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1972 Dynasty League American League Championship Series Milwaukee at NY Yankees

Posted: October 10, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , , , , ,

Milwaukee (2nd seed) AL Beta Division title

Divisional Series vs Twins

Game 1 at County Stadium in Milwaukee

The Twins entered their season series vs Milwaukee 0-10 and Last Year’s Cy Young winner Don Wilson turned it up to 11 pitching a complete game shutout allowing only two hits and not letting any Twins runner reach scoring position. Steve Blass was almost as good pitching 1 hit ball over 7 innings allowing only one Brewers runner reach scoring position and be stranded. Alas in the 7th Ron Fairly hit a solo home run to give Milwaukee the lead and then in the 8th after a error by shortstop Dan Monzon put a man on Johnny Edwards (3-4) hit a 2 run shot off the lefty for the final 3-0 score

WP Wilson (1-0) LP (Blass 0-1) HR Fairly (1) Edwards (1)

Game 2: at County Stadium in Milwaukee

Milwaukee jumped right off into a lead in the first inning Johnny Edwards reached with a 1 out walk & Pete Rose with a walk with two down setting up. Ron Fairly singled to left loading the bases for Doug Rader who didn’t manage to hit his 4th grand slam of the year but did single to center scoring Edwards and Rose who beat the throw from Al Oliver. That would be all they would need as Ken Holtzman proved almost as effective as Wilson shutting them out on 4 hits. The Brew crew would score 5 more via RBI’s from Edwards, Geronimo and Bob Heise as each of the three twins pitchers gave up at least two runs before the day was through but Holtzman made sure they were superfluous.

Mil 7 Min 0

WP Holtzman (1-0) LP Bahnsen (0-1) HR none

Game 3 At Metropolitan Stadium Minnesota

The change of scenery didn’t seem to make a big change in results as the Brewers jumped to a 1-0 lead on a Ron Fairly shot in the 1st off of Marty Pattin. In the 3rd the Twins finally managed their first run on the series as Blue Moon Odom loaded the bases in the 3rd on a HBP (Hebner) an Al Oliver walk and a Bobby Darwin single to left, but instead of a big inning Odom managed to coax a pair of ground outs to get out of a jam with only one run (on the Monzon slow grounder) to tie the game at 1.

The tie didn’t last as Pattin hit Ron Hunt, Fairly singled and Pete Rose singled scoring Hunt and putting Milwaukee back up 2-1. There it stayed till the 8th, Richie Hebner singled to center to lead off and moved to 2nd on a grounder to the mound. Milwaukee was two outs away from their 13th straight win vs Minnesota and their 3rd complete game victory when Bobby Darwin put a hanging curve just over the left field fence and suddenly it was a 3-2 Twins lead. and while Pete Rose managed a one out single off closer Sparky Lyle, he would strike out both Jack Hiatt & Doug Rader to give the Twins their first win of the season and playoff life for another day.

Final Min 3 Mil 2

WP Pattin (1-0) LP Odom (0-1) HR Fairly (2) Darwin (1)

Game 4 At Metropolitan Stadium Minnesota

For the 4th time in 4 games the Brewers struck first and early as Cesar Geronimo singled to center, went to 2nd on a grounder and scored on a Ron Hunt single to give them a 1-0 lead. It became 2-0 when Dick Woodson gave up back to back doubles to Rose and Fairly to make it 2-0. That would all that the Brewers would manage as three pitchers would hold them to those two runs. Meanwhile Al Downing kept pulling rabbits out of his hat. In the 2nd after a walk he managed a strike em out throw em out double play. In the 3rd the Twins left a man in scoring position. In the 5th Bobby Darwin led off with a double and a two outs later pinch hitter Bob Watson walked putting the tying runs on for pinch hitter Cito Gaston who struck out looking. ln the 7th a double play erased a lead off single and in the 8th they loaded up the bases with two out but Downing struck out Nate Colbert to get out of it.

In the 9th still down 2-0 the Twins tried again, with one out Angel Mangual doubled to left and after a John Boccabella ground out Downing walked Dan Monzon to put the tying runs on base. Milwaukee Closer Ken Sanders came in with two outs and Ron Blomberg came up as the winning run to either tie the series or end the Twins season. He smoked a line drive but right at second baseman Ron Hunt who didn’t have to move an inch and the game and series was over.

Milwaukee 2 Minnesota 1

WP Downing (1-0) LP Woodson (0-1) SV Sanders (1) HR none.

Yankees (1st seed) AL Alpha Division Title

Divisional series vs Redsox

Game 1 at the Polo Grounds NY

The Red Sox struck first as Carl Yastrzemski took a Wilbur Wood knuckle ball that didn’t knuckle to right for a 1-0 lead. That however would be the extent of The Boston offense and Wood would not give up another run over seven and four other Yankee pitchers would hold the Sox scoreless for the remainder of the game. Claude Osteen managed to keep the Yanks off the board for six innings but in the seventh Thurman Munson and Horace Clarke led off the inning with singles. Phil Roof batted for Wood and singled in Munson to tie the game. After a force out at 3rd Pat Kelly ran for Roof and 2nd and then the bases were loaded on a Ron Santo walk. Osteen managed to retire Clemente on a grounder to short but Kelly scored to give them the lead and with two out John Mayberry and Danny Thompson both singled to score two more and the Yanks were up 4-1. In the 8th they added three more on a Horace Clarke single, a Reggie Smith Triple, a Ron Santo sac fly and a solo shot from Roberto Clemente.

