1946 Deluxe Past Season with transaction and lineups available now!
1946: The Boys Are Back in Town
by Steve Ehresman
In 1946, Winston Churchill gave his famous Iron Curtain Speech; Nazi war criminals were sentenced to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg; the General Assembly of the United Nation met for the first time; and—for Major League Baseball—the stars returned from the War to treat America to a new era of seasons in the sun.
Despite the challenge posed by Jorge Pascual’s Mexican League, Major League Baseball, under the leadership of Commissioner Albert “Happy” Chandler, experienced a record-breaking year, as turnstiles clicked at nearly double their 1945 rate, which happened to be the old record for putting fannies in the seats. All sixteen teams enjoyed an increase in attendance. Even the lowly Washington Senators and Philadelphia Phillies surpassed the magic million mark. In all, five teams drew over a million fans for the first time, and the New York Yankees became the first team to attract two million customers.
These fans were rewarded with a baseball season that historians still celebrate. In Boston, the Red Sox put together a 15-game winning streak in May and captured their first pennant in 28 years, winning 104 games and breezing past the defending World Series champs, the Detroit Tigers, by 12 games.
Despite the “Williams Shift,” devised by Cleveland Indian player-manager Lou Boudreau, “Teddy Ballgame”, 27-years-old and hungry after serving as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, won the MVP, compiling a .342 batting average, walloping 38 home runs, drawing a major league-leading 156 walks, and driving in 123 runs. Williams was not alone in his offensive exploits, as Rudy York (30 2B, 17 HR, 119 RBI), Bobby Doerr (34 2B, 18 HR, 116 RBI), and Johnny Pesky (208 hits, 43 2B, .335) came through with seasons that put the Red Sox atop the American League in runs (792), hits (1441), doubles (268), RBI (736), walks (687), and batting average (.271).
“The Sawx” also possessed one the most effective pitching staffs in the American League. Featuring Boo Ferris (40 G, 35 GS, 26 CG, 274 IP, 25-6, 3.25), Tex Hughson (20-11, 39 G, 35 GS, 21 CG, 278 IP, 20-11, 2.75), and Mickey Harris (17-9, 34 G, 30 GS, 15 CG, 236 IP, 17-9, 3.63), Boston pitching was both talented and deep.
The American League could boast of a Herculean performance by the Detroit Tigers’ Hank Greenberg in his first full season after the War. Smashing 44 home runs and recording 127 RBI, both major league highs, Greenberg enjoyed one of his most productive seasons. Hal Newhouser, the ace of Detroit’s 1945 champs, put together a stellar season against much tougher competition. “Prince Hal” dominated with a 25-9 record, along with 37 G, 34 GS, 29 CG, 293 IP, 275 K, and a major league-leading 1.94 ERA.
The New York Yankees featured a comeback by “The Yankee Clipper” Joe DiMaggio (20 2B, 3 3B, 25 HR, 95 RBI, .290), a fine all-around performance by teammate Charlie “King Kong” Keller (29 2B, 10 3B, 30 HR, 113 BB, 101 RBI), and a superior season on the hill by Spurgeon “Spud” Chandler (20-8, 34 G, 32 GS, 20 CG, 257 IP, 138 K, 2.10).
James “Mickey” Vernon of the Washington Senators captured the American League batting title with a.353 average. slamming 51 doubles to lead the Majors Bob “Rapid Robert” Feller of the Cleveland Indians enjoyed one of his best seasons (48 G, 42 GS, 36 CG, 371 IP, 26-15, 348 K, 10 SHO, 2.18). Nevertheless, their teams finished fourth (76-78) and sixth (68-86), respectively. Far below the .500 mark were Connie Mack’s cellar-dwelling Philadelphia Athletics (49-105), a whopping 55 games behind the Red Sox.
The National League provided drama for baseball fans, with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers slugging it out in a pennant race that might not have happened. Not only did the Red Birds lose two stalwart pitchers—Mort Cooper to the Boston Braves and Max Lanier to the Mexican League--but manager Billy Southworth, who had led St. Louis to two World Series championships during the War (1942 and 1944), flew the coup to join Cooper in Beantown. Further, Whitey Kurowski, Enos Slaughter, and Stan Musial were close to joining Max Lanier South of the Border before they backed off and remained in St. Louis.
