60s-1.5 team challenge-Champion crowned

Games played: 60

Here’s a look at the standings and then a review of how the top three salaried players are performing for each team.

Cabrera24 and his KC/Oakland (hitters) Dodgers continue to lead the league with the best record after going 13-8 for the week/38-22 overall.

Top 3 salaries:

Sandy Koufax: 7-5---ERA of 3.40; WHIP of 1.22 103 IP 99 K
Don Drysdale has been dominant---he’s 11-2 with a 1.46/1.02
Sal Bando: .256/.370/.388 4 HR, 17 RBI

YCBill and his San Francisco Giants (Astros hitting) went 12-9 for the week and are 2 games off the lead at 36-24.

Willie Mays: .304/.382/.525 15 HR 39 RBI
Bobby Bonds: .235/.299/.420 6 HR 24 RBI 10 SB
Gaylord Perry: 6-7 with an ERA/WHIP 3.53/1.16

The Philly (hitters) White Sox led by LM Bombers went 9-12 for the week and are now at 26-34.

Joe Horlen 8-5 with an ERA of 3.08-WHIP of 1.12
Dick Allen .274/.347/.556 17 HR 43 RBI
Minnie Minoso: .218/.289/.293 2 home run 14 rbi; 19 runs scored

The Brave Mini Senators (hitters) led by JJB92 went 8-13 for the week and are now 21-39, 17 games off the pace.

Hank Aaron: .332/.394/.517 11 HR 35 RBI
Eddie Mathews .200/.333/.378 7 HR 28 RBI (released)
Frank Howard: .309/.333/.617 8 home runs 21 RBI

Central:

MemphisJohn leads Harry’s Cards and Cubs (hitting)—the club went 12-9 for the week and are now at 36-24 with a league best run differential of +52.

Bob Gibson 8-2 2.28/1.04 122ip 116ks
Ron Santo .283/.379/.542 203 plate appearances 9 home runs 36 rbi
Ken Boyer .333/.366/.621 5 home runs 14 rbi 70 plate appearances


DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros (pitching) went 11-10 for the week and are now 32-28.

Al Kaline .280/.368/.479 10 HR/24 RBI
Rocky Colavito .274/.353/.444 5 HR /21 RBI
Norm cash .328/.457/.527 9 HR/31 RBI

KaiserWill4 leads the Cincinnati RedAthetics (pitching)—the RedAthletics had a tough week going 8-13 and falling into third place with a record of 31-29.

Frank Robinson .256/.329/.530 17 home runs 43 RBI
Pete Rose .272/.321/.476 16 doubles
Vada Pinson.380/.394/.540

NewGuy1912 and his Two Parts Twins One Part Cubs (pitching) had a good week going 14-7 bringing their record to 30-30.

Harmon Killebrew: .235/.365/.498 15 home runs, 45 RBI
Tony Oliva .303/.346/.520 15 doubles, 8 home runs
Bob Allison .260/.372/.429 4 HR/16 RBI


West
Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh BucTribe (pitching) went 13-8 and are now at 34-26, good for a 7 game lead.

Roberto Clemente .395/.434/.610 16 doubles, 10 home run, 39 RBI
Reggie Jackson .270/.355/.515; 12 home runs 37 RBI
Sam McDowell 5-4 95 IP, 112 Ks; 2.27/1.05

BurleyNorseman leads the Baltimore Oriole Mets (pitching) and went 9-12 for the week and are 27-33 overall.

Tom Seaver 4-6; 103 innings pitched 73 k’s; 2.45 /1.35
Jim Gentile: .274/.395/.644 25 home runs 47 RBI
Boog Powell: .253/.359/.539 16 home runs; 35 RBI


The LA Angels (pitching) BoSox are led by Davesodu---the BoSox went 9-12 for the week and are 26-34 for the season.
LA Angels/Bo Sox:
Carl Yastremski .309/.372/.59716 home runs; 49 RBI
Dean Chance: 10-5; 107 IP/2.85 ERA, 1.16 whip
Reggie Smith: .251/.393/.384; 5 home runs; 31 RBI


Drabb9529 leads the New York Yankees Phillies (pitching)—they went 8-13 for the week and are 23-37 for the season.

Mickey Mantle .278/.435/.486 10 home runs; 23 RBI
Roger Maris: .261/.317/.551 19 home runs, 37 RBI
Chris Short: 4-4; 77 101 IP; ks2.94/1.06

Games played: 81

We've reached the half way point of the season--here's a look at each team along with the most pleasant performance by a player with a salary of under $5 million dollars. We'll also take a look at the most disappointing player, regardless of salary and players added to the roster via the mid-season supplemental draft.

East: Teams could add players with salaries of up to $1.5 million

Cabrera24 and his KC Oakland Dodgers continue to lead the east. The Dodgers went 10-11 for the week and now have a record of 48-33, good for a one game lead in the division.

Player added via draft: Ed Kirkpatrick

Best performance by player under $5 million: Lou Johnson is hitting .326/.364/.504 in 131 plate appearances.
Disappointing player: It's all relative since the Dodgers have been in first place all season and continue to play well. John Roseboro has a slash line of .194/.241/.226 in 197 plate appearances.

