[PhillieFever]

1981 was a disastrous year for Major League Baseball,first off,citing unfair labor practices,the MLBPA went on strike on June 12th,and did return until August 9th,at The All-Star game in Cleveland,Oh.Secondly,because of the strike,a convoluted playoff system was instituted with the season's first half division winners facing off with the second half's division winners in a 5 game division series for the rights to play in the Championship series.It was an awful system which saw the NL's top two teams(Cincinnati,St Louis) out of the playoffs and the AL West's 4th best team(Kansas City) in.In the end,Dodger rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela led his team to their first World Championship in 16 years,defeating the hated Yankees 4 games to 2.The damage though had been done.Fans stayed away in droves,as nearly every team in the league saw attendance plummet,except of course in Oakland,who's attendance was so bad before the strike,that they actually saw a 55% increase in ticket sales! In 1982 however,baseball made a comeback.The Milwaukee Brewers,a playoff team the year before, struggled mightily until June,when Harvey Kuenn was named manager,replacing Buck Rodgers.The team caught fire,and the rest was history."Harvey's Wallbanger's surged into the ALCS where they defeated Gene Mauch's California Angels in a thrilling 5 game series,moving on to their first and to date,only World Series appearance.Over in the NL,the St Louis Cardinals playing a brand of baseball dubbed "Whityeball",due to their manager Whitey Herzog,bunted,stole,and pitched their way past the Phillies in the East,despite Steve Carlton collecting his 4th Cy Young award.In the West,the Atlanta Braves,riding the back of NL MVP Dale Murphy took advantage of a late season losing streak by the Dodgers to win a hotly contested division race by a single game over LA,and 2 over the Giants.In the NLCS,the Cardinals easily swept the Braves in 3 games,advancing to the World Series,where they would defeat Milwaukee in 7 very entertaining games to win their NL best 9th World Series title.Yes baseball was back,and back in a big way,making it a great starting point for a new historical dynasty! Starting on opening day of 1982,I will take control of the Philadelphia Phillies,and play my way through this historic season,and beyond with just one house rule.I can only trade for or sign as a free agent,a player that at some point in his career played for the Phillies.Other than that,it's business as usual,I've set the game up to be as historically accurate as possible,but of course there will be plenty of surprises along the way.Hopefully you enjoy following along as much as I do playing!

[PhillieFever]

A's Norris Suspended For Substance Abuse

Oakland A's Starting pitcher Mike Norris,who went 12-9 with a 3.75 ERA during last season's playoff run,has been suspended for the first 10 games of the season for violating the league's policy on substance abuse.No further details were disclosed.

[PhillieFever]

Baseball America's Top Prospect's List Released

Baseball America,has released it's annual top 100 prospects list,and leading the list this season is Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Storm Davis,followed closely behind by Red Sox 3B Wade Boggs,who people in Boston are calling the greatest pure hitter to wear a Red Sox uniform since Ted Williams.Here's the rest of the top 20,broken down into pitcher's and hitters.

BA Top 10 Hitters

1. Wade Boggs(3B)-Red Sox
2. Gary Redus(LF)-Cincinnati
3.Howard Johnson(3B)-Mets
4.Ron Kittle(LF)-White Sox
5.Gary Pettis(CF)-California
6.Bill Doran(2B)-Houston
7.Willie McGee(CF)-St Louis
8.Tony Gwynn(RF)-San Diego
9.Julio Franco(SS)-Philadelphia
10.Don Mattingly(1B)-Yankees

BA Top 10 Pitchers

1.Storm Davis(SP)-Baltimore
2.Bill Laskey(SP)-San Francisco
3.Neal Heaton(RP)-Cleveland
4.Oil Can Boyd(SP)-Boston
5.Jim Gott(SP)-Toronto
6.Andy Hawkins(SP)-San Diego
7.Mike Moore(SP)-Seattle
8.Tom Henke(RP)-Texas
9.Walt Terrell(SP)-Mets
10.Lee Tunnell(SP)-Pittsburgh

[PhillieFever]

Kansas City and Cincinnati Prevail,As Opening Day Arrives!

