King of Diamonds 8

Giants sweep their way to KOD8 World Championship

2009-12-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

The KOD8 World series would feature the 1961 Los Angeles managed by Douglas Zaner and the 1957 New York Giants, managed by Tom Davis.

Thursday, October 18, Game One at the Polo Grounds
The Angels opened the scoring in the top of the second when Giant starter Johnny Antonelli walked three straight hitters to open the inning. A double play ball and a strikeout got him out the inning down 1-0. A one out single by Hank Sauer in the bottom of the second looked innocuous enough, but Gail Harris was then safe on shortstop Joe Koppe's error. Singles by Daryl Spencer and Valmy Thomas each drove home a run and then Danny O'Connell's single drove home two more. Don Mueller drove O'Connell home with a double and the Giants left the second leading 5-1. In the third Sauer was safe on second baseman Ken Aspromonte's error. He moved to third on Spencer's single and scored on a wild pitch. O'Connell walked with the bases loaded and Eli Grba's day was done. His team had not helped him much as 5 of the seven runs he gave up were unearned. Antonelli got the win (5-2, 3.33) and Grba took the loss (7-1, 2.79) Giants 8 Angels 2.

Friday October 19 Game Two at the Polo Grounds.
In the bottom of the first, O'Connell walked and Mays singled. Rightfielder Albie Pearson misplayed the single and allowed O'Connell to reach third. From there, he scored on Mueller's ground out. The Giants added a run in the second on a solo homer by Valmy Thomas (3). In the sixth, Ken McBride led off with a walk. Two force outs at second later, Leon Wagner doubled home Rocky Bridges. Lee Thomas singled Wagner home and the game was tied. It remained that way until the 8th when Lee Thomas tripled and scored on Earl Averill's single. In the bottom of the 8th, pinch hitter Ray Jablonsky led off with a single. He moved to second on Red Schoendienst's walk. O'Connell grounded out to move both runners up a base and cause Willie Mays to be intentionally walked. Mueller then drove a ball into medium deep right field and Jablonsky easily scored the tying run. In the bottom of the 10th, Willie Mays again walked. He stole second and came home on a two out double by Gail Harris. Al Worthington got the win (5-1, 2.51. Jack Spring took the loss (2-2, 0.61). The capacity crowd stood cheering for nearly twenty minutes after the game, wondering if they would ever see their beloved Giants play in the Polo Grounds as the home team again. Giants 4 Angels 3

Sunday October 21 Game Three at LA Wrigley Field
The Angels returned home, hoping a change in scenery would mean a change in prospects. It was not to be. O'Connell doubled in the first, moved to third on Mays' single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jablonsky. In the bottom of the second, Mays was injured diving for a fly ball and had to be replaced by Bobby Thomson. Mays was hitting .306. Thomson entered the game batting .147. Nonetheless, when Thomson approached the plate with two on in the top of the third he must have thought it was 1951 because he erupted on a Tim Bowsfield pitch and hit his fourth homer in just 35 at bats (and six hits). Valmy Thomas later drove in a run with a single. Wagner doubled home a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 5-1. Wagner and Lee Thomas combined to drive in two more in the 7th but the angels could get no closer. Ruben Gomex took the win (4-3, 4.07) Bowsfield the loss (4-1, 2.78) Giants 7 Angels 3

Monday October 23, Game Four at LA Wrigley Field
The Angels struck first this time. Averill led off the second inning with a walk. After two were retired, pitcher Jim Donohue doubled him home. With two out in the top of the 4th, Mueller, Jablonsky and Sauer singled, producing a tying run. When Koppe bobbled Spencer's ground ball, the Giants took the lead. In the 6th, the Giants added two more when Valmy Thomas doubled home Sauer from first and took third on the throw home. He then scored on pitcher Ray Crone's groundout. Ken Hunt led off the 9th with his 6th homer but that was it for the Angels. Crone got the complete game win (4-2, 3.93) Ryne Duren took the loss (1-2, 3.32) Giants 4 Angels 2

The Giants sweep through the playoffs and capture the KOD8 Championship.
--submitted by Tom Davis--

'61 Halos capture AL Flag in 6 over '61 Twins

2009-12-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

10/08 - Wrigley Field - Los Angeles, California
Game 1 - Twins 3, Angels 1
Jim Kaat (5-3) continued his masterful post-season performance, tossing a 5-hit, 1-run complete game to give the Twins the first games of the ALCS. Earl Battey's 2-run 1st inning HR was all the cushion Kaat needed. The Angels answered with 1 run in the bottom half of the 1st. But after that, they managed only 3 singles the rest of the way. Kaat's 5th win lowered his season ERA to 1.32. Ken McBride (2-5) took the loss for LA.

10/09 - Wrigley Field - Los Angeles, California
Game 2 - Angels 4, Twins 3
Two unearned runs in the bottom of the 7th turned out to be the difference, as the Angels evened the series. Ken Hunt put LA on the board first with a solo shot in the bottom of the opening frame, and the tripled and scored in the 3rd on a Leon Wagner single. But Minnesota answered with 1 in the 4th inning and 2 more in the 6th inning to move ahead 3-2. Than a Bill Tuttle error opened the door for the 2 unearned runs that put LA back on top, with the go-ahead scoring on a double-play grounder. Angels relief ace Art Fowler closed the door the last two innings to earn his 6th save. Tom Morgan picked up the win. But the real pitching hero for the Angels was Ryne Duren, who came on in emergency relief in the 2nd inning and pitched 4.1 innings after starter Eli Grba went down with an injury.

10/11 - Metropolitan Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game 3 - Angels 1, Twins 0
After departing Game 2 after only 1.1 innings, Eli Grba (7-0) came back after the travel day to pitch a solid 8 shutout innings, yielding only 3 hits. Earl Averill's bases-loaded bloop single off Don Lee (2-1) plated pinch-runner Tom Satriano with the only run of the game, giving the Angels a 2-1 games lead in the ALCS. Art Fowler came on in the 9th to try and save the game. Versalles' lead off single was erased with a Earl Battey DP ball. But with Killebrew at the plate representing the tying run with 2 outs, the Minnesota sky opened up and poured rain for 138 minutes. Fowler's arm stiffened up, and Tom Morgan had to come on to get the last out. A walk to Killebrew put the tying run on 1st base. But a Bob Allison grounder ended the threat. Morgan's 5th save preserved Grba's 7th win. Lee took the loss.

10/12 - Metropolitan Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game 4 - Angels 4, Twins 2
Los Angeles exploded for 4 first inning runs off Twins starter Jack Kralick (5-4). Ken Hunt set the tone with a HR to lead off the game. Four singles, a double, and a sac fly later, and the Angles were leading 4-0 before Minnesota came to the plate. The Twins immediately began to return the favor against Angels' starter Ken Bowsfield as they had 1 in and the bases loaded with no outs. But Bowsfield managed to escape without anyone else scoring to keep the score 4-1. After the 1st innings both pitchers settled down, with the Angles getting only 2 more singles, and the Twins only 1 more run on a Harmon Killebrew solo HR. Ron Kline, Jack Spring and Art Fowler tossed 3.1 innings of no-hit, no-run baseball to preserve the win. Bowsfield improved to 4-0 and Fowler picked up save #7. The loss was pinned on Kralick, who couldn't manage to climb out of the whole he dug for himself in the 1st inning.

10/13 - Metropolitan Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game 5 - Twins 8, Angles 1
A Ken Aspromonte throwing error opened the door for 6 unearned 1st-inning runs, as the Twins won a laugher. Jim Lemon and Bill Tuttle homered off of hard luck loser Ken McBride (2-6). And with hottest KOD8 pitcher Jim Kaat on the mound, this one was over before the 1st inning even ended. The only bright moment for Los Angeles was Ken Hunt's 3rd HR of the series. But it was too little, too late. With his 6th win, Kaat (6-3) lowered his ERA to an amazing 1.22. The series moved back to the West Coast with the Angles up 3 games to 2.

10/15 - Wrigley Field - Los Angeles, California
Game 6 - Angles 5, Twins 1
Los Angeles clinched the AL pennant behind the pitching of Jim Donohue (5-0) and Ryne Duren, and a surprise 3-run HR by light-hitting veteran Ed Yost. The Angels jumped out on top 2-0 with first inning hits by Leon Wagner, Lee Thomas and Earl Averill. But when Thomas and Averill led off the 4th inning with walks, nobody in the stadium was expecting what happened next, as Yost parked one over the LF wall to put the Angels up 5-0. A bit shell-shocked, the Twins could only manage a single run on a Killebrew 9th inning solo HR off Art Fowler, who surrendered his first earned run in his last 19 appearances, spanning 24.1 innings. Camilo Pascual (5-3) suffered the loss, as the Angels won the series in 6 games.
--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

'57 Giants capture NL flag with sweep of '52 Braves

2009-12-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

The National League Championship Series would feature the Boston Braves managed by Terry Priest against the New York Giants managed by Tom Davis.

Game 1 Monday October 8 at the Polo Grounds. Weather is threatening.
Warren Spahn and Johnny Antonelli dueled through five innings, neither team being able to score. After Antonelli got Spahn to strike out to lead off the 6th, the teams were hit by a 70 minute rain delay. Antonelli took the mound, but he had lost his stuff and Sam Jethroe singled. Stu Miller came into pitch and one batter later, Sid Gordon was safe on Daryl Spencer's error. That left Miller to face future Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews. Mathews greeted the Giants' ace reliever with a double and scored both runners. In the bottom of the 7th Ray Jabonski doubled and scored on Don Mueller's two out single. The Giants tied it in the bottom of the 8th on Red Schoendient's two out solo homerun (4). Al Worthington took the mound and allowed one hit over the next three innings as the teams went into extras. Meanwhile the Braves bullpen worked themselves out of two on nobody out situations in both the 9th and 10th. The 11th looked to be easy as the first Giant lined to short. When Gail Harris hit a routine ground ball to short stop Johnny Logan, it looked like the prior two innings would be reversed and it would two out, none on. But Logan booted the groundball and Harris was safe. Valmy Thomas singled and Schoendienst followed with his fourth hit of the game to load the bases. Danny O'Connell flew to center but Jethroe's throw could not beat Harris and the Giants won 3-2 Worthington was the winner (4-1, 2.55). Virgil Jester took the loss (1-2, 1.61) Giants 3 Braves 2

Game two. Tuesday, October 9 at the Polo Grounds.
The Giants opened the first with five runs off Braves starter Jim Wilson, including a bases emptying double by Gail Harris. The Braves got three back in the third on solo homers by Jethroe (2), Gordon (11) and Mathews (13). All season long, Cy Young winner Curt Barclay had been turning over leads to his bullpen and all season long they have rewarded his faith. Not so on this evening. The darling on the bullpen, Stu Miller, who finished the regular season with a 0.58 era, proceeded to give up twice as many earned runs in one inning as he had all season. After a single and two walks loaded the bases with one out, Johnny Logan atoned for his error of the previous day with a grand slam homer, his first homer of the season. Daryl Spencer led off the bottom of the 7th with his second homer of the season. Two outs later, Danny O'Connell singled. Mueller singled and Willie Mays walked to load the bases, which Ray Jablonski promptly emptied with a double. Mathews led off the 8th with his second homer of the game (14) but O'Connell answered with a two run shot (2) in the bottom of the inning to finish the scoring. Inexplicably, Miller got the win (3-1, 1.43) with Marv Grissom getting the save (4, 3.86) Wilson took the loss (2-4, 5.95) Giants 11 Braves 7

Game three Thursday, October 10, Braves Field.
Ruben Gomez and Max Surkont were, for the most parts, brilliant in this contest. But the star of the game was Don "Mandrake the Magician" Mueller. The Giants tallied a single run in the 6th on a Spencer single, scoring Jablonsky who had doubled. That would be all Surkont would allow through 8 innings. In the bottom of the 8th, Gomez who had allowed only two hits to this point, surrendered a lead off single to Sid Gordon. After he walked Eddie Mathews, Marv Grissom was summoned from the bullpen. He struck out George Crowe, but gave up a bases loading single to pinch hitter Bob Thorpe. At this point in the game there was no reason to believe Mandrake would be a hero. He had grounded into three double plays leaving empty bases for Mays. But when Walker Cooper lifted a medium depth fly ball to Mueller in right, he partially redeemed himself by throwing out Sid Gordon at the plate. He fully redeemed himself in the top of the ninth, hitting a two out, three run homer (3). The Braves scored a meaningless run in the bottom of the ninth. Ruben Gomez was the winner (3-3, 4.10), Grissom earning a save (5, 3.93) Surkont took the loss (4-5, 2.47) Giants 4 Braves 1

Game four Friday, October 11, Braves Field.
After three mostly tight contests, this game seemed mostly anticlimactic, as the Braves bade a sad farewell to a city where they had played ball since the first season of the National League in 1976 and even before. Spencer tripled home two in the second and scored on Thomas' sacrifice fly. When Hank Sauer hit a grand slam (7) in the top of the fifth, the fans started saying their good byes. Mostly they were friendly wishes of good fortune as many fans are transferring their allegiance to the American League Red Sox. One of the owners was heard to say, "We simply couldn't compete with the Red Sox and Ted Williams. Mathews might be great but we got this kid in the minors, Henry "something or other", and he might be the best ever. Only I don't think he can help here in Boston. Just the realities of the situation." The Braves score in the sixth but were unable to manage a hit in the last three innings. Ray Crone was the winner with 7 innings of work (3-2, 4.35). Vern Bickford took the loss. (4-2, 3.65) Giants 7 Braves 1
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

KOD 8 MVP's and Cy Young Winners

2009-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

KOD8 Season Award Winners

AL MVP - Harmon Killebrew 1961 Minnesota Twins
AL Cy Young - Eli Grba 1961 Los Angeles Angels
NL Cy Young - Curt Barclay 1957 New York Giants
NL MVP - Frank Thomas 1962 New York Mets
FIREMAN - Art Fowler 1961 Los Angeles Angels

Boston B's outlast DBacks in 5 game LDS.