YCBill and the San Francisco Giants are keeping the pressure on the Dodgers going 11-10for the week and are now at 47-34, just one game off the pace.
Player added via draft: Bud Harrelson

Best performance under $5 million: Mike McCormick has delivered a record of 12-5 for $3.84 milion. Mike has an ERA of 3.13 and a WHIP of 1.23

Disappointing player: Ed Bailey is taking up $3.68 in salary but has a slash line of .170/.252/.262 in 157 plate appearances.

LM Bombers has the Philly Chicago White Sox playing well--they went 13-8 for the week and are now at 39-42 with a positive +7 run differential.
Player added via draft: The White Sox did not make a selection in the draft.

Best performance under $5 million: Ray Herbert is paid $3.08 with an ERA of 3.27/WHIP of 1.24 even though his record is only 2-5. Still, with positive numbers, it's likely the wins will come soon--Ray has thrown 110 innings, 3rd most on the team.

Disappointing player: Minnie Minosa is at .230/.310/.327 in 183 plate appearances.

JJB92 and the Brave Mini Senators--the first team selected in the draft--continue their poor play. The team went 8-13 for the week and now have a record of 31-50, the worst record in the league.
Player added via draft: Vic Davallilo was added to the club

Best performance under $5 million: Gene Woodling has delivered .341/.434/.497 all for a salary of $4.84. Gene has 195 plate appearances.

Disappointing player: Where to begin........Eddie Mathews absorbed $8.34 in salary to deliver .200/.333/.378 in 217 plate appearances.

Central: Teams in the Central could add players with salaries totaling $4 million

MemphisJohn and his Harry's Cards and Cubs continue to lead the division going 10-11 for the week and are now at 46-35 with a league best run differential of +61.

Players added via draft: Duke Sims and Bubba Morton will be contributing to the team for the rest of the season.

Best performance under $5 million: Ray Sadecki has pitched well for his salary of $3.34. Ray has thrown back to back complete game shut outs in his last two starts and has 4 complete game shut outs this season.

Disappointing player: Tim McCarver has had 154 plate appearances as the primary catcher but is at .194/.271/.288.

DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros moved to within 3 games of the division lead at 43-38 after going 11-10 for the week.

Player added via the draft: Jim Piersall will join the club to fortify the outfield.

Best performance under $5 million: Jake Wood is only paid $750,000 but has delivered .311/.342/.451 and added 6 stolen bases in 199 plate appearances.

Disappointing player: Dick McAuliffe was released after putting up .125/.237/.167 in 54 plate appearances.

Two Part Twins One Part Cubs are led by NewGuy1912. The club continues their climb going 11-10 for the week and are now 41-40.

Players added via the draft: Fred Whitfield was added to help at first base while Frank Thomas will help in the outfield.

Best performance under $5 million: Zolio Versalles has a salary of $1.90 but has hit .285/.335/.482 in 269 plate appearances.

Disappointing player: Camilo Pascual was a possible ace but was released after going 0-3 with an ERA of 8.27/WHIP of 1.89

KaiserWill4 leads the Cincinnati RedAthletics. The club had another tough week going 6-15 and is now 37-44. The club was 26-16 after 42 games and was tied for first place. Jim O'Toole was 6-0 with an ERA of 1.60. The RedAthletics have lost 13 consecutive series going 11-28 in the past 39 games. Jim O'Toole? he is now 6-7 with an ERA of 3.38.

Player added via the draft: Woodie Held will be joining the club to help improve the outcome.

Best performance under $5 million: Tommy Davis was added in a trade with the Dodgers for Bob Purkey. Tommy has taken over left field and is contributing .296/.332/.506 with 9 home runs/28 RBI. Tommy has made 242 plate appearances.

Disappointing player: Hank Foiles commands a salary of $3.05 million. His contribution? .118/.237/.177 in 59 plate appearances.

West: Teams in the west could use $9 million dollars to add players to their roster.

Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe are tied for the best record in the league with a record of 48-33 after going 14-7 for the week. The Tribe now hold an 8 game lead in the division race.

Players added via the draft: Ron Hunt, Ron Swoboda, Darold Knowles and Pete Richert will all be available to the club over the last half of the season.

Best performance under $5 million: Bob Friend is at a salary of $4.48---for that money, he's delivered 9-2 in 117 innings and has an ERA of 2.62/WHIP of 1.14

Most disappointing player: Dick Hoak earns $5.95---for that, he's at .222/.344/.303 in 193 plate appearances. He's hit 2 home runs.

LA Angeles Bo Sox are lead by Davesodu had a great week going 14-7 and are now at 40-41 moving into second place in the division.

Players added via the draft: Johnnie Romano will arrive to help the catching position. Dick Bosman will join the pitching staff.

Best performance under $5 million: Duke Snider was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers---he's at .325/.368/.713 launching 16 home runs and 46 RBI.

Most disappointing player: George Brunet is paid $4.6 million----for that, the BoSox had a record of 7-9 with an ERA of 5.17/WHIP of 1.56.

