TCABT-X team selection is upon us. Team selection will begin at noon on Saturday, July 7th, 2018. Teams will be updated on this blog post, as they are validated.
TCABT-X Tournament date is:Saturday, October 6th, 2018.
The 28 entrants: From top left standing – Bruce Tyler, Garth Andersen, Chris Kaufman, Phil Geraffo, Fred Johnson, Robert Elley, Gregg Nelson, George Adams, Pat Martin.
From 2nd row left standing – Paul Van Beek, Craig Christian, Marty Lee, Bob Collins, Leroy Arnoldi, Jim, Dave Norlander.
From left sitting – Ben Lofgren, Beau Lofgren, Jeff Boeding, Scott Egge, John Kalous, Darrell Skogen, Kevin Cluff.
From left kneeling and sitting on floor – Kurt Bergland, Rob Skogen, Gary Borthwick, Mike Vitt, Darrell Shreve.
Thanks to Terry Borthwick for taking this group photo, and most of the photos shown throughout this post!
We had a punctual group of 28, ready to get at it, Saturday morning, April 7th, 2018. Although it felt more like February outside, we knew better, and baseball was the name of the game today. APBA Baseball that is. After a few announcements, introductions of the 3 first time entrants (Bob Collins of APBAOnline fame, Robert Elley and Mike Vitt) and some rules review, all 28 were ready to roll by 8:45am. At stake, the April hardware, waiting for the next April victor …
There are 3 primary playing “areas” laid out through Darrell Skogen’s Maple Grove home: The Pennant Porch, which is a beautiful 4-season wood and windows porch, with plenty of sunlight, holding one division at play. The Den, which is another well-lit room on the other side of the main floor, with plenty of book shelves and APBA cards stored about and holding another division of 4 teams. And then the Basement, which is hosting 5 of the 7 divisions today, a total of 20 guys, each rolling dice either with a shaker or a dice tower, making plenty of noise, between groans and sighs, and all lined up sitting at long tables looking like they are all waiting to yell “BINGO!”, or, as is the case with Leroy Arnoldi, “BANG GOES THE DYNAMITE!” each time one of his players goes deep.
In the Pennant Porch, Leroy sitting on right, with George Adams explaining how he came to pick the “Miracle” Braves of 191473 …
Also in the Pennant Porch, newcomer, Mike Vitt from Louisville, KY on left vs Bruce Tyler.
The Minnie Minoso division in action.
The Den, hosting the Gabby Hartnett division: from L to R … Dave Norlander, Darrell Skogen facing off at the desk and in the background, Ben Lofgren and John Kalous at the table.
At one end of the basement, back in the corner and working clockwise: Phil Geraffo, Gary Borthwick, Gregg Nelson and Jeff Boeding playing out their games in the Ted Williams division.
The Enos Slaughter division, with games in action, starting clockwise from front left: Newcomer Bob Collins from Woodbury MN, Kevin Cluff, Darrell Shreve and newcomer Robert Elley from Longview TX.
The Reggie Jackson division, starting clockwise from back left: Craig Christian, Scott Egge, Fred Johnson and Marty “Doc” Lee.
The Frank Howard division, starting clockwise from front left: Chris Kaufman, Kurt Bergland, Paul Van Beek and Garth Andersen.
Closing out the basement division setup, the Roger Maris division, starting clockwise from back left: Pat Martin, Rob Skogen, Beau Lofgren and Jim.
