This is an ongoing series of posts documenting my online baseball simulation team, the Northside G-Force, on their quest to win the 1969 GAPL Championship, along with the successes and struggles of my all-time favorite player, Bobby Murcer.
The 7-5 Northside G-Force take on the 4-8 Walford Wallabies in a 3 game series. Despite the 4-8 record the Wallabies are a consistently good team. In the 14 seasons played in the GAPL, GM Terry B. has guided them into the playoffs 11x, earning the well deserved moniker of the Dreaded Wallabies.
GAME #1
1st baseman Mike Epstein smacked a 1st inning 2 run home run, his 5th long fly of this early season, and Rico Carty came off the bench to hit a 2 run bomb in the 7th as the Dreaded Wallabies took the 1st game by a 5-3 score. Moe Drabowsky served up the game winning shot, and continues in the running as my least favorite player. Bobby Murcer settled nicely into the 5th slot in the order by going 0-4.
4/18/2013, Nor69-Wal69, Connie Mack Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1969 G-Force 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 8 1 8 1
1969 Wallabies 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 x 5 5 0 3 1
G-Force AB R H BI AVG Wallabies AB R H BI AVG
Pagan 3b 4 0 1 0 .333 Harper 3b 3 1 0 0 .260
Mincher 1b 4 1 1 2 .343 Rader 3b 0 0 0 0 .000
Smith R. lf 4 0 1 0 .340 Buford lf 3 0 0 0 .308
Jackson R. rf 3 1 1 0 .261 Northrup cf 4 1 1 1 .286
Murcer cf 4 0 0 0 .094 Epstein 1b 4 1 1 2 .306
Helms ss 4 0 2 1 .260 Horton W. rf 4 0 0 0 .277
Alomar 2b 4 0 0 0 .213 Boswell K. 2b 1 1 1 0 .265
Rodriguez E. c 3 0 0 0 .167 Martinez J. 2b 0 0 0 0 .000
Salmon ph 1 0 1 0 .333 Hendricks c 2 0 1 0 .226
Gentry p 1 1 1 0 .300 Carty ph 1 1 1 2 .350
Thomas ph 1 0 0 0 .333 Pagliaroni c 0 0 0 0 .235
Grzenda p 0 0 0 0 .000 Tresh ss 3 0 0 0 .211
Drabowsky p 0 0 0 0 .000 Stottlemyre p 3 0 0 0 .200
Johnson B. ph 1 0 0 0 .500 Taylor R. p 0 0 0 0 .000
34 3 8 3 28 5 5 5
G-Force INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Gentry 6.0 3 3 3 3 3 86 47 3.45
Grzenda L 2-2 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 3.68
Drabowsky 2.0 1 1 1 1 2 29 16 6.94
8.0 5 5 5 4 5 118 65
Wallabies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Stottlemyre W 2-2 8.2 8 3 3 4 4 131 82 4.34
Taylor R. S 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 6 4 7.71
9.0 8 3 3 4 5 137 86
Nor: Thomas batted for Gentry in the 7th
Salmon batted for Rodriguez E. in the 9th
Johnson B. batted for Drabowsky in the 9th
Wal: Carty batted for Hendricks in the 7th
Pagliaroni inserted at c in the 8th
Rader inserted at 3b in the 8th
Martinez J. inserted at 2b in the 9th
E-Helms. 2B-Pagan(1). 3B-Jackson R.(1). HR-Mincher(2), Epstein(5), Carty(1).
RBI-Mincher 2(7), Helms(5), Northrup(10), Epstein 2(12), Carty 2(6).
SB-Harper 3(5), Buford(1). K-Mincher 2, Smith R., Jackson R., Murcer, Buford,
Northrup, Horton W. 2, Tresh. BB-Pagan, Mincher, Jackson R., Gentry, Harper,
Buford, Boswell K. 2.
GWRBI: Carty
Temperature: 63, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 6 MPH.
