It’s all downhill from here. In a good way.
With the passing of game 77 on the schedules for the 1927 and 1961 New York Yankees, the 27 * 61 Replay has reached its halfway point.
Although not a true as-played event in the sense of many what Strat-o-Matic fans might consider, this has been a lot of fun.
While the original goal may have been to complete this in 2020, it’s pretty amazing that it will be over half finished by the end of the year with all that has happened in the world over the last several months.
Through 154 total contests there have been some amazing things happen with the ulitmate questions being which team would win the most games against seven World Series winners and how would the home run race end.
Currently, the 1927 Yankees have the edge in overall record with a 48-29 mark. The 1961 squad is 43-34, which places the team five games back.
Among the other teams, only the 1968 Detroit Tigers (9-5) and the 1948 Cleveland Indians (8-6) are above the .500 mark. Each opponent of the Yankees will play 44 games by the end of this replay with 22 against each New York team.
As far as the home runs are concerned, an apparently healthy Mickey Mantle tops the list with 32. Roger Maris is next at 31, Babe Ruth has 30.
Ruth, Maris and Earle Combs have each hit three homers in a game for the Yankees, while Ruth has two walk-off blasts in extra innings.
Other Yankees with walk-off homers are Maris and Bob Meusel. The only two opponents to end games with homers came from the 2004 Boston Red Sox as Trot Nixon and Manny Ramirez both did it.
Meusel also had a game against the 1924 Senators when he went 6-for-6 with two triples, a double, three singles and six RBI in a 16-0 win by the 1927 New York squad.
All-in-all, this replay has the potential to be very interesting in the second half.
Who wins the home run race? Will the 1927 Yankees continue to have the best record? What about the opponents? Are the 1968 Tigers going to be the best? Can a pitcher throw a no-hitter against such awesome lineups?
It should be interesting to find out the answers to those questions and more over the next 154 games.
27 * 61 Replay Standings
1927 New York Yankees (48-29)
1961 New York Yankees (43-34)
1968 Detroit Tigers (9-5)
1948 Cleveland Indians (8-6)
2004 Boston Red Sox (15-17)
1970 Baltimore Orioles (5-9)
1924 Washington Senators (11-19)
1972 Oakland A’s (11-25)
2005 Chicago White Sox (4-10)
1927 New York Yankees Team Leaders
(77 Games)
Homers – Babe Ruth 30, Lou Gehrig 21
RBI – Babe Ruth 66, Lou Gehrig 57
Average – Bob Meusel .362, Lou Gehrig .309
Record – Urban Shocker 9-0, Waite Hoyt 10-3, Wilcy Moore 9-3
ERA – Wilcy Moore 1.89, Waite Hoyt 2.53
Saves – Dutch Ruether 4, Wilcy Moore 3
1961 New York Yankees Team Leaders
(77 Games)
Homers – Mickey Mantle 32, Roger Maris 31
RBI – Mickey Mantle 76, Roger Maris 48
Average – Elston Howard .342, Mickey Mantle .293
Record – Bill Stafford 11-3, Whitey Ford 7-6
ERA – Bill Stafford 1.97, Luis Arroyo 2.45
Saves – Luis Arroyo 8, Jim Coates 1
1924 Washington Senators Team Leaders
(30 Games)
Homers – Goose Goslin 4
RBI – Goose Goslin 16
Average – Earl McNeely .308
Record – Firpo Marberry 4-2
ERA – Firpo Marberry 2.70
Saves – Allen Russell 1
1948 Cleveland Indians Team Leaders
(14 Games)
Homers – Joe Gordon 5
RBI – Joe Gordon 11
Average – Lou Boudreau .440
Record – Don Black 3-0
ERA – Bob Muncrief 1.74
Saves – Russ Christopher 5
1968 Detroit Tigers Team Leaders
(14 Games)
Homers – Norm Cash 5
RBI – Dick McAuliffe 10
Average – Dick McAuliffe .426
Record – Earl Wilson 5-1
ERA – Earl Wilson 2.16
Saves – Don McMahon 1, Daryl Patterson 1
1970 Baltimore Orioles Team Leaders
(14 Games)
Homers – Frank Robinson 7
RBI – Frank Robinson 18
Average – Dave Johnson .411
Record – Jim Hardin 2-1
ERA – Mike Cuellar 2.25
Saves – Pete Richert 1, Dick Hall 1
1972 Oakland A’s Team Leaders
(36 Games)
Homers – Mike Epstein 6, Gene Tenace 6
RBI – Joe Rudi 20
Average – Reggie Jackson .276
Record – Rollie Fingers 3-1
ERA – Rollie Fingers 3.38
Saves – Rollie Fingers 3
2004 Boston Red Sox Team Leaders
(32 Games)
Homers – David Ortiz 8
RBI – Johnny Damon 20
Average – Orlando Cabrera .315
Record – Bronson Arroyo 3-2
ERA – Ramiro Mendoza 1.02
Saves – Keith Foulke 3
2005 Chicago White Sox Team Leaders
(14 Games)
Homers – Jermaine Dye 3
RBI – Paul Konerko 8
Average – A.J. Pierzynski .429
Record – Orlando Hernandez 2-2
ERA – Mark Buehrle 1.91
Saves – Neal Cotts 1, Dustin Hermanson 1