Week 4 Summary (05/01/1967 - 05/07/1967)

Week Four of the 1967 BBW Replay is in the books, and both leagues feature tight and hard-fought pennant races. Most teams have reached the twenty-games-played mark, and those few that haven't will be there shortly. The 1967 season is twenty-five weeks long, so after next week is completed, I will include a snapshot of the league leaders. A five-week lead should give us a chance to present a good view of who the early-season leaders are. 

In the AL, Boston had a very good week and currently sits atop the AL. This week featured a pair of ninth-inning victories as well as an extra-inning win, adding up to a current seven-game winning streak. A three-homerun game off the bat of Tony Conigliaro excited the fans as well. Detroit has spent most of the early season in first place and remains closely entangled with Boston with solid pitching and timely hitting serving as their calling card. Chicago sits right behind Detroit, and they will go as far as their pitching will take them. Another pre-season pick to make a push for the top is Minnesota, but so far, they have been stuck, unable to get a winning streak started. Tony Oliva is scheduled to return from his ankle injury this coming week, and it is early yet, so the twins will be heard from before it is all over.

In the NL, St. Louis was able to move into first place for several in the middle of the week, but by the end of the week, it was Philadelphia once again sitting atop the league. The Cardinals have already dealt with a spate of injuries and came out of it in one piece, but any team that wants to compete for the top spot will need to remain healthy as well. The Cubs sit in third place, then come two teams at one over .500, and then three sitting at exactly .500.

Cincinnati has played the most games (25) of any team so far. Cincinnati got off to a hot start in 1967, and then injuries caught up with them and effectively knocked them off their roost. If you are going to have a hot streak, that is when you want to play a lot of games. Unfortunately, in the replay, Cincinnati is suffering through a rough start, so while they are leading the league in games played it's a double whammy. It is early yet and these things tend to even out, but these extra losses right out of the chute will impact the Reds all season long.

 

The replay is approaching mid-May and teams are making adjustments to get their rosters down to the prescribed number of players. Some of these players will never reach the major league level again, but a surprising number will reappear on the roster later in the season for another cup of coffee.

 

In Memoriam:

 

Bud Harrelson



 















Chuck Harrison

 

















Last week temperatures were below zero, and this week it is raining and icing outside … like I need an excuse to roll some games …



 Memorial Stadium 1966 Digital Art by Gary Grigsby - Pixels


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