Major Sim Baseball: Play the NimBLe way!

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Ernie Bewell Beat Reporter — Major Sim Baseball (1973)

As of June 1, 1973

Now that the calendar has turned and the first two full months are in the ledger, Major Sim Baseball has begun to separate into three classes: the clubs that are driving the season, the clubs that are still in the fight, and the clubs already showing signs of spending too much energy just to stay afloat.

At the top of the sport right now, there are three teams nobody can ignore: Baltimore, Dallas, and Boston. Those are not simply first-place clubs. Those are the teams setting the tone of 1973.

Major Sim Baseball is organized into four regions: the Northeast Region and Southeast Region in the Eastern League, and the Northwest Region and Southwest Region in the Western League. As June begins, each region is starting to show its own character.


Baltimore has become the league’s headline

The Baltimore Admirals, at 40–15 (.727), have not merely taken control of the Eastern League Southeast Region. They’ve practically padlocked it for the moment.

A club with 279 runs scored, only 167 allowed, and a +112 run differential is not just winning—it is imposing itself. Baltimore has been good at home (21–6) and just as comfortable away (19–9). That is the mark of a serious outfit. No soft underbelly. No hidden weakness in the travel bag. And though they come into June off a loss, the larger picture is plain enough: 9–1 over the last ten and miles ahead of the region.

The rest of that Southeast Region is not really chasing Baltimore so much as trying to keep from being swallowed by the summer.

Charlotte is second at 26–29, but 14 games back is not a race; it is a reminder.

Miami sits at 24–30 and looks increasingly stranded by that miserable 5–14 road record.

Nashville, at 21–32, is dragging a four-game losing streak and a -59 differential into June.

Atlanta, though last at 20–35, at least has a small spark with three straight wins.

If Baltimore continues playing at anything close to this level, the question in that region will not be who catches them. The question will be whether anyone else can even make the standings look respectable.


Boston has command in the North, and it looks earned

The Boston Corsairs lead the Eastern League Northeast Region at 36–18 (.667), and unlike some first-place teams that ride a timely week or two, Boston’s profile is clean.

They have scored 244 runs and allowed only 165, good for a +79 run differential. They are winning at home and on the road alike, with a sharp 19–10 away record. That matters. Good clubs defend home. Better clubs travel.

Boston also comes into June on a five-game winning streak, having gone 8–2 in the last ten. That is how region leads get real.

The clubs behind Boston are still trying to decide what kind of season they’re having.

Indy at 31–24 is still the most credible pursuer, though the timing could not be worse. The Racers have dropped four straight, and a good standing looks less impressive when it comes with bad momentum.

Philadelphia, at 26–27, is under .500, but the Freedom have quietly won four in a row and are at least beginning to act like a club with some self-respect.

Chicago is one of the oddest teams in the league: excellent at home (18–7), almost helpless away (8–23). That is not a contender’s profile, but it is enough to keep a club hanging around.

New York remains in the basement at 22–32, and though not dead, the Titans have yet to prove they can sustain anything beyond a brief correction.

So yes, Boston is in charge. The standings say so, and the underlying figures agree.


Dallas is the Western League’s muscle

Out West, the club carrying the strongest look is the Dallas Wranglers, who sit at 37–18 (.673) atop the Western League Southwest Region.

They have put up 282 runs and allowed only 185, which makes for a +97 differential—second only to Baltimore in raw authority. Like Baltimore, Dallas has shown that it can win anywhere. In fact, the Wranglers may be the best road club in the league right now at 22–8 away.

That’s championship posture.

Dallas enters June coming off a loss, but the broader form is still excellent: 8–2 over the last ten. This is not a fragile leader.

The team pressing them is Houston, and Houston has earned mention. The Oilers are 31–24, winners of five straight, and possess one of the more telling quirks in the sport: 16–8 in one-run games. That says they know how to keep their heads when things get uncomfortable.

Behind them:

Phoenix sits at 27–26, respectable enough, but still nine back.

Los Angeles is at 26–28, perfectly even in runs scored and allowed (236–236), which is about as plainspoken a .481 club as you’ll ever meet.

Las Vegas, at 23–32, is carrying too much negative baggage already.


The Western League Southwest Region, then, feels like this: Dallas is the standard, Houston is the pressure, and everybody else is trying to avoid being background scenery.

The Western League Northwest Region is still open because nobody has seized it

The one region in MSB that still feels unsettled from top to bottom is the Western League Northwest Region.

Denver leads at 28–26, but that record comes with only a +6 run differential. That is a first-place standing with a shrug attached to it. Denver deserves credit for being on top, but it has not yet built the kind of case that makes you trust it.

Just behind:

Salt Lake City is 27–28, only 1½ games back, and has played better ball of late at 7–3 over the last ten.

