SPBI 1969 Newsletter

1969 Rookie Draft

The 1969 rookie
draft was held in Arlington,
Illinois on Sat. May 5th.
In attendance were Gary Plunkitt, host John Ungashick, Mike See, John Turnbull,
Terry Baxter, Dave Lauer, Lynn Miller and I (Joe DeZarlo). John T brought his
wife Dorothy and step son Nick, and I brought my son Matt.

Getting
to the draft was an adventure for Matt and I. Sitting in Newark airport, waiting for our flight to
board, I was unaware that we were waiting at the wrong gate. The gate assignment
changed since the last time I checked online earlier that morning. Oblivious to
the fact that no one was waiting at our gate 45 minutes before the flight, I
decided to check the departure board about 15 minutes later. I realized our
mistake, and we both scrambled to the adjacent gate. The ticket agents knew who
we were before we showed our boarding passes. I guess the running part tipped
them off!

Once
everyone settled in at the Holiday Inn Express, we gathered together to head
out for the traditional SPB pre-draft dinner. German food and beer was the
majority choice, a very good choice! The usual pre-draft banter took place, and
a few trade discussions were kicked off. The next morning started with another
great tradition; the SPB pre-draft breakfast. You can’t beat what seemed
like an 8-egg omelet and 4 huge pancakes!

Then we
headed to draft central. The draft went smoothly as usual. There were a few
draft-day trades, which are always more fun when you’re face to face!
Dave has his sound affects machine going to add a little levity to the
proceedings. As the draft was winding down, Gino’s pizza hit the spot. We
asked Dave how many slices we should cut Gino’s into. Dave replied
"You better make it four, 'cause I don't think I could eat eight." * OK Dave, save some for Lynn!

After the
draft, Gary and John T played the 1978 World Series. John
T was playing for John Cusack. Winning manager Gary described his strategy:
"Ninety percent of this game is mental, and the other half is
physical." * I’m still not
sure what he meant!

Later
that afternoon, we all headed out to U.S. Cellular Field to see the White Sox
play the Royals. We took the subway. I was surprised to see it was just as
dirty and smelly as the NYC subway. There was even the obligatory “street
person”, holding a conversation with himself and all. The one thing I
found strange was that there are no overhead bars throughout the cars to hold
onto. The only bars are near the doors, which forces everyone to huddle by the
doors. Anyway, the Sox beat the Royals 9-2. Vazquez had a perfect game going
until the 6th! Terry went unscathed.

After the game,
most of us invaded the Dunkin Donuts next to the hotel. We all had coupons for
a free cup of coffee from our ticket stubs. The poor girl at the counter was
overwhelmed… she left people at the drive through for over 10 minutes to
take care of us!

After breakfast
the next morning, everyone gathered their belongings, checked out of the
Holiday Inn Express felling smarter for some odd reason, and headed home.

1969
Trades

There were a total of 53 trades made in
preparation for the 1969 season (the 3-team trade is counted as one trade).
With 15 trades, Mike See’s Thunder led all teams. However, Dave
Lauer’s Eagles and Rick Ryan’s Cubs were a close 2nd
with 13 trades each. “Trader” Mike traded 41 players and received
30. Mike, are there any players left on your squad from 1968? Mike offered this
pearl of wisdom to one of his many traded players: "Why buy good luggage?
You only use it when you travel!" * Huh?

# Players/Draft           # Players/Draft

Team                   # Trades        Picks Traded            Picks
received

Thunder                                    15                     41                                 30

Eagles                           13                     29                                 23

Cubs                             13                     23                                 21

Robustos
8                     13                                 28

Forest Cities
6                     14                                 13

Tarantulas
6                     11                                 11

Triangles
5
8
6

Rats
5
6
6

Electric Eels
5
7
6

Mountaineers
4                     10                                 12

Legends
3
8
8

Tigers
3
7
9

Grays
3
4
4

Smokies                         3
4
3

Stars
2
5
3

Spiders
2
3
4

Ravines
2
2
4

Black Sox
2
2
3

Tourists
2
2
3

Pelicans
2
2
2

Monarchs
1
1
2

Saxons
1
1
1

* Yogi-ism

1969
Predictions

I will make a play at predicting the 1969
season. No offense to John Ungashick. I only hope to make this as interesting
and accurate as his predictions have been in SPBII.

