PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #113
1963 Los Angeles Angels (70-91) vs 1947 Washington Senators (64-90)
Still a spanking new franchise, the 1963 Angels tried to make progress quickly in a new market that was dominated by the big name Dodgers. Bill Rigney helped the club win 70 games and mild respect in the American League. A young pitching staff was lead by two 22 year old arms in Dean Chance and Ken McBride. Each won 13 games and had ERA+ over 100. Chance struck out 6 per nine and had 6 complete games even pitching in for three saves, his potential is obvious. McBride battled with a 3.26 ERA and logged the most innings on the club. Don Lee went 8-11 as the third starter and a 3.60 ERA that wasnt terrible while veteran Bob Turley only won twice in 12 starts but also had an ok showing with a 104 ERA+. Lefty Bob Belinsky was roughed up and lost his place while Dan Osinski was a good swing man who made 16 stats to some effect. Closer Julio Navarro was good with 12 saves over 90 innings and he shared the duties with 40 year old Art Fowler. Overall, the pitching and the 3.52 team ERA was not bat at all. Leon Wagner was the only power bat on the entire roster by a mile hitting 26 home runs and driving in 90 for a very weak offense. Centerfielder Albie Pearson stole 17 bases and hit an impressive .304 while scoring 92 runs and could not be overlooked. The Angels got nothing out of right field as George Thomas hit .210 and noone behind him like Bob Perry or Bo Sadowski did better. Felix Torres hit .261 at third base but was there more for his glove work while Lee Thomas was a big disappointment at first hitting .220 with only nine home runs. At short was hope as 21 year old Jim Fregosi had a .748 OPS and some excellent defense despite striking out over 100 times. Billy Moran did his job at second hitting .275 with 65 RBI and some timely hitting. Catcher Buck Rogers at 24 was still green and improving on his game, but he is another player that began to show promise for the team. Charlie Dees hit over .300 as a left handed bat in the pinch, but overall the danger factor for this Angels offense just wasnt there. Expansion clubs usually have a rough go of it for a number of years.
Another difficult season for the Senators who were the annual whipping boy for the American League. They dropped 90 games and too often were robbed of their talent by teams that had more invested resources. The rotation was headed by 27 year old Early Wynn who won 17 games with a 3.64 ERA and 22 complete games. Right there with him was Walt Masterson who lost 16 games but his 3.13 ERA was quite good in over 250 innings including 4 shutouts. Mickey Haefner was the only lefty in the rotation also throwing four shutouts and giving a real stability to the top three that kept the Senators in games. The wild card is 39 year old Bobo Newsom who we have already seen dominate in this competition. The rubber armed star had a 4.09 ERA in 9 starts but manager Ossie Bluege has already hinted that Newsom will be used against the Angels. Ray Scarborough rounded off the rotation with average work and Sid Hudson was hit hard in 17 starts. Tom Ferrick was the only real arm out of the pen with a 3.15 ERA but a 1-7 record. Milo Candini and Marino Pieretti tried as they might but were plain bad. Like the Angels, the Senators seemed to have only one star on offense and that was Sam Spence. Spence had an .819 OPS with 17 home runs and some real ability with only 41 strikeouts. Buddy Lewis drove in just over 40 runs with 15 doubles and modest results while Joe Grace and Sherry Robertson split time in left but neither will make you stand up and watch. Eddie Yost was only 20 years old and showed it at third batting only .238 and being much too anxious to impress. Mark Christman was a contact machine striking out only 16 times all season but only having 89 hits and a .222 average doesnt say much about the contact. Jerry Priddy hit .214 as the everyday second baseman and was nothing more then a dependable glove. Al Evans was a terrible hitter at catcher with a 71 OPS+ but his glove work and control of the rotation earned him his keep. Finally Mickey Vernon at first base was the fan favorite and in many ways the face of the club driving in 85 runs with 12 triples and 12 steals playing a style of baseball that old school fans love. Washington had little to offer in terms of depth so the weak lineup will have to find its way. The best news for the Senators was the draw that they were given does give them a chance against LA in what may not be the most anticipated series, but still good very well be a good one.