The Division Results:
TCABT-IX
Saturday, April 7th, 2018
GABBY HARTNETT DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
1938 YANKEES (DAVE NORLANDER)
6
3
34
33
1
1942 YANKEES (BEN LOFGREN)
6
3
42
27
15
2017 ASTROS (JOHN KALOUS)
4
5
33
39
-6
2006 TWINS (DARRELL SKOGEN)
2
7
26
36
-10
TOTALS
18
18
135
135
0
FRANK HOWARD DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
1995 INDIANS (PAUL VAN BEEK)
7
2
42
26
16
2006 PADRES (KURT BERGLAND)
5
4
36
45
-9
1970 TWINS (CHRIS KAUFMAN)
4
5
38
38
0
1972 PIRATES (GARTH ANDERSEN)
2
7
34
41
-7
TOTALS
18
18
150
150
0
REGGIE JACKSON DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
2000 MARINERS (MARTY LEE)
6
3
57
56
1
1987 TIGERS (FRED JOHNSON)
5
4
54
35
19
1980 EXPOS (SCOTT EGGE)
4
5
39
50
-11
1976 REDS (CRAIG CHRISTIAN)
3
6
46
55
-9
TOTALS
18
18
196
196
0
ROGER MARIS DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
1953 DODGERS (JIM FRAASCH)
7
2
44
28
16
2017 INDIANS (ROB SKOGEN)
5
4
34
28
6
2010 TWINS (BEAU LOFGREN)
3
6
27
33
-6
1954 INDIANS (PAT MARTIN)
3
6
28
44
-16
TOTALS
18
18
133
133
0
MINNIE MINOSO DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
1973 BRAVES (GEORGE ADAMS)
6
3
45
51
-6
1911 GIANTS (BRUCE TYLER)
6
3
46
23
23
1993 BLUE JAYS (LEROY ARNOLDI)
3
6
35
49
-14
1998 BRAVES (MIKE VITT)
3
6
38
41
-3
TOTALS
18
18
164
164
0
ENOS SLAUGHTER DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
2017 NATIONALS (KEVIN CLUFF)
7
2
37
18
19
1968 TIGERS (DARRELL SHREVE)
5
4
38
26
12
1969 ORIOLES (ROBERT ELLEY)
5
4
34
36
-2
2016 INDIANS (BOB COLLINS)
1
8
26
55
-29
TOTALS
18
18
135
135
0
TED WILLIAMS DIVISION
W
L
R
OR
RDIFF
1941 DODGERS (GREGG NELSON)
6
3
41
29
12
1936 YANKEES (JEFF BOEDING)
5
4
38
33
5
1998 YANKEES (GARY BORTHWICK)
5
4
35
37
-2
1955 DODGERS (PHIL GERAFFO)
2
7
34
49
-15
TOTALS
18
18
148
148
0
Kurt Bergland and Garth Andersen in a Frank Howard division showdown between the 2006 Padres and 1972 Pirates.
Leroy appears less than amused during his division play match-up with George’s Miracle Braves of ’73.
After finishing up division play by around 2:30pm, it was well deserved break and then onto the 8-team, best-of-three, bracket play session.
George Adams (1973 Braves) and Paul Van Beek (1995 Indians) waste no time in getting their Quarter-final match under way. George is making his first bracket-round appearance.
The Bracket Play Results:
Seed
QUARTER-FINALS
G1
G2
G3
SERIES
1
2017 NATIONALS
0
8
6
2
vs
8
1911 GIANTS
6
7
4
1
2
1995 INDIANS
2
6
5
1
vs
7
1973 BRAVES
3
5
7
2
3
1953 DODGERS
8
9
2
vs
6
2000 MARINERS
4
3
0
4
1941 DODGERS
4
5
0
vs
5
1938 YANKEES
9
10
2
Seed
SEMI-FINALS
G1
G2
G3
SERIES
1
2017 NATIONALS
3
8
2
vs
7
1973 BRAVES
1
5
0
3
1953 DODGERS
9
3
0
vs
5
1938 YANKEES
11
4
2
Seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
G1
G2
G3
SERIES
1
2017 NATIONALS
2
7
8
2
vs
5
1938 YANKEES
3
3
6
1
2 former TCABT Champs go at it in the Quarter-finals, Bruce Tyler (1911 Giants) on left, vs Kevin Cluff (2017 Nationals) on right, inside the Pennant Porch.
2 Quarter-final series taking place in the Den. In the foreground, Gregg Nelson (1941 Dodgers) vs Dave Norlander (1938 Yankees). This is Gregg’s first TCABT appearance in the bracket play round. In the background, Jim (on left) with his 1953 Dodgers battles Marty “Doc” Lee and his 2000 Mariners.
Semi-final action in the Pennant Porch between Dave’s 1938 Yankees and Jim’s 1953 Dodgers. Dave’s 1938 Yankees with a big top of the 9th inning in game 1, comeback from down 9-6 to win 11-9. Dave’s ’38 Yankees would sweep the series with a 4-3 victory in game 2.
