The virtual 1969-76 Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians (Part 3: 1970-71)
Last episode presented positive developments for all three of our protagonists. Will 1971 bring even better results?
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
The 1970-71 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Oct. 21, 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded infielder Dick Schofield to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman-outfielder Jim Campbell.
We’ll take what we can get in trade for the almost 36-year-old Ducky. Campbell’s a minor league veteran with a left-handed bat that might be of use off the bench.
Nov. 30, 1970: The St. Louis Cardinals drafted first baseman Cecil Cooper from the Boston Red Sox in the 1970 Rule 5 draft.
Wait, what?!?
Nov. 30, 1970: The California Angels drafted pitcher Fred Lasher from the Cleveland Indians in the 1970 Rule 5 draft.
Lasher was okay for us in 1970, but we’ve got some younger arms we’re ready to go with in the bullpen.
Dec. 3, 1970: The Boston Red Sox traded infielder Carmen Fanzone to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Phil Gagliano.
Fanzone was helpful in 1970, but we prefer Gagliano for his capacity to handle second base along with third.
March 26, 1971: The Cleveland Indians purchased infielder Fred Stanley from the Milwaukee Brewers.
We have a utility infielder slot for Chicken.
April 5, 1971:The St. Louis Cardinals returned first baseman Cecil Cooper (earlier draft pick) to the Boston Red Sox.
Whew!
April 7, 1971: The Boston Red Sox released outfielder Jarvis Tatum and pitcher Gary Wagner.
No roster room for either one of these fellows. (Tatum will go play in Japan.)
The 1970-71 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Oct. 23, 1970: The Cleveland Indians sold outfielder Richie Scheinblum to the Washington Senators.
Unlike the actual Indians, we didn’t leave Scheinblum in the triple-A for all of 1970 while he was dismantling the American Association. Dismantling? Well, leading that league in runs, hits, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS. Yes, dismantling.
Instead, we called him up in mid-July, and experienced some of that Scheinblum-hitting-his-best action for ourselves over the second half. And therefore we aren’t interested in selling him off to anyone in October.
April 5, 1971: The Cleveland Indians signed pitcher Camilo Pascual as a free agent.
No, thanks.
The 1970-71 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Oct. 12, 1970: The New York Yankees traded first baseman-outfielder Joe Pepitone and infielder Gene Michael to the Chicago Cubs for pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Roberto Rodriguez, shortstop Roger Metzger, and cash.
We know the Cubs wanted Pepitone, as in actuality they purchased him in mid-1970, and we also know they were willing to deal Wilhelm and Metzger, as they traded both for token return that fall.
Pepitone has had another good year for our Yankees in 1970 (on the field, at least; otherwise he was as chronic a headache as ever). But we’ll deal him now because we have an extraordinarily powerful rookie named Tony Solaita ready to take over at first base.
The ageless Wilhelm had yet another good year in 1970, and we think he can help in our bullpen. And we’ll give the light-hitting but very rangy rookie shortstop Metzger the opportunity to win our first-string job.
Dec., 1970: In a three-club deal, the Boston Red Sox traded outfielder Tony Conigliaro to the California Angels and shortstop Luis Alvarado to the Chicago White Sox. The Angels sent pitcher Ken Tatum and second baseman Doug Griffin to the White Sox, and outfielder Jarvis Tatum and pitchers Archie Reynolds and Greg Washburn to the Red Sox. The White Sox sent catcher Duane Josephson to the Angels, and shortstop Luis Aparicio to the Red Sox.
The inspiration for this blockbuster is, of course, Boston’s October 1970 trade of Tony C. to the Angels, which we examined here:
The Tony Conigliaro story is among the most fascinating, and most poignant, in baseball history. After completing the long hard road back from his horrific, career-threatening 1967 beaning, to emerge in 1970 with new career highs in home runs and RBIs, Conigliaro’s reward from his beloved hometown Red Sox was a trade.
And harsh as that was, the return Red Sox GM Dick O’Connell (who tended to be a pretty canny trader) yielded for not only Tony C., but also their primary catcher (Moses), was almost insultingly modest: a sound-but-hardly-imposing reliever in Ken Tatum, and a good second base prospect in Griffin.