2009-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

GAME 1 - 10/1 - Braves Field - ARI 7, BSN 3
Brian Anderson (4-0, 2.55) went the distance and only gave up 3 runs...all in the 6th, as the Wild Card DBacks jumped out to a 1-0 series lead. Jim Wilson (2-3, 5.40) gave up 6 runs in 6 innings of poor work. David Dellucci banged out 3 hits and Andy Fox had 2 RBI's.

GAME 2 - 10/2 - Braves Field - BSN 3, ARI 2
Omar Daal and Virgil Jester both hooked up in a pitcher's duel as there was no score for the first 4 and a half innings of play. The Braves touched Daal for 2 in the home half of the 5th, when Sid Gordon hit a 2 run shot. The DBacks tied it up int the 8th, when they scored 2 runs with 2 outs thanks to some clutch hitting by Pinch Hitter Kelley Stinnett and some poor fielding (by Jester). The fans were treated to extra frames as the home team won it on a walk off walk to future HOF'er Eddie Mathews.

GAME 3 - 10/4 - The BOB - BSN 12, ARI 8
A wild and wacky one at "The BOB" saw the Dbacks slam Boston's ace, Warren Spahn (4-3, 2.95) for 6 runs in 6 innings, but still not win. Arizona's starter, Telemaco was downright dreadful, as he yielded 6 runs on 8 hits in only 3 innings of work. With all that said the game was still knotted at 6 going into the 7th, when the visiting Boston B's exploded for 6 runs off of an endless procession of pitiful hurlers. The Dbacks scored solo runs in the 8th and 9th to try to inch closer, but they just ran out of outs. Eddie Mathews was the star of this game with a KOD playoff record of 10 RBI's. Mathews went 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored + 2 walks and 3 homers in this post season game of a lifetime.

GAME 4 - 10/5 - The BOB - ARI 6, BSN 0
Andy "the merchant of" Benes (4-2, 3.62) put the fate of his team's season on his huge shoulders as he tossed a complete game 2 hit shutout. The D-Backs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first off of Boston's starter, Max Sukont, and never looked back. Devon White had 3 RBI's to pace the offense.

GAME 5 - 10/6 - Braves Field - BSN 4, ARI 2
The series migrated back east for the decisive game 5. Braves Field was packed like it had never been packed before. Boston management contemplated moving the game to Fenway, to increase the gate, but the fans, and finally management decided against the move. The Braves went with Vern Bickford (4-1, 2.84) and the Dbacks went back to game 1 winner Brian Anderson (4-1, 2.98). Anderson, who was outstanding in the opener just didn't have it in this one. The Braves jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and had Anderson on the ropes in the first. It started well when Sam Jethroe fanned to open the inning. It just went downhill from there when Roy Hartsfield and Sid Gordon singled. Mathews flew out to the warning track in right for the second out and everything seemed to look good for the Dbacks, but Earl Torgeson doubled down the righfield line to score both runners who were on the move with 2 outs. Thorpe singled home Torgeson and just like that the Dbacks were in a deep hole. Meanwhile Bickford was posting goose eggs for the first 4 innings. Then in the fifth Stinnett hit a solo shot to make it 3-1. Jay Bell walked with 1 out and Anderson bunted him over to second for Andy Fox, who hit a clutch 2 out double to make it 3-2. Lee walked and up came Matt Williams. This was the decisive moment in the game. Bickford made the right pitch. Williams hit the ball hard, but Mathews was in the right spot to snare it and end the inning. That is why baseball is a game of inches. As is usually the case in this great game of baseball, the fielding star of the previous inning winds up the hitting star of the following frame. Mathews did just that when he doubled home Hartsfield with 2 outs to make it 4-2, which is all Bickford would need. Arizona would only get 2 more hits over the final 4 innings as Bickford shut the door on them and clinched the right to face the '57 Giants in the NLCS.

ALDS: Twins sweep Pilots in 3

2009-11-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

GAME 1 - Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA - Twins 6, Pilots 5
John Gelnar, who had been the Pilots ace this season got bombed for 4 runs in the opening inning. Seattle fought gallantly to get back in the game and make a go of it, but that 4 run outburst was a hole that was too deep to recover from. George Brunet came on in relief of Gelnar, who only barely escaped the 1st, and kept his team in it by only yielding two solo runs in 5 innings worth of work. Bobby Allison's 3 run shot was the big blow in that opening stanza. after an hour rain delay in between the 5th and 6th innings Seattle finally got on the board with a solo run. All the while Pedro Ramos was cruising. Brunet gave way to Jim "Ball 4" Bouton in the 7th and he kept Minny at bay with 2 scoreless innings. Bob Locker did the same in the 9th. Ramos looked to be tiring in the 8th where he escaped 2 runners in scoring position and 1 out. He would not be as fortunate in the 9th. Steve "Orbit" Hovley led off with a frozen rope to right. Pinch hitter Mike Hegan lined out to right for the first out. Curiously Hegan was called on to hit for MVP candidate Tommy Davis, who seemed to struggle at the plate vs Ramos. Don Mincher, who has been hot down the stretch homered deep to right to make it 6-3. At this point McDevitt got up in the Twins pen. Wayne Comer worked out a walk, but Jerry McNertney popped out to Tuttle at 3rd for the second out as it looked like Ramos had it all under control. Greg Goossen was called on to pinch hit for Gus Gil and he hit a tape measure shot to dead center to make it 6-5. Not playing around anymore, Twins manager Marvin Sik, went to the pen and McDevitt arrived on the scene just in time to get pinch hitter Jim Pagliaroni to ground weakly to short to end it. A laugher turned into a very close contest. The Pilots fell short of their goal, but they did show signs of life.

GAME 2 - Sick Stadium - Seattle, WA - Twins 10, Pilots 6
The Twins again scored in the first. This time Harmon Killebrew singled home Lenny Green. Gene Brabender got Game 1 hero, Bob Allison, to line into a DP that doubled Killebrew off at 1st to limit the damage. The Pilots jumped on Camilo Pascual for runs in the bottom of the 2nd and looked to be in total control. Tommy Davis led off with a single and Mincher followed it up with his 2nd homer in 2 games. Mike Hegan, getting a rare start in right, walked. John Kennedy, hitting in the 7th spot, hit a homer that barely cleared the left field wall to make it 4-1. Minnesota chipped away at Seattle's lead by plating a run in the 4th and the 5th. After striking out the first 2 batters in the 4th Brabender yielded a single to Jim Lemon, who scored as the clutch Billy Martin doubled to the opposite field. Earl Battey singled home Lenny Green to cut it to 1 in the 5th. The Pilots bumped their lead back to 2 when Don Mincher scored on Versalles error at short. It looked for a while like Seattle's 5-3 lead would hold up and the series would get even. That was until the Twins exploded for in the 7th and 8th innings for 3 runs in each. Brabender lost his lead in the 7th and Bouton came on and put the Twins ahead. Bob Locker replaced Bouton and let the game get out of reach. Pascual went the distance in a pedestrian performance, but all he needed to do was be average as his offense pounded out 15 hits. Lenny Green led the way going 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored.

GAME 3 - Metropolitan Stadium - Bloomington, MN - Twins 5, Pilots 4
With their back up against the wall the boys from Ball 4 came out shooting and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead off of Lee Kralick. Tommy Harper singled and John Kennedy tripled him home. Tommy Davis hit a shot to the warning track and Kennedy trotted home to make it 2-0. In the 4th the Pilots made it 3-0 when Jim Pagliaroni singled home Don Mincher who reached base on a fielding error by Twin second baseman Billy Martin. For the first 4 innings Diego Segui was cruising. Seattle's most versatile pitcher can start or relieve, and he looked to be a starter who didn't need any relief, but then the Twin bats came alive. Minnesota scored 2 in the 5th to cut Seattle's lead to 1. Jim Lemon led off the inning with a homer. Segui lost his composure after Gus Gil booted Billy Martin's grounder. 3 successive Twin singles followed. The key move of the game was when manager Marvin Sik pulled his stater (Kralick) for a pinch hitter (Hal Naragon), who singled home Martin. In the 6th Minnesota tied it up when Killebrew led off with a double and Allison doubled him home. The game remained tied at 4 apiece until the bottom of the 8th when Segui looked to have been in control He fanned the two toughest bats in Minnesota's lineup (Killebrew/Allison), but Jim Lemon managed to double off the wall in left. Billy Martin came up and his Yankee pedigre for being clutch came through again. With a 2-2 count Billy the Kid slammed a long trip off the pole in center to plate Lemon and give the Twins the lead. Don Mincher's (yes he plays for both teams) single scored Martin for an insurance run. Heading into the top of the 9th the Twins now had the luxury of a 2-0 lead in the series and having a 2 run lead with 3 outs to go. Moore started the inning for the Twins and walked pinch hitter Steve "Orbit" Hovley. Tommy Harper popped out to short for the 1st out. Pinch hitter Steve Whitaker walked and Tommy Davis went down swinging for the second out. Don Mincher walked on 4 pitches to load the bases and when Wayne Comer walked to force in a run that was all for Moore. McDevitt came on to close it out and he too couldn't find the plate. With the count 3-2 to pinch hitter Greg Goossen the crowd was silent. Danny McDevitt delivered a borderline pitch which the up called for strike 3. Goossen went down looking and with him so went Seattle's chances. Minnesota did what they needed to do to gain the sweep in this LDS and earn the right to face the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS. Both teams should be well rested. Minnesota reliever Don Lee pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief of Kralick and earned the win, but had little attention paid to him by the press. Everyone wanted to gather round Martin, who is always good for a quote.

Twinkies hold off Royals to gain playoffs

2009-11-22T22:12:00.000-08:00

KC- 61 Minnesota 2, 69-Kansas City 1

Jim Kaat pitched the last game of the season and the playoff game with KC without rest. A rain delay on the last game of the season knocked Kaat out early allowing him to come back to pitch 6 innings giving up two hits and no runs to get the win. Lenny Green walked to lead off the game, with 1 out, Battey singles, Green moves to 3^rd. A WP moves Battey to 2^nd. Killebrew hits a ball to 3^rd, Foy commits the error and Green scores. The score remained 1-0 until the 8^th. Rollins pinch hitting for MN draws the walk. Green doubles and Rollins moves to 3^rd. With 1 out and Battey at bat, Cisco throws a wild pitch and Rollins scores. Moore comes in in the 8^th for Minnesota. Kelly leads off with a double. Adair singles and Kelly moves to third with no outs. Piniella walks to load the bases with no outs. Foy strikes out. Next batter, Fiore hits a blopper to 1^st, Harmon Killebrew catches it, dives to first to double off Piniella. With two outs in the 9^th, Hernandez hits a triple for KC. Kirkpatrick singles and Hernandez scores to make it 2-1. The next batter, Kelly, flies out to end the game and move Minnesota into the playoffs.
--submitted by Marvin Sik--

Add one more game to the KOD8 Regular Season

2009-11-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

34 Games completed and the AL still has a tie for the Wild Card slot. We all know what that means ! A play in game between the Minnesota Twins (18-16) & the Kansas City Royals (18-16). KC won the coin flip, so they will host the event at old Municipal Stadium. Neither manager (Marvin Sik or Howard Fortel) has announced their starter, but our reporters suspect that Roger Nelson (2-2, 3.28) will start for KC and Pedro Ramos (2-6, 4.34), on short rest, will most likely start for the Twins.

Minnesota's offense is led by future HOF'er Harmon Killebrew (.286-11-26) and table setter Zoilo Versalles (.307-2-15). The Twins rely on the long ball from guys like Bobby Allison, Earl Battey and Jim Lemon.

KC is a pesky crew that relies on pitching and timely hitting. Lou Piniella leads the AL in hitting with a .376 average. Ed Kirkpatrick (.321-6-16) is the lone source of power for the scrappy Royals.

Advanced ticket sales at Municipal Stadium have been off the charts. Limited seating is available. The winning team has the honor of jumping on a flight to Seattle to play the Pilots in the LDS the following day.

