@@baseballreplayjournal I also seem to recall, speaking of Bill James, when he talked about the Casey Stengel Yankees he quoted Stengel as saying that stolen bases per se didn't help a team unless the base runner had a superb success rate like Max Carey from Stengel's own playing days. Nevertheless, the Bronx Bombers of the 50's were noted to be very good at intelligently and aggressively running the bases. It's strange that Whitey didn't pick up on that, since he claimed he got a lot out of being mentored by Stengel. As a Royals fan old enough to have watched those painful playoff games, I can attest to the fact that the Royals were running fools, although Kaufmann's parsimony in not getting a lights out closer like Gossage after his failed foray into free agency in trying to get Catfish Hunter for the Royals in 1974-5 was the real spine-breaker.
Using my original 1975 APBA set, I played game 1 of the Royals season vs Ryan and the Angels. KC won 16-4. Otis and Mayberry hit home runs. McRae and Brett both had two doubles.
Thanks for another of your insightful videos. Growing up in the Eighties, Jack Clark was one of my favorites. His power and on base percentage were a powerful combination. I had to look back at the stats to verify my memory but yes, Tommy Herr batting third behind Coleman and McGee, surpassed 100 RBI with 8 home runs. Enjoy doing APBA single team replays and that might be my team for next year. Also looking at that 75 Royals team you did a video about.
My dad had a copy of the original 1975 APBA set that I played with a ton when I was 10 or 11. I remember that the Royals tended to do better than the A's, even though Oakland won the division that year.
Vince Coleman was more than stats ... he embodied the attitude for that team that season. If my memory serves me correctly, the Cardinals were floundering before Coleman's call-up (I think Neil Allen had blown 5-6 saves, Tudor started 1-7), but after Coleman came up, things began to click and they took off and dominated. So when Coleman got hurt in the playoffs, I felt like it really deflated the team. Still, they were one bad call away from winning the WS. Also, I just got say, every time I have replayed this WS series using a baseball simulation, the 85 Cardinals win, and it is never close. Great video. Thank you for the great memories.
You're right. I think the Cardinals were 2-6 when Coleman was called up. Honestly, after rewatching those World Series games, I think the Cardinals should have scored more than one run in game 6. Like I said, I really think Herzog's biggest mistake that evening was having Ozzie Smith hit leadoff.
Your points are valid, but those St. Louis Cardinals were so much fun to watch way back in 1985. Too bad César Cedeño could not replicate what he did for the Cardinals down the stretch in the NLCS and World Series.
