The virtual 1969-76 Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians (Part 8: 1975-76)
We’ve reached the final round of our eight-season counterfactual exploration of three franchises in the American League East Division in the bell-bottom era:
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
By far, the most successful of our ball clubs has been the Red Sox, capturing three virtual division flags as opposed to the single championship they actually won. Our Yankees, in a manner similar to their real-life counterparts, have found themselves stuck in a good-but-not-good-enough rut, the most frustrating season being 1975, when they whipped Boston in run differential but finished ten games behind as a result of Pythagorean mischief. Our Indians, meanwhile, have been quite inconsistent, alternating bold forward strides with stumbles.
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
1972 79 76 4 557 527 85 70 2 640 620 72 84 5 472 519
1973 80 82 4 641 610 89 73 2 738 647 71 91 6 680 826
1974 89 73 2 671 623 84 78 3 696 661 77 85 4 662 694
1975 83 77 3 681 588 95 65 1 796 709 79 80 4 688 703
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
1972 82 73 3 590 545 89 66 1 627 579 82 74 4 558 534
1973 86 76 4 709 630 89 73 3 721 633 92 70 2 740 679
1974 80 82 3 679 717 98 64 1 734 582 71 91 6 639 714
1975 87 73 3 709 590 97 63 1 813 720 82 77 4 689 667
Let’s see how each team prepares itself for our final competition.
The 1975-76 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Oct. 24, 1975: The Cleveland Indians sold catcher Jeff Newman to the Oakland Athletics.
Like the actual Indians, we can spare this minor league journeyman.
Nov. 17, 1975: The Boston Red Sox traded outfielder Juan Beniquez, pitcher Steve Barr, and a player to be named later to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Fergie Jenkins. (On Dec. 12, 1975, the Red Sox sent pitcher Craig Skok to the Rangers, completing the deal.)
We understand that the soon-to-be-33-year-old Jenkins is past his peak, but there’s likely to be a long and productive way down from a pinnacle that high. This is the very definition of a bargain, and like the real-life Red Sox, we’ll snap it up.
Dec. 11, 1975: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Doc Medich to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers Dock Ellis and Ken Brett and second baseman Willie Randolph.
Though we love the young workhorse Medich, we just can’t turn down this three-for-one offer. Neither Ellis nor Brett is as good as Medich, but combined they’ll likely deliver at least as much value. And the real key is the 21-year-old Randolph, who’s completed a highly impressive minor league apprenticeship and looks like he might develop into a top-tier second baseman. Our Yankees got a strong performance at that position in 1975 from the journeyman Denny Doyle, but we’re not naïve enough to expect that in the long run.
And, as we commented before on this Blockbuster:
… the worst trade in the 20-year tenure of Pirates GM Joe Brown: Watching Medich (who gained his nickname because he’d studied medicine, and was endeavoring to become an M.D.) struggle on the mound in 1976, a Pittsburgh writer moaned, “Ellis is a better doctor than this guy.”
In fairness to Brown, Medich didn’t truly perform all that badly for the Pirates, but he sure didn’t deliver what they’d anticipated. But that’s the risk in a three-for-one, and that risk is heightened when the one is a pitcher.
The 1975-76 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Nov. 22, 1975: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Pat Dobson to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Oscar Gamble.
Our Yankees would be happy to make this trade—Gamble would fit in wonderfully at DH—but our Indians aren’t having any of it. Unlike real-life Cleveland GM Phil Seghi, we think an eight-year age difference in a straight-up trade might be something to take into consideration.
Dec. 9, 1975: The Cleveland Indians purchased catcher Ray Fosse from the Oakland Athletics.
In his three seasons in Oakland, the one-time young Cleveland star, plagued by injuries, has seen his batting average go from .256 to .196 to .140. We don’t like the trend. (The joke will be on us, as in a semi-regular deployment for the actual Indians in 1976, Fosse would rebound to .301.)
Dec. 11, 1975: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Bobby Bonds to the California Angels outfielder Mickey Rivers and pitcher Ed Figueroa .
Sure, it’s one-for-two, but we’re skeptical about each of the two. The slap-hitting speedster Rivers has a decidedly narrow skill profile, and Figueroa is a 27-year-old with just a single season of major league success. Upon due consideration, we’ll decide to stick with the remarkably productive Bonds.
Dec. 12, 1975: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Roger Moret to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Tom House.
Our Red Sox don’t have Moret. Our Yankees do, but in any case our Yankees prefer Moret over House.
