This Week in Figment Baseball: May 9, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

May 9, 1938

WOLVES FAIL FIRST TEST IN BATTLE FOR CA SUPREMACY

The Toronto Wolves have been the surprise team of the Continental Association in the early going this season as a rejuvenated offense led by veteran pickup Fred McCormick has the team leading the CA in batting average and tied for first place in the standings. The 28 year old McCormick (.422,2,10) has been everything he was advertised to be as he and teammate Nick Wallace (.418,1,16) are 1-2 in the CA batting race. There were some concerns that the Wolves pitching would be too thin after trading several quality arms to St Louis to acquire McCormick but Chick Wirtz (4-0, 1.75) and Art Blake (2-0, 3.81) have started well to give veteran manager Hank Leitzke options beyond young ace Joe Hancock (4-1, 2.68).

The Wolves entered a key series at home against Brooklyn yesterday with a 1-game lead on the defending champs atop the CA standings. The game ended with the 2 clubs tied for top spot as the Kings prevailed 7-4 with Toronto starter Chuck Cole (2-3, 5.35) suffering through his third poor outing in the past four starts. The Wolves have two more tries at the Kings beginning today and the clubs will meet for 3 more games next week in Brooklyn but this is a key opportunity for the Wolves to prove their quick start to the season is not a mirage.

If the Wolves are to be taken seriously they likely will need to upgrade their pitching but that can be done internally as Jim Morrison certainly looks ready and in a late announcement the Wolves did indeed decide to promote him this week. Morrison, a 22 year old taken out of Indiana A&M 16th overall in 1936 with a pick the Wolves acquired from Brooklyn, had a very good spring and some felt he should have joined the team to start the season but instead was dropped off just shy of the Peace Bridge to begin the season with the Buffalo Nickels. All Morrison has done in Buffalo is throw three very good ballgames, posting a 2-0 mark with a 2.37 era. Expect to see him make his big league debut this week.

It is a big week ahead in the Federal Association for the other surprise team of the league. The Detroit Dynamos, much like Toronto in CA, are battling for the lead in the Fed with the Chicago Chiefs. Last season Detroit fans were ecstatic about a 10-10 start only to see the club go on to lose 64 of its next 83 games over the ensuing 3 months (yes 19-64 .228). This year the club has started 13-7 after 3 weeks but the memories of last season still linger in their minds...and managements too. The club finished the '37 season with a 34-17 record and combined with this years start have gone 47-24 since around August 8th of last season.

Detroit and Chicago have already met this season at Whitney Park with the upstarts from Michigan taking two of three games in the series. They will play 3 times at Thompson Field coming up this weekend and another series victory for the Dynamos could go a long ways towards convincing them, and their fans, that this Detroit club is for real.

Yes the Chiefs are loaded with both the best offense and stingiest pitching in the Fed to date, plus with some other strong teams a pennant seems highly unlikely for the Dynamos this time around. However, there likely stands a good chance of a number of titles in Detroit's near future. Sal Pestilli (.306,5,12) seems on the cusp of becoming the greatest player in the sport and Red Johnson (.310,1,7), Leon Drake (.325,3,12), Elmer Nolde (.320,3,12), Clem Bliss (.361,1,8), Ed Stewart (.310,3,18) and Frank Le Miex (.274,0,10) are a terrific supporting cast. The pitching staff is likely what will hold them back this year but they have looked surprisingly strong so far and that is with Stumpy Beaman - a favourite of scouting guru Rufus Barrell - off to a rough start.

QUICK HITS

• The Federal Association batting average leaderboard looks like it's just a copy of the Chicago Chiefs lineup. The top 4 hitters in the Fed and five of the top six are Chiefs with catcher Tom Bird leading the way with a .420 average. Pete Layton, Cliff Moss and Hank Barnett are the next three before the Keystones Bobby Barrell breaks up the party.
• What a couple of weeks for Chicago Cougars veteran hurler Milt Fritz! He was named CA player of the week and his last 3 starts have been amazing: 27 IP, 11 hits, 2 unearned runs. On the season Fritz is 4-1 with a 0.82 era. His ERA+ is unsustainable all season but just amazing at 519. Just too bad for Cougars fans so many of his teammates are struggling out of the gate this year.
• Detroit's Leon Drake, who has been an incredibly steady outfielder and one of the few who is capable of delivering a 20/20/20 season (doubles/triples/homers) something he has done twice already and narrowly missed a third time. The 29 year old is headed down that path again this season with 8 doubles, 3 triples and 3 homers thru his first 19 games and he was named the Federal Association player of the week for the past 7 days.
• One of the things Detroit skipper George Theobald has been quietly trying to change in Detroit was their hitter's walks-strikeouts ratio and to raise the teams OBP. Last year Detroit batters struck out 679 times compared to only 503 walks and were last (again) in OBP at 321. While it’s early we are seeing improvements in those areas. Detroit's walk to strikeout ratio is 79-72 and their OBP is in a virtual tie with Chicago Chiefs and Boston at .359 in the FABL. It’s early but so far so good
• Washington hurler Karl Johnson is continuing last year success by forging a 5-0 record with a 2.61 ERA in his first five games of the season. Johnson was 20-9 a year ago. Totally the opposite of #2 starter Eddie Quinn, an 18 game winner last season but he is 0-5 with a 6.03 ERA so far this year and looking very much like this year's version of Bill Anderson for the Eagles. Speaking of Anderson, who was outstanding two seasons ago before melting down in the first half of last season, he is back in the pen after a rocky 1-2, 8.90 start this year. Anderson's unpredictability has confounded the Eagles brass as big things were hoped for from the 29 year old after he tantalizingly seemed to regain his form with a terrific September. Mike Knight, who missed much of last season with injury after being a regular in the Washington rotation in 1936, will take Anderson's spot in the rotation. The hope is the demotion to relief duties will give a surge to Anderson just as it did last year. The Eagles still holding in the tight race with a 10-10 record, despite the fact the offense has had some inconsistent performers such as the middle infield duo of Andy Carter (.263,0,4) and Jim Beard (.165,0,7). Expectations were high at the beginning of season in DC and attendance is up substantially but that may be more due to a ticket price cut than the team record.
• This paper does get on the Gothams a lot and with good reason at the big league level as they are positively putrid. But the system is stacked and it should only be a matter of time before they turn things around. One big piece of the Gothams future is 2B Roosevelt Brewer. The 18 year old Chicago native was named player of the week in the Class B COW League. He's at .422-3-10 for the season. Brewer and Falcons teammate and fellow top 20 prospect 1B Walt Messer (.326-4-13) are looking at promotions to single A Albany in the near future. Also expecting a train ticket will be AA SP Bunny Edwards (2-0 1.66) who appears to be ready to take on AAA hitters at Toledo
• The Cleveland Foresters are worried Dean Astle may have some lingering elbow problems since being pulled in the 2nd inning of his first game. He is currently 0-3 since and has given up 16 runs in that timeframe. The 28 year old, who is 80-56 in his FABL career, has been pretty much injury free but has been nicked up a couple of times already this season.
• The Philadelphia Keystones have been on a roller-coaster ride to start the year. Taken in 7-game increments, the boys on Broad Street went 2-5, 5-2, and now 1-6, to stand at 8-13 with a run differential of +3. The starting pitching has been an issue in the season's first three weeks. Gene White and Art Myers are the only starters with ERAs under five. Ed Baker and George Brooks are off to particularly perplexing starts.
  Offensively, the top half of the lineup are all getting on base and getting driven in. The problem is the bottom half of the lineup is something close to anemic. The team OBP was at the top of the Fed last week at .360, but the team dropped 17 points to fall to 6th in the circuit (.343).
  The next week will have two home games apiece against the vaunted Chiefs and the upstart Dynamos, as well as a weekend series against the Miners. A .500 week would be helpful, but moving back to .500 for the season is too tall an order for now.
• The Montreal Saints are reeling. After starting the season 5-2, the Saints have dropped 10 of their last 13 games and sank to the bottom of the CA. The bullpen has struggled and not done them any favours but one has to think that much of the slump is just bad luck - Montreal is 1-8 on the season in games that either went into extra innings or were decided by just 1 run. The Saints have the second highest run differential in the CA at +11 and their Pythagorean record is -3, worst in the CA
• There is no hotter hitter at any level of the sport than outfielder Reginald Westfall of AAA Buffalo. The 24 year old who was acquired by the Toronto Wolves 3 seasons ago after originally being a 1932 7th round pick of the Cougars, is hitting .519 (27-52) thru 11 games with the Nickels this season. He leads all hitters at any level with at least 50 plate appearances in batting average but he may not be getting any more opportunities to face AAA pitching. The Wolves have decided to promote Westfall and he is expected to be in the dugout later today in Toronto when the Wolves meet Brooklyn in a showdown for top spot in the CA.

• Pope Pius XI calls it "a sad thing" in reference to the display of the Nazi swastika throughout Rome during Adolf Hitler's visit to meet with Italian dictator Mussolini. Mussolini's newspaper Il Poplo d'Italia responds in an editorial warning the pontiff it was "very dangerous to speak of and wave the cross of Christ as if it were a weapon."
• Britain and France, fearful a German-Italian deal to give Hitler a free hand in Czechoslovakia, have asked Prague to make upmost concessions to their Nazi minority and to warn Germany against committing any acts of violence against the central European republic.
• An all out thrust by Chinese forces has led to a seven-mile advance on the southern Shandong front, focal point of the war, and Chinese dispatches claim Japanese lines have buckled completely under the Chinese onslaught.
• New York City police, on orders of Mayor LaGuardia, have been pressing an intensive investigation into all Nazi activities in the city.

This Week in Figment Baseball: May 16, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

May 16, 1938

CHIEFS SLOW DOWN DYNAMOS

The biggest surprise in FABL so far this season has been the Detroit Dynamos. A Federal Association punching bag the last few years, the Dynamos seemed to turn a corner last August with a strong finish and picked up in April right where they left off. Detroit had not lost a series yet this season but that streak came to an end when the equally hot Chicago Chiefs invaded Thompson Field this past weekend. The Dynamos entered the 3 game set with a 17-7 record, good for a half game lead on the second place Chiefs but when the weekend came to an end Chicago had regained top spot by taking two of three from the suddenly relevant Dynamos.

The weekend started fine for Detroit as the Dynamos, returning home after 4 straight victories in Boston and Philadelphia, took the series opener by a 7-3 count thanks to a strong effort by Cleveland cast-off Roger Perry (2-1, 3.44) on the mound and the hitting of Ed Stewart (.295,7,26) and another former Forester in Leon Drake (.333,3,15). Stewart is one of the many new additions to a power laden Detroit lineup. Acquired from Pittsburgh in exchange for pitching prospect Ray McCarthy over the winter, it was expected Stewart would bring middle infield power to the Dynamos and he has not disappointed as his 7 homers to date tie him for second place in FABL, trailing only teammate and rising superstar Sal Pestilli (.313,8,16).

Unfortunately for Detroit fans, the Chicago Chiefs have something the Dynamos are still lacking - an ace pitcher. Well, Chicago actually has 3 of them and two, both ex-Gothams, put their talents on display over the weekend to halt, at least temporarily, the Detroit charge. On Saturday it was the incomparable Rabbit Day (5-1, 3.10) who went to work in a 6-2 victory to pull Chicago back to within a half game of the front-running Detroit nine. It was not Day's best effort of the season by any stretch - he did allow 14 hits- but he did what he normally does and limited the extra base knocks while consistently getting out of jams successfully and allowing his offense, which certainly rivals Detroit's in many aspects, to go to work.
On Sunday it was Jim Lonardo's turn. The 33 year old three-time Allan Award winner improved to 4-1 on the year with a big league leading 1.56 era as the Chiefs blasted Detroit 8-1 to move back into the Federal Association lead. Lonardo's success must have Gothams fans at their wits end as they watch their club continue to look like a mediocre AAA team and one can't help but think that Lonardo's departure to Chicago is perhaps the most one-sided trade in New York since the Indians sold the island of Manhattan for $25 worth of trinkets and beads.

FORESTERS FIRE

Just a couple of weeks ago many were thinking that age was finally catching up to the Cleveland Foresters. The club was 5-7 in April and players like Charlie Berry and T.R. Goins were struggling. However, as the calendar turned to May so did the Foresters fortunes. Roy Bradley is hardly an aging veteran but the 28 year old who came over from Washington prior to the 1937 season got the club turned around with a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to beat the Philadelphia Sailors. Neither Bradley, who entered that game hitting just .222 or the Foresters have slowed down since. Bradley has hit .394 in 15 May games and went 14-for-30 last week to earn the nod as CA player of the week. The Foresters have gone 11-4 this month including 6 wins in their last seven outings and suddenly find themselves tied with Toronto just a half game back of the Brooklyn Kings for top spot in the Continental Association. Goins is struggling but the seemingly ageless Barry, has overcome a very slow April start by hitting .321 so far in May. The 39 year old now needs just 13 more hits to reach the 2,200 mark for his career, something only 40 other players in the history of the game have accomplished.

KEY-NOTES

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquisitor

[list][*]The Keystones climbed a bit closer to .500 with a 4-3 week, but a 1-3 record against the top two teams in the Fed, earning a split against the Chiefs before dropping both to the Dynamos. It was the first chance since the big trade on the eve of the season that the new Dynamos suited up against the Keystones.[*]Frank Crawford defeated his former mates on Thursday in a 7-5 win in Philadelphia. He tired in the ninth, but he only allowed a run through eight innings before allowing a Marshall Strickland homer and walking two who came around to score after he was lifted. Frank LeMieux was 3-for-11 with a critical RBI double on Wednesday as part of a two-run rally to send the game into extra innings, a game Detroit would eventually win in 15 innings, 6-3.[*]On the bright side, the top of the rotation is pitching much better. George Brooks won both starts this week, with a 7-2 win over Chicago and a 7-4 win against Pittsburgh. Ed Baker spun a two-hit shutout against Pittsburgh over the weekend.

MOVING DAY IN NEW YORK

Courtesy of the New York World Telegram

No the Gothams aren't going anywhere. Not even to their new ballpark that has begun to rise alongside the Triborough Bridge in Astoria. That's for next season. And they woefully undermanned major league club isn't moving anywhere in the standings, having a stranglehold on the 8th position. Maybe as a reward to good performance, and maybe to distract fans from what is happening in the big city, the Gothams have started advancing some of their big name prospects.

At the top of the list is C Pete Casstevens, acquired frm Detroit in the offseason. Casstevens was hitting .277/.347/.431 with 3 homers at Rock Island. He will not report to Fresno in the B level COW league. Leaving Fresno and moving to class A Albany are recent top draft selections 2B Roosevelt Brewer (.370/.403/.712), 1B Walt Messer (.290/.347/.565), RF Ed Stoddard (.299/.324/.358) and CF Bill Murnane (.346/.362/.436). Moving from Albany to AA Jersey City are RF/3B Constantine Peters (.309/.365/.426) and SP Charlie Sutton (3-0 1.80). The remaining big name move was SP Bunny Edwards making the jump to AAA Toledo. Edwards has made his way steadily through the Gothams system since being selected in the 1st round in 1936. He was 2-0 2.96 at AA Jersey City this season.

There were another several accompanying moves made to adjust the various rosters. One other note. The Hardin Bates experiment didn't go well in NY. He's on waivers in case anyone else wants to see if there's anything left in the tank.

DYNAMOS ROUND-UP

Courtesy of The Detroit World

• The Dynamos briefly took a 1 1/2 game lead in the Fed until dropping the last 2 of a 3 game series to the Chiefs. The Dynamos and Chiefs are all even in their season series at 3-3 with each club winning 2 out of 3 in the visitors park.
• CF Sal Pestilli is looking very comfortable leading the FABL with 8 home runs. Now with 41 in his young career he is the youngest to hit 40 ever at 22 years 7 months and 6 days.
• 2B Ed Stewart is tied for 2nd in homers with 7 and leads the league in RBI’s with 26. He is doing all of this production from the lead off spot in the lineup.
• Rookie 1B Red Johnson was moved up to the #2 spot in the lineup last week. The kid is hitting 293/429/873 with 3 home runs 9 RBI’s and scoring 16 runs. He has a 24-1 walk to strikeout ratio as well.
• The Dynamos hitters are leading baseball with 28 home runs in 27 games.
• The Dynamos 3 new starting pitchers are 9-3 with a 3.76 ERA led by Charlie Wheeler 2-0 2.78 ERA
• One of the newcomers, Ron Coles, imploded in the finale against Chicago walking 10 Chiefs hitters. Coles is having some occasional control issues but that goes with the territory with Detroit pitching over the years. Walks, walks, walks.
• Both the Chiefs and Dynamos are playing extremely well away from home as both clubs are 13-5 on the road so far this season.
• Boston is 14-14 this season despite a -13 run differential. The Minutemen play the close games well with an 8-2 in 1-run games. The best 1-run game record in baseball belongs to the Toronto Wolves who have surprised everyone with their fast start at 16-11. The Wolves are almost unbeatable in early 1-run games going 10-1. On the other end of the spectrum are the struggling Montreal Saints who are 9-17. They have actually outscored their opponents by 4 runs so this season but a horrific 1-11 record in close 1-run games of 1-11 has been their undoing early this season.
• Early season disappointing teams in the first month of the season. Well how about the defending FA champion Pittsburgh Miners who are off to a slow 11-16 start in defending their FA title as they are already 7 1/2 games off the pace of the Chicago Chiefs. On the CA side it has to be once again the Baltimore Cannons who are 10-15 and have the 2nd worst run differential in baseball (behind the lowly Gothams -53) at -29.

QUICK HITS

• It was a busy week for Del Lyons but just an awful start to it for Brooklyn Kings all-star relief pitcher. The 32 year old lefthander appeared in 5 games last week but he was shelled in the first 3 as he gave up 12 earned runs in a total of 2 innings work and was tagged with 3 straight losses. We talked in a previous issue about how Lyons led the league in relief shutdowns with 32 last season while having 11 meltdowns. With those three straight defeats he now has 6 meltdowns already this season, a total that leads the league. Lyons did get back on track by finishing the week with 2 perfect appearances getting a win in one and the save in the other so hopefully the 3 brutal outings were just a small blip. It also moved Lyons "shutdown" total to 5 on the year, tied for second with Baltimore's Dutch Leverett. The leader? Well, it's another reason why the Detroit Dynamos should be taken seriously as Jim Hawkins has 7 of them already. A year ago the 29 year old Hawkins was pitching out of the bullpen in AAA Newark.
• The Chicago Cougars and Brooklyn Kings had a two game series where in both games the Cougars scored 9, both games Bill Kline got the win, and both games Del Lyons imploded and got the lost
• It is like a tale of two teams in Cleveland. When either Len Drouillard (5-1,3.61) or Sergio Gonzalez (4-2, 2.29) are on the hill the Foresters are averaging 6.3 runs per game but give the ball to Dean Astle (2-3, 3.71) or Lyman Weigel (1-3, 4.22) and it is a different story. Cleveland is scoring about half as often for those two with an average of 3.3 rpg for Astle and 3.2 for Weigel.
• Who is getting the best run support right now? How about Rabbit Day (5-1, 3.10). Not that Day is necessarily a guy that needs a ton of runs to work with but in his 6 starts the Chiefs have average 8.0 runs per game. The only pitchers with 4 or more starts besides Day or the two Cleveland hurlers mentioned above to be getting 6 runs a game to work with are Brooklyn's Mike Murphy (4-2, 3.56), Gene White (3-1, 3.20) of the Keystones and St Louis rookie Buddy Long (4-2, 4.17).
• Chiefs infielder Hank Barnett was a three true outcome player last week: average of .167 (4 for 24), 8 walks (OBP of .394), and 2 of his 4 hits were home runs. Just think how powerful Detroit might have been had they retained Barnett instead of flipping him to the Chiefs after acquiring him from Montreal over the winter. Here are the Fed slugging percentage leaders:
  
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• The Toronto Wolves are happy that even with a sub .500 week the team didn't lose much ground. Attendance is up in Toronto, hoping to keep it that way. Top prospect George Garrison is struggling in AA, along with the rest of the Chattanooga squad. The Reliables are anything but with a 6-11 start in the Dixie League with Garrison at 1-2 with a 5.18 era. OSA is not worried though with Garrison holding down the 5th spot in their latest top prospect rankings.
• Another highly touted Toronto pitching prospect made his big league debut this week. Jim Morrison took to the hill against Cleveland just two days before his 23rd birthday but the Foresters present was to hang a loss on the former first round pick out of Indiana A&M. Morrison looked solid early but got into trouble late and ended up pitching 7 and a third innings on the wrong end of a 9-5 score. He allowed 6 runs (5 earned) in the game.
• Injuries may be starting to play a role in how the season unfolds. The Philadelphia Sailors, who took Brooklyn to the brink last season before falling short in a one game tie-breaker, were already without outfielder Joe Watson, who suffered a sprained ankle in spring training after hitting .278 following his acquisition off the waiver-wire a year ago. Now they will be without William Jones for a month and a half. The 33 year old has been Mister Dependable on the Sailors staff that past decade and has never had an ERA+ below 118 in his 11 year career. He was a 20 game winner last season and finished third in the CA Allen Award voting. The Sailors still have their other 20-game winner from last season in Doc Newell (4-2, 2.72) and are getting the start of what could be a career year from 30 year old Walt Wells (5-1, 1.80) but will it be enough to keep them in the race until Jones returns?
• Wells is worth talking about. He is just the kind of pitcher the Sailors always seem to be able to uncover. A groundball specialist they drafted way back in 1926 (6th round out of Brooklyn High School) and like so many other Sailors arms he was brought along slowly- spending 2 and a half seasons in Class B, parts of 2 years in A ball, a year and a half in AA followed by 3 full seasons in AAA. He finally made it to Philadelphia as a 27 year old in 1935 and after two seasons primarily in the pen he became part of the rotation finally last year. Wells went 13-12 with a 3.43 era as their number three or four starter (along with Merritt Thomas) and now he is looking like an ace. It is early so we will have to see if Wells can keep it up, especially with the added pressure of no William Jones.
• In the Fed the Boston Minutemen got some news they certainly did not want to hear. Young first baseman Bob Donoghue is back on the DL. Donoghue, who the club was counting on heavily to stay in the lineup with Ken Mayhugh dispatched to Baltimore in the John Edwards trade, is out for 2 weeks with a muscle strain. The 25 year old was hitting .290 with just 2 homers after getting 20 round-trippers in 127 games last season. His talent is certainly there but it's keeping him in the lineup that is the concern as Donoghue has already had a number of serious injuries including one that cost him nearly all of the 1936 season.
• Speaking of Edwards it looks like the new Minutemen hurler is starting to come around. He has had a couple of very bad outings to explain his 5.03 era to go with a 3-2 record but he looked very sharp in going the distance and winning each of his last two starts. One has to remember that even though Edwards has made 47 career big league starts he is still just 22 years of age. The other half of that deal, third baseman Ken Mayhugh, is also starting to come around after a slow start for the Cannons. Mayhugh hit 3 homers in May and has raised his average to .242 after going just 11-for-49 with only one extra base hit in April.

DRAFT PREVIEW

A LOOK BACK AT THE 1928 DRAFT

With the 1938 FABL rookie draft a little over a month away and the full draft class reveal coming very soon this is a good time to take our annual look back and reassess the draft picks selected a decade ago. The 1928 draft has to go down as one of the most disappointing classes of all-time, especially when you look at position players. The chart below illustrates just how rough it was. Each draft class from the 1920s is listed and the first column shows position players in that class who have played at least 1,000 FABL games. Subsequent columns are the total of players to play at least 500, at least 100 and finally at least 1 game in FABL since they were drafted.

Obviously the numbers will change going forward as a guy like Wally Flowers for example approaches the 1,000 game plateau but his 842 to date leave him shy of joining Bobby Barrell as a second 1928 drafted position player to appear in 1000 FABL games.

1928 is just bad across the board with Barrell being the only one to reach 1,000 games and only 4 players (Bobby Barrell, Wally Flowers, Art Summers and Oscar King) have reached the 500 mark. In comparison, the 1929 draft already has 12 players over the 500 mark and more than double the number of players to play at least 100 or at least 1 game. The second chart is for pitchers (organized by wins) and while the 1928 class does not fare as poorly there it is still well below average.


What stands out as well beyond the weakness of the 1928 class is how about those 1920 and 1923 groups? The 1920 class features Joe Masters, David Merchant, Phil Sandman and the still active Charlie Berry and Jim Hampton. 1923 is perhaps not quite as impressive but still features a number of active position players like Lou Kelly, John Lawson, Henry Jones, Tom Taylor and Carl Carr along with pitchers Rabbit Day, Charlie Stedman, Ed Baker and Jack Beach.

So I think we are pretty safe in saying the 1928 class was sub-par. It did give us a pair of very good pitchers in Tommy Wilcox and Mike Murphy but aside from Bobby Barrell and Wally Flowers the position players in this group were quite a disappointment.

Here is a look at the 16 players taken in the first round of the 1928 draft.

1- TOMMY WILCOX P BROOKLYN - For the first time in FABL history the number one overall draft pick was traded as the Brooklyn Kings parted with the 10th and 14th picks of round one and young third base prospect Dave Bristol for the right to draft Tommy Wilcox first overall. Washington would make the move down as the Kings tabbed the National College Player of the Year with the top selection. Wilcox would go on to have a brilliant start to his career and was later part of a huge deal that sent him and catcher Mike Taylor for Tom and Fred Barrell as well as Mike Murphy. A series of devastating injuries with the Cougars has robbed Wilcox' previously golden arm of it's luster and is career is all but over at 31, but he did win an Allen Award and post a 91-84 career record.

2- MIKE MURPHY P CHICAGO COUGARS - Murphy and first overall pick Tommy Wilcox just always seemed to be linked. First Brooklyn had briefly flirted with the notion of taking the hometown star from Brooklyn State first overall instead of Wilcox and then the Kings eventually ended up with Murphy when he was included in the big trade with the Chicago Cougars that involved Wilcox. Murphy proved to be a very solid second choice and, because of Wilcox's injuries, has surpassed the top pick in career big league wins. Murphy enters the 1938 season with a 97-55 career record including a pair of twenty-win seasons.

3- FRANK SHROPSHIRE OF ST LOUIS- Oh, what could have been. Imagine if the St Louis Pioneers had taken high school star Bobby Barrell instead of Shropshire with the third pick. By 1931 Barrell was a FABL regular and just might have been enough to convince the Pioneers to hang on to Max Morris instead of dealing him to the Gothams prior to the '31 season. Would a Pioneers team featuring Morris, Barrell, Roger Landry, Alex Ingraham and then Freddie Jones joining them in 1932 have won a pennant like the pair Barrell and Rankin Kellogg led the Keystones to? We will of course never know but that pick could have completely changed the direction of the Pioneers and the Federal Association could look quite different today as a result. Barrell did suffer a serious knee injury in his draft year so I guess you can understand the Pioneers hesitation, and 5 other clubs also bypassed Barrell.

As for Shropshire, well he is still kicking around at the age of 27 as a minor leaguer in the Montreal Saints system but his entire big league career thus far has consisted of 4 games for the 1934 Saints. Shropshire put up some pretty solid numbers in high school but for some reason the Pioneers played him in just 14 games at Class C his rookie pro year. Whether that stalled his development or not we will never know but Shropshire just never lived up to his lofty draft position.

4- CHUCK COLE P TORONTO - It took a while but Cole had a breakout season with Toronto as a 25 year old in 1935 and led the CA in wins the following season with 21. He had a decent high school career but much like St Louis, the Wolves fortunes could be quite different if they had called Barrell's name here.

5- PHIL HICKS P NEW YORK GOTHAMS - Ouch. This is a great example of what we started to see a lot of over the ensuing years: teams reaching for a pitcher. The Gothams have had some great success with some late round pitcher selections but they failed miserably taken an arm in the first round three consecutive seasons from 1927-29. First it was Huck Moore who went 6th overall in 1927 and pitched a grand total of 1 big league game. In 1929 it was Phil Newcom the Gothams took with the 9th pick. Newcom has pitched a bit in the majors, mainly for Washington and posting a 14-22 career record. In between we have Phil Hicks, who put up some nice high school numbers but suffered a serious injury early in his career and is now retired after winning just 3 FABL games.

To make matters worse for New York, the Gothams second round pick in '28 was a college pitcher by the name of Pat Albright. He, too, is retired and never made the big leagues. Now before we knock New York for this first round pitchers it should be noted that the Gothams did have some success with pitchers in later rounds -nothing like getting Jim Lonardo as a 10th rounder in 1925 - but Lou Ellertson was a pretty solid third round pick and Jack Elder was not bad for a fifth round selection.

6- BOBBY BARRELL OF PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES - The Keystones lucked into Barrell and used him as a key piece of a pair of pennant winning clubs. He and Rankin Kellogg have terrorized Federal Association pitchers for most of this decade and with 2 Whitney Awards and 5 all-star appearances by the age of 27 it is quite obvious who the best player of the 1928 draft is.

7- GEORGE THOMAS P MONTREAL - Thomas put up some very good numbers in high school and despite a pair of fairly serious injuries has developed into a very solid starting pitcher for the Saints. Not an ace by any stretch but a good solid middle of the rotation option. His current career mark in FABL is 77-77 with the highlight being back to back 18-win seasons in 1935 and 1936.

8- KEN CURRY OF BALTIMORE - There were a number of highly touted center fielders in this class led by Bobby Barrell but former Brooklyn scout Rube Carter was one of several who had Curry number two on his list right behind The Georgia Jolter. Others to consider included Wally Flowers, Leo Clark, Ed Scott and Gary Lucas - none of whom with the exception of Flowers really did much. As it would turn out Curry did not do too much either. He is still active in the Baltimore system at age 28 but has played just 236 FABL games in his career, hitting .264 in the process.

9- JOHNNNY GUZZO SS PITTSBURGH - It was a very weak class for middle infielders as the only ones to play more than 100 FABL games so far are Grover Carson (1st rd), Oscar King (14th rd), Bob Cleveland (4th rd), Ollie Page (5th rd) and Harry Woodruff (9th rd). Guzzo will possibly join them as he sits at 99 FABL games as of this wiring although he is back in AAA in the Miners organization after playing 14 games last season and hitting a homerun in the WCS. The bottom line is there just wasn't much middle infield talent available.

10- WALLY FLOWERS OF WASHINGTON - Flowers was mentioned a bit earlier and aside from Barrell has to be consider the best position player to come out of the '28 draft. Injuries have derailed him the last couple of seasons but for a 4 and a half year stretch he was a .310 hitter with gap power. Flowers led the Fed in triples with 26 in 1925 and has 136 of them in 842 career games. A strained hamstring cost him the final two months of the 1936 season and he missed more than half of last season with a heel issue. At present he has 1028 career FABL hits, with only Barrell having more from this draft class.

11- BARNEY MEEKER 1B BOSTON - Originally an 8th round pick of St Louis in 1925, Meeker failed to sign with the Pioneers and went on to play for Commonwealth Catholic. He hit 28 homers over two seasons of college ball to go with a .368 batting average. His draft year he beat out Jake Shadoan for first team All-America status and the Minutemen selected him with their first round pick. Meeker had some good years in the minors, hitting 25 homers at AA as a 24 year old in 1931 for example, and spent over 3 seasons in AAA but never got the call to the big leagues. The Minutemen cut him loose after a 1936 season that Meeker spent mostly on the bench in AA and he retired.

12- LEO CLARK OF CLEVELAND - Clark was one of what was thought to be a deep crop of centerfielders but like most of the others in that group he never amounted to much. He missed much of his draft year at Dickson College with an injury and later messed his knee up pretty bad in spring training 1933 costing him the entire year. He had entered that season ranked #78 on the prospect pipeline and was coming off a 43 homer season in AAA. That might have been his chance to be a depth piece on a rapidly improving club but instead he went back to AAA when he was healthy again in 1934. After an 18 homer, .281 season in Cincinnati he was dealt by the Foresters to Baltimore for P Leo Drouillard. The Cannons were a bottom level team and it gave Clark his chance at the big leagues. Unfortunately he did not do much with it, hitting just .219 in 50 games as a 28 year old in 1935 and in a 21 game stint the following season he batted just .149 for the Cannons. Baltimore released him in 1937 and he signed with the Sailors organization where he has spent the past year and a half at the AA level.

13- FRED KELLER 1B DETROIT - It might be hard to find a first round pick who was a bigger bust that Keller. Hindsight is always perfect but when he started just 24 games for his high school club as a senior maybe the writing was on the wall that Keller should not be a first round pick. In 64 career high school games he hit .283 with just 2 homers and he would do about the same as a pro. He spent all but 1 game of his pro career in Class C, appearing in 207 games and batting just .254 with 2 homers for Biloxi. The Dynamos gave up on him in 1935 and he retired that year.