The Sox made one more shot in the 9th. A Santo error put Parker on 1st. After a Petrocelli strike out Carlton Fisk singled chasing Barry Lersch. Yaz greeted reliver Mike Paul to load it up, but Paul got Willie Davis to fly out and Lindy McDaniel came in to face pinch hitter Vada Pinson who struck out swinging for a Yanks victory

Yankees 7 Red Sox 1

WP Wood (1-0) LP (Osteen 0-1) HR Yastrzemski (1), Clemente (1)

Game 2 at the Polo Grounds NYC

The Yankee offense didn’t slow down for game two. In the 2nd Roberto Clemente led off with a single and was driven home on a two out Danny Thompson double who would go to 3rd on the throw and score on a Horace Clarke single off John Curtis. Curtis would give up two more in the 3rd. After getting the first two yanks, Ron Santo, Roberto Clemente and John Mayberry singled to load the bases. Murcer hit what should have been an inning ending grounder to first but it went between the normally sure handed Parker legs scoring two more and just like that it was 4-0. They added two more before the Sox finally got to starter Steve Kline loading the bases on singles by Pinson and Parker and a walk to Carlton Fisk. Yaz came up with the chance to cut the lead in half and hit a drive over Bobby Murcer’s head deep to center but in his best imitation of Willie Mays Murcer managed to track it down turning a sure bases loaded double or triple into a Sac fly and Kline got Rico Petrocelli to ground harmlessly to third to keep it 6-1. But the Bosox didn’t go quietly with one out and Rob Gardner on the mound for NY Ollie Brown and Doug Griffin singled and when the Yanks counted with Barry Lersch pinch hitter Bernie Williams battled for Ken Brett (a slight surprise as Brett is one of the best hitting pitchers in the game) and singled loading the bases . Terry Forster came in to face Pinson and the Redsox countered with switch hitting Don Buford who ripped a ball to third that became a game ending double play to end it.

Yankees 6 Red Sox 1

WP Steve Kline (1-0) LP Curtis (0-1) SV Forster (1)

Game 3 at Fenway Park Boston

With the Red Sox season on the line Ace Gary Nolan holding the Yankee offense to 4 hits and a single 9th inning run as Boston offense produced 11 hits off of three Yank pitchers for a 3-1 win. Carlton Fisk’s first HR of the series and 2nd of the playoffs in the 4th would put the Sox on the board and only a very nice play by Horace Clarke turned a Bud Harrelson smash up the middle into a force at 2nd instead of an RBI single to hold them to one. Meanwhile Nolan not only kept the Bronx bombers grounded but helped his own effort at the plate when Harrelson walked stole second and reached 3rd with nobody out after a Doug Griffin single. Nolan singled to center for the 2nd run and Vada Pinson would do the same scoring Griffin and again it Horace Clarke who stopped the bleeding gloving a Wes Parker liner and doubling Nolan off second that spiked the rally keeping it 3-0 and giving the Yanks their best chance in the 9th when Ed Kirkpatrick started the inning with a pinch single and Ron Santo followed with another with one out. When Bobby Murcer walked to load the bases John Mayberry came up as the go ahead run and waited out a walk of his own to make it 3-1 with at the plate. A single could tie the game but Harrelson quickly came home with Roberto’s grounder for the 2nd out and with everything on the line Nolan coaxed another grounder to short from Thurman Monson allowing the Sox to live to fight another day.

Game 4 at Fenway Park Boston

The Yanks scored first thanks to Redsox mistakes, a rare error by Doug Griffin put Pat Kelly on first and a balk by Rick Wise put him on 2nd to be doubled in by Bobby Murcer and added a 2nd run in the 6th off a Ron Santo shot way over the green monster. Meanwhile the Sox got the lead off man on in both the 1st and second and runners in scoring position with less than two outs in the first three innings without getting them vs Bob Moose. In the bottom of the 6th Moose coaxed a double play off of Carlton Fisk after a leadoff single but then had to leave with a bad arm. Willie Davis immediately doubled to center but Yaz was unable to deliver him. In the 7th with one out Petrocelli singled and stole 2nd but again the Sox couldn’t plate the run so when Bobby Murcer hit a solo shot deep into the right field bleachers in the 8th and Ed Kirpatrick singled in John Mayberry who doubled directly after Murcer’s shot it appeared to be curtains. Yaz managed to put one over the wall in the last of the 9th with one out but it was too little too late.

