Cubs Cruise to 1969 NL East Title, Playoffs

The 1969 Cubs -- cursed in real life -- crushed their competition in this APBA baseball season replay!

The Cubs cruised to an astounding 107-55 record, including winning 13 of their final 14 games. The only team with a better record? The Baltimore Orioles at 109-53 in the American League.

The Cubbies put an exclamation point on the end of their regular-season schedule by dropping the "Miracle" Mets  6-3 and 4-1 in the final two games. By winning the division, the Cubs will take on the Atlanta Braves, winners of the NL West with a record of 93-69.

A trio of 20-game winners led the Cubs -- Fergie Jenkins (27-9), Ken Holtzman (22-12) and Bill Hands (21-10). The threesome threw a combined 71 complete games and 19 shutouts. The staff ERA was a stellar 2.87 (compared to 3.34 for real).

The strength of the starting three limited the innings of the bullpen. Although lacking a true stopper, the relief corps nevertheless put up impressive numbers: Phil Regan (7-1) and Ted Abernathy (9-2) tied for the team lead with 9 saves apiece. Hank Aguirre (3-3) chipped in another 5 saves.

On the offensive side, Billy Williams stood out as the team MVP, leading the team in hitting (.328) and runs batted in (118). Williams compiled 211 hits while playing in every game. He scored 97 runs and led the team in doubles (35) and triples (13). He was second to Ron Santo (30) with 26 home runs.

In addition to leading the team in homers, Santo drove in 114 runs, batted .267, scored 82 runs and walked 99 times to boost his on-base percentage to .372, right behind .377 by Williams.

The Cubs' double-play combo also shined. Shortstop Don Kessinger (.265) scored 101 runs batting in the leadoff spot most of the year. He was second in doubles (34) and triples (11) and led the team in stolen bases with 13.

When Kessinger went out with an injury near the end of the season, second baseman Glenn Beckert stepped up in the leadoff spot, batting .321 and scoring 82 runs for the season.

Catcher Randy Hundley seemed to be Mr. Clutch, getting a key hit whenever the Cubs needed one. He bounced all over the lineup, batting fifth, sixth and even second at the end of the season. He hit .257 with 15 home runs and 75 RBI.

Hall-of-Fame first baseman Ernie Banks (.223, 21 HR, 64 RBI) and rightfielder Jim Hickman (.247, 16 HR, 61 RBI) rounded out the offense.

As a team, the Cubs hit .248 with 142 home runs, scoring 725 runs in my replay -- almost identical to the team's actual .253, 142 home runs and 720 runs scored! Whoa!

Like many APBA players out there, I consider myself kind of unlucky when it comes to rolling the dice. My teams, it seems, leave way too many runners stranded on second and third after zero outs; give up too many late-inning home runs to guys with two first-column zeroes and only five second-column 1's, and I can't begin to count how many times my teams have been shut out by a DW starter.

So how did the 1969 Cubs manage to win 107 games on my watch?! Beats me ...

It didn't hurt to have three B starters who pitched a monster number of innings -- all more than 300! My tendency always is to leave the starters in the game, which probably wouldn't work in real life as I'm sure all three would have had dead arms by mid-August. My guess is that's exactly what happend to Leo Durocher's Cubs, despite his best intentions.

My Cubs allowed 100 fewer runs than in real life (511 to 611), which easily could account for the additional 17 wins. I had 74 complete games vs. 58; and about the same number of shutouts -- 20 to 18 in real life. It makes a difference when you've got a B starter cruising along instead of a D reliever in mop-up mode.

As with my earlier replay of the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers, I'm amazed at how similar the team and individual stats compared to reality.

It probably helped that I limited all players to 102 percent of their actual at-bats or relief innings pitched. Starters were limited to their number of starts, though no limit on innings pitched. I used the Cubs actual pitching rotation, the actual lineups for opponents (it helps that APBA's 1969 reprint set includes a card for every player!), and tried as best I could to honor games missed due to injuries. (Anybody know a resource that lists a player's actual trips to the DL?)

I did adjust the schedule slightly to allow for 30 interleague games so I could play against some of the AL stars (e.g. Frank and Brooks Robinson, Reggie Jackson, "Catfish" Hunter and Carl Yastrzemski).