In the other semi-final match, Kevin Cluff’s 2017 Nats need just 2 games to tame George’s Miracle 1973 Braves.
The championship series would pit Dave Norlander’s 1938 Yankees vs Kevin Cluff’s 2017 Nationals. Kevin has been here before, winning the April TCABT title twice, in 2014 and in 2016. Would he make it a 3rd time in 2018?
TCABT-IX Championship series, Dave Norlander on left vs Kevin Cluff on right.
The Championship match-up featured a 2-time April champion, Kevin and his 2017 Nats vs Dave and his 1938 Yankees, and Dave looking for his first title. The ’38 Yankees won game 1, 3-2. The 2017 Nationals win game 2, 7-3. Game 3 for all the marbles, would go 11 innings. The ’38 Yankees had an early 4-0 lead. The 2017 Nats tie it up 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th, after entering the 9th trailing 4-3. A scoreless 10th. Once we get to the 11th inning, all pitchers are reduced to a straight D, regardless of their actual grades. The Yankees put up 2 in the top of the 11th to go up 6-4. In the bottom of the 11th, Harper blasts a 2-run homer to tie it and Zimmerman a 2-run homer to win the championship in walk-off style, as Kevin and the 2017 Nats win 8-6, and win the series 2 games to 1!
A big congratulations to Kevin Cluff for winning his 3rd April championship, winning each even numbered April (2014, 2016 and now 2018). The joke was that Kevin does not earn “Legend” TCABT status until he gets his name on the October trophy, which Leroy Arnoldi has done twice (but Leroy has no April championships). Who will be the first TCABT manager to end up on both trophies??? And will it happen this next October the 6th, 2018? Overall in the 9 tournaments, we have had 6 different managers as champions, and 9 different runner-ups. We also just past our 1000th game mark in TCABT history. We are sitting at 1006 games played.
One note about the division names … the divisions were named after baseball greats who wore the #9 during part or all of their careers. We originally had 8 divisions of 4 teams, but due to drops, we ended up with 7 divisions of 4 teams. One glaring omission … one of the divisions was appropriately named for Bill Mazeroski. But after 2 of the 4 drops came from the Mazeroski division, unfortunately, the Mazeroski division faded away.
It has become tradition to conclude each TCABT Results write-up with a wonderful, if not self-serving, offering from tourney entrant, and Minnesota’s top author on Minnesota History, Fred Johnson:
Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament – IX [April 7. 2018]
An Explanation
Editor’s Note: APBA “expert” Fred Johnson is back with yet another twisted version of a TCABT tournament, this regarding the recent April, 7, 2018 playoffs in Maple Grove. Take his words with a grain (a tablespoon would be better) of salt.
APBA Veterans and insightful rookies alike know my contempt for a sore loser, the whiner and wailer, who make excuses for defeat. So, to be clear, this brief account of my April 7 set back at Darrell Skogen Fields in Maple Grove is not a evasion or cover-up for a loss. It is an explanation.
In fact, two words quite aptly summarize the Saturday massacre: Jack Morris. The Tiger’s alleged ace sported a 0–2 record as he stumbled toward the critical division-deciding game with Craig Christian’s ’76 Reds; it is worth noting the rest of the Tiger pitchers were a combined 5-1 at this point and had won the first two games with Reds by a combined 12-7 count. Personal and professional redemption stood within easy reach if the Tiger tosser could prevail in the finale. Instead, Morris surrendered 10 runs, all earned, while his valiant teammates finished with 9 and the tying run at the plate.
In another display of Tiger toughness, the Detroiters piled up a +19 run differential within the Reggie Jackson division. The only other division club in the positive range was Marty Lee’s 2001 Mariners with an embarrassing +1. Not surprisingly, the Tigers’ +19 proved to be the highest among all division teams—if you don’t count runs scored by Bruce Tyler’s 1911 Giants and Kevin Cuff’s winning 2017 Nats, and I don’t.
Clearly my Tigers proved far superior to all of their division competitors, a point I made with Lee, whose Seattle club actually advanced to the next round. “Hey Marty,” I announced cordially, “since the Tigers are the real class here and they stomped your boys 2–1 in our series, doesn’t seem obvious that they should move on to the playoffs? It is evident you should hand over the title to them. This is not about me; it’s about them and justice.” Lee haltingly offered a cliche excuse—“But my Mariners had a better record”—and refused to concede.