14- GROVER CARSON SS WASHINGTON - Like Wally Flowers, Carson was one of the players the Eagles selected with the picks they acquired from Brooklyn in exchange for the right to draft Tommy Wilcox. In all the 1928 draft turned out pretty nicely for the Eagles as Flowers, Harry Shumate and Carson all played regularly for a number of years while George Allen and Mike Knight, taken in the 9th and 15th rounds respectively, have each spent a fair bit of time in the Washington bullpen. The Eagles also drafted Ollie Page in the fifth round and it was the trading of him to the Cougars that landed the Eagles catcher Claude Ramsey.

As for Carson, he was just released a couple of weeks ago by the organization after spending the past couple of seasons in the minors but he did have a couple year stint as the Eagles everyday shortstop, playing in 406 games and hitting .258.

15- VALLIE TURNER OF CHICAGO CHIEFS - Four of the eleven position players taken in the first round never played a single game in the big leagues. They were Meeker, Keller and the final two selections of the opening round in Vallie Turner and Ed Scott. Turner was a college outfielder at Mississippi A&M and put up some decent numbers at that level with a .311 batting average and 14 homers in 81 games. He looked like a great pick early as he tore up Class B with a .374 average in half a season as a pro despite starting just 29 of the 79 games he played in. He seems to be a guy who just got caught in the numbers games because he only had one season in which he started over 100 games and that was in 1931 at AA when he hit .288 with 27 triples and 14 homers in 111 games. In 1932 the Chicago Cougars selected Turner in the Rule V draft but after he hit just .182 in camp he was returned to the Chiefs organization. The Chiefs released him midway through the 1934 campaign with Turner never playing above AA for the organization. He caught on with Austin of the Lone Star League and has been there ever since but, like his days with the Chiefs, he spends most of his time in the dugout as a backup.

16- ED SCOTT 2B PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES - Not quite sure what the Keystones saw in Scott to warrant drafting him at all, let alone with their first round pick. He played 6 games for Indiana A&M as a freshman in 1926 but never played a game since then. Granted his numbers in those 6 games were impressive, a .381 average with 6 extra base hits but you have to wonder where the Keystones scouting staff saw him play. He actually did pretty good in 1929 as a rookie pro, hitting well and moving from Class C up two levels during the season. He would rarely play after that and by 1934 was released by the Keystones having peaked at AA. San Antonio of the Lone Star Association signed him and Scott, now 31, has been with the Gunslingers ever since.

Scott is now one of ten former first round picks currently playing in the fully independent Lone Star Association. Others include fellow 1928 first round Vallie Turner, 1929 first round Bill Kirby (a Washington pick) and 1933 Detroit first round selection Doc Leach.

A couple of other notes.
Most unusual pick that panned out is Harry Shumate. Washington took him in the 4th round despite the fact he, just like Ed Scott, did not play a single game in his draft year or the previous season and only had 2 career high school games under his belt when he was selected. It obviously worked out well as Shumate has been the Eagles starting first baseman the past 3 seasons and owns a .326 career average although his numbers have dropped following his breakout 1936 season when he hit .360 and led the Fed in doubles with 46.

Player I expected much more from: Andy Bethel. The second baseman had two very strong years at Lubbock State, including a .396/.463/.609 draft year that saw him named as first team All-American. Boston selected him with the 11th pick of the second round and he proceeded to hit .333 at Class B as a rookie and earn a late season promotion to AA. Bethel spent the next two seasons in B before finally getting moved up to class A as a 25 year old in 1932. He played sparingly that season but was promoted to AA for 1933. He didn't do much in 2 years of AA ball and his glove, which had been pretty good in Class B, deserted him just like his bat did in AA. The Minutemen released him in 1935 and he did not catch on with an Indy team so he retired at the end of that year.

JAPAN ROUND-UP

Looking like a pretty balanced group of clubs in the new Japanese professional league. Japan has a 4 way tie for 1st at the moment, with Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka posting identical 6-5 records. Yokohama has been the hot team of late as the Kingfishers, after starting the season 1-5, have reeled off 5 straight victories including a pair of extra innings wins over Osaka. The Japanese League plays a split season format.
https://i.imgur.com/RDVyIbB.jpg

• The Administration's pending $3 billon dollar spending measure would provide over 4 million jobs according to House Appropriations Committee estimates.
• House Rules Committee approved a resolution for a Congressional investigation of Nazi propaganda activities in the United States.
• Hitting back at what Italy regards as anti-Fascist bias in the US, Mussolini warns of a Fascist Alliance if any are threatened by a "doctrinal war by the so-called democracies."
• Scores killed as insurgent planes bombed the workers district of Valencia in a night raid designed to cut the Spanish government's life line to the Mediterranean. A British ship in the port was sunk during the bombing.
• Hungarian government's anti-Jewish bill, which would restrict Jewish participation in trade, industry and the professions to at most 20%, was passed by the Upper House. Enactment would mean that some 30,000 Jews would lose their jobs.
• Government forces in Brazil successfully repelled Fascist rebels attempting to take over the country with Brazilian President Vargas, revolver in hand, defending himself and his family at the Presidential Palace. Those arrested afterwards included seven officials with ties to a German bank.

This Week in Figment Baseball: May 23, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

May 23, 1938

THINGS ARE DYNAMITE IN DETROIT

If anyone had thoughts of the Detroit Dynamos wilting after losing two of three to the Chicago Chiefs last week they were sadly mistaken as the Dynamos reeled off five wins in 7 games and now find themselves in first place in the Federal Association - 2 games up on the second place Chiefs after Chicago dropped consecutive series at home to Boston and Philadelphia.

Detroit's incredible resurgence continues as over 24,000 packed Thompson Field yesterday to watch their club, which not so recently was the laughing stock of the Federal Association, beat the Philadelphia Keystones 7-6 to improve to 23-11 which gives them the best record in baseball. The Dynamos also lead the majors in attendance after ranking 15th in that category just 3 years ago. In fact Detroit has drawn more fans already this year (345,606) than they did in the entire in 1935 campaign (341,503).

In the Continental Association the Brooklyn Kings extended their lead to 2 games over Cleveland thanks to a come from behind 8-7 win over the Foresters yesterday in the opener of a short two-game set. Both starting pitchers struggled as 37 year old Lee Drouillard (5-2, 4.73) of Cleveland had his second straight rough outing after a strong start to the season. Drouillard did not take the loss as Brooklyn's Curly Jones (1-3, 5.65) was equally ineffective and squandered the lead when he imploded in the fifth inning and allowed all 7 Foresters runs. The Kings pulled out the win late thanks to a 4-for-4 day from Frank Vance (.317,5,20).

Earlier in the week Brooklyn swept a 3-game set with Toronto send the Wolves into a deeper funk with 7 losses in their past 10 games. The Wolves are now 3 back of Brooklyn, tied with the surging Chicago Cougars, winners of 11 of their last 14 and led by an incredible start from Milt Fritz (5-1, 1.83).

QUICK HITS

• The tone of a disappointing week for the Chiefs was set in the Boston series. In the opener of the 3 game set, a 13 inning loss, Boston scored 2 in the 9th to tie and then 1 in the 13th. Then after Moss hit 3 home runs in an 8-1 game 2 win, Boston scores three 9th inning runs to win game 3. On Saturday, the Keystones scored 4 unearned runs in the 2nd on the way to an 8-5 victory. Fortunately that was the first loss of the season that can be attributed directly to errors by the defense. But all in all, a week to quickly forget after a 2-4 showing.
• For the second time in less than a month a Chicago Chiefs player has enjoyed a 3 homerun game. This time it was Cliff Moss who doubled his season total with 3 longballs in an 8-1 win over Boston. All 3 came in the first five innings off of Minutemen starter Art Keeter. Three weeks ago Chicago catcher Tom Bird his 3 against Detroit. 3 Home run games in FABL have been accomplished just 20 times with only Tom Taylor and Lou Kelly managing to do it twice. Taylor's pair came just 4 days apart in 1928 and he is currently a teammate of Bird and Moss in Chicago. The only other time teammates have each enjoyed a 3 homer game in the same season was in 1935 when Bobby Barrell and Grover Lee of the Keystones each turned the trick.
• Vince York had received only 5 pinch hitting appearances this season (and he was 0 for 5), and so the Chiefs have released the veteran outfielder. Maybe he can hook up with an independent club. Taking York's roster spot will be 26-year-old 3B Bill Jones. Jones was leading Fort Wayne with a .388 average and 4 home runs. While the Chiefs say they are committed to allowing Bob Martin to work out of his funk, Martin is being removed from the lead-off spot and Jones will be getting some occasional starts at 3B.
• A roster decision is coming soon in Detroit. SP Stumpy Beaman was sent down more so we could look at waiver claim George Kyle. Beaman didn’t have a great outing at AAA Newark (5.40 ERA). Kyle threw a shaky 2 innings in a game giving up 4 hits and 3 walks continuing his wild trend. Thanks to an error his 2 runs given up were unearned. P Hank Spencer returned to the rotation in Beaman’s absence taking a loss against Washington 4-1. Despite Beaman’s less than stellar outing in Newark his demotion likely will not last more than 1 more week (if that) and was because we wanted to evaluate a few others and buy time for a veteran. Who will be out in Detroit and will it be more than one?
• Another big week for Fred McCormick. The Wolves star had a 5 hit game as part of a week that saw him hit .591 (13-for-22) with a pair of homeruns. It allowed McCormick (.411,4,18) to claim his first CA player of the week award. The long-time St Louis Pioneer had previously been named the player of the week in the Fed 8 times in his career. The Fed Award this week went to New York Gothams Harold Brown Jr. (.295,3,17).
• The Gotham's Ernesto Perez is 22 for 41 (.537) over the past two weeks and has now taken the top spot in the FA batting race (.388). At class AAA Toledo, Perez had an OPS+ of 75 in 1936 and an OPS+ of 107 in 1937.
• Detroit is moving P Art Brandon up to AAA Newark at the tender age of 21. Brandon who was the 2nd pitcher in a deal with Pittsburgh if I remember right for former Dynamo P Ray Calfee. He has risen up the ranks steadily and was 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA at AA Akron. Since Detroit brought Stumpy Beaman back after the George Kyle experiment was deemed a no go, it created the opening in Newark. The roster spot in Akron goes to veteran P Fred Hall (for now) who is back from injury. But prospect Bill Willman is knocking on Akron's door after pitching to a 2.15 ERA with Terre Haute. Lou Robertson is a little bit farther behind but will also be in Akron sooner rather than later as Detroit continues to look at moving up the youngsters.
• Bill Barrett or Bill Barnett? Fortunately both are not in the same draft class or the pair of high school hitters might confuse some scouts. Most wouldn't feel bad get either player. Barrett is a senior CF from Vineland (NJ) HS who led the nation in batting average and slugging percentage with a .563,10,31 season as his power numbers really shot up from his past two seasons of HS ball. Barrett is also ranked #1 in OSA's initial mock draft.
  
  Barnett, meanwhile, hails from Brunswick (OH) HS and power is not a concern for the sophomore 1B, who led the nation with 13 round-trippers this season which for him also was a big jump from last season when he hit just 3 as a freshman. Barnett batted .489 and was tied for second in batter WAR with, you guessed it, Barrett. The WAR leader was Jess Alvardo, an Italian immigrant at Brooklyn Catholic HS who hit .540 with 11 homers and a nation high 47 rbi's
• The top 32 will juggle before the draft but right now Rick York and James Slocum, a pair of high schoolers with former big league stars for fathers are each on the outside looking in as far as the lottery goes. Dick York's youngest son is just one spot out of the list at 33 so a candidate for first overall pick if he remains that way. James Slocum, adopted son of Powell Slocum, is 2 spots back of the young York. Under the new league agreement the top 32 players as indicated by the final OSA Mock Draft are paired thru a lottery with FABL clubs.

KEY-NOTES

• A 3-3 week with as many runs scored as allowed (37). The team is four games under .500 at 15-19 despite a +15 run differential. The Keystones kicked off a 12-game road trip by taking two of three in St. Louis, splitting in Chicago, and losing the opener of a three-game set in Detroit.
• Rankin Kellogg had a homerless week, but his three homers (139 AB) is a better pace than last year, when he did not hit a round-tripper until his 126th at-bat. Kellogg is hitting .309/.366/.475 and Sunday snapped a 10-game hitting streak, hitting .356 (16-for-45) over that span.
• Frank Crawford is quickly becoming a burr in the Philadelphia's saddle, as Detroit hung on to defeat the Keystones, 7-6, as Crawford ran his record to 6-1 (2-0 against his former team) after allowing six runs in 8-1/3 innings. In that game, Detroit went up 7-2, but the Keystones scored a pair in the 7th and 8th innings to draw close, but could not push the tying run across.
• The week ahead starts with the remaining two games of the series in the Motor City, a team Philadelphia is behind by 8 games in the Fed standings.

NOT EVERYTHING IS DOOM AND GLOOM IN NEW YORK

Courtesy of The New York World Telegram

First of all a 3-4 week is almost cause for a celebration up at the Oval. But it's the play of two of there young outfielders that is causing smiles in the team offices. Look at the top if the FA leaderboard. There's top 200 prospect, rookie LF Ernesto Perez leading the league with a .388 average, coming off a two week span where he's hit over .500. Perez has moved slowly through the Gothams system since being signed out of the Dominican League in 1930. Also raising hopes is CF Howard Brown Jr. Coming off a solid rookie season (.312-9-84) Brown is this weeks FA player of the week, going 12-24 with a homer and 6 RBI.

Finally in the minors a Gothams prospect again take the COW league player of the week. RF Cliff Perry hit .526-2-5 to take league honors. Perry was not on the team's top prospect list, but with several players advancing to A level last week he has taken the opportunity to shine.

BY THE NUMBERS

Some interesting observations courtesy of the Chicago Herald Examiner

• With 7 more hits, Al Wheeler will claim the 5th spot for career hits in RF. Interesting to note that Wheeler's current Brooklyn teammate Doug Lightbody is 7th on the list although Lightbody is restricted to pinch-hitting and the occasional start at first base:
  https://i.imgur.com/Cp3kD9h.jpg
• In left field longtime Chief Jim Hampton has been under-rated in his entire career.
  https://i.imgur.com/z0eqdF9.jpg
• At catcher the legend of T.R. Goins continues to grow as he will likely catch his 2,000th game this season - by far the most in FABL history. Goins, who began his career in Washington before moving to Cleveland in 1933, sits at 1,974 games. In 2nd place is 19th century catcher Daniel Gladney with 1,669.
  
  To put this into perspective let's compare it to that other baseball league. What makes that even more impressive is that only 6 guys in MLB history have over 2000 games caught - and they all played in the 70s or later (I'm not counting the 2 games Carlton Fisk played in 1969). His closest contemporary in real life would be Al Lopez who caught 1918 games between 1928 and 1947. He's in the Hall, but got there as a manager. I think it's safe to say Goins gets in to the FABL Hall of Fame as a player.

1938 DRAFT PREVIEW

HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICANS AND ADWELL AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

The fifth annual High School baseball All-American team has been revealed as the prep season comes to an end and focus for the high school seniors is on next months FABL draft. Headlining the All-American selections was pitcher Donnie Jones from Minneapolis High School in Minnesota. For Jones it was the third straight season the righthander has been selected to the all-star squad. Jones, who's older brother Johnnie was an honorable mention for the 1935 club prior to being selected 4th overall by the New York Stars in 1936, finishes his high school career as arguably the greatest prep pitcher of all-time.

The younger Jones was 9-0 with a 0.78 era and 152 strikeouts this season. Those numbers don't quite match up to his sophomore and junior seasons but still make him the winningest pitcher in high school baseball history with a 42-3 career mark over his 3 seasons for the Auggies. He did not lose a game since his freshman year and also graduates as the all-time strikeout king in high school ball with 677, snapping the record established just last year by Al Duster. Jones' 0.93 era for his career is third best all-time trailing just David Molina and Pete Papenfus.
It was a year dominated by New York area players as five New York City boys made the All-American team including Wally Fuller, a junior from Collegiate High School who has been named to the team each of his three seasons. The other New Yorkers were senior infielder Howard Rivers from Brandeis High, Sophomore Dick 'The Polish Hammer' Blaszak of Morris High and a pair of freshman in Washington High School pitcher Hiram Steinberg and Brooklyn Catholic outfielder Jesse Alvardo.

Steinberg is one of the leading candidates to claim the Adwell Award as the High School player of the year. Another good possibility is Bill Barrett, a senior outfielder from Vineland, New Jersey who led the nation in hitting and is ranked number one in the preliminary OSA mock draft.

The five nominees for the Adwell Award, named after former Alabama high school pitching legend and 10 year FABL veteran Red Adwell are as follows:
JESSE ALVARDO LF Freshman Brooklyn Catholic HS (New York City)
.540/.606/1.053 with 11 homers and 47 rbi's
led nation in RBI, 4th in HR, 7th in avg, 2nd in wOBA, first in WAR

BILL BARNETT 1B Sophomore Brunswick (OH) HS
.489/.610/1.120 with 13 homers and 37 rbi's
Led nation in HR, 2nd in slugging pct, 3rd in WAR and wOBA

BILL BARRETT CF Senior Vineland (NJ) HS
.563/.689/1.282 with 10 homers and 31 rbi's
led nation in all 3 slash categories and wOBA

DONNIE JONES RHP Senior Minneapolis (MN) HS
9-0, 152K, 0.78 ERA, 0.58 FIP, 6.7 WAR
Second in ERA, second in FIP, 3rd in K/9
3x All-American, All-time leader in career HS wins (42) and K's 677

HIRAM STEINBERG RHP Freshman Washington HS, New York City
12-0, 203k,0.65 ERA, 0.52 FIP, 9.3 WAR
led high school ranks in wins, K's, ERA, FIP and WAR


The winner will be announced next week. There are only 3 other players ever to win an Adwell Award (Walt Messer won it twice) and two of them are currently in the New York Gothams system. First baseman Walt Messer from Washington DC's McKinley Tech was the winner as a sophomore in 1934 and again as a senior two years later. Messer was selected 2nd overall by the Gothams in 1936 and now nearly 20 years old, he has just been promoted to Class A. In between, Messer's two winning seasons the award went to Macon (GA) High School pitcher Rufus Barrell II. The grandson of legendary scout Rufus Barrell, Deuce was selected first overall in 1935 by Baltimore and is presently in AA ball. Last year's winner was catcher Pete Casstevens, who's father Clint was a long-time FABL player. Pete, who attended High School in Syracuse, was not drafted but rather part of the special class last year that was granted limited free agency status and he chose to sign with the Detroit Dynamos but was traded to the Gothams over the winter.

COLLEGE ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS ANNOUNCED

There were no repeat selections to the AIAA College Baseball All-American first team but there were three players who had been named before. Sophomore outfielder Bill Greene of Brooklyn Catholic University is the only 1938 first teamer to be named to a previous squad as the native of Providence, Rhode Island was a second team selection a year ago. A pair of the players named to the second team had been first team choices in the past as Hempstead sophomore Danny Goff Jr. and Bluegrass State's Don Hersey made the second team this year. Goff Jr., the son of former Brooklyn Kings pitcher by the same name, was a first team selection in 1937 while Hersey, a junior from Bluegrass State, made the first team as a freshman in 1936.

Here are the 1938 ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS

CHRISTIAN TROPHY TO BE PRESENTED NEXT WEEK

Here are the previous winners of the Frank Christian Trophy, awarded to the top college baseball player. Two players, Bill Moore and Sal Pestilli have won a pair of them and there was a brother combination with Freddie Jones taking the award in 1930 and his little brother Al claiming it in 1935 after following Freddie to Central Ohio University.
The nominees for the 1938 Christian Trophy are:
TOMMY ANDERSON RHP : Chesapeake State freshman (9-5, 2.66)
BOB COON CF : St Magnus sophomore- (.345/.406/.560)
JIM DOUGLASS RHP: Eastern State junior (9-4, 2.82)
BILL GREENE CF : Brooklyn Catholic sophomore (.302/.401/.532)
BOB JENNINGS 2B : Edgemoor College sophomore - (.369/.410/.566)
BOB REGAN 1B: Pierpont University freshman - (.296/.372/.529)

• Fearing reprisal from the Nazis, the Czech government activates army reserve after admitting two farmers of the German minority population had been killed had been killed by Czech guards in an incident near the city of Eger (now known as Cheb).
• Paris vows to fight if Hitler crosses Czech border to avenge the deaths while other European nations are fearful that Hitler may act while France quarrels with Italy.
• The French government expressed surprise over a speech from Mussolini stating "it is not known whether Franco-Italian talks can reach a amicable conclusion, because they are on opposite sides of the barricades" in their respective positions on the war in Spain.
• Chinese forces launch a co-ordinated air and land raid on Japanese stronghold just outside Shanghai city boundaries.
• Millions in New York area watch parade of 144 army war planes down the Hudson River and over Long Island.
• The US Attorney General's office has asked a Federal grand jury to indict, under anti-trust laws, the nation's 3 largest automotive manufacturers. The charges for Ford, Chrysler and GM are with coercing dealerships into requiring auto purchases be financed by manufacturer-affiliated finance firms.
• The Supreme Court broadened the field of Federal taxation by allowing the taxation on athletic contests at State universities. The Federal government had issued an admission tax on tickets to intercollegiate football games at Georgia Baptist and Noble Jones Universities. (Note original story referred to Georgia and Georgia Tech but this is the Figment Universe)

This Week in Figment Baseball: May 30, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

May 30, 1938

STREAK HAS KINGS RULING CONTINENTAL

The Brooklyn Kings have suddenly opened a 5.5 game lead atop the Continental Association standings but that is something a 9 game winning streak will do for you. The Kings have won 12 of their last 13 and 14 of 16 while the rest of the CA has hovered around .500 at best during that period.

Much the same in the Federal Association as the amazingly consistent Detroit Dynamos just keep regularly taking two out of three games every series as they did recently against Pittsburgh, Washington and St Louis while also mixing in a 3 game sweep of slumping Philadelphia and a split of a pair against Boston. It is the veteran laden Chicago Chiefs that have seemingly hit a wall in the Fed as after taking two of three from Detroit (the Dynamos only series loss all season) Chicago has been in a 4-9 tailspin and now trail the Dynamos by 5 games.

It is still very early so the races are far from over but it is shocking, especially in the Fed to see anyone - let alone Detroit - have a 5 game lead before the calendar hits June. Going forward things will quite likely tighten up as injuries may play a role with some of the veterans in Brooklyn while in Detroit the feeling around the league is that while their offense is top notch, the Dynamos pitching staff is overachieving at the moment and will eventually come back down to earth.

An injury hit one of Detroit's youngsters this week as rookie SS Gil London (.274,1,12) goes down after diving on a ground ball and separating his shoulder. Looks like he will be out for 4 weeks. Veteran SS Erv Smith (.233,0,6) will slide into the starting role as the club will review who to bring up. In the meantime Dynamo fans are having a party at Thompson Field and watching the most exciting team in the league led by superstar outfielder Sal Pestilli (.317,12,30), emerging star Red Johnson (.264,5,13) and a pitching staff led by ex-Keystone Frank Crawford (7-1, 4.00), who hasn't looked this good since 1932.

AMATEUR HARDWARE HANDED OUT

It was a pair of tight races but the winners of the awards for top College and top High School ballplayer each go to centerfielders. There was some tough competition from a pair of pitchers but the winner of the Christian Trophy is St Magnus sophomore outfielder Bob Coon. Coon hit .345 with 11 homers and 68 rbi's on the year to edge out pitchers Jim Douglass of Eastern State and Chesapeake State's Tommy Anderson.

Coon is not eligible to be drafted until next season but was selected once before as the Philadelphia Keystones used a 14th round pick on him after his senior season at Montgomery City (MO) High School. Coon failed to sign with the club and decided to join St. Magnus instead. He hit .310 with 8 homers as a freshman for the Vikings before his big 1938 season, one that saw Coon finish second in the AIAA in batting average and tied for third in homers while leading the college ranks in rbi's. Preliminary OSA reports call him an elite hitter who should be a solid big leaguer.

The Christian Award is presented annually to the top college ballplayer and is named after longtime baseball manager Frank Christian.

The top high school player comes as little surprise as Vineland (NJ) High's Bill Barrett led all high school players in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage after a .563,10,31 senior season. The center fielder is deemed ready to step right into the big leagues today by none other than esteemed scout and OSA co-founder Rufus Barrell.

The veteran scouting guru feels "we could and in reality we absolutely should have our first HS direct to FABL man in the draft era with the top guy in this draft. Bill Barrett is 100% ready for FABL at age 18. Just like John Dibblee (who went straight to the Cougars at 17) and Powell Slocum who debuted at 18 (although he did play a little in the minors that first season), Barrett is ready for prime time as a teenager. And like Sal Pestilli a couple years back, this kid is by far the best player in the draft. His career will probably end up more like Max Morris than Dibblee or Slocum, but he's going to be an absolute stud."

Odds are 50/50 that Barrett will end up in New York as both the Stars and Gothams are counted among the four teams he will end up with. The other two in his lottery pod are Detroit and Baltimore. An announcement on his final choice will likely come in next week's issue.

Barrett topped a very talented freshman pitcher out of New York City by the name of Hiram Steinberg to win the Adwell Award. The 15 year old Steinberg was 12-0 with a nation best 0.65 era on the season. The award, first presented following the 1934 prep season, is named after Red Adwell. Adwell was the winningest pitcher in high school history under the old feeder league system, pitching for Birmingham High School from 1910 thru 1913 before going on to spend a decade in FABL with the Pittsburgh Miners, Chicago Chiefs and Philadelphia Keystones.

"KEY" NOTES

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquisitor

• Rock bottom for the Keystones, as they sunk like a stone to the floor of the Schuylkill River, falling to last in the Fed, 12-1/2 games out of first at the end of May. There are a lot of reasons for the 15-25 record, but before the 0-6 week they just experienced, they bobbed on the surface, within reach of a life preserver, staying close to .500 with a positive run differential.
• That is all gone now, as they went from +15 to -9 for the season in one week. What happened? Where do you start? The bats were silent, only responsible for 16 runs in 6 games. Aside from Marshall Strickland, who hit .412 with 3 HR and 4 RBI for the week, the rest of the team hit .246 (47-for-191) with no home runs. The arms were dreadful, especially on the starting staff. In all six games, each starter gave up at least five runs. The "best" showing was Jim Whiteley allowing five unearned runs in seven innings. Collectively, the starters allowed 40 runs (29 earned) in 36-1/3 innings for an ERA of 7.18.
• One of the happier developments is the maturation of 2B Marshall Strickland, who is now leading the team in batting with a .333 average, slugging .523, with an OPS of .944 and a wRC+ of 166. The 23-year-old has graduated methodically through A, AA, and AAA in the last three years, playing a key role on each of those teams with WAR of 4.0 or better each season.
  In times like these, a fan's attention should stray to the farm system. 2B Billy Woytek won the Dixie League Player of the Week Award for the week ending May 22nd (.480/.519/.640). Woytek has been among the top prospects in all of baseball and he is now hitting .412 with 21 RBI in AA

QUICK HITS

• Home cooking is not helping the Chicago Chiefs. The club is just 9-12 at Whitney Park this season compared to 13-5 on the road. Quite a change from the last two seasons when the Chiefs were 99-55 (.643) at home. Red Hampton was on the losing end of two blow outs last week: 11-1 to Washington and 10-3 to New York. Which is enough to cost him his rotation spot, at least temporarily.
• Watch out Miners were 11-16 when some Detroit reporter mentioned they were the biggest disappointment in the early season in the FA. They are 9-4 since and back to 500. Pittsburgh fans thank you Freddie Farhat, for waking up the Miners.
• Oh my! Gothams sweep Chiefs and slumping Keystones and win 5 straight and 7 of last 8. Keep in mind New York did have a mid-season surge last year as well, going 30-23 in June and July but finished out the season with a 13-46 stretch.
• Gothams rookie Ernesto Perez continues his amazing start. The 25 year old is leading the Fed with a .385 batting average and extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a fourth inning single off the Chiefs Red Hampton in New York's 10-3 thumping of the Chiefs to complete a weekend sweep. Perez has taken a long route to the majors as the Dominican native did not attend High School or college in the US but instead attended an open tryout in the Lone Star Association in 1929 and caught on with the Austin Violets. Austin released him after the season and he has been in the Gothams organization the past 8 years before finally making the big leagues after a solid spring in New York's camp.
• Rumors are mounting that Detroit RP Chuck Calvert might have pitched in his last game for the Dynamos despite his popularity which is what kept him around this spring. The soon to be 35 year old might be getting an unwanted birthday present (DFA).
• There seems to be no slowing down for Sal Pestilli. The young Detroit outfielder went 11-for-27 with a pair of homers this week to win the Federal Association Player of the Week award. That marks the third time the 22 year old second year player has claimed the honour. Ray Ford (.395,4,12) was the CA winner. The Chicago Cougars first baseman hit 3 homers this week after missing the first month of the season with an injury.
• Fred McCormick (.407,5,19) may be tearing up the Continental Association for the Toronto Wolves but the St Louis Pioneers have to be happy with his replacement. Zip Sullivan (.307,23,) had a 5-hit game last week and the 26 year old has fit very nicely into the Pioneers lineup. Of course having 23 year old Buddy Long (6-3, 4.35), who was part of the package St Louis received for McCormick also helps ease the loss. By the way, John Herrick of Toronto, who lost the chance to be the regular first baseman when the Wolves added McCormick, also had a 5-hit game last week. He only has 35 at bats this season but the 29 year old Herrick is batting .343 for the Wolves.
• Congrats to Dave Trowbridge who gave the fans at Dyckman Stadium a rare moment to cheer. The New York Stars first baseman recorded his 2,000th career hit with an 8th inning single off of Philadelphia's Merritt Thomas. The Stars, like they do most days lately, lost the game by a 2-1 score but Trowbridge became just the 62nd player in FABL history to reach the 2000 hit plateau. The 39 year old began his career in Pittsburgh but was traded to the Stars in 1928, for whom he has 1,798 hits. The only players to have more hits in a Stars uniform are:
  
  Code:

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  CAREER HITS AS A NEW YORK STAR
John Waggoner        3035        1897-1912  Hall of Famer
Bill Craigen        2416        1899-1912
Pete Layton        2016        1923-1936 active with Chiefs
Charlie Kinney  1959        1895-1908
Dave Trowbridge 1798        1928-present

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  Of that group, only Kinney played his entire career with the Stars. Layton, who was dealt to the Chicago Chiefs two years ago is closing in on 2500 hits for his career. His total including those with Chicago is now up to 2,351
• Several players should join Trowbridge in the 2,000 hit club over the course of the season including a pair of Brooklyn Kings. 30 year old Al Wheeler is just 24 hits shy of the mark while veteran Frank Vance recently recorded his 1,920th career hit. Vance is also within 2 homers of the 200 mark - a total only 14 players have reached including Lou Kelly of Pittsburgh, who should get his 2,000 hit soon as well. Kelly needs 32 more hits.
• The big talk around the league today is the draft lottery as teams lineup for a shot at the phenom Barrett. Like last year the players will be put in groups of four and then permitted to choose between themselves who goes where. Barrett, who is in a group with #2 ranked prospect Howard Rivers, a high school second baseman from New York City who's older cousin plays in the Brooklyn Kings system, and a pair of first baseman in Mississippi Tech's Red Evans and Port Jervis (NY) High's Frank Bunch Jr., who's father played briefly for the New York Gothams in the 1920s.
• We do know that Barrett will go to one of these four teams: The Gothams, Detroit, Baltimore or the New York Stars.
• Speaking of the Gothams there is word they plan on regularly playing night games once construction on their new stadium is completed for next season. We can just picture it now....

• Hitler is massing troops at a weak gap in the hills along Czechoslovakia's southern frontier as peace talks break off.
• Texas representative Martin Dies told a startled House today he has information that at a Nazi camp in the States a speech was made advocating the assassination of President Roosevelt.
• Japan steps up air attacks on China, killing 1100 in Canton, a teeming metropolis of Southern China.
• The entire US Naval fleet will be moved from the Pacific to the Atlantic next year for maneuvers and to visit the World's Fair.
• More than 100 persons injured and Militia is called to Akron, Ohio after striking workers riot at the Goodyear Plant.
• US Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes, 64, surprises many by marrying the 25 year old sister of his son's widow.

This Week in Figment Baseball: June 5, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

JUNE 6, 1938

BARRETT WILL BE A FUTURE 'STAR'

It is official. High school phenom Bill Barrett will sign with the New York Stars. The announcement, along with that of 31 other top prospects, was made this week as the next wave of future FABL players began filtering out to teams. It was the 18 year old Barrett, who was the National High School player of the year, that drew the biggest attention and with good reason. Many, including scouting guru Rufus Barrell, feel that Barrett can step directly from the high school ballyard to the bright lights of Dyckman Stadium and has been compared to Max Morris. The Stars have yet to confirm what level Barrett will be asked to report to when he officially joins the club later this month.

