1971 Replay News & Notes

***Play started in January, 1997***

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Opening Day, April 5, 1971-

The season started with rapid fire pops of the catcher's mitt as Vida Blue and Don Sutton struck out 15 and 14 batters respectively to lead the A’s and Dodgers to Opening Day wins. In the Presidential Opener, Joe Rudi’s 8th inning RBI single off Dick Bosman scored Bert Campaneris as the A’s won 2-1 at RFK Stadium. (In real life Bosman shut out Oakland). In Houston, solo homers by Dick Allen and Willie Crawford were all the Dodgers needed as they posted a 2-1 victory as well. In the traditional NL opener in Cincinnati, Mike Lum hit 2 homers to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-5 win over Don Gullett and the Reds.

APRIL

• AL East- By the end of April, the Yankees, Orioles, and the surprising Senators are tied for first with the Bosox a half game out and the Tigers out two. Beginning on April 17th, Cleveland loses 16 games in a row and finishes a horrible 2-18 record for the month.

• AL West- The White Sox and Athletics are tied for first at month’s end. On April 30, Chicago’s Wilbur Wood no-hits the Senators for 10 innings. However, Senators’ emergency starter Casey Cox was equal to the task, pitching a perfect game for 7 1/3 innings. The teams battled on, deadlock at zero. Chisox reliever Terry Forster continues the no-hitter through the 11th. Finally in the 12th, the White Sox break the game open with 3 runs. Though disappointed, the crowd at RFK remained to see if the home team could break the no-hit bid. And in the bottom of the 12th, that’s what happened as pinch hitter Larry Biitner singled off Bart Johnson. The Senators go on to lose, get swept by the White Sox forever fading from the AL East race (and eventually straight out of D.C.).

• NL East- On April 10, the Phillies opened their new home,Veterans Stadium, with a 10-3 win over Montreal. In the 3rd inning, 3B Don Money hit a 2 run HR off Expo starter Ernie McAnally for the first home run in the new stadium. (Money accomplished the same feat in reality) By the end of April, the Cardinals are one and a half games up on the Montreal Expos although Montreal has played 9 fewer games than St. Louis. The Pirates start slowly at 9-13 and are in last place 5 games behind. The Bucs’ pitching staff suffer early injuries as veteran starter Nelson Briles misses two weeks with a shoulder injury.

• NL West- San Francisco open the season with a 6 game winning streak, but by month’s end, they lead the rival Dodgers by only a half game. The Atlanta Braves are a surprising 2 games back as the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds finish the month at .500 and 3 and a half games back. The San Diego Padres are the NL’s doormat as they finish lose 12 in a row in April finishing the month 4-17 and 10 games out of first.

MAY

• AL East- On May 8, the Senators, apparently trying to stop a sinking ship, hit the panic button in a baffling trade. Owner Bob Short wants a contender now as the pre-season acquisition of Denny McLain indicated. Washington sends their leading home run hitter at the time (Mike Epstein) and saves leader (Darold Knowles) at the time to Oakland in exchange for 1B Don Mincher, RP Paul Lindblad and C Frank Fernandez.The ship continues to sink. By month’s end, Washington is 7 games under .500 cushioned only by the Indians’ pathetic 9-37 record. By mid-May, the Detroit Tigers climb into first place with a sweep at California then sweeping the Royals at home. However by month’s end, the Orioles were 3 ½ games ahead of the Yankees.Detroit falls to 4 games back. The O’s Pat Dobson and New York’s Mel Stottlemyre lead their teams with 6-1 records. Merv Rettemund leads the AL in batting with a .365 average. Bobby Murcer and Roy White with 34 RBI, each with .331 batting averages, pace Yankee attack. Tigers’ 1B Norm Cash leads the AL in homers with 11 (as he did in real life on May 31, 1971!). Cleveland’s 3B Graig Nettles also has 11 HR’s.