Dec. 12, 1975: The Cleveland Indians traded second baseman Jack Brohamer to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Larvell Blanks.
Furthermore, our Indians don’t have Brohamer. Our Red Sox do, but, you guessed it, they prefer Brohamer over Blanks.
March 3, 1976: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Dick Drago to the California Angels for outfielders John Balaz and Dick Sharon and infielder Dave Machemer.
Not only do our Red Sox not have Drago, even if we did, we wouldn’t be interested in this bag of spare parts.
The 1975-76 offseason: Deals we will invoke
October, 1975: The Boston Red Sox purchased infielder Steve Huntz from the San Diego Padres.
In several tries, the almost-30-year-old Huntz has utterly failed to hit for average at the major league level. But in the minors he’s been an outstanding on-base guy, with nice pop to boot.
With Rico Petrocelli starting to look pretty creaky, our Red Sox are concerned about third base, and we’ll see if the switch-hitting Huntz might be able to help us out.
Nov. 12, 1975: The Cleveland Indians traded second baseman Dave Nelson to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Nelson Briles.
Actually it was the Texas Rangers making this deal with Kansas City. Our Indians will happily do it instead, given that Nelson (the infielder) is entirely surplus for us at this point, and the strike-throwing veteran Nelson (Briles) looks like he’s still got something left in the tank.
Nov., 1975: The New York Yankees traded infielder George Zeber and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Mike Easler.
Despite spending several years in the Houston and St. Louis organizations punishing opposing pitchers, Easler has never gotten more than a major league cup of coffee because of problematic defense. Sounds like a born designated hitter to us.
Given that our Yankees have some concerns about our DH situation, it makes sense to give him a try. And given that the Cardinals would soon dump Easler in exchange for a workaday minor league infielder, it’s plausible that we could tempt them with this workaday minor league infielder.
Dec. 9, 1975: The New York Yankees traded catcher John Ellis to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Stan Thomas and catcher-outfielder Ron Pruitt.
Actually it was the Indians making this one with the Rangers. It makes just as much sense for our Yankees. The versatile Pruitt looks like he can handle Ellis’s utility role, while Thomas is a useful new arm for the bullpen.
Dec. 12, 1975: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Ken Brett and infielder Sandy Alomar to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Rick Miller, infielder Mario Guerrero, and pitcher Rick Kreuger.
Our Yankees will pivot and deal the newly-acquired Brett, because we aren’t confident Elliott Maddox will be ready to return to center field until well into the 1976 season. In Miller, we’re getting a first-rate defensive center fielder with an adequate bat.
Our Red Sox are willing to expend Miller because he’s superfluous with Fred Lynn’s emergence. Here we neatly convert that surplus into pitching depth.
Jan., 1976: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Fritz Peterson to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Bobby Coluccio.
And with the southpaw Brett on board, the veteran Peterson is expendable. The toolsy young Coluccio will compete for one of the bench spots that Beniquez and Miller have vacated.
Feb. 14, 1976: The Boston Red Sox signed pitcher Wayne Granger as a free agent.
A veteran arm who might win a bullpen job.
Feb. 15, 1976: The Boston Red Sox signed outfielder-first baseman Bobby Tolan as a free agent.
A veteran bat who might win a bench job.
Feb. 20, 1976: The New York Yankees traded catcher Ed Herrmann to the California Angels for catcher-first baseman Adrian Garrett and outfielder-infielder Paul Dade.
Actually the Yankees sold Herrmann to California on this date. Our version prefers this pair of minor league handymen instead, either or both of whom might contribute from our bench.
April 7, 1976: The New York Yankees released pitcher Diego Segui.
Segui has had a real nice run for us, but he won’t be making the staff this year.
April 7, 1976: The Boston Red Sox released first baseman Deron Johnson.
This veteran did splendidly in his final-week cameo with Boston last season, but we don’t have room on the Opening Day roster.
The 1976 season: Actual deals we will make
April 19, 1976: The Boston Red Sox sold catcher Tim Blackwell to the Philadelphia Phillies.
This spare part hasn’t made the big league roster this year, and we’ve got other young catchers coming along in the minors.
The 1976 season: Actual deals we will not make
May 16, 1976: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Larry Gura to the Kansas City Royals for catcher Fran Healy.
It’s our Indians who have Gura, not our Yankees, and there’s no way we’ll make this pointless move.
May 18, 1976: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Ken Brett and outfielder Rich Coggins to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder-first baseman Carlos May.