I used my original 1976 game boards and hit-and-run booklet. I seldom called for hit and runs, which probably accounted for my more realistic steals stats. (I know I overused the hit and run in my Brewers replay.)

To keep the number of singles and overall hits closer to reality (and counter the tendency to bring in stronger relievers than reality) I awarded singles with the bases empty and a roll of 65-35. (Thanks, Kevin Burghardt, for the suggestion.) It's not a big deal, but it added another element of surprise when a .150 hitter faced pitchers such as Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson! Even I got lucky every once in a while when I was a little leaguer!

Not much more to say except that my wife will probably be glad to stop hearing about the Cubs and how many games they've won, and thanks to all you readers and Facebook fans out there who have followed this replay.

Now it's time for some playoffs! Bring on the Braves!

As always, here's the link to my Cubs stats. 

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Bittersweet Memories for Long-suffering Cubs Fans

Courtesy of Frank Jackson and The Hardball Times ... "The 1973 Cubs: Swan Song of a Dynasty That Never Was."

Don't miss reading about one of the great eras in Chicago Cubs history, 1967-1973. Even without a single playoff game, this Cubs squad was easily one of the best in baseball, and featured a core group of four future Hall-of-Famers -- Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins.

This article chronicles the history of this core group, where they came from and where they went, and the heartbreak they felt year after year as they always found themselves on the outside looking in when sometimes lesser teams were still competing at the end of October.

This article is particularly timely for me as I'm about two-thirds of the way through my APBA Baseball Game replay of the Cubs' fateful 1969 season.

Just as in real life, my replay Cubs are tearing up the National League! As of July 27, 1969, the Cubbies stand at 65-38 after splitting a four-game set with the Dodgers. Midweek, Banks earned the MVP award for the All-Star Game, leading the NL to a 4-2 win with a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

Next up for the Cubs at Wrigley Field is a four-game series versus Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and the San Francisco Giants.

God willing and a few favorable dice rolls here and there and maybe, just maybe, I can enjoy a World Series at Wrigley ...

Note: Here are the latest stats on my 1969 Cubs replay. 

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'82 Brewers Begin Season Replay with a Bang!

Now I know how Leo Durocher may have felt when managing the Cubs into July and August back in 1969. ... When the weather got hot, the Cubs cooled off ...

Just as in real life, the '69 Cubs have started to struggle now that I've reached the 100-game mark and the stretch run of my replay season. Where I used to be sweeping the lower-echelon teams, the Cubs are now dropping series to the likes of the Seattle Pilots! (Yes, I know, the Cubs didn't play interleague games back then, but they do in my replay!)

Unlike the Cubs who famously crashed and burned in the heat of the summer pennant race, I'm ready to take a break. Maybe the replay Cubs can regroup after a brief respite and regain the swagger that propelled them to a 55-21 record -- 34 games over .500! -- at the end of June.

I needed some time off anyway ...

So I'm taking on a season replay of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.

I'm way overdue in replaying the Brewers' iconic 1982 season, which culminated in a World Series showdown versus the St. Louis Cardinals. It's the first and only time the Brewers have made it to baseball's championship, and followed by 25 years the World Series title earned by the then-Milwaukee Braves, who of course were led by Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn.

The 1982 Milwaukee team is easily my most favorite, whether reminiscing about the good-ol' days or playing APBA. I grew up outside Milwaukee. My first APBA baseball game arrived in the mail in 1976, and I was thrilled to play game after game with the lowly '75 Brewers team that finished in fifth place with a 68-94 record. At least they didn't lose 100 games!

That season marked Aaron's return to Milwaukee, where he became the designated hitter and managed to crack another dozen dingers. Robin Yount was truly "The Kid," and I became a huge fan of Sixto Lezcano, the promising right fielder who eventually got traded to St. Louis with some other guys for three of the key components of the '82 AL title team -- Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich.

I graduated from high school in 1981. We attended many a game during my high school years and into my college days at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. By the time we had become bleacher bums at old Milwaukee County Stadium I had shifted my fickle favorite-player allegiance to mutton-chopped center fielder "Stormin'" Gorman Thomas.