San Francisco has become the region’s warning sign. The Seals are 25–29 and have lost seven straight. A season can get away from you in a week, and it appears theirs just did.

Seattle is no better off. At 24–29, the Cascades are 1–9 in their last ten, which is the kind of stretch that takes a competitive season and turns it into a rescue operation.

Portland, also in the low tier at 24–32, at least arrives with two straight wins, though the overall picture remains rough.

This region does not yet have a ruler. It has a nervous leader and a lot of clubs hoping June will be kinder than May.

The shape of the league as June begins

If you step back from the standings and ask what the first two months have truly revealed, the answer is fairly simple.

Baltimore looks like the best team in Major Sim Baseball.
Dallas looks like the best team in the Western League.
Boston looks like the steadiest club in the Eastern League Northeast Region.

After that, the league becomes more unsettled:

Houston is the live challenger.

Indy remains in position, though not in rhythm.

Philadelphia has shown signs of life.

Chicago is still split between one team at home and another on the road.

The Western League Northwest Region remains unresolved because nobody has had the nerve—or the consistency—to take it by the throat.

That is where June begins.

Two months are enough to establish a pecking order. Three months are enough to expose fraud.

And that, as ever, is where the game gets interesting.

End of Act I

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Welcome to the Major Sim Baseball
presented by Sim Baseball Vision (See it for yourself)


⚾Play the NimBLe way!

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MSB on StatsPlus | MSB on OOTP | MSB Quick Start | MSB Stat of the day | Sim Baseball Vision | MSB Real Time Sim | Action Baseball League | The ABL
The Players League, 1946 | DEFENDING THE SHIELD | The Baseball Observer

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⚾

Ernie Bewell — Major Sim Baseball Report (1973)

As of July 1, 1973

By the first of July, a baseball season has stopped introducing itself. The clubs have played too many games for anyone to hide behind April charm or May excuses. By now, what you are is beginning to hold.

And as Major Sim Baseball turns the corner into summer, the shape of 1973 is plain enough: Baltimore is the league’s bully, Boston has a real challenger in its own backyard, Dallas is being pressed harder than it would like, and the Western League Northwest Region remains a room full of clubs waiting for someone else to take charge.

As always in the National Baseball League, the map is clean: two regions in the Eastern League — the Northeast Region and the Southeast Region — and two regions in the Western League — the Northwest Region and the Southwest Region.

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Baltimore has moved from first place to outright authority

The Baltimore Admirals are no longer just the best team in the Eastern League Southeast Region. They are the best team in the sport until somebody proves otherwise.

At 57–25 (.695), with 391 runs scored, only 252 allowed, and a thunderous +139 run differential, Baltimore has separated itself from everybody except the standings page itself. The Admirals are good at home (29–8), good on the road (28–17), and hot coming into July (W6, 8–2 in the last ten). There is nothing flimsy here. This is a club built on force and depth.

And the individual numbers support the eye test. Richie Zisk is among the Eastern League’s best bats, hitting .308 with a .897 OPS, while Sal Bando sits near the top of the league in both home runs (15) and RBI (53). On the mound, Baltimore is even more imposing: Steve Carlton owns 14 wins, a 2.26 ERA, and 103 strikeouts, while Mike Cuellar leads the Eastern League in ERA (2.09), WHIP (1.01), opponents’ average (.189), and opponents’ OPS (.534). The team pitching line is the best in the league as well: 3.1 runs allowed per game and a 2.72 ERA.

The rest of the Southeast Region is playing for second and trying not to admit it.

• Charlotte (42–40) has at least risen into respectable shape. Fifteen back is still a canyon, but the Monarchs have shown enough competence to be more than scenery.

• Miami (36–47) has power problems of a different kind: the bats have some life, but the club has been crippled on the road at 9–22.

• Atlanta (35–47) is hanging around the same neighborhood, still short of real relevance.

• Nashville (30–51) has absorbed the most damage: -88 run differential, a L4 skid, and no room left for a leisurely recovery.

Baltimore goes to Nashville next, and that hardly feels like a fair assignment.

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Boston still leads the Northeast Region, but Indy has made it a race

A month ago, Boston looked comfortably in charge. Now the Boston Corsairs, at 51–32 (.614), are still in first, but they can hear footsteps. Indy, at 48–32 (.600), sits only 1½ games back, and that is close enough to smell the coffee from the next dugout.

Boston still has the cleaner full-season case:

• +89 run differential

• strong home and road balance (26–13 at home, 25–19 away)

• and an Eastern League staff anchored by Bert Blyleven and Bill Singer

Blyleven has thrown 143.2 innings, struck out 100, won 10, posted a 1.03 WHIP, and sits second in Eastern League pitching WAR at 4.1. Singer has matched him with 100 strikeouts and a strong run-prevention profile of his own. Boston’s team pitching remains elite: 3.3 runs allowed per game, 2.88 ERA, second only to Baltimore in the Eastern League.

But Boston’s recent form is shaky: 3–7 in the last ten. They’ve won two straight now, yes, but that rough patch is the only reason this region has become interesting again.

Indy, meanwhile, has turned itself into a legitimate threat. The Racers trail by only a game and a half, have scored 361 runs, and carry a healthy +59 differential. More importantly, they own two of the most important players in the region. Elliott Rodriguez is hitting .311 with a .412 OBP, while Larry Hisle leads Eastern League batters in WAR (3.9) and sits near the top in slugging, OPS, and total bases. On the hill, Rick Wise leads Eastern League pitchers in WAR (4.5), and Ken Holtzman has piled up 11 wins, a 1.04 WHIP, and the league’s best walk rate among regular starters.

The catch? Indy is coming in on a L3 skid, and their road record (16–19) is a far cry from the fortress they’ve built at home (32–13).

And so July opens with the right matchup: Indy at Boston. That is not a series. That is a measuring stick.

Behind those two:

• Philadelphia (41–39) has climbed to relevance with a W3 and decent recent form. Willie McCovey has been one of the most dangerous bats in the league: 20 homers, 53 RBI, and a league-best .516 slugging percentage in the East.

• Chicago (36–46) is still trapped by the same split personality: decent at home, bad away, and too much damage overall (-76).

• New York (32–49) remains buried, though not without individual talent. Al Oliver is hitting .307, and both Oliver and Roy White have 92 hits, but the club itself remains thin.

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Dallas leads the Southwest Region, but the heat is real now

The Dallas Wranglers remain first in the Western League Southwest Region at 50–32 (.610). That is a strong record, and the underlying numbers back it up: 391 runs scored, 297 allowed, +94 run differential.

Dallas still looks like a serious club. They lead the Western League in offense at 4.8 runs per game, their lineup is lined with trouble, and their stars are stars indeed. Reggie Jackson is hitting .322 with a league-best .987 OPS, tied for the Western lead with 18 home runs, and leading the league with 65 RBI. Willie Stargell has matched Jackson’s 18 homers and leads the league in runs scored (62) and total bases (169). This is not a one-man show. This is a hard lineup to navigate.

Still, Dallas is not coasting. Houston (46–36) is only four games back, and Phoenix (45–36) is just another half-game behind that. What looked like a comfortable regional lead in early June now feels like a proper summer race.

Houston’s case is built more on run prevention and balance:

• 3.5 runs allowed per game

• 3.08 ERA

• 1.18 WHIP

• strong work from Don Gullett, who leads Western pitchers in K/BB (3.5) and opponents’ OBP (.258)

And then there’s Lou Brock, who has already piled up 101 hits and 37 stolen bases, turning every single into a nuisance.

Phoenix is the most interesting pursuer of the lot. The Rattlers enter July on a W7 tear and 8–2 in the last ten, and their pitching has been the best in the Western League:

• 3.4 runs allowed per game

• 3.01 ERA

• 28 saves

The names explain why. Jim Perry owns a 2.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and the best opponents’ OPS in the Western League at .559. Don Sutton is right behind him at 2.42, with 10 wins and the stingiest hit rate in the league. Phoenix has not scored a ton, but it hasn’t needed to.

So while Dallas still leads the Southwest Region, the feeling has changed. The Wranglers are still the standard. They are no longer alone.

• Los Angeles (38–45) has enough offense to bother people, but the road record (8–23) is crippling.

• Las Vegas (33–49) has spent too much of the year upside-down and now drags a L5 into Dallas.

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The Northwest Region remains unsettled because nobody has earned trust

If the Southeast belongs to Baltimore and the Northeast has become a two-club argument, the Western League Northwest Region still feels like a committee meeting.

Denver (44–39, .530) holds first place, but not with the authority one expects from a leader. The Gold have a modest +18 differential, a perfectly ordinary 5–5 in the last ten, and no real sense of separation. They do, however, have the region’s biggest individual force in César Cedeno, who leads Western batters in WAR (4.7) and sits near the top in OPS, total bases, steals, and just about every other active category worth mentioning. Denver also has premium arms: Bob Gibson has 11 wins, 147.1 innings, and 11 complete games, while Bert Bonham has 101 strikeouts.

Still, first place feels rented, not owned.

The club pressing hardest at the moment is San Francisco (40–41). Three games back, yes, but winners of five straight and 6–4 in the last ten. The Seals are still underwater in run differential (-28), which tells you how deep their earlier mess was, but they’ve at least recovered enough to matter. On the mound, Dock Ellis has been one of the league’s most valuable pitchers, leading Western arms in WAR (3.2) and posting strong command and run-prevention numbers. The question is whether San Francisco’s offense, which has produced only 275 runs, can support the charge.

Salt Lake City (39–41) is only 3½ back and still viable, though less convincing. Ron Fairly has been superb — .344 average, .419 OBP, .550 slugging, 17 home runs — but the Yetis have been too uneven to seize the region.

Seattle (37–43) has at least shown life with a W3 and 7–3 over the last ten. Al Bumbry is batting .342, and there is enough offense here to stay irritating. But the overall record still says middle-tier.

Portland (36–46) remains a rough story. Nolan Ryan leads the Western League in strikeouts with 139, but he also leads the sort of lonely existence that power pitchers on losing clubs often know too well.

So the Northwest Region remains open. Not wide open. Just unconvinced.
________________________________________
The league as July begins

By July 1, the broad truths of Major Sim Baseball are hard to miss.

Baltimore is the best club in the league.

Boston and Indy have the best true race in the East.

Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix have turned the Southwest Region into a real chase.

And the Northwest Region still feels like a question no team has answered with conviction.


The player boards tell the same story:

• Blyleven, Carlton, and Cuellar are giving the East a pitching backbone.

• Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and César Cedeno are defining the West with force.

• Lou Brock is running wild.

• Ron Fairly is hitting everything.

• McCovey is still dangerous enough to change a game by himself.

But the largest fact in the room remains Baltimore. In a season full of arguments, the Admirals are the one club that has turned debate into arithmetic.

And now comes July, the month that asks contenders a simple question:

Can you bear being hunted?


Act II

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Welcome to the Major Sim Baseball
presented by Sim Baseball Vision (See it for yourself)


⚾Play the NimBLe way!

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The Players League, 1946 | DEFENDING THE SHIELD | The Baseball Observer

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THE GAME HAS CHANGED: POSTSEASON BASEBALL TURNS SHARP IN 1973
By Ernie Bewell

There was a time—not long ago—when a pennant was earned over distance.

You played the season. You proved yourself over months. And when October came, you were given seven games to settle it. Enough time to recover. Enough time to adjust. Enough time to breathe.

That time is gone.

The 1973 season introduces something new to Major Sim Baseball—a structure that does not reward patience nearly as much as it demands precision. The postseason has not simply been expanded. It has been tightened.

Sharpened.

And now, every mistake carries weight.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

FROM ENDURANCE TO URGENCY

In 1972, the path was simple. Four regions. Four winners. Two League Championship Sims, each a best-of-seven. The strongest clubs rose because they could withstand the length of the fight.

Now, the path is different.

• The best record in each league advances directly to the League Championship Sim.
• The other region winner must survive a three-game Wild Card Sim.
• All three games are played in the region winner’s ballpark.
• The survivor advances to a best-of-five League Championship Sim.

On paper, it may seem like a small adjustment.

On the field, it is anything but.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

THREE GAMES. NO EXCUSES.

A three-game sim does not allow for rhythm. It does not allow for correction. It demands readiness from the first pitch.

The wild card club must walk into a hostile park and take two games. The region winner—despite earning a division title—must defend its season immediately, with no margin for misstep.

And waiting on the other side?

A five-game sim.

Not seven.

Five.

You fall behind early in a five-game set, and the season begins to close in around you. There is no long arc. No slow climb back. Every inning tightens the vise.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

MEANINGFUL BASEBALL

This is what the league has chosen.

Not more games.

More meaning.

Every pitch now carries consequence. Every managerial decision—when to pull a starter, when to press on the bases, where to position a defender—becomes magnified.

There is no hiding in a shorter sim.

The game reveals you.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TEST

The old system asked: Who can endure?

The new system asks:
Who is ready right now?

That is a different question.

And it will produce different answers.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

THE COST OF ONE MISTAKE

In this new structure, a single misplayed ball, a missed sign, a moment of hesitation on the basepaths—these are no longer footnotes.

They are turning points.

Because in a three-game or five-game sim, there is no guarantee you will have time to recover from them.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

THE LEAGUE LEANS IN

Before now the purity of the pennant race stood alone. Win your region. Prove it over time. No shortcuts.

That principle has not been abandoned.

But it has been tested.

Because there is something undeniable about postseason baseball played under pressure—when every decision matters, when every pitch is contested, when the game is stripped down to its essence.

Man against man.

Pitch against bat.

No tomorrow promised.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

WHAT COMES NEXT

We are heading toward a postseason that will not allow teams to settle in.

They will have to arrive ready.

Or go home quickly.

And that may be the point.


Act II

⚾




⚾⚾⚾

Welcome to the Major Sim Baseball
presented by Sim Baseball Vision (See it for yourself)


⚾Play the NimBLe way!

================================================== ================================================== ===================================
MSB on StatsPlus | MSB on OOTP | MSB Quick Start | MSB Stat of the day | Sim Baseball Vision | MSB Real Time Sim | Action Baseball League | The ABL
The Players League, 1946 | DEFENDING THE SHIELD | The Baseball Observer