A final point: If Jack Morris can’t compete fair and square with the baseball greats in Maple Grove last Saturday, how is it that he will be entering the MLB Hall of Fame this summer? In a search for baseball justice, I will be assembling my case against Morris with a concise 25-page synopsis of his April 7 TCABT-IX performance and submit it the Modern Baseball Era committee next month.
All good things must come to an end. My 1961 Minnesota Twins replay, played out a little differently than I expected. I expected the 1961 Twins to struggle playing against the upper-division clubs of the American League. But other than the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox each going 12-6 vs the Twins, the Twins turned the tables on the likes of the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles. The Twins do struggle in their closing month of 1961, going just 12-17 (compared to 13-16 actual). Overall, the Twins finish a balanced 80-80, 10 games above their actual record of 1961, 70-90. The last 33 games for the Twins (including the final 4 games of August thru the close of the season), the Twins record was just 12-21. I expected this tailspin much earlier in the season, it just did not occur until the last 33 games, thus allowing the Twins to finish 10 games above their actual 1961 mark. The single most contributing factor to the Twins being able to win 80 times in my ’61 replay was the pitching of Jack Kralick (BYZ), who finishes 23-4 with a 2.02 ERA on the season. And to think after his first 4 starts, he was just 2-2. The last loss he took was July 30th vs Detroit where he pitched 4 innings, giving up 5 runs, 4 of those earned. 3 out of his last 5 starts were no decisions, but he did win his final start of the season vs Cleveland.
Here is how the American League fared vs the Twins in my 1961 Twins replay:
The High-lights and low-lights in the month of September/Oct. …
After losing their last 4 games of August, the Twins win their 1st 2 games in September, taking 2 of 3 vs Boston including a 1-0 walk-off win on September 2nd when Bob Allison went deep in the bottom of the 9th. Don Lee earning the CG shut-out.
The Twins earn a 4-game series split with Chicago.
After dropping the 1st 2 games to lowly Kansas City, the Twins win the last 2 games to earn another 4-game series split. Jack Kralick wins his 22nd game on September 10th.
The Angels take 2 of 3 from the Twins. Camilo Pascual K’s a season-high 16 batters on September 11th, pitching 11 innings, in a 13 inning 5-3 loss.
Another 4-game series split, this time vs Cleveland.
Twins begin a 5-game scheduling oddity where they play 2 at Washington followed by 3 at home vs Washington. Twins drop the 2 games at Washington. Back home at Metropolitan Stadium, the Twins drop 2 of 3, including a 1-0 win by Dick Donovan of the Senators.
The Twins continue their end-of-season 11-game home stand, and lose 2 of 3 to the Cleveland Indians. Twins drop to 1 game above .500. Jack Kralick won his 23rd in his final start of 1961.
The season closes with a win and then 2 losses to Detroit, as the Twins finish an even 80-80. Harmon Killebrew blasts 3 homers in the final series, to finish the season with 54 (8 more than actual).
I will be posting a follow-up to this final monthly post, with stat comparisons for each player, real-life vs replay.
(Killebrew, Mantle, Lemon, Maris at Yankee Stadium)
The month of September/October:
(click on game scores below for either the REPLAY boxscore or the ACTUAL boxscore)
Don Lee, C(B*)Y, entered his start on September 2nd, with a 2-10 record having made 8 starts and 31 appearances with a 5.93 ERA. Lee pitches his 2nd CG, 1-0 shut-out of the season.
Series #48: White Sox at Twins, September 4 (2), 6 (2)
Juan Pizzaro (BXY) finished 4th among the 1961 AL Strikeout leaders in real-life. In the September 6th replay game, White Sox at Twins, game 1 of a double dip, Pizzaro pitched a CG, 3-hit, shutout, winning 5-0, and striking out 13 Twin batters. Pizzaro also shut-out the Twins back on June 17th, pitching a CG, 2-hitter and striking out 9. In 3 appearances vs the Twins in this replay, he has 20 IP, a 0.00 ERA and has struck-out 22 batters. The White Sox finish with a 12-6 replay record over the Twins.