In a season similar to 1942, the Dodgers charged into the lead, only to see the Cardinals mount a late stretch-run to end the season in a flat-footed tie with Brooklyn (each team finishing at 96-58), forcing an unprecedented three-game playoff to determine the National League’s representative in the World Series. The Cards took two straight games from the Bums to claim the pennant.
MVP Stan “The Man” Musial put together an historic season, as he scored 124 runs, recorded 228 hits, slammed 50 doubles, legged-out 20 triples, blasted 16 home runs, and knocked in 103 runs, while batting .365 to lead the Major Leagues and slugging .587 to lead the National League. Assisting Musial were George “Whitey” Kurowski (32 2B, 14 HR, 89 RBI, .301) and Enos “Country” Slaughter (30 2B, 18 HR, 130 RBI, .300). Musial’s 366 total bases were 83 more than National League runner-up Slaughter collected.
On the hill, the Red Birds were powered by a three-pronged attack comprised of Howie Pollet (40 G, 32 GS, 22 CG, 266 IP, 21-10, 2.10), Murray Dickson (47 G, 19 GS, 12 CG, 184 IP, 15-6, 2.89), and Harry “The Cat” Brecheen (36 G, 30 GS, 14 CG, 231 IP, 2.49). The depth of the Cardinals’ pitching staff was underscored by contributions from Al Brazle (37 G, 15 GS, 6 CG, 153 IP, 3.29) and Ted Wilks (40 G, 95 IP, 3.41)
Despite their falling in a play-off to the Cardinals, the Brooklyn Dodgers gave the Ebbets Field faithful much to cheer. Harold “Pee Wee” Reese (16 2B, 10 3B, 10 SB, 60 RBI, .284), Carl Furillo (335 AB, 18 2B, 6 3B, .284), and Fred “Dixie” Walker (29 2B, 116 RBI, 14 SB, .319) steadied the Dodgers all season and might have parlayed their leadership into a pennant, had it not been for Pete Reiser’s broken ankle. Without Reiser (21 2B, 73 RBI, 34 SB), Brooklyn experienced the first of many seasons that ended in disappointment. Perhaps it was here that the cry “Wait till Next Year!” was born.
Like their rivals in St. Louis, the Dodgers featured an outstanding pitching staff: Kirby Higbe (42 G, 29 GS, 11 CG, 211 IP, 17-8, 3.03), Joe Hatten (42 C, 30 GS, 13 CG, 222 IP, 14-11, 2.84), and Vic Lombardi (41 G, 25 GS, 13 CG, 193 IP, 13-10, 2.89). Swing man Hank Behrman (47 G, 11 GS, 151 IP, 11-5, 2.92) and relief ace Hugh Casey (46 G, 100 IP, 11-5, 1.98) were also valuable members of Brooklyn’s mound crew.
Plagued by injuries to Don Johnson, Stan Hack, Mickey Livingston, and Andy Pafko, as well as by slumps, the Chicago Cubs, defending National League champions, dropped to third place (82-71). No one in “The Windy City “could have foreseen that the Cubs would wait 71 years before appearing in another Fall Classic, redeeming themselves by breaking a 108-year drought to become World Series Champions.
Although Ralph Kiner’s Pittsburgh Pirates finished a dismal 7th (63-91), the twenty-three-year-old rookie slugger blasted a league-leading 23 home runs to tie Pittsburgh’s team record set by another rookie, Johnny Rizzo in 1938. In addition, Kiner drove in 109 runs. Before the 1946 season, Pirate manager Billy Herman and principal owner John Galbreath possessed the foresight to bring in the left field wall at Forbes Field. The close-in seats of left field were dubbed “Greenberg’s Gardens” when the Pirates acquired “Hammerin’ Hank” in 1947. After Greenberg’s retirement, this homer-friendly territory, 340 feet from home plate, earned a new and enduring nickname, “Kiner’s Korner.”
