Prime 9 - Chicago White Sox

The 20th and last installment in the "Prime 9" series - spotlighting the 9 best players per team from the 1966-70 time period.

For the series backstory and team rankings, click here.

The White Sox won 363 games between 1966 and 1970. It didn't help their total that they only won 56 games in 1970.

What the hell happened to the White Sox in the late 1960s? They were cruising along pretty well for most of the decade, then BAM! (And look at the attendance drop-off.)

The final indignity was finishing behind the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969. Luckily, the Pilots didn't also pass them.  The arrival of Dick Allen in 1972 (the AL MVP) pulled them back to respectability.


One last look at the standings:

Prime 9 - Washington Senators

The 19th installment in the "Prime 9" series - spotlighting the 9 best players per team from the 1966-70 time period.

For the series backstory and team rankings, click here.

The Senators won 368 games between 1966 and 1970. It didn't help their total that they only won 65 games in 1968.

New manager Ted Williams signed on for 1969, and improved the team by TWENTY-ONE wins. Still, 2 years later they skipped town for Dallas.

RIP - Alex Grammas

Alex Grammas, a shortstop for the Cardinals and Reds from 1954 to 1962, passed away on September 13, 2019 at age 93.

Grammas finished his playing career in 1963 with the Cubs. 

He went on to a long career as a major-league coach, notably for the Reds and Tigers from 1970-1991 (on Sparky Anderson's staffs).

He also managed the Pirates for 5 games in 1969, and the Brewers from 1976-77.

Cincinnati.com obituary

Detroit News obituary
 

Prime 9 - Houston Astros

The 18th installment in the "Prime 9" series - spotlighting the 9 best players per team from the 1966-70 time period.

For the series backstory and team rankings, click here.

The Astros won 373 games between 1966 and 1970 - last among National League teams.

Surprisingly, they finished in 8th place, ahead of the Cubs in their inaugural 1962 season. (Apparently starting a trend of an expansion team finishing ahead of a team from Chicago!)

In their first 7 seasons, they finished either 8th, 9th, or 10th. Unlike their expansion partner New York Mets, they continued their losing ways in 1969 and beyond. Not until 1979 would they finish higher than 3rd (of 6).

RIP - Joe Keough

Joe Keough, one of the Kansas City Royals' original outfielders, passed away on September 9, 2019 at age 73.

He was selected by the Kansas City Athletics in thee 2nd round of the 1965 draft (the Athletics also took outfielder Rick Monday in the first round).

Keough played briefly with the Athletics in 1968 after their move to Oakland.

After the 1968 season, he was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft, and played in their outfield from 1969-72.  A spare outfielder in 1969, he became a starter the next season but missed the 2nd half of 1970 with a broken leg.

Keough was the team's primary right fielder in 1971, but in 1972 he missed most of April and May, only playing in 56 games that season.

He was traded to the White Sox after 1972, but played most of 1973 in triple-A before retiring.

His older brother Marty was an outfielder for the Red Sox, Reds, and others from 1956-1966.
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RIP - Tom Phoebus

Late-1960s Orioles starter Tom Phoebus passed away on September 5, 2019 at age 77.

Phoebus joined the Orioles at the start of 1967 and won 14, 15, and 14 games in '67, '68, and '69, which helped bridge the gap during the 2 years Jim Palmer was rehabbing in the minors, as well as covering for Wally Bunker's injuries. (In 1969 Palmer rejoined the O's and Mike Cuellar was acquired.)

Tom also pitched a no-hitter in 1968. His last contribution to the Orioles was as a trade chip that brought Pat Dobson to Baltimore before the 1971 season.

After his baseball career he became a teacher.

Baltimore Sun obituary

Obituary
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Prime 9 - Cleveland Indians

The 17th installment in the "Prime 9" series - spotlighting the 9 best players per team from the 1966-70 time period.

For the series backstory and team rankings, click here.

The Indians won 380 games between 1966 and 1970. One or more of their 4 starting pitchers were always showing up on the American League Leaders cards in the 2nd half of the decade - especially Sam McDowell.

The Tony Horton card is a custom creation by the late Bob Lemke. (The fonts are somewhat distorted because I had to shrink the image so much to fit in with the other eight cards.)