• AL West- Oakland stormed ahead, and by May 31st, they had a 6 game lead over the Chisox and the majors’ best record at 34-16. Vida Blue and Chicago’s Tom Bradley are 8-1. The pre-season favorite California Angels are struggling 9 games out playing .500 ball. Rumors of turmoil in the clubhouse persist, especially concerning OF Alex Johnson. Kansas City is playing decent ball and is led by starters Mike Hedlund (1.84 ERA) and Dick Drago (1.60 ERA). But on May 15th, lefty Bill Butler in an emergency start grabbed the headlines by no-hitting the mighty Athletics 3-0. One week later on May 21st, Chicago’s Wilbur Wood finally gets his no-hitter vs. California 5-0. Wood is tied for baseball's ERA title with Pittsburgh’s Steve Blass each with a microscopic 1.51 ERA.

• NL East- The Cardinals are led by 3B Joe Torre who flirts with .400 in the month of May. Starter Steve Carlton begins with a solid 6-2 record while Bob Gibson is bothered with injuries. On May 19th, the Cubs send infielder Garry Jestadt to San Diego in exchange for catcher Chris Cannizaro. Cannizaro, filling in for the injured Randy Hundley, pays immediate dividends in a series at Busch Stadium. On May 25th, Cannizaro and Ferguson Jenkins hit back to back homers in the 10th inning off Bob Gibson to give the Cubs a brief lead in the NL East. However a week later, the Cards pulled a half game ahead of the Cubs. Pittsburgh kept pace with the Cardinals, but still remain 5 games back. Montreal collapses in May to the NL East basement 12 ½ games off the pace.

• NL West- As hot as the Giants were in April, they were equally as cold in May. Faced with a key homestand in early May, the Giants were swept by the Reds and Dodgers. They left for an extended road trip which included an embarrassing 19-3 thumping by the Cubs. The trip concluded in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers shut the Giants out for the entire 3 game series! San Francisco was 6 ½ games out and a game under .500. By May 31st, the Dodgers, led by the torrid bats of Willie Davis, Willie Crawford, and Dick Allen, had a 4 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. Al Downing led the Dodger staff with a 6-1 record and a sparkling 1.77 ERA. But it's the Braves (.288 team BA) who can boast of the hottest offense in the NL. RF Hank Aaron (.394; 14 HR’s; 38 RBI) mounts a Triple Crown bid, and single-handedly carries the Braves beyond their weak pitching staff and off-field troubles. Veteran 3B Clete Boyer is released by Atlanta after openly critizing Manager Lum Harris. Rookie Earl Williams and Darrell Evans step in to fill the void. Houston’s Jack Billingham is the major’s hottest pitcher and finishes May with a 9-1 record. Cincinnati pulls off the heist of the year by trading IF Frank Duffy to San Francisco for OF George Foster. Foster is inserted in the OF slot vacated by Bobby Tolan's season ending achilles injury.

JUNE

• AL East- Washington’s miseries continued into June. From June 2nd to the 11th, the Senators put together an incredible streak of 67 scoreless innings! Finally, Del Unser broke the streak in the first inning of the next game with a RBI single off Angels’ starter Andy Hassler scoring Elliott Maddox. The Senators win the game 6-3 thus ending a 10 game losing steak. The Orioles continue to dominate the division and take a 7 game lead over Detroit by the end of June.

• AL West- The Oakland A’s are the best team in the majors. They continue to play .700 ball and boast of a 53-22 record. Vida Blue is dominating. He is 14-1 with a 2.09 ERA with 152 K in 146 2/3 IP heading toward the All-Star game in Detroit. Reggie Jackson leads the AL with 17 HR’s and Catfish Hunter is 12-5 with a 2.68 ERA. Oakland has a commanding 12 game lead over the Royals and Angels. The White Sox are a distant 13 games back.

