1957 Chicago White Sox Replay.
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September 24th Update. Sox split a pair of games with the Athletics.
In game 1, Alex Kellner shut the Sox out on 5 hits as the A’s won 5-0. Sherm Lollar had Chicago’s only extra base hit, a double. Bob Keegan (9-4) took the loss, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits in 4 innings of work. Woodie Held and Bob Martyn each drove in a pair of runs for Kansas City in the win.
In the second game, Bill Fischer (9-5) took a 1-hit shutout into the 9th inning, but lost the shutout with 2 outs, with the Sox holding on for a 4-1 win. Gus Zernial drove in the lone Kansas City run. Sammy Esposito went 3 for 5 with a double for Chicago.
The season series between Chicago and Kansas City is complete. The Sox took the season series 13 games to 9, outscoring the A’s 97 - 88. Gus Zernial was the top offensive performer for Kansas City in the series. He collected 23 hits in 85 at bats, include 7 doubles and 7 homers while driving in 19 runs.
In 1957, the White Sox took the season series from the A’s 14 games to 8. The Sox outscored Kansas City 101 to 72.
The White Sox now return home for the final 2 series of the season. First up is a pair of games against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are in 5th place in the AL, with a record of 74-75.
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September 26 update. The Sox have crossed the 100-win threshold with a pair of wins over the Tigers, each by a score of 3-2.
In the first game, Jim Derrington exited after surrendering a run in 3 innings, but the Sox got solid pen work from four relievers, with Gerry Staley recording the last 2 outs for a save. Nellie Fox went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead Chicago. Ray Boone homered in the loss for Detroit.
In the second game, Bill Fischer also left after 3 innings of work, but Don Rudolph followed with 6 innings of shutout relief to earn the win. Walt Dropo drove in a pair of runs for the Sox, and Earl Battey homered. Al Kaline accounted for both Detroit runs with a homer.
The Sox outscored the Tigers by a 79-68 margin in the replay, winning 14 of the 22 matchups. Frank Bolling was a top offensive performer for the Tigers, hitting .325 in 77 at-bats, with 5 doubles, a homer and 8 runs driven in.
In 1957, the Sox scored 105 runs against Detroit while surrendering 86 runs. The two teams split the 22 games in 1957.
The Sox close out the regular season with 3 games against the Cleveland Indians.
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The White Sox wrap up the regular season by taking 2 of 3 from the Indians, ending the season with 103 Wins and 51 Losses. They won the Division by 13 games over the Yankees.
Finals Standings:
For Reference here are the actual standings from 1957:
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Here is a pitcher by pitcher comparison of their replay stats versus actual 1957 stats:
Overall, I’m very satisfied with how the usage worked out with Jim Wilson being the only pitcher to significantly exceed his actual innings pitched.
While Gerry Staley (Az) did not exceed his actual innings, I did deploy him differently than he was used in 1957. In actuality, he was often deployed for multiple innings to replace an ineffective starter. I tended to use him as more of a traditional modern relief pitcher, deploying him in high leverage situations…but still using him for multiple innings many times.
It was the pitchers that fueled the Sox +13 game swing in the replay, as they prevented runs much better than the actual 1957 team did.
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Batter by Batter comparison between replay and Actual Stats:
As usual, batting average comes out a little low, but extra base hit totals, walks, and stolen bases all came out right in line with 1957 actuals.
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Impressive results, the most important indicator of the offense (runs) was just about on target. I played the the 57 season for awhile on BBW and the White Sox gave the Yanks all kinds of problems…