Welcome!This site is to share events,simulated and historical,experienced and learned,during my re-creation of classic baseball seasons. See the links below for previous replays. And the memories are not just for the summertime as I am also replaying the NFL and AFL seasons of the Super Bowl era using Second and Ten Football. The current baseball replays are 1968 and 1920 using Diamond Mind Baseball,and a 1968 AFL and NFL football replay. Enjoy! Baseball for Windows 1946 1947 1948 1969 1971 Diamond Mind Baseball 1920 1965 - 1968 Second And Ten Football 1966 NFL 1966 AFL 1967 NFL 1967 AFL 1968 NFL 1968 AFL |  Philadelphia's Dick Allen,then called Richie,connects for a home run at Connie Mack Stadium. Despite a MVP trophy two replay seasons ago,Allen is not a fan favorite due to his off-field antics,non-conformity,and a perceived lack of respect to managers,namely Gene Mauch. In this era of multi-million player contracts,it is said that it is easier to fire managers instead of players. Outside a player revolt in Cleveland twenty eight years earlier,it appears that very few managers were dismissed due to their treatment of players by 1968. Charlie Finley dismissed Alvin Dark in 1967 in the midst of a player protest,but Finley likely would have fired the whole team if he could have at that moment. But given that players were not empowered in baseball’s early years,I doubt an individual player impacted the status of a major league manager. That is until Richie Allen and Gene Mauch collided in Philadelphia. Allen was Rookie of the Year in 1964,and posted MVP-like numbers in 1966 despite missing time due to injuries. In my replay,Allen was named Most Valuable Player of the National League with a .314 average,41 home runs,and 125 RBI in 142 games. Yet,Allen is no Philadelphia fan favorite. In an interview for Life magazine in 1969,Allen blamed the Phillies and the release of popular veteran Frank Thomas in 1965 after a pre-game fight with Allen. Afterwards,Mauch told Allen that he was looking for a reason to dump Thomas,and Allen said he tried to convince Mauch otherwise. “Frank has seven kids. But Gene told me he’d fine me $1,500 if I told the story. I couldn’t afford that then. Mauch just told the press,‘I had to choose between a 36-year-old and a 23-year-old.’”The next day,the Philadelphia fans let Allen have it for the loss of one of their favorite players. The booing never stopped. In 1967,an off-the-field injury questioned in the media ended his season,and the frustration of Phillie fans with their non-conforming hero continued. It seems as the backlash in the stands grew against Allen;the more brash he became. In the era of the counterculture,this was more conforming behavior than anyone likely realized at the time. My 1968 baseball replay has been updated through Monday,June 17. The trade deadline passed with a couple of minor trades,including the trade of Milt Pappas to the Braves. Another manager besides Mauch is shown the door,but this move is a reflection of poor play on the field. In the National League,the Pirates,despite a subpar start from MVP Roberto Clemente,slip past the Dodgers for second place behind the Cardinals. Bucs’fireman Elroy Face has not allowed a run in 27 innings pitched spanning 17 appearances. In the American League,the Tigers are holding a 2 1/2 game lead over the Indians as the surprising Oakland A’s have slid down the standings.  Professor Roy Hickley could make a radio out of a coconut on Gilligan's Island but he learned some interesting lessons years earlier as William Corrigan in the Twilight Zone. During one summer in my college years,I worked the closing shift at a barbeque restaurant. The store was owned by a high school friend’s father,and I would always be one of the last to leave with my friend. That would put me home around 11 p.m.,in time to either watch a West Coast baseball game on the USA Network,but more likely,I watched an episode of The Twilight Zone. In the mornings,I was taking a religion course for summer credit. The combination of Twilight Zone before bed and philosophical discussions in the mornings made for an enlightening summer. One Twilight Zone episode drew my interest in particular. Russell Johnson,the Professor from Gilligan’s Island,played a socialite,William Corrigan,who travels back in time to the day of President Lincoln’s assassination. Once Corrigan realizes where,or when,he is,he unsuccessfully warns everyone of the impending danger to the President. The episode,entitled Back There (click the link to watch its conclusion),originally aired January 13,1961. Corrigan’s summation of his journey was “in the matter of time travel,gentlemen,some things can be changed. Others can’t.”It is with this premise that I replay baseball seasons. Some things —the lineups,the transactions,the beaning of Tony Conigliaro,the attack of Roseboro by Marichal —these things all remain true despite the different outcomes of the replayed games. Other things do change —records,champions,award winners,perceptions. Case in point,Norman Dalton Cash of the Detroit Tigers.
