 .350 .452 .802 125
Others 71 8 17 3 0 2 10 12 18 .239 .345 .366 .711 101
Pitchers 424 27 66 7 4 4 22 21 154 .156 .181 .219 .400 13
Total 5552 677 1406 224 42 137 624 534 826 .253 .317 .383 .700 97
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
M. Stottlemyre 28 37 37 14 15 13 0 271 262 110 93 23 84 126 3.09 115
F. Peterson* 28 39 37 8 20 11 0 260 247 102 84 24 40 127 2.91 122
S. Bahnsen 25 36 35 6 14 11 0 233 227 100 86 23 75 116 3.32 107
S. Hargan 27 17 17 8 10 1 0 127 78 35 33 8 47 65 2.34 151
M. Kekich* 25 26 14 1 6 3 0 99 103 59 53 12 55 63 4.82 73
J. Cumberland* 23 29 10 1 5 7 0 94 100 52 44 9 27 49 4.21 84
L. McDaniel 34 62 0 0 9 5 31 112 88 29 25 7 23 81 2.01 176
R. Klimkowski 26 45 3 1 6 7 7 98 80 36 29 7 33 40 2.66 133
S. Hamilton* 34 38 0 0 4 3 7 48 40 18 16 3 17 36 3.00 118
G. Waslewski 28 32 7 0 3 4 1 72 56 28 27 6 39 41 3.38 105
B. Meyer* 30 10 0 0 1 1 0 18 23 12 12 2 12 21 6.00 59
J. Verbanic 27 7 0 0 1 0 0 16 20 9 8 1 12 8 4.50 79
Others 3 1 1 1 0 24 26 9 9 2 6 15 3.38 105
Total 163 40 95 67 46 1472 1350 599 519 127 470 788 3.17 112
* Throws left
Munson is so good he’s Rookie of the Year. And with nearly every other key hitter delivering a solid performance, our offense is distinctly improved.
And it’s paired with a pitching staff that’s distinctly improved as well, and it was better than average to begin with. The most notable mound rebounds are presented by 34-year-old veteran relief ace Lindy McDaniel, who’s as razor-sharp as in any season of his long and outstanding career, and by 27-year-old starter Steve Hargan, who was nearly given up for dead in 1969, but then recalled from the minors in mid-1970 and is darn near unhittable over the balance of the season.
It adds up to an excellent all-around, deep and balanced ball club. We don’t win the division—the dynastic Baltimore Orioles aren’t within hailing distance of anyone else—but our second-place, 95-win performance is far and away the best by any Yankee team since the last championship season of 1964. It’s been a dismal half-decade, but it sure looks like The Bombers are back as a serious contender.
Red Sox
Our off-season focus has been on improving run prevention. The Peters acquisition was a move in that direction (though presenting the risk that he might be over the hill), and we’re also looking for positive contributions from rookie starters Ken Brett and Mike Nagy.
And in an effort to tighten the defense, we’re moving Rico Petrocelli from shortstop to third, and going with 21-year-old Luis Alvarado as our primary shortstop.
Spring training brings bad news: slugging first baseman Ken Harrelson breaks a leg, and won’t return until September. To deal with that, we’ll shift Carl Yastrzemski from left field to first base, creating expanded outfield opportunities for 22-year-old rookie Billy Conigliaro and 23-year-old sophomore Joe Lahoud.
1970 Boston Red Sox Won 89 Lost 73 Finished 3rd
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-LF C. Yastrzemski* 30 161 566 125 186 29 0 40 102 128 66 .329 .452 .592 1.044 178
2B M. Andrews 26 151 589 91 149 28 1 17 65 81 63 .253 .342 .390 .733 96
SS L. Alvarado 21 92 239 21 48 10 1 1 13 13 32 .201 .237 .264 .501 34
3B-SS R. Petrocelli 27 157 583 82 152 31 3 29 103 67 82 .261 .333 .473 .806 114
RF T. Conigliaro 25 146 560 89 149 20 1 36 116 43 93 .266 .324 .498 .822 117
CF R. Smith# 25 147 580 109 176 32 7 22 74 51 60 .303 .361 .497 .857 128
LF-CF B. Conigliaro 22 124 398 59 107 16 3 18 58 34 74 .269 .334 .460 .794 111
C F. Fernandez 27 94 277 32 62 6 0 18 38 43 81 .224 .332 .440 .773 105
LF-RF J. Lahoud* 23 115 252 31 64 8 3 7 27 51 30 .254 .379 .393 .772 107
C H. King* 26 89 224 28 58 10 0 12 31 35 43 .259 .363 .464 .827 120
