Tom's Strat-O-Matic Replays

I am in the process of playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1961 National League replay using Strat-O-Matic CD-ROM computer baseball. I manage all the Dodger games and the computer plays the rest. Actual trades, minor league callups and injuries happen as they did that season. The Dodgers, Reds and Giants are battling for the top spot, teams separated by 1 1/2 games. The Cardinals are only three games out. I am through June 17 on the schedule.

I am a big Sandy Koufax fan. 1961 was his breakout season, he won 18 games and broke the National League record for strikeouts. In 1961, the Dodgers played their home games in the Coliseum, a converted football stadium that was a hitter's paradise. The next season, the Dodgers moved into pitcher friendly Dodger Stadium. Sandy Koufax's ERA dropped like a stone and he dominated like few before him, winning three Cy Young Awards when only one was given out, leading the NL in ERA for five straight seasons and helping the Dodgers win pennants in 1963, 1965 and 1966 and the World Series in 1963 and 1965. He won the NL pitcher's Triple Crown (most wins, strikeouts and lowest ERA) in 1963, 1965 and 1966. In 1961, he was just getting started.