The virtual 1958-68 Giants, Reds and Cardinals (Part 3: 1959-60)

We’ve completed two seasons of our journey with this trio of National League heavyweights. The outcome we achieved in 1959 could hardly have been more dramatic, with the Giants and Reds tying for the pennant (who would have won the best-of-three playoff?), and the Cardinals just three games behind.

           Giants:  Actual             Reds:  Actual               Cardinals:  Actual
 Year     W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA
 1958    80   74   3   727  698      76   78   4   695  623      72   82   5T  619  704
 1959    83   71   3   705  613      74   80   5T  764  738      71   83   7   641  725

           Giants:  Virtual            Reds:  Virtual              Cardinals:  Virtual
 Year     W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA
 1958    83   71   2T  747  692      73   81   5   683  637      77   77   4   640  677
 1959    87   67   1T  737  615      87   67   1T  802  662      84   70   4   725  685

As we begin the swinging sixties, is another championship in store for one of our ball clubs?

The 1959-60 offseason: Actual deals we will make

Nov. 21, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded pitcher Tom Acker to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher Frank House.

A secondary move to be sure, but we agree with the actual Reds that the left-handed-batting House can be of more help as a backup catcher than the right-hander Acker will provide in the bullpen.

April 2, 1960: The San Francisco Giants traded pitcher Bud Watkins to the Milwaukee Braves for infielder-outfielder Dick Phillips.

This swap of career minor leaguers makes sense for our Giants. Phillips can handle any position except catcher or pitcher, and swings a not-terrible left-handed bat.

The 1959-60 offseason: Actual deals we will not make

Dec. 2, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded catcher-outfielder Gene Green and catcher Chuck Staniland to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Bob Nieman.

The actual Cardinals really soured on Green in 1959, sending him to the minors when he slumped, then trading him away. But we see him as an unusual talent, and we’ve got more patience with him. Besides, unlike the actual Cards, we’ve already traded away Gene Oliver, whose skill profile duplicates Green’s. Moreover, also unlike the actual Cards, we’ve still got Chuck Essegian on hand to serve as a right-handed platoon bat in left field.

So, as much as we like the heavy-hitting Nieman, we’ll pass.

Dec. 4, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Bobby Gene Smith and pitcher Bill Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Carl Sawatski.

Our Cardinals have Smoky Burgess, and so have no need to be adding another left-handed-batting good-hit-poor-field catcher. (Moreover, in our scenario, the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates were unable to acquire Burgess a year ago means that they would plausibly have already acquired Sawatski from Philadelphia themselves, likely in a trade involving Gene Freese, whom the Pirates actually traded away and the Phillies actually acquired in separate deals in 1958.)

Dec. 6, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded infielder-outfielder Frank Thomas to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Bill Henry and outfielders Lee Walls and Lou Jackson.

Since our Reds never acquired Thomas, we can’t make this deal. We’ll presume, however, that the Pirates (who would still have Thomas) would accept this offer from Chicago, which was quite generous given how badly the slugger had slumped in 1959.

Dec. 15, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds traded second baseman Johnny Temple to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Cal McLish, second baseman Billy Martin, and first baseman Gordy Coleman.

One can see Cincinnati GM Gabe Paul’s reasoning in swinging this blockbuster, as he strove to bolster the struggling pitching staff of his fifth-place ball club, as well as bring in a promising first base prospect. But our 1959 Reds were no fifth-place outfit, and so we’ll turn down Trader Lane’s energetic offer and stick with the high-spirited Temple, who’d delivered his best season in ’59 at the age of 31.

Dec. 15, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded infielder Daryl Spencer and outfielder Leon Wagner to the St. Louis Cardinals for second baseman Don Blasingame.

And the the logic of San Francisco owner-GM Horace Stoneham is apparent here. This was an effort to sharpen up the Giants’ middle-infield defense, which had been dead last in the major leagues (by a wide margin) in double plays turned in 1959.