Our Yanks have already traded Brett. In any case, though May is a good offensive player, he isn’t that good, and he has zilch defensive value, so none of our teams would make this deal anyway.
June 3, 1976: The Boston Red Sox traded outfielder Bernie Carbo to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Tom Murphy and outfielder Bobby Darwin.
Since our Red Sox don’t have Carbo, we can’t make this one. We certainly wouldn’t be inclined to anyway, as it made precious little on-field sense. Very likely the motivation of the actual Red Sox was concern, whether based on knowledge or suspicion, of Carbo’s fondness for drugs.
June 4, 1976: The New York Yankees traded pitchers Rudy May, Tippy Martinez, Dave Pagan, and Scott McGregor and catcher Rick Dempsey to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Grant Jackson, and Jimmy Freeman and catcher Elrod Hendricks.
Woah, Nellie. What was this humdinger all about?
The purpose of this mega-exchange was quite clear: the Orioles, scuffling at 25-31, were willing to give up talent in the short term in order to get younger, while the Yankees, getting so close they could taste it after their long rebuilding program, were loading up to win now. All that made sense, although the one piece of it that never added up to me was why the rock-solid 31-year-old veteran May was going from New York to Baltimore.
Anyway, the Yankees got their eagerly-awaited pennant in ’76, and it’s impossible to argue with the success they sustained over the next several seasons. But did Yankee General Manager Gabe Paul give up a boatload of talent here, or what? May was predictably good, Martinez and Dempsey both became productive assets for the Orioles for a long time, and McGregor became a star. Baltimore GM Hank Peters executed a spectacularly successful trade.
Our Yankees have all these ingredients except Dempsey. Nevertheless we aren’t tempted by what the Orioles have to offer.
July 10, 1976: The New York Yankees traded a player to be named later to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Gene Locklear. (On July 31, 1976, the Yankees sent pitcher Rick Sawyer to the Padres, completing the deal.)
We’re not interested in Locklear, and in any case it’s our Indians who have Sawyer.
Sep. 1, 1976: The New York Yankees signed outfielder-infielder Cesar Tovar as a free agent.
We don’t see a need for this veteran.
The 1976 season: Deals we will invoke
June 15, 1976: The New York Yankees purchased pitcher Rollie Fingers from the Oakland Athletics.
June 15, 1976: The Boston Red Sox purchased pitcher Vida Blue from the Oakland Athletics.
June 15, 1976: The Cleveland Indians purchased outfielder Joe Rudi from the Oakland Athletics.
June 18, 1976: The purchases of Fingers, Blue, and Rudi were cancelled by the Commissioner’s office, and all three players returned to the Athletics.
Ah, yes, this little adventure. Seeing free agency looming in the fall like the headlight of an oncoming freight train, Oakland owner Charlie Finley is seeking to get what he can for his remaining stars. (In actuality, the deals were Blue to the Yankees, Fingers and Rudi to the Red Sox, and nobody to the Indians. But these versions make more sense for our teams, and our Tribe doesn’t want to be left out.)
Alas, wisely or not, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn intervenes before any of the players are allowed to perform for their new ball clubs, and “in the best interests of baseball,” the deals are kiboshed. Oh well.
July 14, 1976: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Rich Coggins to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder-catcher Wayne Nordhagen.
Actually on this date, the Phillies made this trade with the White Sox. Coggins has been a bust. Nordhagen (originally in the Yankee organization, then traded as part of the Pat Dobson deal in 1973) is a 28-year-old minor league journeyman, a consistently good-but-not-great triple-A hitter.
1976 season results
Yankees
We haven’t undertaken major changes—after all, we “won” 95 Pythagorean games in 1975—but we have endeavored to add depth to the roster. The rookie Randolph will compete with the incumbent Doyle at second base, and Miller is on hand in center field in case Maddox isn’t up to it. Similarly, Easler will take over as the lefty-hitting DH if Ron Blomberg is still hobbling.
The pitching staff returns intact with the exceptions of Ellis replacing Medich in the rotation, and Thomas replacing Segui in the bullpen.
