New Free Agent to Watch: Spring Training Update 3/7

History of Baseball: 1965

World Series Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers (97-65, .599 WPCT).

With the Veterans’ Committee getting together for a vote, only one player was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1965. Pud Galvin, the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Pirates legend who went 361-308 with a 2.87 ERA over his 14 year career from 1879-1892, made it into the Hall 63 years after his death in 1902. For the 1965 season, the Houston Colt .45’s renamed themselves the Houston Astros, along with opening a brand new, domed stadium called the Astrodome. It is the first indoor stadium in MLB history. The Los Angeles Angels also changed their name to the California Angels. An interesting new addition for the 1965 season was the first year player draft, where teams took turns selecting high school and college players. With the first overall pick, the Kansas City A’s selected Rick Monday out of Arizona State University, and the first ever draft pick would have a fruitful career with the A’s, Cubs, and Dodgers. The season was full of big time retirements. Yogi Berra, the great Yankees catcher from 1946-1963 who won ten World Series, retired after a four game stint with the Mets in 1965. Berra had hit 358 home runs, driven in 1430, and batted .285. Also retiring was Warren Spahn, arguably the greatest left handed pitcher of all time. Spahn had been around since 1942, winning 363 games and pitching from age 20 to age 44. Nellie Fox, the former White Sox great, as well as Vic Power, the Puerto Rican fan favorite, hung up their spikes as well. On the flip side, the pitching ranks got an incredible boost from debuts. Jim Palmer, who would go on to lead the Orioles during their Golden Age, as well as Catfish Hunter, who would win five World Series, both made their debuts in the AL. In the NL, Fergie Jenkins, a leading pitcher of the 1970’s, and Steve Carlton, one of the greatest lefties in history, jumped into the league. One of the most notable events in the history of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry occurred on August 22nd. With Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal squaring off for a duel, Marichal believed catcher John Roseboro was intentionally throwing the ball too close to Marichal’s face. Marichal turned and did what any of us would do, beating the Dodger catcher with this bat until he is bleeding out his his head. Interestingly, the two would forge a friendship in later years, and Marichal would thank Roseboro at his Hall of Fame induction speech. On September 9th, Koufax became threw the eighth perfect game in baseball history, one year after Jim Bunning. His opponent, the Cubs’ Bob Hendley, allowed only one hit and one hit-by-pitch, setting a major league record with only two base-runners combined for either team. Four days later, Willie Mays became just the fifth member of the 500 home run club, joining Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, and Ted Williams. On September 25th, perhaps the most interesting event of the season occurred in Kansas City. Starting for the A’s was 59 year old Satchel Paige, who tossed three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit, to Carl Yastrzemski. Paige effectively became the oldest player in major league history. After the season, the Reds would trade Frank Robinson to the Orioles for a package of lesser players, believing they were selling at maximum value. The fans would be extremely angry, and their anger would be justified when Robinson won the 1966 AL Triple Crown.

With a dismal New York Yankees team finishing in sixth place at 77-85, the upstart Twins (102-60) were able to swoop in and take the pennant by seven games over the White Sox (95-67). Over in the NL, a late season winning streak pushed the Dodgers (97-65) up two games over the Giants (95-67) for the pennant win. The Dodgers and Twins met in the World Series, and in the seventh game, the Dodgers were finally able to prevail behind a three hit shutout by Sandy Koufax for the Series win. Having also tossed a shutout in Game Five and finished the series 2-1 with a 0.38 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP over three starts, Koufax was named the 1965 World Series MVP. Rotation-mate Claude Osteen wasn’t much more hittable, going 1-1 with a 0.64 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over two starts. Outfielder Ron Fairly paced the offense, batting .379 with two home runs and six RBI over seven games, scoring seven of the team’s 24 runs. Fellow outfielder Lou Johnson added two home runs himself.