It was also a win for the Baltimore Cannons as they landed the second ranked player available in New York City high school second baseman Howard Rivers, who was a two time All-American selection. Baltimore, along with Detroit and the New York Gothams were the other two clubs in the running for Barrett and while the Cannons got a decent consolation prize in the 17 year old Rivers both the Dynamos and Gothams were disappointed with what they ended up with. Each will get a first baseman but it was not a position of need for either club. New York adds a local product in Port Jervis High Schooler Frank Bunch Jr., who's dad played 169 games for the Gothams in the early 1920s. Detroit ends up with Mississippi Tech 21 year old Red Evans but he will at best be the second most talented first baseman named Red in Detroit as the Dynamos already have young Red Johnson manning the position very nicely at Thompson Field.
Perhaps it is fitting that both Detroit and the Gothams missed out on the top guys this time around as the new lottery system was exceptionally kind to both a year ago allowing Detroit to nab catcher Pete Casstevens (later traded to the Gothams) while New York ended up with highly touted infielder Roosevelt Brown.

Other key announcements include high school pitching phenom Donnie Jones joining the Toronto Wolves. Jones was a 3-time Prep All-American at Minneapolis High Scholl and is the all-time leader in career wins and strikeouts by a high school pitcher. Jones' brother Johnnie is a former first round pick of the New York Stars. Pat Weakley is another highly touted high school arm and while he lacks the experience of Jones with just the one season of ball under his belt, the 17 year old from Lexington, Massachusetts has a bright upside that his new club - the Montreal Saints - hope will be realized. Weakley joined Jones on the All-American team this season.

KINGS CONTINUE TO SET CONTINENTAL PACE

A recent 13 game winning streak has allowed the Brooklyn Kings to open up a 7 game lead atop the Continental Association as they bid for their third straight pennant. The Kings have been red hot of late posting a 21-9 May record and entering last Friday's game in Cleveland had won 18 of 20. Brooklyn cooled off over the weekend losing two of three games including that Friday night contest on the shores of Lake Erie before moving on to Philadelphia and splitting a pair with the Sailors Saturday and yesterday.

The Chicago Cougars have overcome a rough start to the season that saw them drop 10 of their first 15 games before picking things up substantially in early May including sweeping a two game set in Brooklyn. However, the Kings got their revenge a week later by earning a road sweep of their own with 3 wins in North Side Park. That was a rough week for Chicago which also included a series opening loss to Philadelphia but since then the Chicago side has won 7 of 9 games and will get another crack at Brooklyn next weekend.

The hottest team in the Federal Association right now is the Pittsburgh Miners who have won 14 of their last 19 games and are slowly creeping back into contention after getting off to an 11-18 start to the season. The Miners took two of three from the front-running Detroit Dynamos last week in what was just the second series loss all season for George Theobald's boys.

it was a tough week against some good opponents for Detroit and while they only dropped a half game off their lead (which now sits at 5 games over second place Chicago) perhaps the cracks are starting to show. After absorbing a tough 2-1 extra inning loss in St Louis on Sunday which allowed the Pioneers to avoid being swept, Detroit returned home for a twin bill with the Chiefs on Monday. The two clubs split a pair of one run games with Elmer Nolde's (.304,5,21) walk-off homer off Jim Lonardo salvaging the night cap for Detroit. Next up was a trip to Pittsburgh for three with the defending Federal Association champs. They split the first two contests before Miners bats clubbed Detroit starter Stubby Beaman (4-4, 3.96) on getaway day. Detroit finished the weekend in Washington with a 10-6 drubbing of the Eagles on Saturday but then was embarrassed 18-4 Sunday when Dynamos starter Ron Coles (4-4, 5.12) imploded by walking 11 batters in less than 6 innings of work.

The 28 year old Coles is becoming a big concern in Detroit. Acquired from Chicago in the deal that sent Hank Barnett to the Windy City, the Dynamos had hoped they would be getting a solid middle of the rotation arm but Coles has been very inconsistent and at times looked like he had no idea where the ball was going. Yesterday was the second time this season the 28 year old issued double-digit walks in a game. The other pitcher Detroit received in the Barnett deal has also been a huge disappointment. Bob Walls was struggling in the spring and now doing the same at AAA Newark with a 7.71 ERA and has been moved out of the Aces rotation. Detroit still has a decent lead but there are plenty of concerns about the pitching staff's ability to continue to perform at the level required to still be in the race in September.

QUICK HITS

• Pete Layton(.417,6,26) of the Chicago Chiefs was named the Fed's player of the week for the second time this season. Layton's week would have been great if he only played Friday as he had 6 hits in a 10-9 14-inning slugfest with Washington. He was certainly not down there as the 38 year old sandwiched the 6-hit effort between a pair of 3-hit games and finished 20-for-32 on the week. No records exist but you have to think a 20-hit week ranks right up there with the greatest 7-day performances of all-time.
• It was a huge deal when Washington's Mel Carrol hit .409 last year and Carrol is off to another strong start with a .396 average so far this season but it will be downright amazing if Pete Layton can hit .400 at his age. Obviously Layton still has an awful long way to go but as the season approaches the one-third completed point he is batting .417.
• The arrival of Fred McCormick (.396,6,27) in Toronto must have rubbed off on 3B Nick Wallace (.412,1,31). Wallace went 16-for-25 this week to win the CA top player award. He leads the CA in batting in what is starting to look like a career year for the 30 year old. Wallace did hit .321 in 1936 but seems to have found a new gear this season.
• Yet another injury for George Gillard of the Washington Eagles. The 27 year old righthander blew out his arm and is done for the year in the latest in what has been a string of injuries to derail the career of the 1932 fifth overall draft pick. Highly touted out of Henry Hudson University and a top ten prospect at one point, injuries have limited him to just 10 big league appearances in his career and a 3-1 record.
• The Boston Minutemen organization is reeling with word that ace Dick Higgins (5-2, 3.96) will miss at least two months with more elbow troubles. Another great college arm, Higgins was selected 2nd overall in 1933 out of Dickson College and had an outstanding debut in 1935 with Boston, posting a 15-15 record and leading the Fed in K's. He wrecked his elbow midway through the 1936 season and missed a full calendar year before returning midway through last season and pitching like he did as a rookie. However, this second setback certainly raises some red flags in Boston and is disheartening for the club that recently added 22 year old John Edwards from Baltimore to fill out what would have been a pretty solid rotation. Edwards, by the way, is coming off his best outing in a Boston uniform as he threw a 1-0 5-hit complete game against Philadelphia for his shutout with the club.
• No surprise here for Miners fans. Mahlon Strong (.348,4,26) is hurt again. The immensely talented but all too often injured 29 year old is out at least 6 weeks after hurting his knee running the bases. Injuries limited Strong to just 29 games last season.

• Japan's air forces struck heavily at two centers vital to Chinese resistance: Hankow, the provisional capital and Canton, a southern city and key gateway for war supplies from abroad. The death toll in Canton alone after 4 days of raids is said to exceed 6000.
• An insurgent air raid near Barcelona killed nearly 500 civilians
• The US condemns the civilian deaths in China and Spain while in Britain the official opposition party demands that Prime Minister Chamberlain does something besides having England "hold up it's hands in horror."
• Two Germans were wounded when a Czech non-commissioned officer fired two pistol shots during a quarrel in a restaurant at Eger, the same location two members of the German minority were killed 10 days ago.
• Prof. Sigmund Freud, 82 year old "Father of Psychoanalysis" left Vienna for New York, telling friends he had been planning to leave ever since Germany absorbed Austria March 13th.

This Week in Figment Baseball: June 12, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

JUNE 12, 1938

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLVES

The Toronto Wolves ballclub has really not be relevant since 1927 when they finished in 3rd place but just 1 game back of Brooklyn in what was an incredibly tight Continental Association race. Since then the words Toronto Wolves and Pennant Race have been mutually exclusive as the closest the Wolves have finished to first place is the 19.5 games out they were a year ago so to say their fans - what is left of them anyway as attendance has stagnated over the years - are hungry for a contender is a vast understatement. But that may be changing this year as Toronto, winners of 11 of their last 14 games, are suddenly in second place just 5 and a half games back of the front-running Brooklyn Kings after shocking the defending champs with a series sweep last week.
Toronto got off to a solid start in April, winning 8 of their first 12 games as newest Wolves star Fred McCormick quickly made his presence felt. However, May was a different story as they finished under .500 for the month thanks to a 4-9 stretch that included getting beat up in 3 games at Brooklyn. Things turned around two weeks ago when Toronto took both ends of a twin bill in Philadelphia on the 30th and have been playing outstanding ball ever since. The highlight, and what got them right back into the pennant talk mix, came in the middle of last week when they shut down Brooklyn - a team that had been just as hot as Toronto of late - with 3 straight victories at Dominion Stadium.

Toronto pitching was the key as Chuck Cole (3-6, 4.38), a 21 game winner just two seasons ago, snapped a personal 7 game losing streak with his best outing of the season in outdueling Art White (1-1, 2.33) and the Kings 2-1. The veteran McCormick (.392,6,32) delivered the offense with a 2-run single in the 7th inning to put the Wolves on top. The next day it was Joe Hancock's (12-1, 2.89) turn and the 25 year old had plenty of run support in beating Brooklyn ace Tom Barrell 7-3. Toronto completed the sweep with a big outing from Bernie Johnson (2-1, 2.78) as the 28 year old tossed his third complete game in just 4 starts this season and carried the Wolves to a 3-2 victory. Toronto finished off the week by taking two of three from Canadian rivals Montreal to try and keep the heat on the Kings. Glad to get out of Canada, Brooklyn went to Chicago and swept the Cougars over the weekend and despite being victimized in Toronto, the Kings have still won 23 of their last 30 games. Brooklyn and Toronto will hook up again at Kings County Ballpark in just under two weeks time and one can be assured the Kings, like the rest of the Continental Association, will be taking the Wolves very seriously.

QUICK HITS

• It's safe to say that Chicago Chiefs ace Rabbit Day (9-3, 3.09) is putting his early season control issues behind him.
  
  https://i.imgur.com/eE3mx0A.jpg
  Chicago received some better pitching last week, and Hank Barnett (.316,12,45) followed up Pete Layton's (.409,6,26) Player of the Week with one of his own. And the Chiefs looked more like the Chiefs, at least for one week.
• Interesting note just added from Detroit on the Dynamos recent game against the Philadelphia Keystones. The two sides hooked up in a 15 inning game in which the Dynamo's prevailed. The interesting point is that Detroit's Ed Stewart (.287,15,45), Red Johnson (.284,6,19) and Sal Pestilli (.296,14,41) went back to back to back with 3 straight home runs in the top of the 15th which was the difference in the contest, a 6-3 Detroit victory.
  That's not a big surprise the way the Dynamos sluggers have been acting this season. Stewart, who hit 23 a year ago, is leading the big leagues in homers this season with 15 already - one more than teammate Pestilli. Detroit has hit a FABL leading 54 homers through their first 55 games. The only other team in either association with more than 33 is the Chicago Chiefs, who have 45 lead by Hank Barnett's dozen.
• Unless he catches on with a team in the Lone Star Association it appears the baseball career of Tom Blalock is over. One of the biggest non-injury related pitching busts in recent memory, Blalock looked like a future ace after tying with Tom Barrell for second team All-American behind Tommy Wilcox in 1928 when he went 9-0, 1.37 for Chicago Poly. He finished his three seasons with the Panthers with a 25-6 record and was selected fourth overall by St Louis in 1927 but he would never make the big leagues, topping out with 14 appearances in AAA in 1935. He had been in the Brooklyn Kings system since '35 but has been unimpressive in AA or A the past couple of seasons so was cut loose to make room for incoming draftees.
• Expect a rash of cuts over the next couple of weeks as many organizations clear out some dead wood from their low minors to make room for the incoming draft class.

JAPANESE LEAGUE UPDATE

Over in Japan, Osaka has been really good, scoring the most runs of any JBA team, while allowing the 2nd least of anyone in the league and as a result the Sailors have built a 4-game lead on second place Yokohama. In terms of hitting, the standout player for Osaka is the otherwise unremarkable Kosuke Niwa, who has hit an astonishing .361/.438/.518 in 23 games, which gives him the highest .AVG, .OBP, and .SLG of anyone in the league. Now before you get thinking those numbers could have him excel in the States, keep in mind he is facing vastly inferior pitching from his Japanese countrymen. That is not meant to take away from anything Niwa has accomplished but it must be taken within the context of the competition he is facing.

In terms of pitching, while there are no superstars so great as Niwa-san on the Osaka roster, Masanori Onodera and prospect Fujio Tanaka have been a consistent rock to back up the offence, with the former having dominated with his new innovation: The Yakker; gripped like an off-center two-seamer, the Yakker's lateral movement causes a most peculiar illusion, as it appears almost identical to a fastball, and has fooled many experienced hitters. Though other pitchers have copy-catted the Yakker, Onodera's shall remembered as the first and greatest of all Yakker pitchers, as he's posted a 1.70 ERA with it as one of his primary pitches.
Ivan Rustoff, the only foreign born player in the league is off to a great start with Osaka. The 21 year old catcher who was born in Vladivostok, Russia but his family fled to Japan while he was still a small child, is batting just .247 but thanks to a league leading 25 free passes has a solid .426 on-base percentage, second only to teammate Niwa in the entire league.

Like FABL, Japan also has a rookie draft fast approaching and the top prospect is said to be a 21 year old shortstop by the name of Tetsi Kusunoki.

• German press blasting the Czechs on alleged suppression and mistreatment of the Sudeten German minority sounds eerily similar to newspaper outbursts during the annexation of Austria. The paper referred to Hitler repeatedly voicing determination to protect all Germans along his borders.
• Rebel planes bomb more British and French merchant ships delivering supplies to Spain
• Death toll in Canton, China now at 8,000. Japanese vow to continue bombings until Chinese surrender
• Among the targets hit by Japanese bombs was the American endowed Lingnan University which sparked a harsh US government protest to Tokyo.
• US Secretary of State Hull undertook steps to halt the sale of American-made bombing planes to Japan.
• US Senate and House said to be near agreement on wage bill that will require a 40 cent per hour minimum pay rate for all interstate industry be phased in over the next seven years with 25 cents per hour set is the minimum in the first year.

This Week in Figment Baseball: June 19, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

JUNE 19, 1938

PERFECT

That word sums up the past seven days for the Detroit Dynamos as their incredible resurgence continues with a 6-0 week that extended their lead on second place Chicago to six games atop the Federal Association standings. "Perfect" could just as easily be used to describe the job the Detroit front office and legendary manager George Theobald have done with the club that had gone 161-301 (.348) over the previous three seasons. This year the Dynamos have been very good and very consistent. Doesn't matter where they are playing, whether the opposing pitcher is a righty or lefthanded or what month it is, Detroit has been extremely successful regardless of the circumstances:
After over a decade in the front office, as a minority owner and special advisor to Dynamos owner Eddie Thompson, George Theobald returned to the manager's seat this season following Max Morris' decision that he preferred the political arena to a sporting one. Theobald made an immediate impact on the Dynamos bench and now, just 2 years after Ossie Julious had passed him, the man they call 'Toothpick' is once again the winningest manager in FABL history. Theobald reclaimed the lead from the now retired Julious on Saturday as the Dynamos rallied to beat Pittsburgh 9-8 in extra innings giving the 75 year old Theobald his 2,277th career victory as a manager - one more than the total Julious accumulated in his 32 seasos.

While you certainly cannot discount the presence of Theobald as a steadying force in the clubhouse the real credit for Detroit's success must go to it's front office team led by General Manager D.D. Martin. A rival general manager remarked recently that it "looks like every trade (Detroit) made has turned into gold." Retooling the offense with infielders Ed Stewart (.277,16,48) and Frank LeMieux (.316,1,35) and coaxing what is looking like a career best season out of 30 year old Frank Crawford (10-2, 3.30) while also recognizing the potential 23 year old Charlie Wheeler (7-1, 2.45) had despite witnessing him in some rough outings as a rookie with the New York Gothams last season are all key winter moves that have reshaped and suddenly made relevant a team that just 3 years ago lost 111 ballgames.

The building blocks for Thompson's team were laid a couple seasons ago with the drafting first overall of Sal Pestilli (.292,16,44) as well as Red Johnson (.294,6,22) at number two the previous year. Those might seem like no-brainer draft choices but remember the Dynamos rebuild started well before this season as they also added Elmer Nolde (.301,6,28) from Brooklyn as well as Leon Drake (.307,6,31) and Roger Perry (6-3, 4.44) from Cleveland over the past couple of years. The Foresters, by the way, are another team the Detroit GM worked his magic on as he built them from an 8th place team in 1931 to a World Champion 3 years later. Can he repeat that outcome in the exact same time frame with another team on the shores of Lake Erie? Only time will tell but Martin, Theobald and the Dynamos appear to be heading in that direction.

It was a tough week for the Continental Association leading Brooklyn Kings. Not so much on the scoreboard where the Kings went 4-2 including taking 3 of 4 from the struggling Cleveland Foresters but rather in the injury department. The big blow was the loss of 32 year old outfielder Frank Lightbody (.299,1,29) when he blew out his knee in a play at the plate against the Chicago Cougars on Saturday. Lightbody is expected to miss the rest of the season but the only consolation for Brooklyn is if there was one position they could withstand an injury it was in the outfield. Alf Pestilli (.264,5,17) and Joe Perret (.243,1,10) will platoon at that spot at least for now. Perret, after a great season last year and a strong showing in the World Championship Series victory over Pittsburgh, had been expected to be the everyday first baseman following Dan Barrell's retirement. However, he has struggled at the plate and lost that job to veteran Doug Lightbody (.303,0,14) who is transitioning nicely from the outfield to first.

The other injury loss for the Kings came in the minors as second baseman Jim Lightbody, cousin of Frank and Doug, also suffered a leg injury last week and may miss the rest of the season. The 21 year infielder who the Kings consider their top prospect, had recently been promoted from AA where he was hitting .327 with 3 homers in 31 games. Coincidentally, Jim's injury occurred on the same day as Frank's, and was in the same inning (4th) and also while running the bases.

NO-HITTER FOR SAILORS STAFF

No-hitter have been exceptionally rare the past decade in FABL with only 5 of them thrown since 1927. The Philadelphia Sailors had two of those five with both coming courtesy of Doc Newell including a perfect game against Brooklyn in 1935. The Sailors picked up another no-hitter last week but this one was the very rare combined no-hitter. How rare? We will never know because OOTP does not track combined no-hitters but I can't recall seeing one since FABL began it's human GM era with the 1926 season.

It wasn't Doc Newell this time but rather William Jones making a triumphant return from an elbow injury that sidelined him for 6 weeks. Newell went 7 and two-thirds while allowing just 1 walk before having to leave the game with the Sailors up 6-0 and his arm feeling a little stiff. 30 year old George Leonard, he of a 14-12 career record, retired the final four batters to help make history.

DRAFT RECAP
HOW DID THE ALL-AMERICANS FARE IN THE DRAFT

While underclassmen dominated both the High School and College All-American team (only 14 of the 36 between the two teams were draft eligible) a good number of All-Americans did hear their name called early in the draft. Here is a look at where each All-American was selected:

DRAFT NOTES

While the drafted players will not officially be able to negotiate contracts until next week here are some early notes on the draft courtesy of a pair of local papers in FABL cities:

BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE

The Brooklyn Kings are said to be very happy the way the draft panned out for their club. Two organizational positions of need were third base and catcher and both were filled by lottery signings as former College of Waco 3B Ernie Hanks and Central Kentucky University catcher Joe Robins joined the club. Each was an All-American this past season with Hanks making the first team and Robins getting the nod on the second squad. While Brooklyn went into the lottery phase with it's hopes pinned on landing high school backstop Solly Skidmore, who went to the Chicago Cougars, they are more than happy with Robins as their consolation prize. Through a trade with Detroit the Kings had 3 lottery selections with the group rounded out by another college player in Coastal California outfielder Lou Clark. A good contact guy and solid defender but there is concern whether Clark will have the power to play a corner outfield position.

In the third round the Kings were delighted to get 19 year old outfielder Bobby Boone out of high school in Boston. Scouting Director John Spears had Boone ranked as the 9th best position player in the draft (including the lottery guys) and while the club has an abundance of outfield talent it was felt Boone was just too good a prospect to bypass.

The outfield parade continued as Brooklyn also drafted the step-son of manager Powell Slocum. James Slocum, a high school outfielder from Brooklyn's Xaverian High, was acquired with the third pick of the fourth round after the Kings made a move to add the selection. Brooklyn had to send one of their best pitching prospects in 22 year old Jimmy Gibbs to Toronto for the pick. Slocum is the adopted son of the Kings Hall of Fame skipper and the nephew of the Barrell brothers. Brooklyn also grabbed another link to the newly created Hall of Fame with their own fourth rounder which they used on pitcher Lyn Trease from high school in San Francisco. Trease's dad was a Hall of Famer and his grandfather a long-time catcher and manager.

DETROIT WORLD

Unlike the last few seasons when the Detroit Dynamos added some execpetional prospects in the draft like Sal Pestilli, Red Johnson and Pete Casstevens, the 1938 edition of the draft was a bitter disappointment. Detroit had it's hopes set on landing either Bill Barrett, the high school player of the year, or second base prospect Howard Rivers in the lottery portion of the draft but things did not work out well for the Dynamos this time around as they were forced to settle for Red Evans and Jim Brown as their two lottery pickups. Without a third round pick the Dynamos were also unable to land the young catching prospect they desperately need after the dealing of Casstevens to the New York Gothams. York, who's father Dick was a legendary Dynamos catcher and now manages the club's Class A affiliate in Terre Haute, ended up going to the Baltimore Cannons with the second pick of the third round. Detroit did select a catcher in the fourth round with the drafting of Mike Logan, a hometown boy from Detroit's Catholic Central High School.

As for the two lottery selections Evans is a college first baseman who hit .290 with 9 homers at Mississippi Tech but will almost certainly never challenge Red Johnson for the first base spot in Detroit while Brown is also a college player. The 21 year old shortstop hit .279 over 3 seasons with Northern Mississippi University. Brown hails from Kansas City while Evans is an Arkansas native.

QUICK HITS

• Who has scored the most runs in the FABL this season so far? The Detroit Dynamos, no. The Brooklyn Kings, no. How about the Chicago Chiefs, wrong again. The answer is the Washington Eagles with 336 runs scored are #1. So why are the Eagles stuck tied for 6th place in the Fed with a 25-36 record? The FABL’s worst statistical pitching staff would be the answer. None are worst than former top of the rotation arms Bill Anderson (3-6) and Eddie Quinn (1-8) who are a combined 4-15 with a 6.40 ERA. Word has it that Manager Mel Hancock and Pitching Coach Charlie Hartstein are on thin ice.
• Malcontent 2B Henry Clayton is probably on his way out of Pittsburgh. He's still just 26 and has been in the FABL since '33 and has put up 6.5 WAR in 400+ games. He's slick with the glove and can hit lefties pretty well but the Miners brass feels they have too many solid looking middle infield prospects and Clayton has voiced displeasure that he's a backup infielder in St. Paul.
• 39 year old Charlie Barry (.258,2,30) may be in his last season with Cleveland. He has been quickly falling down the 3B rankings and currents sits at 14th in the league. The problem for the Foresters is Barry's backup, 23 year old Hank Stratton (.094,0,0) needs to figure out how to hit the ball quickly or else he'll be sent down in favor of 27 year old Don Hallam killing it in AAA. Hallam, who's big league resume strictly consists of 9 games for the 1934 Montreal Saints, is certainly looking like he deserves a shot in Cleveland. He is batting .310 with a Union League leading 12 homers and 46 rbi's in 43 games for Cincinnati.
• While many of the Foresters are struggling right now you certainly can't say the same for Dean Astle. The 28 year old 3-time all-star has tossed three straight complete game victories including a 2-0 shutout of Brooklyn early last week. The streak gets Astle (7-6, 2.92) back over .500. He is 87-59 over his 6 seasons with the Foresters and has never had a losing record.
• The Dynamos slogged through the prior 2 weeks going 7-7 but roared back to life with a 6-0 home stand this week. Three 1-run wins propelled the Dynamos this week. It was a bounce back week for SP Ron Coles who had been put in the bullpen for a week after he gave up 11 walks in a game. Coles only gave up 2 hits but walked 6 in his last outing but managed things well enough to only yield 2 runs in 7.1 innings of work. Also bouncing back was SP Roger Perry who struggled in his last 2 games giving up 14 runs in 8.2 IP. Perry was effective against the Miners in going 7.2 innings with 4 hits and 2 runs to pick up the win.
• The Montreal Saints are said to be considering moving George Thomas (5-7, 4.35). The 28 year old was very good over a three year stretch from 1934-36 but struggled through a 12-18 campaign a year ago and while he has been improved this season he does not quite seem to be back to that form he showed in earlier years. However, the main reason Montreal might consider dealing Thomas, who has been with the organization since being drafted 7th overall in 1928, is because the organization has a budding numbers problem on the mound with some very good young talent on the way up. Heading the list is 19 year old Wally Doyle (9-2,2.31 at AA) who looks ready for the next level after yet another complete game win. That's 5 in a row with great K to BB numbers for the 8th pick of the 1936 draft. Likewise Jimmy Mayse, who was taken in the first round a year later the Doyle out of East Missouri Seminary, has been equally as impressive at AA. The 21 year old has similar CG numbers and a 1.84 ERA over 49 IP (walk numbers still concerning), Then there is Jackie Norfolk, who most have likely not heard of and with good reason. Norfolk was a 23rd round pick in 1932 and after moving up from A is having a career year. There are some quality young bats at AA Nashville as well. 1935 first round pick Biff Henson is slashing a .325/.391/.450 over 120 ABs after doing as well at each prior level and holding down a 6.9 ZR at SS. No wonder the Chieftans are running away with the Dixie League this season. The Saints are going to move each of them soon one would expect. The question is do they to to AAA Minneapolis or perhaps should they be getting their passports in order for a trip north of the border?
• Cause for more optimism in Toronto beyond the Wolves strong start to the season as highly touted pitching prospect George Garrison made the jump to AAA Buffalo with two impressive starts. However, rookie Jim Morrison continues to struggle in Toronto. Management is now debating options.
• Every time St Louis Pioneers fans look at the CA batting race they have to feel a bit of sadness seeing long-time Pioneer Fred McCormick (.391,6,37) right there at the top but they immediately feel much better just by glancing at the St Louis rotation and the addition of rookie Buddy Long (10-3, 3.90). The 23 year old lefthander came over from Toronto in a package of players for McCormick and has been nothing short of outstanding. Long has had a number of great outings this season but perhaps none better than the 1-0 5-hit shutout victory he spun last week in a win over Philadelphia. Long seems to be a lock to make the all-star team although it might be hard pressed for him to earn the start in that contest for the Feds with Pittsburgh's Lefty Allen (10-6, 3.31), Frank Crawford (10-2, 3.30) of Detroit and of course Chiefs ace Rabbit Day (10-3, 3.14) also in the mix.
• Dave Haight wins FA Player of the Week, hitting .545 over the past 7 days for the Gothams. If it seems Haight came out of nowhere, it's because he made the jump to the majors after only 47 games of AA in 1937. Haight was originally a 13th round selection by the Chicago Cougars and was traded to the Gothams this past offseason as part of the Johnny McDowell deal. Haight is known for his speed and ability to make contact. He's hitting .323/.367/.510 for the season.
• New York also lays claim to the CA player of the week as Stars outfielder Hank Jones claims the honours. The 30 year old wins it for the second time this season but just the third time in his 8 year career. On the season Jones is batting .345 with 3 homers and 42 rbi's.
• Despite his 20 game hitting streak coming to an end this week Jack Cleaves (.364,2,30) is certainly having no issues adjusting to Federal Association pitching. After 11 seasons with the CA's Philadelphia Sailors, the 31 year old infielder was moved to Pittsburgh where he was reunited with his younger brother George, the Miners catcher. Not only has the elder brother adjusted to a new league but he has also spent a fair bit of time learning a new position as the Miners use Cleaves at third base after he played almost exclusively as a second baseman prior to this year.
• The Boston Minutemen will be without the services of pitcher Jim Taylor (2-6, 5.60) for a few days. He has left the club to attend to a personal matter but no other details have been made available. The 28 year old Canadian is 29-32 over his 3 plus seasons with the club.
• The injuries in Brooklyn mean there are some openings at AAA and one of the players to fill them will be much maligned OF Dan Rogers. Little has been said of late of the former first round pick who plunged in the OSA rankings shortly after being drafted in 1934 but he is back up into the mid 200s after dropping from 51 to barely cracking the top 500. Now 22, Rogers was hitting .324 with 4 homers at AA Knoxville and earned his first crack at AAA pitching.

• A merciless official campaign against Jews, reinforced by mob action, was extended to all of Germany by secret police orders. Foreign consulates overwhelmed by men and women trying despairingly to get permission to go to other countries.
• British Prime Minister Chamberlain told the House of Commons that Britain plans no retaliatory action following bombings on British shipping in the Mediterranean but is trying to work out a safety zone to end the attacks.
• A French merchant ship was the latest to be destroyed by insurgent air raids near Valencia. Meanwhile thousand of refugees, made homeless by the bombings have taken shelter in Valencia's bull ring and theatres
• Japanese military authorities believe as many as 150,000 Chinese civilians have drowned by flood waters of the Yellow River and 3,000 Japanese troops are confirmed dead after dikes of the river had been broken badly.
• In a rush to adjourn, US lawmakers scrap plans to enact legislation to aid the struggling railroad industry for this session of Congress.

This Week in Figment Baseball: June 25, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

JUNE 26, 1938

BIG CHANGES COMING IN NEXT FABL DRAFT

After a two year experiment with giving the top 32 draft prospects a choice, although somewhat limited, in where they would like to begin their professional careers the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues has decided once again to revamp how it's amateur player draft will progress. The original change was implemented as a potential solution to the OOTP mock draft which it is felt 'gives away' too much information in a stats only environment such as FABL exists. However, there was concern from big league GM's that the modified system took away their opportunity to build an identity for their respective organizations as they lost control of who they could select in the opening two rounds. After two years that system has now been scrapped and a new plan which calls for the draft to be split into 2 sections has been unveiled by FABL administrators.

Here is the text of the official league release outlining the sweeping changes:

Below is a breakdown of the draft changes that will be implemented at the end of this season.
Reaction among the team's was generally quite positive about both the introduction of a 2 round draft in January as well as the regional round three phase that will also be held just after the New Year. The expectation is 4th round picks may become very valuable as there are bound to be several surprise newcomers or breakout players that suddenly rise to prominence in their draft season and would be the prize picks of round four.

In addition a new system was also introduced that has made it possible for a General Manager to lose his job if his club underperforms for an extended period. The series of events that would trigger such action seem like they would make it a rare instance but it certainly forces every team in the league to focus on being a successful franchise and avoid prolonged seasons where the focus is more on securing draft talent than putting a winner on the big league field.

The commissioner's office released a statement saying "there were three instances in the now 14 season history of Figment where a GM would have been fired under this system and with this system in place I suspect we may have had none, or maybe one because the GM would know he was on the verge and take measures to be competitive. That's the goal: push GMs to be more proactive about getting better because it's been too easy to just accept that your team is bad, keep good prospects in the minors and take that high pick year after year."

HANCOCK ON THE WAY OUT AS EAGLES PITCHING WOES INTENSIFY

The writing seems to be on the wall in Washington as the Eagles pitching staff continues to cause fits for, and likely will cost the job of manager Mel Hancock. Washington papers are rife with rumours that after dropping 12 of their last 13 games Hancock will be relieved of his duties and there is a good chance pitching coach Charlie Hartstein could soon join him on the unemployment line.

The 53 year old Hancock, who spent over a decade as a big league shortstop including 9 seasons with Washington, took over as the club's skipper last season after spending three years managing Eagles minor league affiliates in Trenton and Kansas City. If this is indeed his final day in Washington, Hancock leaves with a 106-115 record including 25-42 this season. His son Mel Jr. is a third year shortstop with the Cleveland Foresters. Hartstein joined the club at the same time after previously serving as a pitching coach with Detroit and Pittsburgh.

It is pitching that has been the undoing in Washington as the Eagles offense is one of the best in the Federal Association. The pitching staff, particularly the rotation, has been a different story altogether. Certainly the bulk of the blame lies with Bill Anderson (3-7, 6.95) who looked like the ace the Eagles had longed for in 1936 when, in his first season since being acquired from Toronto for Larry Vestal, he went 22-14. Last year was a complete turn around and Anderson lost his spot in the rotation after a 5-13 start. As suddenly as his skills abandoned him they came back last September and he was outstanding down the stretch winning his last 5 starts as Washington was one of the hottest teams of the final couple of months so expectations were once again high entering this season. It turned out to be a false hope and it was dashed quickly as Anderson started 3-7 this season with a 6.95 era and the rest of the staff was not much better. Eddie Quinn (1-9, 6.04) is doing his best Bill Anderson impression as well by following up an 18 win a season ago with just awful pitching.

