1959 Season
We went 18-35 through the first two months of the year. In early June we added rookie lefties Jim O'Toole & Bob Hartman to our rotation. In the amateur draft we passed over slugger Boog Powell and took C Tim McCarver 1st overall.
On July 1st we're 28-53. Hank Aaron is hitting over .300 but the power is not there yet. Joe McClain is having another really good year. O'Toole is doing nicely but Hartman is struggling some. Bud Black and Troy Herriage both have ERA's in the low 4's.
In the middle of July Monte Irvin tore his knee. That may be the end for him. Damn. But once he goes down it's time to start a new era. We call up a cavalcade of rookies. 2B Julian Javier, 1B Willie McCovey, 3B Brooks Robinson and LF Don Clendonon are summoned to the big squad.
2B Roy McMillan is sent to the Browns for 4 mid level prospects. 3B Bubba Phillips is shipped to the Red Sox. A this point in the season we're 33-59.
We end the year 56-98, in last place, 30 games behind the Dodgers who won the league by a game over the Cubs and Giants.
They'll meet the Tigers in the world series. The Tigers went 94-60 and won the AL by 5 games over the White Sox.
Some good and some bad to take away from this season. Firstly, the crop of young pitchers I was so excited about does not seem to be as good as I was expecting, and that's a real problem, because I've learned that no matter how good your offense is, you need pitching. McClains 2.56 ERA is 4th best in baseball but he can't carry us on his own.
Our rotation is average at best and our pen is in shambles. On the other hand we've now got a real solid core of offensive players that we can build around. Lastly, our attendance is dwindling and we keep losing money despite cutting salary, so who knows where this is headed.