GTS-1902 Pittsburgh Pirates at 1984 Detroit Tigers

Jesse Tannehill

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In the first game of Interleague play, the Tigers hosted the 1902 Pirates and both pitchers dominated. The Pirates ace Jesse Tannehill pitched a complete game shutout holding the Tigers to a mere 6 hits while Detroit’s Milt Wilcox tossed a solid 9 innings and only surrendered a lone run on a Ginger Beaumont single to center that scored Wid Conroy in the 3^rd. The Tigers lose their third game by a single run and their fourth game overall dropping them to a record of 2-4 and 13^th place in the standings. The 1902 Pirates scored a single run on 7 hits and no errors while the 1984 Tigers put up a goose egg on 6 hits and no errors. Jesse Tannehill is named player of the game going 9 innings with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk. The 1984 Tigers head to St. Louis to take on the 1942 Cardinals in round 6.

Notes:

GTS-2001 Seattle Mariners 5 Round Recap

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While I expected a bit more from the 116 win 2001 Mariners because of their solid pitching staff, at 3-2 and in 6^th place, they remain in the mix with their only losses coming at the hands of the 3^rd place 1942 Cardinals 3-1, and the 2^nd place Baltimore Orioles 4-3. In their other 3 affairs they have played well including 2 shutouts, a 3-0 win at Chicago and a 2-0 victory at home to the ’46 Red Sox to go along with a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. With their superstar Ichiro Suzuki only going 3 for 23 so far and the rest of the batting order struggling, their pitching staff has kept them winning with solid starts from Freddy Garcia, Aaron Sele, and Joel Pineiro. Their pitching should remain strong in their next 3 games against the 1992 Pirates, the ’54 Cleveland Indians, and the ’84 Tigers.

GTS-1986 New York Mets 5 Round Recap

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In 1^st place from round 1, the ’86 Mets have not dominated their opponents with the exception of their 7-0 win versus the 1975 Oakland Athletics on opening day. They have however, faced tough competition and handed both the 2^nd and 3^rd place teams their only defeats of the season, a 4-3 win over the ’69 Orioles in round 3 and an extra innings victory over the Cardinals, 7-5 in round 4. You can also count a 6-5 win against the Dodgers and a round 5 shocking 2-1 loss against the 1954 Cleveland Indians that sees the 4-1 Mets hanging onto to first place only by their 1 run victory over Baltimore. With 5 players in the starting lineup batting .300+ and 2, Gary Carter and Daryl Strawberry, topping .400, the Mets have proven their offensive prowess. With upcoming games against the 1970 Pirates in interleague play as well as games against a pair of 2-3 teams, the 1962 Giants and the ’75 Cincinnati Reds, it is conceivable that the 1986 New York Mets can continue their hold on the top of the standings.

GTS-1984 Detroit Tigers 5 Round Recap

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With the exception of one game, the 1984 Detroit Tigers have won or lost all of their games by the slimmest of margins, 1 run. With a 5-4 win over the Yankess and a 9-8 defeat of the 1946 Red Sox, the Tigers have done exactly what was necessary to earn the W, but with a 4-3 loss in Baltimore, and a 3-2 defeat at home against the bicentennial Phillies, Detroit has come up just short of the win. The outlier here would be their round 4 stunning defeat at the hands of the 1906 Cubs, 4-1, that has placed them into a lowly position of 12^th place. Lance Parrish, Dave Bergman, and Chet Lemon are all batting .300 or over, but the team has, as a whole, found it difficult to do everything necessary to make winning consistent. Only the future knows if they can make a consistent habit of winning games as they have a tough schedule in their next 3 games against the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 4 and 1 1942 Cardinals, and the ’01 Mariners.

GTS-1976 Philadelphia Phillies 5 Round Recap

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It is hard for me to understand why the 1976 Philadelphia Phillies sit in 14^th place and at the bottom of a group of teams tied at 2-3. Perhaps it is because, when they are bad, they are really bad as is evidenced by their average margin of loss of nearly 6 runs per game because of a round 1 12-2 loss at home versus Pittsburgh and a round 5 loss on the road to the ’69 Orioles 11-5. A 5-0 win victory over the last place Minnesota Twins and a 3-2 win over the 1984 Tigers in rounds 2 and 3 have not changed the fact. Throw in an 8-7 loss at home against the Yankees and it is obvious that the Phillies need to find a key to victory sooner rather than later. While outfielder Greg Luzinski has played good, leading the team in hits and a batting average of .333, the rest of the team, both at the plate and on the mound have struggled for positive results. Philadelphia fanatics pray for some positive results in their next 3 games: at home against the 1960 Pirates and the 1975 Athletics and visiting St. Louis versus the 1942 Cardinals.