GAME #2
Juan Pizarro tosses a sweet 4 hit shutout giving the G-Force a much needed shot in the arm. Bobby Murcer had 2 singles to raise his average to a robust .121, and Reggie Smith hit a 3 run home run as the G-Force cruised to a 9-0 win.
4/19/2013, Nor69-Wal69, Connie Mack Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1969 G-Force 0 0 3 0 4 0 1 0 0 8 12 0 8 1
1969 Wallabies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 7 0
G-Force AB R H BI AVG Wallabies AB R H BI AVG
Pagan 3b 4 1 1 0 .308 Harper 3b 4 0 0 0 .241
Didier c 3 2 1 0 .333 Buford 2b 4 0 0 0 .286
Smith R. lf 5 2 3 3 .362 Northrup cf 4 0 1 0 .283
Jackson R. rf 4 1 1 2 .260 Carty lf 4 0 2 0 .375
Murcer cf 5 0 2 0 .121 Johnson,De. 1b 2 0 0 0 .059
Oliver B. 1b 5 2 2 1 .190 Bouton p 0 0 0 0 1.000
Helms ss 5 0 2 1 .273 Rader ph 0 0 0 0 .000
Alomar 2b 4 0 0 1 .196 Miller B. p 0 0 0 0 .000
Pizarro p 4 0 0 0 .000 Hickman ph 0 0 0 0 .667
39 8 12 8 Horton W. rf 4 0 0 0 .255
Pagliaroni c 3 0 0 0 .200
Tresh ss 2 0 1 0 .225
Fryman p 1 0 0 0 .000
Epstein 1b 2 0 0 0 .289
30 0 4 0
G-Force INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Pizarro W 1-0 9.0 4 0 0 4 5 127 77 1.20
9.0 4 0 0 4 5 127 77
Wallabies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Fryman L 0-3 4.0 8 6 6 2 1 79 53 12.86
Bouton 2.0 2 1 1 2 1 35 18 6.48
Miller B. 3.0 2 1 1 0 0 29 23 0.87
9.0 12 8 8 4 2 143 94
Wal: Epstein inserted at 1b in the 5th
Rader batted for Bouton in the 6th
Hickman batted for Miller B. in the 9th
E-Harper. 2B-Smith R.(4), Jackson R.(2), Oliver B. 2(2), Northrup(3).
HR-Smith R.(3). RBI-Smith R. 3(15), Jackson R. 2(15), Oliver B.(1), Helms(6),
Alomar(5). K-Jackson R., Pizarro, Northrup 2, Johnson,De., Horton W. 2.
BB-Pagan, Didier 2, Jackson R., Pagliaroni, Tresh, Rader, Hickman. WP-Bouton.
GWRBI: Smith R.
Temperature: 60, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: left to right at 5 MPH.
GAME #3
Andy Messersmith struck out 7 Northsiders, allowing just 4 hits over 8 innings. Don Buford’s solo home run in the 5th was the game winner.