Of course, the '82 squad featured three future Hall-of-Famers -- Yount, Paul Molitor and Fingers, the ace reliever. Yount went on to earn the league's Most Valuable Player award. That year he hit .331 with 29 home runs and 129 runs scored. He led the league in hits with 210, doubles with 46 and slugging percentage at .578. He topped it off with his first and only Gold Glove Award.

Vuckovich had one of his best seasons, earning the AL Cy Young Award by going 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Fingers saved 29 games as the Brewers compiled a 95-67 record.

I'll never forget the Brewers' dramatic march to the World Series after dropping the first two playoff games to the Angels in California. They came home to sweep the Halos in the best-of-five round and then headed to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. So many times I've replayed Game 7 but I can seldom knock out Joaquin Andujar and those pesky Cardinals -- even when I "cheat" and have Rollie Fingers warming up in the 'pen. (He missed the series that year due to injury. Dang it!)

What the Brewers lacked in starting pitching they more than made up with their hitting. Harvey's Wallbangers led the league in home runs (216) and runs scored (891) -- no other team came even close to matching those numbers!

So I'm looking forward to a few more blowouts in this replay, which will once again use the basic game with a few tweaks here and there, including a 48-game interleague schedule (two home and two away against each NL squad). I use the actual starting pitchers for both teams, and the actual lineups for the Brewers' opponents. During interleague action, I try to use the opponent's actual lineup on that date, unless they happened face a righty on the day that Milwaukee lefty Mike Caldwell pitched. Then I try to find a lefty batting order as close to the actual game date. Not perfect, but it works.

My replay results have been pretty close to real life so far (e.g. '08 Brewers and '69 Cubs), so I'm looking forward to enjoying plenty of wins by the '82 Brewers.

But if they hit a rough patch, I can always go back to the Cubs and see if I can finish off the 1969 season with better results ...

Brewers Win 10-0 in Season Opener

The Brewers opened their 1982 APBA season replay by destroying the Blue Jays 10-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto behind home runs by Gorman Thomas, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor and a four-hit shutout by Pete Vuckovich.

Fans didn't have to wait long for the Brew Crew's offense to show up as the Brewers pounded Blue Jays starter Mark Bomback for seven runs in the second inning.

Designated hitter Don Money got the season's first hit, a double, followed by a walk to Ben Oglivie. Thomas then got the fireworks started, launching a three-run home run to deep right field. Catcher Charlie Moore, filling in for the injured Ted Simmons, then got the Brewers reloaded with a double, scoring on Jim Gantner's single.

Molitor followed with his first hit of the season, a double that moved Gantner to third. Yount then came up to deliver the second-three-run shot of the inning, a blast over the center field fence, staking the Crew to a 7-0 lead.

Meanwhile, "Dirty Pete" Vuckovich was setting down the Jays, scattering four hits and pitching a complete game in his season debut. Vuke struck out a half dozen batters and walked only two.

Molitor finished off the scoring with a two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Brewers banged out 14 hits in the opener for both teams.

The Brewers went on to sweep the series, coming from behind to beat the Jays 7-3 in game two and holding on for a 2-1 win in game three.

In their next stop, Ted Simmons returned to the lineup with a first-inning, bases-clearing triple to lead the Crew to an 8-5 win over the Indians. They duplicated the feat the next day, defeating Cleveland again 8-5 with three more home runs and a second win by Vuckovich.

Yount got injured, however, and will be out for about a week. And the Brewers got their first loss, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bert Blyleven, who pitched a complete game. (It was one of the few games Blyleven pitched that year; I had to use his '81 APBA card. I had to find the '81 card for "Super Joe" Charboneau as well. The 1980 AL Rookie of the Year turned out to be not so super after all, playing his last major league game on June 1, 1982.)

Next I'm looking forward to replaying the Brewers' home opener against the Rangers ...

Note: Here are my up-to-date Brewers replay stats.

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Banks, Cubs Star as Nationals Rally for Win in '69 All-Star Game Replay

Cubs first baseman Ernie Banks went from late-inning sub to All-Star Game hero with a two-out, two-run home run in the eighth inning that propelled the National League to a 4-2 win over the American League.

With his clutch hit, Banks was named the All-Star Game MVP. But he wasn't the only Cub to make a key contribution. Second baseman Glenn Beckert drove in the tying run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly to score Dennis Menke, who had come into the game as a pinch runner for Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who led off the inning with a walk.

Cubs ace Fergie Jenkins was a late addition to the NL squad after posting 17 wins before the All-Star break. He pitched one inning of scoreless relief. Shortstop Don Kessinger went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI in the second spot in the NL batting order.

Cubs leftfielder Billy Williams -- another late addition to the team due to batting .322 with 12 homers and 64 RBI -- grounded out to lead off the third inning as a pinch hitter for starting pitcher Steve Carlton of the Cardinals. Catcher Randy Hundley struck out in his only at bat in the ninth inning.

With seven players on the team -- the most of any team in either league -- the Cubs were well-represented in the mid-season classic.

But it was Banks' late-inning heroics that sealed the deal for the Nationals. Oakland's John "Blue Moon" Odom looked like he would sail through the eighth after striking out Willie Mays to lead off the inning. After a single by Kessinger, Hank Aaron hit a routine fly ball to Carl Yastrzemski in left field.

That's when Banks, a Hall-of-Famer and 11-time all-star, smacked it over the left field fence at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (Incidentally, this would be the last All-Star Game appearance for Banks, who retired after the 1971 season.)

The American League scored first, after pinch hitter Mike Hegan of the upstart Seattle Pilots led off with a single in the third inning off Tom Seaver of the Mets. Hegan went to third on a single by Minnesota second baseman Rod Carew, who then stole second. Hegan scored on a ground out to second by Reggie Jackson of the A's, with Carew moving to third on the play.

Frank Robinson of the O's then drew a walk off Seaver, who had entered the game to pitch the bottom of the third. With Orioles first baseman Boog Powell batting, Robinson and Carew executed a nifty double steal, with Carew scoring on the play. Robinson then was stranded at second as sluggers Powell and Frank Howard of the Senators both grounded out to end the inning.

That would be it for the American League, as they mustered only three more singles and a trio of walks over the next six innings.

The National League finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning as pinch hitter Pete Rose of the Reds lived up to his nickname, Charlie Hustle. He led off the inning with a single off Tigers ace Mickey Lolich. He advanced to second on a ground out by Matty Alou of the Pirates. He came around to score on Kessinger's first single.

The Nationals tied the game in the seventh on Beckert's sacrifice fly to right field, then took the lead on Banks' home run in the eighth.

San Francisco's Juan Marichal got the win while pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth inning. Larry Dierker, who tossed a no-hitter versus the Cubs earlier in the season, got the save.

The bottom of the ninth was not without a bit of drama, however, after Dierker surrendered a leadoff single to Boston's Yastrzemski. Yaz then promptly stole second, and Brooks Robinson walked. Next up was Minnesota's Harmon Killebrew.

The Twins slugger smacked a fly ball to deep left center, but Mays was able to track it down. Mays then gunned a throw to Menke at third to nail Yastrzemski for the second out. Dierker then struck out Twins catcher Johnny Roseboro to end the game.

Odom was tagged with loss after giving up Banks' game-winning hit.

Cubs fans can only hope the All-Star success translates to an equally successful second half of the 1969 replay season for their first-place Cubbies...

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Jenkins Gets 15th Win as Cubs Close in on '69 All-Star Game

Hall-of-Famer Fergie Jenkins defeated the Washington Senators 3-2 as the Cubs notched their 61st win before the 1969 All-Star Game.

Jenkins pitched like an all-star versus the Senators, scattering eight hits and striking out eight batters in besting Washington's Dick Bosman. The victory came on the heels of Dick Selma's two-hit shutout the day before, as he won 4-0 against the Senators and the Cubs neared the end of their interleague schedule.

Interleague play hasn't necessarily been a blessing for the Cubs as they've compiled just an average 15-12 record heading into a three-game set with Seattle in their final interleague matchup. That compares to a 46-22 record against their traditional NL rivals.

Overall, the replay Cubs stand at 61-34 after 95 decisions, compared to 59-36 in real life.

The Cubs continue to rely on strong pitching and timely hitting. In addition to Jenkins at 15-5, Ken Holtzman has a record of 13-7 and Bill Hands stands at 11-6. Phil Regan and Ted Abernathy each have six saves out of the bullpen.