.
Series #49: Twins at Athletics, September 8, 9, 10 (2)
Jack Kralick and Harmon Killebrew do what they have done all season long, win ballgames and knock the ball over the fence. Kralick wins his 22nd game of the season pitching 6 innings of shut-out ball as the Twins take the 1st of a double-header dip on September 10th, the Twins win 2-0. Killebrew blasts his 46th homer, equaling his 1961 actual output, during the 2nd game of the double-header sweep on September 10th. The A’s had won the first 2 game of the 4-game series, and they finish with an 8-10 record vs the Twins in ’61.
Camilo Pascual (BX), has turned into the strike-out “highlight” reel for the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In game #143, Pascual went 11 innings, striking out 16 (a season record high for the Twins), only to see the Twins lose the game in the 13th inning. The Angels meanwhile, finish with a 10-7 record (1 rain-out not made up) over the Twins in 1961.
Series #51: Twins at Indians, September 15, 16, 17 (2)
Joe Altobelli’s 1961 tenure with the Twins (41 games) was very short-lived. ’61 would be the last season Altobelli played in the Major’s after previously playing for Cleveland in 1955 and 1957. In real-life, Joe only hit 3 HR in 1961. In this ’61 Twins replay, Joe would hit #4 and #5 vs the Indians, in games 3 and 4 of this 4-game series. In game 4, Joe’s 3-run homer tied the game in the top of the 9th for the Twins, after the Twins had given up a 3-run homer to Vic Power in the bottom of the 8th. The Twins split this 4-game set with the Indians. Altobelli would go on to manage parts of 7 different seasons between 1977 and 1991 for the Giants, Orioles and Cubs.
Bud Zipfel’s MLB career lasted only 2 seasons. 1961 and 1962 with the Senators. In this 2 game replay series vs the Twins, Zipfel managed to hit a HR in each game. In game 2, the homer came in the 6th off of Jack Kralick, who had a 1-0 lead going at the time. The Senators win game 2, 2-1, in 10 innings in walk-off fashion on a wild pitch by Twins reliever Bill Pleis with Willie Tasby scoring from 3rd. With the Senators sweeping 2 vs Minnesota in D.C., the teams now head to Bloomington, MN for 3 more …
Series #53: Senators at Twins, September 23 (2), 24
In game #152 of the replay, Harmon Killebrew blasts his 49th homer of the season (which matches his highest real-life, 1-season total during his career). In game #154, Dick Donovan blanks the Twins, 1-0. The Senators finish with an 8-9 record (1 rain-out not made up) vs the Twins in the replay.
Series #54: Indians at Twins, September 26, 27, 28
Vic Power, the slick fielding 1st-baseman for the Cleveland Indians has a career 3-game series going 8 for 12 vs his future team, as the Twins will end up acquiring Power for the 1962 season. In Power’s last 4 replay games vs the Twins in ’61, he was 11 for 18 with 2 HR’s and a triple (and 16 for 46 in 11 games vs Minnesota in ’61). Meanwhile the Cleveland Indians finish with a 10-8 record over the Twins in ’61. Jack Kralick won his 23rd in his final start of 1961, in game 1 of the series.
Series #55: Tigers at Twins, September 29, 30, Oct 1
FINAL TWINS RECORD: Replay (80-80) – Actual (70-90)
The season closes with an 8-6, 11 inning loss to Detroit. In the final series opener, Harmon Killebrew hit homers #52 and #53, and driving in all 4 Twins runs in a 4-2 win. Harmon’s homer barrage continued in game #159, as Killer hit homerun #54, in a losing cause, and the Twins dropped their final 2 games of the season, finishing an even 80-80. Harmon’s 54 replay clouts top his actual highest HR total in any season, of 49 (done in 1964 and 1969).
NOTE: we have 4 drops from our original 32, so we are at 28 teams, 7 divisions.
The prelude to TCABT-IX … our random division draw. Seven of us were able to meet at the Meadows Bar & Grill in Prior Lake, MN. Tension was non-existent, but giddy we were, to see how our 28 teams would be divided into 7 divisions, 4 teams each, for our 9th semi-annual Neil Ess Memorial Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament, to be held in Maple Grove, MN, Saturday, April 7th, 2018.