Game 1 From Dodger Stadium
Partly cloudy 67
1947 Senators......................3
1963 Angels..........................2
WP: B. Newsom (1-0) LP: D. Chance (0-1) S: T. Ferrick (1)
HR: J. Fregosi (1)
POG: Bobo Newsom
1947 Senators lead series 1-0
Bobo Newsom was the surprise starter in game one and was worth the call striking out nine Angels and going 8 strong innings for the win with the help of Tom Ferrick who closed out the ninth. The Senators scored all their runs in the seventh thanks to two errors by the home side and hard luck for Dean Chance. Early Wynn actually pinch hit in this one and had an RBI hit as well, proving he is more then a pitcher.
Game 2 At Dodger Stadium
Partly cloudy 64
1947 Senators.....................10
1963 Angels..........................3
WP: W. Masterson (1-0) LP: B. Turley (0-1)
HR: M. Vernon (1)
POG: Mickey Vernon
1947 Senators lead series 2-0
Mickey Vernon went 5-6 with 3 doubles, a home run, and five RBI as the Senators put up 20 hits and bombarded the Angels on their way back east. Vernon hit a three run home run in a four run first inning off of Bob Turley while the Angels were again playing very spotty defense committing 4 errors in the loss. Walt Masterson gets the win after 8 innings of quality work. The Angels really need to regroup.
Game 3 At Griffith Stadium
Clear 74
1963 Angels......................9
1947 Senators..................4
WP: D. Lee (1-0) LP: R. Scarborough (0-1)
HR: L. Wagner (1)
POG: Leon Wagner
1947 Senators lead series 2-1
Three runs in the first and 5 more in the third, the Angels got back into the series on a muggy night in DC. Leon Wagner hit a three run home run and ended with 4 RBI while Buck Rogers had a good game at the plate with 2 hits and three RBI in what was more then enough for Don Lee who worked into the ninth before running out of gas. The Senators were never really in this game.
Game 4 At Griffith Stadium
Clear 68
1963 Angels..................0
1947 Senators..............1
WP: E. Wynn (1-0) LP: K. McBride (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Early Wynn
1947 Senators lead series 3-1
Early Wynn was magnificent in what was an intense pitchers duel with Angels hurler Ken McBride. John Sullivan hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and the single run would hold up for the remainder of the game as Wynn went the distance and struck out three on 128 pitches. In the ninth with the tying run on George Thomas struck out looking and now Washington is one game away from ending this series.
Game 5 At Griffith Stadium
Clear 61
1963 Angel......................2
1947 Senators.................1
WP: A. Fowler (1-0) LP: T. Ferrick (0-1)
HR: None
POG: Dean Chance
1947 Senators lead series 3-2
The pitching has come up to another level in this series and another nailbiter played itself out in game five as Dean Chance and Bobo Newsom battled it out. Newsom held a one run lead into the 8th inning when Albie Pearson doubled to score a run and tie the game. Newsom had struck out nine and walked only one but could not hold the slim lead. In the 9th it was Bob Perry who came up with the winning hit and helped save the Angels from elimination and move the series back west. Chance had gone seven innings without allowing an earned run and deserved the win.
Game 6 At Dodger Stadium
Rain 69
1947 Senators......................0
1963 Angels.........................4
WP: B. Turley (1-1) LP: W. Masterson (1-1)
HR: L. Wagner (2)
POG: Bob Turley
Series tied at 3
Bob Turley took a no hitter into the 7th inning and after getting two out, allowed a single to Jerry Priddy; that would be the only Senators hit of the night. Turley did not close the game out but pitched until that hit striking out eight and walking three in his deserved win. Leon Wagner hit another home run and Albie Pearson drove in another run as the Angels have the momentum and now force a game seven with their pitchers having allowed 2 runs in the last three ballgames.
Game 7 At Dodger Stadium
Partly cloudy 71
1947 Senators.......................4
1963 Angels..........................3
WP: R. Scarborough (1-1) LP: D. Lee (1-1) S: T. Ferrick (2)
HR: S. Spence (1), J. Sullivan (1)
POG: Stan Spence
Sam Spence hit a two run home run in the top of the first inning and the Angels were chasing the visitors the rest of the way. The Angels did put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to one thanks to Albie Pearson and an RBI hit. Scarrborough survived seven innings and taking over to save the game was Tom Ferrick who walked one and struck out one but allowed no runs and closed the series out. A very competitive series it was proving that you may not need the big clubs or names to provide for a very exciting series.
1947 Washington Senators Win Series 4 Games To 3
Series MVP:
Early Wynn
(1-0, 1 CG, 1 SH, 0 ER, 1.00 WHIP, 3 K, 1/4, 2 RBI)