Back from the War but suffering a broken bone in his hand, Johnny Mize of the New York Giants made the most of his opportunities (377 AB), as he slammed 18 2B, blasted 22 HR, and drove in 70 runs, while batting .337 and slugging .576. Nevertheless, “Big Jawn’s” team plummeted to the cellar (61-93), as Sal Maglie, Harry Feldman, Ace Adams, and Danny Gardella jumped ship to join the Mexican League. Frustrated by his having to manage a Swiss cheese roster depleted by defections, manager Mel Ott was ejected from both games of a doubleheader when his Giants dropped a twin-bill to the Pirates on June 9.
It’s hard to believe, but Kiner and Mize were the only National Leaguers to reach or exceed 20 home runs. For the season, the National League hit 562 homers, while the American League, bolstered by Hank Greenberg (44), Ted Williams (38), Charlie Keller (30), Joe DiMaggio (25), Pat Seerey (26), and Sam Chapman (20), launched 653.
Quietly putting together a solid pitching staff, the Boston Braves featured Johnny Sain (37 G, 34 GS, 24 CG, 265 IP, 20-14, 129 K, 2.21) and a southpaw who had barely had a cup of coffee in the Big Leagues before going to war. This twenty-five-year-old, Warren Spahn (24 G, 16 GS, 8 CG, 128 IP, 8-5, 2.93), showed promise that he had a bright future. In 1947, he would begin to fulfill that promise.
The 1946 World Series, a seven-game struggle between Williams’ Red Sox and Musial’s Cardinals, featured clutch performances by Harry Brecheen, who picked up three victories, and Enos Slaughter, who, despite a painful elbow, starred in one of Major League Baseball’s iconic October moments. On first base with two outs, Slaughter took off when Cardinal left fielder Harry Walker hit a line drive over the head of Boston shortstop Johnny Pesky. When Len Culberson fielded the ball and relayed it to the infield, Slaughter, ignoring a stop sign from third base coach Mike Gonzalez, slid safely into home, putting St. Louis ahead 4-3 with what proved to be the winning run in the decisive seventh game. Red Sox nation is still replaying “Slaughter’s Mad Dash” in their nightmares.
Diamond Mind Baseball presents the 1946 season, the first of the post-War era. In a year when bikinis went on sale in Paris, Tupperware appeared in department and hardware stores, and Dean Martin, Bill Haley, and B. B. King began their musical careers, Major League Baseball ruled the sporting world. With the Greatest Generation back home, America could take a long, deep breath. Unforeseen challenges lay ahead, but for one summer, the summer of 1946, we could relax and enjoy our freedom.
The 1946 Deluxe Past Season database contains everything you need to play games using teams and players from the 1946 season -- a full set of ratings and statistics for every player who appeared in the big leagues that year, plus team rosters, manager profiles, ballpark ratings and league schedules. Statistics include official batting, pitching and fielding totals with left/right splits for all batters and pitchers.
Also included is a complete set of real-life player transactions -- trades, disabled list moves, promotions, demotions, suspensions, and more -- plus the actual starting lineups for every regular season game played.
If you are a registered owner of the 1946 Classic Past Season, you are eligible for upgrade pricing for this item. Send an email to dmb_info@imaginesports.com to request your discount promotion code.
Note: This season database is a companion product for the Diamond Mind Baseball version 11 game. To use this database, you must also have Diamond Mind Baseball version 11. The game software provides you with all of the tools you need to play simulated games, make roster moves, produce dozens of statistical reports, generate league schedules, and more.
1961 Deluxe Past Season with transaction and lineups available now!
1961: Baseball and the New Frontier
by Steve Ehresman
In 1961, America shook off the 1950s and embraced the future with great vigor. On January 20, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was inaugurated as President of the United States. In the freezing cold, Kennedy, hatless and youthful, addressed the nation and the world, proclaiming that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” In the coming months, Kennedy steered our nation into the future, promising to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In May 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space-- NASA’s baby steps that would ultimately lead to Neil Armstrong’s “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969.
Even in the traditional world of Major League Baseball, change was in the air. In 1961, the American League expanded from eight to ten teams, adding a franchise in California and creating a new team in Washington, D. C., while relocating the original Senators to Minnesota. As a result, the Junior Circuit adopted a 162-game schedule, replacing the traditional 154-game schedule.
