Publisher's Synopsis
The Los Angeles Angels and the "new" Washington Senators ushered in baseball's expansion in 1960, followed quickly by the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets. By 1998, ten additional franchises had been awarded with the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Pilots, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Devil Tays coming into the American League, and the Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, and Arizona Diamondbacks to the National League.
Since then, some of those teams have relocated or changed names, but TIME FOR EXPANSION BASEBALL tells the story of how each franchise was formed, built its team, and began play. Biographies of key players from each team's early years are also included, from early Angels like Eli Grba and Duke Maas to Senator Tom Sturdivant, from Seattle Pilots Tommy Harper and Lou Piniella to Seattle Mariners Julio Cruz and Rick Jones.
Featuring a foreword by Tal Smith, who has done three separate stints in the Houston front office, and the contributions of 54 SABR members, TIME FOR EXPANSION BASEBALL also includes dozens of photos from team historical archives.
CONTENTS:
Which of the Expansion Franchises Had the Most Successful Draft?
Maxwell Kates
Rickey's Folly: How the Continental League Forced Baseball Expansion
Warren Corbett
Mis-Management - The American League Expansion of 1960
Andy McCue and Eric Thompson
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
A Season in Homer Heaven: The Birth of the Los Angeles Angels
Warren Corbett
Duke Maas by Andrew Sharp
Ted Kluszewski by Paul Ladewski
Eli Grba by Chuck Johnson
WASHINGTON SENATORS
The Washington Senators Begin A New Term Chris Jones
Dale Long by Gregory H. Wolf
Bobby Shantz by Mel Marmer
Tom Sturdivant by Bill Nowlin
HOUSTON COLT .45s
The Colt .45s and the Expansion Draft
Stephen D. Boren and Eric Thompson
Here Come the Colts by David E. Skelton
Bob Aspromonte by Mark Wernick
Eddie Bressoud by Bill Nowlin
Bob Lillis by Paul Geisler
NEW YORK METS
"The Name is Mets -- Just Plain Mets"
Leslie Heaphy
Choo Choo Coleman by David E. Skelton
Gil Hodges by John Saccoman
Hobie Landrith by Alan Cohen
Expansion, Round Two: How Charlie Finley Blew Up Baseball
Warren Corbett
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Mr. K Brings Baseball Back to Kansas City
Joseph Thompson
Bob Oliver by John Struth
Ellie Rodriguez by Steve Schmitt
Hoyt Wilhelm by Mark Armour
MONTREAL EXPOS
"Les Expos Sont La" - The Expos Are Here Danny Gallagher
Mack Jones by David E. Skelton
Carl Morton by Tom Hawthorn
Maury Wills by Glen Sparks
SAN DIEGO PADRES
It's a Major League City or It Isn't:
San Diego's Padres Step Up to the Big Leagues
John W. Bauer
Nate Colbert by Gregory H. Wolf
Fred Kendall by Brian Geller
Jerry Morales by Rick Bogovich
SEATTLE PILOTS
The Flight of the Seattle Pilots
Bill Mullins
Tommy Harper by Bill Nowlin
Marty Pattin by Rick Bogovich
Lou Piniella by John DiFonzo
SEATTLE MARINERS
Major-League Baseball Returns to the Pacific Northwest
Steve Friedman
Julio Cruz by Michael Marsh
Rick Jones by Jeff Findley
Dan Meyer by Paul Hofmann
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Birth of the Blue Jays
Maxwell Kates
Bill Singer by Joel Rippel
Pete Vuckovich by Dale Voiss
Ernie Whitt by Bob LeMoine
COLORADO ROCKIES
Welcome to the Time Zone with A Team
Roger L. Kinney
Brad Ausmus by Thomas L. Brown
Joe Girardi by Mark Sternman
Charlie Hayes by Rory Costello
FLORIDA MARLINS