BurleyNorseman and his Baltimore Oriole/Mets had a tough week going 6-15 and are now 33-48 for the season.

Players added via the draft: Albie Pearson, Johnny Temple and Joe Coleman will all be joining the club.

Best performance under $5 million: Elrod Hendricks has a salary of .81 but has provided a slash line of .287/318/.443 with 5 home runs 18 RBI in 129 plate appearances.

Most disappointing player: Tom Seaver has a salary of 7.72---for that, the Oriole Mets had a record of 4-10 with an ERA of 3.25/WHIP of 1.45. Tom was traded to the Yankee/Phillies for Chris Short and Jim Bunning.

Drabb9529 leads the NY Yankee Phillies---for the week, the club went 10-11 and are now tied for third place at 33-48.
Players added via the draft: Jim Fregosi will be taking over at shortstop while Leon Wagner is now available int he outfield.

Best performance under $5 million: Ray Culp has a salary of $3.32 million and has provided quality starts--he's 4-3 with and ERA of 3.31/WHIP of 1.27.

Most disappointing player: Tony Kubek was the starting shortstop---while his salary was only .93 but the results were disappointing. .181/.222/.243 in 237 plate appearances.

Games played: 102

A look at league leaders, the mid season additions and random notes about each club.

Cabrera24 and his KC Oakland Dodgers continue to lead the east. The Dodgers had an excellent week going 14-7 and are now a league best 62-40. They extended their lead to 4 games and have the best run differential at +78.
Player added via draft: Ed Kirkpatrick—Ed is hitting .333 with 2 home runs in 12 at bats over the past 21 games.

Dominant pitching—team ERA of 2.86, 6 shutouts, only 7 blown saves (10 less than league leader) Don Drysdale and Don Sutton are a combined 29-10 with ERAs of 2.14 and 1.95 respectively.

YCBill and the San Francisco Giants went 11-10 for the second consecutive week and and are now 58-44

Player added via draft: Bud Harrelson turned 19 chances into 28 outs ((68%) since taking over at shortstop. Bud has made 4 errors since joining the club.

The Giants lead the league in triples with 44. Bobby Bonds leads the club with 12 triples---he also has 12 doubles and 11 home runs to go along with 22 stolen bases. Joe Morgan leads the team in stolen bases with 26.

LM Bombers and the Philly Chicago White Sox went 10-11 for the week and are now at 49-53.

The White Sox did not make a selection in the draft.

Luis Aparicio holds a “1” designation at the important shortstop position-a rarity in the 60s player set. Luis has been challenged 113 times and 99 or 88% have been turned into outs. Luis has turned 63 double plays which leads the league for shortstops. The White Sox bullpen has blown 17 saves, tied with the Oriole/Met team for most in the league.

JJB92 and the Brave Mini Senators—improved slightly going 9-12 for the week and now sit at 40-62 with a -95 run differential.

Player added via draft: Vic Davallilo was added to the club—Vic went out with a 15 game injury so his plate appearances have been limited. Vic has a slash line of .273/.265/.273 when he has played in his 33 plate appearances.

Phil Niekro continues an odd season. He is 5-16 but has an ERA of 4.35/WHIP of 1.41 which isn’t as bad as his record. With Hank Aaron and Frank Howard on the roster, one might expect one of them would lead the team in home runs. While Hank has launched 17 home runs and Frank has contributed 12, Joe Torre leads the team with 22 home runs.

Central:

MemphisJohn and his Harry's Cards and Cubs went 9-12 for the week, the second consecutive week under .500. The Cards/Cubs are now 55-47 holding a 1 game lead over both the TigerAstros and Twins/one part Cubs.

Players added via draft: Duke Sims –Duke is at .273/.351/.455 in 37 plate appearances. Bubba Morton has been a contributor—he’s knocked in 11 runs in just 45 at bats. Bubba is at .326/.348/.512.

The club leads the league with 10 shut outs. Bob Gibson has 14 wins, Ray Sadecki 11 and Curt Simmons 10 to pace the starting staff. The starters have pitched 753 innings—the most by any 4 starters in the league. Lou Brock leads the league in stolen bases with 28.

DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros went 11-10 for the week and are now just 1 game out of the lead at 54-48.

Player added via the draft: Jim Piersall has provided a slash line of .302/.296/.674 with 5 home runs in just 43 at bats.

The Tiger/Astros lead the league with 156 home runs---Bill Freehan and Jim Northrup lead the team with 24 home runs each. Willie Horton and Al Kaline both have 19 home runs while Norm Cash has contributed 16. The club also leads the league with 378 walks—Norm Cash leads the team with 63 walks.

Two Part Twins One Part Cubs are led by NewGuy1912. The club continues their climb going 13-8 for the week and are now just one game out of first place with a record of 54-48.


Players added via the draft: Fred Whitfield –Fred was has been injured which has limited him to 31 plate appearances. His slash line is .300/.382/.367.

Frank Thomas has been a pleasant surprise—he’s at .340/.438/.660 with 4 home runs, 3 doubles and 1 triple in 61 plate appearances.

