31 December 2008

1964 National League

Not to be outdone by the terrific AL race, the NL featured five teams fighting for the title. Philadelphia, of all teams, emerged as the leader, holding first place from July 17 through September 27, building a ten-game margin at one point. For September, Phils manager Gene Mauch announced a shift to a three-man starting rotation, to get more mileage out of starters Jim Bunning and Chris Short, but the move backfired as the Phils lose 10 straight down the stretch. The Cardinals trade of pitcher Ernie Broglio to get Lou Brock from the Cubs loomed big, as Brock solidified the lineup and batted .348 in a St. Louis uniform. In the final week, the Cardinals, Reds, Phils, Giants, and Braves were all in it. The defending champion Dodgers fell off the pace with an injury to ace Sandy Koufax, keeping him from the mound for the last six weeks.

The Phils sank, everyone else rose, then the Braves fell off the pace to 5th. The Giants couldn't keep up, and ended up 4th. On the last day, a three-way tie was possible, with the Reds and Cards tied, leading the Phils by one game. But Philly beat Cincy, and St. Louis beat the Mets to win the pennant. LA and Pittsburgh tied for 6th, followed by Chicago, Houston and New York. It may have been the best pennant race ever.

Roberto Clemente won the batting title, his first, with a .339 average. Rico Carty was second at .330, followed by Hank Aaron at .328. The Braves had the top offense in the league. Willie Mays led in slugging, OPS, and homers with 47. Ron Santo led in on-base. Clemente and Curt Flood led in hits with 211. Lee Maye led in doubles with 44. Richie (later Dick) Allen led in runs with 125 and tied with Santo at 13 triples. Maury Wills led in steals with 53. Ken Boyer led in RBI with 119 and won the MVP. He was followed by Santo with 114 RBI and Mays with 111.

Larry Jackson led with 24 wins, followed by Juan Marichal with 21 and Ray Sadecki with 20. Koufax led in ERA with a 1.73 mark, followed by Don Drysdale at 2.18 and Chris Short at 2.20. Bob Veale led in strikeouts with 250, Bob Gibson was second with 245. Hal Woodeshick led in saves with 23. Al McBean had 22, Jack Baldschun 21. Koufax had seven shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Dick Allen (Philadelphia) 41, Willie Mays (San Francisco) 38, Ron Santo (Chicago) 36, Frank Robinson (Cincinnati) and Hank Aaron (Milwaukee) 33, Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh) 30, Denis Menke (Milwaukee) and Johnny Callison (Philadelphia) 29, Billy Williams (Chicago), Joe Torre (Milwaukee) and Ken Boyer (St. Louis) 28, Rico Carty (Milwaukee) 27, Willie Davis (Los Angeles) and Bill White (St. Louis) 26, Jim Ray Hart (San Francisco) and Curt Flood (St. Louis) 25.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Don Drysdale (Los Angeles) 26, Larry Jackson (Chicago) and Juan Marichal (San Francisco) 25, Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles) and Bob Gibson (St. Louis) 24, Jim Bunning (Philadelphia) 22, Chris Short (Philadelphia) and Bob Veale (Pittsburgh) 21, Jim O'Toole (Cincinnati) and Gaylord Perry (San Francisco) 19.

WARP3 leaders, position players: Mays 11.9, Allen 10.5, Santo 10.3, Aaron 9.1, Robinson 8.7, Menke 8.4, Torre 8.2, Davis 8.1, Clemente 7.9, White 7.5, Boyer 7.3, Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee) 7.1, Johnny Roseboro (Los Angeles) 6.6, Carty 6.2, Williams 6.1, Flood 5.7.

WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Drysdale 9.3, Jackson 8.8, Koufax 7.7, Bob Bruce (Houston) 7.3, Short 6.9, Veale 6.4, Perry 6.3, Bunning 5.9, O'Toole 5.7, Jim Maloney (Cincinnati) 5.5.

WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Mays 10.9, Santo 9.1, Allen 8.7, Robinson 7.5, Aaron and DAvis 7.1, Clemente 6.5, Boyer and Menke 6.4, Torre 6.2, Callison 6.1, Hart 5.6, Williams 5.4, Carty 5.3, White 5.2, Brock 5.1, Cepeda 5.0, Mathews 4.6. Pitchers (bWAR): Drysdale 8.2, Koufax 7.8, Marichal 6.6, Gibson and Short 6.3, Jackson 6.1, Veale 5.9, Bunning 5.8, O'Toole 5.7, Perry 5.6, Bruce 5.5, Maloney 4.8, Farrell 4.1, Friend 3.7.

Actual award winners;
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+---+----+---+--+
1 Ken Boyer STL 14 243 280 0.87 | 628 185 24 .295 .854 3
2 Johnny Callison PHI 2 187 280 0.67 | 654 179 31 .274 .809 6
3 Bill White STL 2 106 280 0.38 | 631 191 21 .303 .829 7
4 Frank Robinson CIN 0 98 280 0.35 | 568 174 29 .306 .943 23
5 Joe Torre MLN 1 85 280 0.30 | 601 193 20 .321 .863 2
6 Willie Mays SFG 0 66 280 0.24 | 578 171 47 .296 .990 19
7 Dick Allen PHI 0 63 280 0.22 | 632 201 29 .318 .939 3
8 Ron Santo CHC 0 59 280 0.21 | 592 185 30 .312 .962 3
9 Roberto Clemente PIT 0 56 280 0.20 | 622 211 12 .339 .872 5
10 Lou Brock TOT 1 40 280 0.14 | +634 200 14 .315 .821 43
11 Curt Flood STL 0 38 280 0.14 | 679 211 5 .311 .734 8
12 Larry Jackson CHC 0 26 280 0.09 | 114 20 0 .175 .384 0| 24-11 298 3.14 1.085 148
13 Jim Bunning PHI 0 23 280 0.08 | 99 12 0 .121 .261 0| 19-8 284 2.63 1.034 219 2
14 Hank Aaron MLN 0 22 280 0.08 | 570 187 24 .328 .907 22
15 Juan Marichal SFG 0 14 280 0.05 | 97 14 0 .144 .323 1| 21-8 269 2.48 1.089 206
16 Sammy Ellis CIN 0 13 280 0.05 | 24 2 0 .083 .298 0| 10-3 122 2.58 1.055 125 14
17 Sandy Koufax LAD 0 7 280 0.02 | 74 7 0 .095 .236 0| 19-5 223 1.74 0.928 223 1
18 Jim Ray Hart SFG 0 6 280 0.02 | 566 162 31 .286 .840 5
18 Vada Pinson CIN 0 6 280 0.02 | 625 166 23 .266 .764 8
18 Billy Williams CHC 0 6 280 0.02 | 645 201 33 .312 .901 10
21 Ruben Amaro PHI 0 5 280 0.02 | 299 79 4 .264 .648 1
22 Tommy Davis LAD 0 4 280 0.01 | 592 163 14 .275 .708 11
23 Bob Gibson STL 0 2 280 0.01 | 96 15 0 .156 .396 0| 19-12 287 3.01 1.170 245 1
23 Chris Short PHI 0 2 280 0.01 | 65 7 0 .108 .258 0| 17-9 221 2.20 1.019 181 2
25 Ron Hunt NYM 0 1 280 0.00 | 475 144 6 .303 .763 6
25 Barney Schultz STL 0 1 280 0.00 | 6 1 0 .167 .333 0| 1-3 49 1.64 0.933 29 14

Boyer won because the Cardinals won the pennant. If the Phils had won, Callison would have carried the day. Had the Reds finished first, Robinson would likely have won.

