Just to go one step further, every now and then we would record a game or two on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. We had games, series, leagues and tournaments. We were Connie Mack, John McGraw and Joe McCarthy. We could hear the crack of the bat as Mickey Mantle or Jimmie Foxx got hold of a fast ball. I still remember a game when the Bambino hit three home runs, and then having the opposing manager intentionally walk him in the late innings, not to give the Sultan of Swat a chance to smash his fourth circuit clout… grrrr!…and this was with Lefty Grove facing Ruth!įor the three of us, the players came alive! We could see Ty Cobb slashing a double and Tris Speaker making a circus catch in center field.
Do you call for the hit-and-run with Harry Heilman at bat? Do you put in Cy Young to relieve Pete Alexander? Do you keep Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers at double play depth? We would groan if Stan Musial hit into a double play and cheer when Roy Campanella hit one out. A nine-inning game might take all of ten minutes to play. If Rogers Hornsby was injured, well, it was just too bad Eddie Collins or Charlie Gehringer would have to replace him. You got your hands dirty by rolling the dice and rearranging the players' cards in order to reflect the batting order. Would Leo give me the Iron Horse for Hank Greenberg? Would Bobby start Joe DiMaggio in center field over Duke Snider? Could Leo find a greater shortstop than Honus Wagner? Was Bobby really going to lead off with Mickey Cochrane? And who would Leo start in right field, Hank Aaron or Mel Ott? And I had to have Babe Ruth.Īnd then the trading began. Ted Williams and Sandy Koufax were Bobby's favorite players. Drafting from a pool of these players was heaven! We had our own Time Machine! Leo always managed to get Jackie Robinson. We also had all star teams comprised of great players from the past, represented by their best individual seasons. My friends and I had all the major league teams for three seasons: 1960, 19.
John once played out the entire 1961 New York Yankee schedule, which resulted in Roger Maris slamming 60 homeruns, instead of 61, and Mickey Mantle belting 53 homers, one less than his actual 54. This was actually verified by By The Numbers guest blogger, John Conforti. The main selling point was this: if you played out a complete year, the statistical results of the game would be pretty close to the actual numbers accrued for that season.
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