Final New York 4 Boston 1

WP Bob Moose (1-0) LP Rick Wise (0-1) HR Yazstrzemski (2) Murcer (1)

Season Series

Series 1

April at the Polo Grounds in NY

The Yanks already with a 16-8 record began a five game winning streak with a sweep of the Brew Crew. Game one the teams traded runs for a 2-2 game going into the ninth when John Edwards hit a two run two out shot off reliever Fred Beene. Milwaukee brought in their closer Ken Sanders with one out in the 9th who promptly gave up back to back homers to Phil Roof and Reggie Smith to tie the game and gave up his third solo shot in the bottom of the 10th to John Mayberry to lose it 5-4. The homer parade continued off Blue Moon Odem in game two as he gave up two run shots from Bobby Murcer and Roberto Clemente as Steve Kline and three relivers gave up only six hits the only run on a Doug Rader homer in the 2nd for a 6-1 win. In Game three Mike Torrez only gave up a single run over 6 but Wilbur Wood shut out the Brewers who went 1-6 with runners in scoring position Wood himself added the final scoring with a two run double of his own in the 7th for a 3-0 shutout taking over the best record in the AL from Milwaukee

Series 2 June at Country Stadium Milwaukee

Milwaukee proved to be a less friendly venue for the Yankees as Don Wilson who had held them to two runs in their first meeting over seven held them to one over 9 a Clemente double doing the damage in the 6th. Meanwhile Caesar Geronimo went 2-4 scoring Milwaukee’s first run in the 3rd and driving in 2 in the 4th and one in the fifth for the 4-1 final. In Game 2 a three run shot by Doug Rader in the 3rd off Wood answered a Clemente RBI in the first answered a the Brew Crew struck for 3 vs Wilbur Wood in the 2nd and an Earl Williams doubled made it 4-1 in the fifth when starter Ken Holtzman drilled Clemente in the 6th (possibly in retaliation for Wood hitting Mike Jorgenson in the 4th). While Roberto was unhurt the benches cleared. Holtzman would be ejected and eventually suspended for seven games but he would still get the win as Rader would homer again in the 6th and a two run shot by Pat Kelly in the 8th would bring NY no closer than the 5-3 Final. The Yanks would get their revenge in game three when a 1-1 tie after six was broken open against Al Downing with a 6 run 7th including a Bobby Murcer Grand Slam with 2 outs leading to an 8-1 rout.

Series 3 July at the Polo Grounds New York

The Yanks would get their 4th straight win vs the Brewers at home in another wild afair that went into extras as a 3-0 Milwaukee lead after 4 1/2 was squandered thanks to a solo shot by Clemente in the 5th and a two run rally in the 9th with one out Clemente tying the game on a fielder’s choice after John Mayberry singled in Ron Santo. Torrez managed to get out of that inning and was relieved by the hated Ken Holtzman in the 10th. Both teams traded runs in the 11th Geronimo and Clemente driving in the runs. The Brewers waisted a bases loaded nobody out situation in he 12th and loaded them again in the 13th but failed to score when the Yanks loaded the bases with none out off Holtzman in the 13 and Roberto Clemente drove in his 3 third run on a warning track out deep enough to win the game 5-4. The Brewers earned a split as Don Wilson held the Bronx Bombers to 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings and Ray Lamb shut them out for the final 2 1/3 while Earl Williams hit two Homers driving in three, Caesar Geronimo slammed a two run triple and Jack Hiatt added a solo shot for the 7-2 final

Series 4 September at County Stadium Milwaukee

The fact that both teams had clinched seemed to change nothing in terms of the rivalry as Yanks finally got the better of Don Wilson with a 6 run 3rd including another Bobby Murcer grand slam chasing him after 2 2/3 Milwaukee refused to go quietly however added two in the 3rd and 4th to the getting two their single run in the bottom of the first to make it 6-5 The bombers seemingly put it out of reach in the 8th adding another for to the run they scored in the fifth with Reggie Smith hitting a solo shot and Murcer hitting a three run shot for 7 RBI’s on the day but in the 9th the Brewers rallied with two outs in the 9th off of three pitchers with a bases loaded walk to make it 11-6 followed by a Doug Rader’s 3rd grand slam of the season to make it a one run game but that would be it as Skip Lockwood got Bob Heise to ground out and leave a comeback a run shot. In game 2 Steve Kline would outduel Al Downing giving up 2 over 8 while Downing would give up 3 over 7. Terry Forster came in to close and for the 2nd time in two days the Brewers would mount a 9th inning rally but this one though smaller would prove more successful as Ken Berry’s lead off double would be followed one out later by a pinch hit double by Mike Jorgenson to tie things up. Clines was intentionally walked and Fred Beene was brought into face pinch hitter Tim Foli whose sacrifice bunt turned into a single allowing Ron Hunt to single to center to win their final meeting

Season Series. Yankees 6-4

This looks like it is going to be a great series that will be decided by pitching. If Don Wilson and Ken Holtzman can pitch as they did early in the year Milwaukee can pull it off but the Yanks have home field advantage and were 4-1 vs the Brew Crew at home. As the Manager of Milwaukee I fully intend to win this series but as the person doing the write up objectively while Milwaukee has a better pitching staff the Yankees offense is far stronger and add to that home field advantage I have to give them the advantage at least on paper.

Yanks in 7

1972 Dynasty League Divisional Series New York Daytraders (Mets) vs Atlanta Bananas (Braves)

Posted: October 4, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, gaming, online gaming
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The final in a series of four posts on divisional series for my Dynasty League.