As fans know, no sport is more connected to its history than Major League Baseball. Each generation of players is measured against its predecessors, some of whom had become legends, whose records were regarded as inviolate.
No legend was bigger than Babe Ruth.
No record was more sacrosanct than the Babe’s 60 homers in 1927.
Until 1961 . . .
Not only was the Babe’s record challenged, but it was challenged in the Babe’s own house, Yankee Stadium, by two New York Yankee sluggers. Mickey Mantle (54 HR, 128 RBI, 126 BB, .317) and MVP Roger Maris (61 HR, 142 RBI) not only tore the cover off the ball, they tore the cover off history, chasing the Babe all summer, until Maris caught him on the final day of the regular season, sending a Tracy Stallard fastball over the right field wall of Yankee Stadium and putting home run 61 into the record books. Despite Ford Frick’s protestations that Maris needed to break the Babe’s record in 154 games, rather than in 162 games, 61 home runs remains in the books as an example of athletic grace under pressure.
Through the summer, Mantle and Maris’s home run duel established the 1961 Yankees as one of the greatest teams of all-time. Led not only by the M&M Boys, but also by hard-hitting catcher Elston Howard (21 HR, .348), slugging first sacker Moose Skowron (28 HRI), and left fielder Yogi Berra (22 HR), the Pinstripes compiled an impressive 109-53 record, while scoring 827 runs and slamming 240 homers. Oh yeah . . . the Yanks also featured the Cy Young Award winner, Whitey Ford (39 GS, 11 CG, 283 IP, 25-4, 209 K, 3.21). Supporting Ford were Ralph Terry (31 G, 27 GS, 9 CG, 188 IP, 16-3, 3.16) and closer Luis Arroyo (65 G, 119 IP, 15-5, 29 SV, 2.19).
Amid all the hubbub in Gotham, did anyone notice that the second-place Detroit Tigers were really good? Although they fell short to the juggernaut Yanks, the Bengals finished with a 101-61 record and clobbered 180 home runs. Any other year, those numbers might have been overwhelming. With sluggers Rocky Colavito (45 HR, 140 RBI, 113 BB), Norm Cash (41 HR, 132 RBI, 124 BB, .361), and Al Kaline (19, 82 RBI, .324) leading the attack, the Tigers plated 841 runs, outscoring the indomitable Bronx Bombers. On the mound, Frank Lary (36 GS, 22 CG, 275.1 IP, 23-9, 3.24) was a good match for the Yankees’ Whitey Ford. Jim Bunning (38 G, 37 GS, 12 CG, 268 IP, 17-11, 3.19) and Don Mossi (35 G, 34 GS, 12 CG, 240 IP, 15-7, 2.96) rounded out an excellent pitching staff. Without a doubt, the 1961 Detroit Tigers were one of the greatest second-place teams in baseball history.
The entire American League bristled with impressive offensive performances, as Jim Gentile of Baltimore (46 HR, 141 RBI, .302), Harmon Killebrew (46 HR, 122 RBI) and Bob Allison (29 HR, 105 RBI) of Minnesota, Al Smith (28 HRI) and Roy Sievers (27 HRI) of Chicago, Leon Wagner (28 HR) and Ken Hunt (25 HR) of Los Angeles, and Willie Kirkland (27 HRI) and Woodie Held (23 HR) of Cleveland were among the heavy hitters who supplied enough fire-power for the American League launch 1,534 balls into outer space in the summer of 1961.
On the mound, Dick Donovan of the expansion Washington Senators led the American League in earned run average (2.40), and Camilo Pascual of the Minnesota Twins, once the original Washington Senators, paced the Junior Circuit in strikeouts (221 K).
The National League, despite playing a 154-game schedule, posted numbers as impressive as any in the Junior Circuit. The pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds, years before the Big Red Machine, featured the hitting prowess of MVP Frank Robinson (37 HR, 124 RBI ,.323), Vada Pinson (16 HR, 87 RBI, .343), and Gordy Coleman (26 HR, 87 RBI) and the strong pitching of Joey Jay (34 GS, 14 CG, 247.1 IP, 21-10, 3.53), Jim O’Toole (39 G, 35 GS, 11 CG, 252.2, 21-10), and Bob Purkey (36 G, 34 GS, 13 CG, 246 IP, 18-12, 3.73) to compile a 93-61 record.