Nats sweep faltering O's in Beltway Series

2009-11-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Prior to the series, Baltimore Manager Edwin Sineath was fired by the organization for, as the press release stated, "A demonstrated lack of maturity and ability to relate to others. A new city needs a manager that is reliable and Edwin unfortunately was not. we were thought of as clowns when we were the Browns and the last thing we want is to perpetuate that image in a new city" Catcher Les Moss was appointed interim player manager, but was specifically told that he would not be retained after the season.

Game 1 Memorial Stadium.
Matt Kutyna, who has been inexplicably missing from the Senator bullpen for the last two series although healthy and on the roster, was given the start. He would be opposed by Joe Coleman. Jim King opened the scoring in the fourth with a two run homer (3). The Orioles would get one back in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Neil Berry. That was how the game would remain until the ninth when Bud Zipfel, pinchhitting for Hal Woodeshick stroked a three run homer (1). The Os put a couple of runners on against Mike Garcia, but Dave Sisler came in to finish out the ball game (3 saves, 1.45) Kutyna got the win (3-1, 2.49) Coleman threw a complete game for the O's (3-4, 3.77) Senators 5 Orioles 1

Game 2 Memorial Stadium
Again there was no scoring until the fourth inning. Ken Retzer hit his first homer of the season. Later in the frame, Nats pitcher Bernie Daniels hit his first of the season with a runner on base. He was immediately followed by Chuck Hinton (2) and the Nats held a 4-0 lead. The former Brownies got one back in the bottom of the frame on another Berry sacrifice fly. The Senators came back again in the top of the fifth. A walk to shortstop Bob Johnson was followed by a hit by Retzer. Retzer, though, would twist his ankle rounding first and had to be removed from the game. The injury was not thought to be serious and Retzer would probably be available for the season ending game tomorrow. A couple of passed balls by Clint Courtney made Baltimore manager Moss regret his decision to manage from the bench this game. Bud Zipfel, who responded to his rare start with three singles in the game, knocked in one run and Bobbly Klaus brought another home on a sacrifice fly. Chuck Diering would knock home one run and the game entered the sixth at 8-2. The Senators picked up two more in the seventh on singles by Klaus and Daniels and had a comfortable 10-2 lead. But in the bottom of the 8th Daniels was driven from the mound on a run scoring double by pinchhitter Gil Coan. Cal Abrams drove in a run with a fly out and the Courtney doubled home another. In the bottom of the 9th, the Orioles loaded the bases on a walk and a couple of singles. Pinchhiter Eddie Waitkus slapped a ball off Bob Johnson's glove and the score was 10-6. Than Cal Abrams launched one into the seats for a game tying grand slam (4), the first homer of the season given up by Dave Sisler. In the 10th Danny O'connell had a one out double and Willie Tasby, who had come in as a defensive replacement, singled O'connell home. Sisler made it stand up in the bottom of the frame for the win (2-2, 1.77) Howie Fox took the loss (0-2, 3.72). Senators 11 Orioles 10

Game 3 Griffith Stadium.
Dick Donovan, a disappointment all season long pitched 8 strong innings, giing up only one run but left the game for a pinchhitter, trailing 1-0. In the fourth, after walks to Berry and Oriole starter Duante Pillette, Abrams singled home Berry. That was how it stood until the bottom of the 9th when Gene Green doubled with one out. Hinton came into run and Retzer doubled him home to tie the game. In the bottom of the 10th, Klaus led off with a single but was forced at second by Dave Sisler. Sisler then went to third on Marty Keough's single and out ran the throw home when Danny O'connell hit a shallow fly ball to right. Sisler legs and his arm earned him the win (3-2, 1.61) Fox again took the loss (0-3 4.35) Senators 2 Orioles 1

After the game, Orioles management stated, "We weren't disappointed by Les, he was put in a bad situation. Still he better represented us than would have the other guy. We are sure he will get another chance to manage in the bigs, but right now we need a full time catcher and a full time manager and Moss cannot fill both positions." Les Moss would get another chance to manage fill time in the big leagues, but it would not come for 25 years when he was selected to replace Ralph Houk by the Tigers. However, he would be unceremoniously dumped by Tiger General manager Jim Campbell after only 53 games when Campbell would finally convince his first choice to return to the dugout. Sparky Anderson would then lead the Tigers for 15 years and become the first manager to win a World Series in both leagues. --submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Jints rock Rox and sweep to best record in baseball

2009-11-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Giants had into Colorado needing one game to clinch the Uecker Division Championship.

Game 1 Mile High Stadium
The Giants came out roaring. Red Schoendienst and Don "Mandrake" Muellar both singled to start the game and Willie Mays stroked his 6th homer to give Ruben Gomez a 3-0 lead. Schoendienst added a solo homer in the second (2) to up the lead to 4-0. Then Ruben Gomez (2-3 4.64) decided to make a game of it. He gave up a two run single to Rockie pitcher Greg Harris (1-0, 4.70) in the second and two run homer to Charlie Hayes (9) in the third. Gomez liked that so much he gave Hayes another in the fifth (10). The Rockies would score three more in the seventh and 4 in the 8th. Valmy Thomas hit a meaningless homer in the 9th (2) for the Giants. Rockies 14 Giants 6.

Game 2 Mile High Stadium.
There must be something about the thin air in Colorado. Schoendienst led off the game with his 3rd homer of the season. The Rockies tied the score in the bottom of the 1st on a Dante Bichette sacrifice fly. Then Bichette grounded out to bring in another run in the 3rd. And then the roof fell in. The Giants tallied 13 times in the 4th. Bobby Thomson led off the innning with his 3rd homer. After three consecutive singles by Thomas, pticher Curt Barclay (6-0, 1.98) and Schoendienst to load the bases, Danny O'Connell hit his first homer of the season. Mays followed with a triple, Ray Jablonski was walked intentionally and Hank Sauer doubled both home. O'Connell would double home another run in the inning and Mays would single home two more. Mindful of Barclay's innings worked, he was removed after 6 and Al Worthington pitched three innings of one hit ball to earn his third save.
Giants 19 Rockies 2

Game 3 The Polo Grounds
The Giants had clinched a tie for the Division and now were looking to win it outright. Armando Reynoso, the Rockies most effective starter this season, would get the start. Ray Crone, who has a had rough season would start for the Giants. Unfortunately for the Rockies, Reynoso had to leave the game in the second inning with arm trouble with the score tied at 1. Bichette has another sacrifice fly in the first and Gail Harris answered with a run scoring single in the bottom of the first. The Rockies picked up another run in the third and again it was Bichette, but this time he actually had a hit. Charlie Hayes drove in a third run with a single in the fifth and that was enough of Crone for the Giants manager. When the sixth inning started, Stu Miller, the Giants most effective pitcher this season, took the mound. The Rockies much maligned bullpen had done a nice job since the second in holding down the Giants offense. But in the seventh, with two out and Thomas on first, Schoendienst tripled. Mueller followed with a single and the game was tied It would remain that way until the tenth. Schoendienst led off the inning with a single but lefty Mike Munoz got Muellar to hit into a double play. Righty Scott Fredrickson came into face Mays but walked him. Fredrickson (1-2, 6.14) tried to keep Mays close but it was like trying to grab smoke as Mays stole his league leading 12th base. Ray Jablonski then singled and Mays' legs churned around third to beat the throw and clinch the Division for the Giants. Stu Miller pitched five innings to earn the win (2-1, 0.52)
Giants 4 Rockies 3
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Pilots clinch division title, Schypinski doubles in final KOD AB

2009-11-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

9/27 - Municipal Stadium - Kansas City, MO
GAME 1 - Pilots 6, A's 3
Joe Schultz's boys finally got to "pound those Budweiser's" in a celebratory mode as they clinched the division title. Big Gene Brabender (5-1, 2.81) tossed 7 2/3 innings of 3 run ball. The Pilots opened the scoring in the first when who else but Tommy Harper walked and stole second. John Donaldson, who had 3 RBI's on the day singled him home to break the ice. It looked like KC's starter, Artie Portocarrero (2-3, 5.13) was settling into a groove when Seattle exploded for 3 runs in the top of the 5th. Portocarrero got himself in trouble by walking 3 of the first 4 batters he faced. On the day he'd give up 8 intentional passes in as many innings of work. Harper and Donaldson delivered RBI singles and Seattle was comfortably up 4-1...or so they thought. In the 6th the A's mounted their own attack by dropping 3 runs of their own on Brabender. Portocarrero helped his own cause by singling with one out. Suitcase, Harry Simpson, fanned for the second out and the inning looked to be nothing special until Vic Power slammed a tape measure shot to left to make it 4-2. Brabender was obviously unnerved and the old pro Enos "country" Slaughter took full advantage of it with a homer of his own to cut Seattle's lead to 4-3. The next 2 innings were tension filled for the Pilots who were hoping to win this game and clinch early in order to rest their weary starters. The top of the 9th would be a pleasant gift for the Pilots who had 2 outs when the most unlikely candidate to get a hit, Ray Oyler, blooped a single to right. Mike Hegan, who was pinch hitting for the pitcher, worked out a hard fought walk from an 0-2 count. The next 2 batters followed suit and were issued free passes to force in a run. Tommy Davis singled in a second run and just like that a tenuous 1 run lead was now a 6-3 game. Diego Segui came on in the 9th to earn his 6th save of the season as the Budweiser began to flow.

9/28
GAME 2 - A's 6, Pilots 5
As a reward for clinching all but 2 of the Pilot regulars (Harper & Mincher) got the day off. Marty Pattin tweaked his shoulder in the 2nd inning and by virtue of precautionary measures he too got the day off. Rookie Skip Lockwood pitched 6 uninspired innings in relief and yielded 5 runs, but the Pilots were still tied going into the bottom of the 9th when the Suitcase Harry Simpson (3-5 on the day) doubled home Suder for a walk off win. Rookie Danny Walton went 3 for 4 for the Pilots and increased his average to .429 in limited action.

9/29 - Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 3 - Pilots 17, A's 8
Mike Marshall went the distance and pitched rather well until his mates exploded for 11 runs in the 6th and he flat out lost interest. Vic Raschi tossed 5 decent innings for KC and left up 3-2. KC's dreadful bullpen corp of Harrington and Fricano were torched for 15 runs in just 2 innings of combined work. In a game that had numerous hitting stars reserve Dick Simpson stood out with a 3 for 5, 5 RBI day. He also had a grand slam that pretty much blew the cabin doors of the KC A's. Jerry Schypinski ended his KOD career with a pinch hit double in the 6th. The Pilots will await the outcome of the Royals/Twins play in game to see who they will host in the ALDS.

KC earns a date with destiny vs MIN

2009-11-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

9/27 - Municipal Stadium - Kansas City, MO
GAME 1 - Royals 9, Mariners 1
KC needed to take a minimum of 2 games to tie Minnesota for the final wild card slot. This 9-1 laugher was just what the doctor ordered. Mike Hedlund was 2 outs away from a complete game shutout. he did notch the victory and fanned 11 M's along the way. Sweet Lou Piniella went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's. Joe Foy was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI's.

9/28
GAME 2 - Royals 2, Mariners 1
Gary Wheelock and Wally Bunker hooked up for this pitcher's duel. Bunker cracked first when Bob Stinson went deep with a solo shot in the 6th with 2 out. Rick Honeycutt came on to close it out, but couldn't get the job done. Buck Martinez pinch hit for Jerry Adair and singled. Joe Foy followed suit, as did Pat Kelly to load the bases. Lou Piniella, who has built a reputation on being clutch, fanned for the second out and Honeycutt looked to have weathered the storm. Unfortunately for Honeycutt he lost his control and walked the next two batters (Mike Fiore and Bob Oliver) to give away the game. KC clinched at least a tie with the Twins for the Wild Card.

9/29 - Kingdome - Seattle, WA
GAME 3 - Mariners 2, Royals 1
Tension began to mount as this game took on a post season atmosphere. Runs were at a premium and pitching continued to dominate as it had the day before. Both teams traded solo runs in the 6th and that's how it stood until the 11th inning when KC starter Dick Drago finally began to show some fatigue. Rupert Jones led the inning off with a single and Bob Stinson followed that with a walk. Dan Meyer grounded out to advanced the runners to second and third with one out, so Bill Stein was given an intentional pass to load the bases and create a force everywhere. Jose "don't call me Joan" Baez fanned on 4 pitches for the second out. With lefty Steve Jones already warm in the pen, KC decided to stick with Drago vs the light hitting Craig Reynolds, who dropped a parachute over Jerry Adair's head to plate the winning run. The M's got to play spoiler and by virtue of a coin flip KC will get to host Minnesota in a winner take all play in game for the Wild Card and a chance to play the Pilots in the opening round best of 5 series.

Amazin's take 2 of 3 from Houston

2009-11-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

9/23 - Colt's Stadium - Houston, TX
GAME 1 - Mets 4, Colt 45's 3 (11 inn)
Diminutive left Al Jackson battled Jim Golden. Both starters gave up 3 runs in 7 innings of work. Neither figured into the decision. In the 11th inning the Metsies managed to score a run off of reliever Jim Umbricht when Joe Pignatano singled home Jim Hickman with the bases loaded. Umbricht battled pinch hitter Gene Woodling and was rewarded with a line out DP that doubled up Felix Mantilla. When Richie Ashburn grounded out to short the Colt 45's looked to have some momentum going into the home half of the inning down by 1. The Mets called upon lefty Ken MacKenzie to save victory. Pinch hitter Jim Pendleton lined to Frank Thomas in left for the first out. Al Spangler grounded out to second and Bob Moorhead came on to get the final out in a righty vs right matchup against Bob Aspromonte.

