[abell1198]

In the American League 1960's Division, the 1961 New York Yankees are holding on to a slim one game lead. The Yankees finished the month with a record of 38-19. The leading hitter on the team is C Elston Howard with a .357 average, but RF Roger Maris is the power man in the lineup. Maris (.290, 23 HR, 52 RBI) is 4th in the AL in home runs, while the Yankees as a team are tied for 4th with 74. The pitching staff has done well, ranking 10th overall with a 3.30 ERA. CL Luis Arroyo (1-0, 0.36 ERA, 15 Saves) leads the bullpen, which is ranked 6th in the AL with a 2.72 ERA. Two players made news for the team this month. On May 4th, SP Bill Stafford (5-2, 2.49 ERA) pitched a one hit, 1-0 shutout against the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays. Stafford struck out five and walked one in the win. On May 30th, SP Whitey Ford (6-4, 3.48 ERA) defeated the 2006 Detroit Tigers 2-0, allowing five hits, striking out ten and walking none. The Yankees went 21-8 in May. Building on a four game winning streak at the end of April, the Yanks won their first 13 games of May for a 17 game winning streak. Victims of this streak included the 1971 Baltimore Orioles, 1992 Blue Jays, 2011 Texas Rangers and the 1990 Oakland A's.

In second place are the 1969 Baltimore Orioles at 37-20, 1 GB. The Orioles are tied with the Yankees for 4th in the AL with 74 home runs and are 7th in the AL in average at .285. 1B Boog Powell (.320, 18 HR, 47 RBI) and RF Frank Robinson (.306, 15 HR, 37 RBI) lead the charge for the Orioles. The starters are performing well as a unit, ranking 15th in the AL with a 3.48 ERA. The team went 20-8 in May, sweeping the 1977 New York Yankees and 2009 Detroit Tigers.

Third place is held by the 1963 New York Yankees at 33-24, 5 GB. The Yankees are tied for 7th in the AL in home runs with 70. The leading hitters for the team are 1B Joe Pepitone (.317, 13 HR, 35 RBI), RF Roger Maris (.263, 14 HR, 37 RBI) and CF Mickey Mantle (.272, 11 HR, 35 RBI). The pitching has been average, posting a 4.15 ERA. The Yankees fell off the pace in May, going 15-14. They won the first four games of the month, sweeping the 1953 New York Yankees in the process. But the team lost five of the next six series before sweeping the 1950 New York Yankees.

The 1960 New York Yankees find themselves in fourth place at 32-25, 6 GB. The Yankees have no .300 hitters and SP Bill Stafford (6-1, 2.58 ERA) is doing what he can to keep the team competitive. The Yanks went 16-13 in May and swept the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.

The 1962 New York Yankees are in fifth place at 27-30, 11 GB. The Yankees, like their 1960 counterparts, have no .300 hitters. RF Roger Maris is hitting .259 with 16 HR and 47 RBI. SP Ralph Terry is pitching well at 6-3, 3.49 ERA. The Yankees managed a 17-12 record in May and are still trying to dig themselves out of the hole they found themselves in after a lackluster April.

In sixth place are the 1968 Detroit Tigers at 24-33, 14 GB. DH Willie Horton is having a great season so far, hitting .362 with 25 HR and 60 RBI. Horton is tied for 3rd in the AL in RBI. Horton was also named AL Player of the Week on May 27 after hitting .565 (13 for 23) with 5 HR and 11 RBI. SP Earl Wilson (6-4, 3.32 ERA) is doing what he can, but the starters are ranked 91st in the AL with a 5.04 ERA. The Tigers ended the month on a five game losing streak and were swept by the 1939 New York Yankees.

