Chuck Lucas is a long time friend and a fellow Illowa APBA League member. At league conventions, we would trade stories about what solo projects we were working on and I’m quite familiar with his 1959 replay he’s currently doing. For a while now, I have been asking if he’d do a write-up for The APBA Blog. He finally came through for us.
Thanks, Chuck!
After 7 and ½ years of rolling the dice in my ’59 replay the end of the American League season is definitely in sight. The National League is getting there too but that’s another story for another day.
This morning I wrote out the remaining American league lineups to take me through Sunday September 27th, game 616 and the final game of the AL season. The last game of the season has the Washington Senators on the road at Boston, noteworthy only for the fact that legendary slugger Harmon Killebrew was actually leading off for maybe the only (?) time in his career for the hapless “Nats” this game.
The only reason that I can think of is not an amazing burst of speed suddenly bestowed upon the usually lead-footed Harmon but perhaps Washington manager Cookie Lavagetto was giving “the Killer” extra chances and at bats for a crack at the home run title. Coming into the last game of the season, Killer was one homer behind Rocco Rocky Colavito 42-41.
The move paid off in spades for the big right handed Idaho slugger as an extra plate appearance or two resulted in a 4 for 5 day at the plate plus the needed homer that gave Harmon a share of the home run title with 42.
In my replay here is how AL the long ball standings stand as of September 20th
| Jim Lemon (Harmons’s Washington teammate) | 35 |
| Killebrew (Wash) | 33 |
| Held (Clev) | 31 |
| Colavito (Clev) | 28 |
| Maxwell (Det) | 27 |
Now even though I wrote out the lineups for the last game, I still have several more games to play to complete the AL season. Actually, since I just counted them there are 22 left. One of my rituals, crazy as it may be is to write out the lineups by hand a couple of weeks in advance.
The White Sox are running away with it the Tigers in second place. There is a good race for third place but only the Tigers and Sox will finish over .500.
As of 9/19/59 (After games):
| Chi | 107 | 42 |
| Det | 84 | 64 |
| KC | 71 | 76 |
| NY | 71 | 77 |
| Clev | 69 | 79 |
| Bost | 69 | 79 |
| Balt | 67 | 82 |
| Was | 55 | 94 |
Thanks for the summary, Chuck! Let us know how it ends up.
Interesting about Killebrew leading off. The same thing happened in 1971 with Bill Melton. With two games left in the season, Melton had 30 home runs and trailed Reggie Jackson and Norm Cash by two home runs for the HR title. Chuck Tanner put Melton in the leadoff spot to maximize his plate appearances. In the penultimate game of the season, he hit two home runs (the only Sox runs in a 2-1 victory). In the last game, Beltin’ Melton hit his 33rd home run in the 3rd inning to win the HR title.
Dick, I’m not sure if I’ve heard that story. Interesting.
I appreciate Chuck sending this since we have regular updates from Scott Fennessy on his 1905 replay and I report occasionally on my friend Brando’s 1930 replay and my 1966 project. It’s nice to see something on the Golden Age of baseball.
Thanks, Chuck!
Dick,You are correct for the 1st time in the history of the Sox ….they had a home run champion on there way to a 79-83 season.
Hemond and Tanner brought the Sox back to respectability. Unfortunately, Bill Melton had a back injury in ’72 and he and the Sox were never the same as they finished behind the Oakland A’s who were just starting their dynasty run of three straight titles. If I remember correctly, Melton received the coveted “double 1’s” from ApBA.