New York Daytraders (Mets) 94-68 2nd place NL Beta (3rd Seed)

Offense: The Daytraders finished tied with the Giants for most NL homeruns (140) led by 1971 AL MVP Willie Stargell (.331 Avg 32 HR) , Norm Cash (22 HR) and Craig Nettles (20 HR). Stargell & Ted Simmons (.281 13 HR 30 2B) drove in 91 each tied for 8th in the league. Leron Lee hit .328 (4th in league) 2nd in Slugging and OPS, with 8 Triples and 16 HR of his own. Willie Mays acquired from Montreal 1/3 of the way through the season managed to draw 51 walks with the Daytraders

Defense: The Daytraders .983 fielding percentage is decidedly ordinary. Their catchers only threw out less than a quarter (9 of 39) of baserunners stealing although Ted Simmons only committed 4 errors in 1245 2/3 innings. The 2nd base platoon was either perfect (Leron Lee no errors in 627 errors) or sloppy (Wayne Garrett 12 errors in 508 1/3 innings Norm Cash did well at first (.995). Stargell might have been a terror at the plate but in the field his seven errors and only 2 assists were much more friendly for their opponents. Both Leo Cardenas (ss) and Craig Nettles (3b) committed 18 errors with an above average fielding percentage for their position

Pitching: With a starting 3 of Tom Seaver Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro all throwing over 300 innings (Seaver 303 2/3 ip Carlton 310 Niekro 304 2/3) each with over 20 (Carlton 23, Niekro 22 Seaver 21) wins. 66 wins in 66 Complete games a bullpen is almost an afterthought. 3rd in NL ERA 3.10 and batting .227 and 1st in strikeouts in the majors with 1224 with Carlton (329) and Seaver (320) one and two in the majors by far. Roger Nelson acquired in a trade with KC went 13-7 in 26 starts and 2 relief appearances with a WHIP of 0.96 and an avg against of ,195 both 4th in the league. Alas their closers were only 64% effective with Lerrin LaGrow saving 8 of 12 the teams 16 saves 19th of 20th teams with only the 46 win Dodgers having fewer.

Atlanta Bananas 98-64 1st place NL Alpha (2nd Seed)

Offense: Atlanta’s offense begins and ends with Triple Crown winner and presumed MVP Billy Williams .386 39 HR 143 RBI who also led the league in OBP, Slug OPS hits and 2nd in runs (116) and Hits (203) Dusty Baker at .315 avg .389 OBP, .481 Slugging and .870 OPS 96 Runs and 185 Hits is no Williams but would lead most teams. Cesar Cedeno drove in 95, 15 SB, scoring 106 runs (3rd) and 52 doubles leading the league. The teams 132 runs are just behind the Giants. and their .269 Team avg leads the NL

Defense: The Bananas defense will not be putting the fear of God into anyone, at .982 they near the bottom of the league with Pittsburgh (.981) the only playoff team worse. More respectable is their caught stealing percentage of .419 4th in the NL but there are some bright spots like Aurelio Rodrigues with only 11 errors in 1424 1/3 innings at 3rd and young Toby Harrah with only 15 errors in 667 chances. Ralph Garr (4 Errors) Cesar Cedeno (5 errors) and Dusty Baker (6 Errors) will give guys a chance but Baker added 11 baserunner kills and Cedeno 16 to keep them honest. While Billy Williams did not impress at 1b he was errorless in over 150 innings in the outfield.

Pitching: Catfish Hunter, Fergie Jenkins and Mike Cuellar make a formidable 1-3 starting lineup with Sonny Siebert and Dave McNally (acquired in the Dave Giusti deal with SF) makes it even deeper. Add to that Rollie Fingers 18 saves in 21 chances and you have a team that can shut down anyone top to bottom. The downside, While the team gave up the fewest walks in the majors (376) that meant a lot of pitches over the plate quite a few going out of the park with Cuellar (24) Jenkins (20) and Catfish Under (15) and Siebert (10 in 149 1/3 innings) and McNally (8 in 115 1/3 innings all vulnerable to the gopher ball. Still with a .228 team avg against and a 3.10 team ERA clearly the long ball hasn’t counted them out.

Series 1 April: Opening day at Atlanta

An injury to Catfish Hunter ended his day after 1 2/3 inning but no matter 3 other Atlanta pitchers shut out the Daytraders while Toby Harrah, Ed Kranepool each drove in runs and Dusty Baker drove in 2 one on a solo shot off loser Tom Seaver to give the Braves a 4-0 win. In game 2 Fergie Jenkins gave up only 5 hits, two of them solo shots while Steve Carlton was shelled giving up 10 run (9 earned) on 15 hits for a 10-2 rout. The Daytraders took the final game as Phil Niekro outdueled Mike Cuellar 4-1 as two errors along with a strong start in the first doomed Atlanta.

Series 2 May at NY

Atlanta and NY split their second series Tom Seaver winning game one over a healed up Catfish Hunter. All the scoring was in the first with a Billy Williams solo shot in the 1st for the Bananas and a two run double by Norm Cash give NY their 2-1 final. In game 2 Ken Reynolds held the Daytraders to a single run on a fourth inning grounder while Billy Williams drove in two and Tito Fuenties, Leron Lee and Caesar Cedeno each drove in one for the 5-1 margin.

