Oakland Dynasty: The 1977 Season

For those that were not reading this project, the Oakland Dynasty is a project conducted by Out of the Park Baseball simulation computer game. The goal of the project is to keep the Oakland dynasty rolling, instead of being put to an early death (like in real life) by their owner Charles Finley. This is an alternater reality which takes place immediately following the 1972-1974 three-peat. 

So a quick recap...

• Following the 1974 World Series, the Oakland Athletics decided to keep pitchers Catfish Hunter, Darold Knowles & Bob Locker, and position prospects OF-Chet Lemon, OF-Dan Ford and IF-Manny Trillo.

• As of July 4th, 1975, the Athletics would be sitting at a 56-25 record, would go on to acquire OF/DH- Hal McRae and RP-Bill Campbell along the way, finishing with the 1975 A.L. West Division Title with a 105-57 record. The Athletics won the division easily by 16 games. 

• During the 1975 A.L. Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Oakland Athletics would surrender a 6-2 lead entering the 9th inning of Game 1, but would go on to lose the ballgame, 8-6. The game would curse Oakland's chances for the remainder of the series, resulting in a Baltimore 3-0 series sweep of the Athletics.

• The 1975-1976 off-season prior to the 1976 season, witnessed the Athletics being very aggressive in the off-season. The team acquired SP-Jerry Koosman from the New York Mets, along with other deals that brought in P-Rick Langford, OF-Dick Davis, C-Rick Dempsey, and C-Rod Boone through trades, drafted two Rule V picks in P-Milt Wilcox and OF-Jerry Martin, and extending the contracts of OF-Reggie Jackson, Hal McRae, and Koosman.

• The Oakland Athletics acquired 3B-Doug DeCinces & OF-Terry Whitfield prior to the 1976 Trade Deadline, while unloading OF-Bill North, SP-Glenn Abbott & SS-Bert Campaneris.

• The 1976 Oakland Athletics win their 6th straight division crown with a 99-63 record, in a division where there were three 90-win teams. The Athletics would face the 88-74 Boston Red Sox during the 1975 A.L. Championship Series, only to lose to Boston, 3-1 in the series. The Red Sox only went 3-9 against Oakland during the regular season. 

So if you are keeping correct score, I am now 0-for-2 (falling short in 1975 & 1976) in trying to add more titles to the Oakland Athletics coming off of 1974. 

The Off-Season

Prior to the 1977 MLB Season, the Athletics had huge turnover. The team said goodbye to many fan favorites in SP-Catfish Hunter (MIN) , RP-Rollie Fingers (NYY), Sal Bando (HOU), P-Ken Holtzman (HOU), RP-Darold Knowles & P-Dick Bosman (CAL). With those names alone, and not knowing who Oakland picked up, you would most likely declare abandon ship. 

Each of the names in the paragraph above, all left via free agency... and to be honest, I only for the most part tried to bring back one of the players in Rollie Fingers. Fingers appeared to be resigning with us, until the New York Yankees snuck through the backdoor and snagged Fingers from us. Hunter, Holtzman and Bosman were definitely in decline, and I felt I could get more value from the free agency market, especially after freeing up money from salary-dump trades during last season, which said goodbye to North, Abbott & Campaneris. 

The good news for Athletics fans, we still have some recognizable faces from the championship years remaining in Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue, Gene Tenace, and Joe Rudi. Jackson in real life, signed with the New York Yankees after a one season with the Baltimore Orioles -- but during this alternate reality, I extended his contract for 7 years, $3.85 million total, in which Jackson could opt out early for the 1983 season. I resigned Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi this off-season, while Blue is signed through at least the 1982 season, in which the team could opt out of the 1983 season. 

The team made three big signings, starting with one that's no bigger than SP-Steve Carlton. Carlton brings his 163 career wins and 2,110 strikeouts to the bay area, after five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Carlton wanted to play for a winner, and join a solid 1-2 punch in Blue and Koosman. 

The big question marks after Carlton was the 4-5 slots of the rotation and the bullpen, especially after SP-Rick Langford got hurt during spring training with a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm (elbow, out 9-10 months). Last season's Rule V acquisition Milt Wilcox and rookie Matt Keough, lacking heavy experience will have to do their best in those slots for now. The bullpen's only weapon remaining is Bill Campbell, who is now the full-time closer. 

Recognizing the bullpen as a serious weakness, the Athletics signed both John Hiller (SF) and Sparky Lyle (NYY) to beef up the 7-through-9 innings, but would enter the 1977 season with fringe relievers such as Dennis Kinney, Steve McCatty, Craig Mitchell & Leon Hooten to do the rest. 

The 1st Half of 1977

The Athletics started well out of the gate, but trailed the Kansas City Royals who started off really well at 38-18 through June 12th. The Royals won 11 of their first 12 games of June, until cooling off terribly that month with a 8-9 stretch. 

By the All-Star Break, the Athletics (57-34) only trailed Kansas City (57-33) by a 1/2 game. The Royals success has a lot to do with their solid bullpen in part-time starter Doug Bird, Gene Garber, Paul Splittorff, and closer Mark Littell. 

The Athletics started having more success once Chet Lemon (who started off the season ice-cold) started heating up, Phil Garner surrender some DH work to start at second base, for the struggling Manny Trillo. Hal McRae started playing more DH, while getting Joe Rudi to play more first base, and LF-Terry Whitfield more involved.

This momentum can only be sustainable if the Athletics could acquire more help.

I wasn't thrilled that Gene Tenace didn't have a solid backup at catcher, and that if I wanted to have Tenace play first, I would have had to play either (Rule V acquisition) Larry Cox or Rod Boone. Looking through my transactions log, I noticed that I failed to sign Rick Dempsey during the off-season and that he would end up signing a minor-league deal with the unaffiliated Salem Senators of the Northwest League. Oakland had Dempsey during the 1975 & 1976 campaigns, acquiring Dempsey from the New York Yankees in exchange for a minor-leaguer. The Athletics purchased Dempsey on June 14th, returning as the team's backup catcher. 