O’Connell’s logic in endeavoring to re-balance his roster by introducing more run prevention skill into the mix was sound enough (the Red Sox had led the world in home runs in both 1969 and ’70, but finished in third place both seasons), but it did seem as though he could have held out for a more substantial price in exchange for Conigliaro.
Though the young slugger was something of a one-dimensional talent, and through a combination of circumstances was probably more famous than his playing accomplishments warranted, it was the case that Conigliaro’s eyesight problem appeared to be fully in the past, and even with the major injury interruption he looked to be on target for a possible Hall of Fame career: After all, he’d belted 160 home runs through the age of 25, and would seem to be just entering his power-hitting prime.
As to whether the Red Sox knew or suspected that Conigliaro’s vision would deteriorate, there certainly wasn’t anything in his 1970 performance that would indicate it: he’d finished the season red-hot, whacking 6 doubles and 10 homers in September. Nonetheless, O’Connell unloaded him less than two weeks after the end of the regular season.
For our part, while we agree with O’Connell’s assessment that the Red Sox have sufficient outfield surplus to warrant trading the elder Conigliaro brother, we’ll shop around and seek a more helpful deal than the one upon which O’Connell pulled the trigger.
We note that in the 1970-71 offseason, the actual Red Sox and White Sox swung two trades, in which Alvarado, second baseman Mike Andrews, relief pitcher Vicente Romo, and minor league first baseman Tony Muser went from Boston to Chicago in exchange for Aparicio, Josephson, and second-tier pitcher Danny Murphy. So knowing what we do about what the Angels and White Sox were endeavoring to accomplish in these transactions, we think we can make everyone happy.
The Angels expend what they actually did, plus the grade-B pitching prospects Reynolds and Washburn, and gain Conigliaro, along with the useful catcher Josephson in place of Moses. The White Sox expend the two key players they actually did, and gain Alvarado, along with the second baseman Griffin in place of Andrews, and the reliever Tatum in place of Romo.
For our Red Sox, we’re satisfied with netting Aparicio, who perfectly meets our most glaring need, while not having to surrender Andrews, who despite his limitations is a highly productive Fenway Park-style player and still just 27 years old. Certainly we understand that the projected long-term value delivery from Conigliaro dwarfs that of Aparicio, but we believe this trade makes us a better ball club for the next year or two, the window in which we anticipate the Orioles will come back to earth and a team winning 95 games will have a realistic shot at capturing an AL East flag. We think we can be that team.
Dec. 3, 1970: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Bill Robinson to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Barry Moore.
Actually the Yankees made this deal with the White Sox, but since our Indians have Moore, the enigmatic Robinson will get a try in the Cleveland organization.
Dec. 11, 1970: The Cleveland Indians traded catcher Ken Suarez and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Ray Lamb.
On this date, the actual Indians traded Duke Sims to the Dodgers for Lamb and pitcher Alan Foster. Our Indians aren’t about to do that, so instead we’ll send the Dodgers a lesser catcher and receive a lesser return, as Foster is a superior talent to Lamb.
Jan., 1971: The Boston Red Sox traded first baseman Tony Muser and cash to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Buddy Bradford.
We know the White Sox like Muser, so we’ll let them have him in exchange for Bradford, whom they actually traded to the Indians in mid-1970.
Jan. 14, 1971: The Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Darrell Brandon to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Mike Jackson.
Actually on this date the Phillies acquired Brandon from the White Sox. And actually in this off-season the Phillies sold Jackson. So we’ll kill two birds with one stone for them.
Feb. 2, 1971: The New York Yankees traded outfielder-first baseman Bob Burda to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Fred Reahm.
Actually the Cardinals made this trade with the Brewers, but our Yankees have Burda, so we’ll take the minor league pitcher.
March 31, 1971: The Boston Red Sox released first baseman Pete Ward.
March, 1971: The Boston Red Sox sold pitcher Orlando Pena to the Baltimore Orioles.
March, 1971: The Boston Red Sox sold pitcher Juan Pizarro to the Chicago Cubs.