IF T. Matchick* 26 99 217 15 44 5 2 1 16 9 34 .203 .236 .258 .494 32
IF D. Schofield# 35 92 177 19 35 2 2 1 14 26 33 .198 .300 .249 .548 49
3B-1B C. Fanzone 28 61 130 14 31 8 0 5 19 24 33 .238 .361 .415 .776 108
1B P. Ward* 32 66 77 5 21 3 2 1 18 8 16 .273 .337 .403 .740 98
OF-3B C. Peterson 27 25 64 7 16 2 0 1 5 7 7 .250 .319 .328 .648 74
C T. Tischinski 25 36 46 6 10 0 0 1 2 8 6 .217 .327 .283 .610 65
Others 59 6 17 2 0 1 3 8 6 .288 .373 .373 .746 101
Pitchers 445 42 78 13 2 4 34 22 120 .175 .210 .240 .450 20
Total 5483 781 1403 225 27 215 738 658 879 .256 .335 .424 .760 102
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
R. Culp 28 33 33 15 17 14 0 251 211 104 85 22 91 197 3.05 131
S. Siebert 33 33 33 7 15 8 0 223 207 98 85 29 60 142 3.43 116
G. Peters* 33 34 34 10 16 11 0 222 221 114 100 20 83 155 4.05 98
K. Brett* 21 41 14 1 8 9 2 139 118 71 63 17 79 155 4.08 98
M. Nagy 22 23 16 1 5 4 0 113 119 61 55 13 57 50 4.38 91
C. Koonce 29 23 8 1 3 4 2 76 64 32 30 7 29 37 3.55 112
B. Lee* 23 11 5 0 2 2 1 37 48 20 19 3 14 19 4.62 86
J. Lonborg 28 9 4 0 4 1 0 34 33 12 12 3 9 21 3.18 125
S. Lyle* 25 63 0 0 1 7 20 67 62 37 29 5 34 51 3.90 102
G. Wagner 30 42 3 0 4 3 7 56 55 31 23 4 27 27 3.70 108
J. Pizarro* 33 40 7 1 5 3 4 90 98 50 43 10 30 61 4.30 93
B. Miller 31 30 4 0 4 5 5 63 74 33 30 8 31 35 4.29 93
O. Pena 36 23 0 0 2 1 3 38 37 21 19 6 7 24 4.50 88
R. Jarvis 24 10 0 0 0 1 0 11 11 8 5 1 9 5 4.09 97
Others 1 0 3 0 2 27 25 14 10 2 15 19 3.33 119
Total 162 36 89 73 46 1447 1383 706 608 150 575 998 3.78 105
* Throws left
Our throw-everything-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to the pitching situation turns out surprisingly well. Peters comes through with a solid season, and fellow veteran starters Ray Culp and Sonny Siebert both have good years too. Despite one-time ace Jim Lonborg missing most of the year with a sore arm, we’ve successfully plugged enough of the holes in this staff that our pitching is not only no longer the problem it was in 1969, but is suddenly better than average.
And our attack is energized by the return to superstar form of the 30-year-old Yastrzemski. With Yaz producing brilliantly at the heart of our power-laden lineup, we would seem poised for an offensive improvement as well. However, Alvarado’s bat proves so weak that we’re unable to keep him in a starting role, and neither of his shortstop backups, Tom Matchick or Dick Schofield, hits a lick either. The drain on run production is such that over the season’s final couple of months, we frequently slide Petrocelli back to short, and go with power-hitting, defensively limited Carmen Fanzone at third.
On balance, we’re a better ball club than in 1969, but not dramatically so. For the third straight year, Boston fails to put together a team to match the Impossible Dreamers of 1967.
Indians
Addressing the multitude of problems encountered in 1969, we’ve undertaken significant changes, the big trade with Minnesota being the centerpiece. Chance replaces Tiant in the rotation, and Uhlaender and Nettles will get first crack at the corner outfield jobs.
Defensive standout rookie Ray Fosse will take over as the primary catcher. To keep the big bat of Duke Sims in the lineup, he’ll also see significant time in the outfield corners, as well as at first base. And we’re accenting youth in the middle infield, with 23-year-old Eddie Leon, 25-year-old Bob Schroder, and 26-year-old Dave Nelson given prominent status.
On the mound behind Sam McDowell and Chance, we’re hoping 25-year-old southpaw Mike Paul is ready to step up. Newcomers Moore, Garibaldi, Higgins, and Lasher will all be given plenty of room too.