The Los Angeles Dodgers relied on a superb four-man rotation to claim second place. Sandy Koufax, emerging as a bona fide star, paced the Dodgers staff (42 G, 35 GS, 15 CG, 255.2 IP, 18-13, 269 K, 3.52). He was ably supported by Don Drysdale (40 G, 37 GS, 10 CG, 244 IP, 13-10, 3.69), Johnny Podres (32 G, 29 GS, 6 CG, 182.2 IP, 18-5, 3.74), and Stan Williams (41 G, 35 GS, 6 CG, 235.1 IP, 15-12, 3.90). A star from the 1959 World Champions, Wally Moon led the Bums’ offense with 17 homers, 89 RBI, and a .328 batting average.
Roberto Clemente of the defending World Series Champion Pittsburg Pirates batted .351, while socking 23 homers and driving in 89 runs. He was ably supported by slugging first baseman Dick “Doctor Strangeglove” Stuart (35 HR, 117 RBI, .301). Perennial stars Orlando Cepeda (46 HR, 142 RBI, .311) and Willie Mays (40 HR, 123 RBI, .308) of the San Francisco Giants, and Hank Aaron (34 HR, 120 RBI, .327), Eddie Mathews (32 HR, 91 RBI, .306) and Joe Adcock (35 HR, 108 RBI) of the Milwaukee Braves did their part to help the Senior Circuit crush 1196 home runs.
Few pitchers in the Senior circuit rivaled the excellence of earned run average leader Warren Spahn in 1961 (38 G, 34 GS, 21 CG, 262.2 IP, 21-13, 3.01), as he celebrated his fortieth birthday on April 23 of the 1961 season.
Establishing their bona fides in the major leagues, two fly-chasers, Carl Yastrzemski (31 2B, 11 HR, 80 RBI) of the Boston Red Sox and National League Rookie of the Year Billy Williams (25 HR, 86 RBI) of the Chicago Cubs held out the promise of future greatness for their fans.
The 1961 season launched the beginning of a decade many consider a Golden Age. Although tradition was respected, even celebrated, innovation was embraced. The National League would catch up to the American League, expanding in 1962 to add the New York Metropolitans and the Houston Colt 45’s. Before the end of the decade, both franchises would make history—one with a World Series championship, the other with the opening of a multi-purpose domed stadium. In the final season of the 1960s, baseball would expand again, adding four new teams and instituting divisional play. The 1961 season marked the beginning of a decade in which baseball reached for the moon, enduring through turbulence and tragedy and creating the game we know today.
As the years pass and the summer of 1961 recedes into memory and—finally-- into the pages of history, take a moment to celebrate those long-ago heroes and to remember an America that looked toward a New Frontier with youthful confidence and innocence that was all too quickly lost.
The 1961 Deluxe Past Season database contains everything you need to play games using teams and players from the 1961 season -- a full set of ratings and statistics for every player who appeared in the big leagues that year, plus team rosters, manager profiles, ballpark ratings and league schedules. Statistics include official batting, pitching and fielding totals with left/right splits for all batters and pitchers.
Also included is a complete set of real-life player transactions -- trades, disabled list moves, promotions, demotions, suspensions, and more -- plus the actual starting lineups for every regular season game played.
If you are a registered owner of the 1961 Classic Past Season, you are eligible for upgrade pricing for this item. Send an email to dmb_info@imaginesports.com to request your discount promotion code.
Note: This season database is a companion product for the Diamond Mind Baseball version 11 game. To use this database, you must also have Diamond Mind Baseball version 11. The game software provides you with all of the tools you need to play simulated games, make roster moves, produce dozens of statistical reports, generate league schedules, and more.
2018 Annual Season Database Released December 12th!
2018: Red Sox Nation Does Hollywood
by Steve Ehresman
In 1916 Bill Carrigan’s Boston Red Sox defeated Wilbert Robinson’s Brooklyn Robins in the World Series, giving Boston the franchise’s second consecutive and fourth overall World Championship. In 2018, the Red Sox (108-54) overpowered the Robins’ twenty-first century descendants, the Los Angeles Dodgers (92-71), to win the 114th edition of Baseball’s Fall Classic. For Dave Robert’s Dodgers, 2018 was their second season as the World Series runner-up. For rookie manager Alex Cora’s Red Sox, 2018 has been called the greatest season in franchise history.