Billy Williams and Ron Santo are leading the offense. Williams is batting .325 with 12 home runs, 63 RBI and 50 runs scored. Santo's batting average keeps rising -- he's now at .272 -- and he leads the team in home runs with 14 and RBI with 64. He has scored 45 runs and leads the team in on-base percentage at .384.

Leadoff hitter Don Kessinger leads the team in runs scored with 60, to go along with his .275 batting average. The Cubs also have benefited from the return of Glenn Beckert from an injury that kept him out of about 30 games. He is hitting .314 in the number-two spot and has scored 39 runs.

Rightfielder Jim Hickman has had a number of key hits in recent weeks, raising his average to .261, with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. Randy Hundley has been steady behind the plate, also batting .261 with 35 runs scored and 41 RBI.

Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks is starting to get it going. He now has 8 home runs and 31 RBI.

Here are some of the highlights from other recent games:

June 27: Steve Carlton of the Cards out-duels Holtzman, winning 4-2 at Wrigley Field. Lou Brock iced it with a home run in the ninth inning.

June 28-29: The Cubs win two out of three games against the Yankees, including a 7-2 win by Jenkins in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader at Wrigley Field.

July 1: Santo drives in two runs with a single in the top of the 11th inning to lead the Cubs over the Orioles 7-5. Beckert went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI in his return to the lineup. The Orioles went on to win the next two games.

July 8: Jenkins shuts out the A's 6-0 to snap a six-game losing streak. Yikes! Jenkins beat Catfish Hunter in another showdown between hall-of-fame pitchers.

July 10: Hickman hit a two-run homer and the Cubs rally for three runs in the eighth inning to beat the A's and win two of three games at the Oakland Coliseum.

July 12: Santo hits a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Cubs beat the White Sox 7-2. Santo had four RBI, Banks added a home run, and the Cubs ended up going 3-3 against their cross-town rivals.

Note: Here are the up-to-date stats for my Cubs replay.

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Cubs Start Fast in '69 Replay

With a doubleheader sweep over the expansion Expos, the Cubs improved to 10-3 on the season in an APBA baseball game replay of Chicago's 1969 season.

In the opener, the Cubs "exploded" for 9 runs on 10 hits in the sixth inning, knocking out Montreal starter Carl Morton and propelling Fergie Jenkins to his third victory of the season. The Cubs won 12-1, despite only one extra-base hit, a double by Ron Santo.

1969 Topps Team Poster

Equally indicative of the Cubs' season so far, Chicago rallied for a 6-3 victory in the nightcap, scoring 5 runs in the top of the seventh on three singles, three walks and a hit batsman.

So far, the Cubbies have hit a grand total of three home runs, two by reserve outfielder Willy Smith and one by Billy Williams. Williams is hitting .294 with 10 RBI; Santo has scored 8 runs and driven in 8; and catcher Randy Hundley leads the regulars in hitting at .359, with 7 RBI.

What the Cubs lack in hitting they've more than made up in pitching, with a team ERA of 2.17! In addition to Jenkins, Cubs' starters Bill Hands, Ken Holtzman and Joe Niekro all have a pair of wins. They've also tossed 6 complete games and a shutout.

Chicago has had just enough hitting to win half their games by one or two runs. Among the highlights:

• A 3-1 win on opening day, featuring a complete game by Jenkins and a two-run double by Williams.
• A 1-0 win by Jenkins to extend the Cubs season-opening win streak to 5 games. Santo drove in the winning run in the bottom of the first, after a double by Williams.
• A 5-4 victory over the Pirates on a two-out, three-run home run by Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning. 
• A 3-2 extra-inning win by Holtzman, who went all 10 innings. The Cubs tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the ninth on doubles by Glenn Beckert and Santo. They took the lead in the 10th on a leadoff walk by rookie Oscar Gamble, who scooted all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by Holtzman. Don Kessinger drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right field. 

Following on the heels of my replay of the Milwaukee Brewers' 2008 campaign, I'm already seeing some significant differences, even though both squads posted 90-win seasons.

While the Brewers bashed 198 homers and stole 158 bases, the Cubs rely on a steadier offense throughout the lineup, stringing together singles and walks and counting on their superior starting pitching to keep games close. The Cubs aren't slow -- except for Santo -- but they've amassed all of three stolen bases in 13 games.