This season marks the first time the Major
Leagues split into two divisions in each league, so SPB did the same, along
with some team realignment.

The American League features two teams
that stand above the rest and should win their respective divisions; the Lincoln Grays in the East and the Frankfort Tigers in the West. These two teams
will lead their respective divisions in both hitting and pitching, and, well,
that’s all she wrote!

The National League is a different story.
No less than three teams from each division will battle for first place all
year. The three teams from the East are the Asheville Tourists, the Cleveland
Spiders and the Tennessee Smokies.
The three teams from the West are the Hollywood
Stars, the Las Vegas Tarantulas
and the Rockford Forest Citys.

Here is a detailed report (* indicates
expansion team, 1968 team name in parenthesis if different):

<<<<<<<<<<
American League East >>>>>>>>>>

Lincoln Grays, Paul Kenyon.
Aaron and Killebrew can hit 40 home
runs each and will challenge for the league lead. Tovar, Andrews, Northrup,
Reese and Cardenas will get on base and score a lot. The Grays have a solid 5-man
starting rotation of Messersmith, Lemaster, Odom, Maloney and McCormick. The
bullpen is deep, but not too effective, which could be the Achilles Heel of the
Grays.

1968 Record: 84-78, 4th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 98-64

Flushing Rats, Joe DeZarlo.
The Rats won the American League Pennant in 1968, and lost the World Series to
the Stars. Perez and Yastrzemski could hit 35-40 home runs. Campaneris and
Brock could steal 50 bases each. As a whole the Rats don’t do a good job
getting on base. Perry, Dobson and Culp are a decent front 3. Hall, Bolin,
Krausse and Lonborg will split time between the #4 and #5 spots, as well as
relief. Mikkelsen and Hall (when he isn’t starting) are the standouts in
an otherwise shaky bullpen.

1968 Record: 99-65, 1st Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 86-76

Schaumburg Saxons, Tim Johnson.
Oliva and Horton will provide the power with 25-30 home runs each, and Kenney,
Patek and Millan will get their share of stolen bases, although they may have
trouble getting on base consistently. Niekro and Wise are strong starters, but
there are some holes in the remainder of the rotation. Downing and Stange will
be affective, but in limited roles as a spot starters. Upshaw is a solid
closer, and Higgins and Stange should do well as setup men.

1968 Record: 81-81, 5th Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 78-84

Pocono
Pumas, Jim Wheeler (Pocono Pelicans). Carty and Carew will
get on base, and Horton will drive them home with about 30 home runs. Cardenal
should get 35-40 steals, with Carew getting about 20. Perry and Briles are legitimate
1 and 2 starters, with a collection of about 5 decent arms rounding out the
starting rotation. Murphy and Marone could excel as closers, but only in a
limited role.

1968 Record: 77-85, 5th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 77-85

Blue
Ridge
Mountaineers*, Steve Brunner. Harper will get on
base enough to steal 70 bases. Davis
should add 25 or 30 steals. Brown and Laboy will lead the team with about 20
home runs each. Pitching will be a problem. After Drago, the starting rotation
is not too reliable, although Stoneman, Brabender and Wegener will shine at times.
Aker, Hedlund, Sembera and Fischer will be solid in relief, but they may not
have enough appearances to carry the rest of the bullpen.

1969
Prediction: 58-104

<<<<<<<<<<
American League West >>>>>>>>>>

Frankfort Tigers, Gary Plunkitt.
Harrelson, Cash, Blair and Hickman could all hit 20-25 home runs, with 6 other
guys who should reach double digits. Buford gets on base a ton, and he,
Harrelson and Blair will get 20-25 steals each. A good combination of power and
speed with a deep bench spell success. Hands, Wilson and Gentry are a solid
1-3. Moose, Washburn and Gellnar will fill the #4 and #5 slots effectively.
O’Donoghue and Regan could form a good righty-lefty combo as closers, but
O’Donoghue could also keep the job for himself.

1968 Record: 94-68, 3rd Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 101-61

Rossville
Cubs, Rick Ryan. Howard could hit 50 home runs and lead
the league. Pepitone and Santo will get about 30 home runs each. Davis and
Aparicio will get on base and steal about 25 bases each, with Taylor getting about 20 steals. The Cubs have
one of the deepest benches of both leagues, and that could mean a few extra
wins. Kaat, Bosman, Palmer and Cardwell form a good rotation, but Ellsworth
might struggle as the 5th starter. Timmermann, Lasher and Locker
will perform well in relief, but the rest of the bullpen will be a little shaky.