Now the Eagles find themselves in last place in the Fed, mired in a 7 game losing streak and seemingly out of options on how to improve the pitching. While the manager and pitching coach have to shoulder some of the blame one can also point to the front office and the club's inability or unwillingness to make moves to improve over the winter while most of their competition in the Association did take steps forward. Perhaps the Eagles were happy with what they saw in September and were blindsided by the regression of Anderson, Quinn and Karl Johnson (6-9, 4.04) but you have to wonder how interested the Eagles brass was in chasing a pitcher like Jim Lonardo (9-4, 2.41 for Chicago) or Frank Crawford (10-3, 3.20) over the winter.

Eagles assistant General Manager Ike Luttrell admitted the moves of Lonardo and Crawford caught the team off guard as they both came up quickly while Washington was focusing on other things. However Luttrell says the club had a lot more faith in it's pitching after the strong finish last year. "We were not expecting Quinn to be that bad following a 18 win seasons and Anderson had a strong finish last year. Good news is Bobo White (5-7, 5.06) getting some confidence, (Mike) Knight (3-2, 4.58) sounds he could become somebody and they were some hopes for George Gilliard to finally be healthy.. which turn out into a disaster of some sort."

Gillard went down with yet another injury, this one possibly career threatening for the 1932 5th overall draft pick who has been plagued by injuries and has pitched just 48 career big league innings in his 3 seasons in Washington.

Luttrell says there is plenty to be optimistic about in the nation's capital. "Overall the offense still strong in DC, the defense is OK, but the pitching is awful. If it continues that way, some prospects will get a shot in September."

While they do not have a lot of high end pitching prospects beyond AA pitcher Phil Gregg that are close to be ready, the Eagles do have plenty of offensive talent between the big club and Kansas City so perhaps a deal for pitching that they so desperately need can be made. The Cougars have made no secret that vets Dave Rankin (5-9, 3.58) and Oscar Morse (5-6, 3.89) are available and Montreal has hinted they might be willing to part with George Thomas (6-7, 4.40). Any one of those three would likely be an upgrade in Washington. As for Anderson, it is looking more and more like the 29 year old just happened to catch lightning in a bottle in 1936 - his only full season with an ERA+ better than average. He has proven to be very streaky and despite his work ethic, which is considered extremely good, it appears he is simply just not a quality big league starter. Unfortunately Anderson's trade value likely can't be any lower than it is right now so the Eagles best bet is to hold on to him and hope he has another September rejuvenation, and if he does, move him quickly over the winter.

JIGGS MCGEE'S ALL STAR BALLOT

The sixth annual all-star game is fast approaching with the contest set for July 6th at New York's Bigsby Street Oval. It will be the second game held in New York as Riverside Stadium hosted the 1934 contest. The Federal Association leads the series 4 games to one including last year's thrilling 19 inning 4-2 victory in Toronto. Here is the ballot Jiggs McGee would submit if the media voted on the participants:

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

CATCHER: T.R. Goins (.253,0,54) is always the sentimental choice and young Adam Mullins(.288,0,61), who made his first appearance last year also deserves consideration again this time around. However, I cannot overlook the job another youngster has been doing. 22 year old Woody Stone (.347,1,28) has started less games than Mullins (43 compared to 50) but Stone has been terrific and he gets my vote.

FIRST BASE: No contest here as the easy choice is Toronto's newest superstar in ex-Pioneer Fred McCormick (.387,8,40). He has already suited up 4 times for the Feds so McCormick will make his debut with CA boys in New York.

SECOND BASE: This was the toughest decision to make in the CA. You have Clark Car (.306,1,15), John Langille (.204,1,27) of Brooklyn, Cleveland's Brooks Meeks (.272,1,28) with his tremendous defense and the Sailors Bob Smith (.296,6,29). Any of the four would be solid choices and I was also have tempted to choice Johnny McDowell (.304,0,23) who moved over to the Cougars from the Gothams in the off-season as it would be a real treat for fans at the Bigsby Oval to watch their former third baseman in action one more time. It's tight but Meeks is going to win out because of his glove.

SHORTSTOP: Brooklyn's 24 year old star Harry Barrell missed his first all-star game last year after a tough season at the plate. He makes a number of errors but also gets to some balls most shortstops can only dream of reaching and with the bat back this season (.306,2,43) he is an easy choice. The Cougars young star Billy Hunter (.29,6,37) may challenge Barrell going forward. George Dawson (.243,5,23) is normally in the conversation but like many Foresters he is having a slow start to this season, although his defense has certainly not suffered.

THIRD BASE: Quite a choice here. You have Ken Mayhugh (.311,5,30) fresh over to Baltimore from the Minutemen and rising star Nick Wallace (.389,4,47) challenging for the batting lead in Toronto. Don't forget veteran John Lawson (.302,7,41) who is having another great year but I have to go with 36 year old Frank Vance (.335,9,41) who has never missed an all-star game. The Brooklyn third baseman gets the start in my books but any of the four are worthy.

LEFT FIELD: Roy Bradley (.313,4,34) is one of the Cleveland Foresters who is not struggling at the plate and is the choice in a relatively weak crop of left fielders on the ballot. Montreal's Bert Lass (.314,2,26) is an exciting young rookie who deserves the backup spot.

CENTER FIELD: Pablo Reyes (.312,5,50) of Montreal and Brooklyn's Bill May (.296,1,34) started in the Saints system together and Reyes came close to becoming a King instead of May in the ill-fated Milt Fritz deal several years back between the two clubs. They have been compared ever since and both are probably deserving of the selection this time around but I am going to give Reyes the edge this time with Chink Stickels (.312,1,16) of the New York Stars getting an honourable mention.

RIGHT FIELD: Hank Jones (.347,3,46) is having a career year for the Stars and 25 year old Jorge Nava (.317,4,35) is playing very well in Philadelphia. Al Wheeler (.2875,9,45) is off to a very slow start in Brooklyn, at least by his lofty standards, but there is no one I would rather have at the plate when a big hit is needed that the 5-time Whitney Award winner so the Wonder Wheel gets my vote.

PITCHING: This is always tough as we can only choice 3 starters and I refuse to vote for relief pitchers. Toronto's Joe Hancock (14-1, 2.95) is clearly one and should be starting the game. Joe Shaffner (10-4, 2.41) has almost seemed to replace Tom Barrell as the Brooklyn Kings ace so he gets the nod as my second choice. There were plenty of other worthy candidates but the third one in my books is the Sailors Doc Newell (10-5, 3.23)

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION

CATCHER: As good as Claude Ramsey (.305,1,30) and George Cleaves (.291,0,36) have been this one is simple. Write in the name Tom Bird (.350,9,49) of the Chiefs and move on. A no-brainer.

FIRST BASE: If Pittsburgh's Mahlon Strong (.348,4,26) could ever stay healthy he would be an easy choice but asking for that is like asking for the Cannons to finish in the first division. It just won't happen. Rankin Kellogg (.294,5,43) used to own this spot but the Keystones 35 year old slugger is showing signs of age although his numbers this season are pretty good. The choice really comes down to Ron Rattigan (.318,3,40) of the Chiefs and Detroit rookie Red Johnson (.307,7,26). The 20 year old Johnson is going to start a lot of these games so we might as well begin the streak now. He gets my vote. Gothams long-time star Bud Jameson (.308,5,36) is having a good season so I sure hope he gets the chance to be a reserve and appear in the game in his hometown park.

SECOND BASE: Ed Stewart (.267,18,53) is having a special season since his move to Detroit but so is Hank Barnett (.324,17,60) in Chicago. The two of them make you almost forget about Freddie Jones (.300,1,36) who has been healthy (knock on wood) and is playing well. Imagine what Detroit's offense would have looked like if they hung on to Barnett as well after acquiring him from Montreal over the winter and then flipping him to the Chiefs? Barnett gets the spot but I sure wish I could include Stewart as well.

SHORTSTOP: Just like at catcher choose the Chicago Chief and move on. 38 year old Pete Layton (.394,8,35) is playing like he is a decade younger and won his only batting title in 1928. It would be something if he can win another one 10 years later. Not sure that is something anyone else has accomplished - going 10 years between batting crowns.

THIRD BASE: A new position and a new league for Jack Cleaves (.353,2,31) who is having the best year of his career teamed up with his brother in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately for Jack he has to compete with Mel Carrol (.371,5,53) who only hit .409 and led the Fed in rbi's with 130 a year ago and has not suffered much of a drop off for the Washington Eagles in the first half of the this season. Carrol gets my vote but Cleaves should make the team as well.

LEFT FIELD: Elmer Nolde (.314,7,35) is certainly benefiting from being a part of the powerful Detroit offense but he deserves a spot as an All-Star starter after spending so many years as an understudy in Brooklyn. Ernesto Perez (.314,1,18) of the Gothams, Pittsburgh's Joe Owens (.313,6,25), Jim Hampton (.304,4,28) of Chicago, Boston's Dave Henry (.278,5,27), Art Cascone (.297,4,35) and finally Rip Curry (.314,4,40) of Philadelphia all are not that far behind Nolde.

CENTER FIELD: It used to be you just penciled in the name Bobby Barrell (.272,6,40) and were done with it but that is now a thing of the past as just like Red Johnson at first base the Dynamos Sal Pestilli (.302,18,48) will be a fixture on the Federal Association all-star team for years to come. I just hope Bobby Barrell makes it as a reserve as he has played in each of the previous 5 mid-summer classics and it would be nice to keep the streak alive.

RIGHT FIELD: It really is a toss up. We have Cliff Moss (.301,9,37) in Chicago, Al Tucker (.351,5,40) of St Louis, Leon Drake (.308,6,34) of the Dynamos and the Gothams Dave Haight (.332,1,36) who is enjoying a splendid rookie campaign. It is close and I was tempted to go with an all-Detroit outfield but the 25 year old Tucker deserves the recognition and gets my vote.

PITCHER: A lot of options here but the three I am going with are rookie Buddy Long (12-3, 3.68) of St Louis, Chicago's Rabbit Day (11-4, 3.12) and veteran Frank Crawford (10-3, 3.20) of Detroit. It pains me not to be able to add Lefty Allen (11-7, 3.54) of Pittsburgh, David Abalo (7-3, 2.08) of the Pioneers, the Chiefs Jim Lonardo (9-4, 2.41) or Detroit's rising young star Charlie Wheeler (8-2, 2.83) to this list.

GOTHAMS SEE A DYNAMO LIKE FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES

Courtesy of the New York World Telegram

The Detroit Dynamos are rightfully receiving praise for their first place standing in the FA, their return from the wilderness of the depths of the FA. While a team should never be criticized for winning, let's take a look at the Dynamos long term prospects against those of the often maligned New York Gothams. The Dynamos last finished first in 1929. They then had a four year run of 3rd and 2nd place finishes. After a 90 win second place finish (in 1933) just 6 games behind the champs, Detroit management decided to go into a multi year rebuild. Four year of 7th and 8th place finishes, with a team record 111 losses in 1935 led to a number of top draft picks, including consecutive top picks in Sal Pestilli and Pete Casstevens. Detroit used their high draft picks and other prospects in a series of shrewd deals to build a contender.
However a look at the Dynamos roster shows a relatively veteran roster, with only six players younger than 26. The AAA and AA rosters also show a dearth of youth. The Dynamos minor league system is currently ranked 10th in FABL. A positive is that much of their higher ranked talent are pitchers. Still, there are no players ranked in the top 20, with their top prospects at 25, 42 and 50.(Bill Willman, Gil London and Ed Whetzel)

All teams have their own reasons for the moves they make. Detroit is now drawing crowds and look to be making money. This push to the top has been beneficial. It will be interesting to see how long the run can last.

Now on to the oft criticized Gothams. Coming off consecutive first place finishes in 1934 and 1935 a poor start in '36 led management to determine that a teardown was preferable to a series of midlevel finishes. With the individual talents available to trade the Gothams were able to create a deep and talented farm system. They accumulated draft picks that have turned them into the #1 rated minor league system with 3 top 10 prospects and 5 in the top 20. The change was so sudden than the league changed the draft process. The Gothams did benefit in the first pool draft, as did Detroit, but never got the chance with its last place finishes to obtain a Pestilli type immediate impact player, watching Bill Barrett go elsewhere.

Still, a look at the Gothams roster in their second year of rebuild shows a team of primarily under 26 (year old) players. The same can be said at AAA with most of the top prospect on the AA roster. This is a team that may still be a couple of years away. Similar to the Dynamos timeline, but with what is likely to be a younger team built for an extended run. Gothams fans seem to be on board with the process. The team remains in the top half of FABL in attendance and second in season tickets. They have a new ballpark on the way and a promising future on the field.

QUICK HITS

• Quite a week for Brooklyn outfielder Al Wheeler (.275,9,45), who is finally showing signs of breaking out of his early season slump. Wheeler hit 2 homers and drove in 7 runs last week to earn the CA Player of the Week award while also reaching the 2,000 career hit plateau. The milestone came as part of a 3-hit effort for the 30 year old outfielder in an 8-1 win over Philadelphia on Thursday. Number 2000 was a lead-off single in the 7th inning off of Sailors reliever Dick Strunk and came after he doubled in the first and homered in the fifth. Wheeler becomes the 63rd player to get 2000 hits and with 315 homers, he is just 1 of three players with 300 homers and 2000 hits, joining Hall of Famer Max Morris and the Philadelphia Keystones Rankin Kellogg.
• Al Tucker (.351,5,40) of St Louis was the top performer in the Fed last week. The 25 year old outfielder went 13-for-24 last week. The second year player also won a player of the week award last September and is a key reason why the Pioneers have won 9 of their last 12 games.
• We have 9 games before the all-star break, and those games loom large for the Chiefs. They start with 4 games in St. Louis--with whom they are tied at 5 games back--next week. Then Detroit comes into Chicago for 3 games, followed by St. Louis for a July 4th double-header in Chicago.
• This may be the end of the line for Cleveland's Lee Drouillard (8-5, 4.03) who suffered a serious arm injury just before his 38th birthday. Word is he will miss three months but many are not sure he'll come back from this. Drouillard is 77-70 for his career which began in the bullpen in Baltimore in 1926. He did not become a starter until he moved to Cleveland a decade later and has gone 50-42 as a member of the Foresters.
  The call in Cleveland now is do they make the decision/risk to move 22 year old Earle Robinson into that starter slot and risk injury to his fragile arm when he's been good out of the pen. Or slide Lyman Weigel (2-4, 3.64) or Ben Turner (1-1, 3.48) into the spot. Each has had some success in the Cleveland rotation in the past. The more likely option is veteran Rube McCormick gets another shot. The 33 year old is 6-3 with AA Cincinnati this season.
• Staying with Cleveland, Foresters skipper Jim Wilson has limited options at third base and is not sure what is worse? Charlie Barry hitting just .242, or Hank Stratton finally cracking .100 for one brief glorious second before falling again.
• Interesting observation from out friends at the Chicago Herald Examiner. Detroit's Sal Pestilli is on pace to start 143 games, which gives this reporter pause with the question, why isn't he starting every game? For comparison, Chiefs catcher Tom Bird is on pace to start 140 games. If Bird can squat dozens of times a game for 140 games, you would think Pestilli's young legs could handle 154 games in the outfield.
• You have to think Detroit, Toronto and perhaps Washington should be ringing the phone of the Chicago Cougars off the hook right now. The Cougars have a pair of veteran pitchers they say they are willing to move and either would be a good fit in any of those three cities. The Dynamos could use another starter in case anyone cracks as the pennant race heats up. The Wolves tried rookie Jim Morrison (2-6, 6.41) in the rotation but it is looking more and more like the 23 year old is not quite ready and they will need another arm if their challenge of Brooklyn for the CA crown is a serious one. The Eagles have been discussed earlier and really need anyone with a pulse who can throw at the big league level.

• A special US Federal Grand Jury has indicted 18 people, most of them residents of Germany and 2 are Nazi commanders, accused of plotting to gain American defense plans.
• US Ambassador to Britain Joseph P Kennedy returned home to report to FDR a gloomy outlook for England's financial future. Kennedy also added he does not see "any possibility" of a general war in Europe this year.
• Stung by eyewitness reports of violence in American and other foreign newspapers, the German press finally breaks it's silence on the nation's anti-Semitic drive that seems aimed at 'cleansing' Berlin of it's 140,000 Jews. A scornful editorial in the Nazi newspaper sought to justify the drive as an "act of self-defense by the people against Jews who are swamping Berlin, especially from Austria."
• Europe was plunged into a new war scare last night as the Spanish government made threats of bombing reprisals against Italy and a quick reply from Rome that Italy would meet such reprisals by wiping Spanish Government cities off the map.
• Meanwhile Spanish insurgents continue to bomb British cargo ships in the ports of Valencia and Alicante.
• Britain and France warn the Japanese to stay off Hainan Island, off the South China coast, and will act to support each other in the case Tokyo fails to comply.

This Week in Figment Baseball: July 4, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

July 4, 1938

ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS SET

The stars of the Continental Association will be looking to for revenge on the Federal Association Wednesday night and they will put the ball in the hands of FABL's hottest pitcher in hopes of getting off to a good start. 25 year old Joe Hancock will make his all-star game debut on the bump for the CA when they take on the Fed stars Wednesday at New York's Bigsby Oval. The game as it turns out will be sort of a good bye to the Oval, a venue that pre-dates FABL and can trace it's early roots back to being a harness-racing venue. It has gone through several renovations over the years but the site has been home to the New York Gothams since 1876. A new stadium will replace it next season.

As for Hancock (14-2, 2.84) the rising star of the Toronto Wolves had his streak of 10 straight victories snapped last week in Chicago where the Cougars blanked the Wolves 3-0 but his 14 victories are more than anyone else in either association. The CA stars may be feeling a bit of pressure after dropping four of the previous five contests and their only victory came two years ago in St Louis. It will be hard to top the tension of last year's game which went 19 innings before the Federal Association pulled out a 4-2 victory at Toronto's Dominion Field.

Below are the 1938 All-Stars. With Bobby Barrell of the Philadelphia Keystones not making the cut this time around we are down to just one player who has been selected to every all-star game. That would be 36 year old Frank Vance who made the Fed squad for the first two games while playing for Detroit and has been a Continental team member each of the past four including this week's upcoming contest.

The Detroit Dynamos and Chicago Chiefs led the way with 6 members each on the Fed team followed by Brooklyn which placed 5 of it's players on the Continental squad. The Kings will be down to 4 players as catcher Fred Barrell made the squad but was injured last week and will not attend the game. Montreal's Adam Mullins will replace Barrell for the game.

1938 ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS

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BARRETT NAMED NUMBER ONE PROSPECT!

BUT HE WON'T DEBUT WITH STARS

All the draft hype surrounding high school outfielder Bill Barrett is to be believed if you trust the OSA. The league scouting service has debuted the newly signed New York Star phenom as the best prospect in the game. After agreeing to a signing bonus said to be in excess of $17,000 the 18 year old from Vineland, New Jersey bumped Chicago Cougars pitching prodigy Pete Papenfus from the top spot in OSA's eyes.

Legendary scouting guru Rufus Barrell says he feels Barrett is ready to make the jump right from high school to the big leagues, something that has not been seen more than a couple of times in league history, most recently by Hall of Famer John Dibblee. Barrell also went so far as to compare Barrett favourably with another Hall of Famer - Max Morris. However, sources in New York have told TWIFB that while Barrett will be patrolling the Dyckman Stadium outfield in the near future, he will not be suiting up for today's Independence Day doubleheader against Baltimore. The source says the Stars plan to give Barrett at least a little time in the minors to acclimatize himself to the rigors of pro ball.

HANCOCK OUT, EVERHART IN AS NEW EAGLES BENCH BOSS

As was reported last week and widely expected the slumping Washington Eagles cut ties with manager Mel Hancock and have handed the reigns to 49 year old Jack Everhart. The former catcher had a very brief minor league career consisting of one season in the Eagles organization after being selected in the 14th round of the 1912 draft following two years with Sadler College. Realizing quickly his future in the game was not as a player, Everhart rode the buses as a manager for a number of seasons, guiding 3 Philadelphia Sailors farm teams to pennants before getting promoted to the big league club where he acted as interim manager for the Sailors for much of the 1932 campaign, compiling a 71-64 record. From 1933-36 he served as the Sailors Assistant General Manager before joining the Pittsburgh Miners staff as their bench coach last season and helped the team win the Federal Association pennant. The Miners did not renew his contract so he was available when the Eagles needed a replacement for Hancock. After dropping Everhart's first two games at the helm to extend Washington's losing streak to 9 games, the club finally got a win for their new manager, salvaging the finale of a 3-game set in Boston with an 11-5 victory but they then dropped 2 of 3 to Philadelphia over the weekend and remain in last place in the Federal Association, a game back of the New York Gothams.

There are worries the temperamental Everhart may have some philosophical differences with pitching coach Charlie Hartstein, who struggles with fiery individuals and is likely already on very thin ice considering the state of the Eagles pitching staff.

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QUICK HITS

• Pair of huge weekend games at Whitney Park. After Detroit wins easily Friday the Chiefs respond by taking a pair of tight ones on the weekend. Saturday we have an 11 inning duel between Al Miller (5-8, 4.19) and Charlie Wheeler(8-3, 2.67). Home side prevail 1-0 on a Ron Rattigan (.312,3,41) walk off single for the win. Miller has been having a bit of a rocky season, but Saturday's 11 inning 2-hitter was the most well pitched game in the FABL this season (game score of 98). In fact, it may have been the most well pitched game of Miller's career. On Sunday fans were treated to a 2-1 win in another great pitchers duel, this time between Stumpy Beamon (7-5, 3.46) and Jack Beach (9-6, 4.08). The Chiefs runs both come courtesy of a first inning homer off the bat of Tom Bird (.360,11,55) and the Detroit lead has a little bit whittled away this week - down to 4.5 games on both Chiefs and Pioneers.
• 4 years later and former Dynamo SP Jack Beach comes back to haunt his old team in the 2-1 duel. Dynamos had a chance to put some distance between themselves and the Chiefs and Pioneers but failed to capitalize. GM Martin is most upset with stopper Jim Hawkins who failed to protect the game against the Gothams at home earlier in the week. Hawkins has been removed from the stopper role which will go to Ben Curtin for now.
• How is this for a pair of pitchers to send to the hill in a July 4th twin bill? The Chicago Chiefs will start veteran all-star's Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo against the Pioneers today. Between them they own 6 Allen Awards, 7 All-Star selections, 3 World Championship rings and 393 regular season FABL wins. We might see a rematch of Day vs rookie phenom Buddy Long in the opener. They hooked up last week and the veteran got the best of the rook, with a 5-2 win although Long acquainted himself quite well in allowing just 6 Chicago hits in the loss and it was a pair of St Louis errors leading to 3 unearned runs that proved the difference.
• Huge blow to St Louis' pennant chances. When healthy David Abalo is 7-4 with a sparkling 2.27 era for the Pioneers this season. However, all season Abalo has dealt with a series of nagging injuries. Nothing too serious it seemed as finger blisters were the biggest concern but perhaps in trying to adjust his delivery to account for the pain he did something much worse. Last week his elbow flared up and the diagnosis is he will miss the rest of the season because of bone chips in his elbow. Losing Abalo really hurts a Pioneers team that had won 13 of it's last 19 games and is now within 4.5 games of first place Detroit. It has been a hard luck year for Manager George Sparkman's club with a number of injuries including losing the services of centerfielder Gail Gifford (2.84,1,17) for 6 weeks. They are starting to look like this year's version of the Pittsburgh Miners: a team that suffered a lot of injuries last season but perhaps the Pioneers can overcome those ailments just as the Miners did to win a pennant last year.
• To do so St Louis will need Sam Sheppard (5-9, 6.13) to figure out what is wrong with his game. After three straight 20+ win seasons including a 28-7 Allen Award winning 1935, Sheppard has been a mess this year. His walks are up and teams are hitting him pretty good but perhaps it is also some bad luck as balls are finding holes. If he can't figure out things the Pioneers might be in trouble as Otis Cook (0-1, 4.02), who came over from Toronto in the Frank McCormick deal, has not earned much confidence from the St Louis brass when he is on the hill. With Abalo, Dixie Lee (4-4, 3.97) and two other former Wolves in Jake Smith (12-5, 3.61) and rookie sensation Buddy Long (12-4, 3.58) the Pioneers rotation looked to rival anyone in the league. Without Abalo, finding a fourth guy who can contribute is now the concern.
• You can cross off Montreal's George Thomas (6-8, 4.71) from the list of potential pitching trade targets. There were rumours the Saints might considering moving their long-time starter but Thomas has been moved to the disabled list after he tore his labrum and will miss a few months. Unfortunately, this is the 2nd torn labrum for Thomas.
• Thomas was under consideration to be moved because the Saints have a number of good young arms on the way up. You can add another one to that list as high schooler Pat Weakley, a lottery signing, debuts at #13 on the OSA top 100 list after the Lexington, Massachusetts righthander agreed to a contract. He joins AAA lefthander Wally Doyle (11-3, 2.53 between AA and AAA this season) as Saints in the top 13 overall prospects.
• While the Kings are mildly disappointed to see our two main lottery guys in catcher Joe Robins and 3B Ernie Hanks debut pretty low in the rankings (173rd and 239th respectively) we are thrilled to see 3rd round pick Bobby Boone debut at 102. Boone adds to our wealth of young outfield talent throughout the organization starting with Bill May and Alf Pestilli in Brooklyn and including #56 overall prospect Joe Herman, #80 prospect and 1937 Christian Trophy winner Alex LaComb, #101 prospect Bob Mullins. Even Dan Rogers (#271), is back in the mix after a hot start in AA Knoxville and a pair of homers in his first bakers of AAA contests.
  
  Despite the 21 year old Robins coming in at #173 according to OSA there is some thought to having him make his pro debut in Brooklyn. The injury to Fred Barrell has left the Kings a catcher short and internal debate is waging within the organization on instilling Robins as the backup for a month before sending him down to AAA to play everyday when Barrell returns. The Central Kentucky product hit .271 this season and was a second team All-American selection.
• Some changes coming in the Dynamos front office? Word from Detroit is management is very upset with the way the draft went. Bad luck in the lottery, no 3rd round pick and little else went right this time around. They again are looking at Scouting Director Fred Davis who has been signing a series of 1 year contracts the last few years. Detroit has been said to have been looking for a new Head of Scouting since 1936 but no one worth their salt is even interested in talking to the club.
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle had previously reported how high the Kings were on high school catcher Solly Skidmore. The lottery player ended up with the Chicago Cougars instead of the Kings and he debuts as the third highest rated newcomer on the OSA top 100. Skidmore, who played his high school ball in Monroe, Georgia is ranked the second best catcher overall trailing last year's lottery player Pete Casstevens and only Bill Barrett and Pat Weakley are ahead of him among newly signed newcomers.
• Another Detroit rumor is that Class A manager Dick York is in thin ice despite a season record of 35-28 and a career mark of 178-165. The temperamental former Detroit catcher is wearing out his welcome because of the constant calls to the front office that the Dynamo's have not managed to draft either of his sons. The GM is getting tired of hearing about it and will potentially be giving the elder York instructions to go join one of his sons either in the Baltimore or Brooklyn organizations. Brooklyn was said to have discussed moving infielder Joe York to Detroit at the draft but the Kings price of the Dynamos 4th round pick was said to be too high. Brooklyn eventually made a deal with Toronto for a pick a few slots lower in order for the Kings to select the stepson of their manager Powell Slocum. Word is thoughts of moving York are now on the back burner in Brooklyn because the 21 year old is off to a great start at the plate following a promotion to Class A. That coupled with a shortage of middle infield prospects in Brooklyn, compounded by the season ending injury to top Kings farmhand Jim Lightbody, has Brooklyn deciding to hang on to York.
• Fans in Pittsburgh are thrilled to see Joe Owens finally getting to make his all-star debut. The 26 year old outfielder has had a number of good seasons but was overlooked for the squad each of the previous occasions.
• New York Gothams first base prospect Walt Messer has a break out week. Messer has been slowly progressing, moving up to A level this season, but never showing the skills that made him a high draft pick and top 20 prospect. He's mostly played in the shadow of fellow Knickerbocker, 2B Roosevelt Brewer. This week Messer made some noise for himself winning MAL player of the week hitting .550 (11-20) with 9 RBI and 7 runs scored. For the season Messer is now hitting .325/.358/.470/.828.
• It took him a game to get into the groove but 33 year old Rube McCormick was just what the Foresters needed yesterday. The veteran minor leaguer last played in the big leagues in 1932, but was recently recalled to replace the injured Lee Drouillard. McCormick's first start did not go well, getting beat up pretty good by the Sailors in an 8-4 loss but he was outstanding yesterday, spinning a 3-hit shutout for the second big league shutout of his career in a 7-0 win over the Chicago Cougars. The last shutout he threw for Cleveland was April 22, 1931 in Toronto and not a single current member of the Foresters played in that game. In fact only Brooks Meeks and Ben Turner were on the Foresters roster at that time.

• The British government denies charges by Generalissimo Franco that British ships were trading with loyalist Spain in violation of the non-intervention agreement. Meanwhile Italy claims it has advised Franco to use 'moderation' in his efforts to prevent British and other foreign ships from bring supplies to the Government of Spain.
• Prime Minister Chamberlain told a Tory party rally that "we would fight again" if necessary but his government was "straining every nerve" to keep Europe out of another war.
• 2 US warships rush to the South China port of Swatow to take part in evacuation of all foreigners following Japanese bombing that leaves over 1,000 dead.
• Addressing delegates of the National Education Association on the grounds of next year's World's Fair, FDR vigorously criticized the suppression of art and culture that he left no doubt in listener's minds he was referring to the events in Germany since the Nazis took power.
• 6000 striking tradesmen at the World's Fair site took a recess from picketing in deference to the President and gave him a 21-gun salute.
• The New York Stock Exchange surged to a new high for the year with railways leading the gains although as a group that industry remains well below their average high for the year.
• Railroad director F.W. Vanderbilt died at age 83 after a week long illness.

This Week in Figment Baseball: July 11, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

July 11, 1938

EXTRA, EXTRA! INNINGS THAT IS
CONTINENTAL PREVAILS IN ALL-STAR GAME

For the second consecutive season and third time in 6 years the All-Star game required extra innings to determine a winner. And just like in 1934 and again last season it was the visitors that came out on top as the stars of the Continental Association got a much needed 5-4 victory in 13 innings. It was just the second win in the now six year old series for the CA.

Fred McCormick, who had previously played in 4 of these games for the Federal Association prior to his trade to Toronto over the winter, was the star of the show for the Continental boys, getting 3 hits including a pair of doubles and driving in 2 runs to capture game MVP honours. Bob Cummings of the Brooklyn Kings pitched two scoreless innings of relief to get the win with Boyd Harper of the New York Stars earning the save despite the fact he made things tense by walking a pair of Federal Association hitters in the bottom of the 13th. Don Attaway of the Philadelphia Keystones was tagged with the loss a year after he was the hero of the 19 inning marathon 1937 contest when he pitched 5 innings of 2-hit ball. Attaway also has an all-star game save on his resume from the 1935 game.

The CA struck first with 3 straight singles off Lefty Allen after Cleveland's Roy Bradley flied out to start the second inning. Harry Barrell's fielder's choice plated the game's first run but Allen escaped with no further damage by inducing a fly ball out of Nick Wallace. The Feds evened things up in the third when Joe Owens led off with a walk off of Brooklyn's Mike Murphy. Pete Layton singled to move Owens to third, aided by a Pablo Reyes bobble of the ball, and Owens would score on a sac fly from the Chiefs Hank Barnett.

A pair of Detroit Dynamos teamed up in the bottom of the fourth to put the Feds up 3-1. Rookie first baseman Red Johnson single and then scored on a 2-run homer by Leon Drake off of the Sailors Doc Newell. The Continental cut the gap to 1 run in the top of the fifth when Detroit's Charlie Wheeler was victimized by singles from Bob Smith and Reyes to start the inning. After Wheeler fanned Frank Vance, Fred McCormick delivered his first hit of the contest, a rbi single to plate Smith.

The score would remain 3-2 in the Feds favour until the 7th inning when McCormick went to work again. He followed up a 2-out double by Vance with one of his own and then McCormick scored the go-ahead run on an rbi single by Roy Bradley. The Feds refused to go quietly as they tied the game in the 8th when Ernesto Perez of the hometown Gothams brought the sold out crowd of 52,000 at the Bigsby Oval to it's feet with a one out double. Two batters later Hank Barnett would deliver the game tying single and after a scoreless 9th despite each side putting a runner in scoring position we headed to extra innings for the second year in a row.

There were a couple of base runners but neither side threatened until the 13th when Attaway got into trouble although it was started by an error from Jack Cleaves. The long-time Philadelphia Sailors infielder was making his debut with the Fed side after a trade to Pittsburgh and he was forced to play shortstop because Pete Layton, who had long since left the game, was the only natural shortstop on the Fed roster. Things started quietly enough for Attaway as Jorge Nava fly out to start the inning but then Adam Mullins delivered a groundball that Cleaves failed to handle cleanly. Running out of players the CA let pitcher Bob Cummings hit for himself and the result was a second fly out. That brought Bob Smith to the plate with two out and Mullins still perched on first base. The 27 year old Sailor, playing in his first all-star game and with 2 hits already under his belt, delivered a third one in a big way, lining a double to plate Mullins with the go ahead run.

