Joy in Mudville: A "Friendly" Baseball League Beginning in 1970

[Joy in Mudville]

The San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers swapped a pair of players Saturday in what has been one of the most trade-friendly Joy in Mudville League partnerships.

The Padres, headed by GM Dan S (aka Dealer Dan), shipped first baseman-outfielder Ivan Murrell and pitcher Jim Bouton to the Brewers, run by GM Tim L (aka Trader Tim) for outfielder Leon Roberts and minor league pitcher Paul Siebert.

Murrell had fallen out of grace in San Diego. The 29-year-old veteran has spent this season at Triple-A. However, Murrell earned minor league all-star status with a .320-19 homer-56 RBI season. He is a lifetime .254 hitter at the big league level.

Bouton also was toiling in the minors. The 35-year-old veteran saw his best days as a reliever in Houston. He was with the Astros when they won the 1972 JIM World Series. Bouton is best known for penning the tell-all book Ball Four.

Roberts was hitting .326 with no home runs and five RBIs in limited action for Milwaukee. The 23-year-old will likely be assigned to Triple-A.

Siebert is a 21-year-old right-hander that San Diego hopes will pan out as a starter in the future.

In other news, the Padres designated infielder Jose Arcia for assignment. That move allowed San Diego to bring up its first-round draft pick Roy Smalley who was the 14th overall selection.

[Joy in Mudville]

As the 1974 Joy in Mudville League season hits the All-Star break, three of the four division leaders have been to the post-season in the past.

Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles have all tasted playoff champagne. Yet, it's the newcomer, the Minnesota Twins, that may have the best shot at reaching this season's post season.

Minnesota leads the American League West by 9.5 games over Oakland and Texas, the two teams tied for second.

Baltimore, AL champions the past two seasons, has seen its 9.5-game lead dwindle to 6.5 over Boston. The Orioles have struggled lately with left fielder Ken Singleton and pitching ace Tom Seaver on the disabled list.

Pittsburgh, last year's JIM champion, has nosed back in front of rival Philadelphia by one game in the National League East. The Pirates have managed to regain first place despite having Cy Young Award winner Bob Moose on the disabled list. The Pittsburgh offense, however, tops the NL in numerous categories.

Los Angeles holds a two-game advantage on Houston. The Dodgers continue to get solid starting pitching and strong leadership from veterans Roberto Clemente and Davey Johnson.

Commissioner's Note: Complete team stats will be posted at the end of July. Reminder the trade deadline is July 31.

Major League 1970 07-21-1974 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 66 31 .680 - 69-28 -3 37-12 29-19 4-4 14-8 60 W3 6-4 Boston Red Sox 59 37 .615 6.5 52-44 7 32-19 27-18 8-2 19-9 L1 7-3 Detroit Tigers 50 46 .521 15.5 49-47 1 24-20 26-26 9-3 15-19 L3 5-5 New York Yankees 46 52 .469 20.5 51-47 -5 24-25 22-27 5-6 14-16 W2 3-7 Cleveland Indians 43 54 .443 23.0 39-58 4 20-29 23-25 4-6 15-11 W1 3-7 Milwaukee Brewers 38 59 .392 28.0 43-54 -5 20-29 18-30 2-4 11-21 W1 3-7 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Minnesota Twins 58 40 .592 - 52-46 6 32-19 26-21 4-6 24-18 57 W8 9-1 Oakland Athletics 47 48 .495 9.5 50-45 -3 23-23 24-25 4-5 15-20 L1 7-3 Texas Rangers 48 49 .495 9.5 51-46 -3 19-27 29-22 4-5 16-19 W1 5-5 Kansas City Royals 44 53 .454 13.5 43-54 1 26-23 18-30 7-7 19-18 L2 4-6 California Angels 42 56 .429 16.0 42-56 0 23-26 19-30 5-6 18-15 L3 3-7 Chicago White Sox 39 55 .415 17.0 39-55 0 19-29 20-26 5-7 10-16 L1 5-5

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Pittsburgh Pirates 53 42 .558 - 58-37 -5 28-21 25-21 4-6 14-16 67 L1 4-6 Philadelphia Phillies 52 43 .547 1.0 50-45 2 31-17 21-26 7-7 11-16 W1 4-6 Chicago Cubs 46 49 .484 7.0 47-48 -1 24-22 22-27 6-9 14-14 L1 5-5 St. Louis Cardinals 45 51 .469 8.5 47-49 -2 24-27 21-24 9-3 13-17 W1 4-6 New York Mets 45 52 .464 9.0 43-54 2 25-23 20-29 5-7 18-16 L2 4-6 Montreal Expos 32 64 .333 21.5 29-67 3 19-25 13-39 3-6 11-15 L7 2-8 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Los Angeles Dodgers 62 34 .646 - 62-34 0 32-16 30-18 8-2 15-9 64 L1 8-2 Houston Astros 61 37 .622 2.0 60-38 1 37-13 24-24 7-2 19-14 L1 7-3 Cincinnati Reds 54 43 .557 8.5 54-43 0 28-19 26-24 5-3 13-15 W1 5-5 San Diego Padres 52 48 .520 12.0 53-47 -1 31-21 21-27 4-5 21-18 W7 8-2 Atlanta Braves 42 59 .416 22.5 42-59 0 17-33 25-26 4-9 12-16 W1 5-5 San Francisco Giants 37 59 .385 25.0 36-60 1 19-29 18-30 4-7 17-12 W2 5-5