Although 1916 differed dramatically from 2018, one thing is certain: baseball never fails to deliver as the National Pastime, even in this era of three true outcomes: a walk, a strikeout, or a homerun. Yes, the thirty teams in Major League Baseball combined for 40, 993 hits, while compiling 41,177 strikeouts. Nevertheless, the 2018 season also featured exciting performances by the Oakland Athletics (97-65) and the Atlanta Braves (90-72), helping Bob Melvin and Brian Snitker to claim the Manager of the Year Award in their respective leagues. Craig Counsel’s upset-minded Milwaukee Brewers edged the Chicago Cubs to win the National League Central and to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for a berth in the World Series. The New York Yankees put together a superb season for first-year manager Aaron Boone (100-62). And, the Tampa Bay Rays, under innovative manager Kevin Cash, made history with many of their games started by pitchers normally used in relief and referred to as openers.
In short, the 2018 season will be remembered as a season characterized by the changing of the guard, both in terms of underdog franchises on the rise and in terms of innovations in how the game is played.
First and foremost, the 2018 season featured superb rookies. Bursting onto the national stage was a cast of newcomers, the likes of which the National Pastime has not produced in decades. Leading this auspicious group were Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Ronald Acuna Junior of the Atlanta Braves, and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals.
Although Ohtani’s career has been interrupted by Tommy John surgery, he delivered power (.285 AVG, 925 OPS, and 22 HR in 367 PA) and pitching (3.31 ERA, 11 K per nine IP, and 1.16 WHIP). Ohtani joined Babe Ruth (1919) as the only players in major league history to sock 15 home runs and pitch 50 innings in the same season. Moreover, Ohtani became the only player in major league history to record 15 home runs and 50 pitching strikeouts in a single season. Not surprisingly, he was the easy choice for American League Rookie of the Year.
Twenty-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna Junior was a major driving-force behind Atlanta’s break-out 2018 season. Starting the season in Triple A, Acuna arrived in the majors on April 25 and proceeded to slug 26 home runs, drive in 64 runs, swipe 16 bases, and bat .293 with .917 OPS. Acuna Junior’s great season was summarized in a nutshell by his smacking eight lead-off homers and his going yard in five straight games from August 11-14. As a result, he claimed the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Runner-up in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting, Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, debuted in the majors on May 20, when he was 19 years old. All he did was hit .292 with 22 home runs, 70 RBI, and .923 OPS, putting him just two long balls shy of Tony Conigliaro’s major league record for home runs by a teenager.
It could be argued that the 2018 season was a highlight reel featuring a new generation of stars, who are expected to carry baseball far into the future. Nevertheless, major league veterans had a great deal to say about the present, putting teams on their backs and challenging conventional measures of success.
In balloting for the National League Cy Young Award, the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom posted surreal statistics (32 GS, 217 IP, 269 K, 1.70 ERA, and 0.91 WHIP). Nevertheless, his selection may have caused fans not named Brian Kenny to grumble because of deGrom’s under-whelming 10-9 record, primarily the result of poor offensive performances when he pitched.
Emerging into the spotlight, Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays, the American League Cy Young Award winner, compiled a stunning 21-5 record, 1.89 ERA, and 0.97 WHIP in 31 GS, while striking out 221 batters. Despite these impressive numbers, traditionalists might grouse about Snell’s innings total, as Tampa Bay’s young star pitched only 180.2 innings.
Together, deGrom and Snell forced baseball to redefine pitching excellence. In contrast, the MVP voting was much easier to assimilate, as the 2018 winners would have passed muster in any decade.
Putting together a Hall of Fame-worthy season, Christian Yelich willed the Milwaukee Brewers to the National League Central title, slugging 36 home runs, driving in 110 runs, stealing 22 bases, and batting .326 with an OBP of .402, a SLG of .598, and an OPS of 1.000. Yelich distanced himself from the Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez (34 HR, 111 RBI, .290 with an OBP of .326, a SLG of .554, and an OPS of .881) to walk away with the National League MVP.