That would prove to be all Boyd Harper would need to close out the game but not before he made it interesting by walking Ron Rattigan with one out and then taking no chances with homerun leader Sal Pestilli, he issued a free pass to the young Dynamos slugger with 2 out. That brought up Jack Cleaves with a chance to make amends for his miscue but it was not to be as Cleaves flew out to end the game.

DID DAN ANDREW COST THE FEDERAL SIDE THE ALL-STAR GAME?

Once again Pittsburgh Miners manager Dan Andrew finds himself on the hot seat after a controversial decision in a big game. Last year you might recall that the Miners, having won the Opener of the World Championship Series were sailing along with a 3-1 lead after 7 innings. The Brooklyn Kings bats were in a funk as the club was baffled by the offerings of Miners starter Charlie Stedman when Andrew decided to replace Stedman on the hill with Lou Ellertson for the 8th inning. Brooklyn scored 7 runs in that frame and went on to win 4 straight. Stedman had allowed a 3 hits over the previous two innings and may have showed some signs of tiring so who knows what might have happened but it was clear, even at the time, that the 8th inning of Game Two turned the tide of the Series.

Now we get to Andrew's next moment on the stage - certainly not as bright as a World Championship Series but an All-Star Game is still a special occasion. For some inexplicable reason Andrew chooses to play his new Pittsburgh infielder Jack Cleaves at shortstop - a position Cleaves has only played 10 times in his career and none since getting 2 innings of work there in 1931. Andrew could have shifted his former infielder, now a Detroit Dynamo in Ed Stewart, to shortstop especially after Cleaves committed the first of what would be two errors on the day. Stewart is not an ideal choice for shortstop either but at least he did play 7 games there for Pittsburgh a year ago and 103 at the position in his career. Instead Andrew let things play out with Cleaves at short and sure enough, he booted a ground ball that led to the game winning run.

Again you can make the argument that Andrew is not to blame as one could easily make the case he was saddled with a poorly constructed roster considering Pete Layton was the only one who played shortstop regularly to be named to the Fed side for the game. But the bottom line is twice Andrew has had the spotlight glared in his direction for questionable moves on a big stage.

TOUGH WEEK SLOWS PIONEERS DOWN

The St Louis Pioneers had won 9 of 11 games heading into last Sunday and were within 4.5 games of first place Detroit as the July 4th doubleheaders were set to begin. You knew it might be a tough week for the Pioneers when they had to face Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo in the Independence Day twin bill and things would get tougher after the all-star break with a trip to Detroit. Add in the fact that pitcher David Abalo was lost for the year recently and it was a recipe for disaster. That recipe was exactly what the Pioneers Federal Association foes cooked up for the Pioneers in what ended up being just an awful week.

It started Sunday with a loss to the New York Gothams, continued Monday when Rabbit Day beat St Louis rookie Buddy Long for the second time in two weeks and then Lonardo, with some help from Red Hampton, cooled St Louis bats in the hot Chicago sunshine of the mid-day doubleheader. Three days rest for the all-star game did little to help St Louis get untracked as they followed up the break with success losses in Detroit, stretching their streak of futility to 5 games. Fortunately for St Louis fans, the club did rally with 5 runs in the top of the ninth yesterday to salvage one game from the week and get back to within 7.5 games of the Dynamos.

COUGARS DEAL RANKIN, CLEARING WAY FOR PETER THE HEATER

The Chicago Cougars have traded veteran pitcher Dave Rankin to the Cleveland Foresters in exchange for a minor league pitcher and a 4th round draft pick. The big news is that means it clears the way for young phenom Pete Papenfus to make his big league debut in the Windy City. Many expected the 20 year old to debut in April after a terrific spring but the Cougars elected to give 'Peter the Heater" a little time at AAA. Well, the 1936 6th overall selection when 8-2 with a 3.46 era while averaging nearly 9 strikeouts per 9 innings in Milwaukee.

The 32 year old Rankin (5-11, 4.12) had been on the block for a few weeks and the Cougars finally found a suitor in the Foresters. Rankin began his career in Brooklyn as a 5th round pick of the Kings in 1927 out of Northern California University before making his big league debut at the age of 24. Since then he has pitched entirely for Chicago teams, first the Chiefs to whom he was dealt in part of a trade for Milt Fritz, who would later become a teammate of Rankin's with the Cougars. The Chiefs sent him to the Cougars in 1934 and he has gone 83-125 over his big league career, leading his association in losses 3 times but often has been victimized by poor run support.

In return the Cougars add a highly coveted 4th round draft pick, a round that will have increased value in the new modified split draft system that will see rounds 1-3 take place in January and the remainder after the college and high school seasons are completed in June. The Cougars also add pitcher George Sacchetti, who was recently selected in the fourth round by Cleveland out of Redwood University. Sacchetti is 1-0 with a 6.55 era after two starts at Class C and recently debuted at #215 on the OSA prospect pipeline.

QUICK HITS

• Don Attaway now has a win, a loss and a save in All-Star game play. The Philadelphia Keystones reliever lost this year, was the winner with 5 innings of 2 hit ball in the 19 inning marathon last season and got a save in the 1935 game.
• Fire sale time in Washington as the manager change has had little effect on the Eagles. Washington has dropped 9 of 11 contests since Jack Everhart replaced Mel Hancock as the bench boss, and the Eagles are in the midst of a 7 game skid while winning just 4 of their last 28 games. The one game they get decent pitching is the day their offense decides to mail it in, falling 1-0 to Pittsburgh Saturday. Word is pretty much anyone in the nation's capital can be had for the right price in a deal. The price being draft picks or young arms as the Eagles desperately look to find anyone capable of pitching in a big league ballpark.
• Sal Pestilli is slugging .646, which prompted our Chicago bureau to open the career leaderboards. Max Morris, of course, at the top (top 5 actually) with a slugging pct of .810 in 1925. Morris, Joe Masters, and Rankin Kellogg are the only players to have finished a season with a slugging pct above .700. Morris did it 5 times, Kellogg and Masters once.
• The future is now in Toronto as highly touted prospect George Garrison gets the call after going 5-0 with a sub 2 ERA in Buffalo. The 20 year old was selected 3rd overall out of an Illinois high school in 1935. Toronto's other highly touted rookie pitcher, Jim Morrison (3-7, 5.40), has been improving after a rocky start with the big club but he will move to 'pen for the time being to work on a few things.
• Stan Ware’s first big league hit was a big one. The 26 year old outfielder feels like he has been in the Brooklyn Kings system forever - he was a 4th round pick in 1930- but finally got his callup when both Lightbody’s went down. He delivered some fireworks with a pinch-hit 9th inning homer to give the Kings a 6-5 win over Montreal in the opener of the July 4th twin bill. He would add another pinch hitter in the nightcap but just a single this time in a 6-2 loss. Unfortunately with Doug Lightbody now healthy it likely means a return to Rochester for Ware. He is 2-for-4 during his stay in Brooklyn and with all of the Kings OF depth that might end up being his career FABL line.

• Mixed reaction on the possibility of President Roosevelt seeking an unprecedented third term. Republicans meeting in New York this week voiced objection to the idea but several Union Organizers said while they were unsure if FDR would seek re-election, he would certainly have their votes if he did.
• Secret Servicemen were called to action in Oklahoma City yesterday and overpowered a man weilding a blackjack who rushed the President's automobile as it moved through crowded downtown streets. Bystanders joined the secret service and national guardsman in pummelling the would-be assailant, who was taken to jail. Roosevelt was unharmed.
• Although unknown at the time it was six years ago this week, on July 8, 1932 that the most spectacular depression in American economic history reached it's extreme low as measured by the New York Stock Exchange value, which sagged to 41.22 points, which would prove to be it's lowest level of the 20th century.
• A trial in Long Island begins charig 6 officers of the German-American Settlement League with violating civil rights law by requiring camp guests to peldge allegiance to Hitler.
• Three Latin American nations have opened their doors to German and Austrian regugees. Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Peru have pledged "asylum to foreigners who are afraid for their lives."
• Two British warships have been sent to Palestine amidst rioting and bomb terror.
• Mussolini stated that Italy is ready to combat bolshevism "on a European or world-wide scale" if such combat should become necessary "to decide the fate of the continent."
• Hundreds, including about 40 Europeans, drowned in a flash flood near Kobe, Japan.

This Week in Figment Baseball: July 18, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

July 18, 1938

FORESTERS ADD .400 HITTER CARROL IN SURPRISE DEAL WITH STRUGGLING EAGLES

The Cleveland Foresters made a big move to reshape their aging roster and have found their long term solution at third base with acquisition of Mel Carrol (.370,7,67) from the struggling Washington Eagles. It was no secret changes were coming in Washington after the club's terrible play of late but dealing the 26 year old who hit .409 last season counts as a huge surprise. Finding offense has never been an issue in Washington but pitching has always been in short supply and the Eagles hope they have at least partially addressed that situation by getting Sergio Gonzales in exchange for their star infielder.

The 26 year old Gonzales is a polished 4 pitch starter who belongs at the front of any rotation and had gone 35-13 over the past two seasons. He was 8-9 with a 3.68 era for the Foresters this year and should slot right in at the front of the Eagles rotation. Interestingly, the deal unites Gonzales with Washington outfielder Moxie Pidgeon, for whom he was traded when Cleveland acquired Gonzales from the New York Gothams in 1935. The Eagles hope the move injects some life in to a club that appears to be close to receiving last rites. For the second year in a row Washington has stumbled out of the gate. Last year they entered July with a 26-42 record before a 55-31 second half gave fans plenty of optimism about this season. Sitting at 30-55 and in the cellar of the Federal Association this season has quickly eroded any hopes of contending this year and just like last season the blame falls entirely on the shoulders, well arms, of their pitching staff.

The move also saw shortstop Mel Hancock Jr. (.314,0,5) move from Cleveland to the club that just fired his father Mel Sr. as their manager 3 weeks ago. Cleveland gets a pair of minor league arms but it is clear the prize is Carrol, who immediately solves what has been a big problem for the Foresters at third base this year. Charlie Barry (.259,2,38) has picked up his play of late but it was painfully obvious the first couple months of the season that the 39 year old is showing his age and the man the Foresters had expected to replace Barry - 23 year old Hank Stratton - is clearly not ready yet after hitting .145 in limited action before spending some time in AAA Cincinnati in hopes of sorting out his troubles.

Gonzales was a big piece of the Foresters rotation but Carrol is an amazing hitter and likely was only available because there is so much pressure on Washington to improve it's woeful staff. The pain of losing Gonzales should be lessened for Cleveland as the club recently announced it had acquired veteran righthander Dave Rankin (5-11, 4.12) from the Chicago Cougars for a draft pick and a minor league arm. Rankin is certainly better than his record indicates but not at the same level as Gonzales. It seems to be a gutsy move by the Foresters but one that makes perfect sense as the franchise had some great success with a smooth swinging bat at third base earlier in the decade and Mel Carrol looks like the perfect replacement for Charlie Barry.

The Cougars made a second deal with a pitcher as they got together with the New York Gothams, who badly needed to make a move for a veteran arm in an attempt to shore up their leaky rotation. New York sent minor league shortstop Stu Stasny and a 6th round pick to the Chicago Cougars in exchange for 35 year old Oscar Morse (6-6, 3.55). Morse owns a 127-113 career record with the first 8 of his 10 big league seasons coming in a Philadelphia Sailors uniform. The Cougars grabbed him as a waiver claim prior to last season and he had an impressive 15-9 campaign for Chicago that season. Morse is considered a solid back of the rotation arm and will be counted on to add some veteran leadership and stability to the young Gothams staff.

ROUGH WEEK FOR DYNAMOS TIGHTENS UP FEDERAL RACE

Entering last week the Detroit Dynamos were the model of consistency as they had not lost more than two games in a row all season. That consistency was a big reason Detroit had built a decent lead in the Federal Association but all that changed last week. Detroit came out of the all-star break with a pair of wins over St Louis to extend their winning streak to 4 games and their lead on second place Chicago to 5 and a half games entering play last Sunday. The Dynamos then proceeded to drop six of seven and with the Chiefs on a 4-game winning streak to end the week the surprise team of the 1938 season is suddenly clinging to a 1.5 game lead on the Chiefs, who were widely favoured at seasons start to claim their second pennant in a three year span.

This marks the first real test for the Detroit side, who were playing with house money as, while they were expected to be greatly improved from their woes of the past few seasons, no one expected them to be in first place at this stage of the year. The big question is how do they handle the adversity of their first losing streak? Will Detroit rebound or is this the point that, as some have predicted, the Dynamos pitching staff wilts under the summer heat?

Meanwhile the Chiefs are finding their groove, posting a 27-12 record since June 3rd including wins in 10 of their last 13 games. The Pittsburgh Miners, who took two of three from both the Dynamos and Chiefs last week, are also heating up. They were a .500 ballclub as late as June 7th but since then have gone 23-12 and are just 4.5 games off the pace, tied with the St Louis Pioneers in what is now shaping up to be the tight, multi-team race that was expected out of the Federal Association.

The Continental Association sees everyone trying to keep pace with the Brooklyn Kings as the defending champs continue to reel off 4 and 5 victories a week and now lead Toronto by 10 games with the Philadelphia Sailors, who were expected to challenge Brooklyn for the title after taking them to a tie-breaker game a year ago, hovering just above the .500 mark. The Sailors did get a small boost last week by taking two of three from the front-running Kings at Sailors Memorial Stadium.

QUICK HITS

• The career of former Allan Award winner Hardin Bates quietly came to an end recently when Bates suffered a career ending shoulder injury while pitching for San Francisco of the Great Western League. It was quite a ride for the 31 year old Michigan native that might have been over before it ever started as he was undrafted out of high school. The New York Gothams decided to take a chance on the then 19 year old Bates and signed him to a minor league contract prior to the 1926 season. It took a while for him to get to the big leagues but he certainly showed some signs of potential along the way such as a 15 strikeout game in Class B and at the age of 24 he finally cracked the top 100 prospect list. The Gothams promoted him to the big leagues that season (1931) and he went 10-6 in half a year helping New York reach the WCS. He would lose a pair of Series starts as the Chicago Cougars topped the Gothams in 6 games. Bates did finally get a WCS ring in 1935 but might have won another in 1934 had he not missed the end of the season and the Series with an injury. 1934 was the year of his career when Bates led the Fed in ERA and went 19-5 prior to his injury to win the Allen Award. Over a 3 year span from 1933-35 he was 53-24 but just 33-53 for the rest of his major league career that also included stops with the Chicago Cougars and Detroit before returning to the Gothams this season. He struggled in 4 starts prompting New York to release him last month and he caught on with the Sailors AAA club in San Francisco but his 8th game with the Hawks would prove to be the last of his career.
• Great start to the Pete Papenfus era in Chicago. The Cougars eased the 20 year old in by giving him a pair of relief innings against the Sailors on Tuesday. He ended up giving up the tying run but the offense bailed him out and he was rewarded with his first career big league victory. On Thursday "Peter the Heater" made his first start and came up with a masterful performance, fanning 8 in beating the New York Stars 4-1 on a complete game 4-hitter.
• Watching Papenfus pitch once again brings up the question why is Deuce Barrell is still in Indianapolis and not pitching in the big leagues? The 1935 first overall draft pick is 8-4 with a 3.12 era and is second in the Century League in strikeouts (trailing only Papenfus) despite spending the first month of the season in AA. Yet the Baltimore Cannons have not called him up. Red Johnson, who was taken right after Barrell in the '35 draft is doing just fine in Detroit and the third pick of that class, George Garrison has just been called up by Toronto. The Cannons are a bad team with bad pitching in danger of a fifth straight last place finish. Barrell looked pretty good in spring training and likely should have gone north with the team then instead of down to AA. He is 11-4 with a 2.83 era and a 160 ERA+ through 20 minor league starts and at the very least seems like a much better option that Howie Pike (0-3, 4.56) as the number four starter in the Baltimore rotation.
• If the Cannons do beat the New York Stars in the race to the bottom of the Continental Association they will be the first CA team in history to finish last 5 years in a row. The Philadelphia Keystones finished last in the Federal Association 5 years in a row beginning in 1920. The Keystones also had 4 straight 8th place showings, same as the current Cannons run, from 1903-06 as did the pre-FABL 1881-1884 Washington Eagles franchise (then known as the Baltimore Bannermen). No CA team besides the current edition of the Cannons has ever finished last 4 consecutive seasons.
• From the "Even when you make the right move things can still backfire" department. On Saturday, the Chiefs scored 4 runs in the 9th to beat the Eagles 5-2. The Eagles had taken a 2-1 lead with 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 8th. The runs scored after an error by the short stop. Pete Layton? No--Layton's "defensive" replacement Bill White.
• The Foresters are liking what they are seeing out Eli Harkless (.368,0,1). The 20 year old outfielder, who was selected 16th overall in 1935 went 0-for-2 in his first two pinch-hit assignments with Cleveland but since then had an 8 game hitting streak although he did come to an end yesterday. His play since coming up from Cincinnati has pushed starting right field Lou Balk (.289,6,25) to the bench. Another rookie, 22 year old catcher Ken Vance (.227,0,9) was given a few games to see if he can replace aging T.R. Goins (.250,0,23) or backup Mickey Patterson (.255,1,14) as the answer behind the plate. Vance was an 8th round selection in 1934.
• Lefty Allen has reeled off 5 straight wins and is up to a 16-7 record with a 3.23 ERA, which makes him a big reason the Miners are challenging in the Fed.
• The Chiefs have been throwing Sergio Vergara's name around in trade discussions the last couple of seasons but I expect they are glad he is still with the organization. The 22-year-old was just promoted to class AA Memphis after 97 class A innings with a 3.96 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 6.6 K/9. Chicago Scouting Director Rube Carter was never really sold on him, but now he's "better than simple rotation filler."
• 3 of the Chiefs top 4 prospects are now in Memphis (Vergara, Chuck Adams, and Jim Alarie). Chicago could use some help in the outfield, and so there has been some internal debate over bringing up Alarie--who is the elusive right-handed bat--from AA. But the Chiefs brass worries that would be just too big of a jump for him. Outfielder Paddy Smith (hitting just .184) was sent down to Fort Wayne and Bobby Small was recalled to take his spot. Small hit .305 in 24 games for the Chiefs last season (and was hitting .387 in Fort Wayne). But he is--you guessed it--a left-handed bat. A number of teams in this league seem to have an abundance of lefthanders, both on the mound and in the batters box.
• The Gothams are again preaching patience. The big club's rotation has been a series of inexperienced pitchers trying to find there way. Mostly with little in the way of positive results. Sure Nate Spear (22) has had some bright spots in an 8-8, 4.12 season, and Ernie Wise (26) and Earle Killebrew (25) have been hit or miss. Now the team is bringing in veteran Oscar Morse to show the kids how it's done. All of this is for entertainment as the team waits for the next wave. It's getting closer. At AAA Charlie Sutton (22) is 4-0, 2.18 to go with Fred Ratcliffe (24), 2-22, 2.53 and Mule Earl (25) 5-0, 1.49. Be hind them at AA is top 20 prospect Bunny Edwards (22) 3-1, 2.80. At A level is Ray Wilcox (23) 3-6, 3.57 and at B level making his professional debut is #2 FABL prospect Ed Bowman who started his pro career with a CG win, allowing 2 earned runs. It just "requires some patience" according to Gothams Scouting Director Dave White.
• it is with great sadness that the Pioneers had to DFA longtime star Alex Ingraham with the intent of giving him his unconditional release after he refused a demotion to AAA. The performance of rookie Les Hendrix forced their hand as Gail Gifford was due to come off the IL. No way to justify carrying seven out fielders and Ingraham's sub .200 batting average only made the move easier. Alex ends his St. Louis career third in SLG%(.514) and HR(161), fourth in doubles(237), triples(111), and RBI(831).
• Still with the Pioneers, it was Otis Cook, not Sam Sheppard, that got the call to the rotation to replace injured David Abalo. Cook gave up just one run in 5.1 innings in his first start of the season. Recently called up Russ Peeples finished the game for the Pioneers. With Peeples getting the call to the big club that means all four players obtained from Toronto in the McCormick trade are now playing in the majors and three of them are in the four man rotation.
• I don't think Toronto feels bad about that as the Wolves remain ecstatic with their piece of the deal after Fred McCormick (.408,9,55) had a 12-for-24 week and extended his lead on teammate Nick Wallace (.363,6,56) atop the CA batting race.
• For the second time this season the CA player of the week is Philadelphia Sailors first baseman Dick Walker (.282,11,56), one of the most underappreciated players in the game. Walker is a 3-time all-star and in his 11th season with the Sailors but seldom gets mentioned when talking about the elite first baseman around the league. Of course playing in Philadelphia in the giant shadow of Rankin Kellogg, at least until recent years, can certainly do that.
• Pittsburgh outfielder Joe Owens (.330,7,43) took the weekly hardware in the Federal Association after going 13-for-26 with 12 rbi's to help the Miners win 5 of 7 games last week.
• It took some time but the Toronto Wolves finally got young pitching phenom Donnie Jones under contract as the 18 year old from Minneapolis High School signed this week. Jones was immediately slotted in as the 22nd best prospect in the game according to OSA which puts him one spot ahead of his brother Johnnie. There had been rumours Johnnie was trying to influence his younger sibling to seriously consider the scholarship offer he had from CCLA as the 20 year old is said to be very discouraged with how things have been going in the Stars organization. At least one team has made overtures to New York to try and coax them to move the lefthander but the Stars say he still fits into their plans. Johnnie Jones was just promoted from Class C to Class B by New York but continues to be used in a long reliever role by the organization, which is thought to be the biggest cause of Jones' frustrations.

MINOR LEAGUES
ROCHESTER'S 4 YEAR PENNANT RUN ON SHAKY GROUND

It was a nice run atop the Union League for the Rochester Rooks. The city of Rochester had an entry in the AA Eastern Association from 1897 until 1928 but never won a pennant. In 1929 the Kings moved their AAA affiliate from Houston and selected Rochester due to it's proximity to the parent club, elevating the Rooks to the Union League. The Rooks had 3 third place finishes in their first 5 seasons in the Union League but still no titles for the city. That changed in 1934 when they finished 2 games up on Cincinnati and started a nice rivalry with the Steamers that seemed to match that of their respective big league affiliates in Brooklyn and Cleveland who were duking it out for Continental Association supremacy. However, while the Kings were coming up short in those first couple of battles with the Foresters, the Rooks would get the best of Cincinnati each time. The Steamers would finish second to Rochester three consecutive seasons before slipping to 7th last year, which would likely be the last of the Rooks streak of titles as well.

Stars of the Rochester team in 1934 included Bill White (now with Chiefs), Vernon Ruch, Bill May (BKN), Buck Sargent (DET), Rabbit Mudd (NYG) and pitchers Gordie Woods, Mickey Beavers, Art Blake (Tor) and George DeForest (STL).

The '35 club included veteran Art Summers and Ab Thomas, both of whom spent a number of seasons as starters in Brooklyn before losing their jobs in the deep Kings crop of outfielders. as well as pitchers Jack Beach (Chiefs), Bob Cummings (BKN) and DeForest, who won 18 games for the Rooks that season. The club won a franchise record 94 games, third highest total in the 31 year history of the league.

1936 saw young OF Alf Pestilli (BKN) burst on to the scene as well as current Kings Ab Thomas, Bill Johnson and Curly Jones. Other members included Jim Gentry (NYS) and was the year of long time AAA hurler Mickey Beavers (20-6) best season of pro ball.

Last season saw veteran OF Ab Thomas lead the team with help from another OF who has been around a while in Jake Matheson, who played a couple of seasons for Cleveland early in his career. Current Kings Bill Johnson, Alf Pestilli and Vernon Ruch also played key roles while on the mound it was the trio of veteran minor leaguers in Beavers, Gordie Woods and Mickey Lasson along with rising prospects Jack Goff and Charlie Britton, the former the son of Brooklyn's pitching coach and the later being groomed to replace Del Lyons as the big arm in the Brooklyn pen.

At the midway point this season the Rooks are mired in 7th, 10 games under the break even mark and the roster has had a lot of turnover from vets to youth as the parent Kings 3 year rebuild of their minor league system is starting to pay dividends. Joe Herman, Jim Lightbdoy, Eddie Miller and Dan Rogers are all young, high draft picks who hope to crack the stacked Brooklyn lineup in the near future. Beavers, Woods and Lassen are still on the mound but the focus is now on Goff and Britton along with newly acquired youngster Hank Mittan but with youth comes growing pains and the Rooks have certainly had their share so far this season.

JAPANESE LEAGUE UPDATE

The Osaka Sailors were crowned the first half winners in the inaugural season of the Japanese Baseball League. The Sailors finished 5 games up on second place Yokohama with the Kobe Bulls coming in third. The Sailors will face the winners of the second half in the league's first championship series.

• American sportsman Howard Hughes completed a transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in 16 hours and 38 minutes, less than half the time it took Charles Lindbergh to make the same journey in 1929. It was the first leg of a round the world journey that took him less than 91 hours to complete and included stops in Moscow and Alaska.
• One dead and scores injured in another riot between cops and striking workers. This one in California as 2,000 lumber employees attempted to prevent people from crossing picket lines.
• With the conflict with China continuing, Japan has announced Tokyo will no longer host the 1940 Olympic games. Grover Whalen, president of the World's Fair 1939 group, announces he will ask the Olympic committee to try and bring the 1940 games to the World's Fair site. He was unsuccessful in his lobbying as Helsinki was selected as the new host although they would eventually be abandoned altogether due to the outbreak of WWII.
• A patrol of British troops and Palestine police killed 10 members of an attacking band planning an ambush near Jerusalem. The clash brought total casualties in the week's bloody conflict to over 300 including 55 Arabs and 22 Jews killed.
• Prime Minister Chamberlain says Britain will not protect British merchant ships who enter the "danger zone" in Spanish waters.

This Week in Figment Baseball: July 25, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

July 25, 1938

DYNAMOS PAD LEAD AS TRADE DEADLINE APPROACHES

As quickly as the Chicago Chiefs cut into Detroit's lead atop the Federal Association, the Dynamos responded with a big week and once again have a 4.5 game cushion on their nearest rival. A week ago at this time Detroit appeared to be in big trouble after dropping 6 of 7 games including being swept by the last place Washington Eagles. All that changed this week as the Dynamos rebounded with a 5-1 week including a 3-game sweep of the Philadelphia Keystones. While Detroit was make short work of the Keystones and Boston, the Chicago Chiefs, who finished off last week on a 4 game winning streak, stumbled against those same two teams. The Chiefs were swept by Boston in a 3 game set before salvaging something from the week by taking two out of three from the Keystones. The result is Chicago is once again 4.5 games back of a Detroit team that continues to surprise everyone else in the league.
With this being the final week before the trade deadline one has to wonder if the Chiefs - or perhaps St Louis and Pittsburgh - who sit tied for third place in the Fed - are going to pull the trigger on a deadline deal that might tilt the balance in their favour? The problem is after the moves made last week, none of which involved the 4 contenders in the Fed, is there just might not be a lot available.

You have to think Detroit fans would feel just a little more comfortable with another quality starting pitcher, especially considering the very inconsistent Ron Coles (8-5, 5.42) has had a few rough outings of late. The rest of Detroit's rotation, consisting of vets Frank Crawford (14-3, 3.10) and Roger Perry (9-4, 3.86) and youngsters Stumpy Beamon (7-6, 3.91) and Charlie Wheeler (9-6, 2.87) has been very good so perhaps just cutting the rotation down to those four might be a sufficient upgrade for George Theobald's squad. Crawford has been terrific all season and dumped the Keystones 6-1 to improve his July record to 4-0. Wheeler, who came over from the Gothams in the off-season, has stumbled a little recently in dropping his last three decisions but part of that was bad luck as he fell 1-0 in Boston on Saturday. Regardless, the 23 year old is on track to becoming the most popular player named Wheeler to don the Detroit flannel, although he still has a long ways to go in that regard he has made fans in Detroit forget all about the Wonder Wheel. Of course, having the game's next superstar outfielder in Sal Pestilli (.306,27,71) also helps the cause.

What about Chicago? The Chiefs rotation seems solid even with Al Miller (7-10, 4.32) underperforming but a bullpen piece would certainly not hurt. The offense is also very well stocked but they could stand to have an upgrade in center field where Bob Worley (.188,4,29) showed quickly that power numbers in the Great Western League do not always translate to big league success. Bobby Small (.182,0,1) is getting a shot to see if perhaps he can do the job in center, at least in a platoon role. One has to think a deal with a team like the New York Stars (for Chink Stickels) or Montreal (if they could coax Pablo Reyes away from the Saints) might go a long ways towards helping the Chiefs overtake Detroit.

You can't count Pittsburgh or St Louis. The Miners have been very good of late but they desperately need Mahlon Strong to actually be healthy if they want to challenge. St Louis has slowed down lately with the absence of David Abalo hurting their chances and no one seemingly capable of being the fourth arm in the rotation.

QUICK HITS

• It was mentioned above but here are the moves the top two in the Fed need to make to tilt the balance down the stretch. Detroit: add another starting pitcher. Dave Rankin would have been perfect had he not been dealt to the Foresters. Chicago Chiefs: Work their relationship with Montreal one more time to add Pablo Reyes and reliever Howie Snyder for a package of prospects including Chuck Adams.
• Word out of Chicago is the Chiefs have thrown some feelers out on a pair of players, both of whom might have a huge impact in the Fed race. No confirmation either deal is close to happening but Chicago is certainly trying to do something.
• Rough week for the Brooklyn Kings who lost five of their last 7 but they still lead second place Toronto by 9 games in the Continental Association. The Philadelphia Sailors are worth watching. They are still 10.5 games back but have won 9 of 12 including taking two of three from Brooklyn at home recently. The two teams meet at Kings County this weekend and a Sailors sweep could make things interesting.
• Peter the Heater has certainly lived up to his name in Chicago. The Cougars 20 year old pitching sensation is 4-0 with 2.25 era and 27 strikeouts in 28 innings of work. Makes one almost forget about the other young righthander off to a great start in the Windy City as 23 year old Harry Parker is 4-1 with a 2.36 era since coming up from AAA Milwaukee.
• Things are not going so well with the young arms in Toronto as George Garrison (0-2, 1.0.80) and Jim Morrison (3-7, 5.87) continue to struggle but Wolves management vows they will both stay with the big club, at least for now.
• Gothams rookies took their show on the road this week. In 6 games at Washington and Pittsburgh first year players flashed their potential. They play the same two teams at home this week. It will be interesting to see how they do now that their opponents have seen them
  SS Mule Monier - .429/.538/.810, 3 D, 1 T, 1 HR, 8 RBI
  3B Billy Dalton - .500/.567/.636
  RF Dave Haight - .467/.550/.733
  LF Ernesto Perez - .400/.464/.440
  Unfortunately newly acquired Oscar Morse's results looked like every other veteran pitcher the Gothams have used the past few years going 0-2 4.85. Truth be told, he didn't pitch poorly with a 1.08 WHIP in two games on the road against two of the better offenses in the Fed.
• Chink Stickels (.344,2,39) continues to be one of the few bright spots for the New York Stars. The 27 year old was named CA player of the week after going 14-for-28 the past seven days. The Fed winner was Boston's Pete Day (.280,6,46) who was 12-for-31 with a pair of homers.
• Nice start in Cleveland for Dave Rankin (7-11, 3.90). Two solid efforts in wins over Baltimore and the Stars.

1939 DRAFT PREVIEW

NAMES YOU NEED TO KNOW

A new format means the 1939 draft will arrive much quicker than originally expected as the opening three rounds of the draft, including the newly devised regional selection only third round, will be held in January prior to the top prospects starting their high school senior or college junior campaign. The decision takes the controversial OOTP generated Mock Draft out of the equation, at least for these early rounds, and will likely lead to some surprise picks, similar to what was seen in the second half of the previous decade before the Mock was introduced into the game.

To help get baseball fans up to speed TWIFB will regularly publish features on the draft over the coming months. First up here is a look at a dozen position players that might hear their names called in January instead of after the amateur seasons wrap in June, which is when rounds 4-25 will be completed.

BOB COON CF School: St. Magnus University Born: Johnstown, Pa.
1938: .345/.406/.569, 318 PA, 16 2B, 6 3B, 11 HR, 68 RBI, 34 SB
Career (COL): .328/.391/.531, 607 PA, 30 2B, 11 3B, 19 HR, 74 SB
Career HS: .528/.583/.944, 103 PA, 13 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 19 SB
Coon was an All-American at St. Magnus this season and finished second in the nation with a .345 batting average. His 11 homers tied him for third most in the AIAA. Originally a 14th round pick of the Keystones out of high school, Coon instead elected to go the college route and seems very likely to be a first round selection come January. OSA calls him an elite hitter and Scouting Directors like the Cougars Marv Branson seem to agree. Recent quotes out of Chicago indicate he may be one of the Cougars top targets.