Cy Young: the AL guy won.
| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dean Chance LAA 17 17 20 0.85 | 20-9 278 1.65 1.006 207 4
2 Larry Jackson CHC 2 2 20 0.10 | 24-11 298 3.14 1.085 148
3 Sandy Koufax LAD 1 1 20 0.05 | 19-5 223 1.74 0.928 223 1

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dick Allen PHI 18 18 20 0.90 | 632 201 29 .318 .939 3
2 Rico Carty MLN 1 1 20 0.05 | 455 150 22 .330 .942 1
2 Jim Ray Hart SFG 1 1 20 0.05 | 566 162 31 .286 .840 5

Top player: Willie Mays. He hit under .300 and the Giants slipped to a disappointing 5th, so he couldn't win a writers' vote, but he was the best in the league. Nothing unusual here.
#1 Willie Mays, #2 Ron Santo, #3 Richie Allen, #4 Hank Aaron, #5 Frank Robinson, #6 Roberto Clemente.

Top pitcher: Don Drysdale. Sounds odd for an 18-16 pitcher, but Drysdale carried the load and did it well. He didn't even draw a vote for his efforts. 2nd in ERA, 1st in innings, 3rd in strikeouts.
#1 Don Drysdale, #2 Larry Jackson, #3 Sandy Koufax, #4 Juan Marichal, #5 Bob Gibson.

Top rookie: Dick Allen, pretty clearly. Carty and Hart did well, but Allen had one of the all-time great rookie seasons.

Top manager: Johnny Keane held the course through the pennant race and brought the Cardinals home in 1st. He then switched over to the Yankees, and that team promptly fell apart.

26 December 2008

1964 American League

The Yankees won their fifth straight pennant with a 99-win season, although no one knew at the time it would be their last pennant for several years. It was a wild pennant race, with Baltimore and Chicago in it right to the final day. Chicago finished one game out, the Orioles just two. Detroit was 4th and Los Angeles 5th, and the second division had Cleveland and Minnesota tied for 6th, trailed by Boston in 8th with 90 losses, Washington 9th with 100 losses, and Kansas City last with 105 losses.

The Yankees battled adversity in the form of injuries and dissension as Yogi Berra took over as manager. Ralph Houk moved from the manager's chair to the GM slot. Berra made many unorthodox moves, and his players either resented him or still thought of him as a teammate, hardly an ideal situation. The Phil Linz harmonica incident typified the season. Still, Mickey Mantle fueled a late push that took the team back to the top spot.

Mantle led the league in OPS, while Tony Oliva won the batting title at .323, Luis Aparicio led in steals with 57, Harmon Killebrew led in HR with 49, and Brooks Robinson led in RBI with 118 and won the MVP. Robinson was also second in batting average with a .317 mark. Boog Powell was second with 39 homers, and Dick Stuart was second in RBI with 114. Oliva also led with 209 hits and 43 doubles. Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles had 10 triples each.

Dean Chance and Gary Peters tied for the wins lead with 20, and Wally Bunker, Juan Pizarro, and Dave Wickersham each won 19. Chance led in ERA with a 1.65 mark, follwed by Joel Horlen's 1.88. Al Downing led in strikeouts with 217, followed closely by Camilo Pascual at 213. Dick Radatz led in saves with 29, edging Hoyt Wilhelm at 27. Chance led in innings, complete games, and with 11 shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mickey Mantle (New York) 34, Brooks Robinson (Baltimore) 33, Elston Howard (New York) 32, Ron Hansen (Chicago) 30, Boog Powell (Baltimore) 29, Jim Fregosi (Los Angeles) 28, Pete Ward (Chicago) and Tony Oliva (Minnesota) 27, Ed Bressoud (Boston), Floyd Robinson (Chicago), Bill Freehan (Detroit), Bob Allison (Minnesota) and Roger Maris (New York) 25, Al Kaline (Detroit) and Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota) 24, Rocky Colavito (Kansas City) and Don Lock (Washington) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Dean Chance (Los Angeles) 32, Dick Radatz (Boston) and Whitey Ford (New York) 24, Gary Peters (Chicago) 22, Hoyt Wilhelm (Chicago) 21, Bob Lee (Los Angeles) 20, Wally Bunker (Baltimore), Joel Horlen and Juan Pizarro (Chicago) 19, Milt Pappas (Baltimore), Mickey Lolich (Detroit) and Jim Bouton (New York) 18.