The Chicago White Sox contacted the Athletics, offering Clyde Wright, who was playing pretty good in the bullpen with a 3.35 ERA, 3-0 record, 142 ERA+ through 37.2 innings. We needed bullpen help, so we dealt prospect SP-Joe Cowley and third-string catcher Rod Boone to the White Sox. Thank goodness the deal was cheap, because he would only pitch another 3 games (5 innings) for us, until he got placed on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation, and won't be returning until September at the earliest. 

We decided to place 24 year-old outfielder Bruce Boisclair on the trade wire, and see what we could fetch for him, and much to my surprise the Detroit Tigers offered Bill Buckner. Buckner has been unhappy in Detroit, while he had struggled (.253, 1 HR & 22 RBI, .583 OPS) through 46 games. The Tigers acquired Buckner during the 1976 season (traded along with a prospect in exchange for Bernie Carbo), and then signed a 3-year extension worth a total of $622,000 -- mid-way through the 1st year of that contract, word on the street is that Buckner wanted out. So the Athletics are thrilled to scoop him up with Buckner signed through the 1979 season. 

Oakland would add to the bullpen, by first acquiring old vet RP-Ray Sadecki from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for catching prospect Bruce Robinson, and then acquiring RP-Skip Lockwood from the Chicago Cubs. Rumors of a recent Lockwood tantrum has led to his name being in trade rumors, we decided to contact the Cubs, and a trade was struck in which we would send OF-Dick Davis and young starting pitcher Mike Smithson in exchange for Lockwood & 2B-Kiko Garcia. 

With the recent additions, we decided to release Larry Cox, who was returned to the Philadelphia Phillies. In releasing Cox, trading away Boone, we were able to make room for the new players.

Through September 1st

The Oakland Athletics were up as many as 4 games, and now sit at 84-47, 2 games ahead of their only challenger in their division, Kansas City (82-49) in the A.L. West as of September 1st. 

The A.L. East which was a five-team race until early August is now between the 1st place New York Yankees (80-54) and the Detroit Tigers (77-55) who sit 2 games back. The Tigers made a huge splash in the off-season and signed Nolan Ryan to a 6 year-deal worth a total of $2.71 million. Ryan currently has a 13-5 record, 2.31 ERA & 243 strikeouts through 218 innings pitched. Dave Rozema and Dave A. Roberts are doing well as #2 and #3 starters in the rotation, while Clay Carroll (18 saves) has been very effective as the closer, but has had help in the bullpen with ailing Mark Fidrych (10 Saves). 

The New York Mets led the N.L. East through June and most of July, until the Pittsburgh Pirates surpassed the Mets in August. The Pirates (78-55) lead the Mets by 5.5 games and the Chicago Cubs by 6.5 games. 

It's been a runaway in the N.L. West, with the Los Angeles Dodgers (86-46) up 16 games on their next closest rival (San Francisco, 72-62). The Dodgers blasted through the month of June with a 24-4 record, while starting the season off with a 56-21 record (30-24 since). The Dodgers will be difficult to beat with George Foster, Bobby Bonds, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and Mickey Rivers in the lineup, going along with a great rotation in Tommy John, Fergie Jenkins, Doug Rau, Don Sutton, and Rick Rhoden, plus Charlie Hough and Joe Niekro in the bullpen.

The Home Stretch

The Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals went down literally the last day of the regular season. Oakland coming off a victory against the Texas Rangers, only had to make sure they won, while the Royals couldn't afford to lose. If Oakland loses & K.C. wins, there would have been Game #163, but fortunately for the Athletics they defeated the Rangers, 7-1, under a three-hit, 1-run victory on the mound for Vida Blue. Blue ends the season, 23-7 with a 1.99 ERA, 218 strikeouts & a 10.6 WAR. For Oakland, its their 7th consecutive Division Title, while the team is seeking its first World Series appearance since 1974.

The Royals may have fell short, but have a lot to hang their hat on. Their young 24 year-old superstar third baseman George Brett won the A.L. Batting Title, batting .346 with 25 HR & 128 RBI. The top four hitters in their lineup smacked in at least 100 RBI each. Ruppert Jones batted .296 with 39 HR & 120 RBI, while falling a stolen base short of the 30/30 club. Ben Oglivie batted .280 with 40 HR & 116 RBI, while the other 100+ RBI guy was Al Cowens who batted .299 with 22 HR & 117 RBI. It should be noted that they also had two guys over 90 RBI in Dan Ford and Ron Fairly, who may have been the Comeback Player of the Year -- batting .289 with 24 HR. The team will be much better once they add a rotation around Dennis Leonard (23-7, 2.45 ERA & 203 K).

The Pittsburgh Pirates won the N.L. East with a 91-71 record, outpacing the St. Louis Cardinals (87-75), Chicago Cubs (86-76) & New York Mets (86-76). The Cardinals won their last 6 games to pass both the Cubs & Mets. 

The Pirates' Dave Parker led the National League with a .355 batting average, along with 30 HR & 147 RBI, and is likely one of the front-runners for the N.L. Most Valuable Player of the Year Award. Rookie Mitchell Page batted .302 with 28 HR & 100 RBI, while stealing 18 bases -- while long-time Yankee Thurman Munson batted .317 with 14 HR & 71 RBI in his first season wearing the black and yellow. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers ran away with the N.L. West, finishing with a 103-59 record. The team went 47-38 during their last 85 games, looking more human and we'll see if they are battle-tested come playoff time. Dodgers should still be the favorites with a rotation that went 78-38 with a ERA's ranging between 2.52 through 3.72 ERA. 

The New York Yankees' strength is their pitching, the team certainly didn't do their damage with their lineup which ranked in the lower-half of the American League. The Yankees had three starting pitchers with ERA's under 3.00, starting with their ace Ron Guidry who won 18 games with a 2.99 ERA. Andy Hassler led the team with a 20-4 record and 2.24 ERA, with Don Medich posting a 12-6 record with a 2.93 ERA in 26 starts before a partially torn labrum took him out for the remainder of the season. Medich out? No problem, the Yankees also have Dick Tidrow (10-5, 3.42 ERA), Pat Dobson (11-11, 4.17 ERA) & Scott McGregor (6-4, 3.96 ERA).