March, 1971: The New York Yankees sold pitcher Gary Waslewski to the Oakland Athletics.
Roster cutting as spring training winds down.
The 1971 season: Actual deals we will make
May 17, 1971: The Boston Red Sox signed pitcher Luis Tiant as a free agent.
He’s gone from All-Star Game starter to rock bottom in less than three years. But what the heck? He’s still only 30. We’ll put him in triple-A and see how he looks.
June 10, 1971: The Boston Red Sox released pitcher Cal Koonce.
El Tiante’s taken four minor league starts and impressed us enough that we’ll call him up and give him Koonce’s mop-up reliever/spot starter job.
July 15, 1971: The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Dennis Higgins to the Oakland Athletics.
He’s struggling, and we’ve got younger arms to turn to.
The 1971 season: Actual deals we will not make
April 9, 1971: The New York Yankees traded pitchers Ron Klimkowski and Rob Gardner to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder-first baseman Felipe Alou.
We don’t see a role for the soon-to-be-36-year-old Alou.
May 8, 1971: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Buddy Bradford to the Cincinnati Reds for infielder-outfielder Kurt Bevacqua.
Our Indians don’t have Bradford. Our Red Sox do, but aren’t interested in Bevacqua.
May 26, 1971: The New York Yankees traded outfielder-first baseman Curt Blefary to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Rob Gardner.
In our scenario, the Yankees don’t have Blefary, nor do the A’s have Gardner.
The 1971 season: Deals we will invoke
April 22, 1971: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Pete Koegel and pitcher Loyd Colson to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder-first baseman Johnny Briggs.
It was actually the Milwaukee Brewers who had Koegel and traded him to Philadelphia along with a secondary minor league pitcher in exchange for the multi-talented Briggs. Our Yankees don’t have the faintest idea what the Phillies are thinking, but we’ll say “yes” before they change their minds.
May 28, 1971: The Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Bill Burbach to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Jim Hardin.
And, it was actually the Yankees who had Burbach and made this deal with Baltimore. Our Indians will give the once-starring, now sore-armed Hardin a shot.
June 25, 1971: In a three-club deal, the New York Yankees traded first baseman-outfielder Frank Tepedino and outfielder Bobby Mitchell to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers sent outfielder Ron Woods to the Montreal Expos, and the Expos sent outfielder Ron Swoboda to the Yankees.
The actual trade on this day was Woods from the Yankees to the Expos for Swoboda. We’re assuming in our scenario that Milwaukee would have Woods (having traded Tom Tresh for him in 1969, as the Yankees actually did).
Moreover, in June of ’71 the Yankees actually traded Tepedino and Mitchell to the Brewers for Danny Walton, but our Yanks already have Walton.
So we’ll let both Milwaukee and Montreal get the players they want, and we’ll send the slumping Walton down to the minors and replace him with Swoboda.
June 22, 1971: The New York Yankees released pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm.
It’s been a miserable spring for the 48-year-old knuckleballer, struggling with a knee injury. We think it’s the end of the line.
1971 season results
Yankees
We aren’t standing pat with the roster that won 95 games in 1970. We’re introducing rookies in three starting roles: Solaita at first base, Metzger at shortstop, and right-hander Steve Kline in the rotation. When Briggs arrives in late April, we’ll install him as the platoon right fielder.