Continue reading Back There »» In 1967,Buffalo Springfield had a hit record with “For What It’s Worth “,a song that quickly symbolized the protest and unrest of the late 1960′s. “It’s time we stop,hey,what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.”Those lyrics resonate in early June,1968 as the country is hit with a second assassination in as many months. My 1968 baseball replay has been updated to the morning of Friday,June 7th,and baseball prepares for game cancellations and delays as the country mourns the loss of Robert F. Kennedy over the weekend. So as Opening Day,2011 approaches,here are my predictions for the season…for what it’s worth: AL East:Boston
AL Central:Minnesota
AL West:Texas
AL Wild Card:Tampa Bay NL East:Atlanta
NL Central:Cincinnati
NL West:Colorado
NL Wild Card:Philadelphia MVP’s:Evan Longoria,Tampa Bay and Carlos Gonzalez,Colorado
Cy Young:Jon Lester,Boston and Ubaldo Jimenez,Colorado
ROY:Jeremy Hellickson,Tampa Bay and Craig Kimbrel,Atlanta Check back in October to see if these prognostications are worth anything.  Denver DE Rich Jackson closes on Kansas City QB Len Dawson in the Broncos'20-14 victory in Kansas City. These days,the younger generation is challenging the Establishment,and this weekend in the American Football League,it did not matter if you were the established champions for only one year. The last two AFL champions,Oakland and Kansas City,fell from the ranks of the undefeated. On Saturday,the second-year Miami Dolphins floored the defending champion Raiders,45-24,in an aerial display witnessed by 70,873 at the Orange Bowl. On Sunday,the Denver Broncos revived under second year coach Lou Saban pulled off the weekend’s second upset,a 20-14 defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs on their home turf. In Miami,the air was filled with footballs as Bob Griese and Daryle Lamonica nearly combined for 800 passing yards. The Dolphins tied the game at 17 with a little over a minute remaining in the first half when Griese found Karl Noonan,the AFL’s leading receiver after three weeks of play,for a 19 yard touchdown pass. Though Miami received the second half kickoff,the anticipation in the press box was these young Dolphins would wilt amidst the hot sun and Raider defense. However,Griese marched the Dolphins to a touchdown with receiver Howard Twilley and fullback Larry Csonka compiling most of the yards. A flagrant face mask penalty helped advance the Dolphins on the drive. On the Raiders next possession,Lamonica threw a deep bomb intended for Fred Biletnikoff that was tipped and fell into the hands of LB John Bramlett who was trailing on the play. Bramlett bulled his way to the Oakland 35 which set up another Dolphin touchdown,Griese’s one yard toss to RB Jim Kiick. Midway through the fourth quarter,Lamonica closed the Raiders to within a touchdown on a seven yard toss to Hewritt Dixon,but Griese and the Dolphins responded with another Griese-to-Kiick touchdown pass that put the game out of reach with 4:45 left to play. But Lamonica refused to accept that conclusion as he hurled the Raiders down the field with deep passes,but Dick Anderson picked Lamonica off at the three yard line. The Dolphins ran the ball and the clock forcing the Raiders to use their timeouts. Punter Larry Seiple pinned the Raiders at their own one-yard line with 2:24 left. Down by two touchdowns,Lamonica remained undeterred,but again Dick Anderson stepped in front of a Lamonica pass and this time returned it 12 yards for the final dagger in the Raiders’heart,45-24. In Kansas City,the vaunted Chiefs offense failed to gain any traction against the Broncos defense which ranked last in the league in 1967. Denver out-gained the Chiefs,402 to 130 total yards,but it was a fourth-quarter 25 yard touchdown pass by John Leclair to Billy Van Heusen that proved to be the narrow difference on the scoreboard. Denver rolled to a 13-0 lead in the first half,and appeared to have the game in control until,with under two minutes to go in the half,Leclair was intercepted by Jim Lynch who nearly returned the ball for a touchdown. Lynch was pushed out of bounds at the two,and former Bronco running back Wendell Hayes plunged ahead on the next play for a touchdown. Quarterback Len Dawson took control on the opening possession of the second half by guiding the Chiefs 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown,a nine-yard pass to Otis Taylor. But the Broncos offense was able to run the ball and the clock,despite a Chiefs interception stopping a third-quarter drive. The Bronco pass rush broke through to apply pressure on Dawson and came up with two key second-half sacks. Dawson finished with eight completions on nineteen attempts and a mere seventy-four passing yards. In other AFL action,the Buffalo Bills held off the expansion Cincinnati Bengals,23-20. Paul Robinson rushed for 113 yards and is the league’s leading rusher by one yard over Denver’s Floyd Little. The New York Jets had no trouble disposing of the Boston Patriots,35-3,at Fenway Park. Go to 1968 AFL Replay Home Page  Don McCall (36) breaks free for some of his game-high 71 rushing yards in the Saints'27-26 loss to Washington. McCall also had 70 yards receiving on the afternoon. New Orleans –Jerry Allen scored from two yards with 1:27 remaining as the Washington Redskins rallied from behind for a thrilling 27-26 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Charlie Gogolak hit the extra point to give Washington its first lead in the game. Aaron Martin intercepted Saints QB Billy Kilmer with 22 seconds left to stop the Saints drive for a game-winning field goal. Sonny Jurgensen led the Redskins for two touchdowns in the final five minutes to avert another veteran team falling to the second-year Saints. Last week,New Orleans upset Cleveland,17-13. Jurgensen threw a 22 yard touchdown pass to Charley Taylor with 4:29 on the clock. The Redskins defense held Kilmer and the Saints to only one series of downs and forced the Saints to punt. Before the two minute warning,Jurgensen found Taylor again for a 32 yard strike that put the Redskins in the shadow of the Saints goal posts. On a critical third and two,Jurgensen flipped the ball to Allen who scampered around the end for an 11 yard gain and set up his game-winning touchdown on the next play. The Saints jumped to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter after Monte Stickles broke free for a 35 yard touchdown reception from Kilmer. The Redskins responded with a 65 yard drive capped by Allen’s first rushing touchdown of the day. The teams then exchanged field goals with Gogolak closing the Redskins to within three points,13-10,with a 39 yard field goal at the end of the half. In the third quarter,the Saints marched down field for two scoring threats,but settled for two Charlie Durkee field goals. The second field goal resulted from an interception by Dave Whitsell. Midway through the fourth quarter,it appeared that New Orleans would celebrate its second consecutive upset when Tony Lorick turned a short pass into a 24 yard touchdown for a 26-13 lead. The teams traded punts,and Jurgensen then guided the Redskins out of peril and to victory. This is the second straight one point decision for the Redskins who defeated the Bears,21-20,in the opening week. Continue reading Skins Survive Saintly Scare,27-26 »» | |