After months of waiting to wipe the slate clean,Major League Baseball has finally returned,and with the Owners and players finally at peace,fans can be assured that there will be none of the problems that has plagued the league in recent years.In today's matchups,the Cincinnati Reds played host to the Chicago Cubs,to open up the National League season,while down in Baltimore,the Orioles welcomed to town the Kansas City Royals in the American League opener.Here's the recaps.

Reds-7 Cubs-6
Thanks to two run homers by Danny Driessan and Johnny Bench,along with a solo shot from Driessan.The Reds took a 5-2 lead into the 8th inning,but the Cubs battled back,getting a two run single from Leon Durham,followed by a 2 run homer by Mel Hall giving Chicago a 6-5 lead after 8.In the 9th,with their closer Lee Smith on the mound,the Cubs seemed headed for sure victory,but the Reds were not done,and with a runner on third(thanks to a Ron Oester leadoff single) and two outs,Cesar Cedeno stepped up to the plate,and crushed a fly ball to left,sending it into the seats to the delight of the Riverfront faithful,as Cincinnati opened the season with a stunning come from behind 7-6 victory.Reliever Tom Hume(win,1-0) pitched a scoreless 9th to get the win,while the Cubs Lee Smith(loss,0-1) gets saddled with the loss,as well as his first blown save of the season.

Royals-7 Orioles-2
Thanks to a big day from George Brett,who was 2 for 5 with a double,a home run,3 RBI and 2 runs scored,as well as a 3 hit,3 run day from catcher Don Slaught the Kansas City Royals easily defeated the hometown Orioles 7-2.Starting pitcher Larry Gura(win,1-0) went the distance for KC,allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 1 for his first victory of the season.For Baltimore,rookie SS Cal Ripkin connected on 3 hits including a double,while 1B Eddie Murray added a solo homer in the 6th,but it wasn't enough to offset the rough outing by starter Dennis Martinez(loss,0-1) who allowed 6 runs on 9 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5 over 7 inning pitched.

[PhillieFever]

BTW,I didn't mention this earlier.but this will be a Phillies dynasty,following them on a series by series or a weekly basis,haven't made up my mind yet.That said,as usual there will be tons of other stuff thrown in about the league as a whole,especially things like,key rivalries,major milestones,major news stories,like injuries,achievements and the like.

[PhillieFever]

The 1982 Philadelphia Phillies

Starting Pitchers

Steve Carlton
Mike Krukow
Larry Christenson
Marty Bystrom
Dick Ruthven

Relief Pitchers

Tug McGraw
Sparky Lyle
Ron Reed
Sid Monge
Ed Farmer
Porfi Altamirano
Warren Brusstar

Starting 8

C-Bo Diaz
1B-Pete Rose
2B-Manny Trillo
3B-Mike Schmidt
SS-Ivan DeJesus
LF-Gary Matthews
CF-Garry Maddox
RF-George Vuckovich

Bench Players

Bob Dernier-OF
Julio Franco-IF
Ozzie Virgil-C
Luis Aguyao_IF
Greg Gross_OF

[PhillieFever]

At
2 Game Series
Veterans Stadium,Philadelphia,Pa.
April 6-7,1982

April 6th- Mets-5 Phillies-0
WP-Mike Scott(1-0) LP-Steve Carlton(0-1)
With a huge crowd of over 50,000 looking on,the Phillies fell flat on opening day,losing 5-0 to the much improved New York Mets.Leading the way for New York,was starting pitcher Mike Scott,who pitched 8 innings of shutout ball,allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 for his first victory of the season.Offensively,the Mets got RBI hits from John Stearns and Bob Bailor,while Dave Kingman and George Foster chipped in with an RBI sac fly each.For the Phils,starting pitcher Steve Carlton(0-1) struggled in his first start of the year,allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 in just 5 innings pitched.

April 7th- Mets-6 Phillies-1
WP-Pete Falcone(1-0) LP-Larry Christenson(0-1)
Mookie Wilson went 3 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base,and 2 runs scored,while veteran RF Rusty Staub went 1 for 3 with a 2 run double as New York once again drubbed the hometown Phillies,this time by the score of 6-1.Mets starter Pete Falcone(1-0) pitched 5 and two thirds innings,allowing 2 hits and a run(0 earned) while walking 2 and striking out 1,to pick up the victory,relievers Tom Hausman,Terry Leach,and Craig Swan combined to pitch the final 3 and a third,allowing 2 hits and 0 runs.Pete Rose doubled and singled for the 0-2 Phillies

MLB News And Notes

Cubs reliever Bill Campbell suffered some forearm stiffness in his first appearance of the year on Tuesday,and he'll be out for 2-3 weeks.

Indians starter Len barker was phenomenal on Tuesday,allowing just 4 hits while twirling a 4-0 complete game shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers in County Stadium.

Gary Roenicke went 4 for 4 with a double,2 homers,5 RBI and 4 runs scored,as Baltimore avenged their opening day defeat by plastering the Royals 14-6.George Brett was 4 for 5 in the loss.

[PhillieFever]

Niekro Stars,As Houston Moves To 3-0 On The Season

April 8th-Houston,Tx.-With two straight victories under their belt,the Houston Astros sent Joe Niekro to the mound,to face off against the Cardinals Dave LaPoint in a quest to sweep their first series of the season,and although the game would remain close throughout,the Astros prevailed 2-0,thanks to an RBI triple from Art Howe,an RBI single from Jose Cruz,and a tremendous performance from Niekro,who pitched a complete game shutout,holding the Cards to just 7 hits and 2 walks,while striking out 3,completing the sweep to the delight of the raucous Astrodome crowd.The Astros will now head out to Atlanta for 3 games before returning home for 6 games against the Dodgers and Braves.As for the Cardinals,they're headed home for a 3 game series against Pittsburgh beginning on Saturday

In Other MLB News

Twins RF Randy Johnson was suspended by the league office for 3 games on Thursday,thanks to a profanity laced tirade following the Twins loss to Seattle on Wednesday.Johnson had no comment.

The St Louis Cardinals and 25 year old 3B Ken Oberkfell have come to terms on a 3 year contract extension worth a total of $2.892,000

Following his big game on Wednesday night,the Orioles' Gary Roenicke was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for 27 year old 3B and former Oriole Wayne Krenchicki

The New York Yankees have completed a deal with star reliever George Frazier,which will keep him in New York an additional two years,at a rate of $400,000 per season.

[PhillieFever]

AT
3 Game Series
April 9th-11th,1982
Veterans Stadium,Philadelphia,Pa.

April 9th- Phillies-4 Expos -1
Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 3rd,the Phillies finally put some offense together,getting a solo homer from Luis Aguyao followed later in the inning by a 3 run double by Mike Schmidt,pulling ahead and eventually winning by the score of 4-1.Starting pitcher Mike Krukow was solid if unspectacular,going 7 innings while allowing a run on 4 hits.He also walked and struck out 2.Warren Cromarte's RBI single accounted for Montreal's only run.
WP-Mike Krukow(1-0) LP-Scott Sanderson(0-1) S-Ron Reed(1) HR-PHI,Luis Aguyao(1)

April 10th- Expos-6 Phillies-4
Led by catcher Gary Carter,who went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored,the Expos sprinted out to a 6-1 lead then held off a furious Phillies comeback to win a very entertaining ballgame 6-4.Manny Trillo paced the Phillies offense,going 3 for 4 with a triple,an RBI and a run scored.
WP-Charlie Lea(1-0) LP-Dick Ruthven(0-1) S-Jeff Reardon(1) HR-None

April 11th- Expos-4 Phillies-1
Chris Speier's 3 run homer in the 2nd,followed by a Tim Wallach RBI double in the 3rd gave Montreal starter Steve Rogers all the support he would need,as the Expos once again defeated the Phillies,this time by the score of 4-1.Rogers who cruised through the first 8 innings of the game,ran into trouble in the 9th,allowing a run on a Mike Schmidt RBI double before hitting Bo Diaz to give the Phils runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs.Closer Jeff Reardon then entered the game,and promptly struck out Garry Maddox,before getting George Vukovich to fly out and Ivan DeJesus to ground out ending the threat and securing the Montreal victory.
WP-Steve Rogers(2-0) LP-Steve Carlton(0-2) S-Jeff Reardon(2) HR-MON,Chris Speier(1)

MLB News And Notes

Boston's Jim Rice was a one man wrecking crew of Friday,launching 3 homers and collecting 7 RBI in the Red Sox 10-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Not to be outdone,the Angels Doug Decinces was his own kinda wrecking ball,going 5 for 5 with a double,a home run,3 RBI and 2 runs scored,as California defeated the Twins 6-3

Reds SS Dave Concepcion will be out of action for 1-2 weeks with a lacerated finger,suffered in Friday's game against the Giants

Indians 2B Toby Harrah was phenomenal on Saturday,going 5 for 5 with a home run,an RBI and 3 runs scored.Too bad he couldn't pitch,because his Indians were trounced by Texas 14-7.