A few Bloody Mary’s, Diet Cokes, and lemonades later, a large envelope was presented containing all 28 team/manager names, to be picked one by one, as it passed around the table.
Up for grabs, were 7 divisions, named after 7 greats of the game, who wore #9 during their careers (or at least part of their career).
How they fell (click on each team to see Baseball Reference Stats):
The dog days of August prove difficult, as the Twins, surprisingly, remain above .500 in my 1961 Twins replay. The Twins go 14-16 compared to their actual August record of 12-18. The Twins remain 5 games above .500 for the season, at 68-63. But after 4 straight losses at the end of August, the outlook is a little less certain for finishing above .500. A quick look at the AL Standings for the 131 Twins games rolled:
Looking ahead at the September/October schedule, the Twins have the following games remaining: 3 with the Red Sox, 4 with the White Sox, 7 with the Indians, 3 with the Tigers, 4 with the A’s, 3 with the Angels, and 5 with the Senators. Note the Twins played 161 games in 1961, with a rain-out not being made up as the reason why they did not play the full 162. The Twins actual record, of 70-90-1, the 1 tie was vs Chicago in September, in which the stats counted, but you never see the tie reflected in the W-L record. Originally, I had planned to replay this tie game and count the result in the Standings for the Twins, however, I realized with this TIE game, the Twins actually played 19 games vs the White Sox, 18 of which counted in the standings, and 1 TIE. Since the teams only play 18 games vs each team, I did not want the Twins to end up with 19 games played vs the White Sox.
High-lights and low-lights in the August replay …
Twins open the month with 2 losses to Baltimore. The rubber game of the series was 0-0 through 10 innings, when Bob Allison’s 3-run HR, gave the Twins a 3-run lead in the top of the 11th. Baltimore ties it in the bottom of the 11th with a 3-run HR by Jackie Brandt. Twins pull it out in the 12th.
Twins split 4 with the Yankees.
Twins take 4 of 5 at Fenway vs Boston.
The Twins shut-out Detroit on August 11th, only to be outscored the following 2 games by a 20-6 margin. Tigers picking up 11-3 and 9-3 wins.
In a 3-game sweep of the Athletics, the Twins offense is in overdrive, outscoring KC by a 38-8 margin in the 3 games.
Twins drop 2 of 3 to the Angels.
August 20th, Jack Kralick (BYZ) wins his 20th for the Twins over the Angels.
White Sox sweep the Twins, 3-straight.
Twins finish the season series vs Baltimore, taking 2 out of 3, and finishing with a 12-6 record vs the Birds.
August 25th, Kralick earns win #21, over the Orioles.
The Yankees sweep the Twins, finishing with a 12-6 record over the Twins in ’61. Twins lose their last 4 games of the month of August.
The month of August:
(click on game scores below for either the REPLAY boxscore or the ACTUAL boxscore)
The Twins avoid a sweep thanks to Bob Allison’s 3-run homer in the top of the 11th and Billy Martin’s pinch-hit RBI single in the top of the 12th. The Orioles had tied the game in the bottom of the 11th with a 3-run homer by Jackie Brandt. The game was 0-0 thru 10.
The Yankees, Whitey Ford (AX), owns the Twins in my ’61 Twins replay, winning game 3 of this 4-game set, and going 4-0 with a 2.75 ERA and 4 CG vs the Twins.
Series #40: Twins at Red Sox, August 7 (2), 8, 9, 10
Lenny Green (whose season has been sub-par compared to his actual numbers) stayed hot the entire 5-game series for the Twins, going 9 for 20 (.450 with a .560 OBP), with 5 RBI, 6 runs scored, 1 HR, 2 doubles and 2 SB.
Rocky Colavito continues his assault on Twins pitchers, hitting his 7th homer of the season vs the Twins, in their 15th meeting of 1961. Colavito has 12 RBI to go with the 7 HR.
The Killer goes over the century mark with his 100th and 101st RBI in Game #119 of the season. In the 17-2 slaughter of the KC Athletics, Harmon hits his 38th HR of the season.