The Yankees will face off against the Oakland Athletics, who have lost their last two A.L. Championship appearances to Baltimore & Boston. The Dodgers will have home-field against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

1976 A.L. Championship Series (Games 3 & 4)

Plenty of scoring in this series after 11-6 & 16-4 results during Games 1 & 2. Both teams entering Game 3 tied 1-1, playing Games 3 & 4 at Fenway Park, in a best-of-five American League Championship Series.

Oakland sends out Ken Holtzman (11-12, 2.95 ERA) who has pitched great down the stretch, while Boston will send out Rick Wise (14-12, 4.62 ERA). Holtzman has allowed only 4 earned runs during his last 37.2 innings (0.96 ERA), dating back to September 10th.

Wise would end up handcuffing the Athletics, pitching a complete game shutout, allowing 7 hits, while striking out 7 Oakland hitters. Boston's Duane Kuiper, Ralph Garr and Mike Rex each had 2 RBI during the 7-0 victory, while for Rex, it included a 7th inning home run.

The Athletics down 2-1 in the series, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 4. Hal McRae and Doug DeCinces had back-to-back RBI singles in the 1st, while Rick Dempsey had a RBI single in the 3rd inning... but the Red Sox came battling back.

Jim Rice hit a solo home run off Vida Blue in the 4th inning to start off the charge, while it was Rice's second homer of the day, a two-run homer that tied the game. Carl Yastrzemski later hit the go-ahead RBI single that inning, as the Red Sox would go on to win 4-3. Red Sox closer Jim Willoughby pitched 3 shutout innings to secure the save.

The Boston Red Sox will face the Cincinnati Reds, who won their series against the St.Louis Cardinals 3-1. Boston and Cincinnati is a rematch of the real-life 1975 World Series, but these two teams in this alternate reality did not play each other in 75'. The Baltimore Orioles won it all in 1975 over the Pittsburgh Pirates, meaning the "Big Red Machine" still seeks their first title.

* * * I didn't forget, more 1955 World Series Replay to come * * *

1976 A.L. Championship Series - Red Sox vs Athletics (Games 1 & 2)

For the first two months of the season, it looked highly unlikely that the Oakland Athletics (99-63) would be playing for another A.L. Pennant, but here they are! They will have to play a very tough Boston Red Sox (88-74) team. The Red Sox didn't fare well against the Athletics this season, going only 3-9 against them.

Meanwhile, on the N.L. side, it's the St. Louis Cardinals facing the Cincinnati Reds.

The Athletics decided that they will likely go with the following 3-man rotation of Vida Blue (19-9, 2.05 ERA), Jerry Koosman (20-4, 1.84 ERA) & Ken Holtzman (11-12, 2.95 ERA), with Catfish Hunter (16-16, 3.57 ERA) as an emergency starter and long relief option. Hunter struggled down the stretch, while Holtzman pitched great during the end.


Vida Blue did not have his best stuff for Game 1, as he hit the showers early after 4 innings of work, allowing 8 runs (3 earned) while Oakland's fielding errors kept innings alive for Boston's hungry hitters. Boston won easily 11-6, with Oakland scoring 4 late runs during the 8th inning. Boston's Dave Roberts pitched a strong game for the most part (2 ER through first 7 innings) until running out of gas in the 8th which really mucked up line in the box score. Boston's team captain, Carl Yastrzemski started off the 7-run charge in the 4th inning with a RBI double, which was too much for Oakland to recover from.

Oakland demolished Boston in Game 2, winning 16-4! The Athletics' center fielder Chet Lemon batted 4-for-5, all singles with 2 RBI & 2 runs scored. Last game featured 7 runs during the 4th inning for the winning team, this time it was Oakland scoring 7 runs in the same inning. Oakland would later score 6 runs in the 7th inning. Short day for Luis Tiant, who pitched 3.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 8 runs (7 earned) & 2 walks. Oakland's Koosman went the distance, striking out 8 Red Sox hitters, while allowing 8 hits, 2 walks & 3 earned runs. The Athletics scored 5 runs (4 earned) against former teammate Glenn Abbott in just 1.1 innings of relief. Abbott won 19 games for Oakland during the 1975 MLB Season. Gene Tenace and Doug DeCinces each added home runs for the Athletics.

6th Straight A.L. West Title for Athletics

We continue with the 'Oakland Dynasty' project, which is conducted with Out of the Park 20. This is a "What if" project, an alternate opposition to Finley self-destructing the team.We last left off with Oakland at the 1976 All-Star Break.

OAKLAND DYNASTY

The Oakland Athletics were able to fend off the Minnesota Twins and California Angels, to win the American League West for the 6th consecutive year. This year they hope to return to the World Series for the 5th time in 6 years, but they will have to get by the A.L. East Champion Boston Red Sox to do so.

The Red Sox won the A.L. East with a 88-74 record, winning the division by 3 games over the 2nd place New York Yankees. The Cleveland Indians who were looking good at the All-Star break faded, finishing in 3rd place with a 78-84 record, 10 games back. The defending World Champion Baltimore Orioles finished in 4th, 76-86.

The American League West featured three 90-win teams in Oakland (99-63), Minnesota (97-65) & California (94-68).

The National League featured the only 100-win teams in baseball, with the St. Louis Cardinals (103-59) winning the N.L. East, and the N.L. West Champion Cincinnati Reds (109-53). Both teams also won their divisions by 10 or more games. The 2nd place San Francisco Giants won 98 games. The Cardinals were powered by Wilbur Wood, who led the National League with a 1.59 ERA in his first year with the Cards, all while winning 20 games. The Cards' lineup also featured 8 players batting .280 or higher.

There was plenty of headlines throughout the season, one of the biggest has to be 17 year-old rookie Rickey Henderson who stole 100 bases for the Atlanta Braves. This was definitely one of the few things that Atlanta got to cheer about since they lost 100 games, but they do have Dale Murphy & Dan Petry in the minors, so things could start looking up in the nearby future.