Giants starter Fred Breining was seriously injured on Saturday.Breining suffered a torn rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder and he'll be out for up to 13 months.

Newly acquired Reds LF Gary Roenicke wasted no time getting injured on Saturday,separating his shoulder on a diving attempt at a fly ball.He'll be out for about a month.

43 year old Braves starter Phil Niekro had that knuckleball dancing on Sunday,as he shut out the Astros 1-0,allowing just 1 hit and 5 walks while striking out 3.

[PhillieFever]

MLB Players Of The Week For Week Ending April 11,1982

[PhillieFever]

Monday April 12,1982

Tigers Power Their Way To Impressive 6-0 Start

Toronto,Ont.-With the snow flurries flying,and the temperature in the 30's,the Detroit Tigers turned on the heat on the hometown Blue Jays,getting home runs from Kirk Gibson,Glenn Wilson,and Larry Herndon,as Detroit outslugged the Blue Jays 6-5 here in Exhibition Stadium.Lloyd Moseby led the way for Toronto,going 2 for 4 with a SB,an RBI and 3 runs scored.

MLB News And Notes

Bay area baseball fans are happy as can be today,thanks to the announcement earlier today that CF Rickey Henderson has agreed to a 3 year contract extension worth a total of $4,830,000

The San Diego Padres have agreed to send 25 year old 2B Luis Salazar to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 31 year old closer Tippy Martinez.For his career,Salazar has hit the ball at a .309 clip,while Martinez has racked up a 31-17 record with 56 saves and a 3.17 ERA over his 10 year career.

The St Louis Cardinals have traded 30 year old catcher Darrell Porter to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for 28 year old reliever Donnie Moore

Red Sox 3B Carney Lansford will be out of action for up to 4 weeks with tendinitis in his left knee.

[PhillieFever]

At
3 Game Series
April 13th-15th,1982
Shea Stadium,Flushing,NY

April 13th- Phillies-9 Mets-2
Looking every bit the all around force they were predicted to be,the Phillies used speed,pitching and defense to wallop the Mets here at Shea 9-2.Bobby Dernier led the way for Philadelphia,going 3 for 4 with a walk,a triple,2 stolen bases,2 RBI and 3 runs scored,while starting pitcher Larry Christenson went the distance,allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and striking out 10.
WP-Larry Christenson(1-1) LP-Walt Terrell HR-NYM,Hubie Brooks(2)

April 14th- Phillies-5 Mets-2
Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt cracked his first two homers of the year and knocked in 3 big runs runs,as the Phils once again defeated the Mets,this time by the score of 5-2.Wally Backman and Bob Bailor each hit homers for the Mets
WP-Mike Krukow(2-0) LP-Pat Zachry(1-1) S-Sparky Lyle(1) HR-PHI,Mike Schmidt 2(1,2) NYM,Wally Backman(1) Bob Bailor(1)

April 15th- Phillies-6 Mets-0
Starting pitcher Dick Ruthven pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout,allowing 2 walks and striking out 3 as the Phillies completed the sweep with a 6-0 shutout victory over the Mets.Offensively,catcher Bo Diaz and 2B Manny Trillo were the stars,with Diaz collecting 3 hits and 2 RBI,and Trillo 2 hits and 3 RBI.
WP-Dick Ruthven(1-1) LP-Rick Ownbey(1-1) HR-None

MLB News And Notes

The 6-2 Red Sox,in first place in the AL East will have to do without 3B/DH Carney Lansford,who'll be out for a month with tendinitis in his left knee.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were dealt a severe blow on Wednesday,when Bill Madlock fractured his ankle in the game against Montreal.He's expected to be out until August.Madlock led the National League with a .341 average last season.