In the American league, the World Champion Boston Red Sox had a line-up of ferocious hitters, none more ferocious than the American league MVP, Mookie Betts. Although Betts had already enjoyed fine seasons in Boston, his 2018 campaign goes down in the books as one of the best seasons by a Carmine outfielder this side of The Splendid Splinter and Yaz. Displaying all-around excellence, Betts legged-out 47 2B, socked 32 HR, chalked-up 80 RBI, and stole 30 bases, en route to a .346 AVG, .438 OBP, .640 SLG, and 1.078 OPS. To solidify his credentials, Betts took home a Gold Glove for his work in right field. The American League runner-up in MVP voting was the Los Angeles Angels’ perennial all-star, Mike Trout (39 HR, 79 RBI, .312 AVG, .460 OBP, .628 SLG, and 1.088 OPS).
The 2018 Major League Baseball season featured superb performances by many of the diamond’s greatest stars. On the mound, Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals (18-7, 220.2 IP, 300 K, 2.53 ERA, and 0.911 WHIP) and Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros (16-9, 214 IP, 290 K, 2.52 ERA, and 0.902 WHIP) continued their trek toward Cooperstown. Coming in from the bullpen, Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers (81.1 IP, 36 H, 143 K, 2.43 ERA, and 0.811 WHIP) and Edwin Diaz of the Seattle Mariners (73.1 IP, 41 H, 124 K, 1.96 ERA, and 0.791 WHIP) were lights-out.
Bolstering the offense in 2018, Khris Davis of the Oakland Athletics (48 HR) and Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies (38 HR) paced their respective leagues in long balls. Whit Mayfield of the Kansas City Royals quietly put together an All-Star season, as he paced the American League in hits (192) and stolen bases (45). Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves led the National League in hits (191), while Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals swiped a league-leading 43 bases.
Mookie Betts’ teammate in Boston, J.D. Martinez (43 HR, 130 RBI,.330 AVG, .432 OBP, .629 SLG, and 1.031 OPS), accumulated a whopping 358 total bases. However brightly Mookie Betts’s star shone in The Hub in 2018, it did not shine alone.
The 2018 season was fraught with hotly contested pennant races, jaw-dropping performances, and innovative, even controversial, strategies and methods of evaluation. Where Major League Baseball will go in 2019 and beyond is uncertain. Nevertheless, as new stars appear and Hall of Famers continue to provide thrills, the answer seems to be that baseball will go where it always has gone: confidently into the future, serving as a measuring stick for how America dreams. Baseball fans would do well to heed a wise man’s advice to feel nostalgic about the future.
The 2018 Annual Season Database contains everything you need to play games using teams and players from the 2018 season -- a full set of ratings and statistics for every player who appeared in the big leagues this year, plus team rosters, manager profiles, ballpark ratings and league schedules. Statistics include official batting, pitching and fielding totals with left/right splits for all batters and pitchers.
Also included is a complete set of real-life player transactions -- trades, disabled list moves, promotions, demotions, suspensions, and more -- plus the actual starting lineups for every regular season game played.
DPS1971 Season with Transactions & Lineups Now Available
1971: Four 20 Game Winners versus Steel City Power
by Steve Ehresman
The 1971 Major League Baseball season dawned with the defending World Champion Baltimore Orioles poised for a repeat of their dominant performance from the previous year. Indeed, the Oriole squad played like a force of nature, recording an impressive 101-57 record en route to a third consecutive American League Crown. In addition to the heroics of heavy hitters, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, and Boog Powell, the Orioles put together one of history’s most impressive pitching staffs, featuring four 20-game winners in Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. Earl Weaver’s Orioles had all of the ingredients to secure a second World Series victory.
Their opponents in the World Series were Danny Murtaugh’s powerful Pittsburgh Pirates, led by National League Home Run Leader Willie Stargell (48 home runs) and Roberto Clemente (.341). After dropping the first two games of the Series, the Bucs roared back to force a Game #7 and defeat the favored Orioles to capture the World Championship for the Steel City, its first since 1960.
