[bpbrooksy]

May 1961 - Review

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Baltimore Orioles (30-22)
2. New York Yankees (28-21)
3. Boston Red Sox (26-21)
4. Cleveland Indians (25-23)
5. Detroit Tigers (26-24)
6. Kansas City Athletics (22-23)
7. Los Angeles Angels (22-24)
8. Chicago White Sox (22-28)
9. Washington Senators (22-28)
10. MINNESOTA TWINS (19-28)

MONTHLY AWARDS

1. Batter of the Month: 1B Norm Cash, DET (.402, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 32 R)
2. Pitcher of the Month: SP Don Mossi, DET (6-0, 2.15 ERA, 24 K)
3. Rookie of the Month: SP Jim Archer, KCA (3-1, 1.65 ERA, 22 K)

BATTING RACE

1. 1B Norm Cash, DET (.383)
2. C Elston Howard, NYY (.353)
3. LF Yogi Berra, NYY (.349)

HOME RUN RACE

1. 1B Steve Bilko, LAA (18)
2. RF Roger Maris, NYY (18)
3. 1B Norm Cash, DET (17)

ERA LEADERS

1. Ralph Terry, NYY (1.96)
2. CAMILO PASCUAL, MIN (2.16)
3. Juan Pizarro, CHW (2.16)

STRIKEOUT LEADERS

1. Juan Pizarro, CHW (69)
2. CAMILO PASCUAL, MIN (63)
3. Jim Bunning, DET (54)

The Orioles are still on top, but the Yankees are only a half-game back, and the Red Sox are hot on their heels. The first division are all within three games of each other, and even Kansas City and Los Angeles are close despite losing records. Then there's us, all the way at the bottom with an 8.5-game deficit. I wonder why people aren't coming...

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Philadelphia Phillies (27-18)
2. Cincinnati Reds (26-19)
3. San Francisco Giants (25-19)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (23-21)
5. Chicago Cubs (22-24)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (19-25)
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (19-27)
8. Milwaukee Braves (18-26)

MONTHLY AWARDS

1. Batter of the Month: RF Frank Robinson, CIN (.343, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 22 R)
2. Pitcher of the Month: SP Don Cardwell, CHC (5-0, 1.07 ERA, 22 K)
3. Rookie of the Month: SP Bob Veale, PIT (3-1, 1.49 ERA, 44 K)

BATTING RACE

1. 3B Ken Boyer, STL (.365)
2. SS Maury Wills, LAD (.354)
3. CF Curt Flood, STL (.349)

HOME RUN RACE

1. CF Hank Aaron, MIL (17)
2. SS Ernie Banks, CHC (13)
3. LF Billy Williams, CHC (12)

ERA LEADERS

1. Don Cardwell, CHC (1.66)
2. Turk Farrell, PHI (2.08)
3. Lew Burdette, MIL (2.25)

STRIKEOUT LEADERS

1. Jim O'Toole, CIN (70)
2. Bob Gibson, STL (65)
3. Mike McCormick, SF (65)

The last time we looked at the standings, the Braves were atop the National League. How the mighty have fallen! The team went 7-21 in May, and they're playing a little better than their record actually shows, but that's not gonna keep them out of the cellar.

Don Cardwell is coming out of nowhere with an early Cy Young bid. His previous career-high ERA+ was 88, last season between Philadelphia and Chicago. This year? It's up at 2.49. Is the College of Coaches...working?