1971 New York Yankees Won 87 Lost 75 Finished 3rd
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B T. Solaita* 24 105 283 31 56 9 2 13 35 51 89 .198 .316 .382 .697 103
2B H. Clarke# 31 151 562 65 141 21 6 2 39 58 39 .251 .321 .320 .641 88
SS R. Metzger# 23 131 422 43 98 10 7 0 21 35 37 .232 .292 .289 .582 70
3B-1B D. Cater 31 121 428 39 118 16 5 4 51 19 25 .276 .305 .364 .669 95
R-L-1 J. Briggs* 27 119 338 46 85 8 1 21 58 66 72 .251 .370 .467 .837 143
CF B. Murcer* 25 146 529 94 175 25 6 25 96 91 60 .331 .426 .543 .969 181
LF R. White# 27 147 524 86 153 22 7 19 86 86 66 .292 .388 .469 .857 149
C T. Munson 24 125 451 66 113 15 4 10 47 52 65 .251 .333 .368 .701 104
3B-SS J. Kennedy 30 74 272 32 71 10 6 4 26 15 43 .261 .303 .386 .689 100
IF J. Kenney* 26 100 217 33 57 7 2 0 13 37 25 .263 .360 .313 .673 98
C J. Gibbs* 32 70 206 23 45 9 0 5 21 12 23 .218 .268 .335 .603 75
1B-OF R. Blomberg* 22 64 199 30 64 6 2 7 31 14 23 .322 .361 .477 .838 143
1B-C J. Ellis 22 68 158 11 39 8 1 2 23 15 28 .247 .322 .348 .670 96
RF R. Swoboda 27 54 138 17 36 2 1 2 20 27 35 .261 .388 .333 .722 112
OF J. Lyttle* 25 64 86 7 16 5 0 1 7 8 18 .186 .258 .279 .537 57
RF-LF D. Walton 23 35 83 6 15 3 0 3 12 8 30 .181 .261 .325 .586 70
1B-RF F. Tepedino* 23 25 59 5 9 1 0 2 4 5 7 .153 .219 .271 .490 42
1B P. Koegel 23 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 .400 .000 .400 25
Others 42 7 12 3 0 2 3 3 12 .286 .326 .500 .826 138
Pitchers 408 21 56 5 1 1 27 17 135 .137 .160 .162 .322 -6
Total 5408 662 1359 185 51 123 620 621 834 .251 .326 .373 .699 104
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
F. Peterson* 29 37 35 16 16 13 1 274 269 106 93 25 42 139 3.05 107
M. Stottlemyre 29 35 35 19 17 12 0 270 234 100 86 16 69 132 2.87 114
S. Bahnsen 26 36 34 14 15 12 0 242 221 99 90 20 72 110 3.35 98
S. Kline 23 31 25 12 11 11 0 185 170 72 60 16 31 67 2.92 112
J. Cumberland* 24 34 18 4 8 5 1 144 116 54 44 18 45 50 2.75 119
S. Hargan 28 17 8 0 2 5 1 51 58 34 30 7 24 24 5.29 62
L. McDaniel 35 40 0 0 5 8 4 63 74 37 35 11 22 35 5.00 65
S. Hamilton* 35 39 0 0 2 2 4 45 27 16 14 4 12 38 2.80 117
M. Kekich* 26 37 6 1 6 3 0 85 79 40 34 5 41 51 3.60 91
R. Klimkowski 27 34 0 0 2 3 2 55 49 25 20 4 24 31 3.27 100
R. Rodriguez 29 14 1 0 3 1 0 27 27 17 14 3 9 19 4.67 70
H. Wilhelm 48 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 5 3 2 1 1 13.50 24
Others 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 6 5 1 4 4 5.63 58
Total 162 66 87 75 13 1451 1337 611 528 132 396 701 3.27 100
* Throws left
In his third full big-league season, 25-year-old Bobby Murcer bursts out with a superstar-caliber performance. We expected Briggs to produce nicely, but at 27 he delightfully surprises with a power-hitting breakthrough.
Solaita struggles, but another rookie, mid-season call-up Ron Blomberg, takes over the first base job in the second half with lusty hitting. With these lefty power bats leading the way, our offense is better than it was in 1970, indeed second in the league in OPS+.
But we have some issues on the mound. Steve Hargan, the sensational comeback surprise of 1970, fizzles again. And Wilhelm isn’t the only reliever to struggle, as Lindy McDaniel, so brilliant last season, takes a beating this time around.
Thus our pitching, such a strength in 1970, is just league-average in ’71. We’re still a good ball club, but we win eight fewer games than last year, and drop to third place, in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back kind of a season.