9/24
GAME 2 - Mets 3, Colt 45's 1
Houston broke the ice with a solo run in the bottom of the 2nd when Bob Aspromonte hit a solo shot. As fate would have it that would be the only run the Colt 45's would score off of the putrid Met pitching staff. After the 4th a huge downpour hit Colt Stadium for about 45 minutes. When play resumed Met starter Bob Moorhead was gone. Houston tried to stretch their starter, Hal Woodeshick, and it just didn't work. Between Woodeshick and reliever Tiefenauer the Mets were able to cash in to the tune of 3 runs. Felix Mantilla and Frank Thomas both doubled home runs and Charlie Neal ended the scoring by singling home veteran Gil Hodges. Craig Anderson came on for the Mets and tossed 3 scoreless innings before being lifted in the 8th. The Mets manager played mix and match the rest of the way balancing righty vs lefty substitutions to corral the Colts. Bob Miller got the final 2 outs for the save.

9/25 - Polo Grounds - New York, NY
GAME 3 - Colt 45's 9, Mets 5
The Amazin's carried a 3-2 lead into the 6th when Jay Hook got torched for 4 runs. The following inning the Colts racked Vinegar Bend Mizell for 3 more runs. New York batted back and eventually chased Houston's starter Turk Farrell (6-2, 3.30) from the hill. With the score 8-4 in the 8th and the bases loaded Jim Umbricht was brought on to face slugger Frank Thomas with the bases loaded. Thomas walked and a run scored, but his team needed the long ball, which Jim Hickman could not provide as Richie Ashburn got nailed at the plate trying to tag up on Hickman's medium fly to Carl Warwick in center. Houston added an insurance run in the 9th when Roman Mejias led off with his second homer in a row and his 7th of the season. Warwick also stroked two homers as the porous Met pitching finally caught up to them.

Jints sweep bums...edge closer to div title

2009-11-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

Game 1 at the Polo Grounds - Giants 7 Dodgers 1
The Giants jumped on Don Drysdale in the first. Red Schoendienst led off with a walk and was doubled home by Don "Mandrake" Mueller. Willie Mays singled him to third and then stole second. Ray Jablonski gronded to score one run and then Hank Sauer grounded out to score Mays. Schoendienst (1), Jablonski (6) and Gail Harris (6) all hit solo homers for the Giants. The only Dodger run came on Don Drysdale's (1-2, 4.44) first homer of the season. Clay Barclay (5-0, 2.22) went 7 and two thirds innings for the win.

Game 2 at the Polo Grounds - Giants 5 Dodgers 0
In the bottom of the second, with the bases full, Stan Williams (2-2, 2.15) threw a wild pitch and then Daryl Spencer singled home another run. That would be all the Giants would need as Roger Monzant (1-1, 1.93) and Al Worthington (3rd save, 2.93) would combine to shutout the Dodgers on 5 hits.

Game 3 at Memorial Coliseum. - Giants 3 Dodgers 2
The Dodgers would finally score first in this series, picking up a run in the fifth on a single by Johnny Roseboro and a double by Duke Snider. In the 7th, with the bases full, Spencer grounded out to bring home one run and then Johnny Antonelli singled home another to give himself a 2-1 lead. Antonelli would be pinchhit for in the top of the ninth and the Giants left the game in the hands of Marv Grissom. But Charlie Neal hit a homer (5) in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Clem Labine (2-2, 2.57) walked Danny O'Connell and Mays to lead off the 10th but looked to have gotten himself out of trouble when Jablonski hit into a fast double play. But Hank Sauer came through with a double to score O'Connell. In the bottom of the 10th, Grissom (2-1, 2.63) followed Labine's lead in walking the first two Dodgers, Peewee Reese and Gil Hodges. Stu Miller was quickly summoned from the bullpen and he got the next three Dodger hitters on fly outs to end the game and earn the save (3rd save, 0.62)

The Giants will close out the season with Colorado, looking to clinch the Uecker Division Title.
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Pilots land some lucky breaks over Nats

2009-11-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

9/23 - Griffith Stadium - Washington, D.C.
GAME 1 - Senators 3, Pilots 1
Bennie Daniels stiffled the Pilots all day. The lone blemish was a solo shot by Tommy Harper in the 5th. The Nats scored in the two quick runs (1 each) in the first 2 innings to stake Daniels to a lead. In the first Pilot starter, Fred Talbot, decided to give away more free passes than a nerd serving as a hall monitor. The final walk, to Hinton, with the bases loaded platted Danny O'Connell. In the second Bob Johnson scored on a Gene Green fielder's choice. Dhuck Hinton hit a solo shot in the 5th to finish the scoring as Daniels cruised to a complete game victory.

9/24
GAME 2 - Pilots 8, Senators 7
The Nats jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead of the marginally effective Diego Segui. Two RBI singles by Jim King and Hinton staked Gabe Gabler to a lead, which he would quickly relinquish in the 3rd when Mr. Clutch, Tommy Davis singled home John Kennedy and Tommy Harper. The top of the 4th saw the floodgates open up as the Pilots plated 5 and chased Gabler from the hill. At that point the game looked over, but with teams of this magnitude games are NEVER over. With a 7-3 lead in the 8th the Pilots looked assured to win, but that was until Bob Locker forgot how to get anyone out. With 2 out Jim Bouton was called on to put out the fire, but all he could do was toss more kerosene on it in the form of a game tying RBI double by Danny O'Connell. With the score knotted at 7 Tommy Davis led of the top of the 9th with a liner off of replacement third sacker Harry Bright, which he turned into a circus and landed Davis on first and Bright a big E-5. Reliever Dave Sisler lost track of Davis, who easily pilfered second. He then lost track of the hitter Don Mincher, who wound up walking. With runners on 1st and 2nd Wayne Comer layed down a perfect sac bunt to move them both into scoring position. Rightfielder Mike Hegan was then give an intentional pass in hopes of getting an inning ending DP. Steve Hovley was called upon to pinch hit and he delivered a long sac fly to right to put the Pilots up 8-7. Dooley Womack, who replaced Bouton in the 8th, was able to get the first 2 batters out easily. Gary "Ding Dong" Bell was called upon to nail the final out and he did just that. Hinton lined out to Mincher at first and the Pilots took this wild and wacky contest by 1.

9/25 - Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 3 - Pilots 4, Senators 3
Unlike other sports, which are played weekly or 2 or 3 times a week baseball is played everyday, and with that a player has a chance to atone for the sins of his previous performance rather quickly. It is a game of redeeming qualities. Today Jim "Ball 4" Bouton experience just that sort of metamorphosis. Yesterday he took part in blowing a 4 run lead, which thankfully his mates recovered from. Today he had the opportunity to hold down the fort and save the day until his offense could get on track. The Pilots jumped out quickly to a 2 run lead that they carried until the 6th. John Kennedy hit a solo shot in the 2nd and Tommy Davis singled home Tommy Harper, who just prior swiped another bases to add to his league leading total. Pilot spot starter Bob Meyer was the victim of some timely Senator hitting and a crucial Harper error. Meyer ran out of gas and didn't finish out the 6th. His 5 scoreless innings were erased by 2 runs in the 6th. The game stayed tied until the top of the 7th when John O'Donoghue was victimized by a 2 out Wayne Comer error in center off a single by Hinton, which scored Bob Johnson all the way from first. Clouds of darkness are commonplace in Seattle, but this cloud looked to be the one to rain on the Pilots pennant chances. Neither team scored in the 8th. Bouton, who had come on in relief of O'D, got 2 quick outs in the 9th before yielding a long double to Hinton that barely missed going out. A wild pitch allowed Hinton to move to 3rd with 2 outs. A hit by Danny O'Connell, would have given the Nats a much needed insurance run. The ground out back to the box did not. The Pilots entered the bottom of the 9th needing a run to tie. Washington starter Joe McClain was on a roll of 5 scoreless innings. Nobody was up in the Washington pen. Kennedy led off and weakly grounded out to 3rd. Mike Hegan was summoned to pinch hit for Bouton and he had an excellent 7 pitch at bat that culminated with a clean single to right. Tommy Harper followed with a rope down the left field line that ended up in an easy two bagger, which put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one down. Up stepped lefty John Donaldson, who did not miss a beat. On McClain's first offering Donaldson jumped all over it and hit a one hopper off the right center wall to score both runners and win the game for the Pilots.

Spoiler Spos take 2 of 3 from Bravos

2009-11-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

9/23 - Braves Field - Boston - MA
GAME 1 - Expos 5, Braves 1
Jerry Robinson pitched the game of his life and Elroy Face turned back father time to finish it. The Expos exploded for 3 runs in the 2nd off of J.Wilson, when banjo hitting Bobby Wine hit a 3 run shot out of the 8th hole. Wine recorded his 4th RBI of the day with a sac fly in the 4th as the Expos won this one easily.

9/24
GAME 2 - Braves 6, Expos 1
Boston turned the tables on Montreal and won this one easily behind 6 solid innings from young Lew Burdette. Jester came on in the 7th and recorded the rare 3 inning save, where no runners reached base. The Expos lone run came on a Coco Laboy sac fly in the 1st. Boston finally got on the board with 2 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th off of Bill Stoneman who accomplished little more than eating up innings. Rookie Eddie Mathews was 3 for 4 with an RBI.

9/25 - Jarry Parc - Montreal - QC
GAME 3 - Expos 4, Braves 3
Warren Spahn pitched well enough to win, but a 3 run hiccup in the 4th did him in. Rusty Staub and Coco Laboy led off with singles and moved over to third on Mack Jones' sac bunt. Bob Baily hit a warning track shot to right to score Staub and make it 2-1 BSN. Catcher John Brand (3-4) Singled home Laboy and went to second on the throw to the plate. Wine singled home Brand 3 pitches later to put the 'spos up 3-2. With 2 outs in the top of the 5th Boston tied the game up. Sam Jethroe singled and promptly stole second. Johnny Logan's opposite field single to right scored Jethroe easily. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 6th when Montreal went ahead for good. Mack Jones singled and stole 2nd with 2 outs. Bobby Wine was intentionally passed, in order to face Mike Wegener, Montreal's pitcher. Manny Mota, like so many times in his career, was summoned from the bench to pinch hit in a key situation. Mota delivered a frozen rope to center to score Jones. Howie Reed pitched two scoreless innings and Dan McGinn closed it out with some suspense. After walking the first 2 Braves in the 9th (Mathews & Torgeson), Bob Thorpe bunted to push the runners up 90 feet. McGinn got a key strike out by fanning Paul Burris and Billy Reed grounded weakly to second to end it as the resurgent Expos took their second series in a row as they gamefully play the role of spoiler.

Boys of Summer sweep Rox

2009-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

9/20 - LA Memorial Coliseum
GAME 1 - Dodgers 5, Rox 1
Enigmatic young Sandy Koufax (2-3, 3.32) flashed signs of brilliance today going 8 innings and yielding only 1 run to the powerful Rockie lineup. LA staked the 22 year old phenom to a 4 run lead before he tired in the 8th and yielded the Rox only run, which was a solo shot by Chris Jones. Johnny Roseboro had a solo shot of his own for the victors in the 2nd. Gino Cimoli, pinch hitting for Norm Larker, got the rare BB / RBI at bat. Johnny Klippstein came on in relief of Sandy in an uneventful 9th.

9/21
GAME 2 - Dodgers 3, Rox 2 (11 inn)
The remnants of the Boys of Summer came back to life in this event. The Duke singled home Zim for the 1st run of the game in the opening stanza. 1955 World Series MVP, Johnny Podres was brilliant for 8 innings, but tired in the 9th. Clem Labine came on to close it out, just like the glory days of the mid 50's, but he couldn't as Dante Bichette singled home Charlie Hayes to tie it. With two out and 2 on in the bottom of the 11th newcomer Norm Larker singled home the Reading Rifle, Carl Furillo, for the game winner.

9/22 - Mile High Stadium
GAME 3 - Dodgers 9, Rox 4
The series shifted to the Mile High City and the offense became revived. For the third consecutive game the Boys of Summer were able to turn their back on father time. Oisk, Carl Erskine (2-0, 2.42) went the distance giving up only 2 earned runs (of 4). Colorado's starter Butch Henry was throwing BP. Dem Bums posted 2 quick runs in the first as Skooonj (Carl Furillo) doubled home Junior Gilliam and Gino Cimoli. LA added another run in the third as Skoonj again plated Cimoli. Norm Larker hit a solo shot to make it 4-0 in the 4th. The Rox cut the deficit in half with 2 runs of their own that inning, but other than 2 window dressing runs in the 9th the day and the series belonged to the transplants from Brooklyn.