Jerry Koosman won the A.L. ERA title in his first year in the American League, posting a 1.84 mark while winning 20 games for the Athletics.

Here's a list of other players that left their mark on the season...

• Bill Madlock (CHC) and Robin Yount (MIL) won the batting titles for their leagues. Madlock batted a Major League best .344 with 224 hits, his 2nd consecutive year over 200+ hits. The young shortstop Yount led the A.L. with a .325 mark, while posting a 126 OPS+ & 4.8 WAR, to go along with 49 doubles (1st /A.L.) & 32 stolen bases.

• George Foster (CIN) and Jim Rice (BOS) each led their leagues with 34 home runs, while both also won their league's RBI titles; Foster had 146 RBI, while Rice had 140 RBI. Rice was the only MLB slugger who posted a .900 OPS & above (.913), while Foster led the N.L. in that category (.889).

• Bake McBride (STL) edged Madlock in hits with 225, while Boston's Duane Kuiper led the A.L. with 213. The big kicker may be the fact that Kuiper hit 3 HR during the season, compared to his grand real-life total of 1. McBride also led the majors with 117 runs.

• Cincinnati's Joe Morgan had a well-rounded successful season in which he batted .277 with 15 HR & 81 RBI, while scoring 107 runs & stealing 73 bases. Morgan led the N.L. in On-Base Percentage (.424) & Bases on Balls (142), while his 7.9 WAR ranked 3rd in the N.L. & Majors.

• Morgan's teammate, Dave Conception led the majors in WAR with a 9.1 rating. Conception's fielding definitely plays a factor, but he carried a good bat by hitting .295 with 10 HR & 77 RBI. Conception also scored 94 runs while swiping 35 bases.

• Frank Tanana of the Angels, led the A.L. in Wins (22), while he was 2nd in ERA (1.95) & strikeouts (221), while posting a 8.1 WAR (3rd among pitchers).

• The Athletics' Vida Blue was a stud, leading the majors in complete games (20), innings (290), quality starts (30), while ranking 4th in the A.L. in strikeouts (194), while posting an 8.2 WAR.

• The Reds' Don Gullet went 22-4 with a 2.45 ERA & 184 strikeouts, while posting a 7.4 WAR.

• Al Hrabosky (STL) led the majors with 42 saves, while Sparky Lyle (NYY) led the A.L. with 32 saves.

*** Still to come, 1978 MLB Replay Update ***

1976 All-Stars & Trade Deadline

OAKLAND DYNASTY (OOTP)

Five Oakland Athletics were named to the A.L. All-Star Game -- Newcomer SP-Jerry Koosman, SP-Vida Blue, RP-Rollie Fingers, 1B-Joe Rudi & rookie CF-Chet Lemon.

Oakland (63-39) has made a late first-half push to take the lead at the Trade Deadline, by winning 13 of their last 14 games. The Minnesota Twins (61-41, 2 GB) are showing they have staying power, while the young California Angels (60-43, 3.5 GB), sported by an entire lineup that is 27 years-and-younger, have not been able to make huge gains despite their strong rotation. The Angels have moved Ed Figueroa from the rotation to the closer role, while they are now plugging in Andy Hassler in the 5th slot, behind Frank Tanana, Nolan Ryan, Jim Kaat & Steve Renko (acquired from Montreal). The Angels traded SP-Bill Singer to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for OF-Dusty Baker.

The A.L. East features a three-team race with the Boston Red Sox (56-44) leading the way, with the Cleveland Indians (53-48, 3.5 GB) & New York Yankees (49-50, 6.5 GB) within arm's length.

The transactions that have helped the team...

• Traded SS-Bert Campaneris to the New York Yankees in exchange for LF-Terry Whitfield & minor league SS-Andrew Woolsey. 
• Traded LF-Lee Lacy to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 3B/2B-Doug DeCinces.
• Traded SP-Glenn Abbott (while retaining 50% of contract) and minor league SS-Rob Picciolo to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor LF-Chris Ward.

All of these deals had shredding payroll in mind, my owner has been very adamant in having me cut payroll, while he wasn't too keen about the fact that I extended some contracts. He certainly won't be too excited about the fact that I placed an offer to extend SP-Vida Blue then. I need to have some sort of rotation once Catfish Hunter & Ken Holtzman hits free agency.

I tried to unload Sal Bando, but no one was willing to take on his big contract. 

The St. Louis Cardinals have been a surprise in the N.L. East, leading the division with a 63-40 record, ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates (57-46) by 6 games. The Cards' ace Wilbur Wood is an extraordinary 13-3 with a major league best 1.40 ERA among starters.

The Cincinnati Reds (70-33) have the best record in the majors, featuring the who's who of the Big Red Machine with their mammoth lineup, and solid no-name rotation, with efficient bullpen arms. They own a 8-game lead over the San Francisco Giants.

We will now have to see if all these moves play dividends, for Oakland though a title is almost a must, with free agency definitely going to leave its mark on the roster. The question now is does Oakland have enough on the farm to fill in the upcoming vacant areas?

Oakland Dynasty: Early Struggles in 1976

The Oakland Athletics have started the 1976 MLB Season, and are coming off a season where they fell short in their attempt to four-peat, by getting swept by Baltimore, 3-0, during the 1975 A.L. Championship Series.

This off-season, Oakland acquired plenty of talent in SP-Jerry Koosman, P-Milt Wilcox, P-Rick Langford, CF-Jerry Martin & C-Rick Dempsey. Wilcox and Langford will start off in the bullpen, since they are stuck behind a talented rotation that features Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Koosman, Ken Holtzman & Dick Bosman.

To make room for the two Rule 5 picks, Wilcox and Martin, the Athletics sent SP-Glenn Abbott (who went 19-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 29 starts) and OF-Bill North (.294, 3 HR, 63 RBI & 60* SB) to the minors. With Chet Lemon emerging for Oakland, North became expendable.


On May 1st, Oakland traded North to the Dodgers in exchange for two prospects, LF-Rick Bladt & 3B-Arthur Fischetti, in what was overall a salary dump ($230,000).