Series 3 at Atlanta

Atlanta swept the short series Catfish Hunter giving up 5 in 9 inning but the final three after his team had already scored 9 Dick Billings and Billy Williams treated Phil Niekro’s flutterball with distain as the bananas piled on 12 hits. In game 2 Fergie Jenkins also gave up 5 in only 5 innings but got the win as Atlanta put up 11 in 5 innings pounding Roger Nelson. The 12-8 final was not nearly as close as it seemed.

Series 4 at NY

The final series took place vs the 2nd Atlanta manager and the Daytraders paid back the Bananas in kind with a sweep. Game one saw the Daytraders again get to Fergie Jenkins early chasing him after 3 with 5 runs including a 2 run shot by Craig Nettles who would drive in 3. That was equal to the number Nelson gave up (2 earned) as NY won 6-3 Game 2 saw Catfish Hunter give up a pair of long ones to Stargell and Lee while Seaver only allowed two runs over nine (Both driven in by Billy Williams) in a 5-2 win. In the finale Steve Carlton in contrast to his first meeting with the Bananas gave up his only run in on a 9th inning solo shot. Hard luck loser Mike Cueller made one crucial mistake but it was to Craig Nettles with two on which gave the Daytraders a 3-0 lead. Leron Lee would get 3 hits and drive in the 4th run for the 4-1 final.

Season Series 5-5

This is likely the most evenly matched series so far in the playoffs which makes sense as these two teams fought for the division title all season. Atlanta was held back by chaos in the dugout with three different managers this season but their current leader put together a surge that clinched the division. The wildcard is the fact that the Daytraders have yet to face the new Atlanta manager.

The Bananas have a great top 3 starters actually a solid top 5 but the Mets have the most frightening top 3 in the league with a solid 4th. On the other hand while the Daytraders have an great offense Atlanta counters with the triple crown winner Billy Williams. Neither team has a great defense so it will come down to the starters. That edge has to go with the Daytraders although Fingers makes the Atlanta Bullpen decidedly better. This series should definitely go five and it’s as close to a pick-em as you can get but if you force me to choose I’d have to go Daytraders in 5 but by the smallest of margins. I suspect the Bananas vulnerability to the long ball will be the difference.

Daytraders in 5

1972 Dynasty Baseball Divisional Round Playoffs Pirates at San Francisco

Posted: October 3, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , , , ,

The 3rd in a series of writeups about the divisional round in my 1972 Dynasty League

Pittsburgh: Winner NL Wild Card Round:

The write up about the Pirates team as a whole for the Wild Card Round is here.

NL Wild Card game 1 at Riverfront Stadium

It was a battle of the aces as Gaylord Perry a NL Cy Young favorite faced Fritz Peterson the ace of the Big Red Machine. Things started well for Cincinnati as Al Kaline tagged Perry for a homer and an Error by Hank Aaron set up Bill Buckner to drive in Joe Rudi on a grounder for a 2-0 lead. Pittsburgh struck back with two outs in the 6th. Singles by Bill Freehan, Ron Woods and George Scott loaded the bases and Peterson’s 3-2 pitch to Rod Carew was just outside to walk in a run but Tommy Davis K’d to kill the rally. Peterson further helped his cause by beating out an attempt to bunt Bill Bucker to 2nd a two out walk to Joe Morgan loaded the bases for Johnny Bench who singled him in but Perry like Peterson K’d the last man (Kaline) to keep things close (3-1) after 7.

That’s when the Pirates erupted. Bill Freehan led off with a solo shot to make it a 1 run game. Ron Woods walked and with one out Carew singled him to 3rd. Up came Joe Lahoud who drove a ball down the 1B line. Dick Allen dived but couldn’t get it Woods scored easily and Carew beat Kaline’s throw to give the Bucks the lead. Lahoud moved to 3rd on the throw but was cut down on a suicide squeeze when new Pitcher Fred Gladding got off the mound quickly to get the ball to Bench to keep it 4-3. Cincy threatened in the 8th getting runners on 1 & 3 in the 8th and the Pirates had 1st & 3rd with one out and the bases loaded in the 9th but both failed to score. Finally relief ace Mike Marshall came on in the 9th when Perry gave up a lead off double to Dick Allen. With the tying run in scoring position and nobody out Joe Morgan walked bringing up Bench who grounded a ball right to 3rd allowing Sonny Jackson to make the force there for the 1st out. This turned out to be critical as a bad throw by Jackson pulled Aaron off the bad loading the bases rather than allowing in the tying run. With the game on the line and only one out Marshall struck out Joe Rudi and got Ted Martinez to ground softy to short eeking out a 4-3 Pirates win by the narrowest of margins.

WP Perry (1-0) LP Peterson (0-1) Sv Marshall (1) HR Kaline (1) Freehan (1)

Game two at Three Rivers Stadium

Pittsburgh struck 1st off of starter Paul Splittorff as Aaron hit a solo shot with two outs but Bill Singer gave it right back in the 2nd when Bobby Tolan hit a two run shot of his own to give Cincy a 2-1 lead. Jose Cruz lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk and Pittsburgh unexpected pinch hit for Singer after only 3 inning of work. It paid off as Johnny Briggs doubled to left center tying the game and after a Bill Russell bunt moved him to 3rd Rod Carew singled him in for a 3-2 Pit lead. It looked like Cincy would come right back. Dick Allen singled in the top of the 4th and Splittorff bunted him to second. Joe Morgan promptly singled and the speedy Allen headed for home but young Jose Cruz’s throw got there first cutting down the tying run.

