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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-07-2023, 07:30 AM

The Chicago Cubs had the big turnaround in the National Association for the 1964 season. It wasn’t as dramatic a shift as St. Louis’s from the prior year, but still impressive as Chicago went from 73 wins in 1963 to 107-55 in 1964. This gave the Cubs the best record in MLB and their first Midwest League title and playoff berth in a decade. The defending World Series champ Cardinals were second at 97-65, followed by Kansas City at 96-66. Both earned wild cards, which put the 1961-62 NA champ Cougars back into the playoffs after missing in 1963.

Hartford picked up the Eastern League title at 97-65, giving the Huskies eight playoff berths over eleven seasons. Notably, Hartford has had a winning record every season since 1940. Earning repeat wild card berths for the third straight year were both Montreal and Boston. The Maples finished 92-70, while Boston was 87-75. The Red Sox were one ahead of New York, two ahead of Pittsburgh and Toronto, and four ahead of Detroit for the last spot.

St. Louis’s Jerry Addison won both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in the National Association. It was back-to-back PotY in only his second season in the league and he was only the third pure pitcher to win a MVP in MLB. He was the leader in wins (22-10), ERA (1.56), innings (282), WHIP (0.86), quality starts (31), shutouts (8), FIP- (63), and WAR (9.4). His 260 strikeouts were third in the NA, 27 away from having a Triple Crown season.

In the first round of the National Association playoffs, Kansas City topped Montreal in two games and Boston knocked out St. Louis in three. Chicago easily swept the Red Sox in round two, while Hartford outlasted the Cougars in a five-game classic. This set up Chicago’s first-ever NACS berth against Hartford, who last got there in 1957 and had gotten that far nine other times. The Cubs were the only MLB team left to not reach their Association Championship round at least once in the prior 63 years. The series went the distance with the Cubs edging the Huskies 4-3, sending Chicago to the World Series for the first time.

The best record in the American Association belonged to San Francisco at 102-60, giving them back-to-back playoff berths and their first Western League title since 1955. The Gold Rush pitchers struck out 1406 batters over the season, setting a new MLB single-season record. The next best records in the AA were Phoenix at 100-62 and Denver at 97-65, both getting wild cards out of the WL. The Firebirds snapped a two-year playoff skid, while the Dragons earned a fourth straight appearance, which would become the longest active streak.

That’s because Oklahoma City’s streak of five was snapped, as the Outlaws dropped to 83-79. Memphis won the Southern League at 96-66, ending MLB’s longest active playoff drought at 29 seasons. In addition to it being the first playoff spot for the Mountain Cats since 1934, it was only their third league title with the other two all the way back in 1915 and 1916. Houston was second at 92-70, ending their own 11-year playoff drought with a wild card. San Diego also finished 92-70 to earn a wild card, putting them back in the postseason for the first time since the 1958 World Series win. Calgary’s playoff streak ended at three with the Cheetahs at 90-72. Last year’s top record holder Seattle also had their streak ended at three with the Grizzlies going 88-74.

American Association MVP went to Denver RF Bo Salinas. The 29-year old Filipino lefty had joined the Dragons in free agency in 1964 after playing his first seven seasons in Cincinnati. Salinas led the AA in RIB (122), walks (88), OBP (.435), slugging (.603), OPS (1.038), wRC+ (173), and WAR (8.1), adding a .347 average and 42 home runs. Memphis lefty Emilio Nash earned Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old was the ERA leader (2.26) and WARlord (8.6), adding a league-best 27 quality starts and 69 FIP-. He struck out 255 batters in 282.2 innings for a 21-9 record.

In the wild card round, Denver dropped Houston and Phoenix stopped San Diego, both 2-0. The Dragons stunned San Francisco with not only an upset, but a road sweep in round two. Phoenix also upset Memphis on the road, although they required all five games to do so. In the American Association Championship Series, the Firebirds outlasted the Dragons in a seven-game classic. This gave Phoenix their seventh AA title and first since 1960.

In the 1964 World Series, Chicago became a first-time MLB champion. The Cubs topped Phoenix in six games, led by World Series MVP Artur Cruz. The 28-year old Spanish SS made his MLB debut with the Cubs that year after playing prior for EBF’s Barcelona. In the 1964 postseason, Cruz had 23 hits, 9 runs, 5 home runs, 19 RBI, and 1.2 WAR in 16 starts. The Firebirds are now 3-4 in their World Series appearances.

Other notes: Los Angeles pitcher Carny Valvo set a single-game MLB record of 22 strikeouts, pulled off over 11 innings against New Orleans on July 30. The prior record was 21 by Eusebio Ramos over 12.2 innings in 1938. The nine-inning record in MLB remained 19, set by multiple pitchers. Ron Koehler led the AA with 51 home runs, giving him five 50+ dinger seasons. The only players with more at that point were Elijah Cashman and Kaby Silva with six apiece.

Martin Medina became the 34^th MLB hitter to reach 3000 career hits and the 14^th to smack 600 career home runs. Spencer Emond became the fifth pitcher to 300 career wins. He came back for one okay season at age 39 after missing all of the prior season from a torn UCL. Emond ended with 304 wins and fell just short of 4000 strikeouts with 3985. His 139.0 WAR would be third best all-time among MLB pitchers at retirement, behind only Ned Giles and Newton Persaud. In award notables, Nathaniel Maxwell won his 11^th and final Gold Glove at first base. He’s behind Blake Wynn (12) and tied with Elijah Cashman (11) for the most at the position all-time.

07-07-2023, 07:30 AM	#388
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,932	1964 in MLB The Chicago Cubs had the big turnaround in the National Association for the 1964 season. It wasn’t as dramatic a shift as St. Louis’s from the prior year, but still impressive as Chicago went from 73 wins in 1963 to 107-55 in 1964. This gave the Cubs the best record in MLB and their first Midwest League title and playoff berth in a decade. The defending World Series champ Cardinals were second at 97-65, followed by Kansas City at 96-66. Both earned wild cards, which put the 1961-62 NA champ Cougars back into the playoffs after missing in 1963. Hartford picked up the Eastern League title at 97-65, giving the Huskies eight playoff berths over eleven seasons. Notably, Hartford has had a winning record every season since 1940. Earning repeat wild card berths for the third straight year were both Montreal and Boston. The Maples finished 92-70, while Boston was 87-75. The Red Sox were one ahead of New York, two ahead of Pittsburgh and Toronto, and four ahead of Detroit for the last spot. St. Louis’s Jerry Addison won both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in the National Association. It was back-to-back PotY in only his second season in the league and he was only the third pure pitcher to win a MVP in MLB. He was the leader in wins (22-10), ERA (1.56), innings (282), WHIP (0.86), quality starts (31), shutouts (8), FIP- (63), and WAR (9.4). His 260 strikeouts were third in the NA, 27 away from having a Triple Crown season. In the first round of the National Association playoffs, Kansas City topped Montreal in two games and Boston knocked out St. Louis in three. Chicago easily swept the Red Sox in round two, while Hartford outlasted the Cougars in a five-game classic. This set up Chicago’s first-ever NACS berth against Hartford, who last got there in 1957 and had gotten that far nine other times. The Cubs were the only MLB team left to not reach their Association Championship round at least once in the prior 63 years. The series went the distance with the Cubs edging the Huskies 4-3, sending Chicago to the World Series for the first time. The best record in the American Association belonged to San Francisco at 102-60, giving them back-to-back playoff berths and their first Western League title since 1955. The Gold Rush pitchers struck out 1406 batters over the season, setting a new MLB single-season record. The next best records in the AA were Phoenix at 100-62 and Denver at 97-65, both getting wild cards out of the WL. The Firebirds snapped a two-year playoff skid, while the Dragons earned a fourth straight appearance, which would become the longest active streak. That’s because Oklahoma City’s streak of five was snapped, as the Outlaws dropped to 83-79. Memphis won the Southern League at 96-66, ending MLB’s longest active playoff drought at 29 seasons. In addition to it being the first playoff spot for the Mountain Cats since 1934, it was only their third league title with the other two all the way back in 1915 and 1916. Houston was second at 92-70, ending their own 11-year playoff drought with a wild card. San Diego also finished 92-70 to earn a wild card, putting them back in the postseason for the first time since the 1958 World Series win. Calgary’s playoff streak ended at three with the Cheetahs at 90-72. Last year’s top record holder Seattle also had their streak ended at three with the Grizzlies going 88-74. American Association MVP went to Denver RF Bo Salinas. The 29-year old Filipino lefty had joined the Dragons in free agency in 1964 after playing his first seven seasons in Cincinnati. Salinas led the AA in RIB (122), walks (88), OBP (.435), slugging (.603), OPS (1.038), wRC+ (173), and WAR (8.1), adding a .347 average and 42 home runs. Memphis lefty Emilio Nash earned Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old was the ERA leader (2.26) and WARlord (8.6), adding a league-best 27 quality starts and 69 FIP-. He struck out 255 batters in 282.2 innings for a 21-9 record. In the wild card round, Denver dropped Houston and Phoenix stopped San Diego, both 2-0. The Dragons stunned San Francisco with not only an upset, but a road sweep in round two. Phoenix also upset Memphis on the road, although they required all five games to do so. In the American Association Championship Series, the Firebirds outlasted the Dragons in a seven-game classic. This gave Phoenix their seventh AA title and first since 1960. In the 1964 World Series, Chicago became a first-time MLB champion. The Cubs topped Phoenix in six games, led by World Series MVP Artur Cruz. The 28-year old Spanish SS made his MLB debut with the Cubs that year after playing prior for EBF’s Barcelona. In the 1964 postseason, Cruz had 23 hits, 9 runs, 5 home runs, 19 RBI, and 1.2 WAR in 16 starts. The Firebirds are now 3-4 in their World Series appearances. Other notes: Los Angeles pitcher Carny Valvo set a single-game MLB record of 22 strikeouts, pulled off over 11 innings against New Orleans on July 30. The prior record was 21 by Eusebio Ramos over 12.2 innings in 1938. The nine-inning record in MLB remained 19, set by multiple pitchers. Ron Koehler led the AA with 51 home runs, giving him five 50+ dinger seasons. The only players with more at that point were Elijah Cashman and Kaby Silva with six apiece. Martin Medina became the 34^th MLB hitter to reach 3000 career hits and the 14^th to smack 600 career home runs. Spencer Emond became the fifth pitcher to 300 career wins. He came back for one okay season at age 39 after missing all of the prior season from a torn UCL. Emond ended with 304 wins and fell just short of 4000 strikeouts with 3985. His 139.0 WAR would be third best all-time among MLB pitchers at retirement, behind only Ned Giles and Newton Persaud. In award notables, Nathaniel Maxwell won his 11^th and final Gold Glove at first base. He’s behind Blake Wynn (12) and tied with Elijah Cashman (11) for the most at the position all-time. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)