In contrast to Milwaukee's feast-or-famine attack and a maddening number of strikeouts, the Cubs so far have been in every game, and always seem to have runners on base. It challenges the manager's patience from time to time, however, as the Cubs often go three, four and five innings in a row with base runners but can't string together enough walks and singles to tally a score. But I'll get over it.

Replay Notes: I'm using the 1969 reprint set, so I've got every player who stepped to the plate or the mound that season. Along with the Cubs actual starting pitchers, I'm using opponents' real lineups, paying attention to trades and injuries for home and away teams.

With so many players available, I'm limiting Cubs batters to 102 percent of their actual plate appearances. Likewise, for pitchers I'm sticking to their actual games started and 102 percent of actual innings for relievers.

Frustrated by the lack of singles -- and lower batting averages -- in my Brewers' replay, I took Kevin Burghardt's suggestion on the APBA Baseball Facebook page of turning a 65-35 into a single when the bases are empty. I'm hoping this also will compensate for my tendency to always put in the opponent's top-rated reliever, even when he probably wan't always available in "real life."

Finally, I couldn't resist tweaking the schedule, throwing in a smattering of inter-league games, including a home-and-home series against the cross-town rival White Sox.

Anyway, the Cubs are off today before another doubleheader against the Pirates at Forbes Field. And those "Amazing Mets" are on the schedule for eight games in the next two weeks ...

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P.S. Here's a link to my current stats, if anyone is that interested ... 

A Trip Back to Wrigley: Replaying the '69 Cubs

The 1969 Cubs included future Hall-of-Famers Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams and Ron Santo.

Ultimately, the decision just came down to enjoying replaying games with hall-of-famers.

I'm just starting my quest to replay the Chicago Cubs infamous 1969 season in APBA baseball -- with a few twists. For example, I've ditched 30 games against division rivals to add some inter-league games, including a home-and-home series against the crosstown White Sox.

In addition to managing Cubs legends Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo, I'm looking forward to almost daily encounters with opposing hall-of-famers, from Bench and Seaver to Clemente, Mays and Aaron. Replaying games with such greats makes the 1969 Cubs an easy replay choice. For me, 1969 is part of one of baseball's golden eras.

And then there's the personal connection. Although my favorite team remains the Milwaukee Brewers, I was born in the Chicago area and lived on the north side of the city in Northbrook until third grade. That's when I moved north and started rooting for the Brew Crew.

But I can remember my grandma following the "Cubbies" and talking about the team when we visited her north side apartment in Winnetka.

Looking through the Cubs APBA cards, it's hard to believe they finished 8 games behind the Mets! Sure, the Mets had A starters Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, but they didn't have Santo. Banks and Williams suiting up every day. It was more like Art Shamsky, Ed Kranepool and Ron Swoboda.

The Cubs won 92 games that year, but are known more for their epic September collapse, and giving way to the Miracle Mets, who went on to defeat the invincible Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.

The Cubs starting rotation was solid, with three B starters -- Jenkins, Bill Hands and Ken Holtzman. Where they could have used some help was a shutdown reliever. They had to depend on Phil Regan (CZ) and Ted Abernathy (BY).

The team's strength, of course, was it's everyday lineup. In addition to Santo, Williams and Banks, it featured all-star double-play combo Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert. The Gold Glove shortstop was among the league leaders in runs, hits and doubles. Santo finished second in runs batted in (121)  and eighth in home runs (29). Williams finished the year in the top 10 in a half-dozen categories, including hits, runs, doubles, triples and RBI.

On the mound, the Cubs big three combined for 58 wins: Jenkins (21-15); Hands (20-14) and Holtzman (17-13).

One of the cool things about the 1969 APBA reprint set is that it includes a card for every player who got into a game that season. While it's neat to see some future stars who got their first taste of the big leagues that season (e.g. Ted Simmons, Carlton Fisk, Steve Garvey, Bill Buckner, Cesar Geronimo) I don't see going out of my way to find two at-bats for the Cubs' sixth-string catcher Randy Bobb!

The Cubs will open the season against the Phillies at Wrigley Field. Play ball!

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