1968 Record: 74-88, 7th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 88-74

Habana
Robustos*, Marc Robinson. The Robustos have a plethora of
players, and will surprise some of us as a decent expansion team right from the
start. Of course, Marc may not put the same lineup out all season! Mincher and
Hisle will provide some power. Wills, Kelly and Foy could all steal 40-45
bases. Bunker and Nelson are a very good front two starters. Selma, Robertson and Kelly will be good as
the 3-5 starters, but may struggle at times. The bullpen will struggle, with Waslewski
the best of the bunch, if he isn’t pressed into duty in the rotation.

1969
Prediction: 80-82

Dayton Triangles, John Turnbull.
Stargell could hit 30-35 home runs, with Williams, Cepeda and Melton around
20-25 home runs each. Not much speed, with Alou getting about 25 steals and
Cepeda 15-20 steals. A strong top 2 of McNally, and Carlton. Bunning, Griffin and Horlen will be very good as #3-5
starters. Lyle is a great closer. DiLauro and Hoerner are great setup men, but
like Lyle are all lefties.

1968 Record: 76-86, 7th Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 79-83

Wabash Ravines, Bill Lanke (Terre Haute
Huts). Powell is the only real home run threat, and should get about
40. Not much speed, with Monday leading the team with 10-15 steals. Dierker and
Seaver are one of the best 1-2 starters in the league. Hannan, Burbach and Siebert
will be decent at the #3-5 starters. Perranoski is a superb closer, with
Leonhard and Grzenda playing pivotal roles as setup men. Wabash
has one of the best pitching staffs, but not enough offense to put them over
the top.

1968 Record: 88-74, 2nd Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 79-83

Elkhart Electric Eels, Lynn Miller.
Not a lot of team power, but Robinson will hit about 35 home runs, and May and
Johnson should get 20. Not much team speed either, with Jackson and Johnson
getting about 10-15 steals each. Peterson is a top notch #1 starter. Fryman is
adequate as a 5th starter, but unfortunately will be the #2 man. The
rest of the rotation will be divided up between 5 or 6 arms. Del Canton and
Romo (when he’s not starting) will anchor an otherwise weak bullpen.

1968 Record: 73-89, 8th Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 66-96

<<<<<<<<<<
National League East >>>>>>>>>>

Asheville Tourists, Rich Applegate.
Bando and Bonds will hit 30-35 home runs each. Bonds has a legitimate shot at a
30-30 season, and should get over 40 steals. Alomar will add about 20-25
steals. McDowell, Jenkins and Reed are a solid 1-2-3. Peters will struggle at #4, and the #5
starter will be one of 3 or 4 other guys. Miller, Hamilton and McMahon will
shine in the bullpen.

1968 Record: 80-82, 6th Place
National League

1969 Prediction:
86-76

Cleveland Spiders, Chris Williams.
Allen will get about 35 home runs, and Torre will add about 20. Overall not a
lot of team power or speed. A solid rotation of Lolich, Jackson, Veale and
Bahnsen. Maybe the best bullpen in the league, lead by Roland and Richert. The
only negative is the abundance of left-handed pitchers.

1968 Record: 52-110, 9th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 77-85

Tennessee Smokies, Wade Mitchell (Macinaw Straights).
The Smokies (Straights in 1968) finished a close second to the Rats last year,
losing the 3-game tie-breaker playoff series. May should hit 40 home runs, with
Tolan and Kaline getting about 20 each. Tolan will also swipe 25-30 bases.
Cuellar and McLain are a fantastic #1 and #2 in the rotation. Sutton, Nagy and
May will round out this solid 5-man rotation. Granger is a workhorse in the
bullpen, but after that the bullpen is weak.

1968 Record: 97-67, 2nd Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 87-75

Evanston Black Sox, John Ungashick.
Conigliaro will hit about 20 home runs. Little teal power and almost no team
speed will cause the Black Sox to be creative when it comes to scoring runs.
Their pitching will definitely keep them close, with Marichal and Koosman as
lights-out starters at #1 and #2. McGlothlin, McAndrew and Phoebus will be
extremely effective as the #3-5 starters. The bullpen showcases Hall and Doyle,
a devastating righty-lefty tag team. The rest of the bullpen, however, is a
collection of “bonus” pitchers. The more complete games the Black
Sox get, the better their record will be.