Red Sox
Installing Aparicio at shortstop, we’re hopeful that we’ve fit the final piece of the puzzle together to become a serious contender. Ken Harrelson is back to handle first base, allowing us to shift superstar Carl Yastrzemski back to left field. Young Billy Conigliaro is set to take over for his brother in right. With the big bats of Reggie Smith in center and Rico Petrocelli at third, and still more power emanating from Mike Andrews at second base and Frank Fernandez behind the plate, we’re anticipating a top-to-bottom lineup of rare quality.
Our pitching is a concern, no doubt. But it was better than average in 1970, and if either or both among young left-handers Ken Brett and Bill Lee step forward, it could be better than that this year.
1971 Boston Red Sox 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-LF C. Yastrzemski* 31 148 508 75 129 21 2 15 70 106 60 .254 .381 .392 .772 113
2B-1B M. Andrews 27 109 330 59 93 15 0 15 42 66 37 .282 .393 .464 .857 135
SS L. Aparicio 37 125 491 56 114 23 0 4 45 35 43 .232 .279 .303 .583 60
3B R. Petrocelli 28 158 553 82 139 24 4 28 89 91 108 .251 .351 .461 .812 122
RF-CF B. Conigliaro 23 130 474 63 123 32 3 15 48 34 95 .259 .307 .435 .742 102
CF-RF R. Smith# 26 159 618 85 175 33 2 30 96 63 82 .283 .351 .489 .840 129
LF-RF J. Lahoud* 24 112 317 45 70 10 4 16 38 49 53 .221 .332 .429 .761 108
C F. Fernandez 28 88 221 30 38 6 0 13 27 52 77 .172 .331 .376 .707 94
IF T. Matchick* 27 92 251 21 62 6 2 3 24 20 48 .247 .301 .323 .623 72
C H. King* 27 86 198 16 43 10 0 5 21 30 43 .217 .329 .343 .672 85
UT P. Gagliano 29 76 144 22 43 8 1 0 22 23 20 .299 .386 .368 .754 108
1B K. Harrelson 29 52 145 20 30 2 0 5 16 23 19 .207 .312 .324 .636 75
OF B. Bradford 26 67 112 17 22 4 1 3 13 18 26 .196 .321 .330 .651 79
1B J. Campbell* 28 64 112 12 27 4 1 2 12 10 17 .241 .298 .348 .647 77
P-PH G. Peters* 34 53 96 7 26 4 0 3 19 3 20 .271 .280 .406 .687 87
C T. Tischinski 26 52 70 5 12 2 0 1 4 10 11 .171 .280 .243 .523 45
LF C. Coletta* 26 41 74 12 19 3 1 1 9 7 12 .257 .329 .365 .694 91
Others 260 41 74 18 2 4 27 25 38 .285 .344 .415 .759 108
Pitchers 337 22 64 5 0 6 27 15 120 .190 .208 .258 .466 27
Total 5311 690 1303 230 23 169 649 680 929 .245 .328 .393 .721 97
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
R. Culp 29 35 35 12 14 16 0 242 236 108 97 21 67 151 3.61 104
S. Siebert 34 32 32 12 16 10 0 235 220 84 76 20 60 131 2.91 129
G. Peters* 34 34 32 9 14 11 1 214 241 111 104 25 70 100 4.37 86
J. Lonborg 29 27 26 5 10 7 0 168 167 86 77 15 67 100 4.13 91
A. Reynolds 25 38 14 3 6 10 3 147 164 76 68 13 59 104 4.16 90
L. Tiant 30 21 10 1 1 7 0 72 73 42 39 8 32 59 4.88 77
M. Nagy 23 4 2 0 0 1 0 13 15 10 9 1 7 3 6.23 60
B. Bolin 32 52 0 0 5 3 8 70 74 34 33 7 24 51 4.24 88
S. Lyle* 26 50 0 0 6 4 18 52 41 16 16 5 23 37 2.77 135
B. Lee* 24 47 3 0 9 2 4 102 102 35 31 7 46 74 2.74 137
K. Brett* 22 29 2 0 0 3 1 59 57 38 35 7 35 57 5.34 70
C. Koonce 30 13 1 0 0 1 0 21 22 16 13 3 11 9 5.57 67
Others 5 2 3 3 0 50 47 17 17 5 19 35 3.06 123
Total 162 44 84 78 35 1445 1459 673 615 137 520 911 3.83 98
* Throws left
Well, phooey.