WHITEY DORSCH 3B School: Moline (IL) HS Born: Moline, IL
1938: .482/.589/.795, 110 PA, 12 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB
Career: .492/.599/.791, 341 PA, 37 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 83 RBI, 3 SB
There are a number of very talented third basemen in this class and also a fair number of quality players from the state of Illinois, which gives the Cougars and Chiefs the inside track on Dorsch if he survives to the third round. His numbers as a junior were down slightly from his freshman and sophomore seasons but OSA raves about his contract potential and feel he is solid with the glove.

WALLY FULLER 3B School: Collegiate HS, New York City Born: New York, NY
1938: .514/.644/.784 107 PA, 15 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 5 SB
Career: .511/.601/.849 332 PA, 43 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 85 RBI, 13 SB
Any of the three New York state teams would love to get Fuller in the regional round but it is unlikely he falls that far after 3 very good high school seasons. This past June Fuller joined Pete Casstevens and Donnie Jones as the only players ever selected as High School All-Americans 3 times. (note the team has only been awarded since 1934) A strong season could make him the first player ever to be an All-American each of his four high school seasons. OSA projects him as an elite hitter filling a key role for a contending team.

HANK GIORDANO LF School: Crisfield (MD) HS Born: Crisfield, Md
1938: .530/.562/.870 114 PA, 11 2B, 7 3B, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 35 SB
Career: .521/.574/.839 373 PA, 44 2B, 20 3B, 7 HR, 103 RBI, 97 SB
Plus speed that creates havoc on the base paths makes Giordano look perfectly suited to a lead-off role. Very good with the glove and would certainly add to his value if he could cover center field as a pro.

LLOYD GIVENS RF School: Greensburg (PA) HS Born: Johnstown, Pa
1938: .458/.549/.723 105 PA, 12 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 6 SB
Career: .460/.536/.720 209 PA, 26 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 48 RBI, 14 SB
Did not play as a freshman but very consistent over his first two seasons of high school ball. Drew 39 walks over two seasons while fanning just 10 teams and OSA feels his disciplined approach at the plate will be one of his strong suits. May not have the power you want from a corner outfielder but according to the league scouting service Givens should hit .310 once he matures.

DANNY GOFF JR. CF School: Hempstead University Born: Brooklyn, NY
1938: .341/.399/.458, 305 PA, 15 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 35 SB
Career: 357/.413/.483, 301 PA, 30 2B, 15 3B, 3 HR, 109 RBI, 70 SB
His father is the former pitcher and current Brooklyn Kings bench coach and his older brother Jack is a pitcher in the Kings system so you can bet that Brooklyn is high on the hometown boy. Goff Jr was a first team AIAA All-American as a freshman at Hempstead and although his numbers dipped slightly this past season he still did enough to warrant inclusion on the Second Team. A recent note on Goff in the Chicago Daily News described the 20 year old this way: " Goff projects to compete for batting titles as he consistently hits the ball hard to all fields. He has excellent speed on the basepaths and it coincides with excellent range in center. His bat and hustle alone are enough to warrant a high draft pick, but add in the baseball pedigree and he seems to be a lock to be a first rounder."

BOB JOHNSTON JR. 1B School: Maryland State Born: Montreal, QC
1938: .340/.396/.583 232 PA, 12 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 38 SB
Career: .340/.396/.583 232 PA, 12 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 38 SB

Like Goff, Johnston has big league ties as he is the son of the long-time Montreal Saints pitcher by the same name. Because of being born in Canada it seems quite possible that the power hitting first baseman will be selected in the regional 3rd round. He has a huge frame (6'4", 225 lbs) and just looks like a first baseman. Johnston has just the one year of college ball under his belt but it was quite a season as he finished second in the nation in homers and fourth in batting average while playing against top flight competition with the Bengals.

BOB MARK 2B School: Central Kentucky Born: Akron, Oh
1938: .305/.417/.416 312 PA, 13 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 50 RBI, 32 SB
Career HS: .446/.520/.712 329 PA, 35 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 71 RBI, 47 SB
Career College: .289/.390/.400 605 PA, 23 2B, 11 3B, 4 HR, 89 RBI, 70 SB
It is a surprise to see a pair of players featured here who were drafted out of high school but refused to sign and went to school instead. Bob Mark was original drafted in the 15th round by the Washington Eagles in 1936 but elected to go to Central Kentucky. While he is not a sure-fire first round pick like the previously discussed Bob Coon, the move to attend school certainly appears to have paid off nicely as Mark was named a second team All-American last season and OSA sees him as an above average player. Limited power but his game is speed and projects to have very good contact ability.

WALTER McCLURE CF School: Maryland State Born: Boston, Ma.
1938: .306/.361/.403 316 PA, 10 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 50 RBI, 34 SB
Career: .307/.367/.405 613 PA, 18 2B, 18 3B, 0 HR, 103 RBI, 67 SB
With McClure and fellow top prospect Bob Johnston Jr. the Maryland State Bengals should have a pretty solid program this year. McClure is the table setter, profiling as a solid lead-off man at the next level and has excellent defensive skills in center field thanks in no small part to his blazing speed.

SKIPPER SCHNEIDER SS School: Northwestern HS, Detroit Born: Detroit, Mi
1938: .478/.524/.674, 108 PA, 15 2B, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 18 SB
Career: 484/.532/.671, 367 PA, 38 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 98 RBI, 47 SB
You may be hard pressed to find a better defensive shortstop in this class than Schneider. The 17 year old is also one of the smallest players available standing just 5'6" tall but he is a true shortstop defensively. He is not overly quick but is very smart on the base paths. Looks like a possible first round pick just for his glove but whether he can hit at the professional level is still open to debate.

CLIFTON SMITH SS School: Winston-Salem (NC) HS Born: Winston-Salem, NC
1938: /436/.492/.636 129 PA, 16 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB
Career: .468/.537/.663 361 PA, 44 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 82 RBI, 20 SB
Much like Schneider, Smith's key to getting drafted early lies in his glove skills. The 17 year old is a defensive marvel. He has not been overly impressive at the plate in high school but OSA feels his solid strike zone knowledge will help he be a .270 hitter. Because North Carolina is not part of any team's draft territory there is a chance Smith slips to the fourth round unless someone scoops him up in round two.

DEL WEST LF School: Charlottesville (VA) HS Born: Charlottesville, Va
1938: .513/.556/.752 135 PA, 15 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 9 SB
Career: .518/.566/.768 386 PA, 48 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, 102 RBI, 13 SB
There are a lot of talented outfielders in FABL right now which does hurt the draft stock of many of the corner guys but West looks too good to pass up. He likely won't develop much power but if he hits his potential perhaps is the kind of player who could challenge for a batting crown. He reminds us of a Wally Flowers/Larry Vestal type of player and that analogy fits well as he looks like just the type of player the Washington Eagles have great success with. Not sure he slides out of the second round but if so West looks like the perfect round 3 regional selection for the Eagles.


Next up in the near future will be a look at some of the top pitchers to watch for in the 1939 draft class.

• Tensions in the Japanese-Soviet clash escalate as Tokyo announces it is prepared to "take the necessary steps" if Soviet troops do not withdraw from the disputed Manchukuo border territory.
• Government defense lines about 15 miles north of Valencia collapsed as insurgent warplanes flew over the routed stoops as the Spanish civil war enters it's third year.
• A great military display in Paris welcomes King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, making their first state visit to any foreign nation since they ascended the throne of Great Britain.
• Hitler's proposed solution for a settlement of the Czechoslovakia problem in the interests of European peace was transmitted to Britain and France. Peace talks between Britain-France and Germany-Italy are underway with each side having a wary eye on the others.
• On the heels of Howard Hughes around the world flight, Douglas Corrigan - a Los Angeles airplane mechanic- flew across the Atlantic alone in a 1929 monoplane that cost him only $900. He had no navigating instruments, no radio, no safety equipment and no permission from the US Government. Hughes' co-pilot called the stunt "foolhardy" while Hughes would only say it was 'remarkable."

This Week in Figment Baseball: Trade Deadline Edition
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
SPECIAL TRADE DEADLINE EDITION

It comes as little surprise that the Chicago Chiefs pulled the trigger on a deadline day trade to add a premier center fielder and relief help but what set tongues wagging in FABL was who the Chiefs partnered up with to make the move. Chicago more than addressed their wishes for a lead-off hitter/ defensive whiz to play center field by acquiring one of the best in 25 year old Brooklyn Kings star Bill May. The fact that the deal was for May, instead of Pablo Reyes of Montreal, the Stars Chink Stickels or even Bobby Barrell of the Keystones was the shocker, and the fact that this deal materialized seemingly out of the blue because of a conversation with a team trainer makes it a story well worth telling.

Before we get to how the teams came around to making this trade let's look closer at the particulars. The Chicago Chiefs add, in May, one of the best lead-off men in the game and player with plus speed and incredible defensive instincts. May was hitting .311 with 2 homers and 51 rbi's for the Kings. He led the CA in stolen bases last season with 30 and already has 21 this year. The one knock, if there is any on May's game, is he also led the CA in strikeouts last season and is one off of the CA lead in that category again this time around. That is something the Chiefs can easily overlook just as the Kings did from May, who is a .301 career hitter and has already played 599 FABL games, won a World Championship Series and made an all-star game appearance.

The thought of May at the top of the Chiefs batting order has to scare the rest of the Federal Association, especially the Detroit Dynamos who are trying to hold off Chicago at the top of the table. With May in the lead-off slot the probable Chiefs starting lineup looks something like this:
The Chiefs other objective was to shore up a bullpen that presently has the worst ERA in the Fed. They added 30 year old Gene Jones along with May but there are certainly a lot of questions as to whether he might be the answer. Jones has been in the Kings system ever since he was selected in the 5th round of the 1929 draft but he could never quite crack the big league lineup. He looked very good in his 8 FABL appearances, all coming out of the Brooklyn pen in 1933. He has been a leader in Rochester the past three seasons and helped the Rooks to a pair of Union League titles. This year Jones is 5-4 with a 3.10 era and will be finally given a chance to show what he can do at the top level as it is very likely the Chiefs will give him a shot to try and help stabilize their shaky bullpen. Whether he makes a difference remains to be seen. The biggest boost the Chiefs pitching staff could ever receive would be an internal change - and that would be for this year's version of Al Miller (7-10,4.32) to replace himself with the Al Miller we saw the first two years of his career, the one who went 40-21 with an era just over 3.00.

The fact that Chicago added both May and Jones with only sacrificing an underperforming Bob Worley (.188,4,29) from their active roster makes this move all that much better for the Chiefs chances this season. That does not mean the cost wasn't heavy, it certainly was as Chicago parts with it's top 3 prospects (2 of whom rank in the top 37 by OSA) and anther young pitcher with some promise. In the long run Chicago may come to really regret this deal but if it gets them back to the World Championship Series come October it will be well worth it no matter the price.

BROOKLYN SIDE OF THE DEAL

The trade did come out of left field, well center field I guess to be more precise, for the Brooklyn Kings. "The opportunity came up quickly," explained Brooklyn Assistant General Manager Jim Golden "and there was some fierce debate among the executive group but in the end it was unanimous that this offer was just too good to pass up."

In return for May and minor league pitcher Gene Jones the Kings add three players they feel could be ready to step into starting roles with the club as early as next April. Those there are:

CHUCK ADAMS: A 21 year old first baseman selected by Chicago in the second round of the 1935 draft out of Memphis High School. Adams has had a decent rise through the Chiefs system and was settling in nicely at the AA level (playing for the Chiefs Dixie League affiliate in his hometown) and will likely start at AA in the Brooklyn organization. He has not shown a lot of it yet but Kings scouting director John Spears raves about Adams' power and feels he could develop into an all-star caliber hitter. Adams is ranked the 11th best prospect in the game and immediately becomes the Kings top prospect. Interestingly enough, he was a player the Kings had targeted in the 1935 draft but went 4 picks ahead of Brooklyn's selection. Brooklyn ended up taking another young power hitting first baseman in Tim Hopkins, who's future is now up in the air with the organization.

SERGIO VERGARA:A 22 year old Mexican born pitcher who was a late round pick out of El Paso High School in 1935. He is presently #37 on the OSA rankings and just recently made his AA debut after starting the season in Class A. The righthander projects to be at the very least a middle of the rotation option.

JIM ALARIE : Drafted in the seventh round in 1934, Alarie grew up in Western Canada but came to New England to play his high school ball. Now 22, he has looked very good at AA Memphis (.324,2,42) and is the most ready of the three main prospects the Kings added. Alarie likely would be in Chicago next week had the Chiefs been unsuccessful in their bid to land a center fielder. He might just come up to Brooklyn shortly as well but the more likely scenario is he spends the rest of the season at AAA Rochester and looks to make the jump in April. Alarie is listed as the 142nd best prospect according to OSA. If things work out ideally for the Kings he will be a poor man's Bill May in center field with great defensive instincts and plus speed.

GEORGE SCRUGGS:Almost a throw-in the Kings liked the 20 year old in his draft year of 1936 when he went to the Chiefs in the 8th round. In his second pro season, the righthander was recently moved up from Class C to B but, while he has pretty good stuff, his two pitch repertoire likely limits him to the bullpen if he progresses through the system. At #298 on OSA's list Scruggs immediately becomes the Kings #3 pitching prospect behind Vergara and 19 year old Ed Funkhouser.

Brooklyn also picks up big league centerfielder Bob Worley in the deal as Worley was deemed expendable by the Chiefs with the addition of May. The 29 year old has great power at least at the minor league level where he hit 57 homers a year ago but he has struggled mightily to make contact in the big leagues, batting just .234 with 43 homers in 576 major league games including .188,4,29 this season.

The Kings will give Worley a chance to earn the starting center field job as they love his defense but he will be on a short leash with Alf Pestilli (.305,11,47) a possibility to shift over from left or 1937 lottery draft signee Joe Herman (.273,1,42 at AAA) also under consideration with the newly acquired Alarie as an outside possibility.

It is hard not to like what this deal does for the Kings future as in one swoop it reinvigorates their farm system and should keep them competitive against young and rapidly improving clubs like the Chicago Cougars and Toronto well into the next decade. However, on the flip side you can not help but think the dealing of May might just have cost the club a shot at back to back World Championships.

"I get that," conceded Brooklyn AGM Jim Golden, "and that was a topic of debate. We will miss May's defense but if Worley or Herman can hit just enough to contribute we think we will be fine. Remember the Wonder Wheel (Al Wheeler .251,13,54) has not got going yet and if he does our offense will be just fine even without May at the top of the order."

HOW IT ALL CAME TO BE

Perhaps the most interesting part of this deal is just how it materialized. This Week in Figment Baseball had correctly hypothesised that the Chiefs were after either Pablo Reyes or Chink Stickels to solve their need in center. It turns out they also had discussions with the Keystones about Bobby Barrell as well but the deal that was expected to occur would have sent Adams, Vergara and Allarie along with perhaps another prospect and veteran Chicago pitcher Charlie Bingham to the New York Stars in exchange for Stickels - a 27 year old who is putting up very good numbers (.344,2,39) in New York this season but was not overly impressive in his previous stints with the Stars, which total 42 games and has proven so far to just be an average defender. OSA raves about Stickels but he does not, at least as of yet, have a very detailed resume.

So it seemed a no brainer with 18 year old phenom Bill Barrett sitting in A ball (although nursing a minor nagging injury) and expected to very soon be the Stars center fielder for the next decade or longer, for New York to jump at this deal. The same pieces the Kings coveted would have looked very good at Dyckman Stadium in the near future. With no other quality option in the pipeline to replace 39 year old Dave Trowbridge, Chuck Adams looked like a perfect fit in this deal. Adding a young arm like Vergara would give the Stars four pitchers ranked in the top 100 by OSA - although it should be noted that Johnnie Jones is very unhappy with the organization and may want out. Not only that but you also get Allarie, who if nothing else is a decent trade chip going forward or perhaps someday replaces Art McMahon in left field. Then to top it off you add a veteran arm in Bingham, who would easily crack the train wreck of a rotation that is the Stars starting five.

Add those pieces, perhaps bring Allaire and Adams up this season, get Barrett in the starting lineup and who knows- a few solid starts from Bingham the Stars might catch Baltimore and Montreal to avoid finishing last for the first time since they did so back in 1919. But the deal didn't happen as the Stars decision turned out to make a perfect match of the Chiefs and Kings - two teams that hooked up in the World Championship Series two years ago and each with an eye on a return trip.

RUBE CARTER BROKERED THE DEAL WITH THE KINGS TRAINER

The only reason Brooklyn and Chicago discussed a trade is because Rube Carter, the Chiefs scouting director who used to hold a similar position with the Kings, called one of his close friends in Brooklyn - club trainer Tom Seale - to vent his frustrations at his club being rebuffed by the Stars in what Carter thought was a fantastic deal for both teams. When Seale hung up the phone he mentioned his conversation to Brooklyn skipper Powell Slocum. Slocum is a big fan of Bill May's but saw it as a opportunity to improve his ballclub long-term and he passed the info on to the Kings General Manager. The deal then came together very quickly for both sides and as you can clearly now see it truly was 'written in (or at least co-authored by) the Stars.

WILL IT BE ENOUGH

The acquisition of May certainly strengthens the Chiefs already potent offense but will it be enough to derail the Cinderella like run the Detroit Dynamos have been on. With the deadline very close it is looking more and more like Detroit will not make a move to answer the Chiefs, and perhaps there is no need as George Theobald has his team playing better than anyone could ever have expected. A Detroit source confirmed the club was very close to adding ex-Cougars pitcher Dave Rankin just before he was shipped to Cleveland but the Dynamos pulled out at the last minute due to concerns of Rankin's consistency. Rankin won both of his starts and looked pretty good for the Foresters, but the Dynamos went 5-1 and restored their lead atop the Fed to 4.5 games during the same time span. Will they regret not pulling the trigger on Rankin, especially with so few quality arms available at the deadline? The next two months will tell. Buckle up, the Fed promises another wild finish again this year.

And what of Brooklyn. The Kings look to be sitting pretty comfortably with a 9 game lead in the Continental Association but it is hard not to argue the team just got worse - at least in the short term - at the deadline. Will the move haunt Brooklyn down the stretch, or assuming they and the Chiefs both successfully reach the Series and have a rematch of the 1936 Fall Classic, will May come back to bite his old teammates in the chilly autumn winds of mid-October?

This Week in Figment Baseball: August 1, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

August 1, 1938

DYNAMOS MAKE LATE DEAL TO ADD SAILORS MOUND ACE JONES

The Dynamos pulled off a late deal just before the trading deadline to add William Jones, who has long been one of the key pieces of the Philadelphia Sailors staff. The 34 year old righthander is just 4-7 this season but does own a sparkling 2.74 era and has a career mark of 162-108. He also brings Detroit playoff experience with a pair of World Championship titles and makes Detroit's rotation of Jones, Charlie Wheeler, Frank Crawford, Stumpy Beaman and Roger Perry as imposing as any in the Federal Association.

The Sailors are 10.5 games out of the race and perhaps with an eye west where they see a rising powerhouse in the Chicago Cougars, Sailors brass decided they better add some key pieces to stay relevant in the CA into the next decade. It is a nice haul for Jones in that the Sailors add two teenage pitching prospects in Al Duster and David Molina. It is a great destination for the two youngsters as well since the Sailors have long held a reputation for developing quality big league arms.

Detroit has a deep and plentiful collection of righthanders and they dipped into that pool and pulled a pair of them out but the Dynamos do get to hang on to their top two arms, at least according to OSA, in Bill Willman and Ed Whetzel. Molina and Duster are still quality prospects. The 19 year old Molina was a second round selection in 1937 and is presently in Class A after starting the season in B. He is #65 on the OSA list and TWIFB thinks he is a solid middle of the rotation arm once he matures. Duster is also 19, and was selected 4th overall by the Keystones in 1937 before being traded to Detroit last summer. OSA calls him a potential #2 starter and presently ranks him 130th on their prospect list.

The Dynamos also made a depth deal earlier in the evening picking up Chuck Cole from Toronto. The 28 year old is 7-10 for the Toronto Wolves this season and although he did win a CA high 21 games in 1936 he looks more like a bullpen piece in Detroit - perhaps replacing the inconsistent Jim Hawkins (4-7, 5.64) who was jettisoned to Cleveland.

On the field both races tightened up last week as the Brooklyn Kings seemed to have entered their annual extended slump. The Continental Association leaders were swept over the weekend by Philadelphia - perhaps giving the Sailors second thoughts about dealing William Jones to Detroit. Philadelphia is still 9.5 games off the pace but the Toronto Wolves are making Kings fans sweat. The Wolves trail Brooklyn by 6 games and invade Kings County Ballpark for a 3 game set beginning tomorrow and seem to be catching the Kings at the right time. The Kings are playing their worst baseball of the season, losing 9 of their last 13 games including two of three recently in Toronto. The Wolves, on the other hand, have won 7 of 9 and as has been the case all season are led by Fred McCormick (.418,10,65) who had a 5-hit game last week and has raised his league leading average 14 points in the last 12 games - no easy task when you are batting over .400.

Both the Dynamos and Chiefs have reinforcements coming this week with the deadline additions but the race just tightened up again as while Detroit was splitting it's 6 games at home to Pittsburgh and Washington the Chiefs posted back to back sweeps of 3-game sets with Boston and Philadelphia. A nice payback of the Minutemen who had swept Chicago just a week ago.

Good news for Chiefs fans as Al Miller had a pair of very solid starts this past week and improved his record to 9-10. Miller's continued success is a must as Chicago has quietly gone back to a 4-man rotation which puts some extra pressure on older arms like Rabbit Day, Jim Lonardo and Jack Beach. The move is clearly an effort to keep up with the Dynamos but it has it's risks. The 34 year old Day is on pace to top 300 innings, a mark he has not hit since 1932 although he came close last year. Lonardo is on pace for 295 innings of work, which would be a career high for him. Even #4 starter Jack Beach, who is 36, is on a pace for over 250 innings, a total he last hit 4 years ago.

Chiefs manager Joe Ward says the schedule maker has helped him with his pitching assignments. "We've been having a lot of Mondays off, which has allowed us to mostly use a 4 man rotation. That changes in September--starting 9/3, the Chiefs will play 31 games over the final 30 days of the season. Including yet another holiday double header with Detroit."

QUICK HITS

• Deuce Barrell finally made his long awaited FABL debut for Baltimore. The 1935 first overall pick didn't look great, giving up 12 hits and four earned in 7.1 innings in a 6-4 loss vs the Wolves, but he also struck out 7 and didn't walk anyone. I had been looking at Al Miller, who turns 23 in about seven weeks and needs 1 win to hit 50 for his career. Deuce is just 21 months younger but looking for that very first win.
• Detroit’s Leon Drake has his work cut out for himself if he is going to get his 3rd straight season in the 20-20-20 club. He has 22 doubles so he is good there and has 11 triples and home runs. We he get there over the last 2 months? Some will be surprised to hear that Drake’s name was thrown out there in one proposed trade scenario along with Elmer Nolde’s. Would Detroit have broken up the #1 OF?
• The Dynamos were in the market for an upgrade behind the plate but nothing materialized. Washington's Claude Ramsey might have been an option as perhaps was Mike Taylor of the Cougars but there is also some speculation that Detroit was looking at bringing veteran T.R. Goins in from Cleveland. The Detroit GM had great success brining Goins in to help win a World Championship with Cleveland but Goins is now 37 and just a part time player for the Foresters. Regardless, any deal fell through and the Dynamos will rely on 26 year old Clem Bliss (.265,4,25) to do the catching.
• It’s basically been 1 full season since Roger Perry was rescued by Detroit from the Cleveland scrap heap (he was going to be sent to AAA) at last seasons trade deadline. In that time he has gone 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA in 29 starts. Not a bad pickup and he once again is pitching like the guy who went 53-27 in the 32-34 seasons. Still only 31 years old.
• The Dynamos big question is do they go 4-man rotation with the acquisition of of William Jones or go back to 5-man. Jones moves into the #1 SP role followed by Crawford and Wheeler. The question is if it’s a 4-man rotation who goes to the pen, Roger Perry (9-4 3.87 ERA) or Stumpy Beaman (7-8 3.93 ERA). Beaman has had tough luck in not having a winning record and manager George Theobald loves him as the stopper in the pen. Since the stopper has been a rotating door with Jim Hawkins shipped to Cleveland, it might be worth a try to see Beaman in that role for a month as it would likely be his role if we are lucky enough to hang onto this slim 1 1/2 game lead in the playoffs. The other question the pitching staff with newcomers Chuck Cole and William Jones is at 10. So who gets DFA or shipped to AAA to bring it back down to a still bloated 9
• While Lefty Allen (17-9, 3.31) gets most of the attention given out to Pittsburgh moundsman it is worth noting that Bill Ketterman (16-9, 3.95) has quietly won his last 9 starts. Could this be the year the 34 year old finally gets his first twenty-win season? Ketterman twice won 19 games: in 1933 and again two years ago.
• Often injured Mahlon Strong (I believe "Often-Injured Mahlon" is now officially his first name)hasn't played since June 4th, but it appears that he is healthy again and ready to join one of the hottest clubs since the all-star break. Just in time for the Miners big series in Chicago. His latest injury occurred in that June 4th contest which was also against the Chiefs. On the year Strong his hitting .348 with 4 homers and 26 rbi's but he has only played 36 games. I guess we take that as a positive because Strong was healthy enough to appear in just 29 last season.
• Pete Papenfus (4-0, 2.50) did not factor in the decision but the Chicago Cougars won another of his starts this week - edging the New York Stars 5-4 in extra innings. Peter the Heater went 8 and fanned 6, which is the lowest K total in the 20 year old's 4 starts since being called up from AAA.
• Toronto's 20 year old hurler George Garrison (0-2, 7.91) had a slightly better third outing as a big leaguer but was not treated well by his fielders as 4 unearned runs thanks to 3 errors were his undoing. No decision for Garrison as the Wolves rallied for a 9-7 extra inning win over Montreal.
• Staying with the Wolves you have to wonder who takes the mound now that Chuck Cole has been moved to Detroit. Toronto is still in the mix, trailing slumping Brooklyn by just 6 games and things could get real exciting in the CA if the Wolves win this week's series with the Kings. Cole (8-10, 4.28) was not having a great season and will likely end up pitching out of the pen in Detroit, but without him the Wolves options for their number 4 starter are very limited. Joe Hancok (16-5, 3.02), Chuck Wirtz (11-6, 3.91) are a solid 1-2 and Bernie Johnson (7-4, 3.25) has had a nice resurgence after summering in Buffalo much of the past two seasons. That leaves a pair of rookies in Garrison or 23 year old Jim Morrison (4-7, 5.72) who was exiled to the pen after some shaky starts. The only other choice appears to be Art Blake (4-2, 4.50) who does not instill much fear in Continental hitters so all indications are it will be the rookies Garrison and Morrison as the back two starters heading into a crucial week for the Wolves.
• Congratulations to Pete Layton on his 200th career homerun. Layton was named Federal Association player of the month for July and leads the Fed with a .387 batting average. His last batting crown came a decade ago when he was with the New York Stars. The Chicago Chiefs shortstop is closing in on the 2500 hit mark as well. He needs 66 more to become just the 22nd player to record 2500 career hits.
• The Chiefs Hank Barrett (.323,21,81) probably wishes he played his entire career at Whitney Park. The only thing that the 28 year old Barnett might not have a career high in this season is doubles. Unlike his time spent in Montreal, all of his potential doubles are leaving the yard.
• After being run over in Boston two weeks ago, the Chiefs extracted a measure of revenge at home--sweeping Boston by a combined score of 26-7 and Chicago 3B Bob Martin is riding a 22 game hit streak. Martin is 2 shy of the longest streak of the season - 24 set by Washington's Jim Beard. Fred McCormick of Toronto also has an active streak sitting at 22 games.
• The battle for 6th place in New York this week as the Gothams host Philly, both with 38-58 records. Looking back at the week just passed, the Gothams youngsters held up playing the same teams for a second consecutive week going 2-1 against each of Washington and Pittsburgh. Mule Monier (.365,2,12), Dave Haight (.326,3,56) and Ernesto Perez (.321,1,25) in particular leading the offense.
• It's been a rough year for the Keystones and Bobby Barrell (.277,10,59) and Rankin Kellogg (.275,6,52) in particular. This is shaping up to be the worst season of the 28 year old Barrell's career and Kellogg's power has just fallen off the map. Once thought to have a very good shot at 600 homers the 35 year old now looks hard pressed to even reach the half century mark. Kellogg led the Fed in homers 5 straight seasons starting in 1931, averaging nearly 40 a season. He dipped slightly to 36 round trippers in 1936 before falling to 19 last year. He is only on pace to get 10 this season and presently has 468 for his career. Max Morris leads the way with 711. Kellogg is second with a 144 homer lead on 30 year old Al Wheeler, who sits third on the list at 322.

• Prime Minister Chamberlain declares Britain fears no enemy and says although they seek peace Britain's forces grow stronger by the day and they will defend themselves if attacked. Chamberlain adds he is not unmindful that "though it is good to have a giant's strength it is tyrannous to use it."
• Pope Pius XI attacked excessive racism for the third time in two weeks by criticizing Italy's "unhappy imitation" of Germany's racial theories.
• reports out of Tokyo say Russian troops fired on Japanese soldiers, starting a battle in Manchukuo. Meanwhile near Hankow, China dozens of Americans are trapped between Chinese and Japanese lines.
• An assassin's shot missed it's target: Major General Blanton Winship, the American Governor of Puerto Rico but 2 others were killed in the ensuing chaos.
• The latest terrorist bomb blast in Palestine kills 39 in a crowded Arab market place as strife between Jews and Arabs continues in the Holy Land. 23 were killed in the same location just two weeks ago.

This Week in Figment Baseball: August 8, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

August 8, 1938

KINGS STRETCH OUT CA LEAD

After the Toronto Wolves took the opener of a 3 game set with the Kings in Brooklyn on Tuesday it looked like the Wolves might just make it a race in the Continental Association. That victory, Toronto's 6th in it's last seven games, moved the Wolves to within 5 games of the slumping Kings, who had dropped 4 in a row and 10 of their last 14. When the Wolves, behind the solid pitching of former King draft pick Chuck Wirtz (11-8, 3.91), took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning the next day, you could feel the tension in the air at Kings County Stadium where fans were sensing the start of perhaps another late season swoon from their club. Despite the fact that Brooklyn excised it's World Championship Series demons a year ago the team still has a history this decade of going into prolonged slumps at seemingly the worst time possible. The Wolves were 5 outs away from moving to within 4 games of first place when the mighty bats of the Kings turned the tables in a course of just 4 pitches.

With one out in the 8th, Harry Barrell (.289,3,62) hit a groundball that found a hole for a single. Joe Perret (.251,6,24), who has struggled much of the season, came to the plate to pinch-hit for Doug Lightbody (.308,0,28). After fouling the first pitch off, Perret then lifted a deep fly ball into the leftfield stands for his first homerun in nearly a month and the Kings suddenly led 3-2. Before Wirtz had time to shake off the blow, he surrendered another round-tripper as Frank Vance (.315,17,61) jumped all over Wirtz' first offering for his CA leading 17th homerun of the season and just like that the crisis was averted with a 4-2 victory stretching the Kings lead to 6 games on the young Wolves.

Brooklyn would go on to take the rubber match of the series 8-5 and then swept a three game weekend set from Cleveland. The Wolves, meanwhile limped over to Dyckman Stadium after the two losses to Brooklyn and proceeded to drop 2 of 3 to the lowly New York Stars, increasing the margin of Brooklyn's lead once again to 9 games - exactly where it stood before the Kings 2 week slump. While a 9 game lead is certainly not insurmountable it appears the Kings have things well in hand as they bid for a third straight Continental Association pennant. Prior to last season Brooklyn had never won two pennants in a row.
The Federal Association race is the one that will draw the most scrutiny, at least for the time being as the surprising Detroit Dynamos continue to hold off the veteran laden Chicago Chiefs. Detroit has led the Federal Association for the last 79 days and it remains unchanged from last week at a game and a half over Chicago after both clubs won 5 of 6 games this week.

That the Dynamo's have been in first place all alone since May 21st would have seemed unfathomable a year ago. Yes, they had a great stretch run but they finished 24 games off the pace in 7th place a year ago, and that was a dramatic improvement on the two previous seasons when they finished 8th both times and were 98-210 over that stretch. Whether Detroit manages to hold off the Chiefs remains to be seen but there is little doubt that George Theobald, even at the age of 75 is reiterating his case as clearly the best manager in FABL history.