Washington, first in peace, first in war and no longer last in the American League

2009-11-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

Game 1 Athlletic starter Alex Kellner (4-1, 3.83) only lasted two innings. In the bottom of the second, Jim King hit a 3 run homer (3) and then Danny O'Connell doubled home two more for a 5-0 lead. Joe McLain (2-3, 3.96) needed no other assistance as he shut out the A's on two hits. Senators 8 Athletics 0

Game 2 The As scored in the top of the first and it looked like another rough outing for Senator starter Dick Donovan (3-3, 5.15). But he settled down after that and only allowed one more run in throwing a complete game. Hitting was something else though as A's starter Arnie Portocarrero (2-2, 4.83) was putting the clamps on the Senator's hitters. That is, until the 5th. Donovan doubled home one run to tie the game. Then with the bases loaded Gene Green hit a grand slam (3). The As scored one late but it wasn't enough. Senators 5 Athletics 2

Game 3 The As jumped on starter Pete Burnside for five in the 3rd. Gus Zernial slammed a three run homer (9). Jim Finigan tripled home another and Joe Astroth squeezed home Finigan. That would end the As scoring as the Washington bullpen shut them down the rest of the way. In the fifth, the Nats loaded the bases with none out. Bob Johnson drove home a run with a sacrifice fly. Then a wild pitch and passed ball produced another run. Pinchhitter Gene Woodling doubled home another, then a single and walk loaded the bases. King doubled home two more and after a walk, Dale Long hit a three run homer (3) to end the scoring in the fifth with a 9-5 Senators lead. The Senators would add five more runs, including two on a pinch hit homer by Marty Keough (3). Bill Harrington took the loss (0-3, 6.43). Matt Kutyna pitched one inning for the win (2-1, 2.79). Dave Sisler threw three innings for the save (2, 1.56). Senators 14 Athletics 5

Washington, first in peace, first in war and no longer last in the American League
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Seattle slews O's

2009-11-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

9/20 - Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - Pilots 16, Orioles 2
The big showdown series between two teams separated by 1 game in the standings go off to a giant groan. The Pilots scored a bushell full of runs from the 4th to the 8th innings and powered their way past the O's. Baltimore starter Kretlow was hammered for 7 runs (4 earned). If his arm wasn't betraying him his defense was (4 errors). The top of Seattle's lineup fueled the machine as Tommy Harper went 4 for 6 and scored 3 runs. John Donaldson was 3 for 4 and scored 3 as well.

9/21
GAME 2 - Orioles 2, Pilots 0
Bob Turley (2-3, 2.82) turned in a virtuoso performance with this 4 hit 13k shutout performance. Snakebit Seattle starter, John Gelnar (2-2, 1.32) again pitched well enough to get a "W", but his offense just couldn't get on track. Let's not blame the boys with the lumber. Credit falls neatly on Turley's shoulders, as he was masterful. The O's scored a solo run in the 1st when clint Courtney singled home Cal Abrams. Gelnar was able to fan Kennedy to get out of that bases loaded jam and limit the damage. The O's added an insurance run in the 7th when Billy Hunter singled home Courtney.

9/22 - Memorial Stadium - Baltimore, MD
GAME 3 - Pilots 12, Orioles 2
Big Gene Brabender did not have his best stuff, but he was able to gut out 6 innings in this crafty performance. Brabender exited the game leading 5-2. Joe Coleman and the O's pen helped the Pilots build on their lead and turn the game into a blowout. Banjo hitting Gus Gil went 4 for 5 for the Pilots. September call up, Larry Haney hit a 2 run shot in the 4th to give his team a 3-0 lead. Crusty veteran, Vern Stephens' 2 run shot in the 5th accounted for all of Baltimore's runs and at the time kept them in the game by making it 3-2. By virtue of losing 2 of 3 Baltimore dropped 2 games behind Seattle with 6 left to play.

Angels take 2 of 3 from Mariners

2009-11-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

9/20 - Kingdome - Seattle, Washington
Game 1 - Mariners 5, Angels 0
Glenn Abbott nearly made history vying to be the first Mariner to pitch no-hitter. Through 8 innings, Abbott completely shut down the league's #1 offense, allowing only a pair of walks. Los Angeles pinch hitter Ted Kluszewski struck out to start the top of the 9th. But next batter Albie Pearson drilled a double to the gap to end Abbott's no-no bid. The next two batters went down without event, as Abbott had to settle for a masterful 1-hitter, facing only 4 batters over the minimum. Angles' tough-luck starter Ken McBride pitched a compete game, struck out 9 and yielded only 7 hits, 2 walks and 3 earned runs, but was nevertheless tagged with the loss. Craig Reynolds homered for Seattle.

9/21 - Kingdome - Seattle, Washington
Game 2 - Angels 6, Mariners 1
Eli Grba improved his record to 5-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.83 with a 4-hit, 1-run complete game. The Angels offense only managed 6 hits, but bunched them together effectively along with 8 walks. Leon Wagner led the attack with 3 hits, including his 6th HR of the season. The game was tied at 1 going into the 6th inning. But losing pitcher Dick Pole walked the first 4 batters to start the inning and Los Angeles pulled away for good with 3 runs by the time the dust settled.

9/22 - Wrigley Field - Los Angeles, California
Game 3 - Angels 7, Mariners 2
The Angels' offense finally came alive with 13 hits, including 5 HRs. The pivotal inning was the 4th, when "sluggers" Joe Koppe, Ed Yost and Rocky Bridges all went deep, each a solo shot. But the game was still close as late as the top of the 7th, when Dave Collins' sacrifice fly plated Bill Stein to pull the Mariners within 2 runs. Los Angeles answered with 2 more long balls (Gene Leek, George Thomas) and Art Fowler shut the door over the last two innings to pick up his 4th save, sealing the victory for the home team. Ryne Duren got the win with 4 solid innings of 1-hit relief. Gary Wheelock suffered the loss in only his first non-quality start of the season. --submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Houston take 2 of 3 from Montreal

2009-11-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

9/20 - Jarry Parc - Montreal, Quebec
GAME 1 - Colt 45's 8, Expos 2
Turk Farrell (5-2, 3.20) won this game with his arm and his lumber. Houston's ace gave up solo run in the first and never looked back. With his team up by 7 runs he was removed from the game. If it was close he had plenty of stamina to continue. Montreal's ace, Bill Stoneman (1-4, 5.89) was victimized by his defense, but he still managed to concede 4 earned runs out of 7. Roman Mejia was big with the bat going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and 2 walks for Houston.

9/21 GAME 2 - Colt 45's 10, Expos 4
Gary Waslewski was tapped to stop the bleeding for the Expos His defense, including himself, committed another 2 errors. All 3 runs that Houston scored off of Waslewski were unearned. All 7 runs scored off of Shaw were earned. With the game knotted at 3 the Colt 45's posted 7 in the 7th and blew the doors off of the 'Spos. Carl Warwick went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's. Bob Lillis also went 3 for 5 and improved his season avg to .333. Mejias hit his 5th long ball of the season. Gary Sutherland went 4 for 5 in a losing effort.

9/22 - Colt Stadium, Houston, TX
GAME 3 - Expos 17, Colt 45's 1
The Expos don't score much, but when they do it's a doozie. Houston starter, Ken Johnson (1-3, 7.39) never got out of the first inning, where he gave up 8 runs in 2/3 innings of work. Reliever Dean Stone was marginally better giving up 7 in 4 innings. Steve Renko (1-3, 3.00) went 7 1/3 and gave up 1 run. Every Expo starter had at least 2 hits. Gary Sutherland kept up his torrid pace with 3 RBI's. Rusty Staub, who has been mired in a deep slump all season, was 3 for 5 with 3 RBI's. Coco Laboy had 4 RBI's when he hit a grand slam in the first.

Northern Expos-ure

2009-10-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

9/16 - 9/17 - Jarry Parc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
GAME 1 - Expos 7, Rockies 6
Bill Stoneman carried a 7-3 lead into the 9th when he ran out of gas and almost got ran out of town. After Stoneman yielded 3 runs Gary Waslewski was brought on board to get the save, which he did. Coco Laboy went 3 for 4, as did catcher John Brand. Adolfo Phillips hit his 2nd homer of the season. Andres Galarraga had 4 RBI's in a losing cause.

GAME 2 - Expos 5, Rockies 4
Bruce Ruffin yielded only 1 run in 5 innings worth of work before he hit the 100 pitch plateau, which ended his day. The Rockie bullpen protected their 3 run lead until the Expos exploded for 3 in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead. Staehle led off with a double and Gary Sutherland walked with 1 out. Up stepped Ron Fairly, who slammed a 3 run shot down the right field line. The Rox rallied back to tie it in the top of the 9th when Alex Cole singled home Charlie Hayes with 2 outs. Blair took the mound in the bottom of the inning and immediately served up a walk off homer to John Bateman on the first pitch.

9/18 (Doubleheader) - Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO
GAME 3 - Expos 10, Rockies 6
Expo starter, Larry Jaster, was the beneficiary of an explosive offense that plated 10 runs. Fairly and Mack Jones each posted 3 hits. Jaster himself had an RBI double in the third. Rockie starter Bryn Smith didn't even make it out of the 2nd inning and wouldnt up giving up 7 earned runs as his ERA ballooned up to 21.60. Montreal had 3 errors in the first inning and looked to be giving the game away to the Rox. Galarraga had 4 hits in this losing effort. Jaster left the game in the 6th with tightness in his shoulder and is listed as day by day.

GAME 4 - Expos 4, Rockies 2
This game can be best described as a heartbreaker for Armando Reynoso who had a no hit bid stopped in the top of the 9th when Maury Wills led off with a single. At that point Reynoso turned his focus from preserving his no hitter to pitching a 1 hit shutout. Unfortunately he lost his concentration and balked Wills over to second. Sutherland bunted Wills to third and with 1 out Reynoso's shutout and 1-0 lead were tenuous at best. Bob Bailey walked on 5 pitches to put runners on the corners for Montreal's leading hitter Le Grande' Orange, Rusty Staub. Reynoso was up to the task as he struck out Staub on 8 pitches in an AB where the big red head really battled. With 2 out it all looked to be over, until Mack Jones his a 1-2 offering deep into the Colorado night for a 3 run shot and a 3 run lead. Just like that it all came tumbling down. Colorado opened the 9th with a single from Vinnie Castilla and a walk to Nelson Liriano. Dale Murphy received an odd intentional pass to load the bases, and for a moment it looked like the Rox just might pull it out. That was until Eric Young grounded into a run scoring DP. Two batters later Galarraga fanned on 4 pitches and the Expos notched their firs sweep of the season.

Pilots and Halos split series

2009-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

9/16 - 9/17 - sick Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - Pilots 3, Angels 0
Marty Pattin gave up 3 hits in almost 7 innings worth of work and Jerry McNertney supplied the offense as the Pilots shutout the Halos. LA managed just 3 hits on the day, two by George Thomas. McNertney hit a 2 run and a solo blast to account for all 3 of the Pilots runs, which came off of Ken McBride who went the distance. Diego Segui pitched the 8th and 9th for the save.

GAME 2 - Angels 7, Pilots 5
The dreadful combination of Gary "Ding Dong" Bell and George "cake" Brunet helped jump start the Halos offense. LA jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first, which could have been more, if Bell didn't find a way to weasel out of the jam. The Pilots took a 3 run lead with 3 in the second, but that lead was never safe. LA scored in consecutive 6 runs to go up 7-3. Leon Wagner hit a 3 run shot to put it out of reach. The Pilots made it very interesting in the bottom of the 9th, but Art Fowler managed to squirm out of it and notch his third save of the campaign.

9/18 - Wrigley Field - Hollywood, CA
GAME 3 (DH) - Angels 4, Pilots 3
Gene Brabender was virtually unhittable for 6 innings, but fatigue from the hot Southern California sun got to him and he had to leave the game. At that point he had a 2-0 lead and he was tossing a 1 hitter with 7k's. Seattle scored in the top of the 6th when Wayne Comer lifted a sac fly to left to score Rich Rollins and Jim Pagliaroni singled home Tommy Davis. Both teams exchanged solo runs in the 8th and Seattle had a 2 run leading heading into the bottom of the 9th with closer Diego Segui on the hill. Leon Wagner fanned on 4 pitches for the first out and things looked good for the Pilots. Earl Averill worked out a nice 8 pitch walk, but Lee Thomas lined out to right for the second out. Fans began leaving, but they should have stayed to see pinch hitter Ted Kluszewski single to put runner on the corners. Segui got tough and quickly got pinch hitter Bob "Buck" Rodgers deep in the hole with an 0-2 count. Segui then threw a hanging curve that left the ballpark like a Saturn rocket for a walk off 3 run shot.

GAME 4 (DH) - Pilots 10, Angels 5
Both starters, Fred Talbot (3 runs / 4IP) & Ryne Duren (4 runs / 3.2 IP) were not factors in the decision. By the time both exited the score was knotted at 4 until the top of the 7th when a the Pilots took off and bombarded the Halos in a 6 run 7th. By the time the dust had cleared 11 batters went to the plate. Kline and James were responsible for the barrage. By the time Jerry Casale came on it was purely for mop up duty. Steve Barber got the win more so for being in the right place at the right time, not for effective pitching. Every Pilot starter had a hit except for Ray Oyler, but that doesn't shocke anyone, does it ?