1976 New York Yankees Won 87 Lost 72 Finished 3rd
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B C. Chambliss* 27 156 641 77 188 32 6 17 95 27 80 .293 .323 .441 .764 123
2B W. Randolph 21 125 430 57 115 15 4 1 40 58 39 .267 .352 .328 .680 101
SS R. Metzger# 28 101 241 18 50 8 3 0 14 22 34 .207 .269 .266 .534 58
3B B. Bell 24 159 604 72 171 26 3 7 65 45 52 .283 .329 .371 .700 106
RF B. Bonds 30 99 378 52 102 11 3 11 60 43 94 .270 .345 .402 .747 119
CF R. Miller* 28 150 524 71 140 23 5 3 49 64 85 .267 .339 .347 .686 102
LF R. White# 32 156 626 101 179 29 3 14 64 83 52 .286 .360 .409 .769 126
C T. Munson 29 152 616 77 186 27 1 17 104 29 38 .302 .337 .432 .769 125
DH M. Easler* 25 93 289 37 80 16 1 9 42 26 60 .277 .333 .433 .766 124
IF M. Guerrero 26 83 268 26 79 13 0 1 22 8 13 .295 .311 .354 .666 96
2B D. Doyle* 32 59 173 19 40 6 2 0 10 8 17 .231 .262 .289 .551 62
OF R. Bladt 29 65 151 18 35 5 1 2 15 18 25 .232 .320 .318 .638 88
UT O. Velez 25 65 140 17 37 8 0 4 17 31 36 .264 .395 .407 .802 136
UT R. Pruitt 24 47 86 7 23 2 1 0 6 16 9 .267 .375 .314 .689 104
UT A. Garrett* 33 35 73 8 13 3 0 2 9 7 22 .178 .244 .301 .545 60
OF T. Whitfield* 23 29 70 7 17 3 1 1 9 6 11 .243 .299 .357 .656 92
OF R. Coggins* 25 28 68 4 11 1 0 0 3 5 12 .162 .216 .176 .393 16
OF W. Nordhagen 27 22 53 7 10 2 0 0 6 4 12 .189 .230 .226 .456 34
OF E. Maddox 28 18 46 4 10 2 0 0 3 4 3 .217 .275 .261 .535 58
OF P. Dade 24 22 41 6 10 1 0 0 6 7 6 .244 .347 .268 .615 83
Others 43 3 7 1 0 0 4 2 9 .163 .200 .186 .386 14
Total 5561 688 1503 234 34 89 643 513 709 .270 .329 .373 .701 106
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
C. Hunter 30 36 36 21 15 15 0 299 268 126 117 28 68 173 3.52 98
R. May* 31 35 32 7 14 10 0 220 210 109 94 16 70 111 3.85 90
P. Dobson 34 35 35 6 16 12 0 217 226 99 84 13 65 117 3.48 99
D. Ellis 31 32 32 8 15 8 0 212 195 83 75 14 76 65 3.18 109
R. Moret* 26 36 12 1 5 8 1 116 121 60 58 9 35 44 4.50 77
S. Lockwood 29 56 0 0 10 7 17 94 62 32 29 7 31 108 2.78 125
S. Thomas 26 44 2 1 5 4 6 117 98 37 31 6 45 58 2.38 145
T. Martinez* 26 39 0 0 4 1 10 70 52 20 19 1 42 46 2.44 142
D. Pagan 26 27 6 1 2 5 1 71 75 42 39 2 27 48 4.94 70
Others 4 1 1 2 0 39 43 20 18 2 15 18 4.15 83
Total 159 46 87 72 35 1455 1350 628 564 98 474 788 3.49 99
* Throws left
The good news is that nearly every move we make yields positive results. Randolph proves to be a peach, winning the second base job over the course of the season. Miller neatly plugs the center field hole. Easler begins to develop a reputation as a “Hit Man.”
Ellis isn’t as durable as Medich had been, but he’s nicely effective. And not only does Thomas provide a strong year as a reliever (as does sophomore Tippy Martinez), but journeyman Skip Lockwood, who’d quietly posted a career-best strikeout rate as a mop-up man in ’75, fully blossoms at the age of 29 into a dominant ace reliever.
Not only that, catcher Thurman Munson, left fielder Roy White, and first baseman Chris Chambliss all deliver excellent years, and third baseman Buddy Bell is solidly good. It seems that we finally have every ingredient in place to deliver a championship to The Big Apple.
Every ingredient that is, except two: both of our marquee superstars fall short. Ace Catfish Hunter, at the age of 30, displays a noticeable loss of zip on his fastball, and performs not as the elite ace of recent seasons, but instead as something closer to an earnest innings-eater. And right fielder Bobby Bonds, also 30, suffers the first significant injury of his career, a hand ailment that keeps him out for a third of the season, and saps his power when he’s in the lineup.
The result is that we just don’t have the oomph to get into the winner’s circle. Pythagoras does us no harm this year; our 87 wins are exactly what we “deserve,” good only for yet another close-but-no-cigar third-place finish.