But the combination of Spencer and Wagner is a steep price to pay for the smooth-fielding but slap-hitting Blasingame, so our Giants are hesitant. And it’s a moot point anyway, as our Cardinals, much as we’re intrigued by Wagner’s bat, don’t see a place for him to play in St. Louis, and thus this one’s a no-go.

Dec. 21, 1959: The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Gino Cimoli and pitcher Tom Cheney to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Ron Kline.

Our Cards don’t have Cimoli, and therefore can’t do this one. But we’re very interested in shoring up our starting rotation with the workhorse Kline, and so, below, we’ll find another way to work this.

March 29, 1960: The San Francisco Giants traded pitcher Al Worthington to the Boston Red Sox for first baseman-outfielder Jim Marshall.

April 5, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased first baseman Dale Long from the Chicago Cubs.

These are a nice couple of left-handed bats to add to the bench, but our Giants—especially since we still have Wagner on hand—don’t have the room for them.

The 1959-60 offseason: Deals we will invoke

Nov. 30, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Jackie Brandt, pitcher Al Worthington, and catcher Roger McCardell to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Billy O’Dell and Billy Loes.

This is very nearly the exact deal that was actually made on this date. We’ll substitute Worthington for the right-hander Gordon Jones who was actually included, which only serves to make it more attractive to Baltimore.

For our Giants, as in reality, this is a smart way to leverage surplus outfield talent—we really like Brandt, but we also have Felipe Alou, who’s a younger and better version—into beefing up the pitching staff. O’Dell is one of the better young left-handers around.

Dec. 2, 1959: The San Francisco Giants traded catcher-outfielder Jay Porter, pitchers Joe Shipley and Marshall Renfroe, and cash to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Bob Nieman.

We saw above that our Cardinals declined to go after Nieman, so our Giants will instead. Porter provides the Orioles with a right-handed-batting catcher-outfielder in place of Gene Green, and tossing in a couple of mid-grade pitching prospects would make this package equivalent to that which Baltimore sought from St. Louis.

Dec. 21, 1959: In a three-club deal, the St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Gus Bell to the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitcher Tom Cheney to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers sent outfielder Gino Cimoli to the Pirates, and the Pirates sent pitcher Ron Kline to the Cardinals.

We know that the Pirates want Cimoli to serve as a center field platoon partner for Bill Virdon. And we know that the Dodgers prefer a left-handed bat in their outfield over Cimoli (the guy they really wanted was Wally Moon a year ago, but our Cards wouldn’t do that). This modifies the L.A. outfield in a way they like, while providing the Pirates with what they actually took in exchange for Kline.

April 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Bobby Gene Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies.

We didn’t trade the strong-fielding-light-hitting Smith in the fall, but at the end of spring training he isn’t going to make our St. Louis roster, so we’ll send him along to Philadelphia anyway.

April 7, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased infielder-catcher Harry Bright off waivers from the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs had taken Bright from the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft, but actually on this date returned him to Pittsburgh. Our Giants will step in and claim him instead. He’s a 30-year-old who’s spent the great majority of his long career in the minors, but he’s a defensive jack-of-all-trades with some pop in his bat, and we can find a use for him on our bench.

April 11, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Johnny Klippstein from the Los Angeles Dodgers for $25,000 cash.

Actually on this date the Dodgers sold Klippstein to Cleveland, but our Reds won’t let him clear N.L. waivers.

The 1960 season: Actual deals we will make

May 20, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals signed pitcher Curt Simmons as a free agent.

As did the actual Cardinals, ours will have space at the tail end of the staff to give Simmons a long shot. And that’s all it is: the 31-year-old sore-winged southpaw has logged a grand total of 14 entirely ineffective innings over the past season-plus. He might very, very well be burnt toast.

June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded infielder-outfielder Jim McKnight to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Walt Moryn.

The 34-year-old Moryn is clearly on the downside, but he can still hit. Picking him up makes sense, especially at the bargain price of the fringe-prospect McKnight.

The 1960 season: Actual deals we will not make

May 12, 1960: The San Francisco Giants purchased outfielder-first baseman Dave Philley from the Philadelphia Phillies.