The Twins bullpen has only blown 5 saves thus far. Al Worthington has been solid as the closer—Al has 27 saves and 48 strike outs in 46 innings. Jim Merritt has been pitching in hard luck---his numbers look great—an ERA of 3.27, WHIP of 1.08 yet is just 7-12.

KaiserWill4 leads the Cincinnati RedAthletics. The RedAthletics recovered from their recent slump going 11-10 for the week and stopped the series losing streak at 13. The club is now 48-54.
Woodie Held was acquired in the draft and has helped the club improve. He’s at .396/.431/.604.

Pete Rose has been the primary second baseman—Pete has struggled at the position—he’s made 20 errors. In 99 chances, 64 were turned into outs—65%. Pete has also struggled against left handed pitching—his slash line versus lefties is .202/.213/.286. Blue Moon Odom has put up good numbers since joining the club—he has an ERA of 2.94 and a WHIP of 1.34. He’s only 1-3 in 5 starts. The club is second in strikeouts hitting wise---the club has whiffed 665 times, second in the league to the Pirates.


West

Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe went 11-10 for the week and are now 59-43, good for a 6 game lead.

The Bucs Tribe added the most players via the draft---

Ron Hunt: Ron has been very productive---.381/.427/.492—1 HBP in 68 plate appearances.
Ron Swoboda:.143/.333/.238 in 27 plate appearances
Darold Knowles: .67 innings; 27.27 ERA, 6.06 WHIP
Pete Richert: 1-1 ERA 5.12/1.29

The Bucs Tribe lead the league in doubles with 175. Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente are tied for the league lead in doubles with 27 each.

While Ron Hunt has been a major contributor offensively, Bill Mazeroski who had been the starting second baseman was a standout defensively. Bill turned 78 chances into 70 outs i(89.7%) including 63 double plays. Ron has turned 9 outs in 14 chances—64%.

LA Angeles Bo Sox are lead by Davesodu had another very good week going 13-8 and is now 53-49 and are in contention for the wild card.

Johnnie Romano was selected in the supplemental draft and has been exactly what the team needed. Johnnie’s slash line is .319/.431/.560. Johnnie took over from Paul Casanova as the primary catcher for the BoSox---Paul’s slash line? .224/.261/.274.

Dick Bosman joined the team—he’s 2-0 with an ERA of 5.40, WHIP of 1.55

Pete Runnels is tied for the lead league in doubles with 27. Eight members of the club have double digit home runs lead by Duke Snider who has launched 26 home runs. Carl Yaztremski has contributed 22 home runs and Tony Conigliaro has hit 19 home runs. The BoSox lead the league with 536 runs scored-an average of 5.25 per game.


Drabb9529 leads the NY Yankee Phillies---for the week, the club went 9-12 and are now tied for third place at 42-60.

Players added via the draft: Jim Fregosi : Jim is off to a tough start—he’s at .169/.233/.241.

Leon Wagner was the second selection for the Yankee Phillies---Leon .183/.261/.342 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI in 91 at bats.

While Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris have both launched 23 home runs, no other member of the club has reached double digits in home runs. The result? The Yankee Phillies are last in the league in runs scored with about 200 fewer than the lead leading BoSox, an average of about 3.3 runs per game.


BurleyNorseman and his Baltimore Oriole/Mets had another tough week going 5-16 and are now. 38-64 for the season.

Players added via the draft:

Albie Pearson—Albie was the highest paid player joining a team in the supplemental draft. However, Albie has struggled--.203/.345/.246 in 84 plate appearances.

Johnny Temple : .303/.361/.394 but was injured so Johnny only has 36 plate appearances.

Joe Coleman has not yet joined the club.

One major challenge for the club? Blown saves---the club has squandered 17 save opportunities this season. Five different players have blown saves with Stu Miller (released) and Dick Hall both blowing 5 saves.

The Orioles have been active on the trade front acquiring Jim Bunning, Chris Short, Richie Ashburn and Wayne Causey in a series of trades. However, the additions have all struggled since joining the club—Jim---1-4 with a 4.96, Chris 1-4, 6.45, Richie .125/.263/.156 and Wayne .205/.256/.282

Games played: 123

A look at the longest winning/losing streaks for each team, the percentage of “X” chances turned into outs and an update on the division standings and wild card race.

Cabrera24 and his KC Oakland Dodgers continue to lead the east. The Dodgers had another good week going 13-8 and are now a league best 75-48, extending their division lead to 9 games.. They have the league best run differential at +122 and are looking like the dominant team in the league.

Streaks:

Longest winning streak: 7 games*
Longest losing streak: 3 games—3 times.

Cabrera24 has a very impressive streak---the team has not been swept in any series this season. They have played 41 series and have not been swept.

Record vs left handed starters:

26-18 59.10%

YCBill and the San Francisco Giants went 8-13 and are now 66-57.

Longest winning streak: 7*
Longest losing streak: 4

Record vs left handed starters: 28-25

LM Bombers and the Philly Chicago White Sox went 13-8 for the week and are now at 62-61

Longest winning streak: 5 twice
Longest losing streak: 6

Record versus left handed starters: 24-14 63.15%

JJB92 and the Brave Mini Senators—wnet10-11for the week and now sit at 50-73.