GTS-1975 Oakland Athletics 5 Round Recap

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Struggling themselves, the 1975 Oakland Athletics have had a disappointing season thus far and see themselves staring at the bottom of the pack looking up from 13^th place. Shut out by the ’86 Mets in round 1, 7-0, followed by a 4-1 defeat in New York against the ’61 Yankees saw the A’s start their season 0-2 before a 5-3 win over the 1909 Pirates at home in round 3 gave them life. Round 4 saw them drop another game, this time to the 1962 San Francisco Giants 8-6 before earning win #2 against the 15^th place Chicago Cubs. While both offensively and defensively they have accorded themselves decently, thus far they have had a difficult time finding ways to win. The Athletics need to discover a way to do so in their next 3 games against the 1927 Pirates, the ’76 Phillies and the 1965 Minnesota Twins.

GTS-1975 Cincinnati Reds 5 Round Recap

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Current standings place the 1975 Reds in 9^th place after 5 games and I could have scarcely imagined when I began this season that the “Big Red Machine” would have struggled this much. After a 2-1 win at San Francisco to the 1962 Giants on opening day, the Reds dropped their next 2 games, a 1 run 4-3 loss to the Cardinals and another 4-3 loss at home to the ’61 Yankees. After defeating the ’62 Dodgers 6-2 in round 4, the Reds go undefeated against both 1962 teams, but in round 5 they suffered another 1 run heartbreaker to the 2001 Seattle Mariners, 6-5. While the Reds have struggled offensively, it has been pitching that has let them down the most. Their only solace has come from Don Gullett who has been the starting pitcher in both of their wins. When he starts they win, but Cincinnati needs to find another starter who can lead them to victory as they face off against the 1972 Pirates, the 1965 Twins, and the 1986 Mets in their next 3 contests.

GTS-1969 Baltimore Orioles 5 Round Recap

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So far in my Great Teams Season, the 1969 Orioles have impressed. Averaging 6.2 runs per game in no small thanks to a league leading 13 team home runs, the Orioles currently reside in 2^nd place only because of a head to head loss to the 1^st place Mets. A 9-6 win over the Twins, and a 4-3 win against the Tigers began their season before they dropped their only game of the season to the 1986 Mets, 4 to 3. They then went on to a 4-3 win over the solid pitching of the 2001 Seattle Mariners and destroyed the ’76 Phillies 11-5 in the final game of Round 5. As previously mentioned, the Orioles offense has overwhelmed teams and a lot of that credit goes to first baseman Boog Powell. Powell, who is the season’s front runner for MVP at this juncture, leads the league in batting average at .588, RBI’s at 9, home runs at 5, and runs at 7. It remains to be seen if he can keep up this pace heading into interleague play against the 1909 Pirates, the 1961 Yankees and the 1946 Red Sox in the next 3 rounds.

GTS-1965 Minnesota Twins 5 Round Recap

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The 1965 Twins have had a rough go of things so far this season and currently stand in last place. After dropping their first game at Baltimore 9-6 and their second at Philadelphia 5-0, the Twins picked up a 4-2 win against the 15^th place 1906 Chicago Cubs before dropping their last 2 at Cleveland and at San Francisco, 6-3 and 12-7 respectively. With an average run differential of 4 points per game in their losses, the Twins are looking for anything to spark victory. Offensively they have only one player batting over .300, Zolio Versalles, and, with the exception of Jim Kaat, their pitching staff has struggled thus far. Things do not get easier for Minnesota in interleague play as they battle the 1925 Pirates, and then face 2 teams at home from 1975, the Reds and the A’s.

GTS-1962 San Francisco Giants 5 Round Recap

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As the team that bested the 1962 Dodgers in 1962, the San Francisco Giants have not had much luck either in the Great Teams Season despite averaging a league high 6.4 runs per game. 3 straight losses to begin the season; a 2-1 loss versus the Reds, a 5-4 defeat by the ’46 Red Sox, and falling to the Cardinals 9 to 7 were frustrating, but they followed it up with an 8-6 win at Oakland and a high scoring, 12-7 win at home against the 1965 Twins. Offensively speaking, the top 3 of the Giants batting order are all tied with a league leading 11 hits which includes Harvey Kuenn’s best batting average of every player in the league at .550. Having yet to defeat any team in the top half of the standings, the Giants will get their chance after meeting the 1971 Pirates in interleague play as they face the 1986 New York Mets and the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates.