Pittsburgh’s Bob Bailey is slugging .755
In my 1966 NL replay, I have fifteen total games left to play for the month of April but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at what’s happening so far.
Here are the standings as of April 25:
| Team | Wins | Losses | Pct. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 9 | 4 | .692 | 0 |
| Atlanta Braves | 9 | 4 | .692 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 8 | 5 | .615 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 6 | 4 | .600 | 1 1/2 |
| Houston Astros | 7 | 7 | .500 | 2 1/2 |
| San Francisco Giants | 6 | 7 | .462 | 3 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 |
| New York Mets | 3 | 6 | .333 | 4 |
| St Louis Cardinals | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5 |
Nothing too earth-shattering except maybe that the Giants went into a downward spiral in the last week. They are one of the best hitting teams in my replay (top in HR, third in runs scored) but they lost their last four games and took a dive in the standings.
Meanwhile, LA (who won it in real life) have tied it with Atlanta for the top spot. The Dodgers do with pitching with a nifty 2.64 ERA. The Braves Hank Aaron has finally come around hitting a couple homers in his last game. He now leads the NL in runs scored with 14.
| Player | Team | PA | AVG |
| McCarver, Tim | StL | 34 | .455 |
| Brock, Lou | StL | 48 | .447 |
| Bailey, Bob | Pit | 55 | .429 |
| Harper, Tommy | Cin | 48 | .410 |
| Taylor, Tony | Phi | 35 | .394 |
| Rose, Pete | Cin | 45 | .372 |
| Carty, Rico | Atl | 45 | .366 |
| Allen, Dick | Phi | 50 | .348 |
| Alou, Jay | SF | 57 | .346 |
| Smith, Charley | StL | 45 | .325 |
| Rojas, Cookie | Phi | 45 | .325 |
Big players so far: Dick Allen is leading the league with 16 rbis and is second with 4 homers. Willie Mays is alone at the top with five homers. The Cardinals’ Lou Brock is hitting .447 and leads with 8 steals. He even has 3 homers to his credit. Bob Bailey is doing surprisingly well. He third in hitting (.429) and leads with a .755 slugging percentage. I keep waiting for him to tail off but he always comes through with the three-hit game for the Pirates.
I’m not sure what to think of Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver. He’s leading the league with a nice .455 average yet despite batting in the middle of the order, he only has five rbis and four runs scored. Orlando Cepeda can’t come to St Louis soon enough, I suppose.
| Player | Team | IP | ERA |
| Blass, Steve | Pit | 19 | 1.42 |
| Dierker, Larry | Hou | 18 | 1.50 |
| Gibson, Bob | StL | 18 | 1.50 |
| Maloney, Jim | Cin | 25 | 1.80 |
| Koufax, Sandy | LA | 25 | 2.16 |
| Roberts, Robin | Hou | 25 | 2.16 |
| Latman, Barry | Hou | 15 | 2.40 |
| Drysdale, Don | LA | 18 | 2.50 |
| Marichal, Juan | SF | 25 | 2.52 |
| Johnson, Ken | Atl | 25 | 2.52 |
There are some expected results among the pitchers and there are some surprises, too. One of those surprises is Steve Blass who has a nice 1.42 ERA in three games. Aging Robin Roberts has shown he still has it for Houston. As a D starter, he has a 2.16 mark with a 2-1 record.
| Pitcher | Team | K |
| Veale, Bob | Pit | 28 |
| Koufax, Sandy | LA | 28 |
| Sutton, Don | LA | 24 |
| Maloney, Jim | Cin | 23 |
| Bunning, Jim | Phi | 22 |
| Marichal, Juan | SF | 21 |
| Cloninger, Tony | Atl | 20 |
| Osteen, Claude | LA | 19 |
| Bolin, Bobby | SF | 18 |
| Drysdale, Don | LA | 16 |
| Culp, Ray | Phi | 16 |
| Jaster, Larry | StL | 16 |
| LeMaster, Denny | Atl | 16 |
Sandy Koufax and Bob Veale are tied for the strikeout lead with 28 Ks each. Don Sutton, Jim Maloney and Jim Bunning aren’t far behind. Sutton actually leads with 10.3 K/9 IP and comes in fourth with .9 BB/9IP mark. That explains his 3-0 mark. His three wins ties four others for the lead. Atlanta Brave Clay Carroll is one of those four and he also has racked up two saves. With fellow A reliever Billy O’Dell, it’s no surprise the Braves are at the top.
Once I get through April, I’ll post a more complete update. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a solo replay and I must say, I’m thoroughly enjoying this one.