Red Sox
With back-to-back division flags under our belt, our Red Sox aren’t doing much messing with the formula. The only notable change is Jenkins and Brett beefing up the starting pitcher ranks, and we’ve shuffled a few cards on the bench.
1976 Boston Red Sox Won 88 Lost 74 Finished 4th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-LF C. Yastrzemski* 36 155 546 74 146 23 2 21 100 80 67 .267 .357 .432 .789 120
2B J. Brohamer* 26 119 354 38 93 15 2 8 40 46 30 .263 .341 .384 .725 102
SS R. Burleson 25 152 540 78 157 27 1 7 42 60 37 .291 .360 .383 .744 108
3B B. Hobson 24 76 269 36 63 7 5 8 34 15 62 .234 .267 .387 .654 81
RF-CF D. Evans 24 146 501 64 121 34 5 17 61 57 92 .242 .322 .431 .753 109
CF F. Lynn* 24 132 507 79 159 32 8 10 64 48 67 .314 .367 .467 .835 132
L-R-D J. Rice 23 153 581 78 164 25 8 25 83 28 123 .282 .314 .482 .796 120
C C. Fisk 28 121 438 71 113 15 5 15 52 51 63 .258 .337 .418 .754 110
DH-RF R. Smith# 31 112 395 65 103 17 5 21 58 29 70 .261 .314 .489 .802 122
1B-DH C. Cooper* 26 123 451 69 127 22 6 15 76 16 62 .282 .298 .457 .755 109
IF F. Gonzalez 26 60 179 17 46 9 1 4 20 6 31 .257 .282 .385 .667 85
3B R. Petrocelli 33 57 160 12 34 5 1 2 16 23 24 .213 .306 .294 .600 68
2B S. Alomar# 32 67 163 21 42 4 0 1 10 13 12 .258 .309 .301 .610 71
3B S. Huntz# 30 28 88 10 16 3 0 2 7 13 13 .182 .282 .284 .566 58
OF B. Tolan* 30 37 91 11 22 2 0 2 12 2 14 .242 .258 .330 .587 63
IF S. Dillard 25 38 84 12 22 7 0 1 8 8 11 .262 .319 .381 .700 95
C T. McCarver* 34 36 78 14 21 6 1 2 14 14 8 .269 .383 .449 .832 132
C V. Correll 30 17 50 7 10 2 0 2 4 4 11 .200 .255 .360 .615 70
Others 43 5 7 2 0 2 5 3 9 .163 .213 .349 .562 55
Total 5518 761 1466 257 50 165 706 516 806 .266 .326 .420 .746 107
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
L. Tiant 35 38 38 19 21 11 0 279 274 107 95 25 64 131 3.06 129
F. Jenkins 33 30 29 12 12 10 0 209 201 85 76 20 43 142 3.27 121
L. McGlothen 26 32 25 8 11 10 0 179 191 92 83 10 53 95 4.17 95
K. Brett* 27 32 19 7 9 7 1 178 155 79 69 8 66 81 3.49 114
R. Cleveland 28 41 14 3 10 8 1 170 159 73 58 3 61 76 3.07 129
M. Pattin 33 44 15 4 8 13 3 141 120 57 44 11 38 63 2.81 141
B. Lee* 29 24 14 1 5 6 1 96 124 68 60 13 28 29 5.63 70
J. Burton* 26 6 6 1 2 2 0 34 38 26 26 5 26 18 6.88 58
S. Lyle* 31 64 0 0 7 7 20 104 86 37 30 8 42 59 2.60 153
W. Granger 32 35 0 0 2 0 1 51 54 24 19 7 22 21 3.35 118
Others 2 0 1 0 0 17 22 8 7 1 4 8 3.71 107
Total 162 55 88 74 27 1458 1424 656 567 111 447 723 3.50 113
* Throws left
We have two key issues. First, we’d hoped to coax one final first-string year from the injury-ridden 33-year-old Petrocelli at third base, but by mid-season it’s clear that isn’t going to work. Huntz fails to seize the opportunity, and so in late June we call up power-hitting rookie Butch Hobson, who flashes raw talent—emphasis on the “raw.”
Second, southpaw Bill Lee, a top starter for the past few years, encounters a dreadful, injury-plagued season.
But broadly, things go according to expectation. Center fielder Fred Lynn isn’t as spectacular as in 1975, but he’s still excellent. Our remarkable offensive depth remains in abundant evidence, and our attack is very nearly the best in the league. Our pitching is so strong as to shrug off the bad year from Lee, and with ace Luis Tiant delivering another superb performance, we lead the league in ERA+.