[Joy in Mudville]

Major League 1970 07-21-1974 League Stats Page

American League Batting Leaderboards Batting AVG R. Carew MIN .351 T. Munson NYA .335 S. Garvey BAL .335 D. Nelson TEX .332 E. Maddox DET .332 On-Base PCT E. Maddox DET .419 K. Singleton BAL .413 R. Zisk MIN .407 F. Lynn DET .406 R. Carew MIN .399 Slugging PCT D. Allen KCA .551 M. Schmidt CLE .537 D. Parker CLE .532 F. Lynn DET .532 T. Munson NYA .507 On-Base + Slugging D. Allen KCA .944 F. Lynn DET .937 M. Schmidt CLE .916 T. Munson NYA .892 D. Evans BAL .880 VORP T. Munson NYA 40.2 D. Allen KCA 39.2 F. Lynn DET 38.5 M. Schmidt CLE 38.4 R. Zisk MIN 37.4 Runs Created D. Allen KCA 82.2 F. Lynn DET 77.3 M. Schmidt CLE 71.6 R. Zisk MIN 69.7 D. Parker CLE 69.2 Runs Created / 27 outs E. Maddox DET 8.03 F. Lynn DET 7.91 D. Allen KCA 7.87 R. Zisk MIN 7.41 T. Munson NYA 7.38 Isolated Power D. Kingman DET .260 D. Allen KCA .253 M. Schmidt CLE .249 D. Parker CLE .229 D. Evans BAL .208 Games T. Harper NYA 98 A. Johnson CAL 98 R. White NYA 98 R. Zisk MIN 98 D. Allen KCA 97 At-Bats A. Johnson CAL 408 P. Kelly KCA 394 J. Johnstone KCA 393 D. Parker CLE 389 S. Garvey BAL 388 Runs D. Kingman DET 69 K. Singleton BAL 67 B. Murcer NYA 65 A. Otis BAL 65 D. Allen KCA 62 Hits S. Garvey BAL 130 R. Carew MIN 120 J. Johnstone KCA 120 F. Lynn DET 120 R. Zisk MIN 119 Total Bases D. Allen KCA 209 D. Parker CLE 207 F. Lynn DET 194 G. Scott BOS 191 M. Schmidt CLE 188 Singles S. Garvey BAL 99 D. Nelson TEX 93 T. Oliva MIN 93 R. Carew MIN 92 P. Kelly KCA 92 Doubles F. Lynn DET 32 J. Rudi OAK 26 D. Parker CLE 22 T. Munson NYA 21 R. Staub TEX 21 Triples M. Schmidt CLE 10 A. Otis BAL 9 J. Beniquez ML4 8 P. Kelly KCA 8 M. Rivers CAL 8 Home Runs D. Kingman DET 29 D. Allen KCA 22 D. Parker CLE 21 D. Evans BAL 19 M. Schmidt CLE 18 Runs Batted In D. Evans BAL 74 D. Kingman DET 70 W. Crawford TEX 68 F. Lynn DET 67 S. Garvey BAL 66 Stolen Bases P. Kelly KCA 32 B. McBride OAK 32 B. North BAL 32 A. Otis BAL 25 R. Carew MIN 22 Bases-On-Balls K. Singleton BAL 66 G. Tenace OAK 66 J. Lahoud BOS 63 D. Allen KCA 61 R. Smith BOS 59 Intentional Walks R. Cey BOS 8 D. Evans BAL 8 F. Lynn DET 8 B. McBride OAK 8 D. Allen KCA 7 Hit-By-Pitch S. Bando OAK 6 D. Baylor TEX 5 N. Cash DET 4 D. Kuiper OAK 4 E. Maddox DET 4 Strikeouts D. Kingman DET 109 M. Hegan ML4 93 M. Schmidt CLE 86 G. Mitterwald MIN 77 H. Killebrew MIN 75 Sacrifice Hits J. Briggs KCA 11 K. Singleton BAL 9 J. Cardenal CHA 8 I. Brown DET 7 T. Conigliaro BOS 7 Sacrifice Flies J. Grubb BAL 9 B. Grabarkewitz ML4 7 G. Hopkins CHA 7 T. Munson NYA 7 R. Cey BOS 6 League Pitching Leaderboards ERA T. Forster MIN 1.26 T. Seaver BAL 1.69