Pilots/Royals split series

2009-10-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

9/11 - 9/12 - Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, MO GAME 1 - Pilots 7, Royals 1
The Pilots finally had one of those offensive break out games vs a quality
pitcher (Jim Rooker).  With the score knotted at 1 apiece the Seattle
exploded for 5 runs in the top of the 3rd and never looked back.  The
key blow was a Greg Goossen grand slam that took all the air out of the
building.  Goossen added a 5th RBI on the day with a sac fly in the
8th.  Fred Talbot (2-1, 2.11) threw 6 scoreless innings before giving
way to his buddy Jim Bouton (2 scoreless innings).  Tommy Davis (.358)
went 3 for 3 and had 2 doubles in this contest.  Tommy Harper stole his
8th and 9th bases.

GAME 2 - Royals 5, Pilots 3
Pilot starter Meyer couldn't make it out of the 2nd inning.  Dick Baney came on to
throw almost 5 scoreless innings in relief, which kept the Pilots in
the game.  Dick Drago gave up only 2 earned runs in 7 innings of work
for KC and that was the difference.  Mike Hegan had a pinch hit 2 run
shot in the 7th to cut it to 1, but the Royals scored a key insurance
run in the bottom of the frame off of Diego Segui to boost the lead
back up to 2.  Tommy Harper stole 2 more bases to increase his season
total to 11.

9/13 - 9/14 - Sicks Stadium, Seattle, WA GAME 3 - Pilots 4, Royals 0
Big Gene Brabender carried a no hitter into the 5th only to see his
opposing number, Wally Bunker, break it up.  Bob Oliver recorded KC's
only other hit as Brabender (3-1, 3.08) tossed a 2 hit complete game
shutout.  Seattle nursed a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the 8th when
they exploded for 3 off of KC reliever Mike Hedlund.  "Orbit", Steve
Hovley doubled home Tommy Harper, followed by John Donaldson scoring on
a passed ball.  The final nail in the coffin was Wayne Comer's RBI
single to center.  KC got bitten by the injury bug.  Pat Kelly and Mike
Fiore went down in the same inning and are listed as game by game.

GAME 4 - Royals 3, Pilots 1
Butler and John Gelnar hooked up in a scoreless pitcher's duel for 5 innings
until KC posted 2 in the top of the 6th.  1969 Rookie of the Year, Lou
Piniella, led off the inning with a clean single to right.  Mike Fiore,
returning from injury, slugged a tape measure shot to right center to
break the ice and give KC a 2-0 lead.  The Pilots cut the deficit in
half in the home half of the 7th when Wayne Comer lifted a sac fly to
left to score Rich Rollins, who had singled earlier.  With 2 runners
still on, Don Mincher came up as a pinch hitter and lined out to Jackie
Hernandez at short to end the inning and squander Seattle's chance to
tie it.  Bob Locker allowed KC to load the bases in the 8th and Diego
Segui came on and walked Jackie Hernandez to give KC a much needed
insurance run.  Mo Drabowsky came on to save the game in the 9th and
quickly got the first 2 outs.  Steve Whitaker, pinch hitting for Wayne
Comer, walked to bring up Mincher who was given an intentional pass.
Merritt Ranew came off the bench to pinch hit for Jerry McNertney and
looked at a called strike 3 to end the game as KC salvaged a series
split.

KC A's take 2 of 3 from Nats

2009-10-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

The KC Athletics took 2 of 3 from the Washington Senators. All 3 games were 1 run games. In Game 1, 3 KC pitchers led the A's to a 4-3 victory. Art Ditmar picked up the win and Tom Gorman the save. Hector Lopez led the offensive attack, going 3-3 with an RBI. In Game 2, Washington scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to gain a 3-2 victory. Harry Bright delivered a 2 out, bases full single to plate 2 runs.Kansas City came back to take Game 3, gaining a hard fought 5-4 victory. Joe DeMaestri went 2-3 to lead the A's. --submitted by Milo Miller--

Heaven-Lee Slam !

2009-10-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

The '61 Angels took one from the playbook of the '09 Halos ALDS Game 3 in Boston last Sunday. LAA entered the bottom of the 8th down 6-1. They scored twice to make it 6-3. The Mariners scored 1 in the top of the 9th to take a commanding 7-3 lead. But the Angles scored 5 in the bottom of the 9th on an RBI single and a Lee Thomas walk-off grand salami. Angels pinch hitters went 5 for 5 those last two innings, and Thomas himself had only entered the game in the top of the 9th as a defensive replacement. It's all part of a Heavenly Karma that emanating from above and spreading itself over all Angels teams, whether on the MLB field or on the computer screen. With it, I think we can safely assume an '09 Halos sweep of the Yanks in the ALCS. --submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Gelnar almost tosses a No-no as Pilots take 3 of 4 from M's

2009-10-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Kingdome - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - Mariners 5, Pilots 1
Glenn Abbott scattered 8 hits and yielded one meaningless run as the M's took the opener of this battle of the Emerald city classic. Dan Meyer was the hitting star going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's and his 3rd homer of the season. Craig Reynolds went 2 for 3 with a homer as well. Marty Pattin was putrid for the losers. Bill Laxton finished off the 9th inning for the M's

GAME 2 - Pilots 11, Mariners 1
It was big Gene Brabender's turn to dominate as the Pilots evened the series at 1 apiece. Brabender was tossing a shutout until he yielded a meaningless run in the 8th. The catalyst Terry Harper was on base 3 times (3-5) and scored 2 runs. Jim Pagliaroni had a big day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI's. Donaldson was 3 for 3 and raised his average to .409. Orbit, Steve Hovley was also 2 for 3. The Pilots left 13 runners on base in a game in which they scored 11.

Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 3 - Pilots 4, Mariners 0
Call this one the John Gelnar show. The Pilots scored 4 runs in the first 5 innings off of Gary Wheelock, then got out of Gelnar's way as he inched closer to his moment in the sun. With 2 outs in the 9th Dan Meyer singled to left to break up the no hitter, then curiously got thrown out at second attempting to steal on the next pitch. Gelnar improved his record to 2-0 and watched his ERA drop to 0.79. The Pilots only had 5 hits of their own. Hovley was 2 for 4 and had a solo shot off of Wheelock. Gelnar did allow 5 base runners as he walked 2 and hit 2 batsmen besides Meyer's single.

GAME 4 - Pilots 3, Mariners 2 (10 inn)
With no score after 4 the M's broke the ice by scoring 2 off of Pilot starter Steve Barber. Bob Stinson reached first on a ball that Tommy Harper booted at third. The next two batters (Reynolds and Milbourne) grounded out. Pinch hitter Lopez was given and intentional pass and Steve Braun delivered a 2 out 2 RBI double to right. In the bottom of the frame Tommy Harper atoned for his error by singling home Ray Oyler, who had walked with 1 out. Diego Segui, who relived Montague in the 5th, cruised until the bottom of the 8th when he was lifted in favor of Enrique Romo, who made a huge mistake by walking the speedy Harper who stole second. John Donaldson lined a clean single to right to score Harper and tie the contest at 2, which is where it stayed until the bottom of the 10th. Harper led that frame off with a double and moved to third on an infield single by Tommy Davis. Don Mincher was given an intentional pass to load the bases and create a force everywhere. Wayne Comer lifted one to Leroy Stanton in right to plate Harper and win the game for the Pilots.

Twins take 3 of 4 from Pilots

2009-09-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sick Stadium - Seattle, WA GAME 1 - Pilots 7, Twins 4
John Gelnar was cruising for 7 shutout innings until he ran out of gas. His replacement, Mike Marshall, and the Pilots lack of fielding prowess conspired to make this game a bit closer than it was supposed to be. Diego Segui was summoned from the pen for the last 4 outs and notched his 4th save of this young season. Tommy Davis was the hitting star going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI's. Tommy Harper swiped his 3rd sack of the season.

GAME 2 - Twins 9, Pilots 1
Blowout City ! The Twins scored in 6 of the 9 frames that they got to bat. Jack Kralick was masterful, allowing only a solo shot to Greg Goossen in the 7th to spoil his day. Gene Brabender was fodder. Bobby Allison went 3 for 5 and had 4 RBI's including his 2nd homer of the season.

Municipal Stadium - Minneapolis, MN
GAME 3 - Twins 6, Pilots 4
Fred Talbot and Jim Kaat looked to be hooked up in a pitcher's due for the first 3 1/2 innings, then the wheels came off of Talbot's bus as the Twins scored 5. With one out Allison hit his 5th homer of the season, then came the flood of singles...6 out of the next 7 batters singled and just like that the Pilots were behind the 8 ball. Seattle battled back to make it 5-4, but the Twins posted an insurance run in the 7th when Harmon Killebrew went deep off of Mike Marshall, who had thrown 2 scoreless innings of relief prior to the big blow. Ray Moore came on for the final out and notched his 3rd save.

GAME 4 - Twins 1, Pilots 0
These low scoring affairs are the types of games that the Pilots usually win. Today was not the case as Pedro Ramos tossed 8 innings of 3 hit ball and Ray Moore saved his 4th. Diego Segui was tapped for a rare start and deserved a better result. His almost 7 innings of gritty work was not enough as his teammates could not post a run on the board. The lone run of the game was scored in the bottom of the first when catcher Earl Battey doubled home Lenny Green, who led off with a single. Ramos fanned 9 Pilots. Curiously the wind was blowing out to left center at around 20 mph, yet there were no homers.

Houston (62) takes 3 out of 4 from LA (58)

2009-09-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Game 1 was a real barn burner coming down to the end in the 6th Houston takes a 1-0 lead on a Roman Mejias single to right as Al Spangler scores for the lead .

In the 8th LA scores the tying run on a Junior Gilliam single 1-1 going into the 9th . Norm Larker doubles down the left field line with 2 outs, then Bob Lillis drills one toward right center and Larker walks in to end it 2-1

Game 2 was a shut out as Stan Williams pitches a 3 hitter over 8 and 1/3 ingings to lead the Dodgers to the win .

Game 3 Was just the opposite Jim Golden goes the distance giving up 5 hits in shutting out the dodgers 9-0

Game 4 Houston is in control it seems like all day with a 6-3 lead heading into the 9th, Jim Gilliam walks ,Umbricht singles putting guys on 1st and 2nd, John Roseboro singles between 1st and 2nd Fairly walks to load the bases ,Gino Cimoli pop's it up to infield fly rule 1 down , Houston brings in Don McMahon, Charlie Neal singles between 2nd and 3rd, Norm Larker scores making it 6-5, John Roseboro trying to score here comes the throw from Al Spangler , Hal Smith tags him OUT 2 down , With 2 down Don "Popeye" Zimmer grounds 1 to 2nd throw to 1st it is close OUT BALLGAME , Houston 6-LA 5

SIDE NOTE: Norm Larker played for both squads in this series --submitted by Jeff Shelton--

Amazins' sweep 'Spos

2009-09-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

Jarry Parc - Montreal QC, Canada
GAME 1 - NYM 2, MON 1
Bob Miller and Steve Renko went pitch for pitch until rain forced them both from the game in the 7th. Miller gave up a solo run to the Expos in the bottom of the first. That would be the only run Montreal would score. Felix Mantilla's solo shot to dead center in the top of the 6th was the game winner. Craig Anderson recorded the 5 out save.

GAME 2 - NYM 7, MON 3
Yesterday the rain hit in the 7th. Today it hit for a half our in the 8th with the score 4-3 in favor of the Metropolitians. Jerry Robertson came on for Montreal in the 9th and proceeded to yield 3 runs to put the game out of reach. Jim Hickman had the stick going for New York as he went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI's and a huge homer. Mantilla also recorded his 2nd homer in 2 days.

Shea Stadium - Flushing, NY
GAME 3 - NYM 12, MON 0
Jay Hook went the distance and scattered 8 hits in this complete game shutout, which also clinched a series sweep for the Metsies. Hook fanned 9 in his second impressive outing in a row. Bill Stoneham was horrible going 6 and yielding 12 (10 earned). Jim Hickman and Marvelous Marv Throneberry (5 RBI) each had a pair of homers. Mantilla hit his third homer in succesive days. Rusty Staub and Mack Jones each recorded 2 hits for the punchless 'Spos.

Mike-ed Up !

2009-09-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - SEP 3, KCA 2
In a battle between former Yankee hurlers (Vic Raschi and Fred Talbot) Mr. Paternity Suit himself (Talbot) came out ahead. The Pilots scored a solo run in the first when Don Mincher doubled home speedy Tommy Harper. Seattle posted 2 off of Raschi in the 6th when Tommy Davis singled home John Donaldson and Wayne Comer did the same for "Orbit", Steve Hovley. Talbot tired and yielded an unearned run in the 8th when Donaldson booted Vic Power's grounder and Hector Lopez singled him home with 2 outs. Bob Locker came on to get Jim Finigan to fly out to end the inning. Diego Segui came on to close out the 9th and got in trouble after getting 2 outs. Enos Slaughter and Harry Simpson singled. Vic Power did the same and plated Slaughter. Segui righted the ship by getting Elmer Valo to bounce back to the box to end it.