It adds up to yet another formidable Boston ball club. But our Pythagorean fortune isn’t what it was in 1975, as we fall three short of our projected 91 wins. In an exceptionally competitive division race, our 88-74 record lands us all the way back in fourth place.
Indians
Our offensive roster returns entirely intact. The only meaningful difference is that this time around we’ll have impressive young center fielder Rick Manning around for the entire season.
And we’re adding only one new face to the pitching staff, the veteran Briles. Alongside him, the presence of sophomore Dennis Eckersley from the get-go will allow us to find out if a trio of pitchers—right-handers Stan Bahnsen and Jim Kern and lefty Larry Gura—may benefit from fewer starting assignments and more time out of the bullpen.
1976 Cleveland Indians Won 91 Lost 68 Finished 1st
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B G. Scott 32 156 606 78 166 21 5 18 77 53 113 .274 .334 .414 .748 121
2B D. Kuiper* 26 135 506 47 133 13 6 0 36 30 42 .263 .295 .312 .608 80
SS F. Duffy 29 126 372 36 79 10 2 2 28 28 48 .212 .263 .266 .529 57
3B G. Nettles* 31 158 583 88 150 29 2 30 88 60 89 .257 .327 .468 .795 134
RF-CF G. Hendrick 26 149 551 73 146 20 3 25 77 51 82 .265 .322 .448 .771 127
CF R. Manning* 21 138 552 74 161 24 7 6 43 41 75 .292 .333 .393 .726 115
LF O. Gamble* 26 120 367 47 87 14 1 18 57 40 39 .237 .317 .428 .745 119
C A. Ashby# 24 104 329 35 80 7 1 5 41 37 64 .243 .310 .316 .626 86
DH R. Carty 36 142 515 64 160 32 0 12 73 63 42 .311 .381 .443 .823 143
LF-RF C. Spikes 25 70 211 23 50 6 4 2 17 15 31 .237 .294 .332 .626 85
IF L. Alvarado 27 65 196 23 44 11 1 3 15 11 29 .224 .262 .337 .599 76
OF J. Lowenstein* 29 62 153 22 31 5 1 1 9 16 24 .203 .275 .268 .543 61
IF E. Crosby* 27 65 131 8 25 1 1 0 7 16 14 .191 .275 .214 .488 46
C R. Dempsey 26 53 108 7 21 1 0 0 5 7 11 .194 .246 .204 .449 34
C D. Duncan 30 42 86 7 17 2 0 1 5 6 18 .198 .247 .256 .503 49
DH F. Robinson 40 36 67 5 15 0 0 3 10 11 12 .224 .329 .358 .687 104
Others 60 5 13 1 0 1 4 4 8 .217 .266 .283 .549 63
Total 5393 642 1378 197 34 127 592 489 741 .256 .314 .375 .690 104
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
G. Perry 37 32 32 21 18 12 0 250 224 93 87 15 54 149 3.13 111
J. Colborn 30 32 32 7 12 12 0 226 232 100 93 20 54 109 3.70 94
N. Briles 32 32 31 7 14 7 1 210 216 87 73 17 49 101 3.13 111
D. Eckersley 21 36 30 9 16 10 1 199 155 82 76 13 78 200 3.44 101
S. Bahnsen 31 25 14 1 6 6 0 112 100 50 46 12 34 66 3.70 94
D. LaRoche* 28 61 0 0 2 3 21 96 57 25 24 2 49 104 2.25 155
J. Kern 27 48 4 0 11 6 5 118 91 38 31 2 50 111 2.36 147
D. Tidrow 29 45 4 0 4 6 1 92 82 31 27 4 24 65 2.64 132
L. Gura* 28 19 3 1 4 1 1 63 44 22 16 5 20 22 2.29 152
J. Strickland* 30 8 1 0 1 2 0 15 19 15 13 3 11 9 7.80 45
Others 8 1 3 3 0 51 55 20 19 3 23 21 3.35 104
Total 159 47 91 68 30 1432 1275 563 505 96 446 957 3.17 110
* Throws left
Everything doesn’t go perfectly. First baseman George Scott sees his home run output decline by half. Ace Gaylord Perry, while still quite good, is distinctly less dominant than before. Outfielder Charlie Spikes fails to rebound from the slump that plagued him as a sophomore in 1975.