Killebrew, Versalles, Allison … Bob Allison continues his hot month of August in the replay, now with 25 HR’s and 80 RBI on the season thru game #122. In real-life, Allison finished 1961 with 29 HR’s and 104 RBI.
It was not 2 “Slams” this time, but in game 3 of the Orioles rubber game win over the Twins at the Met, Jim Gentile goes 4 for 4, with 2 HR and 4 RBI. The Orioles finish with a disappointing 6-12 “replay” record vs the Twins in 1961. Gentile bats .300 in 17 games played vs Minnesota, with 6 HR (including a 3 homer game back on May 9th) and 13 RBI. His 6 HR and 13 RBI occurring in just 3 of those 17 games played.
The Yankees sweep the Twins in their final replay meeting of 1961. Twins fans of 1961 have seen their fair share of the Yankees and the Mantle/Maris duo. In 18 replay meetings, the Yankees go 12-6 (including 5-0 in the last 5). Offensively, the Yankees put up 99 runs, and hit 30 homers. The individual Yankee homerun totals vs the Twins: Maris – 7, Mantle – 6, Howard – 5, Skowron – 5, Berra – 3, Blanchard – 2, Boyer – 1, Cerv – 1.
TWINS Stats thru end of August (click on link to read):
The “replay” Twins would enter July of their first campaign in Minnesota, riding 10 games above their actual W-L record thru the end of June, with 39 wins and 35 losses in the replay, compared to 29 wins and 45 losses in real-life.
July for the real-life Twins was their best month of the season as they went 16-11 in actual play (in April they were 9-6 in actual play). For the replay Twins, this July would come within 1 game of their actual performance, going 15-12. As of end of the day, July 31, the replay Twins are now standing 9 games above their actual record at 54-47 (45-56 actual).
A quick look at the replay Twins record vs teams in the AL, shows the Twins handling both the Tigers and Orioles with surprising success. But the Twins still find themselves in the bottom half of the standings, winning pct wise. My only guess as to why the Twins have been able to pen the Tigers thus far, in using the actual lineups, the Tigers in ’61 did not always have their strongest going against the Twins.
The Twins still have 6 remaining vs each the Tigers and Orioles, so I expect the Twins fortunes may change vs those 2 clubs.
The biggest replay surprise story for this 1961 Twins team thus far, would have to be the pitching of Jack Kralick (BYZ). Kralick thru the end of July, is riding a 16-4 record. In 22 starts, he has 175-1/3 IP, 9 CG, a 2.05 ERA and just 10 round-trippers allowed.
Camilo Pascual (BX) has an 11-8 record with a 3.67 ERA and Pedro Ramos (CYZ), who lost 20 in real-life ’61, is also 11-8 with a 3.20 ERA. Jim Kaat (CY) has not faired as well, currently with a 6-10 record and a 4.80 ERA. These 4 starters account for 82 of the Twins 101 starts thus far.
Offensively, the Twins are currently slugging and scoring at a better rate (29 more runs) than they did in real-life ’61, through 101 games. They have hit 138 homers in 101 games played. In real-life, they hit 167 homers in 161 games. The Twins are slugging at a rate of .421 compared to .397 actual (full season). They have scored 489 runs compared to 460 through 101 games. Harmon Killebrew leads the club with 33 homers (he had 32 at the same point in real-life). The Twins team batting average (.241) is actually worse off through 101 games, compared to their actual full season BA (.250).
Defensively, the Twins have a .978 fielding pct, compared to their full-season actual .971 pct.
The net result of strong pitching, where through 101 games, a team ERA of 4.00 compared to their actual 4.28 ERA (full season), along with the stronger fielding, means the Twins have given up far fewer runs, 66. The Twins have allowed 443 runs through their 101 replay games, vs 509 actual runs allowed.
A quick look at the high-lights and low-lights in the July replay …
The Twins open July with a loss to the Athletics, who have compiled a 6-5 record over the Twins, thus far.
After taking 2 of 3 from the White Sox, the Twins are swept by the Angels in a 2-game series, July 5-6.
The Twins lose their 3rd straight, on July 7th, but then go on to win 6 straight, before finally losing again, in the 2nd game of a July 16th double-header with the Indians.