On June 1st, the Oakland Athletics found themselves in 3rd place at 26-21, 4.5 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins, who have been a surprise in the A.L. West. Oakland has not shown any power with Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi leading the team with 6 home runs each. Jackson is coming off a 42 HR season, which led the American League.

The lineup appears to be a bit of a mess, with two starters batting under .200 in C-Gene Tenace and 2B-Phil Garner. In fact, the team has no hitter batting over .300 with Rudi (.296) and Lemon (.285) being the team's best two regulars in that category.

The team knew it was going to take some lumps trying to integrate new talent into the starting lineup, such as Lemon and platooning shortstop Ivan de Jesus, but didn't know that it would be this messy. Even Hal McRae's (.271 BA & .739 OPS) numbers are down.

The pitching on the other hand has kept the Athletics in the race, their rotation has been pretty good, especially with their top 3 hurlers -- Catfish Hunter (4-6, 3.05 ERA), Vida Blue (5-1, 1.66 ERA) & Jerry Koosman (4-2, 1.92 ERA)... but it has been the team's stellar bullpen that deserves most of the credit.

Oakland's bullpen

• Rollie Fingers: 5 SV, 2.83 ERA, 18 K & 1.221 WHIP in 28.2 IP.
• Bill Campbell: 2-1, 0.69 ERA, 4 hits, but 11 BB allowed in 11 IP (1.154 WHIP)
• Dave Hamilton: 1 SV, 1.74 ERA, 13 K & 1.161 WHIP in 10.1 IP.
• Darold Knowles: 1-1, 1.86 ERA in 9.2 IP.
• Rick Langford: 2-1, 1.38 ER, 16 K in 13 IP.

The only thing concerning me is the walks & the WHIP's that are higher than the ERA numbers indicate, making me wonder if these numbers will start tipping in the wrong direction. 

I mentioned the Twins have been a bit surprise, the Twins are 29-15 and are led by a strong rotation, topped by 1975's A.L. Cy Young Award winner - Bert Blyleven (6-3, 2.78 ERA & 71 K), Tommy John (5-2, 1.95 ERA) & Dave Goltz (5-0, 1.47 ERA). The bullpen has been great as well, with the team currently doing with a bullpen-by-committee since closer Skip Lockwood on the injured list.

The Twins lineup features Larry Hisle, Rod Carew, Lyman Bostick, Randy Bass & Eric Soderholm. Soderholm leads the team with 7 HR, with Hisle & Bass with 6 each, while Carew leads the team with a .294 batting average. 

But I feel at the end of the day, the team that Oakland will have to worry about the most are the California Angels, who features an excellent rotation 1-through-5. The Angels' rotation features Frank Tanana, Nolan Ryan, Ed Figueroa, Jim Kaat & Bill Singer. Three of those starters: Tanana, Kaat & Singer have sub-2.00 ERA's at the moment. 

1975 Off-Season & Winter Meetings

The Baltimore Orioles just came off their 2nd World Championship in 6 years, and 3rd in their last 9 years. The Cincinnati Reds have lost 2 World Series (1970, 1972) while the Pittsburgh Pirates have won a World Series (1971) and lost a World Series (1975) during the decade.

The Oakland Athletics are coming off a disappointing 3-0 sweep to the hands of the Orioles, falling short of a four-peat, after posting the best record (105-57) in the majors last season. The Orioles would go on to defeat the Pirates, 4-1.

Oakland feels that 1975 should have been their year, but now must find its way back to championship glory. Oakland for the most part planned on staying pat, but then the New York Mets came knocking on their door, dangling SP-Jerry Koosman. I had to modify the offer with them taking SP-Pete Broberg instead of SP-Brian Kingman, Broberg has salary to eat, while my owner didn't really want me to take on any more payroll... but I couldn't ignore the opportunity to add someone of Koosman's caliber.

The deal was as follows...

• The Athletics traded 3B-Wayne Gross, SP-Pete Broberg, SP-Gary Williams, CF-Gary Woods & 2B-Darrell Woodard to the Mets, in exchange for SP-Jerry Koosman and OF/1B-Bruce Boisclair.

The Athletics extended the following contracts...

• OF-Reggie Jackson: 7-year deal worth $3.85 million.
• SP-Jerry Koosman: 7-year deal worth $2.69 million.
• DH-Hal McRae: 7-year deal worth $2.52 million.

Other Transactions....

• Acquired P-Milt Wilcox via Rule 5 Draft (from Chicago Cubs).
• Acquired CF-Jerry Martin via Rule 5 Draft (from Philadelphia Phillies).
• Acquired C-Rick Dempsey from the New York Yankees in exchange for prospect RF-Ray Cosey. 
• Traded C-Ray Fosse to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for 1B-Terry Crowley.
• Traded RP-Jim Todd, SP-Rich Gale & P-Brian Kingman to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for P-Rick Langford, and minor leaguers C-Rod Boone & OF-Dick Davis.
• Released RP-Lew Krausse Jr.

Orioles Sweep Athletics, 3-0 (Oakland Dynasty: 1975 ALCS)

The Oakland Athletics led 6-2 during the top of the 9th in Game 1, and let the lead slip away.

It got worse, the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Cuellar against Oakland's Vida Blue, pitches a no-hitter, while Bobby Grich hit a two-run homer during the 5th, to cap off a 3 RBI night. Cuellar's magical night spawned 4 strikeouts.

Oakland's Game 3 starting pitcher, Ken Holtzman had his work cut out for him, in an attempt to turn around Oakland's luck. Oakland was hoping, behind Holtzman, to win their first of three straight games, but it was never meant to be. The Orioles won 6-5 in Game 3, putting the dagger in Oakland's backs by scoring 3 runs during the bottom of the 6th, to give the O's a 6-2 lead.

Grich was named the A.L. Championship Series Most Valuable Player, after batting .545 with 5 RBI for the series.