Not only did the 1971 Major League Baseball season feature one of the finest World Series match-ups in history, but it also witnessed stellar seasons from American League Cy Young Award Winner and MVP Vida Blue (24-8, 1.82 ERA), National League MVP Joe Torre (.363, 137 RBI), and National League Cy Young Award Winner Fergie Jenkins (24-13, 2.77 ERA). Providing additional excellence were Harmon Killebrew (119 RBI), Bill Melton (33 Home Runs), Mickey Lolich (25 Wins, 308 Ks), Tom Seaver (1.76 ERA, 289 Ks), Lou Brock (64 Steals), and Amos Otis (52 Steals).
Major League Baseball featured its first World Series night game in 1971, as the Pirates downed the Orioles 4-3 in Game #4.
Change was in the autumn air. The era of long hair, artificial turf, and colorful uniforms was dawning.
In the 1970s, our National Pastime was weird, rollicking, and unpredictable, a time that bid adieu to tradition and ushered in the modern era. Diamond Mind Baseball is proud to bring you the 1971 baseball season, complete with all the features you have come to appreciate in our version 11 game. Order yours today, and relive this historic season, as baseball got down and got funky.
The 1971 Deluxe Past Season database contains everything you need to play games using teams and players from the 1971 season -- a full set of ratings and statistics for every player who appeared in the big leagues that year, plus team rosters, manager profiles, ballpark ratings and league schedules. Statistics include official batting, pitching and fielding totals with left/right splits for all batters and pitchers.
Also included is a complete set of real-life player transactions -- trades, disabled list moves, promotions, demotions, suspensions, and more -- plus the actual starting lineups for every regular season game played.
If you are a registered owner of the 1971 Classic Past Season, you are eligible for upgrade pricing for this item. Send an email to dmb_info@imaginesports.com to request your discount promotion code.
Note: This season database is a companion product for the Diamond Mind Baseball version 11 game. To use this database, you must also have Diamond Mind Baseball version 11. The game software provides you with all of the tools you need to play simulated games, make roster moves, produce dozens of statistical reports, generate league schedules, and more.
- Tags: Deluxe Past Season
DPS1949 Available Now!!!
1949: On The Threshold
by Steve Ehresman
The 1949 baseball season set the template for what many consider the Golden Age of America’s Pastime, the 1950s. Erstwhile baseball clown Casey Stengel arrived in New York and created a dynasty. The St. Louis Cardinals, America’s Team during the turbulent 1940s, gave way to a new generation of stars in Brooklyn.
While Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson captured the MVP Award in their respective leagues, America thrilled to the best pennant races of the post- World War II Era. Joe DiMaggio’s oft-injured Yankees withstood a strong surge from Ted William’s Red Sox to capture the American League pennant, and Jackie Robinson’s youthful Dodgers battled Stan Musial’s Cardinals all summer to secure the flag in the National League.
As the decade of the 1940s came to an end, America’s sporting public paid homage to its veteran stars while getting to know its new heroes, exciting youngsters such as Richie Ashburn, Yogi Berra, Del Ennis, Nellie Fox, Gil Hodges, Ted Kluszewski, Don Newcombe, Billy Pierce, and Duke Snider to name but a few.
Diamond Mind Baseball invites you to stand on the threshold between decades and recreate the memorable 1949 season, complete with all the realistic enhancements you have come to expect from Diamond Mind.
The 1949 Deluxe Past Season database contains everything you need to play games using teams and players from the 1949 season -- a full set of ratings and statistics for every player who appeared in the big leagues that year, plus team rosters, manager profiles, ballpark ratings and league schedules. Statistics include official batting, pitching and fielding totals with left/right splits for all batters and pitchers.
Also included is a complete set of real-life player transactions -- trades, disabled list moves, promotions, demotions, suspensions, and more -- plus the actual starting lineups for every regular season game played.
If you are a registered owner of the 1949 Classic Past Season, you are eligible for upgrade pricing for this item. Send an email to dmb_info@imaginesports.com to request your discount promotion code.
Note: This season database is a companion product for the Diamond Mind Baseball version 11 game. To use this database, you must also have Diamond Mind Baseball version 11. The game software provides you with all of the tools you need to play simulated games, make roster moves, produce dozens of statistical reports, generate league schedules, and more.
- Tags: Collection Deluxe Past Season