Boston CF Reid Nichols was on fire on Wednesday,going 3 for 4 with a double,a homer,2 RBI and 3 runs scored,as the Red Sox pounded the White Sox 14-5.

3B Ron Cey was 3 for 4 with 2 homers,4 RBI and 2 runs scored,as the Dodgers buried first place San Diego by the score of 9-2.Dusty Baker and Rick Monday also homered for LA.

MLB Standings

[EMSoccerCoach]

Tough break for Madlock, whose name was on my first wood bat when I was a kid.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by EMSoccerCoach

Tough break for Madlock, whose name was on my first wood bat when I was a kid.

You know,that's an awesome memory.My first bats were Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski Louisville Sluggers.My gloves were a Bobby Grich first,then a George Brett.Let me ask you something.Did you like it better when the updates were league wide,or how it is now.I'm thinking of going back to League wide,that way everyone's favorite teams/players get involved.

[captaincarl]

My first bat had Willie Mays and my first glove had Ron Santo.

My brother Mike's first glove had Don Drysdale.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by captaincarl

My first bat had Willie Mays and my first glove had Ron Santo.

My brother Mike's first glove had Don Drysdale.

Its funny the things you remember.I've forgotten the names of some of the girl's I've dated,but I remember my first bat and glove!!!

[PhillieFever]

MLB Series Spotlight
AT
Anaheim Stadium,Anaheim,Ca.
April 16th-18th,1982

April 16th- Angels-4 Twins-1
Led by CF Fred Lynn,who went 3 for 4 with a double,a homer,2 RBI and 2 runs scored,the California Angels turned on the juice in the middle innings to defeat the Minnesota Twins 4-1.Starting pitcher Ken Forsch allowed a run on 4 hits over 8 innings pitched to get the win.
WP-Ken Forsch(2-1) LP-Brad Havens(0-2) S-Luis Sanchez(5) HR-Cal,Fred Lynn(1),Brian Downing(2) MIN,Kent Hrbek(2)

April 17th- Angels-4 Twins-3 (10 Innings)
Don Baylor's RBI single in the bottom of the 10th,gave the Angels a stunning come from behind 4-3 victory in a game that they trailed entering the bottom of the 9th and 10th innings.Unfortunately for the Twins,closer Ron Ravis could not get the job done,blowing the save in the 9th,before ultimately losing the game in the 10th.For the game,Baylor was 3 for 5 with a double,a run scored,and the GW RBI.
WP-Don Aase(1-0) LP-Ron Davis(1-2) HR-Cal,Reggie Jackson(1) Min, Randy Johnson(1)

April 18th- Angels-5 Twins-1
Eight innings of shutout ball pitched by Mike Witt,along with a two homer day by catcher Brian Downing added up to a convincing 5-1 victory by the Angels over the Twins,giving California the sweep of the series,as well as sole possession of first place in the AL West,.5 games ahead of Oakland.
WP-Mike Witt(2-0) LP-Bobby Castillo(0-3) HR-Cal,Brian Downing 2(3,4) Min,Kent Hrbek(3)

MLB News And Notes

During his heated argument with umpire Jim Quick,Royals 2B Frank White made heavy contact with Quick as the argued nose to nose.Today,White paid for his actions,as he was suspended for 6 games by AL president Lee McPhail

Charlie Hough and his knuckleball mesmerized the Brewers on Friday,with Hough going the distance while allowing 5 hits and a walk in the Rangers 9-0 shutout victory.Hough also struck out 5 batters.

Royals RF Steve Hammond strained his right elbow while trying to make in play against Cleveland on Saturday,he'll be out for 2-3 weeks.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded 32 year old LF Dusty Baker to the New York Mets in exchange for 32 year old catcher Ron Hodges.

With their thrilling 7-6 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday,the Toronto Blue Jays completed the 3 game sweep to move into 2nd place in the AL East,one game behind first place Detroit

MLB Standings

[PhillieFever]

MLB Players Of The Week For Week Ending April 18,1982

[norva13x]

I love that old Twins logo.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by norva13x

I love that old Twins logo.

A lot of the old logos have a certain charm that is lost with today's much more conservative ones.