The Month(s) in Review
Milwaukee Baseball League
Next Non-League Meetup

The Month(s) in Review

Welcome sports fans.  A few months ago I decided that there had to be some SOM fans out there in the Milwaukee area.  So, I started a Facebook group called Milwaukee Strat-O-Matic.  I posted the link on a few forums, and right away, I started connecting with other SOM players in the MKE area.  At our first meetup, we got together at Friday’s Front Row at Miller Park.  We had a few beers, ate some grub, talked a lot of baseball, and hashed out some plans for when we’d have our first toss of the dice.

Our second meetup was at BW3 in New Berlin…this time we rolled some games, and we continued to make and grow some new friendships.  During that second meetup, we decided that while rolling games with stock teams is fun, we wanted to have some ownership in our wins and losses.  From that idea was born the Milwaukee Baseball League.  So, after 2 meetups and 2 league nights, we’ve got a good thing going.  We’re also 2 for 2 on hosts with awesome basements.

The Milwaukee Baseball League

The league is simple.  4 teams (The Furies, The Rockin’ Robins, The Old Latrobe Greens, and Cheap Trick), drafting from a random pool of 8 teams from the 1959 cardset, field a 25 man roster, and play a 30 game season, the winner keeping the 1959 cardset.  No frills, just pure baseball enjoyment.  The 4 members is by no means an exclusive club.  We just took the guys who were around when we hashed the idea and started off small.  Once we get one short season under our belts, we sincerely hope others looking for some casual baseball enjoyment and camaraderie in the Milwaukee area will join us.  Stay tuned for more info on season 2.  Yet, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  As I said, we only have two league-related meetups in the books.  The first was hosted by Bob in one of the cooler baseball basements I’ve ever seen.  We used this evening as a sort spring training.  We got to see our team’s cards for the first time, played a few games, at some ‘za, and got a feel for our lineups.  Our second league meetup was last evening, hosted by Randy.  It was at this meetup where we threw out the first pitch on the regular season.  There were 6 games played in total, the Greens and the Robins both taking 2 of 3 from their opponents.  Here are the standings and stats from the meetup.

Next Non-League Meetup

One of the concerns we had with running a league was that other MKE SOM players might feel left out, or uninterested if they weren’t part of the league.  That is the absolute last thing we want.  We discussed having another non-league meetup in the near future to get some other people involved and socializing, and will be coordinating schedules for that soon. Furthermore, we have a new member joining the group who has access to a back-room lounge at the bar who sponsors his softball team.  It’s a win-win…we patronize their establishment, we get a private room to enjoy our hobby.  Please check the facebook group as we coordinate this event.

We welcome you all to the group, and hope that you find something you enjoy during your time with us.

St. Louis drew first blood in the top of the 3rd with RBIs from Tom Herr and Keith Hernandez, but Milwaukee would answer back in the bottom of the 3rd with a 4 run inning of their own with hits from Moore (double), Gantner (Single), and a sacrifice squeeze from Molitor to bat in Charlie Moore.  Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper would follow up with back-to-back homeruns, the second back-to-back home run game for the Crew in as many nights.

Not to be outdone, St. Louis led off the top of the 4th with a Porter homerun followed by a game-tying sac fly by Ozzie Smith.

The back-and-forth battle would continue in the bottom of the 4th when 6 consecutive Milwaukee batters would reach base, resulting in 4 more runs added to Milwaukee’s lead. (8-4).

Gorman Thomas hit a lead-off homerun in the bottom of the 5th, but St. Louis would make it interesting in the top of the 6th by scoring 3 more runs, reducing Milwaukee’s lead to 2 (9-7).   Both teams continued hitting and reaching base, but Milwaukee outscored St. Louis, finishing the evening 12-8.  Milwaukee now owns a commanding lead in the series at 3-1.

 Notable Stats

• Robin Yount’s homerun came on a HR 1, DO 2-20 roll.
• Cooper’s homerun came on a HR 1-19, DO 20.  
• Porter’s homerun is St. Louis’ first of the series.