May 18, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds purchased pitcher Bob Grim from the Cleveland Indians.

Neither of our teams is interested in these veterans.

May 28, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell and infielder Dick Gray to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Julian Javier and pitcher Ed Bauta.

Our Cardinals, with Don Blasingame still on board, won’t take this urgent an interest in Javier, a light hitter but a highly impressive young defensive second baseman, who’s blocked in Pittsburgh behind Bill Mazeroski. So the Pirates won’t be able to bolster their starting rotation in this way.

June 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals purchased pitcher Bobby Tiefenauer from the Cleveland Indians.

June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Jim Donohue to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder John Glenn.

We have no interest in either one of these minor league veterans.

(I remember as a small boy coming across John Glenn’s baseball card, and wondering at the versatility of that immensely famous astronaut.)

June 15, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds traded outfielders Tony Gonzalez and Lee Walls to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielders Harry Anderson and Wally Post and first baseman Fred Hopke.

Since our Reds don’t have Walls, it’s impossible for us to strictly make this trade. But we don’t think we want to reconfigure it, either. Exchanging youth, mobility, defense, and potential for experience and power isn’t something our Reds are particularly motivated to do. We’ll hang on to the key player here, the toolsy and intriguing rookie Gonzalez.

July 20, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Luis Arroyo to the New York Yankees.

One of the blunders Paul committed in his long GM tenure in Cincinnati was failing to grasp what he had in his hands in Arroyo. At the point of this sale, all the left-hander had done in 1959 and 1960 at the triple-A level of the Reds’ organization was put up an ERA of 1.66 in 212 innings, allowing just 146 hits while striking out 193. Why in the world was it only George Weiss’s Yankees figuring that maybe this guy might be worth a gamble?

July 29, 1960: The Cincinnati Reds sold pitcher Don Newcombe to the Cleveland Indians.

The 34-year-old Newcombe is slumping again, but we think he still might have something left.

Aug. 2, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold pitcher Marshall Bridges off waivers to the Cincinnati Reds.

There was no conceivable point in St. Louis GM Bing Devine just tossing the entirely worthy 29-year-old southpaw Bridges aside. Though our Reds would love the chance to take him, our Cards won’t let that happen.

September 19, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals traded infielder Bob Sadowski to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Don Landrum.

We already have Landrum, so won’t have to give up the lefty-batting Sadowski, who might have a utility career ahead of him.

The 1960 season: Deals we will invoke

May, 1960: The San Francisco Giants sold pitcher Billy Loes to the Cleveland Indians.

The 30-year-old journeyman won’t make our final staff cut. The Indians can have him instead of Klippstein.

June 15, 1960: The St. Louis Cardinals sold outfielder Chuck Essegian to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Making room for Moose Moryn.

July 18, 1960: The San Francisco Giants sold pitcher Pete Burnside to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Making room for some rookie named Juan something-or-other. The Pirates couldn’t pry Mizell loose from St. Louis, so they’ll take the lefty Burnside as better than nothing.

1960 season results

Giants

We’ve made minor alterations to the roster that tied for the pennant last year. Nieman replaces Brandt in the outfield, and the versatile Phillips and Bright take the last two bench spots. O’Dell joins the front-line pitching staff, and we’re giving opportunities to 21-year-old former Bonus Baby left-hander Mike McCormick (whom we recalled from the minors in the second half of ’59), as well as rookie right-handers Eddie Fisher and Frank Funk.

1960 San Francisco Giants     Won 93    Lost 61    Finished 1st

 Pos  Player        Age    G  AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR RBI  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+
  1B  W. McCovey*    22  143 479  82 119  24   6  23  66  81  87 .248 .357 .468 .825  129
  2B  D. Spencer     31  148 507  73 127  19   4  11  53  81  74 .250 .357 .369 .726  104
  SS  A. Rodgers     25  148 528  64 131  22   9   7  47  60 107 .248 .328 .364 .691   94
3-1-L O. Cepeda      22  151 541  81 161  34   3  23  91  32  86 .298 .342 .499 .842  133
  RF  W. Kirkland*   26  146 515  59 130  21  10  21  70  44  86 .252 .314 .454 .768  113
  CF  W. Mays        29  153 595 113 190  29  12  29 103  61  70 .319 .381 .555 .936  159
LF-RF F. Alou        25  113 368  55  98  19   4   9  47  19  48 .266 .300 .413 .713   98
  C   B. Schmidt     27  110 344  34  92  12   1   8  37  26  51 .267 .315 .378 .693   93

  LF  L. Wagner*     26   86 196  24  42   4   1   7  23  28  41 .214 .316 .352 .668   87
  LF  B. Nieman      33   81 188  19  51  13   5   3  31  24  31 .271 .358 .441 .800  123
  3B  J. Davenport   26   84 182  22  44   7   2   3  17  12  30 .242 .287 .352 .639   78
  IF  E. Bressoud    28   77 154  15  33   8   2   3  15  13  30 .214 .275 .351 .626   74
  C   H. Landrith*   30   59 127  12  30   7   0   1  13  15   7 .236 .310 .315 .625   76
  UT  D. Phillips*   28   56  78   8  18   2   0   1  10   8   8 .231 .303 .295 .598   69
  UT  H. Bright      30   42  77   9  17   3   1   2  12   5  14 .221 .265 .364 .629   74

      Others                  33   5   9   2   1   0   2   1   4 .273 .294 .394 .688   91

      Pitchers               417  34  77  10   1   0  20  29 132 .185 .225 .213 .438   24

      Total                 5329 709 1369 236 62 151 657 539 906 .257 .325 .409 .734  104

      *  Bats left

      Pitcher       Age    G  GS  CG   W   L  SV  IP   H   R  ER   HR   BB   SO  ERA ERA+
      S. Jones       34   39  35  13  18  13   1 234 200 112  83   18   91  190 3.19  110
      M. McCormick*  21   36  31  13  14   9   3 228 204  78  67   13   59  140 2.64  133
      E. Broglio     24   42  19   7  17   6   4 181 131  54  45    9   80  152 2.24  157
      B. O'Dell*     27   34  18   4   6   9   2 162 155  61  55   12   58  118 3.06  115
      J. Sanford     31   33  19   6   8   9   1 146 128  70  58    6   66   86 3.58   98
      J. Marichal    22   11  11   6   6   1   0  81  59  29  24    5   28   58 2.67  132
      P. Burnside*   29   10   5   1   1   1   1  38  41  19  17    5   15   26 4.03   87

      S. Miller      32   45   3   1   7   4   5  92  89  43  39    8   28   60 3.82   92
      J. Antonelli*  30   39  10   1   6   5  11 101  94  45  41    6   42   52 3.65   96
      E. Fisher      23   28   4   1   4   2   0  61  57  24  23    6   11   39 3.39  103
      F. Funk        24   25   1   0   5   2   1  62  55  17  15    5   17   40 2.18  161

      Others                   0   0   1   0   1  16  16   9   8    4    5    9 4.50   78

      Total                  156  53  93  61 30 1402 1229 561 475  97  500  970 3.05  115

      * Throws left

There are a couple of small frustrations for the offense. Wagner doesn’t hit nearly as expected, and loses his primary status. Willie McCovey, in his sophomore year, struggles to hit for average, though he produces good power and abundant walks.

These setbacks aren’t significant, as on balance our offense, led by the ever-stupendous Willie Mays as well as Stretch and The Baby Bull, is even better than it was in 1959. We have a deep and solid attack.

And on the pitching mound our Giants brightly shine. McCormick is superb, but terrific as he is, he’s upstaged by the 24-year-old sophomore right-hander Ernie Broglio, who forces his way out of the bullpen with dazzling work. And in late July we call up 22-year-old Dominican right-hander Juan Marichal, who calmly baffles hitters.

Top to bottom, it’s hard to find another staff as strong as ours. Taking full advantage of the pitcher-friendly conditions at newly-opened (and roundly derided) Candlestick Park, we allow the league’s fewest home runs, earned runs, and just plain runs.

It’s enough to place the Giants securely in first place, no ties necessary. Russ Hodges could repeat it: “The Giants win the pennant!”

Reds

The only changes we’re undertaking in Cincinnati are to give chances to several impressive young talents graduating from our farm system. The left-handed-batting Gonzalez will become part of the outfield mix, and fellow rookies Jim O’Toole, Jay Hook, and Dave Stenhouse will all get opportunities in the starting rotation.

1960 Cincinnati Reds     Won 76    Lost 78    Finished 6th

 Pos  Player        Age    G  AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR RBI  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+
1B-LF F. Robinson    24  139 464  90 138  33   6  31  87  82  67 .297 .407 .595 1.002 169
  2B  J. Temple      32   98 381  50 103  13   1   2  19  29  22 .270 .315 .325 .641   75
  SS  R. McMillan    30  124 399  42  94  12   2  10  42  35  40 .236 .297 .351 .648   75
  3B  D. Hoak        32  154 553  87 154  24   6  21  87  73  75 .278 .359 .458 .817  120
  RF  T. Gonzalez*   23  117 340  41  93  22   5  10  52  15  74 .274 .311 .456 .767  105
  CF  V. Pinson*     21  154 652 112 187  37  12  20  64  47  96 .287 .339 .472 .811  118
L-R-1 W. Moon*       30  138 469  74 133  24   4  16  76  69  58 .284 .370 .454 .824  123
  C   E. Bailey*     29  133 441  55 115  19   3  13  70  59  70 .261 .345 .406 .751  103

2B-OF C. Flood       22  126 356  34  81  18   1   7  36  33  51 .228 .295 .343 .638   73
SS-2B A. Grammas     34  102 196  20  47   4   1   4  17  12  16 .240 .282 .332 .613   66
 RF-C G. Oliver      25   78 180  26  43   6   1   6  24  23  37 .239 .324 .383 .707   91
LF-RF J. Lynch*      29   97 175  25  51   9   2   7  32  18  27 .291 .357 .486 .843  127
  1B  W. Dropo       37   53  90   8  22   4   0   2  11   9  11 .244 .310 .356 .666   81
  C   D. Dotterer    28   33  79   4  18   5   0   2  11  13  10 .228 .330 .367 .697   89
  C   F. House*      30   23  28   0   5   2   0   0   3   0   2 .179 .179 .250 .429   15

      Others                 137  12  25   2   1   0  10  11  32 .182 .234 .212 .445   22

      Pitchers               388  25  61   8   0   0  24  27 143 .157 .200 .179 .379    4

      Total                 5328 705 1370 242 45 151 665 555 831 .257 .325 .405 .730   97

      *  Bats left

      Pitcher       Age    G  GS  CG   W   L  SV  IP   H   R  ER   HR   BB   SO  ERA ERA+
      B. Purkey      30   41  33  11  17  10   0 253 259 113 101   23   59   97 3.59  107
      J. O'Toole*    23   31  28   6  11  10   1 176 177  83  74   13   59  112 3.78  101
      H. Haddix*     34   29  28   4  10  10   1 172 185  86  77   16   37   98 4.03   95
      J. Hook        23   28  20   4   6  10   0 139 136  71  66   18   48   69 4.27   90
      D. Newcombe    34   36  17   1   5   8   1 123 145  69  61   16   19   61 4.46   86
      D. Stenhouse   26   31  15   2   6   8   0 112 124  65  55   11   48   70 4.42   87

      L. Arroyo*     33   55   0   0   8   5  17  89  71  28  27    6   43   71 2.73  141
      J. Klippstein  32   49   0   0   5   5  16  74  55  31  25    6   31   51 3.04  126
      O. Peña        26   45   7   2   6   4   4 115 120  49  44   10   36   67 3.44  112
      J. Nuxhall*    31   35   3   0   0   6   0  96 111  44  43    6   23   64 4.03   95

      Others                   3   0   2   2   0  42  44  27  22    5   24   20 4.71   81

      Total                  154  30  76  78 40 1391 1427 666 595 130  427  780 3.85  100

      * Throws left

Two of our key talents are nagged by injuries. Frank Robinson is bothered by a sore right arm which inhibits his throwing, forcing him to play just first base and left field this year, and while it keeps him on the sidelines a far amount in the second half, it scarcely diminishes his very loud hitting.

Johnny Temple, on the other hand, is dinged up to the extent of missing about a third of the season’s games, and hits with far less than his accustomed authority when he does play. We’re eager to find a place for talented 22-year-old sophomore Curt Flood, so we give him the primary opportunity to fill in for Temple, but Flood doesn’t hit well either.

Thus despite strong years from third baseman Don Hoak and outfielders Vada Pinson and Wally Moon, our hitting isn’t overall quite as strong as it was in 1959.

Nor is our pitching as good as last year either. Bob Purkey does well, but neither Newcombe nor Harvey Haddix is particularly sharp. O’Toole is impressive, but Hook and Stenhouse, less so. The bullpen is strong, but overall it’s just a league-average staff.

And thus we’re a middle-of-the-pack finisher, underperforming against Pythag by five wins, slogging in at 76-78, all the way down to sixth place. This is highly frustrating, because we really think we’re better than this.

Cardinals

We were willing to part with Gus Bell because our farm system has graduated not one but two toolsy 23-year-old center fielders with impressive minor league resumés: switch-hitter Ellis Burton and lefty-hitting Duke Carmel will compete for the job.

Kline joins standbys Mizell and Larry Jackson in the starting rotation. Competing for the remaining starts will be a pair of hard-throwing rookie right-handers: Dick Ricketts and one Bob Gibson.

1960 St. Louis Cardinals     Won 86    Lost 68    Finished 4th

 Pos  Player        Age    G  AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR RBI  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+
1B-LF B. White*      26  144 554  81 157  27  10  16  83  42  83 .283 .332 .455 .787  107
  2B  D. Blasingame* 28  129 471  65 120  11   7   2  30  44  48 .255 .316 .321 .637   70
  SS  D. Schofield#  25  131 427  53 119  20   4   1  39  64  73 .279 .369 .351 .721   93
  3B  K. Boyer       29  151 552  95 168  26  10  32 102  56  77 .304 .370 .562 .932  144
RF-1B J. Cunningham* 28  139 492  68 138  28   3   6  41  59  59 .280 .361 .386 .747   99
  CF  E. Burton#     23  106 221  34  47   9   1   5  23  33  52 .213 .312 .330 .642   71
LF-1B S. Musial*     39  116 331  49  91  17   1  17  66  41  34 .275 .354 .486 .841  121
  C   S. Burgess*    33  110 337  30 101  15   2   9  39  33  12 .300 .358 .436 .794  110

  IF  E. Kasko       28   84 240  28  71  10   1   3  27  22  19 .296 .358 .383 .742   97
LF-RF W. Moryn*      34   75 200  24  49   4   3  11  37  17  38 .245 .299 .460 .759   98
  OF  D. Landrum*    24   65 171  24  42   5   2   5  20  15  22 .246 .313 .386 .698   85
  C   H. Smith       29   85 169  10  38   8   0   1  15  14  16 .225 .281 .290 .571   52
 OF-C G. Green       27   72 157  14  37   5   1   4  24  18  20 .236 .315 .357 .671   78
OF-1B D. Carmel*     23   49 118  12  23   1   2   2  12  14  35 .195 .278 .288 .566   51
  OF  C. James       22   55 101   9  22   3   0   2   8   4  19 .218 .245 .307 .552   46
  OF  J. Hickman     23   48  84  12  19   3   1   2  12  12  20 .226 .327 .357 .684   82
  2B  B. Sadowski*   23   35  79   7  19   2   1   2   6   6  10 .241 .291 .367 .658   74
  LF  C. Essegian    28   26  40   4   9   2   0   1   6   4  13 .225 .289 .350 .639   69
SS-2B W. Shannon*    27   18  23   2   4   0   0   0   1   3   6 .174 .296 .174 .470   29

      Others                  34   4   7   0   0   0   1   2  10 .206 .243 .206 .449   21

      Pitchers               404  36  70   8   1   1  20  20 110 .173 .207 .207 .414   11

      Total                 5205 661 1351 204 50 122 612 523 776 .260 .326 .388 .714   89

      *  Bats left
      #  Bats both

      Pitcher       Age    G  GS  CG   W   L  SV  IP   H   R  ER   HR   BB   SO  ERA ERA+
      L. Jackson     29   43  38  14  19  13   0 282 277 123 109   22   70  171 3.48  118
      W. Mizell*     29   32  32   8  14   8   0 211 206  94  87   18   74  113 3.71  110
      C. Simmons*    31   23  17   3   7   4   0 152 149  50  45   11   31   63 2.66  154
      B. Gibson      24   30  18   4   4   9   0 122 128  73  67   10   64   94 4.94   83
      R. Kline       28   31  17   1   4   8   1 112 126  82  75   20   41   51 6.03   68
      D. Ricketts    26   24  15   3   4   8   0  92 101  56  51   11   38   61 4.99   82

      L. McDaniel    24   62   2   1  11   4  24 104  75  24  23    7   21   96 1.99  206
      J. Brosnan     30   54   2   0   6   2   3  89  72  27  24    4   20   58 2.43  169
      M. Bridges*    29   34   1   0   6   2   1  57  47  18  15    3   23   53 2.37  173
      C. Stobbs*     30   32   5   0   8   4   1  75  71  33  30    9   24   43 3.60  114
      T. Wieand      27    7   2   0   0   2   0  16  21  13  12    5   10   10 6.75   61

      Others                   6   1   3   4   1  59  62  39  32    7   34   38 4.88   84

      Total                  155  35  86  68 31 1371 1335 632 570 127  450  851 3.74  110

      * Throws left

In mid-season, the now semi-regular Stan Musial volunteers to shift back to left field, to open up first base full-time to the budding young star Bill White.

Alas, the rookies-in-center-field experiment bombs, as neither Burton nor Carmel hits at all. In addition, both second baseman Blasingame and (especially) right fielder Joe Cunningham deliver off-years with the bat.

Thus a career-best performance from third baseman Ken Boyer isn’t enough to lead this ball club to improved run production. Our offense sags to below-average status.

Top starter Jackson delivers his best year so far, leading the league in starts and innings and racking up 19 wins. But Kline is a disaster, suddenly and completely ineffective at the age of 28. Neither of the rookie starters does well, either, creating real problems in the starting rotation. Fortunately, the scrap-heap pickup Simmons is startlingly rejuvenated, doing his best to save the day.

They’re backed by a bullpen that’s remarkably good, indeed as good as any yet assembled anywhere. It’s topped by an amazing year from 24-year-old Lindy McDaniel, the 1960 Fireman of the Year in a landslide.

But the very strong pitching is married to the lackluster offense, and our 86-68 record (dramatically outperforming Pythag by six games) leaves us repeating with a fourth place finish. We remain a step below that of serious contender.

Next time

We’ll see if this saga will continue as mostly the Giants’ show.

           Giants:  Actual             Reds:  Actual               Cardinals:  Actual
 Year     W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA
 1958    80   74   3   727  698      76   78   4   695  623      72   82   5T  619  704
 1959    83   71   3   705  613      74   80   5T  764  738      71   83   7   641  725
 1960    79   75   5   671  631      67   87   6   640  692      86   68   3   639  616

           Giants:  Virtual            Reds:  Virtual              Cardinals:  Virtual
 Year     W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA       W    L  Pos   RS   RA
 1958    83   71   2   747  692      73   81   5   683  637      77   77   4   640  677
 1959    87   67   1T  737  615      87   67   1T  802  662      84   70   4   725  685
 1960    93   61   1   709  561      76   78   6   705  666      86   68   4   661  632