WARP3 leaders, position players: Hansen 10.6, Howard 8.0, Freehan 7.3, B. Robinson 6.9, Powell 6.8, Allison and Ward 6.3, Mantle 6.0, Oliva and Dick McAuliffe (Detroit) 5.8, Fregosi 5.5, Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) 5.1, Killebrew 4.9, Kaline 4.5.

WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Chance 11.5, Radatz 10.5, Ford 6.1, Horlen 5.5, Lee 5.4, Bill Monbouquette (Boston) 5.1, Bunker, Claude Osteen (Washington) and Wes Stock (Kansas City) 5.0.

WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): B. Robinson 9.4, Hansen 8.5, Fregosi 8.1, Oliva 7.5, Allison and Ward 7.3, Howard 7.1, Powell 6.9, Mantle 6.6, Kaline 6.2, Freehan 6.1, Bressoud and Killebrew 6.0, Yastrzemski 5.7, Aparicio 5.6. Pitchers (bWAR): Chance 8.9, Ford 6.3, Radatz 5.2, Horlen and McDowell 4.6, Peters 4.1, Lee 3.7, Bouton 3.6, Osteen and Tiant 3.5, Roberts 3.4, Kralick and Stock 3.3, Pappas 3.2.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Brooks Robinson BAL 18 269 280 0.96 | 612 194 28 .317 .889 1
2 Mickey Mantle NYY 2 171 280 0.61 | 465 141 35 .303 1.015 6
3 Elston Howard NYY 0 124 280 0.44 | 550 172 15 .313 .825 1
4 Tony Oliva MIN 0 99 280 0.35 | 672 217 32 .323 .916 12
5 Dean Chance LAA 0 97 280 0.35 | 89 7 0 .079 .187 0| 20-9 278 1.65 1.006 207 4
6 Pete Ward CHW 0 67 280 0.24 | 539 152 23 .282 .821 1
7 Bill Freehan DET 0 44 280 0.16 | 520 156 18 .300 .812 5
7 Gary Peters CHW 0 44 280 0.16 | 120 25 4 .208 .594 0| 20-8 274 2.50 1.173 205
9 Dick Radatz BOS 0 37 280 0.13 | 37 6 0 .162 .373 0| 16-9 157 2.29 1.025 181 29
10 Harmon Killebrew MIN 0 31 280 0.11 | 577 156 49 .270 .925
11 Boog Powell BAL 0 28 280 0.10 | 424 123 39 .290 1.005 0
12 Wally Bunker BAL 0 23 280 0.08 | 72 5 0 .069 .280 0| 19-5 214 2.69 1.042 96
13 Jim Fregosi LAA 0 21 280 0.08 | 505 140 18 .277 .833 8
14 Al Kaline DET 0 17 280 0.06 | 525 154 17 .293 .851 4
15 Floyd Robinson CHW 0 14 280 0.05 | 525 158 11 .301 .795 9
16 Ron Hansen CHW 0 10 280 0.04 | 575 150 20 .261 .766 1
17 Bobby Richardson NYY 0 9 280 0.03 | 679 181 4 .267 .626 11
17 Leon Wagner CLE 0 9 280 0.03 | 641 162 31 .253 .750 14
19 Juan Pizarro CHW 0 8 280 0.03 | 90 19 3 .211 .540 0| 19-9 239 2.56 1.038 162
19 Hoyt Wilhelm CHW 0 8 280 0.03 | 21 3 0 .143 .325 0| 12-9 131 1.99 0.944 95 27
The voters quickly identified the three best players in the league; Mantle, Robinson, and Howard. Dean Chance, who would also have been a good selection, comes in 5th.

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dean Chance LAA 17 17 20 0.85 | 20-9 278 1.65 1.006 207 4
2 Larry Jackson CHC 2 2 20 0.10 | 24-11 298 3.14 1.085 148
3 Sandy Koufax LAD 1 1 20 0.05 | 19-5 223 1.74 0.928 223 1
Chance manhandles this category, with Koufax missing significant time.