The list of disappointments is so long it’s hard to know where to begin. How about with Aparicio, who’d played so well for the White Sox in 1970, but now suddenly is showing all of his 37 years? Or Harrelson, who hits so anemically that he just up and retires from baseball at the age of 29 in late June?
Yastrzemski slumps dreadfully, delivering his least productive performance since his rookie year a decade ago. Conigliaro isn’t bad, but he hits with less authority than in 1970. Andrews is nagged by injuries, and Fernandez, a poor hitter for average to begin with, sees his BA crater by 50 points.
Lee does succeed, but Brett regresses badly. Jim Lonborg returns to the starting rotation, but with mediocre effectiveness; among the starting corps, only Sonny Siebert pitches well.
Rarely does a roster of such abundant talent deliver such uninspired results. Far from emerging as a challenger to Baltimore’s dominance of the division, our 84 wins are the fewest we’ve achieved in the four frustrating seasons following the 1967 championship.
There is one silver lining amid the gloom. Being so far out of the race, in September we grant liberal playing time to a large cohort of promising prospects, and nearly all of them perform impressively. We eagerly anticipate a wholesale infusion of new blood in 1972.
Indians
Looking to build on the progress exhibited last year, we haven’t undertaken significant restructuring. The key change is in defensive alignment: with Tony Horton absent (and sadly, never to return), we’re shifting George Scott from third base to first, and Graig Nettles from right field to third base. This should dramatically improve the infield defense.
In right field we’re going with a platoon of Richie Scheinblum and Roy Foster, both of whom hit well in 1970. Rookies who’ll get meaningful opportunities include John Lowenstein at second base, Chris Chambliss in left field, and pitchers Rich Hand, Vince Colbert, and Steve Mingori.
1971 Cleveland Indians Won 73 Lost 89 Finished 5th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B G. Scott 27 139 483 65 128 14 4 22 72 35 91 .265 .318 .447 .765 107
2B D. Nelson 27 135 478 69 131 17 5 6 43 36 43 .274 .323 .368 .691 89
SS-2B E. Leon 24 131 429 38 112 12 2 4 35 34 69 .261 .309 .326 .635 74
3B G. Nettles* 26 158 598 80 156 18 1 28 89 82 56 .261 .349 .435 .784 114
RF R. Scheinblum# 28 120 381 54 105 22 6 15 56 56 34 .276 .373 .483 .856 133
CF J. Cardenal 27 135 449 61 112 20 3 13 57 39 49 .249 .302 .394 .696 89
LF-CF T. Uhlaender* 31 134 450 52 130 18 3 2 42 34 40 .289 .337 .356 .692 90
C R. Fosse 24 133 486 55 134 21 1 12 65 36 62 .276 .329 .397 .726 98
2B-OF J. Lowenstein* 24 86 239 32 54 10 0 9 24 32 57 .226 .317 .381 .697 90
C-LF D. Sims* 30 90 230 30 65 7 2 9 30 28 39 .283 .360 .448 .808 120
LF-1B C. Chambliss* 22 83 229 27 61 11 2 5 24 20 47 .266 .327 .397 .724 97
RF-LF R. Foster 25 82 198 27 46 10 1 9 24 16 26 .232 .298 .429 .727 97
SS J. Heidemann 21 61 120 9 24 3 0 0 4 5 24 .200 .233 .225 .458 26
UT C. Hinton 37 66 98 10 21 5 0 3 9 12 24 .214 .300 .357 .657 79
IF F. Stanley 23 40 86 10 19 3 0 1 8 18 17 .221 .355 .291 .646 79
2B-3B R. Hansen 33 61 97 6 21 1 0 3 13 5 17 .216 .248 .320 .567 54
Others 70 7 16 3 0 0 5 5 10 .229 .280 .271 .551 52
Pitchers 370 25 53 3 0 1 13 22 157 .143 .177 .159 .336 -7
Total 5491 657 1388 198 30 142 613 515 862 .253 .315 .377 .692 89
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
S. McDowell* 28 35 31 8 15 15 1 215 160 89 81 22 153 192 3.39 113
R. Gardner* 26 40 19 4 10 8 2 172 192 99 88 12 65 109 4.60 83