That would prove critical as relievers Jim Barr, Bob Johnson and Mike Marshall would all bend, none of them would break as they shut out the vaunted Reds office while Pit added two more on a bases loaded double play and a single in the 7th to account for the final 5-2 score

WP Barr (1-0) LP Splittorff (0-1) Sv Marshall (2) HR Aaron (1) Tolan (1)

San Francisco 108-54 1st in NL Beta (1st seed)

Offense: The offense that won a world series two years ago returned to San Francisco as the giants 718 runs scored was only surpassed by the incredible Yankees (822) Rookie Dave Kingman hit only .186 but 26 of his 70 hits left the park. He was one of 3 Giants members of the 20+ HR club with Bobby Bonds (23HR 107 RBI & 30 SB both 3rd in NL) and Harmon Killebrew acquired in a trade with Kansas City who though not was he was still put 21 balls out of the yard to go with the 6 that he hit for the Royals. and drove in 61. The team didn’t hit for much avg. Rick Monday hit the highest at .277 but with their 140 HR leading the NL they didn’t have to, particularly since their 656 walks led the majors. With Darrell Evans walking 137 times , Chris Spier’s 81 and Killer Killerbrew walking 72 times in 111 games there was always someone on base to drive in and Boy did they do so. They are a rally waiting to happen every inning.

Defense: Very few teams were more deadly up the middle. Dave Cash at 2nd with only 2 errors .997 FPCT and Chris Speier at short .986 FPCT were death to runners while Gary Maddox threw out 8 in center while committing only 2 errors Bobby Bonds in threw out 10 more in right but added 3 errors to the mix. Both Killebrew and Kingman were more than adequate at first with the vet outplaying the rookie but Darrell Evans 30 errors at 3rd were high and the SF pitching staff combined for 16 more. The real danger was the catching as the Giants only threw out 2 of 30 who were stealing all season.

Pitching: The Giants had the top team ERA in baseball at 2.66 top in baseball with a .216 avg against and top in baseball with a 1.09 WHIP. Combine that with the 3rd fewest walks in the NL and that meant there weren’t a lot of baserunners around to take advantage of their poor catching arms. s and their .216 avg against and 1.09 WHIP Jim Palmer at 26-5 with a 1.87 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97 and a .198 avg against was practically unhittable Eddie Watt went 9-1 in relief while saving 11 of 13 Dave Gusti who came over from Atlanta in the Trade for Dave McNally saved 17 of 21 to make it very hard to come back from all that offense. Unheralded Phil Hennigan went 6-2 in relief along with a save thanks to a .193 against and a WHIP under 1 (0.94) As for the rest of the rotation Dock Ellis and Mickey Lolich (acquired in May from Baltimore) were adequate both going 12-12 and Ron Bryant went 14-7 to round the things out.

Season Series

Series 1 May at Pittsburgh

In game 1 the Giants offense was too much for Gaylord Perry as rookie Dave Kingman hit a 2 run shot in the 1st while Bobby Bonds did the same in the 6th with Darrell Evans driving in one in the 3rd as well. This was more than enough for Steve Stone who gave up a solo shot by Aaron in the 3rd and came out in the 8th when the Bucks would add two more as they won 5-3

Game 2 was much more interesting with the Pirates managing 2 off Palmer in the 2nd on a Sonny Jackson triple. The Giants took the lead in the 3rd with 3 off Bob Johnson aided by errors from Sonny Jackson and Aaron. Dave Kingman’s double being the big hit. The Pirates tied it up in the 8th on a Coco Laboy single which drove in Jose Cruz to tie it but the key play was Dave Kingman being thrown out at 3rd by Rick Monday on Cruz’s single which would have given Pittsburgh a lead on the Laboy’s hit. Instead the game remained tied after 9 and would stay that way till the Giants erupted for 6 runs in the top of the 12 three of them on a bases clearing double by Rick Monday leading to the lopsided 9-3 score

Pittsburgh got their revenge in game 3 scoring 4 off the newly acquired Mickey Lolich on a pair of 2 runs shots by Aaron (3rd) and Stennett (7th) while Bill Singer held the Giants to a single run in the first over 7 2/3’s Marshall pitching the 9th for his 9th save.

Series 2 June at San Francisco

The Giants took game one despite an injury to starter Jim Willoughby and a pair of 6th inning runs off of Steve Stone who can in to replace him. The giants answered with back to back HR by Speier & Evans in the bottom of the inning and took the lead for good with 2 in the 7th via a Speier single and one in the 8th off of Bruce Kison 3. Eddie Watt got the win and the Giusti trade paid dividends with the save. In game 2 Pitt took an early 5-1 lead helped along by Back to Back HR by Bill Freehan & Ron Woods off starter Ron Bryant but the Giants would rally for four in the bottom of the inning to tie it the big hit being Killebrew’s 3 run shot and would take the lead for good in the 4th when Bobby Bonds Tripled and was driven in by a Killebrew double. Barr managed to get out of further damage but Stone, Hennigan and Acosta would shut the Bucs down the rest of the way. Once again it was in game 3 that Pittsburgh would avenge itself as Gaylord Perry would outduel Jim Palmer shutting them out on 3 hits while the Pirates scored on a Joe Lahoud single in the 1st and a solo shot by Johnny Briggs in the 3rd.