There is a three way tie for seventh place at 23-34, 15 GB. The first team in the tie is the 1965 Minnesota Twins. The Twins leading hitters are C Earl Battey (.307), CF Jimmie Hall (.307) and RF Tony Oliva (.306), although 1B Don Mincher (.286, 16 HR, 49 RBI) is their best overall bat. The starting rotation has failed the team and is ranked 100th in the AL with a 5.42 ERA. The second team in the tie is the 1967 Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are led by LF Carl Yastrzemski (.308, 19 HR, 42 RBI) and DH Tony Horton (.309, 8 HR, 26 RBI). Pitching and defense are lacking. The pitching staff is ranked 99th in the AL with a 5.17 ERA, while the defensive efficiency is 106th in the AL at .638. The third team is the 1966 Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles best hitter is 1B Boog Powell (.299, 15 HR, 37 RBI) and the pitching for the team has been average.

In last place are the 1964 New York Yankees at 22-35, 16 GB. C Elston Howard and 2B Bobby Richardson are both hitting .335. SP Whitey Ford leads the pitchers at 6-4, 2.82 ERA. Ford made league news on May 14 when he shut out the 2011 Texas Rangers in a 6-0 win. Ford allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked one. Also making news for the Yankees was RF Hector Lopez (.257, 9 HR, 33 RBI). On May 6, Lopez went 4-4 with 3 HR and 5 RBI in an 8-7 loss to the 1971 Baltimore Orioles.

Leading the National League 1960's Division are the 1969 New York Mets at 38-19. LF Cleon Jones leads the team with a .345 average. But pitching is the strong point for the team. The pitching staff is ranked #1 overall in the NL with a 2.67 ERA. The starters are ranked 3rd at 2.72, while the pen comes in at 4th with a 2.47. SP Jerry Koosman (7-3, 2.55 ERA) and SP Tom Seaver (6-3, 2.24 ERA) lead the way. Koosman made league news on May 3 when he shutout the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals 1-0, allowing four hits, striking out 11 and walking two. SP Gary Gentry (4-4, 2.95 ERA) made news on May 1 with his 5-0 shutout win over the 1996 Atlanta Braves. Gentry allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one. On May 27, C Jerry Grote (.293, 1 HR, 21 RBI) went 5-5 with four singles and a double in a 12-5 win over the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers. The Mets went 19-10 in May, sweeping the 2006 Cardinals and 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks.

Two teams are tied for second place at 35-22, 3 GB. The first team we'll look at is the 1962 San Francisco Giants. The Giants are 2nd in the NL in runs scored (317) and HR (72). 2B Chuck Hiller is hitting .300, while CF Willie Mays (.290, 16 HR, 46 RBI) and 1B Orlando Cepeda (.278, 14 HR, 46 RBI) are solid contributors. SP Jack Sanford leads the pitchers with a 6-1 record and 2.43 ERA. SP Billy O'Dell (4-4, 3.09 ERA) made news on May 14 with an 8-0 win over the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals. O'Dell allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked none. The Giants went 20-9 in May, helped by a ten game winning streak in the middle of the month. The second team in the tie is the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers. 2B Jim Lefebvre leads the hitters with a .330 batting average, but pitching is this team's strong suit. SP Claude Osteen (5-1, 1.70 ERA), SP Don Drysdale (6-1, 2.80 ERA) and SP Sandy Koufax (3-4, 2.53 ERA) lead a pitching staff ranked 7th in the NL with a combined ERA of 3.02. The staff is also ranked 2nd in the NL in HR's allowed with 19. The Dodgers were 18-11 in May, helped by sweeps of the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers, 2012 San Francisco Giants and 1975 Cincinnati Reds. Currently though, the Dodgers are on a three game skid after being swept by the 1973 New York Mets.