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Tony Oliva MIN 19 19 20 0.95 | 672 217 32 .323 .916 12
2 Wally Bunker BAL 1 1 20 0.05 | 72 5 0 .069 .280 0| 19-5 214 2.69 1.042 96
Bob Lee goes unnoticed here.

Top player: Brooks Robinson. I'll go along with the writers here, as Mantle and Brooksy are pretty close with Howard not far behind. They go one way in WS, the opposite in WARP. I'll let the voters of the time break the tie for me.
#1 Brooks Robinson, #2 Mickey Mantle, #3 Elston Howard, #4 Ron Hansen, #5 Jim Fregosi, #6 Bob Allison.

Top pitcher: Dean Chance leads the field here, Dick Radatz also has a strong season.
#1 Dean Chance, #2 Dick Radatz, #3 Whitey Ford, #4 Gary Peters, #5 Hoyt Wilhelm.

Top rookie: Tony Oliva tops a strong field.

Top manager: Yogi Berra went through an awful lot for this pennant, and got fired for his trouble. I'll cast a vote for him here.

25 December 2008

1963 National League

After ending 1962 in a tie and then losing the playoff, the Dodgers captured the 1963 pennant, then swept the Yankees in the World Series. The Cardinals made it a race, but finished second, six games off the pace. San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati were in a knot for the 3-5 spots, with Milwaukee 6th and Chicago springing up to an above-.500 7th. Pittsburgh dropped to 8th, with Houston 9th and the Mets losing 111 for last. Sandy Koufax won the MVP with a strong season for the winners.

The Dodgers were 6th in the 10-team league in runs scored, while allowing the least runs, but a lot of that was the effect of their park, heavily weighted toward pitchers. In road games, the Dodgers were second in runs scored, fifth in runs allowed. They were actually a stronger offensive team than on their pitching or defense for the year.

Tommy Davis won the batting title at .326, and Roberto Clemente was second at .320. Hank Aaron lead in RBI with 130 and tying for the HR lead with Willie McCovey at 44. Aaron also led in slugging and OPS, and runs with 121. Ken Boyer was second in RBI with 111. Vada Pinson led with 204 hits and 14 triples, and Dick Groat with 43 doubles. Maury Wills led in steals, but was down to a more normal-looking 40.

Koufax and Juan Marichal tied for the wins lead at 25, while Jim Maloney and Warren Spahn won 23. Dick Ellsworth posted 22 victories. Koufax lead in ERA with a Chavez Ravine-aided 1.88. Ellsworth was second at 2.11. Koufax also led in strikeouts, with 306, while Lindy McDaniel led in saves with 22, followed by Ron Perranoski at 21. Spahn pitched 22 complete games, while Koufax tossed 11 shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Hank Aaron (Milwaukee) 41, Willie Mays, (San Francisco) 38, Johnny Callison (Philadelphia) 32, Vada Pinson (Cincinnati), Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee) and Dick Groat (St. Louis) 31, Orlando Cepeda (San Francisco) 30, Tommy Davis (Los Angeles) and Willie McCovey (San Francisco) 29, Billy Williams (Chicago) and Junior Gilliam (Los Angeles) 28, Maury Wills (Los Angeles) and Bill White (St. Louis) 27, Ron Santo (Chicago) and Tony Gonzalez (Philadelphia) 26, Curt Flood (St. Louis) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers; Dick Ellsworth (Chicago) and Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles) 32, Juan Marichal (San Francisco) 27, Larry Jackson (Chicago), Jim Maloney (Cincinnati) and Warren Spahn (Milwaukee) 22, Don Drysdale (Los Angeles) and Bob Friend (Pittsburgh) 21, Ron Perranoski (Los Angeles) 20, Joe Nuxhall (Cincinnati) 19.

WARP3 leaders, position players: Mays 11.5, Groat 10.0, Aaron 9.8, Mathews 9.5, Flood 7.8, Callison, McCovey, and Pinson 7.7, Williams 7.5, Cepeda 6.9, White 6.6, Ken Boyer (St. Louis) 6.2, Gilliam and Santo 6.1, Johnny Edwards (Cincinnati) 6.0.

WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Koufax 10.3, Ellsworth 9.8, Marichal 8.0, Friend 6.9, Hal Woodeshick (Houston) 6.6, Carl Willey (New York) 6.0, Turk Farrell (Houston) 5.7, Perranoski and Maloney 5.6, Spahn 5.5.

WAR leaders, position players (fWAR): Mays 10.2, Aaron 8.8, Mathews 8.2, Groat 7.6, Callison 7.5, Pinson 6.9, Santo 6.7, McCovey 6.6, Williams 6.2, Cepeda 5.7, White 5.5, Boyer 5.3, Flood 5.1, Clemente 4.9, Taylor 4.7, Alou and Torre 4.6. Pitchers, (bWAR): Koufax 10.8, Ellsworth 10.3, Marichal 8.1, Friend 6.2, Maloney 5.3, Jackson 5.2, Nuxhall 5.1, Drysdale 5.0, Simmons 4.8, Johnson 4.7, O'Toole and Spahn 4.6, Perranoski 4.3.

Actual award voting:
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Sandy Koufax LAD 14 237 280 0.85 | 110 7 1 .064 .202 0| 25-5 311 1.88 0.875 306
2 Dick Groat STL 4 190 280 0.68 | 631 201 6 .319 .827 3
3 Hank Aaron MLN 1 135 280 0.48 | 631 201 44 .319 .977 31
4 Ron Perranoski LAD 0 130 280 0.46 | 24 3 0 .125 .317 0| 16-3 129 1.67 1.202 75 21
5 Willie Mays SFG 0 102 280 0.36 | 596 187 38 .314 .962 8
6 Jim Gilliam LAD 1 62 280 0.22 | 525 148 6 .282 .737 19
7 Bill White STL 0 56 280 0.20 | 658 200 27 .304 .851 10
8 Tommy Davis LAD 0 41 280 0.15 | 556 181 16 .326 .816 15
8 Ron Santo CHC 0 41 280 0.15 | 630 187 25 .297 .820 6
10 Vada Pinson CIN 0 32 280 0.11 | 652 204 22 .313 .861 27
11 Juan Marichal SFG 0 31 280 0.11 | 112 20 1 .179 .423 0| 25-8 321 2.41 0.996 248
12 Warren Spahn MLN 0 30 280 0.11 | 90 16 2 .178 .508 0| 23-7 260 2.60 1.117 102
13 Ken Boyer STL 0 19 280 0.07 | 617 176 24 .285 .812 1
14 Roberto Clemente PIT 0 12 280 0.04 | 600 192 17 .320 .826 12
15 Johnny Callison PHI 0 11 280 0.04 | 626 178 26 .284 .840 8
16 Tony Taylor PHI 0 10 280 0.04 | 640 180 5 .281 .698 23
17 Willie McCovey SFG 0 9 280 0.03 | 564 158 44 .280 .915 1
17 Maury Wills LAD 0 9 280 0.03 | 527 159 0 .302 .704 40
19 Dick Ellsworth CHC 0 7 280 0.02 | 94 9 0 .096 .262 0| 22-10 291 2.11 1.025 185
19 Jim Maloney CIN 0 7 280 0.02 | 89 15 0 .169 .373 0| 23-7 250 2.77 1.083 265
21 Don Demeter PHI 0 3 280 0.01 | 515 133 22 .258 .739 1
21 Don Drysdale LAD 0 3 280 0.01 | 96 16 0 .167 .439 0| 19-17 315 2.63 1.091 251
23 Tony Gonzalez PHI 0 2 280 0.01 | 555 170 4 .306 .808 13
24 Curt Flood STL 0 1 280 0.00 | 662 200 5 .302 .748 17|
Koufax was not a unanimous choice, as Groat among others drew support. But he was a clear winner.

Cy Young: Koufax was a unanimous choice.

Rookie | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Pete Rose CIN 17 17 20 0.85 | 623 170 6 .273 .705 13
2 Ron Hunt NYM 2 2 20 0.10 | 533 145 10 .272 .730 5
3 Ray Culp PHI 1 1 20 0.05 | 66 9 0 .136 .325 0| 14-11 203 2.97 1.230 176

Best player: Hank Aaron, by a small margin over Mays, with Callison not far behind. Aaron was relatively unacclaimed (even with his 1957 MVP), but would eventually put his name on the marquee.
#1 Hank Aaron, #2 Willie Mays, #3 Johnny Callison, #4 Dick Groat, #5 Eddie Mathews, #6 Vada Pinson.

Best pitcher: Sandy Koufax. Ellsworth's 22-10, 2.10 in Wrigley is almost as good as Koufax's 25-5, 1.88 in Dodger Stadium. Almost. Going with the winner here.
#1 Sandy Koufax, #2 Dick Ellsworth, #3 Juan Marichal, #4 Ron Perranoski, #5 Jim Maloney.

Best rookie: Pete Rose. Guy had "star" written all over him. Hunt and Culp also played well.

Best manager: Walt Alston rode a strong pitching staff and a pitchers' park.

24 December 2008

1963 American League

The Yankees won their fourth straight pennant and took 104 wins, handily winning the race over second-place Chicago, 10.5 games back. Minnesota was 3rd and Baltimore 4th, and those were all the teams over .500. Cleveland and Detroit tied for 5th, with Boston 7th, Kansas City 8th, Los Angeles slid all the way back to 9th, and Washington was last with 106 losses. A danger sign popped up for the Yankees when they were swept in the World Series by the Dodgers.

The Yankees won big in spite of missing slugging outfielders Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris for long stretches. Mantle played just 65 games, Maris 90. The Indians' John Romano missed significant time with a broken finger. The White Sox and Orioles had enginneered a big trade before the season, with Luis Aparicio heading to Baltimore in a package including Hoyt Wilhelm. The strike zone was enlarged, raising it to the pre-1950 rules of top of shoulders to bottom of knees. Minnesota had the best offense in the league, and Chicago the top run-prevention unit, but the Yankees were second in both categories.

Carl Yastrzemski led the league in batting with a .321 average, edging Al Kaline's .312. Yaz led in on-base, Harmon Killebrew in slugging, Bob Allison in OPS. Allison topped the loop with 99 runs. Killebrew led in home runs with 45, Dick Stuart in RBI with 118 (he was second in homers with 42), Luis Aparicio in steals with 40. Kaline was second in RBI with 101. Yaz led with 183 hits and 40 doubles. Zoilo Versalles had 13 triples. With Mantle sidelined, it was a league without a truly outstanding player.

Whitey Ford led the loop in wins with 24, and was followed by Jim Bouton and Camilo Pascual with 21 each, then Steve Barber and Bill Monbouquette won 20. Pascual led in strikeouts again with 202, edging Jim Bunning at 196. Gary Peters led in ERA with a 2.33 mark, ahead of Juan Pizarro at 2.39 and Pascual at 2.46. Stu Miller led in saves with 27, followed by Dick "The Monster" Radatz of Boston with 25. Ray Herbert had seven shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players: Carl Yastrzemski (Boston) and Tom Tresh (New York) 29, Albie Pearson (Los Angeles), Bob Allison (Minnesota) and Elston Howard (New York) 28, Earl Battey (Minnesota) 26, Pete Ward (Chicago), Max Alvis (Cleveland) and Al Kaline (Detroit) 25, Norm Cash (Detroit) and Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota) 23, Leon Wagner (Los Angeles) 22, Rocky Colavito (Detroit), Jimmie Hall (Minnesota) and Don Lock (Washington) 21, Jim Gentile and John Orsino (Baltimore), Floyd Robinson (Chicago), Wayne Causey (Kansas City), Jim Fregosi (Los Angeles) and Chuck Hinton (Washington) 20.

WS leaders, pitchers: Gary Peters (Chicago) 25, Dick Radatz (Boston) 24, Whitey Ford (New York) 23, Camilo Pascual (Minnesota) and Jim Bouton (New York) 22, Juan Pizarro (Chicago) 19, Steve Barber (Baltimore) 18, Jack Kralick (Minnesota/Cleveland), Bill Dailey (Minnesota) and Ralph Terry (New York) 17, Stu Miller (Baltimore), Bill Monbouquette (Boston), Jack Kralick (Minnesota/Cleveland) and Al Downing (New York) 16.

WARP3 leaders, position players: Howard 7.2, Battey 6.8, Ward, Allison, and Ron Hansen (Chicago) 6.2, Pearson and Yastrzemski 5.7, Killbrew 5.5, Cash and Hall 5.1, Woodie Held (Cleveland) 4.9, Fregosi and Orsino 4.6, Kaline 4.5.

WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Pascual and Peters 7.7, Radatz 7.6, Moe Drabowsky (Kansas City) 6.4, Bouton 5.9, Pizarro 5.2, Dailey and Orlando Pena (Kansas City) 5.0, Kralick 4.9, Downing, Robin Roberts and Milt Pappas (Baltimore) 4.6, Ford, Monbouquette, and Tom Cheney (Washington) 4.5.

WAR leaders, position players (bWAR): Allison 8.2, Yastrzemski 7.7, Howard 7.0, Hall 6.3, Hansen 6.2, Battey, Kaline, and Ward 6.0, Killebrew and Pearson 5.8, Cash and Tresh 5.6, Causey, Fregosi, and Rollins 5.3, Colavito 5.1, Alvis 4.9. Pitchers (bWAR): Pascual 5.7, Peters 5.6, Radatz 4.7, Bouton 4.5, Drabowsky 4.4, Ford and Pizarro 4.0, Barber, Pena, and Stigman 3.7, Karlick 3.6, Downing 3.4, Stange 3.3.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15)
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Elston Howard NYY 15 248
2 Al Kaline DET 1 148
3 Whitey Ford NYY 3 125
4 Harmon Killebrew MIN 0 85
5 Dick Radatz BOS 0 84
6 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 81
7 Earl Battey MIN 0 57
8 Gary Peters CHW 0 55
9 Pete Ward CHW 0 52
10 Bobby Richardson NYY 0 43
11 Tom Tresh NYY 1 38
12 Camilo Pascual MIN 0 29
13 Dick Stuart BOS 0 25
14 Albie Pearson LAA 0 22
15 Bob Allison MIN 0 15

Cy Young was over both leagues, and Koufax was the unanimous choice.

Rookie
Place Name Team Points
1 Gary Peters CHW 10
2 Pete Ward CHW 6
3 Jimmie Hall MIN 4

Best player: Elston Howard. The voters got it right, going for the top player on and the guy who held the team together for the pennant winner, lasting the season when those around him kept getting hurt. Howard had a great year.
#1 Elston Howard, #2 Carl Yastrzemski, #3 Bob Allison, #4 Earl Battey, #5 Tom Tresh, #6 Al Kaline.

Best pitcher: Gary Peters, by a thin margin over Dick Radatz. The Monster was very intimidating, but Peters was simply more prolific. It is essentially a dead heat, but I will throw it to the starter.
#1 Gary Peters, #2 Dick Radatz, #3 Camilo Pascual, #4 Whitey Ford, #5 Jim Bouton.

Best rookie: Peters again. After four cups of coffee, he finally got a full-year chance, and made the most of it. There were a number of other good rookies as well, with Jimmie Hall, Pete Ward, Max Alvis, and Al Downing making good showings.

Best manager: Ralph Houk, who had to juggle with serious injuries to Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris that limited his sluggers to 155 combined games, but came up golden with an easy pennant.