Longest winning streak: 4
Longest losing streak: 5 games (2 times)

Record vs left handed starters: 15-25 37.50%

Central:

MemphisJohn and his Harry's Cards and Cubs rebounded from a tough 2 week stretch going 14-7 and are now 69-54, extending their division lead to 4 games.

Longest winning streak 7*
Longest losing streak 5

Record vs left handed starters: 28-24 53.85%

Two Part Twins One Part Cubs are led by NewGuy1912. The club went 11-10 for the week 65-58.

Longest winning streak: 6 games
Longest losing streak 5 (3 times)

Record versus left handed starters: 21-21 50.00%

DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros went 10-11for the week and are now just 1 game out of the lead at 64-59 and are now in third place in the division.

Longest winning streak: 7 games*
Longest losing streak: 5 games

Record versus left handed starters: 26-24 52.00%

KaiserWill4 leads the Cincinnati RedAthletics. The RedAthletics returned to their losing ways going 6-15 for the week and are now at 54-69 .

Longest winning streak: 4 games (3 times)
Longest losing streak: 8 games**

Record versus left handed starters: 23-31 42.59%

West

Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe had a tough week going 8-13 the week and are now 67-56 hanging on to a one game lead in the division race.

Longest winning streak : 5 games (twice)
Longest losing streak : 5 games

Record versus left handed starters: 25-21 54.34%

LA Angeles Bo Sox are lead by Davesodu had another very good week going 13-8 for the second consecutive week and are now just one game off the division lead at 66-57.

Longest winning streak: 6
Longest losing streak 5 (twice)

Record versus left handed starters: 21-21 50.00%

Drabb9529 leads the NY Yankee Phillies---for the week, the club went 8-13 and remain tied for third place at 50-73.

Longest winning streak 5
Longest losing streak 5 (4 times)
Record versus left handed starters: 23-27 46.00%

BurleyNorseman and his Baltimore Oriole/Mets rebounded going 12-9 for the week and are now 50-73.

432/605 71.40%

Longest winning streak: 4
Longest losing streak: 7 (3 times)

Record versus left handed starters: 22-30 42.30%

*: Longest winning streak for a team
**: Longest losing streak for a team

Wild card race:

There is a two way tie for the wild card with YCBill’s San Francisco Giants and LA Angels BoSox both have records of 66-57.The BoSox have a lead in run differential (+54 vs +35)the two teams have split the 6 games they have played.

NewGuy1912 and his Two Parts Twins One Part Cubs are one game off the pace while DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros are two games off the pace. LM Bombers and his Philly Chicago White Sox are in the mix trailing by 4 games.

Many managers place a premium on playing players up the middle who are strong (1 or 2) in terms of range at key positions such as shortshop, second base, center field and catcher. Here’s a look at the number of “X” chances each team has had and the number of chances that turned into outs.

LM Bombers and his White Sox/Phillies club leads the league in turning “X” chances into outs. The club has turned 596 chances into 441 outs or 73.99%.

On the other end of the spectrum, YCBill and his San Francisco Giants have had 653 chances and 425 (65.08%) have turned into outs.

Most “X” chances: 697 Braves Mini Senators---71% turned into outs
Fewest “X” chances: 596 Philly Chicago White Sox

Here’s a look at the results for each team:(Primary Team listed)

Dodgers: 443/606—73.10%
Giants: 425/653—65.08%
White Sox: 441/596 73.99%
Braves: 494/697 70.97

Cardinals: 456/620 73.54%
Twins: 423/618 68.44%
Tigers: 475/661 71.86%
Reds: 438/645 67.90%

Pirates: 483/659 73.29%
Red Sox: 468/660 70.90%
Yankees: 445/604 73.67%
Orioles: 432/605 71.40%

Games played: 144

A look at the playoff races and a summary for each team along with the likely MVP for each team.

(Note---I will be out of the country next week so the next update will be in 2 weeks)

With an impressive nine game lead for the best record in the league and a 12 game lead in the division, Cabrera24 and his KC Oakland Dodgers continue their march to the playoffs. The club went 13-8 for the second consecutive week and are now 88-56 with a league best +145 run differential. The club still has not been swept in a 3 game series this season.

Season summary: The club has only allowed 471 runs, almost 100 fewer than the next best club (Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe). The Dodgers have only allowed 3.27 runs per game. The team has been in first place all season. Here’s an example of the magical season. Mickey Lolich was acquired in a trade. His performance before the trade? ERA of 5.95/WHIP of 1.64. In his first start, Mickey pitched 6 innings and did not allow a run.

MVP: Don Drysdale—he’s 20-8 with an ERA of 2.07/WHIP of 1.05

YCBill and the San Francisco Giants went 10-11 and are now 76-68, 3 games out of the wild card race.

Season summary: The Giants have been competitive all season and challenged the Dodgers for most of the year. The past two weeks have been tough and the Giants are now in a fight for the wild card. Joe Morgan (32) and Bobby Bonds (30) have paced the team in stolen bases .