Meanwhile in the National League Championship Series, the Cincinnati Reds' troubles continue. Their quest to make that next step, taking the Big Red Machine, to the ultimate peak as World Champions came to an end, in a close, 3-2 series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Baltimore Dead in the Water, Comes to Life! (Game 1)

The Baltimore Orioles had a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the 7th. Their two runs came off one of Catfish Hunter's few mistakes, a Bobby Grich triple during the top of the 6th. Oakland's Gene Tenace smacked a 368-ft homer into the left field stands to cut the lead down to one run, during the bottom-half of the 6th inning.

Jim Palmer who was quite sloppy (allowed 7 walks) would walk the first two batters (Bill North & Hal McRae) during the bottom of the 7th. Joe Rudi followed with a single, that would load the bases for Reggie Jackson (who has yet to be named "Mr.October"). Jackson would knock in North (tying the game), while the others advance one base. Sal Bando would get walked, forcing in the go-ahead run, with Oakland taking a 3-2 lead. Phil Garner's sac fly to right, would make it 4-2, Jackson advances to 3rd base. Lee Lacy would smack a two-run double to officially end Palmer's night.

The Oakland Athletics looked solid with a 6-2 lead entering the 9th with Catfish Hunter still on the mound. The Orioles' Dave Kingman led off the top-half with a single to center, followed by a Bobby Grich walk. Kingman was acquired by the New York Mets mid-season along with 2B-Ken Perry in exchange for SP-Ross Grimsley.

Oakland decides to go to the pen, no problem, they have Rollie Fingers who is money, and all was looking good as he struck Lee May (without swinging) on a nasty split-fingered fastball. Brooks Robinson draws two balls, then Fingers throws a wild pitch past Tenace behind the plate... Kingman moves up to third, Grich to second. Brooks hits a single past short, driving in Kingman, while Grich reaches third. Orioles trail 6-3.

Pinch-hitter Al Bumbry for the Orioles, hits the ball to second baseman Phil Garner, who throws it over to shortstop Bert Campaneris for one, over to second... beats out the throw by inches, SAFE! Two outs, while Grich scores and trims the lead to two runs.

Trailing 6-4, Orioles' catcher Roger Freed, a surprise player this season who hit 21 home runs & 70 RBI for the birds, despite only batting .208, comes to the plate -- The Athletics one strike away from getting out of this jam, Freed hits a line-drive single to left, with Bumbry reaching second.

Rookie pinch-hitter Eddie Murray hits a ball to right, which appeared that Reggie Jackson had a good read on it, but the ball drops just in front of Jackson, loading the bases up.

With Rollie Fingers still on the mound, after giving up 3 hits -- Fingers pitches to Don Baylor, who hits a tapper to the mound, but Fingers throws it over the first baseman Joe Rudi's head, while two runs score and tie up the ballgame (Murray reaches third).

Oakland goes to the pen for Bill Campbell. Campbell walks Ken Singleton, runners on the corners. Dave Kingman crushes a double into the right-center gap, two runs score, while Oakland's nightmare continues -- surrendering a 6-2 lead, and now down 8-6. Campbell would go onto walk Bobby Grich, while Lee May hit into an inning-ending fielder's choice.

The Orioles bring in their closer Grant Jackson who led the MLB with 37 saves. Jackson gets the first two outs easily, but allows a single to Phil Garner & a walk to Gene Tenace. Winning run at the plate, Lee Lacy flies to right, as Baltimore closes out Game 1 with an unlikely win, rattling Oakland, while making a huge statement.

Orioles might be ready to shock the world.

1975 League Championships are Ready to Go.

Cleveland's Oscar Gamble had a huge season.

The Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics are setup to face one another during the 1975 A.L. Championship Series. Baltimore won the A.L. East with a 93-69 record, 4 games over the surprising Cleveland Indians, while Oakland never really had a challenge, winning the division with a 105-57 record. The Athletics won the division by 16 games over the California Angels.

Reggie Jackson won the A.L. Home Run title with 42 HR, Catfish Hunter won the A.L. ERA title (2.08 ERA), Ken Holtzman led the league with 22 victories, and Bill North led the A.L. in WAR (7.6) and Stolen Bases (60). Hunter also led the A.L. in complete games (21), shutouts (8) & ERA+ (188).

The N.L. Championship Series will be between the Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65) and the Cincinnati Reds (98-64). The Pirates won the N.L. East by 3 games over the Montreal Expos, the St. Louis Cardinals (who were in the hunt during the All-Star Break) had a rough second-half and finished below the Philadelphia Phillies in 4th place, 12 games back. The Reds finished 6 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Reds' Joe Morgan had a solid MVP-caliber season, winning the batting title (.356), leading the league in home runs (37), and finishing 11 RBI behind the Pirates' Richie Zisk (133) for a possible Triple Crown, finishing with 122 RBI. Morgan also led the league in hits, OBP, SLG, OPS (1.119), Runs, Total Bases, Bases on Balls & WAR (13.8).

Phil Niekro, who was acquired by the Montreal Expos in late June, from the Atlanta Braves, in exchange for C-Larry Johnson, OF-Bombo Rivera & SS-Gary Gingrich, would go on to win the ERA crown (2.64). The Pirates' Dock Ellis and the Reds' Don Gullett tied for the N.L. lead in wins (21), while the New York Mets' Tom Seaver led the league in strikeouts (233), while also leading the N.L. pitchers in WAR (7.4).

The Cleveland Indians' Rico Carty and the Texas Rangers' Mike Hargrove tied for tops in the A.L. in batting average (.324). Boston's Fred Lynn won the RBI title (134 RBI). Cleveland's Oscar Gamble had a huge season, batting .296 with 40 HR & 102 RBI, while leading the league with a .939 OPS. The Twins' Bert Blyleven won the strikeout crown on the pitching side of things, leading both leagues with 247 strikeouts.

Dynasty Driven (Down the Stretch 1975)

It's been just over two weeks since I have reported on the Oakland Dynasty project, so let's continue shall we...

On June 28th, literally the same day that I made deals that acquired DH-Hal McRae, RP-Bill Campbell & prospect SP-Rich Gale. Oakland received news of an injury to Dick Bosman, one of their rotation arms, although he was the worst of the bunch with a 5-9 record and 4.76 ERA for the season.

