Twins take 3 of 4 from Pilots

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)

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

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 !

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 !

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

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'

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 !

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 !

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

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 !

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

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

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

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 !!!

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.