The Twins’ Zoilo Versailles took home the AL MVP Award, batting .273 with 19 home runs, 77 RBI, 27 stolen bases, and a major league leading 126 runs scored. Despite a strong challenge from Koufax, Willie Mays of the Giants was named the NL MVP. In one of the greatest years of his career, the 33 year old batted .317 with a major league leading 52 home runs and 112 RBI. His teammate, Willie McCovey, was right behind him in home runs, smacking 39 while driving in 92 and batting .276. Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente won the batting title at .329, also knocking ten home runs and scoring 91. Minnesota’s Tony Oliva won the AL batting title at .321, homering 16 times, driving in 98, and stealing 19 bases. Milwaukee’s Hank Aaron continued to pound out the home runs, batting .318 with 32 home runs, 89 RBI, 109 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases. The Cubs’ Billy Williams hit .315 with 34 home runs, 108 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. In his final season in Cincinnati, Frank Robinson batted .296 with 33 home runs, 113 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. His teammate, Deron Johnson, put up the best year of his career, batting .287 with 32 home runs and a major league leading 130 RBI. The Dodgers’ Maury Wills led the majors with 94 stolen bases, batting .286 with 92 runs scored. Curt Blefary won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, batting .260 with 22 home runs, 70 RBI, and 72 runs scored for the Orioles. Jim Lefebvre was the NL Rookie of the Year batting .250 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI. The Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax ran away with the Cy Young Award, going 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and 382 strikeouts in 335.2 innings. His 382 strikeouts were the most since Matt Kilroy and Toad Ramsey struck out 513 and 499, respectively, in 1886, effectively setting a modern record. The only pitcher to put up even remotely similar numbers was Juan Marichal, who went 22-13 with a 2.13 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP for the Giants. Koufax’s teammate, Don Drysdale, finished 23-12 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Mudcat Grant led the 102 win Twins by going 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Cincinnati’s Jim Maloney, who had tossed a no-hitter during the season, went 20-9 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Milwaukee’s Tony Cloninger led the post-Spahn Brewers rotation, going 24-11 with a 3.29 ERA. Jim Bunning had a huge year for the Phillies, going 19-9 with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Pittsburgh’s Vern Law had the best year of his career, going 17-9 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Sam McDowell had a huge year for the Indians, going 17-11 with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The Cubs’ Ted Abernathy became the first pitcher in major league history to save 30 games, finishing with 31 to go along with a 2.57 ERA. The White Sox’ Hoyt Wilhelm was arguably baseball’s best reliever, however, going 7-7 with a 1.81 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and 20 saves.

News

Cuban infielder Hector Olivera has been declared a free agent and can now sign with any team. Olivera is major league caliber and would likely be a starter for whichever team signs him.

Giants outfielder Hunter Pence broke his left forearm and will be out six to eight weeks.

Rangers signed Joe Beimel (3-1, 2.20 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2015 age: 38) to a one year, $1.5 million deal.

Cubs signed Phil Coke (5-2, 3.88 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 1 SV, 2015 age: 32-33) to a minor league deal.

Game Scores (SS=Split Squad)

Nationals (2-0) beat the Braves (1-2) 9-8.

Marlins (1-1) beat the Red Sox (0-2) 5-3.

Yankees (SS, 2-2) beat the Phillies (1-2) 4-1.

Pirates (2-2) beat the Yankees (SS, 2-2) 3-1.

Dodgers (SS, 3-1) beat the Brewers (0-2) 10-1.

Dodgers (SS, 3-1) beat the Mariners (2-1) 7-4.

Rays (1-1) beat the Twins (1-1) 2-1.

Reds (2-2) beat the Cubs (0-2) 5-2.

Angels (2-0) beat the Rockies (0-3) 3-0.

Mets (2-1) beat the Tigers (2-2) 5-4.

Top Scorer: Giants beat the Rangers 12-3.

Standings

Grapefruit (Florida) League: Top: Cardinals/Nationals (2-0, 1.000 WPCT). Bottom: Red Sox (0-2, .000).

Cactus (Arizona) League: Top: Royals/A’s (3-0, 1.000). Bottom: Rockies/Rangers (0-3, .000).

Nationals: 2-0, 1.000, T-1st in Grapefruit League.

Spring Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Matt Holliday (STL), 1.000 (2-2). Home runs: O’Koyea Dickson (LAD), Brett Eibner (KC), Alex Rios (KC), and Marcus Semien (OAK), 2. RBI: Marcus Semien, 7. Stolen bases: Odubel Herrera (PHI), 3.

Pitching: Wins: 45 tied with 1. K’s: Carlos Frias (LAD), 5. ERA: Branden Pinder (NYY), 0.00 (3.1 IP, 0 ER). Saves: 27 tied with 1.

Top Performers

Offensive: Pedro Ciriaco (ATL): 3-4, double, home run (1), 3 RBI, run.

Pitching: Zach Petrick (STL): No decision, 2 shutout innings, no hits, no walks, 2 K’s (2).

Worst Pitching Performance: Nick Tepesch (TEX): Loss (0-1), 1.1 innings, 7 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, no K’s.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched. K’s: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman