Your Expansion Seattle Mariners!!!

[BoilerRocketScientist]

04/04/1984 - Seattle officials were grinning from ear to ear as they introduced their latest blockbuster signing to the media earlier today. Bill Gullickson, one of the game's marquee talents, opted for the Mariners after receiving a 3-year, $1,260,000 offer. Gullickson had retired after an injury last season in Cincinnati. Seattle has had luck rehabilitating recently retired players - Phil Niekro and Richie Zisk being the most recent examples. Gullickson will make it a third and Seattle hope he can provide a big lift to the starting rotation.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

04/08/1984 - Amazingly, Atlanta rookie Dwight Gooden outpitched his rookie debut (8 IP, 1 R, 4 Hits, 12 K's) by throwing a 1-hit shutout against Montreal. Gooden sparkled in the shutout only giving up a single hit to George Wright. Wright's hit followed a lead-off walk to Pete O'Brien in Gooden's only trouble of the game. Gooden blanked the Expos for the final 8 innings not allowing a baserunner while also striking out 12. For his 2 starts so far, Gooden is 2-0 allowing only 5 hits and 1 walk in 17 innings (for a WHIP of 0.35) while striking out 24 batters.

Shockingly, Gooden was the 3rd selection in the draft behind Kevin Mitchell (Toronto) and Roger Clemens (Oakland), who wasn't able to come to terms on a contract and will reenter next year's draft.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

04/22/1984 - Smith Swats 400th Homer

It was a historic day for New York's fine right fielder Reggie Smith. He slammed home run number 400 in the Yankees 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium II.

He told reporters after the game, that he was disappointed in losing the game. "It's great to get that many homers, but I don't play for homers -- I play to win. That's the name of the game."

In his milestone-making game Smith went 2 for 4, scored 1 run and collected 1 RBI. That home run put him in a select group of ballplayers.

Smith is hitting the ball at a .280 clip over his career. In 2407 games he has delivered 2475 hits, 400 home runs with 1345 RBIs and scored 1392 times.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

04/23/1984 - Boggs Out for Season

Team officials for the Pittsburgh Pirates have revealed that the recent injury to Wade Boggs will keep him out for 8-9 months. The 25-year-old third baseman suffered a broken bone in the elbow on 04/19/1984. He has not played since.

This year Boggs is batting .333 with 16 hits and 1 home run. He has scored 7 times and has batted in 2 runs. Boggs leaves as the reigning batting champion from last year with his .357 mark after finishing 2nd in 1982. Boggs has a career .345 average in his two years in the Majors. This is a big loss for Pittsburgh.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

04/29/1984 - No-Hit Masterpiece by Ownbey

The Oakland Athletics were only hoping for a solid outing from Rick Ownbey, instead the 26-year-old pitcher tossed a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins. Using a brilliant mix of off-speed pitches and fastballs, Ownbey kept the Minnesota hitters off balance all game long in the 4-0 victory at Oakland Coliseum. The Oakland hurler fanned 6 and walked 3 in his record-making performance.

"I felt pretty good throughout the game," he said after his spectacular outing for the Athletics. "As I was going into the ninth inning, I was not nervous. I knew I had a chance to do something special." That something special got his name in the league record books. In 6 starts this season Ownbey has chalked up a 3-1 record and a 4.20 ERA.

This is the 10th no-hitter in 8 seasons since I've started my alternate history with the 1977 MLB season.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The first month of the season is over and we're (Seattle) have a small lead in the AL West despite being barely over .500 in a weak AL West. The AL East is looking like a dogfight while in the NL East the Cardinals and the Mets are coming on strong after a surprising hot start from the Cubs. The NL West is suffering from mediocrity the same as in the AL West.

On an offensive front, the Mets' Dan Graham had a torrid April hitting 11 HR's and 31 RBI's while batting .352. He's on pace for 81 HR's and 228 RBI's ... somehow I don't think his pace will hold.

Meanwhile, Boston's Fernando Valenzuela ended April with a 6-0 record with a 0.52 ERA. In 52.1 innings (4 CG's, 2 shutouts), Valenzuela has 50 K's while holding opponents to a .168 average.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

05/06/1984 - Seattle Prevails in 20!

Wow, just had an instant classic where we prevailed over California 8-7 in 20 innings!!! We were down 6-0 early until Greg Walker instantly got us into the game with a grand slam in the 6th inning off of Dennis Eckersley. Bill Buckner tied the game 2 innings later with a 2-run shot that ultimately chased Eckersley. Then, we traded goose-eggs until the 15th when a solo homer from California's Jim Eisenreich was answered by Tim Wallach keeping the score tied a 7. Then, Dion James coaxed a 2-out, bases loaded walk from California's John Caneira (L, 0-1) to score Gerald Perry for the 8-7 victory. Mike Witt (W, 4-3) earned the win pitching 2 innings of relief ... which will derail his next start as we had no one else in the bullpen. I used 8 pitchers for the game and Bake McBride (CAL) and Paul Molitor (SEA) each set team records with 10 at-bats in an extra inning game.

I'm going to have to scramble with an exhausted bullpen and 3 more games until a day off. I've attached the linescore for fun.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

05/14/1984 - Rijo Out for Year

A blow for Jose Rijo today -- team doctors were able to determine the full extent of his recent injury. He will miss 12-13 months with a torn rotator cuff. Rijo suffered the injury on 05/09/1984. The team will likely place Rijo on the disabled list today. Rijo has a 3-0 season record so far. In 8 starts, he has fanned 40 batters in 52.1 innings with a 2.06 ERA. Rijo was the 4th overall pick in last year's draft.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

05/24/1984 - Upshaw Hits Jackpot!

Media analysts hailed Milwaukee's signing of Willie Upshaw, one of Major League 1977's brightest stars, as a pivotal move. While the deal is certain to raise a few eyebrows, Upshaw is expected to earn every bit of the $6,800,000 promised him over 6 years. This is the richest contract in league history. The last 2 seasons Upshaw has blossomed to average 43 HR's and 111 RBI's while hitting .280.

Looking at his season stats, Upshaw has compiled a .348 batting average and a .383 on-base percentage, while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 42 runs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

05/30/1984 - Smith Reaches Another Milestone

It was a great day for Reggie Smith of the New York Yankees -- but not a perfect day. He became the latest player to reach the 2500-hit mark, but his team lost the game. The 39-year-old left fielder got his hit in New York's 7-2 loss to California.

"It was a very special game for me, but not a good one for the team," said Smith after the game. Commenting on his achievement to reporters, he told them, "2500 hits are a lot. It puts you in a very select group. You have to hit well over a lot of seasons to do this. It's a good feeling to have your name in the record books with the other guys who have reached this level." He finished the day with 2 hits in 4 at-bats.

Taking a look at his lifetime stats, Smith is hitting .279 with a total of 404 home runs and passed the 400 HR mark a little over a month ago.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

MAY (13-14): It was a frustrating month as we dropped into second place, a half-game behind Texas with our 26-25 record in a lackluster AL West. The offense continues to do well and we’re in the top half in all categories but Dale Murphy was the only hitter over .300 this month. Murphy hit .380 with 2 HR’s and 11 RBI’s. Greg Walker led the way with 6 HR’s and 25 RBI’s after getting off to a slow start in April. On the downside, middle infielders Dave Stapleton (.207) and Paul Molitor (.233) struggled. Meanwhile, the pitching staff got roughed up a lot. We’ve fallen 9th or worst in most categories with a team ERA of 4.03. Burt Hooton struggled going 0-3 with a 7.43 ERA in his 5 starts while getting tagged for 8 HR’s. Number 5 starter Floyd Bannister led the staff going 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in his 6 starts.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The AL West is truly horrid with Texas having a half-game lead despite only being 2 games above .500 but 6 of 7 teams are within 4 games of the lead. In the AL East, Cleveland and Detroit are battling it out and starting to run away from the rest of the division.

In the NL East, the Mets are holding steady over the surprising Cubs. The Dodgers are doing well in the NL West while Atlanta is making their best effort in years behind rookie Dwight Gooden (8-3, 1.72, 106 K's in 94 IP).

This year it looks like Willie Upshaw is making a run at the Triple Crown and earning every penny of his new contract. We'll keep any eye on his progress.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

06/03/1984 - Foster Slams 300th

Swinging his way into the record books, George Foster reached the 300 homer mark today at Riverfront Stadium against the Atlanta Braves. He went 3-4 with 1 RBI and 2 runs on the day, although Cincinnati would go down to defeat 9-6.

"It was a distraction," Foster said of his 300th home run, "I'm happy it's over. I just wish I'd been able to make a difference in the outcome today." Foster has registered a career batting average of .278 with 1606 hits, 300 homers and 1073 RBIs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

06/05/1984 - The Many Travels of Doug Gwosdz

The Houston Astros made a trade today in moving the disgruntled Toby Harrah to Oakland for first baseman John Poff. Included in the trade to Oakland was minor league catcher Doug Gwosdz. Surprisingly, the real story here is Gwosdz.

Doug Gwosdz was picked in the 3rd round of the 1980 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but failed to sign a contract. In 1982, he was selected in the 2nd round by the Chicago White Sox where he agreed to terms and entered their minor league system with a signing bonus of $98K. Then, his career started getting weird. This latest trade was the 7th of his short, 3-year career. Here's his history.

• 07/27/1982: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Jim Tracy (RF) to the Milwaukee Brewers for Allen Ripley (SP)
• 11/17/1982: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with Roy E. Johnson (CF) to the San Francisco Giants for Larry Andersen (MR)
• 12/04/1982: Traded by the San Francisco Giants with Roy Beckwith (MR) to the New York Mets for Jesus Vega (1B)
• 12/09/1982: Traded by the New York Mets with Doc Medich (MR) to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Kemp (LF)
• 10/31/1983: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with Karl Best (CL) to the Baltimore Orioles for Mark Littell (CL)
• 11/09/1983: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with Chuck Rainey (SP) to the Houston Astros for Willie McGee (CF)
• 06/05/1984: Traded by the Houston Astros with Toby Harrah (1B) to the Oakland Athletics for John Poff (1B)

So, that's 7 trades for this 2+ year career minor leaguer and Gwosdz is now on his 8th team.

Has anyone else out there experienced movement like this?

[BoilerRocketScientist]

06/14/1984 - Gooden Shuts out Cincinnati

Dwight Gooden of the Atlanta Braves mixed his pitches well and fashioned a 3-0 shutout today. The 19-year-old hurler shut down the Cincinnati offense, holding them to 2 hits. He struck out 12 while walking 5.

Gooden continues his incredible rookie season going 11-3 with an ERA of 1.44 and has 140 strikeouts in 119 innings. He has 4 complete games including 2 shutouts in his 15 starts.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

06/20/1984 - Weaver Gets the Axe

The Chicago White Sox are now without a manager. Not only do they have a team to rebuild, they are going to have to repair the clubhouse, too. Today Earl Weaver was dismissed as team manager and in what the front office is calling a "disgusting and uncalled for" act, the former field boss smashed up and vandalized the team's clubhouse after finding out he had been fired. "He just seemed to snap and started picking up everything and throwing them down, smashing them all over the place," said a clubhouse attendant, who witnessed the incident. "I've seen him mad before... but never this way."

Team officials have not yet decided whether they will press charges against Weaver. "Earl has always had a volatile temper," said the Chicago GM. "I think that little display tells us we certainly made the right decision in letting him go." The team is now in the process of searching for a new manager -- and also planning to do some renovations in the clubhouse.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

JUNE (23-6): We entered June a half-game out of first place. The beginning of the month didn’t start out much better with a 6-5 start including dropping the last 3 to Cleveland. The last loss to Cleveland was the second half of a doubleheader sweep where we lost 17-8. Despite that, we had a 2.5 game lead over California. That last drubbing seemed to be a turning point for the team. From that point on, we finished June with a 17-1 record sandwiching 9- and 8-game win streaks around a 3-0 loss to Cleveland. By the end of June we had a commanding 11-game lead over 2nd place Minnesota in the weak AL West.

Bill Buckner led the way hitting .354 while Jack Clark led with 9 HR’s and 28 RBI’s. Overall, the offense moved into the top 3 in most categories. The pitching staff had a good month and sits in the top half of the AL except for the bullpen which is last with a 3.63 ERA. Starters Bill Gullickson (4-1, 2.08), Mike Witt (4-1, 3.49), Burt Hooton (5-0, 4.30), and Neal Heaton (4-1, 4.82) led the way and took some pressure off of the bullpen. Closer Tom Gorman made 14 appearances earning a win and 11 saves. Gorman still hasn’t allowed a run yet this year and currently has a 32-game save streak.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The races are starting to stretch out some. Seattle is exerting its dominance with a 11-game lead in the West and they're the only team with a record over .500. In the AL East, Detroit matched Seattle's 23-6 mark to open a 4-game lead over surprising Cleveland. The New York Mets maintained their lead over the Cubs while the Dodgers hold a slim lead over the very surprising Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is riding the back of rookie Dwight Gooden who leads he NL in wins and strikeouts and is a sure bet to make the All-Star Game.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

07/07/1984 - Leagues Announce All-Star Teams

Once again it is time to honor the elite players in the Major League 1977. The league office today announced the names of the players selected to play in the annual league All-Star classic.

Representing the AL:

C M. Scioscia (TEX)
C D. Murphy (SEA)
1B W. Upshaw (ML4)
1B A. Davis (BOS)
2B M. Schmidt (NYA)
2B P. Molitor (SEA)
2B T. Phillips (CLE)
SS A. Trammell (DET)
SS O. Smith (ML4)
SS O. Concepcion (TOR)
3B K. Oberkfell (BAL)
RF T. Wallach (SEA)
LF B. Butler (DET)
LF C. Hurdle (KCA)
CF J. Eisenreich (CAL)
CF C. Davis (TEX)
LF M. Page (OAK)
RF H. Baines (DET)
RF D. Strawberry (TEX)
RF D. Mattingly (MIN)
SP F. Valenzuela (BOS)
SP S. Rogers (KCA)
SP D. Leonard (DET)
SP R. Ownbey (OAK)
SP B. Gullickson (SEA)
SP D. Cox (CLE)
MR B. Lacey (ML4)
MR F. Howard (CLE)
CL T. Gorman (SEA)
CL T. Niedenfuer (CAL)
CL M. Littell (CLE)


Participating for the NL:

C D. Graham (NYN)
C J. Bench (CIN)
1B K. Hrbek (NYN)
1B K. Hernandez (SLN)
1B S. Babitt (HOU)
2B R. Knight (ATL)
2B R. Washington (SFN)
2B W. Backman (CHN)
SS T. Fernandez (NYN)
3B P. Serna (PHI)
3B R. Ready (PIT)
3B B. Horner (HOU)
LF D. Edwards (CHN)
LF R. Kittle (PIT)
CF T. Gwynn (NYN)
CF M. Wilson (SLN)
CF G. Wright (MON)
CF D. Gladden (CHN)
RF G. Bell (PIT)
RF R. Leach (PHI)
SP B. Berenyi (SDN)
SP J. Richard (HOU)
SP D. Gooden (ATL)
SP M. Lemongello (LAN)
SP P. Perez (NYN)
SP D. Rau (CIN)
MR J. Lahti (CIN)
MR J. Eichelberger (CHN)
CL M. Cornejo (CIN)
CL L. Barker (NYN)
CL S. Bedrosian (ATL)

[BoilerRocketScientist]

07/10/1984 - NL Hurlers Freeze AL Bats

The 1984 All-Star Game pits the American League all-stars against the National League's best at St. Louis' Busch Stadium. The AL will send Seattle's Bill Gullickson (9-7, 3.27) against the NL's J.R. Richard (10-4, 1.39) who's making his 7th All-Star appearance in the last 8 years.

The NL got on the board first taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 5th off of Boston's Fernando Valenzuela. Pittsburgh's Ron Kittle scored the first run of the game when he scored from second on a single from the Mets' Tony Fernandez who later scored on a single from Montreal's George Wright.

Meanwhile, the NL pitchers stymied the AL batters holding them hitless until Texas Ranger Chili Davis earned their first off of the Mets' Pascual Perez. The AL managed only two more hits the remainder of the game as they were continually stymied by the NL pitchers.

In the end, the NL's 2-run, fifth inning was all that was needed as the AL took bragging rights for the next year with 2-0 win. San Diego's Bruce Berenyi took the win for the NL with Cincinnati's Mardie Cornejo earning the save. The NL managed 8 hits off the AL with 4 of those coming off of loser Fernando Valenzuela. The Expos' George Wright earned the All-Star MVP award going 2/3 with what would prove to be the game-winning RBI.