The next two weeks will a tough test for Theobald's charges as they have a steady diet of games with Chicago and third place St Louis. The Chiefs will be bringing their best at home next weekend as Chicago skipper Joe Ward has already confirmed that his starters for the 3 games with Detroit will be Rabbit Day (17-7, 3.47), Jim Lonardo (16-6, 2.21) and Al Miller (10-10, 4.03). Theobald has not commented on his plans but if all goes according to the current schedule he will counter with Roger Perry (10-4, 3.66), Frank Crawford (16-4, 3.03) and newest Dynamo William Jones (5-8, 2.96). Jones, who came over in a deadline deal with the Philadelphia Sailors, had a rough debut in Detroit as he failed to survive the 5th inning of an 8-5 loss to Boston but rebounded with a complete game 6-4 win over Philadelphia on Saturday. The Chiefs have a new piece as well in lead-off man Bill May (.317,2,56), who hit .393 for the week and helped the already impressive Chicago offense average over 7 runs a game last week.

QUICK HITS

• Stumpy Beaman had previously been discussed as a candidate for the stopper role in the Detroit pen but with the acquisition of P Chuck Cole, Manager George Theobald wants to give Cole a try in that spot. Beaman will become the emergency/5th starter for awhile and will also be a middle reliever for now. The odd man out for at least a few weeks on the Detroit mound is Ron Coles. At the start of the season he was thought to be the "ace" but his return from injury has not gone as well as we had hoped. Coles control this season is at his professional worst so he will be bumped down to AAA Newark where he will get a month of starts to try and right the ship for the stretch run.
  The other move and one that has been rumored for a bit is in the OF. Grover Lee was brought in to be the right handed platoon partner for LF Elmer Nolde and the plan was working well early in the season. But Lee has struggled to the tune of 14-83 in June and July and is 1-20 as a pinch hitter. The hope was Lee would be a power bench bat option when he wasn't starting, but it has been a huge disappointment. With Lee being DFA August 1st, the Dynamo's promoted OF Wayne Morgan who was hitting .331/.409/.947 with 7 home runs and 53 RBI's with AAA Newark. Morgan picked up his first career big league hit Friday, going 1-for-3 against Philadelphia with a rbi single that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 Dynamos victory.
• Detroit cast-off Jim Hawkins has looked like a good pick-up for the Foresters so far. He had a win and a loss over the week but pitched a pair of solid games. Hawkins (5-8, 4.78) was erratic at times in a relief role with Detroit.
• Both Bill May and Bob Worley adjusted very nicely to their new surroundings after the big Brooklyn-Chicago trade last week. Worley hit .438 with a pair of homers while May hit .393 and stole a couple bases as Chiefs new lead off man.
• In game matching up a pair of potential future multiple Allen Award winners Pete Papenfus proved he is human after all. Finally takes his first loss and fails to fan at least 5 for first time as a Cougar. Deuce Barrell was his opponent and gets his first win in Baltimore. Deuce went 8 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned), walking none, and striking out 7. Papenfus gave up 7 runs in 6 innings, but only 2 earned runs. The Cougars had 5 errors in that game. The 5 errors forced Papenfus to throw 122 pitches in those 6 innings. Barrell was also 2 for 3 at the plate with 2 runs scored in that game.
• Mel Carrol is pretty consistent. Hit .370 with Washington before the deal to Cleveland. Batting average through 19 games as a Forester? Also .370.
• Brooklyn ended Fred McCormick’s hitting streak at 23 games with an 0-for-5 but he promptly started a new one at 4 games and counting. Hitting .412 so we might get a second straight season with a .400 hitter. Last time that happened was 1921-22. Slocum hit .400 both season while Morris joined him at that plateau in ‘21. Mel Carrol, recently traded from Washington to Cleveland hit .409 a year ago for the Eagles.
• Two more homers last week for Sal Pestilli and the 22 year old Dynamos star now has 31 on the season, just 2 shy of his league leading 33 a year ago as a rookie. He has an outside shot at 50 this season and one has to think Pestilli stands a chance of one day joining Max Morris as the only FABL players to hit 60 in a season.
• A quick check in on the rest of the Pestilli clan shows some success as well. Oldest brother Alf (.289,12,51) looks like he has earned himself a full-time spot in the crowded Brooklyn outfield. Joe, a 21 year old infielder in the Pioneers system is having a decent season in the minors after an early promotion to Class A. In 65 games Little Joe is batting .278 with a homerun and 36 rbi's. Finally there is 19 year old Tony who was recently promoted to Class B in the Keystones organization. Tony is an outfielder just like the two oldest siblings.
• Next home game should put Kings over the 1 million attendance mark for the 4th consecutive season. On pace for over 1.4 this year, easily breaking franchise record set 2 seasons ago of 1.247 million.
• Percy Sutherland had this to say about the Dynamos today: "You know, I was thinking they were over their heads and would come back down to earth, but now, in August, I have to admit that is a good pitching staff up in Detroit. Really only Stumpy Beaman is surviving on luck, and that's only a little bit (if he just walked a few fewer batters, he'd be fine). They were perhaps lacking an ace, but Jones should help with that (even if his first Detroit start didn't go as planned).
• The New York Gothams won 2 of three in their showdown with Philadelphia for 6th place and at 41-61 on the season are now 2 games up on the Keystones with the Washington Eagles, having a far more dreadful season that most expected, sit in the cellar. So signs are pointing to us not seeing the 2 New York City teams both finish last for the first time in history. The Continental Association Stars are not having the same luck as it looks more and more everyday like they will finish last in the Ca for the first time in 20 years.
• A special day coming up in New York as the Bigsby Oval winds down it's time as a big league stadium. On August 20th the Gothams will celebrate the career of Ed Ziehl. Prior to the game against the St. Louis Pioneers the team will celebrate their current manager and greatest player's selection for the new Baseball Hall of Fame. Many former Gothams will join Ziehl on the field as the team announces that no one after Ed will wear a #5 Gothams uniform.

1939 DRAFT PREVIEW
NAMES YOU NEED TO KNOW (PART II)

A new format means the 1939 draft will arrive much quicker than originally expected as the opening three rounds of the draft, including the newly devised regional selection only third round, will be held in January prior to the top prospects starting their high school senior or college junior campaign. The decision takes the controversial OOTP generated Mock Draft out of the equation, at least for these early rounds, and will likely lead to some surprise picks, similar to what was seen in the second half of the previous decade before the Mock was introduced into the game.

To help get baseball fans up to speed TWIFB will regularly publish features on the draft over the coming months. A couple of issues ago we took a look at a dozen position players that might hear their names called in January instead of after the amateur seasons wrap in June, which is when rounds 4-25 will be completed. Now let's turn our attention to the mound and six pitchers that will likely get drafted in January.


VIC CARROLL RHP School: Richmond State University Born: New York, NY
1938: 8-4, 2.54 ERA 113 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9
CAREER: 16-6, 2.38 ERA 208 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9
The lone college arm on the list, the 20 year old has had two solid seasons at the Virginia school. OSA feels he has the potential to be a top of the rotation pitcher with plenty of movement on his pitches. The best of which is an excellent splitter.

JIM KENNY LHP School: Holland (MI) High School Born: Holland, MI
1938: 6-3, 1.55 ERA 93 IP, 0.94 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 1.6 BB/9
A small sample to be sure as Kenny's junior season was his first year of organized ball. Not the best stuff according to OSA, but they love his pinpoint command which allows he to keep the ball down in the strike zone. Projected to be a mid-rotation option.

MARCUS MANGUM LHP School: Louisa (KY) High School Born: Louisa, KY
1938: 9-2, 1.08 ERA, 117 IP, 0.78 WHIP, 12.7 K/9, 0.9 BB/9
Career: 27-4, 1.53 ERA, 323 IP, 0.93 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9
The 17 year old has shown consistent improvement over his 3 seasons of high school ball and has added 4 miles to his fastball during that time. Possess four solid pitches, each with good movement and has the potential to be a mid-rotation starter. Mangum could become the first pitcher born in the state of Kentucky to ever be selected in the first round of the draft. Only two hitters from Kentucky, Cliff Moss (1927) and Blackie Mefford (1913), were ever first round picks.

BART SCHNEIDER RHP School: Rochester (NY) High School Born: Rochester, NY
1938: 7-1, 1.26 ERA, 85 IP, 0.89 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9
Career: 24-4, 1.10 ERA, 286 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 11.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9
Looks like a potential mid-rotation starter. Not the best stuff but he can paint the black with any of his three pitches which include a plus changeup and sharp curve. Just 5'10" 150 pounds so there is hope it will develop as he bulks up but right now his fringe fastball tops out at 86 MPH.

PETE THOMPSON RHP School: Uniontown (PA) High School Born: Wilkinsburg, PA
1938: 10-0, 0.79 ERA, 102 IP, 0.77 WHIP, 15.7 K/9, 1.9 BB/9
Career: 19-1, 1.31 ERA, 205 IP, 0.88 WHIP, 12.9 k/9, 1.8 BB/9
Thompson led the nation in K/9 last season and was the only junior pitcher named to the High School All-American team in 1938. While his numbers make him look like a sure-fire first round pick, OSA is not convinced saying flat out they are "not sold" on his elite stuff. In fact OSA has it's doubts about whether he can ever be a starting pitcher in FABL. He is a player possibly worth taking a gamble on with a regional pick so the Miners, Sailors and Keystones will be watching the Pennsylvania native closely.

BILLY TURNER RHP School: Redmond (WA) High School Born: Seattle, WA
1938:8-2, 1.14 ERA, 94 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 1.6 BB/9
Career: 17-3, 1.28 ERA, 189 IP, 0.90 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 1.9 BB/9
A towering presence on the mound at 6'5" and that height likely helps the angle of his best pitch, a great sinker. His other pitches need work but Turner does have excellent command. Not a true ace but OSA sees Turner fitting comfortably into the middle of a big league rotation some day.

Only 4 pitchers have ever been drafted in the first round out of the state of Washington and just two of them made the major leagues. The most successful of the 4 was Bernie Johnson of the Toronto Wolves (36-57 so far in his career), who was taken 3rd overall in 1931. Gene White is a 24 year old that the Keystones drafted 15th in 1932 and he is 11-13 over parts of two seasons, including this year, with Philadelphia. The other two are Ted Howe, was taken second overall in 1911 by St Louis but never advanced past AA and Billy Blank - Montreal's first rounder, 14th overall in 1919 who only made it as far as AAA. That is it, no other Washington state born pitcher has ever been selected in the first round. Of course the most famous Washington State baseball player was also a first round selection. The Chicago Cougars selected Olympia, Washington native Bill Ashbaugh 4th overall in 1925 and the second baseman is still with the organization.

And before you go thinking that 4 pitchers seems low for Washington State to produce, keep in mind Oregon - while it has had 6 position players go in the first round including Pete Layton and Red Johnson - has never produced a pitcher to be selected in the opening round of any draft. California, on the other hand, has had 27 of them including current Federal Association hurlers Rabbit Day, Dick Higgins, Al Miller, Charlie Wheeler and Chuck Cole.

• Fighting between Russian and Japan on the Siberian frontier reaches a scale which made it plain that a general war between two of the most powerful armies in the world might be imminent.
• Meanwhile Tokyo's war with China shows no signs of slowing down.
• Rebel forces shell Madrid in the heaviest fighting in the Spanish city in months.
• Rome announces that all foreign Jews will be barred from Italian schools beginning with the fall semester.
• While FDR remains silent on the matter, the publicity director of the Democratic party says "circumstances may arise which would make it impossible for the President to refuse a third term nomination."
• Railroads and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen fail to agree on a proposed 15 percent wage cut and will submit their case to a Federal mediator.
• Thousands crowd Broadway to cheer wrong-way flier Douglas Corrigan, who recently flew solo without instruments from New York to Ireland after filing a flight plan to Los Angeles.

This Week in Figment Baseball: August 15, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

August 15, 1938

CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT ON DYNAMOS

Thanks to a 10 game winning streak and taking two of three from Detroit over the weekend the Chicago Chiefs have replaced the Dynamos atop the Federal Association. The last time the Chiefs, who seemed the clear favourite to claim the Fed title after adding veteran pitcher Jim Lonardo and solid hitting infielder Hank Barnett over the winter, were alone in first place was way back on May 15th when they enjoyed a half game lead over Detroit. After that top spot in the Fed belonged to the surprising Dynamos. That changed last Thursday when the Chiefs completed a 3 game sweep of the Gothams while Detroit was dropping it's 3rd decision in 4 days in St Louis. Chicago now held the upper hand, by a single game, over the Dynamos entering a crucial weekend series between the two in the Windy City.

With Rabbit Day (18-7, 3.41) and Jim Lonardo (17-6, 2.11), each with 3 Allen Awards and a total of 7 all-star game selections between them, on the hill for the first two games of the series, Chicago seemed to make it look easy with wins by the scores of 4-2 Friday and 6-1 Saturday extending the Chiefs lead to 3 full games. Give the Dynamos credit for salvaging the Sunday matinee as young star Sal Pestilli (.319,32,92) homered and tripled while recent pickup William Jones (6-8, 2.89) did enough on the mound to allow Detroit to claim a 9-5 victory and cut the deficit back to 2 games.

George Theobald has had his young charges playing outstanding baseball, seemingly carefree and with good reason as few expected Detroit to spend most of the season in first place. The test now that the lead has evaporated is how will the Dynamos react? They are now the hound instead of the hare, as the attempt to chase down the hard charging Chiefs, winners of 18 of their last 21 games. Detroit has an opportunity to respond next weekend when they face Chicago, and almost assuredly Day and Lonardo once again, but this time they will do so in front of the hometown fans at Thompson Field. Already more than 1.25 million paying customers have entered the stadium and the Dynamos will likely break their all-time season attendance record next weekend in the Chicago series. The question is does Theobald have enough magic left in his now 75 year old mind to coax a big stretch run out of a suddenly relevant Detroit team that has finished in the first division since 1932 and there are actually more members of that '32 team now playing for Chicago (Jack Beach) than Detroit (nobody).

The big question is can Detroit's offense, which packs plenty of wallop, get going against a Chiefs rotation that has been dominant of late? Here are the records of the 4 Chicago starters since July 1st:
https://i.imgur.com/GTRL0PC.jpg

QUICK HITS

• Chiefs catcher Tom Bird has been on a tear--hitting .641 over this last 40 at-bats, and .581/.615/1.047 so far in August. Bird has now taken over the batting lead from teammate Pete Layton (who has been on a hot streak of his own, but eclipsed by Bird). Bird's wRc+ (one of those fancy stats Jiggs doesn't understand) is currently 208. T.R. Goins, long considered the dean of catchers, best total was 163 in 1932 and had 5 seasons of at least 150. As a 22 year old Joe Welch had a wRC+ of 201 but that was in just 107 games. The only other season that we can find where a catcher topped to 200 was way back in 1903 when George Cary of the Miners put up a 203. (.419/.509/.571, 219 OPS+ 8.1 WAR). Plenty of noise coming out of Chicago trying to drum up support for Bird to win the Whitney Award - something only done once before by a Chief when Joe Masters claimed it in 1928.
• After struggling at times in Whitney Park early in the season the Chiefs completed a recent homestand by going 16-2 and are now 37-19 playing in front of the hometown fans.
• Add clutch hitting to the long list of attributes the Chicago Chiefs possess. Tom Taylor's overall numbers aren't so good, but as a pinch hitter? .333/.438/.444. And don't forget Frankie Cohen is on the roster. He's been exclusively a pinch hitter and doing a bang up job at it with a slash line of .348/.375/.478
• The Gothams were swept by the Chiefs to start the week but then won 3 straight in St Louis including a pair of extra innings victories. The Pioneers did start the week well, winning 3 of 4 to drop Detroit out of first place but you can't help but wonder what might have been for a St Louis club that will finish the season without it's top two pitchers after they recently lost 23 year old rookie sensation Buddy Long (14-7,3.99) for the season with a shoulder injury. Long, who was an all-star this year after joining the Pioneers in the Fred McCormick deal with Toronto, joins fellow St Louis all-star pitcher David Abalo (7-4, 2.27) on the shelf for the rest of the year. Abalo, who was an all-star last year and was 41-35 over the last 3 seasons, hurt his elbow in July.
• Big week for rookie Eli Harkless in Cleveland. The 1935 first round pick is just 20 years old but he now can call himself a CA player of the week award winner. The native of Cambridge, Massachusetts went 12-for-27 with a homer last week. In 36 games since being promoted from AAA, the outfielder is batting .322 and doing a great job at the plate as the Foresters lead-off man. His defense does worry his manager but as long as he keeps producing at the plate they can overlook his shortcomings in the field.
• A couple positives in what has been a year filled with negatives for the Philadelphia Keystones. First off they had a winning week - something that has been all to rare this year at Broad Street Park - by taking 4 of 6 from Washington and Pittsburgh. Second piece of positive news is the resurgence of George Wright. The 24 year old rookie, after an encouraging Spring proceeded to go 6-for-38 (.158) to start the season before being demoted to AAA. He was called back up a couple of weeks ago and just earned FABL Player of the Week Award in the Fed. Wright did not sulk in Louisville, driving in 69 in 68 games while slashing .349/.391/.569 and continued his hot hitting in Philadelphia, mashing to a .490/.500/.765 clip in 51 at bats since his call up.
• Another great moment of many for the Barrell clan. Young Rufus 'Deuce' Barrell's(1-2, 3.73) 4th career big league start came against Brooklyn and the Kings juggled their rotation slightly so that Tom Barrell(10-9, 4.14) would get the start against his nephew. Tom got the bragging rights as the Kings beat Deuce's Cannons 5-2 but it was not a bad outing from the youngster, who also managed to get a single off his brother (although Tom had 2 hits off Deuce). Uncle's Harry and Fred Barrell also played for the Kings and each went 1-for-4 vs their nephew.
• Bob Walls makes a successful first start for Toronto after being exiled to AAA Newark by the Dynamos. Complete game 1 earned run in a 2-1 victory. Wolves continue to surprise in '38 as they remain firmly entrenched in second place. The last time they finished higher than third in the Continental Association was their title season of 1911.
• Hardly a week goes by without news of a Gothams prospect enjoying success. This time it is from AA Jersey City where Constantine Peters had himself quite a week. Peters, one of the Gothams less heralded prospects, signed during the first league pool draft out of college, has moved quickly through the minors. A consistent .300 hitter, Peters has played 3B and all outfield positions. Last week he hit .567 (17-30) with a homer and 13 RBI to win EA Player of the Week. Constantine is currently rated the #87 prospect.
• Let's finish up with more Chiefs news. A couple of years ago in these pages we talked about Rabbit Day and his chances at 300 victories. Now 34 years old and with 227 wins under his belt you have to think Day has a pretty good shot at it if he can stay healthy. He has 18 wins so far this year and won 18 a year ago after a 25 win 1936 season. Another milestone to look at for Day is strikeouts. He has slowed a little this year, fanning just 4.1 batters per 9 innings after being around or just above 5 pretty well his entire career. He has 1,891 career K's which places him 13th all-time. Charlie Sis (3462) and Bill Temple (3131) are likely out of reach but Day might have a shot at catching Mike Marner (2667) for third all-time.
• It would have been good for Day to get started a couple seasons earlier than he did. He likely could have handled it as he was pretty good as a 20-year-old in class A in 1924 but also started 1925 in class A, not making it to AAA until 1926 and then the FABL in 1927 at 23-years-old.
• Day also was drafted twice in the pre-human GM era. The Philadelphia Keystones took him in a round that no longer exists (the 27th) in 1922 but in their wisdom cut him and he returned to high school (rules were a little different back then) only to be taken 5th overall by Baltimore the next season. I expect a few in Philadelphia lost their jobs over that move, but it was likely only a very small reason for someone to get canned in Keystone-land. The Stones were rock bottom for most of the first 25 years of the 19th century - making the first division just twice between 1901 and 1924 and finishing last in the Fed 13 times in that span, including 5 consecutive from 1920-24. The good news is it allowed them to draft Rankin Kellogg and others who would play a key role on their 1927 title winner- the first FABL series win for the franchise.

• German military maneuvers near Czech border have put other European powers on an unusually vigilant lookout to prevent anything which might lead to a swift Nazi strike against Czechoslovakia.
• Berlin vows to support Japan morally and otherwise if the Siberian border conflict develops into a full fledged war with Russia.
• London is trying to head off further escalation with an offer to mediate dispute between Russia and Japan.
• Britain also once again issues a warning to Rome that continued Italian intervention in Spain would prejudices the friendly relations of the two countries.
• Spanish insurgents announced the seizure of a large amount of US war materials from government armies in an announcement apparently designed to match government assertions that new German and Italian aid is reaching the insurgents.
• One of the largest Opium seizures on record, valued at over $250,000 was recovered in waters just off New York City's Pier 3 by Harbor Police after a patrol became suspicious of a motorboat tied up at the pier in the early morning hours. The lone occupant leapt into the water and eluded capture. Weight of the seized opium, which was in burlap bags in the water, was over 500 pounds.
• The Queen Mary established a new eastward Atlantic Ocean crossing record this week by traversing 730 nautical miles in a 23 hour time period (the clock was set ahead one hour because of a change in time zone). The previous record was 728 miles by the French liner Normandie.

This Week in Figment Baseball: August 22, 1938
 

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

August 22, 1938

JUST GRIN AND BARRETT

It has been quite an eventful week for 18 year old Bill Barrett. Perhaps it would have been enough for Barrett simply to make his major league debut and hit 3 homers in his first seven games in a New York Stars uniform but there was so much more than that to the young outfielder's week. It started with Barrett sitting in the manager's office in Class A Scranton receiving word he was dealt to the Detroit Dynamos in exchange for five prospects and word had it the Dynamos were poised to bring him straight to Detroit for his big league debut after just 13 professional games. However, the trade was voided because both sides involved failed to realize there was a league rule prohibiting any trade, include those not on the 40-man roster, at any point between August 1st and the conclusion of the World Championship Series.

Barrett was packed and preparing to board a train bound for Detroit in anticipation of joining his new teammates and making his big league debut when he was tracked down at the Scranton train station and handed a ticket with a new destination. That would be New York as the Stars, after being informed by the league the deal was not legal, decided to call up the teenage outfielder that scouting guru Rufus Barrell deemed major league ready weeks before the June FABL draft.
Barrett, despite not playing since July 17th because the Stars did not want to take any chances with an arm strain he suffered in a game on that day, arrived at Dyckman Stadium and was in the lineup Monday when the New York Stars squared off against the Baltimore Cannons. His debut in New York last Monday was the most anticipated event since Al Jolson graced the silver screen as The Jazz Singer with 10,581 fans in the ballpark on that day, although as the years go by you can be quite certain thousands of others will also claim to have been in attendance at the youngster's debut. The debut itself was nothing special as young Baltimore pitcher Gus Goulding induced a lazy fly ball from the teen in the bottom of the first inning for Barrett's first big league plate appearance. Barrett would end up going 0-for-4 on the day but he did get an rbi on a fielder's choice.

With the weeks of inactivity due to the minor injury Barrett's timing was off and he went hitless the next two days as well but he did draw a pair of walks in his third game. The finale of the 4-game set with the Cannons was when Barrett earned his first career hit...and his second. Both were homeruns, each a solo shot off of Pinky Conlan, and helped the Stars take 3 of 4 from Baltimore with a 6-3 win. He also finished the week with another homerun - his third - and a triple yesterday but the Stars fell 9-6 in Montreal.

"To be honest, I had no idea what to think," admitted Barrett about his crazy week. "I went from the high of being told I was going to Detroit, playing with (Sal) Pestilli and all those other great players and being in a pennant race. Then I hear the deal is off and I had no idea what's happening. Fortunately the Stars decided to bring me up and it was a whirlwind. Took some time to get my bearings I think but getting that first one under my belt was a huge relief."

Thru his first 7 big league games Barrett is batting .227 but with 3 homers, 6 rbi's and a .727 slugging percentage and the Stars posted a winning record, going 4-3. The Bill Barrett era in New York is underway!

CHIEFS "NEW YORK CONNECTION" ONCE AGAIN HANDLES THEOBALD GANG

Just as they did a week ago Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo shut down the big guns of the Detroit Dynamos and led the Chicago Chiefs to a series win over Detroit. The victories, number 19 for Day in a 4-3 win Friday and the 18th for Lonardo in a 5-2 triumph Saturday increased the Chicago Chiefs lead over Detroit atop the Federal Association to 3 games. As they did last week when the two sides squared off in Chicago, the Dynamos did salvage the Sunday contest with a victory to lower the Detroit deficit to two games.

The Sunday game featured a dramatic Detroit comeback as the Dynamos scored twice in the bottom of the ninth after Chicago had taken the lead with a pair of their own in the 8th inning. The Detroit heroes were their big three of Red Johnson, with an rbi single to tie the game, Sal Pestilli with a double to move Johnson to third and Leon Drake with a game ending sacrifice fly.

That result may prove to be huge as the season prepares to enter it's final month. Had Chicago held on the lead would be four games and being swept by the Chiefs on their home field might have sent the Dynamos reeling into a funk that even the great George Theobald could not manage his way out of. Instead cutting the margin down to two gives Detroit some hope as the club prepares to embark on a 16 game road trip that will include a Labor Day twin bill at Whitney Park.

Even two games may be insurmountable the way the Chiefs big guns Day and Lonardo are firing. Day is 19-7 with a 3.38 era while Lonardo, who came over from the Gothams in the winter to join his former New York teammate in Chicago, is 18-6 with a FABL best 2.09 era. He is 8-1 in his last 10 starts and together the pair of 34 year old's are a major reason the Chiefs have gone 31-12 since July 2nd.

KINGS CONTINUE TO RULE CONTINENTAL

After a rough spell following the All-Star break the Brooklyn Kings are back to playing consistent baseball as they steadily seem to win two of every three games they play. Brooklyn went 4-2 last week and added a half game to their lead over second place Toronto atop the Continental Association. The Kings, who are seeking their third straight CA pennant, have won 13 of their last 17 games to counteract the July swoon as they head out on a 10 game road trip that begins with a two game stop in Toronto. The Wolves are 9-9 against Brooklyn and one of the two teams that has given the Kings trouble this season with the Philadelphia Sailors, who Brooklyn also visits in the week ahead, being the other one. Brooklyn is just 8-9 against the Sailors this season. The Kings will catch a break against Toronto in that they should avoid having to face Wolves ace Joe Hancock (18-6, 3.00). The 25 year old lost to Cleveland yesterday and, at 4-5 over his last 9 decisions, may be slowing some signs of wear on the season. One Wolves player who is not wearing down is first baseman Fred McCormick (.412,10,70) who is coming off another big week as he continues to chase .400.

There might have been worries that Bob Worley (.211,8,40) would not be able to contribute enough offensively in Brooklyn after being acquired along with several prospects from the Chicago Chiefs at the deadline in exchange for speedster Bill May but Worley has been more than an adequate replacement. In 16 games with Brooklyn the 29 year old center fielder is batting .347 with 4 homers and 11 rbi's as he and Alf Pestilli (.293,15,56) have given the Kings a new look in their outfield.

QUICK HITS

• Not a recognized stat in this era but Del Lyons had 3 more saves this week to boost his season total to 25. He is one shy of the FABL single season record of 26 set by Bill Mendine of the 1922 Cougars. The Kings tried a few times to make Lyons a starter but he couldn’t cut it, but has enjoyed great success coming out of the pen. Lyons is now 7 saves shy of 100 for his career at the age of 33. Only 10 players have hit the century mark in saves led by Stan Waters (1914-27 PHK & Mon) with 164. Mendine is tied with former King and Pioneer Hal Galvin for second at 137.
• Brooklyn third baseman Frank Vance joined the 2000 Hit club last week. The milestone marker was a single off of Montreal's Jake DeYoung and allows the 35 year old to become the 64th player to reach 2000 FABL hits. Vance is one of 3 current Kings included in those 64 joining Al Wheeler, who also joined the club this season, and veteran backup John Kincaid. The Chicago Chiefs also have 3 players with at least 2000 hits in Pete Layton, Jim Hampton and Bob Martin. Other active players with at least 2000 hits include Rankin Kellogg of the Keystones, Cleveland's TR Goins and Charlie Barry, Dave Trowbridge of the Stars and John Lawson of the Cougars. The Cougars also recently claimed Lou Kelly on waivers. The 36 year old sits 8 hits shy of the 2000 mark but is currently 0-for-4 in a backup role.
• Mixed emotions for the New York Gothams. The club takes two of three from both Chicago and St Louis and has won 7 of 9 to help solidify their hold on 6th place in the Fed but the bas news is impressive 22 year old rookie shortstop Mule Monier's season is over after he broke a finger last week. Monier (.347,3,18) was riding a 15 game hitting streak and has had at least one hit in 30 of his 34 career big league games since being called up just after the all-star break.
• Maybe Pete Casstevens WAS bored in the low minors. This season 16 g at class C - .277/.347/.431, moved to class B - 70 g .237/.295/.333, Still we bumped him to class A - 13 games - .405/.440/.429. Casstevens is one of the Gothams many elite prospects and is #6 overall (and the top catcher) according to OSA.
• Only a 3-3 week for the Chicago Chiefs but it didn't hurt as Detroit posted the same mark. Not completely unexpected from the Chiefs with a 6-man rotation to ensure Day and Lonardo faced Detroit again. 2 losses were from Charlie Bingham and the other from Gene Jones but the plan worked as Day and Lonardo allowed the Chiefs to take 2 of 3 in Detroit.
• Disappointing week for Detroit on several fronts going 3-3. Obviously would have loved to have added Barrett to this lineup and it would have been very special to watch Sal Pestilli, Red Johnson and Bill Barrett in the same lineup. Detroit didn’t lose any ground but the opportunity to have won Friday’s game only to lose it late might haunt them the rest of the season. SP Roger Perry is showing us that we made a mistake in not throwing the veteran SP in either of the Chicago series.
• The league doesn't have a comeback player of the year but if they did Detroit's vote has to be for the Chiefs Jim Lonardo. He has handcuffed the Dynamos in both recent starts and his addition has been huge for the Chiefs. He obviously is in the Allen front running group and if so it would be his fourth Allen Award.
• Lefty Allen and Bill Ketterman both get their 20th win for Pittsburgh last week, while Charlie Stedman has a lower ERA than both and is stuck at 10-13. One observer remarked that sounds like Stedman's career as he rarely seems to get a break. The 36 year old is 180-158 with only one twenty win season to his credit (1929 in Montreal) despite consistently posting very strong ERA+ numbers.
• Brooklyn's Tom Barrell (10-10, 4.13) is another one having a rough year. Barrell's run support is the lowest of the 5 Kings starters and his ERA is the highest among the group of 5 despite have the lowest FIP on the staff. Last week he lost 4-0 to Gus Goulding of Baltimore a day before the Kings exploded for 9 runs in blasting the Cannons with his nephew Deuce Barrell on the mound.
• Brooklyn manager and former Baltimore great Powell Slocum is the all-time career batting average leader hitting at a .375 clip over his nearly 3000 big league games. Number two on the list? Fred McCormick, the former Pioneer and current Toronto Wolves star who is chasing his first .400 season. McCormick's career mark to date is .357. The only other players to have a career average over .350 are all still active as well in Freddie Jones of St Louis, Brooklyn's Doug Lightbody and Glenn Morrison. Who you might ask is Glenn Morrison still playing for? Well, after 730 FABL games he was cut loose by Washington at age 28 and has spent the past decade in the Great Western League with independent Portland. The now 38 year old is 19th all-time in GWL hits with 1223 and counting.
• A real head scratcher. Johnny Guzzo, who earned a special place in Pittsburgh history last season for hitting .375 down the stretch after being called for a successful pennant run due to a rash of middle infield injuries, is back in Pittsburgh and back to hitting the ball. He hit .455 with a homer and 8 rbi's last week despite being just a .243 career hitter and regarded as a glove only shortstop. Oh, but he did commit 4 errors last week.
• The Miners are optimistic about young lefty Doc Wiseman. He seems to have electric stuff and has had solid K/9 rates across several levels. He's got control problems and is still learning how to pitch, but he showed his potential in picking up his first big league win against Boston with a 8.1 IP, 5 ER, 12 K performance. He had an 8.40 K/9 in AA (99.2 IP) and a 7.79 K/9 in AAA (54.1 IP)
• Leo Mitchell (.331,8,58) was player of the week in the CA. The Chicago Cougars 25 year old outfielder hit .565 last week and is a .324 career hitter after his first 322 FABL games.
• We don't hear much about Washington anymore but that is because their pitching is so bad. The bats have been working just fine and Moxie Pidgeon (.301,18,72) is the latest proof of that fact. The 31 year old outfielder was named the player of the week in the Fed after hitting .519 with a pair of homers and 10 rbi's last week. The Eagles did have a winning week, going 4-2 but credit the offense which averaged over 8 runs a game and the club still lost twice.
• After going 0-2 in his first three starts as an Eagle, Sergio Gonzales (11-12, 3.72 overall) is settling in nicely atop the Washington rotation. He is 3-3 with a 3.80 era in 8 starts since coming over from Cleveland.
• For the first time in over a month DC posted a 4-2 week record, mainly due to the leadership of Moxie Pidgeon and Gonzales 2 quality starts. However, it seems the Eagles can't win for losing when it comes to pitching. This time it is injury as 28 year old Mike Knight is expected to miss 13 months with elbow troubles. For it to happen when Knight (7-7, 4.46) just seemed to be finding a bit of a groove makes it even tougher to take in Washington. And he wasn't the only one to go down for an extended period of time last week. Outfielder Don Miller's season may be over after getting hurt last week. Miller (.298,2,52) was leading the league in SB this season.
• Eagles brass has brought up two players from AAA: Pitcher Ike Beaver will join the bullpen after progressing thru multiples levels this season and developing quite nicely. The 23 year old will be given to chance to prove this is not just a lucky season. Coincidence or not, this will be the third pitcher in the DC squad being named "Ike", should we call them the "Ike Squad". To replace Miller, 24 year old outfielder Jim Hankshaw, prospect #59 according to OSA, been called to patrol the CF position, at least until Wally Flowers is healthy, which is expected to be about a week. Hankshaw had a very good training camp before getting injured in the last week of spring to be sent down for rehab following the injury.
• The alternately very good and very bad Bill Anderson will get a chance in the rotation again to replace Knight. Privately there is big worry in DC that Knight will ever play baseball again in the FABL after multiple injuries and this one being the longest recovery he will be dealing with.

