1962
Changes- International relocation - The Seattle Mariners relocate to become the Vancouver Canadians.
- Change BBs (larger) - Walks will now be twice as common as real life.
- Award winner rand - 1961 NL Relief Man of the Year Claude Osteen (St. Louis) is randomly assigned to the Boston Red Sox.
Off-Season
- Joe Adcock signed with Brooklyn in free agency.
- Whitey Ford signed with the Dodgers from the Athletics.
- Al Rosen moved from Detroit to Baltimore.
American League East
Philadelphia Athletics (86-68)
Boston Red Sox (83-71)
Baltimore Orioles (82-72)
New York Yankees (75-79)
American League Central
Chicago White Sox (88-66)
Cleveland Indians (78-76)
Washington Senators (77-77)
Detroit Tigers (51-103)
American League West
Kansas City Royals (102-52)
Minnesota Twins (73-81)
California Angels (65-89)
Vancouver Canadians (64-90)
AL MVP: Jim Fregosi (Kansas City)
AL CYA: Jim O'Toole (Kansas City) (2nd award)
AL ROY: Jim Fregosi (Kansas City)
AL RMA: Joe Gibbon (Baltimore)
AL MOY: Satchel Paige (Kansas City)
National League East
Philadelphia Phillies (100-54)
New York Giants (81-73)
Brooklyn Dodgers (71-83)
National League Central
Cincinnati Reds (75-79)
Durham Bulls (70-84)
Pittsburgh Pirates (54-100)
National League West
Milwaukee Brewers (95-59)
St. Louis Cardinals (87-67)
Atlanta Braves (77-77)
Chicago Cubs (60-94)
NL MVP: Norm Cash (Philadelphia)
NL MOP: Jim Kaat (Philadelphia)
NL ROY: Bob Veale (Chicago)
NL RMA: Don Gross (Milwaukee) (2nd award)
NL MOY: Joe Kiefer (Philadelphia) (4th award)
Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Dick Groat (Chicago) .333, Mickey Mantle (Durham) .317
Home Runs: Wes Covington (Philadelphia) 8, Duke Snider (Philadelphia) / Dick Williams (New York) 8
Runs Batted In: Wes Covington (Philadelphia) 128, Duke Snider (Philadelphia) 129
Stolen Bases: Maury Wills (Baltimore) 78, Orlando Cepeda (Pittsburgh) 51
WAR: Jim Fregosi (Kansas City) 8.8, Richie Ashburn (New York) 6.7
Wins: Jim O'Toole (Kansas City) 27, Jim Kaat (Philadelphia) 21
ERA: Jim O'Toole (Kansas City) 2.48, Don Drysdale (Atlanta) 2.27
Strikeouts: Sandy Koufax (New York) 110, Herb Score (Philadelphia) 169
Saves: Dick Radatz (Kansas City) 31, Don Gross (Milwaukee) 42
WAR: Billy O'Dell (Minnesota) 6.6, Juan Marichal (Chicago) 9.1
Notes
- Al Fregosi, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Jim O'Toole and Jim McDonald were the key pieces in Kansas City's 102 win team.
- Boston won on the last day of the season to secure the AL Wildcard.
- Duke Snider and Norm Cash formed a one-two punch for the Phillies.
- Claude Osteen (Boston) was converted to a starter, and went 17-16 with a strong 2.82 ERA.
Achievements & Milestones
- Tim McCarver (Minnesota) hit for the cycle.
- Jackie Jensen (Vancouver, 35) and Jim Lemon (Milwaukee, 34) hit their 300th home runs.
- Lou Brissie (Brooklyn, 38), Johnny Antonelli (Washington, 32), and Whitey Ford (Brooklyn, 33) moved past 200 wins.
- Curt Simmons (Baltimore, 33) and Russ Meyer (Baltimore, 38) won game #250.
- Bob Turley (Detroit) walked an astounding 300 batters, to just 48 struck out.
Division Series
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Philadelphia (4 wins) and Kansas City (3 wins) advanced. Chicago (3 wins) and Boston (2 wins) were eliminated.
- John Buzhardt (Philadelphia) started the round robin by shutting out the Royals, 4-0.
- John Tsitouris (Boston) shutout the Royals on a two-hitter, as Boston won 5-0.
- John Roseboro (Kansas City) drove in four runs on a single and a triple in a KC 7-2 win over the A's.
- Wes Covington (Philadelphia) hit a twelfth inning walk-off hit to beat Boston 6-5.
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Cincinnati (5 wins) and St. Louis (3 wins) advanced. Philadelphia (3 wins) and Milwaukee (1 win) were eliminated.
- Denny Lemaster (St. Louis) threw a four-hit shutout to down Cincinnati, 9-0.
- Walt Bond (Cincinnati) knocked home the winning run in a 2-1 win over the Phillies.
- Glen Hobble (Cincinnati) threw a shutout in a 4-0 win over the Phillies.
- Gene Conley (St. Louis) was a magnificent in a two-hit shutout of the Phillies.
