While almost every player on the team would go on to play in the Majors, one player
would stand out amongst the others. His name was Larry Bowa, and he came to
Eugene after spending the previous two seasons playing in Double-A Reading. Bowa
was a steady hand at Shortstop and was immediately impressive. In 568 At Bats,
Larry Bowa hit .287 with 48 stolen bases. Bowa helped lead the Em's to 1st place
with an 88-53 (.608) record. The Em's played great ball in the playoffs, staying
tight with the Tacoma |
Cubs. After 4 games, the two clubs were tied at 2 games apiece. A final deciding
match for the championship would take place. It was an exciting time for
Eugene, but in the end, the Tacoma Cubs would win the final battle, denying Civic
Stadium of a chance to take home a PCL title in its very first year in professional
baseball. The Em's wouldn't get a chance for a rematch for the next two
seasons, as the team fell below .500. Still there was some excitement as several
future MLB stars came to town and made a lot of noise on their way to the "show".
Future NY Yankees' OF Oscar Gamble came to town in 1970 and hit .296, while
future NY Mets 1B Willie Montanez batted .276 with 24 doubles and 16 homers.
Joe Lis however would set the standard for home runs which at Civic Stadium
when he batted .324 with 36 blasts and 107 RBI. |