Season One

  • Standings

  • Batting Leaders

  • Pitching Leaders

  • Fielding Leaders

  • Team Statistics

  • Player Statistics

  • Rosters

  • Playoffs

  • Transactions

  • Stadium Info


    • All-Star Info

  • Rosters
  • Play By Play
  • Home Run Derby


    • Extras

  • Spirlock's Picks





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    It's In The Cards!

    Season One In Review

    Bob Gibson was the key to the Cardinals championship

    General Manager Terry Pair led the St. Louis Cardinals to the league championship title in season one. Pair won "executive of the year" honors at the league banquet which turned out to be a huge night for the Cardinals organization. Al Simmons won the Chalmers award for his outstanding offensive season. Simmons was one of only two .300 hitters on the season, finishing at a .305 clip. He added 29 home runs, 91 RBI, and 36 doubles. The Cy Young award was given to redbirds ace Bob Gibson. Not only did Gibson dominate in post-season play, but he also put up sparkling numbers during the regular season. Gibson won 15 games with a league leading 1.70 earned run average. Gibson also led the league in strikeouts with 173. Bob started a team high 32 games for St. Louis.

    Despite the Cardinals enormous success, several other teams made some noise in season one. The Toronto Blue Jays cruised through the regular season with a league best 96-60 record, winning the eastern division by an eleven game margin. Toronto dominated with a tremendous offense that averaged four runs per game in a pitcher dominated league. The Blue Jays pitching was good as well, Mort Cooper had a terrific season going 17-7 with a 2.30 ERA and notched a league best seven shut outs. Rick Honeycutt and Clay Carroll were solid in the bullpen tallying 28 saves between them.

    The Seattle Mariners were a thorn in the side of Cardinals all season long as they battled in the western division. The Mariners narrowly lost the division, falling to St. Louis on the final game of the regular season, and eventually lost to the Cardinals in the league championship four games to one. But Seattle had nothing to hang their heads about as catcher Elston Howard put together one of the best individual efforts in the league, and Nelson Briles won 26 games. Howard hit .297, along with 23 home runs, and 101 RBI. The Mariners also got solid seasons out of Jackie Robinson (.270, 9, 51), Carl Furillo (.275, 21, 75), and Hank Greenberg (.277, 20, 81).

    Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season was in the central division, where the Detroit Tigers maintained a level of play all season which eventually earned them a playoff birth. Second baseman Bobby Avila led the way hitting .284, with 14 homers and 51 RBI. Albert Belle and Mickey Mantle belted 78 home runs combined but finished with batting averages of .247 and .220. The unheralded pitching staff, which was the strongest point of the ball club, had an ace in Bob Lemon. Lemon won 14 games in 35 starts, and had a respectable 2.70 ERA. More importantly, the Tigers could rely on Lemon to go deep into ball games, he totaled 246 innings pitched (fourth in the league).

    Season One Highlights ----

    April 27th --- Toronto's Bob Welch pitches a no-hitter against Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees.

    May 16th --- Billy O'Dell, Gene Nelson, and Rick Honeycutt combine on a one-hit victory over the Chicago Cubs in Toronto.

    May 30th --- Lou Gehrig goes 4-for-6 to complete the cycle in a game against the Houston Astros.

    June 2nd --- Mets hurler Mike Garcia takes a perfect game into the bottom of the ninth before Astros shortstop Mark Belanger laces a single into center field with one out. Garcia retires the next two batters to earn a one-hit shutout.

    June 9th --- Reggie Jackson homers in his first game at Wrigley field in a Cubs uniform. Mr. October draws a standing ovation, but will eventually earn a ticket out of the windy city, traded for the second time on the season.

    June 24th --- The New York Mets use ten pitchers in a 16 inning game against Houston. Despite the depleted bullpen, New York wins the contest 3-2.

    June 28th --- Carl Erksine earns a dubious record of walking ten batters in a game against Toronto. He intentionally passes four batters.

    July 23rd --- The Reds newly acquired southpaw, Rube Marquard, fans eleven Astros in a complete game victory.

    July 29th --- Bing Miller breaks out for the Mets with a 5-for-8 game that includes a triple, a home run, five RBI, and four stolen bases. Willie McCovey hits 4-for-8 with three home runs and six RBI in the same game for the Red Sox.

    August 6th --- Bob Gibson strikes out twelve Red Sox and allows just three hits over nine innings, but Boston wins on an unearned run.

    August 24th --- Reds pitcher Carl Erksine redeems himself fanning twelve batters in a shutout of the Houston Astros.