1970 Cleveland Indians Won 82 Lost 80 Finished 4th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B T. Horton 25 115 413 52 111 19 3 17 64 30 54 .269 .321 .453 .774 108
2B D. Nelson 26 110 344 35 82 13 4 1 23 26 47 .238 .285 .308 .593 61
SS-2B E. Leon 23 152 549 62 136 20 4 10 61 47 89 .248 .296 .353 .650 76
3B-1B G. Scott 26 127 480 52 140 23 4 16 67 43 94 .292 .350 .456 .806 118
RF-3B G. Nettles* 25 141 439 67 103 10 1 21 57 65 62 .235 .336 .405 .741 101
CF J. Cardenal 26 148 552 88 159 29 4 15 54 44 66 .288 .341 .437 .778 110
LF-CF T. Uhlaender* 30 141 473 60 127 21 2 11 51 39 44 .268 .319 .391 .710 92
C R. Fosse 23 120 450 66 138 17 1 18 66 39 55 .307 .358 .469 .827 123
O-C-1 D. Sims* 29 110 345 50 91 12 0 23 61 46 59 .264 .359 .499 .858 131
LF-RF R. Foster 24 93 239 36 63 13 0 12 35 26 39 .264 .348 .469 .817 120
2B-SS B. Schroder* 25 86 220 25 53 4 1 0 14 17 18 .241 .293 .268 .562 54
UT C. Hinton 36 107 195 26 62 4 0 9 32 25 34 .318 .388 .477 .865 134
RF-LF R. Scheinblum# 27 67 153 22 43 8 1 5 24 19 22 .281 .358 .444 .802 117
IF R. Hansen 32 59 91 16 27 3 0 6 19 17 8 .297 .405 .527 .933 152
IF L. Klimchock* 30 41 56 5 9 0 0 1 2 3 9 .161 .213 .214 .427 17
C K. Suarez 27 34 53 4 12 3 0 0 4 5 7 .226 .288 .283 .571 56
Others 118 13 23 5 1 2 12 7 24 .195 .236 .305 .541 46
Pitchers 407 27 54 4 0 4 25 19 164 .133 .169 .171 .340 -7
Total 5577 706 1433 208 26 171 671 517 895 .257 .318 .395 .713 93
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
S. McDowell* 27 39 39 19 22 10 0 305 236 108 99 25 131 304 2.92 134
M. Paul* 25 40 24 3 8 10 1 159 160 72 68 18 62 109 3.85 102
D. Chance 29 45 19 1 10 7 4 155 172 80 73 18 59 109 4.24 92
B. Garibaldi 28 32 20 5 7 8 0 152 168 63 61 11 38 69 3.61 109
D. Brandon 29 35 15 4 8 10 0 143 159 78 77 19 64 95 4.85 81
B. Moore* 27 29 19 0 4 8 0 123 131 75 71 19 71 60 5.20 75
R. Gardner* 25 9 7 2 4 3 0 55 55 21 21 7 19 33 3.44 114
D. Higgins 30 58 0 0 5 5 11 90 82 43 40 8 54 82 4.00 98
V. Romo 27 48 10 0 7 4 6 108 112 49 48 14 44 70 4.00 98
F. Lasher 28 43 1 0 2 6 5 58 57 34 26 6 30 44 4.03 97
D. Ellsworth* 30 29 1 0 3 3 2 44 49 23 22 4 14 13 4.50 87
L. Stange 33 10 0 0 1 2 1 14 17 11 8 3 6 7 5.14 76
Others 7 0 1 4 0 46 41 23 21 8 22 34 4.11 95
Total 162 34 82 80 30 1452 1439 680 635 160 614 1029 3.94 100
* Throws left
Fosse proves to be as good as expected with the glove, and better than expected with the bat. His success is emblematic of a lineup—and a bench—across which nearly everyone delivers up to expectation. Thus our offense, nearly the league’s worst in 1969, is solidly league-average this time around.
We still have issues with pitching depth. But at the top of the staff, Sudden Sam is tremendous, achieving career highs in starts, complete games, innings, and wins. Thus despite its weak spots, overall our pitching performance is league-average as well.
The positive vibe is marred by one sad development: 25-year-old first baseman Tony Horton, putting together another solid year with the bat, suffers a severe psychological breakdown in late August, ending his season and putting his baseball career in doubt.
But our overall picture remains promising. Combine league-average run production with league-average run prevention, and you should get league-average results, and we do, going 82-80. Obviously that isn’t great, but it’s a dramatic improvement over our cellar-dwelling 1969. We’re enthused by the bounceback, and look forward to building upon it.
Yankees: Actual Red Sox: Actual Indians: Actual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 562 587 87 75 3 743 736 62 99 6 573 717
1970 93 69 2 680 612 87 75 3 786 722 76 86 5 649 675
Yankees: Virtual Red Sox: Virtual Indians: Virtual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 594 617 85 77 4 775 781 68 93 6 576 658
1970 95 67 2 677 599 89 73 3 781 706 82 80 4 706 680
Next time
We’ll find out if the improvement that characterized all three of our ball clubs in 1970 carries forward.
Unfortunately there’s one thing you don’t consider when it comes to the Indians. Your Indians actually have a PLAN and will probably stick with it. The real-life Indians during this era careened recklessly, trading prospects for suspects, suspects for suspects, and proven major league talent for even more suspects. Suspects who, needless to say, didn’t pan out. Or if they did, were immediately traded for yet more suspects!
I must say, though, that I would have loved to see “Boomer” Scott in one of those vintage 1969 vest uniforms. LOL…. it woulda been the first time in human history that a tomato held a stake instead of the other way around.
I like the comment about the Indians. It makes me wonder if the virtual Indians will trade Graig Nettles to the virtual Yankees. Can’t wait till the 72-73 offseason.
John, that exact trade is what made me think of making that post.
I’m wondering why you have Gene Michael hitting even worse than he actually did.
“I’m wondering why you have Gene Michael hitting even worse than he actually did.”
Because, for Gene Michael as well as for every other player, I estimate that offensive performance is improved by being in the lineup regularly, and suffers when deployed in a backup mode. Therefore my estimate for 1970 Gene Michael is that, deployed in 199 PAs rather than 493, his hit rate and walk rate would go down, and his strikeout rate would go up.