Series 3 August at Pittsburgh

The Giants shut out Pittsburgh in game one Dock Ellis shut them out for 8 with Cy Acosta pitching a scoreless 9th while they went to town on Jim Colburn with Bonds and, Evans homering and Evans driving in 5 runs total for an 8-0 blowout. Game two the Pirates shut them out back with Perry pitching 8 innings of 1 hit ball while Mike Marshall pitched the 9th for the save. Again the victims was Mickey Lolich was the victim of this shutout giving up homers to Freehan and Woods in a 3-0 loss. Game 3 would be another pitchers duel although not as scoreless as for 9 innings Three Pittsburgh Pitchers (Johnson Barr & Marshall) and Three Giants pitchers (Bryant, Watt & Giusti) would hold the other to 2 runs via a pair of singles by Bonds and Kingman in the 1st and a Solo shot by Aaron in the 4th and a Bryant error in the 6th that tied it. In the 10th the Giants would finally get to Marshall as with one out he gave out 3 doubles with a single after the first two in sequence for 3 runs. The Pirates would load the bases off Cy Acosta in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a single, walk and one out error. Acosta would give up one run on a bases loaded walk to Tom Haller and a wild pitch directly afterwards but he would get Ron Woods out on a grounder to short with the infield pulled in and after an intentional walk to George Scott would retire Rennie Steinnett to escape disaster.

Series 4 Sept at San Francisco

As in his last start against the Bucs Jim Palmer would give up two runs, but they would be in the 9th after his team had scored seven in the first six innings. Homers by Rick Monday, Evans were the big blows. Game 2 again went the Giants way. The Bucks got 2 in the 3rd on a Sonny Jackson double but the Giants got four back on an 2 RBI single by Bonds, an RBI single from Garry Maddox and an RBI double from Johnny Oates. Dave Cash would add a solo shot for the 5-2 win. Gaylord Perry would again Victimize Mickey Lolich with a 5 hit shutout in game 3 as Carew, Stennett and Perry himself would drive in runs while Aaron would go deep again for the 6-0 win.

Season Series SF 8-4

The Pirates 91 wins are nothing to sneeze at but the Giants dominated at home and on the road (54-27 records in each) winning 2-3 of every series they played and pretty much only losing when shut out by Gaylord Perry and beating up on Mickey Lolich. They are going to have to manage to win at least one game without Perry and beat someone other than Lolich to win this series. The Duel between him and Palmer in game one will decide a lot but based on the offense the rest of the team has managed I’ve got to give the edge to San Francisco in 4 but frankly I won’t be surprised if it goes five.

SF in 4.

1972 Dynasty League Playoffs Divisional Round Minnesota at Milwaukee

Posted: October 3, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
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Minnesota Twins 87-75 13 GB 2nd AL Beta Division 3rd seed (1st Wildcard)

Offense: One Word Power. The Twins were 2nd only to the Yankess in HR with 148 as a team and six players with double digit dingers. Their offense begins with Nate Colbert whose 35 HR and 118 RBI’s were by far both career bests. He was ably supported by Richie Hebner ( .288 25HR 85 RBI 101 Runs scored) and Bobby Darwin (.262 24 HR 68 RBI). Young Bobby Grich despite a .233 avg and a .304 OBP managed to hit 28 doubles and score 85 runs. Bob Watson led the team in hitting at .310 and managed 18 Homers of his own. Al Oliver and Catcher Ray Fossie rounded out the double digit brigade.

Defense: The Twins didn’t skimp on defense 3rd in the AL and 5th overall Ray Fossie led a Catching staff that threw out over 50% of those trying to run. The infield of Colbert (1b), Grich (2b), Hebner (3B) and Metzer was one of the best in the game. Oliver and Darwin were solid in left and right while the Centerfield by Committee (Jim Northrup, Al Oliver, Angel Mangual and Bobby Darwin combined to throw out 26 runners and turn 7 double plays.

Pitching: While the twins were proficient in hitting home runs their 101 allowed was 3rd fewest in the AL. Furthermore they 8 blown saves in 39 chances was 4th best in the majors and 3rd best in the AL. The rotation has an ace starter with Steve Blass (22-11 2.82 ERA) and an ace closer in Sparky Lyle (1-2 20 SV in 24 chances 2.59 ERA) and four relivers with at least 26 appearances who have a WHIP below 1.20

Milwaukee Brewers 100-62 1st place AL Beta (2nd Seed)

Offense: Only California had fewer HR in the AL than Milwaukee’s 82 yet their .358 slugging percentage was 4th in the league and their .324 OBP was 3rd in the AL as was their .255 batting avg (5th in majors). Pete Rose was all over the AL leader boards 2nd in AVG, 2B, BB & OBP, 3rd in hits (199) & triples and 6th in OPS. #1 pick Doug Rader only hit 22 HR but 3 were grand slams, 8 were with Runners in Scoreing position and 5 with RISP & 2 outs. Ron Fairly only played 140 games but hit 19 HR drove in 83 and had a .341 OBP. In short there always seems to be someone on via hit or walk or in Ron Hunt’s case HBP and From Pete Rose (77 RBI) To Earl Williams (70 RBI 17 HR) there always seems to be someone to drive them in.