GAME 2 - SEP 1, KCA 0
Bobby Shantz and Mike Marshall were busy posting goose eggs until both tired after 7. Neither figured into the decision. Both hurlers struck out 6. Marshall started the 8th and got Vic Power to fly to Wayne Comer in center for the first out. Enos Slaughter doubled hard off the wall and Marshall was done. John O'Donoghue came on to get the next 2 outs and set the Royals down in the 9th. Fricano attempted to do the same for the A's, but he was unsuccessful as Seattle scored the only run of the game in that inning. Wayne Comer led off with a walk and stole second as Fricano fanned Tommy Davis. Greg Goossen fanned as well and all looked good until pinch hitter Mike Hegan delivered a 2 out 2 strike single to center to score Comer on the game's lone run.

Municipal Stadium - Kansas City, MO
GAME 3 - KCA 9, SEP 5
The A's returned home and put their hitting shoes on in this contest. Pilot starter Marty Pattin got bombed and left after 5 innings worth of work and yielding 7 runs (6 earned). KC posted 5 big runs in the 4th to start the romp. The Pilots looked done until a 3 run 8th inning cut KC's lead to 2 and chased starter Alex Kellner. Interestingly Ray Oyler and Jim Pagliaroni both hit long balls for the Pilots. KC was not about to squander this much needed game as they answered back by scoring 2 runs off Diego Segui in the bottom of the inning. Bill Harrington recorded a 4 out save in relief of Kellner. Jim Bouton pitched 2 scoreless innings. Oyler went 3 for 4 to boost his average to .313, which is the highest it's been since he played legion ball. Batters 2-7 in the A's order all had 2 hits. Only Joe DeMaestri was held hitless.

Jack-ed up !

2009-09-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

Kingdome - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - SEA 5, KCR 3
The M's exploded for 4 runs in the 6 to spoil a pitchers duel between Montague and Dick Drago. KC rallied for 3 runs over the final 3 innings, but could not catch the M's. Bill Laxton notched his second save of the campaign. Rupert Jones went 3 for 4 with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. The M's got back to back long balls from Jones and Bob Stinson in that break out inning.

GAME 2 - KCR 6, SEA 3
KC broke a 1-1 tie with 2 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th off of Mariner starter Tom House and reliever Bill Laxton. KC starter Jim Rooker hit a 2 run shot to help his own cause.

Municipal Stadium - Kansas City, MO
GAME 3 - KCR 3, SEA 2
Wally Bunker won his 2nd of the season in this rain delayed event. KC scored 2 in the second when banjo hitting Jackie Hernandez doubled home Ed Kirkpatrick and Joe Foy. The go ahead run was also credited to Hernandez who grounded to third to score Mike Fiore. Bunker and Mariner starer Glenn Abbott were on cruise control, but both were forced to exit the game after the 45 minute rain delay. Mike Hedlund and Morris "Moe" Drabowsky combined to close out the game for KC.

Straight A's

2009-09-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

KC Municipal Stadium
GAME 1 - KCA 2, BAL 1
Alex Kellner scattered 7 hits over 8 1/3 innings as the 1955 KC A's took the opener. Reliever Tom Gorman was able to get the final 2 outs to notch the save. With the score knotted at 1 KC scored the go ahead run in the 6th when Gus Zernial tripled home Enos Slaughter who had just walked. Baltimore starter Bob Turley was able to get out of the inning and not allow Zernial to score, but his troops could not push across any runs to remove him from the short side of the ledger.

GAME 2 - BAL 3, KCA 1
Down 1-0 in the 8th the O's posted 3 runs and ruined KC starter Al Ditmar's performance. Billy Hunter singled home a run and Gil Coan singled home two. Mix in a passed ball and a wild pitch and you have an interesting inning. Joe Coleman gave up a solo run in the 5th when Harry Simpson homered.

Memorial Stadium - Baltimore, MD GAME 3 - KCA 4, BAL 2
A gloomy rain dominated day saw the A's outlast the O's 4-2. Jim Finigan doubled home Hector Lopez in the 4th and backstop Joe Asthroth followed it with a sac fly to put the A's ahead for good. Johnny Sain recorded a 1 out save as he came on board to get pinch hitter Cal Abrams.

Simply Amazin'

2009-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Polo Grounds - Harlem, NYC - GAME 1 - NYM 6, HOU 3
To quote the late great Bob Murphy as he made the call, "Oh, the dream is a reality". National League baseball has officially returned to New York city after a 4 year hiatus. Christened by Casey Stengel, "the Amazin's" were able to win their opener and reward their baseball starved fans with a 6-3 defeat of the Houston Colt 45's. Jay Hook went the distance and allowed only 3 runs, which came off the bat of Bob Aspromonte in the form of a 3 run shot. At that point the Mets were already up 5-0, and with a tack on run in the 6th they had a comfortable 3 run margin for Hook. Turk Farrell was dreadful for the Colt 45's. Richie Ashburn, who was left unprotected by the Cubs, went 3 for 4 and had 2 RBI's for New York. Joe Christopher was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI's and a homer.

GAME 2 - HOU 18, NYM 15 (16 inn)
This game went from the ridiculous to the sublime. Upon first glance one looking at the score would have thought the Oilers beat the Jets by a field goal. Both teams combined to score 30 runs in the first 9 innings then score nothing over the next 6 extra frames. This comedy of errors reminds us why expansion baseball is just so unpredictable. At one point the Mets were up 10-1. Houston was up 15-13 in the 9th, but couldn't close the deal. Both managers ran out of pitchers just about the same time they ran out of Tums. Houston won it in the 16th when Bob Morehead, who had been stellar for the previous 3 innings walked 2. I could hear "Murph" on WOR-TV 9 saying, "oh, those bases on balls..." Well walks will haunt you, and when Norm Larker doubled home 2 and Roman Mejia singled home Larker the Mets were haunted right out of the game. Houston reliever Jim Golden tried to make it interesting by walking 2 himself in the bottom of the frame, but thankfully for him Marvelous Marv Throneberry hit inot a DP and Chris Cannizzaro grounded out to end it. This was truly a marathon.

GAME 3 - Colt's Stadium - Houston, TX - HOU 5, NYM 4
Diminutive lefty Al Jackson gutted out a fine 6 inning performance that was marred by 1 unearned run in the 6th thanks to a passed ball charged to catcher Sammy Taylor. Up 4-1, that passed ball looked to not be an issue, but once Jackson tired the Mets were forced to go to their porous bullpen. Ray Daviault, who probably should be pitching American Legion ball somewhere, came on and surrendered 4 runs in 2 innings and handed the game to Houston. The Colt 45's scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to give reliever Russ Kemmerer the win. Bob Lillis singled home Carl Warwick, who led off the inning with a single. Joey Amalfitano doubled home Campbell and Kemmerer, who had walked on 4 pitches. The Mets went down in order in the 9th. The Mets squandered a fine pitching performance by Jackson. Daviault was also charged with a Wild Pitch and a balk as he single handedly promoted the Mets implosion.

Arizona Rox Colorado !

2009-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Arizona took the final two games of the three game set, after Colorado won on opening day.

Game One featured first draft choice David Neid getting the start for Colorado. The righty faced Arizona lefthander Omar Daal.

Neid pitched fairly well, not quite a "quality" start, but did go six, surrendering four runs on six hits. The youngster walked five, and exited for a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh of a 4-4 game. Pinch-hitter Alex Cole singled, followed by an Eric Young hit-and-run single sending Cole to third. The Rockies then broke the tie on a Gerald Young double-play grounder. Colorado added an insurance run in the eighth and Steve Reed and Jeff Parrett combined for three shutout innings out of the bullpen to secure the victory.

Game two was downright brutal, and could be a precursor to things to come for many of the clubs in KOD8. Are we sure this game wasn't part of a Throneberry Division match-up? But being in the Uecker Division is appropriate as well, as comedy ruled the day. It was expansion baseball at it's finest, or maybe "worst" is a better way to put it. The game featured four errors (all by Colorado), five wild pitches, a passed ball, a balk, a hit batsman. All this along with 23 hits, 15 walks, and 21 runs made for an interesting day at the park needless to say.

The Diamondbacks started quickly against Colorado righty Armando Reynoso, putting a five spot up in the bottom of the first, and adding a solo run in third for an early 6-0 lead. But the Rockies chipped away with 2 in the 4th, 3 in the 5th, and a sixth inning tally that tied it up.

But the roof caved in on the Mile High nine after that, as the men from the desert put up four spots in the seventh and eighth, aided greatly by extremely poor play on part of the visitors. When the dust had settled on this wild and woolly affair, six of the D-Backs 14 runs were unearned, and the fans wondered if maybe their local high school teams might offer a more quality exhibition of how baseball is meant to be played.

After the silliness that prevailed in game two, game three was a crisp, well-played game showing that maybe these castoffs and unwanted men truly could be major league players after all. A tight, well pitched game saw the DiamondBacks use single runs in the seventh and eight to secure a 2-1 victory, spoiling the Rockies home opener. Colorado starter, lefthander Butch Henry, pitched 8 solid innings, striking out three, walking one, while surrendering 7 hits and two runs. D-Backs starter Amaury Telemaco was a little better though, going 7 2/3 innings, giving up only four hits, striking out five and giving up but one lone run.
--submitted by BikeMike (aka Mike Roberts)--

Max Performance !

2009-09-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

The 1952 Boston Braves got the best of the 1969 Montreal Expos by winning 2 out of three. In the first one the Expos bested the Braves in a 14 innings marathon 4-3. that was all the Expos could do against the Braves. The Braves won the next one 8-4 having a feast with Montreal relievers & then shut them down 6-1 in the last game of the series. The Braves pitcher (Max Surkont) had a no-hitter going until the 6th inning when the hapless Expos finally got a hit. The Expos broke the spell Surkont had with a homerun for their lone run in the 9th. The result was Boston Braves won the series 2-1 --submitted by Orlando Leon--

Jints sweep 'dem Bums

2009-09-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

GAME 1 - NYG 9, LAD 2 - LA Coliseum
1955 World Series MVP, Johnny Podres, was a bum. He gave up 9 runs in 7 innings of work, before he was mercifully lifted for Oisk. Johnny Antonelli went 7 as well, but he yielded only 2 runs en route to the victory. Red Schoendienst starred with the lumber, going 3 for 6 with 3 RBI's. Bobby Thomson only had 1 hit, but it was a 2 run shot that didn't win any pennants, but it did stake his team to a 2 run lead to get things started.

GAME 2 - NYG 5, LAD 3 - LA Coliseum
Don Drysdale left the game with the score tied at 3 after 8. His defensive support left him even earlier as 'dem Bums (gone west) wasted a great effort from this young phenom. Don "Popeye" Zimmer along with Drysdale himself made 2 key errors to keep the 'Jints in the game. New York's fielding wasn't that spectacular either as Daryl Spencer made 3 errors in the game. Luckily none of his faux pas led to Dodger runs. The Giants went ahead in the top of the 9th, when pinch hitter extraordinaire, Dusty Rhodes, singled home 2 with 2 out. Stu Miller, who pitched a scoreless 8th got the win and Marv Grissom notched the save with a scoreless 9th.

GAME 3 - NYG 5, LAD 2 - Polo Grounds
Young 22 year old bonus baby Sanford Koufax was wild an ineffective giving up 5 runs in almost 7 innings worth of work. New York struck it big in the home half of the 3rd when they scored 4 of those 5 runs to break the game open. Some walks, a couple of wild pitches and a big single by Hank Sauer and a double by Ray Jablonski, who also hit a solo shot in the 2nd, accounted for all the runs. Al Worthington was credited with the win. Stu Miller came on to throw the final 3 innings for a rare 3 inning save.

Royal Flush !

2009-09-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

8/21 - 8/22 - KC Municipal Stadium GAME 1 - KC 4, LAA 3
Wally Bunker struggled through 6, but was efficient enough to win the opener for the Royals. The Halos struck first by scoring a run in the top of the 1st when Steve Bilko doubled home Albie Pearson. KC took the lead with 2 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th. Pat Kelly doubled home Bunker and Lou Piniella tripled him home. In the 4th Jackie Hernandez doubled home Ellie Rodriguez who walked with 1 out and Bunker, who helped his own cause with the lumber, lofted a sac fly to right to score Hernandez. LA would add solo runs in the 6th and 8th to make it close. Mo Drabowsky came on in the ninth to save it.

GAME 2 - LAA 3, KC 1
Eli Grba went the distance and allowed only 1 run on 4 hits. His counterpart, Roger Nelson, deserved a better fate after only allowing 3 runs in 8 innings of work. The Angels offense featured a balanced attack with only 1 player (Leon Wagner) getting 2 or more hits. Albie Pearson had 2 RBI's.