The 6th straight win, in the 1st game of the July 16th double-header at Cleveland, was a 16-15 slugfest win over the Indians. The Twins led 16-3 heading into the bottom of the 7th, when they gave up 10 runs, making the score 16-13, before giving up 2 more runs in the bottom of the 9th. One of the craziest games I have rolled in my long 40 year history of rolling APBA Baseball games.
July 19th, 1st game of double-header vs the LA Angels, Camilo Pascual (BX) ties the ’61 Twins single-game high for strike-outs, with 11 (Kralick also K’d 11 on June 2nd).
July 21-23, Twins are swept 3-straight by Cleveland.
The Twins close out July by taking 2 of 3 vs the mighty Tigers (Twins swept the series in real-life), ending July with a 7-4 loss.
The month of July:
(click on game scores below for either the REPLAY boxscore or the ACTUAL boxscore)
Series #27: Twins at Athletics, June 30, July 1, 2
Bill Tuttle hits his 2nd and 3rd Twins homers in games # 78 and #79 vs Chicago, as the Twins win 7-6 and 4-2, with Tuttle going 4 for 11 in the series.
Harmon Killebrew continues to haunt the new Senators, hitting a 6th inning solo HR (his 27th of the season) to break a 0-0 tie, in the Twins 1-0 win in game #83 at Griffith Stadium. The Twins head into the All-Star Break with a 44-40 record.
Veteran player and utility man, Ted Lepcio, acquired earlier in the summer from the Phillies by the Minnesota Twins (Twins manager, Sam Mele, and Ted were former teammates with the Red Sox), makes his presence known with his 2nd Twins homer, a 3-run blast propelling the Twins to a win over the Indians in game #85.
Earl Battey (1-5-6 power) continues to launch baseballs over the fence at a pace much greater than his actual 1961 pace. In the 2-game sweep of the Tigers, Battey hit his 18th and 19th homers of the season replay (he hit 17 homers in all of ’61 in real-life). He is 2nd on the team in homers (Killebrew has 28) and leads the team in batting average at a .336 clip (.302 in actual 1961).
It was difficult to “highlight” one player from this crazy 2-game set between the Twins and Indians. In game 1 of the July 16th double-header, the Twins were cruising with a 16-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. The Tribe put up 10 runs in the bottom of the 7th, highlighted by a Johnny Romano grandslam (his 2nd homer of the game). Cleveland would score 2 more in the bottom of the 9th, falling a run short, losing 16-15. The Indians avoid the double-header sweep, winning the 2nd game, 9-5.
Zoilo Versalles (early in his career, he was referred to as Zorro, from the late 1950’s TV series, “Zorro”, against his wishes) return to the Twins lineup as lead-off man, was welcomed with Zoilo going 5 for 10 in the first 2 games of the series vs Washington, and finished the series going 5 for 14.
Game #2 of the series and Game #100 of the season, Jim Kaat (coming into the game with a 5-10 record) twirls a CG shut-out of the heavy-hitting Detroit Tigers, winning 3-0.
TWINS Stats thru end of July (click on link to read):
1969 NFL Championship game, played at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN
With SuperBowl LII just 2+ weeks away, and the Minnesota Vikings, still 1 elusive game away from becoming the 1st NFL team to play the SuperBowl on their home turf, it made me think back to when they had the NFL Championship game, when there were still 2 leagues, the NFL and the AFL.
The last “NFL Championship Game” would be held for the 1969 NFL season (with the winner advancing to SuperBowl IV, to play the AFL Champion). The Vikings finished the 1969 season 12-2, and even though the record was good enough to earn them home field for a potential NFL championship game, home field was already predetermined by what division and conference (East or West) you were in, as it alternated each year. Luckily for the Minnesota Vikings in 1969, it would be their home game, if they won the NFC Central and they advanced to the Championship game.
The Vikings first defeated the Los Angeles Rams at home, to advance to the NFL Championship game. The Cleveland Browns had defeated the Dallas Cowboys to advance.
On January 4th, 1970, the last “NFL Championship Game” was held, at Metropolitan Stadium, in Bloomington, MN, between the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings would be the last NFL team to play the NFL Championship game at home … will it finally occur again, in SuperBowl LII?
AT 
AT 
AT 
AT 