MVP: Although Willie Mays is having an impressive season, .285/.357/.554 with 45 home runs, Juan Marichal gets the nod here. Juan is 23-6 with an ERA of 2.44/WHIP of 1.00

LM Bombers and the Philly Chicago White Sox had another good week going 12-9 and are now 74-70 and are in the wild card hunt, 5 games out with 18 games remaining.

Season summary: The White Sox got off to a slow start and dipped to 30-39 after 69 games. Since then, the club has gone 44-31 since then. Will they have enough time to close the gap and reach the playoffs?

MVP: Dick Allen has had a very good year--.284/.359/.575 with 14 triples and 42 home runs. Unfortunately for the White Sox, Dick was injured for 7 games in game 142.

JJB92 and the Brave Mini Senators—went 9-12 for the week and is now 59-85. Just as a reminder, the Braves were the first selection in the team draft so a much better performance was expected.

Season summary: Not much went right for the Braves---Phil Niekro is 8-21 as the staff ace—never a good sign when the ace has lost more than 20 times. The team really never got untracked despite decent individual performances.

MVP: Hank Aaron delivered a .327/.390/.532 slash line with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Hank has held up his end of the bargain.

Central:

MemphisJohn and his Harry's Cards and Cubs went 10-11 for the week and fell into a tie for 1st place with the surging Detroit TigerAstros.

Season summary: The leader of the division for most of the season, the Cards have relied primarily on the big 4 starting pitchers of Bob Gibson (21-7), Steve Carlton (10-18), Ray Sadecki (12-8) and Curt Simmons (14-13) to pace the impressive pitching staff. The club has a team ERA of 3.38 and lead the league with 13 shut outs.

MVP: Bob Gibson has pitched like an ace—he’s 21-7 with an ERA of 2.74/WHIP of 1.12. Bob has also contributed at the plate—he is hitting .247.277/.320 in 97 at bats.


DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros had a great week going 15-6 and are now tied for both the division and wild card lead at 79-65.

Season summary: The TigerAstros have relied on power with 7 players hitting in double digit home runs. Bill Freehan leads the team with 31 with Jim Northrup (30), Norm Cash (29), Willie Horton (28), Al Kaline (25), Don Demeter (19) and Rocky Colavito ((16). The club has been consistent only falling under .500 one time at 4-5 and picked a great time to play their best ball.

MVP: Norm Cash has played well all season--.345/.465/.590. Against right handed pitching, Norm has been even better at .399/.528/.712.

Two Part Twins One Part Cubs are led by NewGuy1912. The club went 10-11 for the week and are now 75-69—4 games off the pace for the playoffs.

Season summary: After a very rough start (3-13), the club has clicked before this past week. Additions Buddy Schultz (10-2, 2.44/1.20), Ted Uhlaender (.281/.315/.424) , Fred Whtifield (.350/.386.613) and Frank Thomas (.281/.315/.424) have significantly outperformed players they replaced.

MVP: Al Worthington has saved 36 games-he’s pitched 65 innings, allowing 43 hits with a 2.21 ERA/WHIP of 1.01. He’s 7-3.

KaiserWill4 leads the Cincinnati RedAthletics. The RedAthletics had another tough week going 7-14 brining the season record to 61-83. The Reds were the second team selected in the team draft.

Season summary: We covered the fall of the Reds earlier this year—after the first 42 gams, the Reds were 26-16 and were battling for 1st place. Since then? It’s been tough on owner KaiserWill4—the club has gone 35-67 for a depressing winning percentage of 34%.

MVP: Deron Johnson has had a decent year---he’s hit 29 home runs and driven in 80 runs. Deron has a slash line of .266/.323/.483.

West

Nol15736 and his Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe had a better week going 11-10 and extending their lead to 4 games with a record of 78-66.

Season summary: The Pirates have led the division for most of the season and have recovered from their recent slump. The Pirates have relied on their starting pitching and have a team ERA of 3.44, third best in the league. Bob Friend (2.32), Sam McDowell (2.72) and Luis Tiant (3.18) all have impressive ERAs. Willie Stargell has blasted 34 home runs and driven in 114 runs, best in the league.

MVP: Bob Friend was the most surprising player in an earlier summary—Bob continues to work his magic. He has an ERA of 2.32 and a WHIP of 1.05.

LA Angeles Bo Sox are lead by Davesodu had a tough week going 8-13 for the week and are now 74-70. The BoSox trail the division leading Bucs by 4 games.

Season summary: The BoSox lead the league in runs scored---they have crossed the plate 790 times, an average of 5.48 runs per game. Ten players have hit double digit home runs, lead by Duke Snider with 29 home runs. Johnny Romano—acquired in the midseason draft—has hit 16 home runs. Rico Petrocelli has hit 28 home runs.

MVP: Duke Snider, acquired during the season from the Dodgers, hit .143/.368//.143 with no home runs in 19 at bats. In his 82 games with the BoSox, Duke has blasted 29 home runs with 73 runs batted in. Duke has had 349 plate appearances.