8/23 - LA Wrigley Field GAME 3 - KC 5, LAA 2
The game shaped up to be a classic pitcher's duel between Butler and Bowsfield, until Art Fowler spoiled it by yielding 4 runs to the Royals in the top of the 8th. Bob Oliver had the big blow when he crushed a 3 run homer off of Fowler. Steve Bilko homered in a losing cause. Oliver had 4 RBI's on the day. Mike Hedlund pitched the final 2 innings after Butler tired.

M's take 2 of 3 from Twinkies

2009-09-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

Seattle and the Twins open the season with the M's taking the first game in the Kingdome, the Twins shutting them out in the second game, and the Mariners riding a strong performance by Gary Wheelock to secure the series win. The Mariners open 2-1.
--submitted by Michael Hopcroft--

Pilots sweep Nats in opening series

2009-09-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA GAME 1 - Pilots 6, Senators 3
Marty Pattin (1-0, 3.00) and Joe McClain (0-1, 7.50) were the opening day starters. Neither got past the 6th. Pattin threw way too many pitches (122) in his 6 innings and had to hit the shower early despite the fact that he had a 5-2 lead. McClain didn't leave due to fatigue. He left due to ineffectiveness. Seattle struck early by scoring a run in both the 2nd and 3rd. Washington did the same thing in the 5th and 6th to tie it at 2 until the bottom of the 6th when pinch hitter Wayne Comer slugged a 3 run shot to break the stalemate. Comer added a solo shot for a much needed insurance run in the 8th. Diego Segui pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief to notch the save.

GAME 2 - Pilots 8, Senators 5
Seattle jumped all over Dick Donovan early and often. Gene Brabender did not have that much more luck holding down the Sens. Thankfully for Brabender his offense and his bullpen bailed him out for the win. Brabender was probably more effective with the bat as he hit a solo homer before exiting. Tommy Davis went 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer. Jim Bouton took time away from his writing to bail out Brabender in the 6th and get 2 key outs. John O'Donoghue pitched a scoreless 9th to record the save. Bob Johnson went 3 for 4 for the Sens in a losing cause. Washington manager Tom Davis used 6 pitchers in this one.

Griffith Stadium - Washington, D.C. GAME 3 - Pilots 3, Senators 2 (11 inn)
Bennie Daniels fanned 8 and gave up only 2 runs in 10 innings of work, yet did not factor into the decision. Tommy Davis' 2 run shot was all that the Pilots could muster off of Daniels until the 11th inning when catcher Jerry McNertney led off with a double and pinch hitter John Donaldson followed with a walk. Another pinch hitter, Steve Whitaker walked as well to load the bases with nobody out. Tommy Harper then grounded back to the box to force McNertney at the plate for the first out. Rich Rollins hit a 2 hopper than handcuffed Danny O'Connell at third to allow Donaldson to score the go ahead run. Hal Woodeshick came on to get "Orbit" Steve Hovley to ground into a 1-6-3 DP to end the Pilot threat. Diego Segui came on in the bottom of the 11th to defend the Pilot's 3-2 lead. He got 2 quick outs, but then made it interesting by walking Dale Long and giving up a long double to pinch hitter Gene Woodling. Many in attendance questioned why Long didn't attempt to score. Retzer the pinch hitter was then given a free pass to load the bases, but pinch hitter Bob Johnson grounded weakly to short to end the game and give the Pilots a 3 game sweep.

2nd Pitch...the NL

2009-09-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

HOU @ NYM: 1962 was a great season for baseball in the National League, especially if you were a fan in SF or LA. If you were a fan in Houston or New York you were just happy to have a major league team...if you can call it that. Both the Mets and the Colt 45's were victims of the Angels success in 1961. Existing ownership was not about to allow these new entries the ability to draft decent players and contend. Knowing that not much was out there for the taking Houston came up with the idea of drafting players that might pay dividends in the future. Since the Houston area was getting it's first exposure to MLB the fans were just excited to have a team. This gave Houston's ownership time to build their club and their fan base. New York's ownership did not have that same luxury. Staring them right in the face a mile across the Harlem River was the 10,000 lb gorilla known as the New York Yankees. The Mets knew that they couldn't compete with the Yankees on the field, but they knew that they could compete with them in the heart's and souls of the New York fan. New Yorkers love an underdog, and this franchise was going to be just that underdog. For 4 years New York was without NL baseball, when both the Giants and Dodgers abandoned "the city" in tandem to go out west and reap the benefits of free ballparks, huge fan bases and no Robert Moses. The Mets plan was simple: collect every old Dodger, Giant and Yankee in the expansion draft and have a traveling Old Timers day show on the field to bring back the fans that were disenfranchised. It worked ! The Mets weren't just bad, they were the worst team ever, but they out drew the Yankees who won the World Series ! They played in the dilapidated Polo Grounds in Manhattan and had Casey Stengel making people laugh, while the team dropped 120 games. "Can anyone here play this game" ? Casey, I'm pretty sure the answer was no !

BSN @ MON: In 1952 the Braves had just about had it in Boston. The Red Sox owned the town and the B's couldn't draw more than 5,000 (if lucky) to their games. Only 4 years earlier the franchise won the NL pennant, but they never built upon that success and the franchise just sunk to the bottom of the NL, where they had pretty much been for the previous 30 years. During the season there was speculation that the franchise would move, but nobody believed it since no team had moved in the past 50 years. The Braves actually had the nucleus of a contender right under their nose. Warren Spahn was well on his way to a HOF career. Eddie Mathews had a brilliant rookie campaign to start his HOF career, and a young rookie named Henry Aaron was signed from the Negro leagues and sent to Boston's farm team. Things were happening...just not fast enough to keep the franchise in Beantown. Montreal had been the Dodgers farm team for years. Greats like Jackie Robinson passed through this town, which always embraced baseball. Tommy Lasorda had a wonderful minor league career in Montreal. In 1969 the NL added two new team and the Expos were the first franchise north of the border added. From day 1 the franchise would be under financed and under appreciated. Their first star would be Rusty Staub, simply know as Le Grande Orange. Expo fans loved Rusty almost as much as they loved that rinky dink Jarry Parc. Fans came out to watch the team play during the summer months, but the cold springs and falls posed a huge problem. The Expos would win their first ever game 11-10 over the Mets @ Shea. Coco Laboy and Mack Davis would have big season at the bat for Le Expos.

COL @ ARI: Early on the Rox learned that hitting the long ball would be the key to the franchises success. Having guys like Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette in their lineup would bring the franchise instant credibility. In fact they would make the post season in their 3rd season as a Wild Card team under Don Baylor. Unfortunately for the Rox they were pitching starved. This would be a challenge for the franchise going forward. Playing their first 2 campaigns in Mile High Stadium the fans were subjected to one of the worst multi-purpose stadiums in professional sports. It was fun to watch the left field grandstand move in and out on wheels prior to and after games. The D-backs had a plan. The plan was to take on whatever veteran ballplayers they could get that other teams could not afford. While that did not pay immediate dividends on the field in their first season, it did work out quite nicely in year two as the team almost won 100 games and won the NL West. In season #4 they defeated the Yankee dynasty to win the quickest ever championship by an expansion team in baseball. Since day one they've played their home games in the retractable domed stadium simply known as "The BOB". The naming rights have changed a few times over the past decade, but the ballpark still features the pool in the bleachers and the dirt path between the mound and the plate.

NYG @ LAD: Horace Greely said, "Go West Young Man". Horace Stoneham and Walter O'Malley took his words to heard and did just that with their respective baseball franchises when both abandoned NYC for California in 1958. The 1957 Giants limped home to mediocrity in their final campaign in the Big Apple. If not for an all world season by Willie Mays the team could have lost well over 100 games. Stoneham new he was moving and looked to build for the future, when he traded Red Schoendienst to the Braves in mid season. Bobby Thomson came back for one final go round to appease the fans. The pitching fell apart almost as fast as the aging Polo Grounds and the neighborhood surrounding it. By August the team was virtually eliminated and Stoneham announced his move. The Polo Grounds became an empty cavern and the team just really fell apart. Not exactly a great swan song for a once proud franchise. The Dodgers arrived in LA amid much fanfare. The city of Angels was not only getting major league baseball, but they were getting the pre-eminent franchise in Baseball. Since 1941 the Dodgers had won 7 pennant and 1 World Championship. In fact they finished no lower than 3rd place since 1947. Fans expected to get a top notch team. They expected the Boys of Summer, but what they got was the Old men of Spring. Those great teams from Brooklyn had hit the wall. Hodges and Snider were still in their primes, but Reese was done, Campy was the victim of a near fatal car crash that rendered him paralyzed and the pitching staff was in transition. The mainstays of Newcombe, Erskine and Labine were just about done and the young guns Drysdale, Koufax and Podres were on the rise, but not dominant yet. Couple all this with the fact that the Dodgers were forced to play in the LA Coliseum, which was a football stadium posing as a ballpark, so anything could happen. What did happen was Snider was robbed of all his power since the Coliseum was built for righties and the chain link fence in right field was much further than the cozy wall in Ebbets field. This first season in LA gave the fans in Brooklyn something to laugh about. LA got their "old" team. The Dodgers weren't going to be down for long and in their second season in LA the "old guard" and the "young guns" combined to win the franchises 2nd World Championship. What took over 65 years to do in Brooklyn took only 2 in LA, but that still didn't change the fact that in a city based on entertainment, their opening act in 1958 flat out stunk.

First Pitch: Labor Day Weekend !!!

2009-09-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

Well Gents, it's finally here...Opening Day ! The first pitch of a new season, where everything is new and fresh and everybody is in 1st place ! We have an interesting theme, which is kind of a combo theme. We have Expansion teams, 1st year franchise shifts and last year in their original home. It should make for a very interesting league as one can never tell just how the game engine will respond to teams that were this abysmal !

Here are the week # 1 matchups and my comments for the AL:

BAL @ KCA: Battle of franchises that shifted 1 year after each other. While their uniforms are brand new and their caps have a great looking orange Oriole, this team still resembles those second division St. Louis Browns squads. Bill Veeck sold the team, so it could move to Baltimore. Unfortunately the players came along too. Same can be said for the Kansas City A's. Connie Mack was cheap, then he got old, then his kids began to fight over who controlled the team. Eventually they just sold it and the new owners moved out of Philly, where they couldn't draw flies. The move to KC would ensure that the A's would never rise above second division status and become known as the Yankees farm team. Not until Charlie Finley took them over did they start to build from within. Unfortunately the fans of KC would never see the fruits of this plan since the franchise again up and moved...this time to Oakland.

WAS @ SEP: 1st in war, 1st in peace...last in the AL. That pretty much describes the tenure of the Senators in our Nation's Capital. In 60 years of action the Nats won 1 championship, and that was back in the 1920's. By 1960 the Griffith family had grown weary of D.C. and their aged ballpark and moving to Minneapolis was just right around the corner. Have no fear, expansion is here. The geniuses who ran the AL solved the problem by adding an expansion team to D.C. and letting the original Senators move. This band of castoffs and unknowns actually showed more promise than the group they replaced...at least for the short term. The Seattle Pilots were so bad they only existed for 1 year. Made popular by Jim Bouton's baseball tell all, Ball Four, the Pilots will be known as more than just a band of castoffs, but an eclectic bunch hopped up on greenies and looking to pound some Bud's. Ownership was so poor the team went into bankruptcy after the season ended and moved to Milwaukee on the sly when spring training ended. Tommy Harper did steal 70+ bases, which was incredible considering he hit in the .230's.

LAA @ KCR: The Angels might have been baseball's best expansion team ever. They were actually contenders in their 2nd and 3rd seasons and battled the heck out of the AL during their inaugural campaign. A little known fact is that they played their home games during that 1st season in LA's Wrigley field, which was the home of the original Home Run Derby TV show. Of course there is always a downside to such immediate success. That downside was the Mets and Colt 45's, who came the following season. They were given a smaller talent pool to choose from, since the existing owners were ticked off at how well the Angels fared. The Royals started play in 1969 and brought baseball back to KC after a 1 year hiatus after the A's abandoned KC for greener pastures on the West Coast. The Royals might not have been good in their opening campaign, but they had the right formula for building a sustained winner, as the franchise was a constant contender from the mid 70's through mid 80's.

MIN @ SEA: The Twins arrived on the scene via the moving van. Once the AL agreed to add an expansion team in Washington, the old Senators were free to leave provided they leave the name Senators. With their poor track record I don't think they cared at all. 60 years of bad baseball in D.C. translated to a decade of excellence in the Twin Cities. Constant improvement took place and the team won the the AL pennant 4 short season later and a couple of divisional titles at the end of the decade. The AL never likes to admit defeat, so as you've seen the pattern they gamefully return to failed cities with expansion teams. After a 7 year absence of baseball after the Pilots moved, the M's took the field in their new antiseptic domed stadium and proceeded to stink for the next decade and a half. Not much happened until the young phenom Griffey Jr. arrived 13 seasons after the franchise was created. Interestingly Diego Segui is the only player to have played for both the M's and the Pilots. He retired quickly after the '77 season concluded.