1968 Record: 87-75, 3rd Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 75-87

Chicago Ravens*, John Cusack.
The Ravens could wind up as the worst hitting team in the league, as they will
struggle to score runs. Colbert will lead the team with about 25 home runs, and
Arcia will lead with 15 steals in a limited role. The only problem is that the
Ravens might also end up as the worst pitching team in the league. Kirby and Butler are decent
starters, and Drabowsky is solid in relief. The good news is the Ravens are an
expansion team, and have plenty of Abs and games pitched to go around.

1969
Prediction: 53-109

<<<<<<<<<<
National League West >>>>>>>>>>

Hollywood Stars, Don Zminda.
Returning National League and World Series Champs. The Start are looking to
defend their championship, and with arguably the best pitching staff to go
along with one of the best hitting teams, they have all the tools to repeat.
However, the Tarantulas and Forest Citys have other ideas. There’s not a
lot of power, with Smith the only player over 20 home runs. There’s some
speed, with White and Jones in line for 20 steals each. However, as a team the
Stars get on base quite often. Gibson and Singer are an imposing 1-2, and
Stottlemyre is a great #3, with Ellis a very respectable #4. Chuck Taylor may
be the best #5 starter in the league. Knowles, Singer and Ron Taylor lead a
deep, solid bullpen.

1968 Record: 96-66, 1st Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 97-65

Las
Vegas
Tarantulas, Marshall Tom (Alma
Rifles). The Tarantulas have a good combination of on-base percentage and
power. McCovey could hit 50 home runs. Agee and Clemente will hit 20-25 home
runs. Comer (20 steals) and Agee (15 steals) are the only real base-running
threats. Osteen and John form a very good 1-2 in the rotation. Moore, Talbot
and Jarvis will provide usable innings as #3-5 starters. As long as Hargan and
Pascual start as little as possible, the rotation will keep the Tarantulas in
the pennant race. Wilhelm and Gibbon lead another deep, solid bullpen.

1968 Record: 71-91, 9th Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 96-66

Rockford Forest Citys, Terry Baxter.
Power, speed, on-base percentage and pitching; Forest City
has it all. But is it enough to grab the pennant from the Stars or Tarantulas?
Petrocelli could hit 40 home runs, with Epstein, Wynn and Murcer all getting
close to 30. Morgan will steal about 50 bases, and Wynn will add about 25,
possibly a 30-30 season. Boswell, Coleman, Holtzman and Tiant are all
workhorses in the starting rotation, and should get 10 complete games each.
Once again, the bullpen is deep and solid. Seems to be a trend with the top
three teams in the NL West.

1968 Record: 83-79, 4th Place
National League

1969
Prediction: 93-69

Las Vegas Thunder, Mike See.
Jackson could
hit 50 home runs. Scott and Stanley might get 20 each. Clarke could steal 35-40
bases. Belanger and Jackson will add 15 steals each. Hunter and Stone are a
solid 1-2, but Stone will split time between the rotation and bullpen.
Santorini, Wilson and Merritt will be respectable in the #3-5 spots. The
bullpen is not as deep as the top three teams, but Tatum, McGraw and Wood are a
force to reckon with.

1968 Record: 76-86, 6th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 80-82

Cooperstown
Legends, Jerry Cada (Lafayette
Blue Sox). Robinson and Sims could hit 20-25 home
runs each. Uhlaender and Stroud could get 15 steals each. The top three guys in
the rotation, Kilkenny, Hardin and Pappas, will all spend some time in the
bullpen. Murphy will be an adequate #4 and spot starter, but Kekich and Fischer
will struggle in the #5 slot. Abernathy leads a fairly deep bullpen, but the
quality drops sharply after him and Fingers.

1968 Record: 72-90, 8th Place
American League

1969
Prediction: 75-87

Kenosha Eagles*, Dave Lauer.
Staub could hit 30 home runs. Sudakis and Oliver could get 15-20 home runs
each. Not a lot of team speed, with Hernandez the only real threat (20 steals).
The Eagles will struggle to get men on base. Niekro and Rooker will provide
decent innings as the #1 and #2 starters. Renko and Sadecki will be adequate
spot starters. Cloniger will be very shaky as the #4 or #5 starter. Plenty of
arms in the bullpen, but Segui is the only standout performer.

1969
Prediction: 59-103