• NL East- On June 23rd, Phillies starter Rick Wise pitched a no-hitter vs. Reds in real life, and he also hit 2 homers in that game. In this replay, Wise duplicates his 2 home run feat, but fails in the no-hit bid. Wise pitches an incredible 16 innings, but the Reds outlast the Phils in 18 innings 5-4. At month’s end, the New York Mets are the team on top of the NL East leading the Pirates by 3 games. Their trademark strong starting pitching and hitting of Cleon Jones (.355 with 48 RBI) and Ed Kranepool (.338 with 50 RBI) lead the ’69 champs. Tom "Terrific" Seaver (12-1;1.28 ERA) and Gary Gentry (10-4; 2.28 ERA) carry the Mets. Seaver leads the majors in strikeouts with 154 in only 134 IP. Pittsburgh slowly, but surely is climbing into contention. Steve Blass continues to amaze, lowering his ERA to 1.08 with a 10-3 record. Manny Sanguillen (.374) and Roberto Clemente (.370) are numbers 2 and 3 in the NL batting race behind Atlanta’s Ralph Garr (.376).

• NL West- The Giants roller coaster ride through the NL West peaked again by the end of June. San Francisco lead the ’70 NL champion Reds and the West by 2 ½ games. Gaylord Perry is the Giants’ ace with a 12-5 record with a 1.47 ERA. The Dodgers fade to 5 ½ back. Though the Braves have faded 8 games back from the race, Hank Aaron continues to make the headlines with a remarkable (.361; 29 HR’s and 78 RBI) Triple Crown pace. Talk begins of whether Hammerin’ Hank can catch the great Babe Ruth as baseball’s all-time home run king. Only time will tell. The Reds continue to stay in the race despite a poor season from C Johnny Bench who hit currently hitting in the .240's. 3B Tony Perez and 1B Lee May are more than making up for Bench's slump with 20+ HR's apiece.
  

JULY

• AL EAST- Baltimore continues to lead as the Red Sox and Tigers follow. Boston was the hottest team in the division during July sneaking to within 7 1/2 games of the Orioles. 3B Rico Petrocelli leads AL in RBI with 83 RBI while OF Carl Yazstremski overcame a slow start to also contribute (66 RBI) to the Bosox attack. Detroit also ended July 7 1/2 games off the O's pace. Pitchers Joe Coleman (15-8; 2.26 ERA) and Mickey Lolich (14-5; 2.64 ERA) are the workhorses of a staff ninth in the AL in pitching with a team ERA of 4.04.

• AL WEST- Oh, what a difference a year makes! Defending division champion, Minnesota Twins, find themselves in fourth place in the 5 team division, and the overwhelming pre-season favorite, California Angels, are floundering amid clubhouse turmoil and injuries. First, the 1970 West champion Twins are 8 games under .500 and a distant 19 1/2 games off the torrid pace set by the A's. P Jim Perry is struggling through a difficult season at 9-12 after winning over 20 games in each of the past two years. Tony Oliva started slowly, but has his average up to .310 by the end of July. Pitching has been disappointing, especially Ron Perranoski who saved 34 games in 1970. He posted only 5 saves for the Twins this year before being released at the end of July.
  
  Meanwhile, the Angels were pronounced as favorites in the West in the pre-season, but may as well be pronounced dead on arrival. Supposedly led by an All-Star outfield, the Angels are hitting an inept .220 as a team. Defending AL batting champion, Alex Johnson, was at the center of the controversy for California. Johnson (.246; 2HR and 18 RBI) was suspended by the Angels for lack of hustle. With his batting average sliding and clubhouse tension near a breaking point, Johnson accused teammate Chico Ruiz of pulling a gun and threatening him. Perhaps as a true reflection of the current state of affairs, Johnson once stated, "I would rather play in Hell than in the Angel outfield." Injuries have also paid their toll. OF Tony Conigliaro, signed by California during the off-season amid great expectations (36 HR and 116 RBI for Boston in 1970), abruptly retired in July. Conigliaro (.194; 5 HR and 23 RBI) claimed he still suffered eye damage from a 1967 beaning incident while he was with the Red Sox. Tony C. would likely not be missed by his Angel teammates. While spending four days in the hospital earlier in the year for a pinched nerve, none of his teammates visited him. "He just wasn't the most popular guy on the club," remarked one Angel player. Another off-season acquistion from Cincinnati, often-injured pitcher Jim Maloney predicted 20 wins for himself in 1971, but instead he's lost considerable time (only 16 IP so far) with a torn ribcage muscle.
  