BurleyNorseman and his Baltimore Oriole/Mets went 10-11 for the week and are now 61-83.

Season summary: The Orioles had a tough stretch in the middle of the season but have played better in the past two weeks. The bullpen was an issue all season long—they have blown 23 saves. The team has struggled offensively, scoring 571 runs, just under 4 runs per game. Jim Gentile has been a bright spot all season long—he’s hit 49 home runs and a slash line of .275/.399/.620.

MVP: Jerry Koosman has had an impressive season---he’s 18-7 for a team that is 22 games under .500. Jerry has an ERA of 3.94/WHIP of 1.27.

Drabb9529 leads the NY Yankee Phillies---for the week, the club went 10-11 and are now 60-84 for the season.

Season summary: Offense has been a challenge for the team all season long. The team has scored 524 runs—an average of 3.63 per game. The team slash line is a disappointing .230/.293/.367. The pitching has been decent—Steve Hamilton has performed well out of the bullpen with an ERA of 2.18/WHIP of 1.16.

MVP: Mickey Mantle has had a good year—he’s hit .290/.462/.561 with 32 home runs.

Wild card race:

There is still a two way tie for the wild card but the two teams are different from last weeks results. DWG and his Detroit TigerAstros and MemphisJohns’ Harry’s Cards and Cubs are tied at 79-65-tied for both the central division league and the wild card. YCBIll is three games behind at 76-68, and NewGuy1912 and his Twins/Cubs are at 75-68. The LMBomber led Philly Chicago White Sox and Davesodu’s LA Angels/BoSox are lurking at 74-70. Many managers place a premium on playing players up the middle who are strong (1 or 2) in terms of range at key positions such as shortshop, second base, center field and catcher. Here’s a look at the number of “X” chances each team has had and the number of chances that turned into outs.

The season completed and we are two games into the finals. A look back at the season/best performances.

East:
Owner: Cabrera24: KC/Oakland (hitting) Dodgers (team)96-66. league best run differential of +146
LMBombers: Philly (hitting) Chicago White Sox 85-77
YCBill: San Francisco Giants (Astros hitting) 82-80
JJB92: Brave (team) Mini Senators (hitting) 70-92

Central:

MemphisJohn: Harry's Cards (team) and Cubs (hitting) 91-71
DWG: Detroit Tiger(team)Astros (pitching) 88-74 (wild card)
NewGuy1912: Two Parts Twins, One Part Cubs (pitching) 80-82
KaiserWill4: Cincinnati Red(team)Athletic (pitching) 71-91

West:

Nol15736 Pittsburgh Bucs (team) Tribe (pitching): 89-73
Davesodu: LA Angels (Pitching)BoSox (team) 81-81
Burley Norseman: Baltimore Orioles (team) Mets (pitching) 73-89
Drabb9529: NY Yankees (team) Phillies (pitching) 66-96

The Dodgers basically went wire to wire in the East and seemed like the best team in the league. They avoided getting swept for the entire season and their longest losing streak was only 4 games losing the last two of one series and the first two of the next series. I have never seen a team avoid being swept in a three game series for an entire season. The Dodgers had three outstanding pitchers---Don Sutton (24-9)-ERA 2.60, Don Drysdale (21-11) ERA 2.10 and Sandy Koufax (17-10) ERA 2.95. The team ERA? 2.81. The Dodgers with the best record drew the TigerAstros, the wild card team.

And in true Strat fashion, would you like to predict what happened? Of course---the TigerAstros swept the Dodgers winning 4 straight. The TigerAstros won 3-0, 3-2, 4-1 and 6-3. Congrats are in order for Cabrera24 for his skillful management of the Dodgers and congratulations to DWG for winning the wild card and then vanquishing the Dodgers.

The other playoff series matched the central winning Cards and Cubs and the west winning Bucs/Tribes. The teams alternated wins during the first 4 games leaving the series tied at 2. The Bucs won game 5 behind Sam McDowell who only allowed 4 hits and shut out the Cards/Cubs. In game 6 Bob Friend went 8 strong innings only allowing 2 runs. The Pirates won 6-2 to advance to the finals.

Two games have been played in the finals---Sam McDowell tossed another shut out to win game 1 and Bob Friend tossed 8 shut out innings, allowing 2 runs in the 9th as the Bucs won game 2 9-2. Nol15736 is just two games away from his second championship using the 60s player set.