Two teams find themselves tied for fourth place in the division at 34-23, 4 GB. The first team is the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers. LF Lou B Johnson leads all hitters with his .347 batting average, while SS Maury Wills (.319, 0 HR, 10 RBI) is tied for the Major League lead in stolen bases with 32. SP Sandy Koufax (4-4, 1.75 ERA) and SP Don Drysdale (6-3, 2.63 ERA) lead a pitching staff ranked 6th in the NL with an ERA of 2.94. CL Bob L Miller (2-1, 1.06 ERA, 16 Saves) leads a bullpen ranked 2nd in the NL with a 2.22 ERA. The '65 Dodgers are also 2nd in the NL in Defensive Efficiency (.731). The Dodgers only managed a 15-14 record in May, sweeping the 1907 Chicago Cubs and 1967 St. Louis Cardinals during a six game winning streak in the middle of the month. The second team in the tie is the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers. RF Frank Howard leads the team in hitting at .295, 13 HR, 30 RBI. SP Sandy Koufax (8-3, 1.70 ERA) leads a starting staff ranked 1st in the NL with a 2.66 ERA, while the entire pitching staff ranks 9th in the NL at 3.06. Koufax is 5th in the NL with 114 strikeouts.

In sixth place are the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals at 29-28, 9 GB. CF Curt Flood (.351) leads the team in hitting while SP Bob Gibson (5-4, 2.21 ERA) leads the way for the pitchers. C Tim McCarver (.283, 4 HR, 20 RBI) made news for the team on May 6 when he went 5-5 with three singles and two doubles in a 7-2 win over the 1951 New York Giants. The Cardinals suffered an 11-18 record in May after a promising start in April. A ten game losing streak sealed the Cardinals fate for the month, as they were swept by the 1912 New York Giants and 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 1968 St. Louis Cardinals hold down seventh place at 24-33, 14 GB. The Cardinals are tied for 104th in the NL in home runs (14), 108th in the NL in runs scored (152) and 101st in the NL in OBP (.295). 3B Mike Shannon leads the team with a .307 average, while LF Lou Brock (.264, 0 HR, 14 RBI) is tied for 4th in the NL in triples with six. SP Steve Carlton (5-2, 3.12 ERA) and SP Ray Washburn (5-5, 2.39 ERA) lead the pitching staff. Washburn made news on May 26 with a 1-0 win over the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals where he allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked none.

Two teams are tied for eighth place in the division at 22-35, 16 GB. The first team is the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, who are 103rd in the NL in runs scored with 183. SS Dick Groat is hitting .367, while SP Vinegar Bend Mizell is 5-3 with a 1.88 ERA. Mizell made news on May 21 with a 13-0 win over the 1945 Chicago Cubs, where he allowed six hits, struck out five and walked four. SP Vern Law (3-6, 4.32 ERA) also made news on May 12 with a 4-0 win over the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates in which he allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked one. The second team in the tie is the 1961 Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are tied for 101st in the NL in runs against (286) and their starting pitching is ranked 104th in the NL with an ERA of 4.81. CF Vada Pinson (.345, 6 HR, 23 RBI) leads the team in average, while RF Wally Post (.305, 16 HR, 42 RBI) is providing the power. LF Frank Robinson (.285, 7 HR, 23 RBI) made news on May 2 when he hit for the cycle, going 5-5 in an 11-7 loss to the 1967 Cardinals. The Reds are currently suffering through a ten game losing streak, having been swept by the 1917 New York Giants, 1995 Atlanta Braves and 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers.

In last place are the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals at 21-36, 17 GB. The Cardinals are 102nd in the NL in runs scored with 185. C Tim McCarver leads the team with his .324 average. The pitching has been below average thus far. LF Lou Brock (.273, 4 HR, 21 RBI) made news on back to back days. On May 24, Brock went 5-7 with two singles, two doubles and a home run in an 8-7 win over the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers. The next day, May 25, he tortured the Dodgers again, going 5-6 with three singles, a double and a home run in a 16-5 win. The Cardinals lost eight in a row in the middle of the month while being swept by the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies and 1962 San Francisco Giants. The Cards are currently on a three game winning streak, as they ended the month by sweeping the 1923 New York Giants.