Week 12 Summary (06/26/1967 - 07/02/1967)

Week Twelve of the 1967 BBW Replay is in the books, and it was another slam-bang week with a little bit of everything. All teams have passed the 70-games-played mark, and looking ahead it looks like most teams will reach the 80-games-played mark this coming week. 81 games played would technically be the halfway point of the season, so overall, all teams are actually quite close to their midpoint as well. This coming Tuesday is the July Fourth holiday, unlike earlier seasons where every team played a doubleheader on the holiday, there are only four doubleheaders on the docket for 1967.

In the AL, Boston continues to be on a roll. In the month of June, their record was 22-7 and they had managed to hold off Detroit and Baltimore for the top spot in the AL. And now that Detroit has lost Al Kaline for a month and Baltimore has lost Frank Robinson for a month as well, the Red Sox are hoping to make hay while the sun shines. They will start this next week with a 5.5-game lead over second-place Baltimore and a 7.0 games lead over third-place Detroit and they are just hoping to stay healthy and maybe cruise to the pennant with little to no interference.

 

Behind these three the standings get pretty tight. Minnesota and Cleveland are 14.0 games behind the top spot, while Chicago is 14.5 games out, just ahead of New York at 15.0 games out. Minnesota got off to a horrible start, replaced their manager, and have played better recently, but they have a long way to go to get back into the pennant race. Cleveland, Chicago, and New York are the top three teams in terms of team ERA, but in all cases, their offense has been spotty. I am not sure any of these four teams can be considered a contender for the AL pennant, but they can all be a real thorn in someone's side when they least expect it.

In the NL, Atlanta is still on top with a 3.0 games lead and has held on by the skin of their teeth. Atlanta's lead may be more attributed to the teams below them taking turns knocking each other down, but to date it is the Braves who have managed to hold themselves above the fray with solid pitching and just enough offense. Philadelphia had been floundering, but got hot again recently, while at the same time St. Louis took a turn at floundering, the result being that as of Sunday Philadelphia had pulled itself into a tie for second place with St. Louis.

 

In the AL, the fourth-place team is 14.0 games behind the leader, while in the NL, the ninth-place team is 12.0 games out. The middle standings in the NL are quite tight, and any team that gets on a hot streak can suddenly find themselves jetting toward the top, or conversely, an unfortunate string of losses can push the team right down to the bottom. Los Angeles ended the week with a four-game winning streak and found themselves in fourth place. In the other case, Houston is currently riding a seven-game losing streak and is sinking fast. Houston has played a bit over its head all season, so I suppose this was due.

1967 is a 25-week season, so we are just short of the halfway point, which means there are still plenty of games to be played. It also means there is still plenty of drama, heartbreak, and jubilation yet to come. Can the leaders stay healthy and stay on top, or will someone from the middle of the pack suddenly rise up to threaten for the top spot? There is only one way to find out - let's go play!

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