(Note: I wrote this a week ago, but we had freezing rain and two snow "events" that kept me housebound and unable to drive to the nearby Marriott parking lot to use their wi-fi to send this. So, I've played a lot more games in the replay since writing, but at least readers can get an idea of how the season is going)
I haven’t done an update for the 1965 APBA baseball replay I’ve been involved in with the past two months, so now, as I reach games for May 10, 1965, it’s time for one.
A couple of surprises that jumped out early were that both the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two teams that made it to the World Series that year, aren’t faring that well so far. The Twins began well, beating the less-than-stellar New York Yankees and Cleveland in two-game series each. But then they were swept in a three-game set at Detroit and swept in four games in Chicago. Unless something major happens, I don’t see the Twins winning 102 games like they did in the real season.
The Dodgers are also questionable. There’s not much batting in Los Angeles. Wes Parker leads the team with four home runs. The pitching’s not so hot either. Despite his league-leading 67 strikeouts and A(XY) rating, Sandy Koufax is only 2-2 on the mound, and Don Drysdale, the number two starter, is 1-4. Of the 11 games the Dodgers have lost so far, the most runs the team scored in those games was four, in a 5-4 loss to San Francisco.
Another oddity is the Chicago Cubs. They opened the season with a 2-10 record and looked like they’d compete with the New York Mets as the worst team. But then, the Cubs reeled off eight wins in a row, then lost one and won four more game in a row until Houston bested them, 5-0, in the second game of a May 9 doubleheader.
Cub’s outfielder Billy Williams is a candidate for the National League MVP over the first month, batting .390 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs. Ernie Banks is batting .327 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Catcher Ed Bailey has six homers for the Cubs; in the real season, Bailey had five home runs. (Note: as is my custom, I’m not keeping full stats and instead just compiled these by hand to see how the Cubs’ stars compared,)
Frank Howard leads baseball with 12 home runs and, in another over-producing effort, Royal’s first baseman Ken Harrelson already has nine dingers.
Here are the standings as of games played through May 9, 1965:
American League
Chicago 16 7 --
Detroit 16 8 0.5
Minnesota 13 10 3
Washington 14 13 4
Boston 11 11 4.5
Kansas City 11 13 5.5
Cleveland 10 12 5.5
Baltimore 10 14 6.5
California 9 15 7.5
New York 9 16 8
National League
Pittsburgh 15 10 3.5
Philadelphia 14 9 3.5
Chicago 14 12 5.5
Los Angeles 12 11 5.5
Cincinnati 12 12 6
San Francisco 11 13 7
Milwaukee 10 13 7.5
Houston 11 14 7.5
New York 4 21 14.5
Things are bound to change in May. The Twins will play their next 14 games against California and Kansas City, splitting home-and-home series before heading to Boston, Washington and Baltimore to end the month. Minnesota ought to pick up some ground playing those weaker teams.
The Dodgers will host Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati with a six-game road trip to Houston and Chicago in between the home stands.
I’m on a four-game-a-day pace, which is pretty decent for me. The games of 1965 seem quicker than my previous replay of 1947. There are fewer hits and more strikeouts, which hasten the game. Scores come on big hits at opportune times –look at Washington’s won-loss record with Howard swinging the bat.
There are always things to watch for in a replay. In this case, will the Twins and Dodgers improve? Will the Cubs continue to play streaky? Will Howard hit 61 or more home runs? Will Koufax get runs needed to better his won-loss record?
We roll the games to see how these things turn out.
I predict that both the Twins and Dodgers will improve. The Twins set an AL record for me with 105 wins and it stood until my 79 Orioles broke it last replay. For me the Dodgers and Reds went down to the wore in a fantastic race with Philadelphia right behind them. The Cardinals were weird...they were just awful in the first half and played like champs on the second half. The Yankees were the opposite, in first place at the end of June before fading completely away. The Tigers set my all-time winning streak record to rise from 5th to second but still finished well behind Minny. Finally, the Mets may have been the worst team I ever replayed, going 40-122 if memory serves. They were just awful. Anyway, I love it that you are playing '65 and agree that it's more fun not to get bogged down in too many wearisome stats. You're gonna have a great race. And the Cubs? No way they keep this up! Up the middle is all outs. '65 Kessinger was one of the weakest hitters ever.
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