A look back at the regular season best performances: (player team is most associated unless otherwise noted)

Batting average:
Roberto Clemente: .372
Norm Cash .342
Pete Runnels .327

OBP
Norm Cash ..462
Mickey Mantle .456
Pete Runnels .430

Home Runs:
Jim Gentile 57
Willie Mays 48
Dick Allen 47

RBI
Willie Mays 123
Willie Stargell 123
Dick Allen 113

Doubles:
RIck Monday 42
Carl Yaztremski 42
Pete Runnels 40

Stolen Bases
Lou Brock 42
Joe Morgan 37
Maury Wills 36

Hitting streak
Hank Aaron 20
Frank Thomas 16
Mark Belanger 16

Errors:
Jim Ray Hart 36
Maury Wills 30
Gene Alley 27

Pitching:
Wins:
Don Sutton 24
Juan Marichal 24
Bob Gibson 24

Losses:
Phil Niekro 22
Gaylord Perry 20
Steve Carlton 20

ERA
Don Drysdale 2.10
Juan Marichal 2.40
Bob Gibson 2.59

Win Percentage:
Bob Friend .810
Bob Gibson .774
Joe Horlen .742

Games pitched

Terry Fox (TigersAstros): 111
Fred Gladding (TigerAstros) 85
Bill O'Dell (San Francisco) 84

Complete games:

Bob Gibson 18
Warren Spahn 14
Juan Marichal 14

Saves:
John Hiller 46
Ron Perranoski 37
Al Worthington: 37

Strike outs
Bob Gibson 278
Sam McDowell 271
Jim Merritt 263

Team runs scored: LA Angeles/BoSox: 866
Fewest runs allowed: KC Oakland Dodgers: 522 runs/466 earned

Most blown saves: Pittsburgh Bucs/Tribes: 26
Fewest blown saves: Two Parts Twins One Part Cubs: 10

Most stolen bases: San Francisco Giants 86
Fewest stolen bases LA Angels/Bo Sox 8

Complete games: Harry's Cards and Cubs: 39
Fewest complete games: NY Yankees/Phillies and Detroit TigerAstros 8

Best WHIP: KC Oakland Dodgers: 1.15
LA Angeles/BoSox: 1.46

At the last update, the Nol15736 led Pittsburgh Bucs Tribe held a 2-0 lead over the Detroit TigerAstros led by DWG. Here's a summary of the first two games.

Two games have been played in the finals---Sam McDowell tossed another shut out to win game 1 and Bob Friend tossed 8 shut out innings, allowing 2 runs in the 9th as the Bucs won game 2 9-2.

In game 3, the Bucs Tribe held a 7-3 lead going into the 9th inning. With closer Don McMahnon on the mound, Charley Neal led off with a single. Ed Brinkman flew out before Ken Harrelson drew a walk. Don Wert singled in a run pulling the TigerAstros within 3 runs. Jim Northrup came up next and launched a 3 run home run to tie the game up. Reggie Jackson put the Bucs up by one in the 12th but Don Demeter responded with a home run of his own in the bottom of the 12th. The game remained tied until the 15th when the Pirates strung together 3 singles after two outs to take a lead. The TigerAstros were once again facing a 3-0 deficit. After a lead off walk and a single from Charlie Neal, Ed Brinkman laid down a sacrifice bunt moving the runners to 2nd and 34d. Ken Harrelson singled driving in the tying run. Don Wert was up next and he singled in the winning run.

In game 4, the Bucs Tribe got off to a quick start—Matty Alou singled as did Ron Hunt. Willie Stargell hit a three run home run giving the Bucs Tribe a 3-0 lead. However, that was it for the Bucs Tribe offense. The TigerAstros put two runs across in the bottom of the 5th but lost Al Kaline for the rest of the series when Al was injured driving in the second run. Neither team was able to score another run and the Bucs Tribe held on for a 3-2 win brining the club to within one game of the championship.

Game 5 featured Sam McDowell going for the Bucs/Tribe and Claude Osteen taking the mound for the TigerAstros. The TigerAstros leveraged a single, stolen base and another single to take a 1-0 lead after 1 inning. The Bucs Tribe suffered a loss in the 5th when Sam McDowell was injured. Ron Swoboda tied the game in the 6th when he hit a solo home run. Jim Northrup and the TigerAstros responded with a two run home run in the bottom of the 6th taking a 3-1 lead. The Bucs Tribe responded with 2 runs in the top of the 7th to tie the game. In the bottom of the 7th, the TigersAstros loaded the based brining Jake Wood to the plate. Good news? The TigerAstros pushed across a run reclaiming a 4-3 lead. Bad news? Jake Wood was injured after being hit by a pitch.

In the 8th, Willie Stargell hit a solo home run tying the game at 4. In the top of the 9th, Freddie Patek singled and scored when Reggie Jackson doubled him in. The Bucs/Tribe were within 3 outs of a championship.

Consistent with the back and forth nature of the game, the TigerAstros loaded the bases against closer Don McMahon who had blown 11 saves in the regular season. Dick Brown hit a sacrifice fly to once again tie the score and the game went to extra innings. After a one out single, Don Hoak launched a home run. Roberto Clemente added another two run homer giving the Bucs Tribe a 9-5 lead.

Pete Mikkelsen took the mound in the bottom of the 10th and was able to close out the TigerAstros brining Nol15736 the championship trophy.

It was a competitive season—it was interesting that Nol15736 was active in trades (acquired Reggie Jackson) and mid-season draft (Ron Hunt, Ron Swoboda) which put the Bucs Tribe in a position to win the west and ultimately win the championship. Congrats to Nol15736 and DWG for defeating the KC Oakland Dodgers (Cabrera24) in the first round of the playoffs. The Dodgers had the best record in the league while MemphisJohn and his Harry’s Cards and Cubs won the central division with 89 wins.