Week 14 Summary (07/10/1967 - 07/16/1967)

Week Fourteen of the 1967 BBW Replay is in the books, and this was All-Star Week back in 1967. Played in Anaheim, this was the game where Tony Perez hit a homerun in the fifteenth inning to win the game. I had just turned ten years old that summer, so I have a vague remembrance about this … did I actually watch that homerun when it happened, or did I see it later on YouTube or some sports highlight show?

Regardless, there were about twenty teams that needed a three-day respite, and this came at a fortunate time. In the AL, Boston is still on top, but they have slowed down somewhat. They started off the second half of the season playing second-place Baltimore and third-place Detroit, and despite both teams missing their star performer due to long-term injury (Frank Robinson and Al Kaline), other teammates have taken turns stepping up and keeping these two right on the tail of the first place Red Sox.

 

Note: Robinson (.358) and Kaline (.353) were leading the AL in hitting when they got hurt, and remain there today. Both will return to play in another week-and-half.

 

Below these three, Cleveland's pitching is doing all they can, but their offense is still pretty weak. Minnesota is in the middle of another surge, but they have surged previously, only to give it all back. Can they maintain and maybe even improve their position? The White Sox have had a tough last few weeks, and, like Cleveland, their pitching will take them as far as they can. The White Sox have several trades cooking as they hope to improve their offense over these final weeks of the season.

In the NL, Atlanta, similar to Boston, has found themselves playing games against second-place St. Louis and third-place Philadelphia. Their once comfortable lead has now disappeared, and it could have been worse had they not won their game on Sunday. Behind those three, Los Angeles and San Francisco are quietly working their way up the standings. Both have played inconsistently well so far this season, but both may have settled their lineup and rotation concerns and are looking to continue their upward moves.

 

On Saturday, Roberto Clemente hit a line drive off the shin of Bob Gibson and broke a bone just above his ankle. Gibson stayed in the game and pitched to three more batters (of course) before he was removed from the game. He returned before the season's end and, of course, starred in the 1967 World Series. Now this I do remember. I was walking out in the yard at my parent's house out in the wilds of western Illinois, carrying my Radio Shack transistor radio, listening to Harry Caray and Jack Buck broadcast the game. I generated all the hate a ten-year-old could muster towards Clemente for the vile deed he had done, but that was all forgotten before the end of the summer.

A few teams have already reached the 90-games-played mark, and in looking ahead at the schedule it looks like they will all be there by the end of this coming week. The second half of the season is now well underway, both pennant races appear to be tightening up, so let's go see what happens.


 Municipal Stadium 1967 Digital Art by Gary Grigsby - Pixels



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