4/20/2013, Nor69-Wal69, Connie Mack Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1969 G-Force 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 6 0
1969 Wallabies 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 x 3 8 0 7 0
G-Force AB R H BI AVG Wallabies AB R H BI AVG
Pagan 3b 3 1 0 0 .250 Harper 3b 4 1 2 0 .259
Mincher 1b 3 0 0 0 .316 Rader 3b 0 0 0 0 .000
Smith R. lf 4 0 2 0 .371 Buford lf 4 1 2 2 .300
Jackson R. rf 4 0 1 2 .259 Northrup cf 3 0 0 0 .270
Murcer cf 3 0 0 0 .115 Epstein 1b 3 1 1 0 .293
Helms ss 4 0 1 0 .271 Whitaker rf 4 0 0 0 .200
Alomar 2b 4 0 0 0 .182 Boswell K. 2b 4 0 2 0 .289
Rodriguez E. c 2 1 1 0 .192 Martinez J. 2b 0 0 0 0 .000
Salmon ph 1 0 0 0 .308 Hendricks c 2 0 0 0 .212
Thomas c 1 0 0 0 .308 Carty ph 1 0 0 0 .360
Bunker p 1 0 0 0 .000 Taylor R. p 0 0 0 0 .000
Johnson B. ph 1 0 0 0 .400 Tresh ss 3 0 1 1 .233
Drabowsky p 0 0 0 0 .000 Messersmith p 3 0 0 0 .091
Grzenda p 0 0 0 0 .000 Pagliaroni c 0 0 0 0 .200
31 2 5 2 31 3 8 3
G-Force INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Bunker L 1-2 6.0 6 3 3 2 4 99 66 3.46
Drabowsky 1.2 2 0 0 1 2 44 26 6.07
Grzenda 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 3.52
8.0 8 3 3 3 6 149 96
Wallabies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Messersmith W 2-1 8.0 4 2 2 2 7 125 83 1.52
Taylor R. S 3 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 13 9 5.40
9.0 5 2 2 2 8 138 92
Nor: Salmon batted for Rodriguez E. in the 7th
Johnson B. batted for Bunker in the 7th
Thomas inserted at c in the 7th
Wal: Rader inserted at 3b in the 8th
Carty batted for Hendricks in the 8th
Pagliaroni inserted at c in the 9th
Martinez J. inserted at 2b in the 9th
2B-Jackson R.(3), Buford(4). HR-Buford(2). RBI-Jackson R. 2(17), Buford 2(7),
Tresh(4). SB-Harper(6). CS-Harper. K-Pagan, Mincher, Jackson R., Helms 2,
Alomar, Johnson B., Thomas, Harper, Whitaker 2, Boswell K., Messersmith 2.
BB-Pagan, Murcer, Northrup, Epstein, Hendricks. SH-Bunker. HBP-Mincher.
HB-Messersmith.
GWRBI: Buford
Temperature: 66, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from center at 10 MPH.
A 2nd straight series lost. We’re heading in the wrong direction. Reggie Smith is hitting .371, and Reggie Jackson leads the GAPL with 17 rbis. The Reggies are doing their part, but Bobby Murcer needs to wake up, and Moe Drabowsky is a bum.
Next up the 8-7 Kenosha Lakers.
Great American Pastime League
Year Team W L Pct GB L10 Strk
Julian Bailey Divis
1969 Greenville Catfish 10 5 .667 - 7-3 W1
1969 Minnesota Muskies 9 6 .600 1 5-5 W1
1969 Northside G-Force 8 7 .533 2 5-5 L1
1969 Mayan Knights 8 7 .533 2 6-4 W1
1969 East Kenosha Lakers 8 7 .533 2 5-5 L1
1969 River City Rhinos 7 8 .467 3 5-5 L1
1969 Walford Wallabies 6 9 .400 4 5-5 W1
1969 Brew City Barons 4 11 .267 6 2-8 L1
Larry Schilling Div
1969 Panama Mad Hatters 12 3 .800 - 7-3 L1
1969 Gotham City Ghosts 9 6 .600 3 7-3 W1
1969 Reservoir Dogs 8 7 .533 4 4-6 W3
1969 San Francisco Gold Coast 7 8 .467 5 4-6 W1
1969 Crosstown Crackers 7 8 .467 5 6-4 L2
1969 Nashville River Cats 7 8 .467 5 5-5 W2
1969 Wapwallopen Wolfpack 6 9 .400 6 5-5 L1
1969 Ottawa Senators 4 11 .267 8 2-8 L6
I see Ottawa and Brew City lead the Bert Blyleven sweepstakes. Not a bad consolation prize.
I know it’s just a computer game, but finishing last sucks with or without Bert Blyleven.
Inheriting a terrible team, as I did a couple of years ago, isn’t so bad, ’cause there’s nowhere to go but up.