Game time: 9:41pm – 10:41pm CST
Things looked good for Milwaukee early on in this game when Oglivie and Thomas hit back to back solo shots in the 2nd inning.  Unfortunately, those two runs would be all Milwaukee could muster as Molitor and Yount went 1-10 combined.

Vuckovich looked sharp through the first 4 innings, but the Cardinals would rally in the top of the 5th plating 6 runs.  Lonnie Smith would reach on an error, followed by a double from Iorg, a walk from McGee and Ozzie Smith.  Tom Herr then stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded, but struck out swinging.

Oberkfell was faced with a 1-9HR, 10-20DO split, but hid a bases clearing double instead of a grand slam.  Vuckovich followed up by giving up a single to Hernandez and Hendrick.  McClure entered the game to relieve a flustered Vuckovich, and promptly gave up a single to Porter.

The Cardinals would add 2 more runs in the top of the 9th, and Milwaukee couldn’t rally as Sutter notched the save for St. Louis.

Notable Stats

Despite giving up 8 runs, the Brewer’s pitching staff ended up with a combined ERA of 0.00.  Milwaukee also left 9 men stranded.  Cecil Cooper continues his hot streak with another 3-hit game. He is 10 of 14 batting .714 for the series with an OBP of .714.

Milwaukee leads the series 2-1.

After a Cardinals 3 and out, Milwaukee continued their offensive display with a Yount Single, a Cooper single, a Simmons Double, and an Oglivie walk, producing two more runs in the process.  Howell would plate Simmons on a single, forcing Stuper from the game, tagging him with 5 runs on 8 hits over 3 innings of play.

Sutton was masterful, pitching 5 innings of no-hit baseball until the bottom of the 5th when the Cardinals put some pressure on the crew by scoring 3 runs on one HBP (L. Smith),  a single (Iorg), and two doubles (O. Smith, Herr).

Simmons would add one more to make it 6-3, scoring Cecil Cooper after his 3-bagger.  That lead would hold for the rest of the game as Fingers made another appearance in the 9th to notch his 2nd save in as many games.

Game 3 moves to County Stadium as the Milwaukee tries to put more distance between them and St. Louis.

Brew Crew Takes Game 1 in Extras

Game one of the series began Friday night at 9:41 PM Central time at Busch Stadium. Taking the hill for the Crew was Mike Caldwell, while Bob Forsch took the mound for St. Louis.

Milwaukee started off the game hot with Molitor reaching 3rd on an error by CF David Green. Robin Yount then drove him home on a double to CF. Cecil Cooper, Ted Simmons, and Roy Howell followed with hits of their own, increasing the lead to 3. Eight batters stepped to the plate for the Crew before the inning ended on a strikeout by Charlie Moore.

The Cardinals didn’t get on the board until the bottom of the third when Lonnie Smith drove Ozzie Smith home on a sac fly to CF. Things again cooled off until the Cardinals put the pressure on Milwaukee in the bottom of the 5th. Tom Herr hit a deep ball to CF that looked to be a game tying home run, but fell just short (N-HR). Herr was held up at first, but advanced Ozzie Smith to third. Lonnie Smith then hit into a double play, Milwaukee conceding the run to Ozzie smith.

Cecil Cooper scored Yount on a double in the top of the seventh bringing the Crew’s lead to two, but that lead wouldn’t hold up. The Cardinals answered back in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases on 3 straight hits. The third hit by Herr scored Ken Oberkfell and Ozzie Smith, forcing Caldwell from the game in favor of reliever Jim Slaton. Charlie Moore snagged the go-ahead home run (HR/FB split) from Darrell Porter in right field, and David Green followed with a strikeout to end the inning.

The score would remain tied until the 12th inning when Robin Yount delivered with a clutch single to score Molitor. Cecil Cooper followed up with the game’s only home run, a two-run shot. Oglivie would double, but would be stranded on a Gorman Thomas fly ball to CF which was easily handled by David Green.

Rollie Fingers was called in to shut the door, giving up one hit with one strikeout and two fly balls to RF.