1966 GOWDY IP INNING 1

 1966 GOWDY IP SEASON UNDERWAY 

PROJECT TOOLS 

1966 Inside Pitch Board Game and MLB Cards 
Google Dice Roller  
Interesting Schedule Format 
Digital Diamond Board Game Companion and Scoresheet 
Liberty Inside Pitch League Rulebook ( Modified ) 


STORYLINES 

THE FORMAT 

The Gowdy 66 IP schedule will consist of 180 games played over 9 chapters called innings.  All 9 innings will consist of 20 games played in a revised King of the Hill format.  The first 3 innings will have all teams competing exclusively against their AL and NL opponents.  Teams will compete against all 20 teams in the middle 3 innings against opponents based on 1966 season power rankings.  The last 3 innings king of the hill format will be based on alphabetical rankings.  

4 man rotations will be used during the regular season based on innings pitched.  A team can use its 4th or 5th starter based on the opponent.  Injuries will carry through all games even if an injured player's team is not playing.  So if Maury Wills goes out for 20 games and the Dodgers only play the first game of an inning, Wills will be available in game 21, etc.  

The 6 teams with the best records make the playoffs.  Tiebreakers will be based on the Liberty rulebook.  Teams will play a king of the hill format with no days off. 3 man rotations will be used.  Teams will be eliminated based on reaching their loss limit.  The higher the team ranking, the more they can lose.  So

Team 1:  6 losses 
Team 2:  5 losses 
Team 3:  4 losses 
Team 4:  3 losses 
Team 5:  2 losses 
Team 6:  1 loss 

At the conclusion of the season, 4 All Star teams will compete in a round robin tournament.  Teams include:

Black Diamonds:  Top Afro American Players 
Internationalists:  Top Foreign Born Players 
AL Stars:  Top AL players not on the first 2 teams 
NL Stars:  Top NL players not on the first 3 teams 


Inning 1 Storylines 

The Milwaukee Braves won the 1965 Gowdy IP championship.  Not only did this surprise observers but the Braves move to Atlanta broke the hearts of the fan base in Milwaukee.  It will be difficult for the Atlanta Braves to defend their championship given their team stars are fading with age and few had career years in 66 as some had in 65. Still, Carty, Aaron and Torre will do their best to make it two in a row. 

Sandy Koufax has only one year left to win a Gowdy championship but his supporting cast seem much stronger in 66 as Drysdale, Wills and company are determined to show the MLB 66 season was no fluke. 

Willie Mays seeks his second Gowdy MVP award and another playoff run seems likely.  Marichal, Perry and McCovey should provide plenty of support.  

In Gowdy 65, the Washington Senators reeled off 5 wins in the 1st 20 games and hung on to make the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated in their 2nd game.  The KC Athletics and the Houston Astros seem to have adopted the same playbook. 


Kansas City went 5-1 in the first inning.  Jim Nash, Blue Moon Odom and Lew Krause shut down some impressive opponents including the Baltimore Orioles, the defending AL champs. 

Houston went 3-1 in the NL division.  Mike Cuellar and Dave Giusti threw 17 innings without giving up an earned run while the Astros outslugged the Cubs 11-2 before the Dodgers ended the 3 game winning streak. 

Aces dominated the 1st inning which resulted in many  low scoring games.  For example, Kevin Johnson outlasted Bob Gibson 1-0 in a 9 inning thriller. 

You should not read very much in the 1st inning standings but here are the leaders in the playoff race at this early juncture. 

Kansas City  5 
Houston 3
Los Angeles 2 
Minnesota  2 
Atlanta 2 
Pittsburgh 1 ( tie breaker )

That's the way it was in the first inning of the 1965 Gowdy IP project. 

Enjoy the day.