• NL EAST- The Pirates surged ahead of the Mets at the All-Star Break. However after the break, it became a 3 team race as the Cardinals climbed back into contention. The Cards' chances were dealt a blow on July 21st as 2B Julian Javier and OF Luis Melendez were both injured in a collision during a 12 inning loss to Philadelphia. On July 7th, Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas tosses a PERFECT GAME vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium! A Billy Williams' RBI single and a RBI fielders' choice off the bat of Joe Pepitone in the first inning was all Pappas needed in the 2-0 victory. Pappas (6-10) has been suffering through a disappointing season, but hopes the perfect game is a turning point. (Pappas loses his next start 5-0 to Montreal on July 18th.) Click here to see the boxscore of the no-hitter.
  
• NL WEST- San Francisco increased its lead in the West over the fading Reds. Willie McCovey missed the week before the All-Star break with an injury, but the Giants kept right in stride. OF Bobby Bonds provided a huge boost with incredible hitting performances for the month, beginning with an 18 game hitting streak starting on June 25th and concluding with three 2 HR games on July 18th, 21st and 22nd. Braves' OF Henry Aaron continues his torrid pace as the Braves sink in the standings. At month's end, Aaron had hit 42 HR with 104 RBI. He set a NL record with his 11th 100+ RBI season. Aaron is on pace to hit 62 HR and 153 RBI for the year.
  
  AUGUST
• AL EAST- The Orioles took off from the rest of the AL East pack in August. An eleven game win streak in the middle of the month helped distance the O's from the Tigers by 10 games at month's end. Boston fell to third place, 17 games behind Baltimore. Cleveland began to right their ship with one of the better Augusts in the majors (18-12), but still was 2 games off Baltimore's pace (18-8 in August). Two Tiger pitchers joined Vida Blue as 20 game winners this year. Mickey Lolich won his 20th on August 25 vs. Minnesota, and six days later, Joe Coleman joined the club with a 9-2 victory over the Tribe.
  
  
• AL WEST- On August 20, Vida Blue adds to what has already been an unbelievable season. Blue wins his 22nd game against only 3 losses in spectacular fashion with a 9-0 no-hitter vs. the Red Sox. Blue gets his revenge against Boston who had beaten him 1-0 last week. Blue struck out 11 batters while walking only 2. Oakland C Dave Duncan and 2B Dick Green supplied all of the offense with a 3 run and 2 run homers, respectively. With Oakland grabbing the early lead, the only mystery was if Blue could pitch his second career no-hitter in as many seasons. Click here to see the boxscore of Vida's no-hitter. Oakland improved its lead over the Royals by 2 games to lead by 11 1/2 games by month's end.
  
  On August 16, Minnesota's Harmon Killebrew hit career home run number 500 off Cleveland hurler Ray Lamb. The home run though meaningful for Killebrew was meaningless for the slumping Twins, a 9th inning solo shot in a 4-2 loss.
  
  
• NL EAST- Pittsburgh finally rose to the top of the NL East. On August 22, the Pirates edged ahead of the Mets and Cardinals by 1/2 game for the first time since the All-Star break. The Bucs improved themselves at the expense of the NL West. Pittsburgh won 12 of 15 vs. Western opponents in August. Willie Stargell was the big hero for the Bucs. In 4 games in Atlanta, Stargell hit 3 homers and drove in 10 runs. Though Bucs' manager Danny Murtaugh insists his team is a hitting team (tied for first with Atlanta for team NL lead in HR's with 137), Pittsburgh is winning with solid pitching (first in NL in team ERA with 2.92). The NL East still remains as the only pennant race in baseball. Four teams (Pirates, Mets, Cubs, and Cardinals) are within five games of one another at month's end. The cellar dwellars also make some headlines as Montreal's 2B Ron Hunt set a major league record for most hit-by-pitches with 31 plunks. Los Angeles pitcher Don Sutton served up the honor on August 23, a high fastball that hit Hunt's shoulder. (In reality, Hunt shattered the record being hit a total of 50 times in 1971)
  