R. Lamb 26 43 21 3 7 11 2 158 147 67 59 11 69 91 3.36 114
S. Dunning 22 21 19 2 6 8 0 123 115 65 61 17 73 88 4.46 86
M. Paul* 26 17 12 1 3 6 0 62 78 42 41 8 14 33 5.95 64
D. Tidrow 24 10 10 1 4 3 0 62 71 38 36 13 26 35 5.23 73
R. Hand 22 15 12 0 3 5 0 61 74 43 39 6 38 26 5.75 67
R. Austin* 24 23 8 1 2 3 2 61 71 40 38 11 35 48 5.61 68
B. Garibaldi 29 10 6 1 3 3 0 49 69 36 30 8 12 22 5.51 70
V. Romo 28 55 3 0 3 8 9 96 77 41 41 10 50 63 3.84 100
S. Mingori* 27 54 0 0 1 3 5 68 41 14 13 3 29 51 1.72 223
V. Colbert 25 50 10 2 8 5 3 143 140 71 63 11 71 74 3.97 97
P. Hennigan 25 29 0 0 3 1 7 41 40 23 23 7 26 35 5.05 76
D. Higgins 31 26 1 0 2 4 4 28 34 19 17 3 14 29 5.46 70
J. Hardin 27 12 3 0 0 2 0 28 38 21 18 4 10 13 5.79 66
Others 7 0 3 4 3 72 69 40 37 10 41 40 4.63 83
Total 162 23 73 89 38 1439 1416 748 685 156 726 949 4.28 89
* Throws left
In the offensive half of the inning, we see some general decline from 1970 performance, but nothing too bad. Nettles improves with the bat and emerges as a defensive superstar at third base; there is no better corner infield combination with the leather than Nettles and Scott. Overall we present a lineup that’s far from championship-caliber, but it’s competent.
But then there is that other half of the inning. Pitching, the key Cleveland strength for nearly a decade, is anything but that this year, as the staff collapses in disarray.
The problems start at the top, as 28-year-old ace Sam McDowell falls far short of the elite-level performance he’d maintained in 1968-69-70. Control was never Sudden Sam’s forte, but he hasn’t shown this kind of difficulty in locating the strike zone since he was a teenager.
And beyond McDowell it just gets worse. We provide young pitcher after young pitcher with the opportunity to seize the moment and make a statement, but all too often the statement is, “HELP!”
Thus for the second time in three years, our Indians slip and fall. Our progress in restoring the competitiveness of the Cleveland franchise is thrown for a loss.
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
1971 82 80 4 648 641 85 77 3 691 667 60 102 6 543 747
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
1971 87 75 3 662 611 84 78 4 690 673 73 89 5 657 748
Next time
This season brought little more than varying degrees of frustration. We’ll see how each of these ball clubs addresses their issues.
Steve:
If I’m not crazy, I believe Yaz was given a $500,000 / 3-year deal over the winter after having an incredible 1967-1970 four-year run. He didn’t exactly rip the cover off the ball from 1971-1973; probably a portent of what free agency’s eventual multi-year deals would bring the owners.
As always, great stuff
I don’t know if Yastrzemski’s contract status had anything to do with his big 1971-72 slump, but at the time the Boston fandom was furious with him, and he endured quite a bit of booing at Fenway Park. As his long career progressed, he regained the support of the Red Sox faithful, and indeed was raised to the status of demigod that he holds to this day. But there was a point in his career when more than a few people (rightly or not) questioned his hustle and effort. Jim Bouton commented on this in Ball Four in 1969.
How did Rob Gardner (assuming that’s him) get on the Indians?
Gardner, in real life, was traded to the Indians by the Cubs, on March 30, 1968, for Bobby Tiefenauer. So our Indians inherited him.
The actual Indians traded Gardner to the Yankees on July 12, 1969, in exchange for Johnny Orsino. Our Indians declined that offer (lovely though it was), as noted in Part 1.