Defense:

Milwaukee was the top defense in the league committing only 81 errors in 6450 chances. Ken Berry and Gene Clines were perfect in the OF, Caesar Geronimo only committed 2 errors all season and Rose but one. The infield of Fairly, Hunt, Michaels and Raider were zipper tight. The only weakness was in throwing out baserunners as Earl Williams managed to get only 3 of 17 and Johnny Edwards 3 of 13

Pitching: With an avg against of .237 (1st in AL) and team ERA of 3.07 2nd in AL the Brewers were one of the top pitching staffs in the league. Furthermore they were one of the stingiest in giving up the long ball surrendering only 88 HR (2nd in AL 4th in MLB) the entire season) Last Years Cy Young winner Don Wilson won 20 as did Lefty Ken Holtzman while Ken Sanders who had be reacquired after being dealt away last year came back to save 20 as well. If there was one weakness it was bases on balls. The 517 free passes allowed was more than any team in the AL except for the Senators the chief culprits being Blue Moon Odem and Mike Torrez in that regard.

Season Series

Opening day at Milwaukee April

The season didn’t start well for Minnesota as their 3 game series in Milwaukee was the start of a 5 game losing streak to open the year. The teams traded runs in the 1st of game one but in the 5th Don Wilson Singled with two outs as did Caesar Geronimo when Earl Williams produced a pinch hit double to score them both.. Each team would add a pair late a two run Triple by Rose and two solo shots from Grinch and Watson for the Twins but Wilson would double up Blass 6-3. In game 2 Ken Holtzman was even stinger giving up only an RBI double in the 7th while Ron Fairly and Doug Rader would both launch solo shots and a Ken Berry double and a pass ball would make up the rest of the 4-1 win. In the finale Mike Torrez would establish a pattern for the season by getting a 2 run lead and losing it late. Both he and Dick Woodson would go 9 but the game would be decided in the bottom of the 11th when Rose led the inning off with a double and winning pitcher Blue Moon Odem singled him in.

Series 2 May at Minnesota

The short two game series started with Don Wilson shutting out the twins on four hits. The Brew crew took a 1-0 lead in the 4th on a Geronimo double and broke it open with 5 in the 7th on their way to the 7-0 win. In Game two Milwaukee starter Al Downing gave up 10 hits but only one run as the twins went 1-6 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile Milwaukee went 4-8 with Pete Rose, Ron Fairly, Ken Berry and Gene Michael all driving in runs for a 4-1 win

Series 3 June at Milwaukee

Another short series this time in Milwaukee but the same result. Blue Moon Odem only gave up a single run over six and Jerry Bell scattered two walks and a pair of hits for the final 2 to get the save, meanwhile four different Brewers drove in runs off Marty Patten & Dave Goltz for the 5-1 victory. In game two Al Downing gave up one more hit (11) and one more run (12) than his previous start thanks to RBI’s by Hebner and Mangual but an Al Oliver error led to the Brewers first run in the 2nd and doubles by Fairly, Rose and Williams off of Blass in the 3rd led to 4 more runs accounting for the 5-1 final.

Series 4 at Minnesota August

The final series began with Ken Holtzman and Stan Bahnsen locked in an epic battle Milwaukee scored three (1 in the 1st 2 in the 3rd) and the Twins tied it. The Brewers would score single runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th and the Twins answered in the 7th and 8th but could not push in one last run to save the day. In game two the regular Mike Torrez pattern repeated. He was staked to a 5-0 run lead after 3 but the twins kept nibbling back with solo shots from Fosse & Watson and a Nate Colbert double. In the 9th Odem came in with a man on 3rd and the tying run at the plate. Williams allowed one via a passed ball but after walking the tying run he managed to secure the 2nd of his 3 saves with a swinging strikeout of Colbert. Game three wasn’t as close as Milwaukee managed 8 runs off of three different Twins Pitchers while Downing earned his 3rd win vs the Twins giving up only a solo shot to John Boccabella in the 5th and 3 in the 9th when he was already up 8-1 for a 8-4 final.

Season Series 10-0 Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a stronger team on both Defense and Pitching but not by all that much. The real difference here is power. The Twins have a lot of it and live by the long ball, Milwaukee lives by pitching double, triples and the hit and run. Only the 57-105 Cubs (0-10 vs Atlanta) joined the Twins in being out in a season series of 10 games or more against an opponent so there is no team more due than the Twins for a win against Milwaukee and having gone 13-4 in their last 17 to go from iffy wild card to 3rd seed now would be the time to do it. If their long ball can break threw the Brew crew’s rotation then an upset could be in order but it’s hard to see how they will manage to win 3 of 5 against a team they couldn’t win 1 of 10 against. I see them breaking the shutout but I can’t see them managing 3 of 5.

Brewers in 4.

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