  
• NL WEST- Willie McCovey is injured for San Francisco, but the Giants hang onto a 9 game lead over the Dodgers by month's end. Los Angeles climb past Cincinnati into second place. Though the Giants are missing some of their offensive pieces, pitcher Juan Marichal (16-6; 2.55 ERA) is getting the job done. On August 24, Marichal hit a game tying HR off Mets' Ray Sadecki in a 6-4 Giant win. In his next start, Marichal tossed a one-hitter against Philadelphia in an 11-0 skunk.
  Although his team has dropped 20 games off the pace, Atlanta Brave Henry Aaron is getting all of the press with one of his finest seasons of a Hall-of-Fame career. Aaron began a chase at Roger Maris's 10 year old record of most homers in a season. On August 31, Hammerin' Hank turned a spitter from San Francisco's Gaylord Perry around and over the left field wall for home run number 51. At month's end, Aaron continues a triple crown pace to lead not only the National League, but all of baseball, in average (third with .355), homers (first with 51), and RBI (first with 118).
  
  SEPTEMBER
• AL EAST - With the Baltimore Orioles in clear control of the division, the big news involved the lineup in the division for 1972. On September 21, baseball ended its 71 year association with the nation's capital when the AL owners by a vote of 10-2 approved the transfer of the Washington Senators to the Dallas-Ft.Worth, Tex. area. The Senators win their last game by defeating the New York Yankees 7-2 before a home crowd of 14,460 fans. Del Unser provided the fireworks with a two run HR to give Washington a lead they would not relinquish. Reliever Paul Lindblad retired Felipe Alou on a fielder's choice grounder to second for the final out recorded by the Senators.
  
  On September 17th, Boston's Ray Culp tosses the season's 7th no-hitter against the Senators. Culp joins teammate Sonny Siebert with a no-no each this year. Detroit had a pair of 20 game winners in Mickey Lolich (26-10) and Joe Coleman (24-6). Coleman, obtained from Washington in the Denny McLain trade, was a pleasant surprise for Motown. Meanwhile, Baltimore enjoyed three 20 game winners in Jim Palmer (21-7), Pat Dobson (21-9), and Mike Cuellar (21-11). The other O's starter, Dave McNally, had been a previous 20 game winner but finished 1971 with a fine 16-6 mark.
  
  
• AL WEST - The Oakland A's win the division leaving the rest of the division in the dust, but the defending West champion Minnesota Twins finally put it together at the end of the year. Minnesota finished as one of the hot teams in the AL. The Twins beat Oakland in 6 of the final 7 games against the eventual champs. A 9 game winning streak lifts the Twins to a third place finish with a .500 record after languishing in fifth place for most of the year. 20 year old starter Bert Blyleven was big surprise for the club, finishing the year 23-9 with a 2.31 ERA...The Alex Johnson saga concludes on September 28th as arbitrator Lewis Gill rules that Johnson was "emotionally incapacitated" during the events leading to his June suspension. Gill ruled that Johnson should be treated the same as a physically disabled player. Johnson wins nearly $30,000 in back salary from the Angels.
  
  
• NL EAST- On August 30th, a clubhouse disturbance between Cubs manager Leo Durocher and 3B Ron Santo apparently sets a fire under the Chicago team. As a result of the incident, 1B Joe Pepitone is benched, and the Cubs win 20 of 28 games in September. Chicago climbs to within three games of the Pirates with only a week left in the season, but ultimately fall back to end the year with another second place finish four games back. On September 28th, the Pirates are the last team to clinch their division with a 3-1 victory over Rick Wise and the Phillies.
  
  
• NL WEST - The Giants eventually hold out to win the division on September 24, but not without a scare from the rival Dodgers. In mid-September, the Dodgers swept the Giants at home to cut the lead to 3 1/2 games. However, the Giants behind Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry won 2 of 3 at Candlestick to extend the lead to 4 1/2...On September 21, Tom Kelley returned from the disabled list to make one final start for the season. Kelley made it a beauty with a 6-0 no-hitter vs. the Padres. The no-hitter was the first for the Braves since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966.
  
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