I decided not to take any chances and traded prospects OF-Mark Budaska and C-Denny Haines to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitcher Pete Broberg. I placed Bosman on the 15-day disabled list, while they figure out his diagnosis. I also bumped starting pitcher Glenn Abbott from the 5th slot to the 4th slot, while Broberg will fill the 5th slot of the rotation.

Broberg was 5-5 with a 4.84 ERA & 3 Saves for the Brewers, while he has pitched in 34 games with 7 starts this season.

The deal ended up being a good choice, found out on July 31st, on the trade deadline that Bosman will be out for 4 months (Surgery to remove a bone spur / elbow).

Oakland led the division over 2nd place California by about 18.5 games at one point, but watched that lead diminish a bit, to 11 games, but Oakland finished strongly with a 105-57 record, winning the division by 16 games. Sal Bando put a solid finishing touch, smacking a walk-off two-run homer against those Angels for the Athletics, winning the final game of the season -- setting up a good vibe as Oakland enters the postseason.

Raising Hal (OAK Dynasty / 1975 Trade Deadline)

Hal McRae joins Oakland.

As you all know I have been doing an alternate history of the great Oakland Athletics dynasty in the early-to-mid 1970's. My goal is to continue the dynasty as long as I possibly can for the Oakland fans, who have since wondered "What if..."

It's July 29th, 1975, and I have the Oakland Athletics sitting on a 69-35 record with a comfortable lead over the 2nd place California Angels who are sitting 11.5 games back. Oakland is on pace for 107 wins, and with the trade deadline just a couple days away, I really only need to add maybe another bullpen arm.

I wasn't going to do anything major, but when I was looking at the players placed on the teams' trading blocks, one player caught my eye... Hal McRae.

With the Kansas City Royals going nowhere in 1975 (40-62), McRae, at age 29, is having another solid year, following his breakout 1974 campaign. McRae is an on-base machine, and although my Oakland team has been cruising (mainly due to its solid rotation), the lineup could use a player like McRae, who has solid contact and gap power. McRae also has plenty in his career tank, considering he did most of his career damage in his 30's.

I started placing players in the trade queue that the Royals may want, and they were immediately fine with a one-for-one, with Claudell Washington being that option. I was initially going to offer both Washington & Dan Ford for McRae -- So I offered both for McRae and prospects Rich Gale (SP) and Sheldon Mallory (1B/OF). Deal done... Royals get two ready to play outfielders in Washington & Ford, while I can plug McRae at DH in the #2 slot of the lineup.

It's also a good thing that I voided the preseason deal (that owner Charles Finley did) that involved Ford, so that he could be a valuable trade chip in this deal.

I take the risk of losing a little depth, but I feel pretty confident that Lee Lacy (for this season, at least) will be able to hold down the fort in left (filling in for the Washington void). This may also open up some playing time for Chet Lemon (backup CF, OF), who has played very little so far during this 1975 season. Lemon, was originally drafted by Oakland in the 1st Round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft.

I needed to add another bullpen arm to that of Rollie Fingers, Dave Hamilton & Jim Todd. Bob Locker & Darold Knowles have had limited innings, while Paul Lindblad has an ERA just short of 5.00, and has now been limited to a left-handed specialist.

Oakland would end up trading RP-Paul Lindblad along with 3 prospects (RF-Derek Bryant, RP-Timothy Juran & C-Michael Rodriguez) to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for their closer Bill Campbell. Campbell will serve as the 7th Inning-or-later setup man to Rollie.

We'll see if this puts Oakland over the top, time can only tell.


Other Divisions outlooks...

• The Baltimore Orioles lead the A.L. East with a 62-41 record, 6 games ahead of the New York Yankees & 8.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians.

• The N.L. East is a four-team race with the Montreal Expos (57-44), St. Louis Cardinals (57-45, 0.5 GB), Pittsburgh Pirates (56-46, 1 GB) & the Philadelphia Phillies (53-51, 5.5 GB). Montreal has won 7 straight games. 

• The Big Red Machine owns a 65-39 record in 1st place, while the San Francisco Giants are 3.5 games back with a 62-43 record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the rearview mirror at 56-48 (9 GB).

Oakland Dynasty: A's Solid in 1st Half of 1975

This is my 2nd post on the Oakland Athletics dynasty from the 1970's. As you may know, from reading the first post that I decided to take over the Athletics coming off the heals of their three-peat championship parade. I was curious of what could have been for this dynasty that could have accomplished even more if it were not for their owner Charles Finley.

I did some of the following to avoid Finley's path...

• Catfish Hunter got paid on time, which did not void his contract, which in part did not make him a free agent or New York Yankee. Hunter is still Oakland's ace.

• The Athletics still have some of their prospects that were dealt off by Finley in Chet Lemon, Dan Ford & Manny Trillo.

• The Athletics also held onto relievers Darold Knowles and Bob Locker, plus other pieces that makes this team a more solid bunch.

All these moves have contributed to an excellent 1st half for the 1975 MLB Season. I of course have done this quick simulation with an administrative eye with the great help of Out of the Park Baseball 20... Doing this with APBA Baseball cards would take forever, while BBW could have done the simulation part, I feel OOTP is definitely more accurate.

As of July 4th, the Athletics were sitting 10 games ahead of the California Angels at 56-25, on pace for a 112 win season. The rotation as predicted has been outstanding...

• Catfish Hunter: 10-4, 2.08 ERA, 75 K & 1.048 WHIP in 147 innings (18 starts).
• Vida Blue: 11-5, 2.24 ERA, 91 K & & 1.046 WHIP in 136.2 innings (18 starts).
• Ken Holtzman: 13-2, 2.62 ERA, 44 K & 1.113 WHIP in 130.1 innings (17 starts).
• Glenn Abbott: 10-2, 2.73 ERA, 27 K & 1.202 WHIP in 99 innings (13 starts).

Dick Bosman has been the only starter in the rotation that has not done well, posting a 5-7 record with a 4.71 ERA & 1.342 WHIP. Bosman is leading the bunch by allowing 11 HR so far, which is not incredibly bad, and may have a lot to do with the inflated ERA. Holtzman has only allowed 1 HR during his 130.1 innings, which is pretty incredible.