But: third baseman Graig Nettles reaches a career high in home runs, leading the league in that category. Designated hitter Rico Carty, right fielder George Hendrick, and left fielder Oscar Gamble all deliver their customary strong production. Manning performs like a developing star.
Briles steps up with his best year since 1973, and with Eckersley emerging as one of the best young pitchers in the league, our starting rotation behind Perry is rock-solid.
Ace fireman Dave LaRoche has his second straight outstanding season, and Kern and Dick Tidrow both blossom as relievers behind him, creating a bullpen—that was a disaster just a couple of years ago—as effective as any in the majors.
The division race is a fierce season-long four-way battle, with a strong Orioles team mixing it up with our Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians. When the dust settles, it’s our Tribe on top, four-and-a-half games ahead of Boston, four ahead of New York, and two-and-a-half ahead of Baltimore. Cleveland captures its first championship since 1954.
Manager Frank Robinson isn’t just the toast of The Rock ‘n Roll Capitol. His story as the first black manager in big league history, nabbing a title in his second season, is a national sensation. The nature of this ball club—not centered around any particular superstar, but instead a deep and well-balanced team—renders it especially interesting and likeable. The 1976 Cleveland Indians stride into the promised land of baseball lore, one of the best-loved episodes in the long saga of the sport.
Epilogue
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
1972 79 76 4 557 527 85 70 2 640 620 72 84 5 472 519
1973 80 82 4 641 610 89 73 2 738 647 71 91 6 680 826
1974 89 73 2 671 623 84 78 3 696 661 77 85 4 662 694
1975 83 77 3 681 588 95 65 1 796 709 79 80 4 688 703
1976 97 62 1 730 575 83 79 3 716 660 81 78 4 615 615
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
1972 82 73 3 590 545 89 66 1 627 579 82 74 4 558 534
1973 86 76 4 709 630 89 73 3 721 633 92 70 2 740 679
1974 80 82 3 679 717 98 64 1 734 582 71 91 6 639 714
1975 87 73 3 709 590 97 63 1 813 720 82 77 4 689 667
1976 87 72 3 688 628 88 74 4 761 656 91 68 1 642 563
What have we learned from this fanciful romp through the first half of the Me Decade?
This isn’t an original revelation, but the exercise has vividly demonstrated the degree to which the Boston organization developed the most farm-raised talent of any of these teams in this period, by a wide margin. Had the actual Red Sox been more prudent in sorting and deploying their bountiful crop, they may well have vied with Earl Weaver’s Orioles as the dominant AL East force through these years.
Similarly, while we understood that the division-and-pennant-winning Yankee team of 1976 was largely built through a sequence of shrewd trades, here we’ve illustrated the stark manner in which their particular heists of Sparky Lyle from the Red Sox and Graig Nettles from the Indians were pivotal in determining the balance of power in the division. Moreover, their 1975 trade of Bobby Bonds for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa, a high-stakes gamble deemed too risky to undertake by our New Yorkers, paid off exquisitely, as not only did Rivers and Figueroa come through, but the real-life Yankees avoided the negative consequences of Bonds’s 1976 injury.
As for the Indians, perhaps they’re the most interesting story among the three. The actual Cleveland franchise struggled both on the field and at the gate in these years, achieving mediocrity at best. This exercise has shown that it didn’t have to be that way. An Indians organization that didn’t squander the not-inconsiderable talent available to them might well have had competitive moments in the early ’70s. And if most everything broke right as it did for our ’76 Tribe, instead of being remembered today as a bumbling crew wearing garishly ugly uniforms before a near-empty Municipal Stadium, the Cleveland Indians of that era might be known as a plucky winner that captured the hearts of the citizenry of the Metropolis of the Western Reserve.
As a Red Sox fan, I much prefer your version of the first half of the 1970s to the actual one.
Looking at what the Indians have on hand, I couldn’t help but think that they might win another pennant in 1978. Heading up the rotation that year would be Eckersley (20-8, 2.99 for Boston), Perry (21-6, 2.73 for San Diego) and Gura (16-4, 2.72 for KC). Some of the hitters had dropped off a cliff by then, but if these Indians still managed to heist Andre Thornton from the Expos after the ‘76 season, they could stand Scott suddenly getting old during the ‘77 off-season.
Yes, but with the still-productive Scott on the Cleveland roster in December 1976 (and, in this scenario, coming off a division title), I don’t see this Cleveland team trading for Thornton, even for the bargain price of a Jackie Brown.
