SPBI 1969 Newsletter

SPBI 1969 Newsletter

1969 Rookie Draft

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

<= o:p>

G= etting 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 assig= nment changed since the last time I checked online earlier that morning. Obliviou= s 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 tipp= ed them off!

<= o:p>

O= nce 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 anot= her great tradition; the SPB pre-draft breakfast. You can’t beat what see= med like an 8-egg omelet and 4 huge pancakes!

<= o:p>

T= hen 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!

<= o:p>

A= fter 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 n= ot sure what he meant!

<= o:p>

L= ater that afternoon, we all headed out to U.S. Cellular Field to see the White S= ox 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 “st= reet 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 ho= ld 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 g= ame, 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 break= fast 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 2^nd with 13 trades each. “Trader” Mike traded 41 players and receiv= ed 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 lugga= ge? You only use it when you travel!" * Huh?

= &nb= sp; = &= nbsp; # Players/Draft # Players/Draft<= /b>

Team    &n= bsp;              # Trades      Picks Traded      &= nbsp;     Picks received

Thunder   = ;            &n= bsp;                &= nbsp;   15        &= nbsp;            41        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            30

Eagles            =             &nb= sp; 13        &= nbsp;            29        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            23

Cubs   &n= bsp;            = ;             <= /span>13        &= nbsp;            23        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            21

Robustos  &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;       8       =             &nb= sp; 13        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            28

Forest Cities  = ;           &= nbsp;   6&n= bsp;            = ;        14        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            13

Tarantulas            =          6       =             &nb= sp; 11        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            11

Triangles  &nb= sp;            =         5       =             &nb= sp; 8       =             &nb= sp;            = 6

Rats   &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp; 5       =             &nb= sp; 6       =             &nb= sp;            = 6

Electric Eels  = ;            &n= bsp;    5       =             &nb= sp; 7       =             &nb= sp;            = 6

Mountaineers  =             &nb= sp; 4       =             &nb= sp; 10        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            12         =

Legends   = ;            &n= bsp;                &= nbsp;   3       =             &nb= sp; 8       =             &nb= sp;            = 8

Tigers   =             &nb= sp;           3       =             &nb= sp; 7       =             &nb= sp;            = 9

Grays   &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            3       =             &nb= sp; 4       =             &nb= sp;            = 4

Smokies      = ;            &n= bsp;     3&n= bsp;            = ;        4       =             &nb= sp;            = 3

Stars   &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = 2       =             &nb= sp; 5       =             &nb= sp;            = 3

Spiders            =         &= nbsp;   2       =             &nb= sp; 3       =             &nb= sp;            = 4

Ravines   = ;                  &= nbsp;   2       =             &nb= sp; 2       =             &nb= sp;            = 4

Black Sox  &nb= sp;            =        2       =             &nb= sp; 2       =             &nb= sp;            = 3

Tourists  &nbs= p;                  &= nbsp;   2       =             &nb= sp; 2       =             &nb= sp;            = 3

Pelicans  &nbs= p;                  &= nbsp;   2       =             &nb= sp; 2       =             &nb= sp;            = 2

Monarchs            =            1       =             &nb= sp; 1       =             &nb= sp;            = 2

Saxons   =                    &= nbsp;   1       =             &nb= sp; 1       =             &nb= sp;            = 1

* Yogi-ism

=

1969 Predictions

I will make a play at predicting the 1= 969 season. No offense to John Ungashick. I only hope to make this as interesti= ng and accurate as his predictions have been in SPBII.

This season marks the first time the M= ajor 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 te= ams will lead their respective divisions in both hitting and pitching, and, wel= l, that’s all she wrote!

The National League is a different sto= ry. 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 Smok= ies. The three teams from the West are the Hollywood Stars, the Las Vegas Tarantula= s 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 4= 0 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= , 4^th Place American League

1969 Prediction: 98-64

Flushing Rats, Joe DeZarlo<= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;mso-fareast-font-family:"MS M= incho"'>. 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= , 1^st 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 Kenn= ey, Patek and Millan will get their share of stolen bases, although they may ha= ve 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 w= ill 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= , 5^th 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. Carde= nal 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= , 5^th 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 rotat= ion 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<= /b>. Harrelson, Cash, Blair and Hickman could all hit 20-25 home runs, with 6 ot= her 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= , 3^rd Place American League

1969 Prediction: 101-61

Rossville Cubs, Rick Ryan. Howard could hit 50 home runs and le= ad 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 Cub= s 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 5^th starter. Timmermann, Lasher and Locker will perform well in relief, but the rest of the bullpen will be a little s= haky.

1968 Record: 74-88= , 7^th 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, wit= h 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= , 7^th Place National League

1969 Prediction: 79-83

Wabash Ravines, Bill Lanke (Terre Ha= ute 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= , 2^nd 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 5^th 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.<= o:p>

1968 Record: 73-89= , 8^th 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 t= he #5 starter will be one of 3 or 4 other guys. Miller, Hamilton and McMahon will shine in the bullpen.

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

1969 Pre= diction: 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: 52-11= 0, 9^th Place American League

1969 Prediction: 77-85

Tennessee Smokies, Wade Mitchell (Macin= aw Straights). The Smokies (Straights in 1968) finished a close second to the Rats last ye= ar, 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= , 2^nd 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 Do= yle, a devastating righty-lefty tag team. The rest of the bullpen, however, is a collection of “bonus” pitchers. The more complete games the Bla= ck Sox get, the better their record will be.

1968 Record: 87-75= , 3^rd 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 w= ill 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 an= d 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<= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;mso-fareast-font-family:"MS M= incho"'>. 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 no= t a lot of power, with Smith the only player over 20 home runs. There’s s= ome 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 m= ay be the best #5 starter in the league. Knowles, Singer and Ron Taylor lead a deep, solid bullpen.

1968 Record: 96-66= , 1^st 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= , 9^th Place National League

1969 Prediction: 96-66

Rockford F= orest 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 Tarantul= as? 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= , 4^th Place National League

1969 Prediction: 93-69

Las Vegas Thunder, Mike See<= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;mso-fareast-font-family:"MS M= incho"'>. Jackson= could hit 50 home runs. Scott and Stanley might get 20 each. Clarke could steal 3= 5-40 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 a= re a force to reckon with.

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

1969 Prediction: 80-82

Cooperstown Legends, Jerry Cada (Lafayette= Blue Sox). Robinson and Sims could hit 20-25 ho= me runs each. Uhlaender and Stroud could get 15 steals each. The top three guy= s 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 Fis= cher 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= , 8^th 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 stea= ls). 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