At the beginning of the season, the middle of the lineup was struggling, so I moved up Phil Garner who was batting 7th, who was hitting .369 in mid-May, moving everyone like Sal Bando (to 3rd slot), Joe Rudi (to cleanup) & Reggie Jackson, who only had a .500 OPS at the time, to the 5th slot. Since the lineup adjustment, the lineup came alive, and the team gained some separation from the Angels. Reggie started to slug away, while his average climbed from .200 to .254, while his 16 HR ranks among the home run leaders. Garner has cooled off slightly, but is still batting .300 at the moment. I may have to make a new adjustment though with Sal Bando only batting .222 in the 3rd slot, I believe I may move him down to the 5th slot, making Rudi the #3 hitter once again, with Reggie batting in his natural cleanup slot.

I decided to go with the following, for the remainder of the month...

The bullpen has been pretty strong between Rollie Fingers (16 SV, 1.65 ERA), Dave Hamilton (1.72 ERA, 15.2 innings) & Jim Todd (2.90 ERA, 31 IP). Paul Lindblad has a 4.03 ERA with 22.1 innings, while Darold Knowles and Bob Locker has had limited appearances so far. I think the bullpen has plenty in the tank, thanks to a strong rotation.

Around the rest of the league...

• The New York Yankees, who were predicted to win the A.L. East with 109 wins, are sitting at a disappointing 40-39 record in 3rd place -- 6 games back of the 1st place Baltimore Orioles.

• The Cleveland Indians (39-36) have been a surprise early on, led by a decent rotation (The Perry brothers, Jim Kern & rookie Dennis Eckersley) & A.L. home run leader Oscar Gamble, who is hitting .335 with 27 HR & 58 RBI (1.089 OPS) -- who is likely the early favorite for the Most Valuable Player Award.

• The N.L. East has the closest division race at the moment with the Montreal Expos (46-33), St. Louis Cardinals (44-35, 2 GB) & Pittsburgh Pirates (43-36, 3 GB). Part of Montreal's surprise is acquiring Phil Niekro (traded for C-Larry Johnson, OF-Bombo Rivera & SS-Gary Gingrich) & Dave McNally (10-10, 3.47 ERA) pitching better than he actually did in 1975. 

• The Kansas City Royals have the worst record in all of baseball at 29-54 (.358) compared to that in real-life, in which the Royals finished 2nd in the A.L. West with 91 wins that season.

• The Cincinnati Reds (52-29) currently are the hottest team in baseball with 8 straight wins, while they hold a 3.5 game lead over the San Francisco Giants.

Oakland has at different points in the season received interesting offers, with Milwaukee offering Hank Aaron & Cincinnati offering George Foster, but neither trade was worth what they were asking for.

The remainder of the season should be fun, I'll keep you posted.

*86* Charles Finley

I caught the tail end of the "The Swingin' A's" MLB Network Special, and was left wondering what if Charles Finley kept the band together? How many more World Series titles, would Oakland have won? and could they have kept their winning ways going with free agency biting at its heels?

Thankfully with Out of the Park 20, I can find this out quickly through a simulation. I will conduct the day-to-day operations of the Oakland Athletics, and see if I can keep them rolling. It might not take away the frustrations of a die-hard Oakland fan, but it could give them a little satisfaction, if not smile at least.

So I decided to take over the franchise on the heels of their 3rd consecutive World Series title. Unfortunately, the game wanted me to start at March 1st, 1975, which means that I had to go edit Catfish Hunter back on to the Athletics. I also nullified part of the deal that sent OF-Dan Ford and minor league reliever Dennis Myers to Minnesota for a guy who never plays another game in the Majors in first baseman Pat Bourque. Myers will stay in Oakland in exchange for Bourque, so Minnesota gets something out of it, maybe I'll throw in a player to be named later into the deal later.

Also I nullified the trade acquisition of acquiring OF-Billy Williams, in exchange for two relievers in Darold Knowles and Bob Locker that give good depth to the bullpen, plus prospect IF-Manny Trillo.

I'll put an asterisk, next to a transaction if I duplicate a transaction that happened in real life..

• March 1st, 1975 - Oakland traded SP-Blue Moon Odom to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for SP-Dick Bosman & minor league catcher Kris Yoder.
• Placed CF-Chet Lemon on 40-man Roster.
• March 4th, 1975 - Oakland traded prospect OF-Ike Bessitt to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for OF-Bobby Molinaro.
• March 6th, 1975 - Oakland releases IF-Dick Green*.
• March 6th, 1975 - California claims C/1B- Charlie Sands.
• March 23rd, 1975 - Oakland traded SS-Rich McKinney, prospects OF-Dwayne Murphy & SP-Mike Norris to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for OF-Lee Lacy & prospect SS-Ivan DeJesus. 
• March 28th, 1975 - Oakland released OF-Jesus Alou*.
• April 6th, 1975 - Oakland traded OF-Champ Summers & cash to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Jim Todd*.

1975 OPENING DAY LINEUP

PITCHING STAFF

1975 OAKLAND COMPLETE ROSTER

C/1B- Gene Tenace

C- Ray Fosse

1B/LF- Joe Rudi

1B- Jim Holt

2B- Phil Garner

2B/IF- Ted Kubiak

SS- Bert Campaneris

SS/2B- Tony Sandt

3B- Sal Bando

LF- Claudell Washington

CF- Bill North

CF- Chet Lemon

RF- Reggie Jackson

DH/RF- Dan Ford

DH/LF- Lee Lacy

SP- Catfish Hunter

SP- Vida Blue

SP- Ken Holtzman

SP- Dick Bosman

SP- Glenn Abbott

RP- Jim Todd

RP- Dave Hamilton

RP- Bob Locker

RP- Paul Lindblad

RP- Darold Knowles

CP- Rollie Fingers

On the Farm

3B- Wayne Gross

SS- Ivan de Jesus

RP- Brian Kingman

OF- Denny Walling

IF- Manny Trillo

OF- Gary Woods

RP- Bob Lacey

SP- Steve McCatty