But you’re certainly correct that with this pitching nucleus, plus Nettles and Hendrick providing power, these Indians would be a tough competitor in ‘78. By this point we’ve entered into the free agent era, however, and it becomes much more difficult to nail down plausible counterfactual scenarios, and therefore there are lots of possibilities as to how these Yankees and these Red Sox might line up in 1978.
I guess it’s not impossible with some rainouts, but is it actually supposed to be the case that the Yankees are in 3rd place with 87 wins, and the Red Sox are in 4th with 88?
Yes, because of the non-made-up rainouts that afflicted the AL East that year, the Yankees (and Indians) only played 159 games to completion. So our Yankees at 87-72 have a better winning percentage than the Red Sox at 88-74.
Had the division title depended upon it, as many of those rainouts as necessary would have been made up. But in our scenario as in real life, the winner was determined without having to play the full 162-game schedule.
If the Yankees did execute the Bonds for Rivers and Figueroa trade, would that have made a significant difference in 1976? For that matter, would the big Baltimore trade have changed the outcome?
“If the Yankees did execute the Bonds for Rivers and Figueroa trade, would that have made a significant difference in 1976?”
Oh, absolutely. A huge difference. Rivers instead of the injured Bonds alone is a big upgrade, and beefing up the already-strong pitching staff with the addition of Figueroa adds more. And in a race this close, it wouldn’t take much to swing the outcome. I’m pretty sure that if my version of the Yankees makes this trade, they win it in ‘76.
“For that matter, would the big Baltimore trade have changed the outcome?”
Less dramatically, because that trade wasn’t so impactful in 1976 alone as it would be down the road. But again, in a race this close, everything matters.
“Perhaps, oh just perhaps, you might accept just how fortunate you have been to be a lifelong Yankee fan.”
Yeah, I thought that a lot during the Horace Clarke era and the Stump Merrill years.
Steve,
In general, love these alternate histories – but you’re killing me (lifelong Yankee fan) with this one. No Sweet Lou, no Puff (Nettles), no Mick the Quick and no AL flag in 1976. Ouch! I’m glad I lived the real thing.
Do we at least sign Reggie Jackson in the off-season?
Perhaps, oh just perhaps, you might accept just how fortunate you have been to be a lifelong Yankee fan.
They’re the Yankees. They’ll sign whoever they please.
Well, thanks Steve for giving us Indians fans at least 1 (virtual) division crown. I always found it odd that the Indians’ total crap years coincided exactly with them being in the AL East. In the 1960s they were decidedly mediocre, highlighted by a 3rd place finish in ‘68, then starting in ‘69 they tanked completely, finishing at or over .500 exactly FOUR times. In the early 90s they had the foundation of their really good teams but it wasn’t until ‘94, their first year out of the AL East, that they turned the corner.
Your virtual Indians could not trade Jackie Brown for Thornton because they got him in the Gaylord trade. They would have had to acquire Brown (or Thornton) via different means.
Thanks Steve! And keep these virtual teams/years coming! Especially from the 60s and 70s.
Definitely, the Rangers were that kind of team. A ton of talent flowed through the organization in those years, but they never seemed to have any sort of plan, it was just haphazard buy/sell/buy/sell.
I didn’t think about the fact that the Indians never get Jackie Brown to swap for Thornton. That presumably means Brown stays with Texas, which had a disappointing season in ‘76. They had a good young first baseman in Mike Hargrove, but their DH was Tom Grieve, who was a disappointment. They replaced him with an old Willie Horton for ‘77, who really wasn’t any better. But Andre Thornton was a lot better in ‘77, which was also the year that Texas won 94 games and got nothing to show for it but a clear view of K.C.‘s butt. Thornton at least would have made the 1977 AL West race a little more interesting when the Royals went on their tear in August and September. They were in first place as late as Aug. 19, but like everyone else, couldn’t keep up with K.C.
Anyway, I just thought about it, and weren’t the Rangers of the 1974-81 period another team that kept shooting itself in the foot, like the Yankees did in the 1980s? Were there enough bad decisions that, if undone, could have gotten that team over the hump?
One thing that you may have missed. Since Graig Nettles wasn’t on the Yankees in your alternate reality, Bill Lee wouldn’t have gotten into a brawl with him when he did, and wouldn’t have suffered the shoulder injury. That might have been enough to swing the division Boston’s way (although he’d been pretty crappy up to that point).
Good point, Cliff, though one hesitates to know how far to take it in these alternate-reality scenarios … maybe Lee would have gotten into a brawl with Nettles in a Red Sox-Indians game?