- The Reds scraped a 1-0 win over Milwaukee in the final game of the round robin phase.
ALCS
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Kansas City defeated Philadelphia, 4 games to 3.
- Al Kaline was the series MVP.
- Jim Fregosi (Kansas City) drew a bases-loaded walk to win Game One 4-3.
- Jim Pisoni (Philadelphia) was 3-4 with a triple, a homer, and three RBI in a 7-5 Game Six win.
- Game Seven was a blowout, as Kansas City piled on the runs in a 13-1 win, including seven insurance runs in the ninth inning.
- Kansas City last won the pennant in 1953.
NLCS
-
St. Louis defeated Cincinnati, 4 games to 1.
- Catcher Johnny Blanchard was series MVP. The catcher drove in eight runs.
- Denny Lemaster (St. Louis) shutout the Reds on four hits to win Game Two, 8-0.
- Don Zimmer (Cincinnati) hit the walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Reds a 9-8 win in Game Three.
- Jack Fisher (St. Louis) won Games One and Five.
- A repeat of the 1952 interstate World Series, which was won by the Cardinals.
World Series
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Kansas City defeated St. Louis, 5 games to 4.
- Mike Cuellar threw two shutouts in the series and a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in Game Nine to win World Series MVP.
- Cuellar pitched a shutout in Game Two, and the Royals scored seven runs to take a 2-0 series lead.
- Jack Fisher (St. Louis) showed his class in Game Five, shutting out the Royals as the Redbirds won 6-0.
- Cuellar threw another shutout in Game Six, allowing just three hits in a 2-0 KC win.
- Game Nine was only settled after eleven innings. Harmon Killebrew (Kansas City) drove home Al Kaline, giving the Royals an 8-7 win.
- Kaline was 14-40 in the series.
- Camilo Pascual (Kansas City) won Games Three and Nine.
- Dick Ellsworth (St. Louis) won Games Two and Eight.
- The first World Series title in Kansas City.
Retirements
- Ted Abernathy. Fine relief man who pitched for 11 big league clubs. 153 career saves, 148 ERA+, nine All-Star games, and three straight Relief Man Awards. Rings in 1954 and 1961.
- Robin Roberts. Important member of Cardinals and Braves dynasties. 206-145 record, 150 ERA+. Two All-Stars, Gold Gloves, and Silver Sluggers. Led NL in ERA in 1950. 1954 NLCS MVP.
- Eddie Robinson. Long-serving Angels fist baseman who led AL in homers in 1947 and 1948. Six All-Star teams, four Silver Sluggers, and a ring with the Braves in 1959. 438 homers and a 141 career OPS+.
Hall of Fame
KENNETH DAVID "KEN" RAFFENSBERGER
Starting Pitcher
Chicago Cubs 1939-1953, Pittsburgh Pirates 1954, San Francisco Seals 1954-1958
2x NL MOP, 3x WS, NLCS MVP, 4x AS
305-241, 3 SV, 2.14 ERA, 5356.1 IP, 1859 K, 141 ERA+, 167.3 WAR
ERNEST DANIEL "ERNIE" WHITE
Starting Pitcher
Washington Senators 1940-1956, Detroit Tigers 1958
2x AL MOP, 3x WS, 8x AS
247-165, 40 SV, 2.19 ERA, 3882.1 IP, 2000 K, 139 ERA+, 111.2 WAR
THEODORE SAMUEL "TED" WILLIAMS
Left Fielder
Philadelphia Athletics 1939-1950, Louisville Colonels 1951, New York Yankees 1952, San Diego Padres 1953, New York Giants 1954-1956, Baltimore Orioles 1957, Kansas City Royals 1958
5x AL MVP, AL ROY, 9x AS, 10x SS
.217/.414/.488, 1823 H, 446 2B, 54 3B, 573 HR, 1422 RBI, 2818 BB, 58 SB, 206 OPS+, 123.6 WAR
LEWIS ROBERT "HACK" WILSON
Center Fielder
Columbus Senators 1923-1925, Cleveland Indians 1926-1932, New York Giants 1933-1934, Minnesota Twins 1935-1939
AL MVP, WS, 12x AS, 13x SS
.216/.312/.467, 1880 H, 263 2B, 108 3B, 567 HR, 1385 RBI, 1209 BB, 27 SB, 163 OPS+, 51.9 WAR
Draft
- Detroit chose Joe Morgan first overall.
- Dick Allen went second to Pittsburgh.
- The Cubs chose Rico Petrocelli at three.
- Rico Carty was Vancouver's choice at four.
- Jim Wynn went fifth to the California Angels.
- Brooklyn opted for Rusty Staub at #7.
- The Yankees picked Mickey Lolich tenth.
- Denny McLain went to Washington at eleven.
- Pete Rose slipped to the Braves at #12.
- The Giants drafted Tommy John with the thirteenth pick.
Mike Cuellar was World Series MVP.
Wes Covington led the American League in homers and RBI.