• US Marines, armed with machine guns and bayonets drove invading Japanese troops out of the American sector of the International Settlement in Shanghai. It is believed Japan has nearly 1 million soldiers in the area poised to attack the Chinese capital of Hankow.
• Berlin expels a British officer from Austria amidst claims Germany had "proofs of his conducting espionage."
• FDR made a vigorous plea for the long-debated St Lawrence Waterway Treaty and said unless the US and Canada take joint governmental action a "group of American interests" may gain a monopoly in developing the river.
• 20,000 customers were left scurrying for alternate means of transportation to Chicago after railway employees walked off the job in protest of a 15 percent wage cut order.
• Howard Hughes sets his second flying record in recent weeks when he landed his transport plane in New York just over 10 and a half hours after leaving Los Angeles. His trip smashed the previous record for a transport plan by nearly 30 minutes.

This Week in Figment Baseball: Special edition August 22, 1938
 

August 22, 1938

SPECIAL BREAKING NEWS EDITION

STARS MAKE CHANGE AT THE TOP

The New York Stars are searching for a new General Manager after club owner Al Mielke decided a change was overdue for the struggling franchise. Mielke, who has owned the club since 1916 and oversaw 4 World Championship winning teams, was instrumental in getting Dyckman Stadium built for the 1935 season, replacing the old Riverside Stadium. It is the club's failure to be competitive over the first four years in their new park that was said to be the biggest factor in Mielke's decision.

"The New York Stars are a flagship franchise of FABL," read a press release issued by the team earlier this week. "and as such we hold ourselves to a high standard. When the product on the field fails to live up to that standard than changes are necessary." The release went on to discuss the teams dismal 243-332 record since the opening of the new park and lamented the fact the team finished 7th each of the past two seasons and was on track for another poor showing. The success of close rival Brooklyn over the past few seasons while the Stars were struggling was also believed to have irked Mielke.

Despite the recent rough patch the New York Stars have won 7 World Championship and 8 pennants since the creation of FABL in 1892. The 7 World Titles are more than any other franchise. Even with the recent downturn the Stars .515 all-time winning percentage, going back to 1892, is the fifth best in FABL and second to the Chicago Cougars in the Continental Association.

While no permanent replacement has been named, Mielke confirms he will have someone in place by the end of October. In the meantime, Assistant General Manager Tom Davis will take over on an interim basis. Davis has been the Stars AGM since joining the club in 1934.

JIGGS MCGEE TAKES A LOOK AT WHAT THE NEW VACANCY HAS TO OFFER IN A TWIFB SPECIAL REPORT

The New York Stars job is the first General Manager position to open up in FABL in quite some time. The new man will have a lot of work to do with the first task being to turn around the terrible morale issues that seem to plague the system at every level. The good news is if he can get the ball rolling there is a deep leadership group at each level that will hopefully be quick to embrace changes implemented by a new regime. There is also a fair bit of talent to work with and whoever gets the position will have two franchise type players to build around in 18 year old outfielder Bill Barrett and 20 year old pitcher Johnnie Jones.

It feels like the biggest hinderance to player development in this organization was indecision. Far too many players, especially some very marginal prospects are playing regularly at the expense of game experience for the top prospects so another priority for the new GM is to identify which players he wants to build around and get them playing games at the proper level to maximize their development chances.

Here is a position by position break down of the Stars organization:

CATCHER

CURRENT SITUATION: Mike Burkholder 32 (.242,0,22) and Johnny Hooper 24 (.239,0,18)
The veteran Burkholder has spent most of his career in the minors and is perhaps an acceptable back up catcher at best. He did put up some decent numbers as a 31 year old rookie playing half the games last season but seems to have regressed to his actual skill level this year. Hooper is a 24 year old who was taken with the final pick of round one in 1932. He had a very solid season primarily in AAA in 1937 culminating in a brief call-up that year before making the club this season. He was as high as #9 on the prospect ranking before graduating from the list by playing 71 games (as of this writing) this season. Limited sample but Hooper has thrown out 76% of would be base stealers and has a much better Cera than Burkholder. The only downside, is like so many in the Stars organization his morale is terrible. OSA calls him just the 15th best catcher in the position rankings but the expectation is he is improving and with regular playing time should be an acceptable big league option.

FUTURE: Barney George is 21 and was a second round pick in 1935. The New York City native is at Class A Scranton this season but only played in 21 games so far although he is hitting .333. OSA feels he is a front-runner for an audition at catcher but he clearly needs to be playing. Beyond that there is an assortment of lightly regarded prospects but a couple - most notably 18 year old Harvey Ammerman (.386/.471/.483 in C), 23 year old Gene Smith (.321/.377/.410 between AA and AAA) and 22 year old Herm Haines (.284/.357/.436 at B and A) are worth continuing to watch.

FIRST BASE

CURRENT SITUATION: Dave Trowbridge age 40 (.275,6,37) and Lou McEwen 30 (.221,2,25)
Trowbridge is one of the few remaining links to better days in New York, having been with the organization since arriving from Pittsburgh in 1928. This is quite likely his final season and he deserves to go out on his own terms. McEwen is not his replacement, in fact the 30 year old who was acquired from the Sailors prior to the 1937 season should like be plying his trade in the minors or the Lone Star Association.

FUTURE: There really is nothing in the system in the way of a natural first basemen for the Stars but the good news is they can easily find a short term solution on the waiver wire or in an inexpensive trade. There is also the possibility of converting an existing outfielder like Hank Jones to the position as a short term solution. However, adding a young power hitting first baseman with loads of upside potential like Chuck Adams, who the Stars could have acquired recently in trade, should be a priority.

SECOND BASE

CURRENT SITUATION: Larry Colaianni 29 (.280,1,40) and Del Huddletson 31 (.231,5,10)
The duo have been around for several years with Colaianni getting the bulk of the playing time. His defense is below average and his bat is merely average with Huddleston no better in either category.

FUTURE: The future at second looks pretty bright with Ira Armstrong (age 19 .270/.317/.333) in Class B being a youngster that OSA is pretty high on. I am not sure why but Armstrong is already on the 40-man roster, but he is ranked #135 on the OSA prospect list. Like so many other Stars prospects I wish they would have played him more but from what has been seen his glove looks pretty solid. The gem of the system at second base is likely 20 year old Harry Bush, a second round (lottery) guy from this past June. Bush is 20 years old and is just outside the top 100 prospects. For depth you have 26 year old Tom Gregory (.302/.357/.396) doing an acceptable job at AA and perhaps warrants a look in New York until Bush or Armstrong are ready.

SHORTSTOP

CURRENT SITUATION: Floyd Briscoe 23 (.273,0,32) and Bill Rich 36 (.221,0,18)
Briscoe, a rule 5 pickup from the Keystones over the winter is merely a short-term solution to fill into until one of the young prospects is ready and Rich is a player who's best days are well behind him, and never were really that good to begin with.

FUTURE: 26 year old Bill Michael spent a bit of time in New York this season. OSA calls him an average starter and he can play 3 infield positions so likely should replace Rich as the utility infielder right away. OSA says he looks like an average FABL starter mainly because of his glove. Moving Michael up also allows highly touted prospect Joe Angevine (#42) to play in Los Angeles although he might be ready for the big leagues right now. The issue with Angevine is it is hard to tell because an injury has limited him to just 30 games this season. He was originally selected 18th overall by Boston in 1933 but came to the Stars a year later in the Charlie Stedman trade. Angevine looks like a very good shortstop for the Stars and likely should be their everyday guy next season.

With Angevine as the pick for Stars SS that likely leaves 22 year old Leon Blackridge (,296/.374/.489 at AA) competing for a utility role at some point. He is presently ranked #57 by OSA so perhaps could also be trade bait if the new GM decides Angevine is his guy. Further down the chain we have 20 year old Andy Gross (.331/.370/.491 at B) but his glove might dictate a change in position.

THIRD BASE

CURRENT SITUATION: Gus Williams 23 (.253,4,38)
Williams is another rule 5 pick and has done a decent job at the plate and very well in the field. OSA likes his defense at the hot corner but calls him a bench player.

FUTURE: Ernie Brown (.312/.364/.425 at AA/AAA) is a player worth keeping an eye on. The 23 year old, a second round pick in 1936, is a natural shortstop but is having a nice year playing third. OSA feels he has the talent to flourish at the hot corner and with Angevine and Blackridge ahead of him on the SS depth chart the move makes perfect sense especially considering the lack of prospects at this position in the organization. There is also 18 year old Blackie Parks, an 8th round pick in June that OSA has some moderate interest in but he has not played enough to formulate much of an opinion.

OUTFIELD

CURRENT SITUATION: Bill Barrett 18 (.227,3,6 in 7 games), Hank Jones 30 (.296/5/64), Chink Stickels 27 (.334,5,50), Art McMahon 27 (.270,0,24) and Spider Thompson 30 (.375,1,5)

Really, really good. Like most teams the Stars have their share of quality outfielders but unlike anyone expect Detroit (with Sal Pestilli) the Stars have a superstar on the rise in 18 year old Bill Barrett. There is no need to say much about Barrett as so much has been said elsewhere so we will just say write his name into the CF spot on the lineup card in pen and be done with it for the next 10-15 years. With the addition of Barrett that means Chink Stickels can move to a corner spot and continue to be an above average lead-off man. If McMahon, who is also a natural CF, can hit enough he could play the other corner and give the Stars excellent outfield defense. Hank Jones is the odd man out but the 30 year old could move to first until a suitable candidate is found and be an upgrade on McEwan.

FUTURE: OSA has liked 24 year old Hub Parks (.283/.351/.410) for quite some time but he has only played 49 games at the AAA level and none in the majors so perhaps his time is past. He is another natural CF and would not hurt the Stars in a 4th outfielder role but that might be his peak. There are some other speedster types as well such as 23 year Paul Hall who, like so many others has rarely been given a chance to play regularly in the Stars system. Then there is 1931 second round pick Hal Roberts who is 24 and has been promoted at a snail's pace.

What the Stars lack, other than Barrett obviously, is a power bat. It would be nice to replace McMahon with someone with a bit more power to his game, although they could also solve that need with the right option at first base. Overall though, this team looks to have a solid core in place position-wise, but need to get the top guys playing more and playing at the right level which in itself should greatly help towards addressing the morale issues that plague the entire organization.

PITCHING

CURRENT SITUATION: George Phillips 27 (9-6, 2.75), Vern Hubbard 23 (5-9, 4.67), Billy Riley 24 (7-7, 2.86), Chris Clarke 26 (3-5, 3.72), Glenn Payne 24 (2-9, 3.43) with also Boyd Harper 34 (16sv, 2.64), Harry Carter 27 (5-9, 4.54), Tom Fitzgerald 30 (3-2, 3.99) and Gene Stevens 32 (4-2, 5.03)
OSA calls both Hubbard and Riley top of the rotation guys, Payne a decent #2 once he matures and Clarke and Phillips both back end guys so there is some talent in place already if it develops. Both Hubbard and Riley were slower developing high school arms selected back in 1932. Hubbard is one I would have a lot of confidence in as he was been a top 40 prospect for several years and has been very healthy his entire career. Riley was a later draft pick (Round 9) who never made the top prospect list until this season when he debuted at #29 so he is a late bloomer but the worry is he has had numerous injuries although on the positive side of the ledger, none have been to his arm. However, back problems have plagued Riley and perhaps will be a concern going forward. The bullpen could certainly use an upgrade but overall the staff is not in that bad of shape.

FUTURE: Here is where the Stars could shine but job 1 is getting Johnnie Jones invested in the program once again. The 20 year old Jones, like many of the Stars young pitching prospects has been treated terribly, changed to a reliever, stuck on ridiculously low pitch counts and left in a level well below what should be challenging him. His attitude is shot and it might be a challenge to turn that around, but one that is well worth undertaking as the 1936 4th overall pick has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the game.

There is more good news for whoever gets the job as Stars GM as there are several other very highly touted arms, but that is exactly what a few years of terrible finishes should allow you to acquire. 21 year old Jim Douglass was selected in the third round of the June draft and is another New York arm OSA feels has front-line starter potential. He only averaged a little over 4 innings in his first 6 starts at Class B so has no decisions but has looked every bit as dominant as one would expect from a 21 year old top ranked prospect playing at that level. Tom Henderson is, like Douglass, 21 years old and was in the top 100 prospect list but has slipped of late after struggling out of the pen since a promotion to Class A. Give him time in a minor league rotation and he might be another solid middle of rotation arm in New York one day.

SUMMARY

There are clearly a lot of good pieces in place and another high draft pick coming in January so while it won't be easy, a 2-3 year turnaround is very possible and one could very accurately state this club is in a much better position than the Detroit Dynamos were just 3 years ago. It is easy to draw some parallels between this club and the Dynamos as each has a franchise guy to build around and while the Dynamos might have had slightly more position player depth thanks to some shrewd moves early from GM Martin to acquire picks and prospects it appears the Stars have much more upside on their pitching prospects than Detroit did early in it's rebuild.

The Dynamos have set the bar almost impossibly high for all future rebuilds to be compared to but a General Manager calling Dyckman Stadium his new home base could, with some shrewd moves and a little luck, come close to mirroring Detroit's recipe for success. A lot of the ingredients are there. Stars owner Al Miekle now needs to just hire the right chef and they stay out of the kitchen and let the new man do the cooking.

This Week in Figment Baseball: August 29, 1938
 

August 29, 1938

RESURGENCE IN TORONTO

What a difference this season has been in Toronto. A few short years ago there were worries the club would head south, literally not just figuratively like it has in the standings, with all kinds of talk of moving with Cincinnati being the most likely destination. The club was terrible, lacked any star power and Dominion Stadium regularly challenged for the league lead in empty seats but all that has changed as a fairly new General Manager, a new owner and a pair of superstar talents have made the Wolves a team to fear in the Continental Association. Club revenue, while still not among the league leaders, are at least middle of the pack and attendance will quite possibly double last seasons total when the final pitch is thrown for the season. The club will cross the 700,000 mark in their next game and could very shortly break the franchise record of 767,167 set in 1927, which was the last season they finished in the first division. Too think only 216,000 entered Dominion Stadium just 4 seasons ago, a number that is believed to be the lowest single season total for any FABL venue this century.

On the field the club is riding high with a 7 game winning streak pushing their winning percentage to .595 and they are within 5 and a half games of front-running Brooklyn. Assuming they can maintain this pace the Wolves will end up with their best record since 1911 - which was the last time they won the Continental Association pennant. They won just 72 games last season and with a full month to go this time around have already equaled that victory total. The turnaround can primarily be attributed to a gutsy move they made over the winter in dealing several pitchers to St Louis in order to acquire Frank McCormick (.413,14,77). The 28 year old has often been described the last couple of seasons as the best player never to win a Whitney Award but after a pair of second place finishes and a third place finish in Fed balloting the last few years that seems assured to change as McCormick looks to be a lock to win the Whitney in his first season in the CA.

McCormick also signed a 3 year extension with the Wolves recently that will pay him a little over $80,000 over the next three seasons, giving him modest raises on the $25,000 he will collect this year. The Wolves also inked a 4 year extension this week with their other superstar as 25 year old Joe Hancock (19-6, 3.01) will see his salary rise from $15,000 this year to $20k over each of the next four years. Like McCormick with the Whitney, Hancock appears to be the front-runner for the other CA achievement, the Allen Award for the top pitcher.

The Wolves still have a lot of work ahead of them and are running out of time if they want to prevent Brooklyn from becoming the first team since the 1928-30 Philadelphia Sailors to claim three straight pennants, but even if the Wolves fall short in that regard this season has been an amazing resurgence for a club that has not really been relevant in over 25 years.

QUICK HITS

• Congratulations to New York Gothams icon Bud Jameson (.310,6,66) for scoring his 1,000 career run this week. Thanks to injuries and age the 34 year old is not the player he once was but with 1,817 career hits, a .329 lifetime batting average and now 1,001 runs scored (all in a Gotham uniform) he is on the back nine of a tremendous career and has enjoyed a nice resurgence this season.
• Brooklyn's Del Lyons took a loss in Toronto but rebounded with a save against the Cougars - his single season record tying 26th. The mark was originally established by Bill Mendine in 1922 when he had 26 saves and appeared in a record 99 games. Lyons, who has a won-lost record of 7-7 this season, will not catch Mendine for the games played record. The 33 year old 9th year King has seen action in 'just' 54 contests thus far.
• The Detroit Dynamos slide out of first place in the Federal Association has coincided with Sal Pestilli's (.305,32,93) struggles at the dish in August. The 22 year old two-time all-star slashed .271/.313/.458 this month with only 3 homers and 14 rbi's. He went 8,8,9 in homers for May, June and July.
• Pestilli's August power outage seemingly has sealed the deal on Chicago Chiefs catcher Tom Bird (.379,18,86) winning the Whitney Award in the fed. Bird is leading the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. So with it almost a certainty that Bird and Frank McCormick will be the Whitney Award winners this one has to wonder what the St Louis Pioneers offense could have looked like had they held on to both of these players. McCormick, of course, was dealt over the winter for some very good pitching while Bird was still a rookie in 1934 when the Pioneers moved him to Montreal for Heinie Zimmer (.262,5,39) and Al Tucker (.333,10,82), both of whom have worked out well in St Louis.
• Tucker actually has a 24 game hitting streak on the go, which ties Jim Beard of Washington's mark for the longest of the season in FABL.
• Out of the scuttlebutt from last weeks ill-conceived Dynamos-Stars deal involving Bill Barrett is word that the Dynamos made a real run at the trade deadline to try and acquire Deuce Barrell from Baltimore. Barrell, who was the first overall pick of the 1935 draft, made his big league debut just before the deadline losing a 6-4 decision to Toronto. Detroit reportedly offered a large package of players, prospects and picks for the 21 year old. A package that is said to have include some of the likes of Leon Drake, Frank LeMieux, Ed Stewart and Elmer Nolde. The deal never happened and to be honest it would be hard to see Baltimore being willing to part with Barrell unless they were getting Sal Pestilli back or a package including Red Johnson. The Dynamos eventually moved on to the Sailors and landed a veteran arm instead by acquiring William Jones. In the short-term a Barrell deal would likely have ended the Dynamos pennant hopes with the amount of offense they would have parted with so if Detroit does actually come back and win the Federal crown perhaps they have Baltimore to thank for it.
• Former 2nd overall pick Chick Stout has rebounded nicely after missing all of '37 with an arm injury (would have been nice if he was the closer in the WCS instead of Lou Ellertson in that ill-fated game 2 loss that tipped the Series in Brooklyn's favor) Stout's been healthy all year, appearing in 35 games with 43.2 IP, 14 saves and a 2.89 ERA. Very big things were expected from Stout when the Rainier College product beat out Tom Barrell for first team All-American honours in 1929. Stout would never develop into the top of the rotation arm that Barrell, who was drafted one slot ahead of him, became but the 30 year has fashioned a decent career pitching almost exclusively in relief for the Miners.
• Bob Walls(4-0, 3.09) has been lights out since being acquired at the deadline by the Toronto Wolves. Rookies Jim Morrison (8-8, 5.37) and George Garrison (3-3, 5.36) each got their W-L records back to even during the 7 game winning streak, now if they could both work on their respective control issues. For both players the WHIPs are being severely inflated due to free passes given up to opposing hitters. Is it a case of a tighter strike zone for rookie pitchers as manager Hank Lietzke has been heard yelling from the dugout steps? Wolves are in closed door discussions regarding September call-ups but almost assuredly an arm(s) will be added to the 'pen.
• Brooks Meeks of Cleveland has an interesting streak going. Each of the previous three seasons he finished with exactly 27 doubles. He needs 6 more this season to keep the meaningless but statistically speaking rare streak alive.
• Tough break for Cleveland prospect Johnny Slaney. The 22 year old was cruising along at AAA Cincinnati with a 12-3 record and a 3.01 era and was all set to be recalled by the Foresters when the rosters expand next week. However the top 100 prospect who was originally a 1934 Pittsburgh fourth round pick, blew out his arm last week and will be sidelined at least a calendar year. Slaney did make 3 starts for Cleveland earlier in the summer.
• Brooklyn's Tom Barrell continues to struggle as the 3-time Allen Award winner took another loss this week to drop his record to 10-11 on the year. The only losing season of his career came in 1933 when he was 13-16 but he had control problems that season. This year he has pitched well, in fact leads the Kings starters in FIP and WAR but just has had some bad luck.
• Dave Haight Does It Again! The former 13th round pick, acquired in the offseason by the New York Gothams as part of the Johnny McDowell deal with the Chicago Cougars, has won his second POW award. Haight, who made the jump from AA in the Cougars system to a starting job with New York is hitting .325/.385/.504 with 29 D, 11 T, 5 HR and 62 RBI on the season. Last week he was 11-21 with 4 doubles, a triple and a homer. Haight has become a mainstay in RF for the Gothams after spending the first month of the season sharing time in the outfield. Haight should be considered among the league's top rookies along with the more heralded Red Johnson in Detroit and his own teammates, Ernie Perez and Bill Dalton.
• The upcoming Gothams schedule over the next two weeks does include a lot of Detroit and Chicago, but the Gothams have so far avoided the second half collapse that sent last year's squad to a team record 100 losses. Now 23-22 since the All-Star break the team is just 3 wins shy of last year's total. While some prognosticators wondered if the team could win 50 this season, they are now shooting for 60 and beyond. This attempt may be hurt by the news that rookie starter Nate Spear is done for the season with forearm tightness. The 22 year old was 8-11 with a 4.32 era in his first full season in New York.
• It was a 2-4 week for the New York Stars under interim GM Tom Davis. Davis did recently promote top 50 prospect Joe Angevine from AAA and the 23 year old responded by going 3-for-8 in his first two big league games with his first hit being a double off of the Sailors Walt Wells. The rookie in the Stars lineup everyone wants to see is Bill Barrett, but it was a rough week for the 18 year old who went just 4-for-23 but did hit 3 doubles in 6 games last week. Barrett is batting .200 with 3 homers in 13 big leagues, which is the exact same number of games the teen played in the minors so regardless of the press clippings, and there have been many already, the Stars need to be patient with their young star.
• Just some random updates from the Kings farm system courtesy of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Remember Dan Rogers? The 1934 1st rounder who started #51 on the prospect list and then plunged. Well he is hitting .297 with 14 homers at AAA Rochester and has a slim chance of being a September call-up next week. Still only ranked #261 by OSA but my SD likes his chances and much better than flirting with #500 like he was a season ago. Fellow outfielder Jim Alarie (.292,0,11) is adjusting nicely to his first taste of AAA. Alarie was one of the players who came from Chicago in the Bill May deal.
  Jack Goff (5-11, 5.04 at AAA) had a great spring for us and if he was righthanded the 22 year old might have started the season in Brooklyn. Got off to a bad start in Rochester and never recovered which has Kings questioning his long-term role in the organization.
  Hank Mittan (6-1, 2.47) is settling in at the AA level after AAA seemed too much for the 23 year old to start the season. His future if he makes it to Brooklyn is likely in the pen as, while he has a great slider and a decent fastball, his third pitch is practically non-existent. Mittan was a 1932 9th round pick of Pittsburgh we traded for after picking him in the Rule 5 last December. It took 42 games (17 in Memphis and 25 with Knoxville) but Chuck Adams - #10 on the prospect pipeline - finally hit his first homer at the AA level. The expectation is the 21 year old will need another year in the minors before he can challenge for the 1B job in Brooklyn.
  It's a bad season all around for Class A Springfield but at list our other big slugging 1B is showing signs of progress. 20 year old Tiny Tim Hopkins struggled early but has raised his average to .252 with 7 homers for the Hustlers.
  James Slocum, Manager Powell Slocum's step-son, is hitting .300 through his first 34 games of pro ball at Class C Marshalltown. Slocum was the Kings 4th round pick in June. 7th rounder Dick Farmer (6-3, 2.58) is looking very good as an 18 year old for the Maples as is our fourth round pick from a year ago in catcher George Jones. The 19 year old is hitting .349 and will certainly move up a level, perhaps two, next spring. The Maples, with a half game lead are the only team in our organization with a solid shot at winning a pennant. Unfortunately 3rd round pick Bobby Boone is one of the few disappointments in the early going. The 19 year old his batting just .179 through 49 games.

• The British government gave France "unmistakable assurance" of support if a a conflict resulted and if France were called upon to fulfill treaty obligations to the Czechs.
• London also called upon Germany to avoid violence in Czechoslovakia as doing so might precipitate a general war in which Britain would have to join. Russia, Yugoslavia and Romania reply they will also observe defense pledge to Prague and will join Britain and France if Germany takes action.
• The American pilot of a Chinese airliner tells a harrowing tale of how Japanese war planes forced him to land before shooting 14 Chinese passengers from the flight.
• Japan and the US are at odds following the attempted bombing of an American gunboat in China waters. The gunboat was showered with water but not damaged by the explosions after Japan was said to have refused permission for the gunboat to enter a river towards Shanghai that is under Japanese control.
• The racketeering trial of New York politician James J. Hines continues. Hines charged for complicity in a numbers game and for protection of now deceased gangster Dutch Schultz and his gang.

This Week in Figment Baseball: September 5, 1938
 

September 5, 1938

13 AND COUNTING FOR RED HOT WOLVES

The Toronto Wolves continue to be the surprise team of the Continental Association and suddenly with just 4 weeks remaining in the season the Wolves find themselves alone in first place for the first time since they briefly held the lead in mid-May. Winners of 13 straight games, the Wolves have been on an amazing run since the all-star break when at that point they trailed the Brooklyn Kings by 8 games.

On the morning of August 19th, less than 3 weeks ago the margin was 10 games after the Wolves were blown out 11-0 by Philadelphia the previous day while the Kings were beating Montreal 4-2. The next day Wolves rookie Jim Morrison beat the Sailors 3-1 and the Wolves have not lost since then. 13 straight victories including yesterday's 9-6 win over the same Philadelphia Sailors that they started their streak against. Meanwhile, Brooklyn fell 4-0 to Baltimore that Friday and has won only 3 times since while losing 10 times - including their last six in a row - and saw their lead which once appeared insurmountable, disappear.

The breaks just seem to be going Toronto's way as the Wolves are 11 games better than their Pythagorean record would suggest they should be. The Wolves are winning the tight games with a .697 (23-10) percentage in 1-run games and a 6-1 record in extra innings - both figures tops in either Association and at 36-18 since the ASG only the Chiefs (37-14) have fared better since the break. After a dominating 51-24 first half, the Kings are just a game over .500 at 27-26 since the All-Star contest.
Toronto has replaced the Detroit Dynamos as the 'feel good story" of the season and their revival is nearly as impressive - and unexpected - as the Dynamos was up until they began to stumble the past couple of weeks. Everyone knew both Detroit and Toronto would be improved this season but it is unlikely anyone expected the improvement to be so drastic especially in the Wolves case. Toronto finished 6th in the CA a year ago and was 10 games under .500. With 27 games remaining the Wolves already have 78 wins this season, a figure they had not surpassed in a full season in 11 years. They also won 88 games in 1926. Prior to that, you would need to go all the way back to 1911 when they won 90 games and the series championship. They have only won 90 or more three times: 1911, 1909 (91), and 1898 (96). They are currently on pace for 95 victories.

Much of the credit has gone to Frank McCormick (.405,14,77), who looks like he will finally win his first Whitney Award after several near misses while playing for St Louis in the Federal Association, but there have been a number of other standouts. 30 year old third baseman Nick Wallace (.370,11,78), a former Brooklyn King, is enjoying the best season of his career while 25 year old righthander Joe Hancock (21-6, 2.81), who won 20 games a year ago as a sophomore, has hit a whole new level and appears a lock to win his first Allan Award. Veteran Chuck Wirtz (13-10, 4.24), another former Brooklyn draft pick, has won a career high games this season and is holding his own as the #2 starter while rookies Jim Morrison (9-8, 4.98) and George Garrison (4-3, 5.03) are starting to settle in. Further proof that everything just seems to be clicking for the Wolves is Bob Walls (5-0, 2.79), who was picked up from Detroit at the deadline after spending the entire season in AAA, has done his best Rabbit Day impression over the past month and been an integral reason for the Wolves run.

Brooklyn, on the other hand, just seems to be spinning it's wheels and cannot buy a break. The Kings, despite a run differential of +113, best in the CA and 76 runs better than Toronto, are just 19-17 in one runs games - and lost 3 of them this week. The Kings are also just 3-3 in extra innings and dropped a pair of those this week as well.

The Kings have been a streaky team for most of this decade. Last year it was a positive streak with a red hot September allowing them to eventually beat Philadelphia in a one game playoff after the Kings were 8.5 out in late August. Of course they also had a terrible stretch of games in June-July last year. In 1936 the Kings led by 7 games on September 8th, but 10 days later the lead was down to 2.5 over Cleveland following a brutal 2-7 stretch. Only a complete collapse by the Foresters allowed Brooklyn to claim their first pennant in nearly a decade. In 1935 the Kings were 3 games up on Cleveland in late August but then proceeded to lose 7 straight and ended up losing the pennant by one game. The 1934 race, another near miss, is famous for Brooklyn dropping 4 of 5 games in the final week to finish a game back of Cleveland. Even prior to their contending years the Kings had some unusual runs. The 1932 team was among the worst in the league the first half of the season but was the best team in baseball over the final couple of months after dealing ace Tom Wilcox to the Cougars for the battery of Barrell brothers. Following that 1932 finish the Kings were thought to be contenders for the pennant in 1933, but that was the year of a second straight awful start and prompted the Kings to deal their other 'ace' in Milt Fritz after a stretch that saw them drop 18 of 25 games.

Looking at the numbers and the talent one would likely surmise Brooklyn's fortunes are due to turn and the Wolves will eventually run out of luck but crazy things always seem to happen when the Kings are involved and a Toronto pennant would certainly qualify in that regard. No matter how it may end this version of the Wolves have made baseball relevant in Toronto again - something that has not been the case for over a decade. A Toronto-Detroit World Championship Series would have been the surprise of the decade - if not longer. The Dynamos seem to be fading but the Wolves are looking like they just might live up to their end of the bargain.

QUICK HITS

• Toronto's Joe Hancock deserves the Allen Award in the CA, but scribes in Chicago say they can't not vote for the Cougars Dick Lyons. Not too many 38-year-olds have breakout years, but the 1938 All-Star is 16-6 with a 2.82 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, 34 walks, and 39 strikeouts. His 16 wins are third in the league, his ERA a point behind Hancock for third, his BB/9 tied for first, and his WHIP second. For a guy the club expected to end up in the pen after a month or so of poor starts, Lyons is putting together potentially the most unlikely season we'll see for a while. TWIFB agrees that Lyons season is memorable but unfortunately he picked the same season as Hancock to do something special.
• With a 5-3 record next week, Chicago Chiefs skipper Joe Ward would get to .500 as a manager (w/l of 645-647 currently)
• On the topic of managers, Montreal's Dick Pozza needs 28 wins for 1000 in his career. Those 28 wins will likely not come this season.
• Staying with managers, if the Kings miss the playoffs will Powell Slocum be out in Brooklyn for a second time? Slocum managed the Kings from 1925-27 before being fired following a long slump (see that tradition goes way back for the Kings) but was rehired after a failed couple of years in Pittsburgh. If Slocum gets canned again Baltimore, where he had so many great years as a player, would be a perfect destination. It is clear that John Lawrence (111-170) is on thin ice in his second season with the Cannons and Slocum might be the perfect solution. Of course that would depend on if the rift between Slocum and long-time Baltimore owner Oscar Banner that prompted the star to demand a move to Brooklyn late in his playing days is over. While Banner has never commented on the possibility of Slocum returning to Baltimore he did say the rift was not ever really between himself and Slocum, but more a conflict between Powell and former manager Davey Kincaid.
• Bob Martin (.285,5,53) is only 31, but he's following up a poor showing in 1937 for the Chicago Chiefs with another poor season in 1938. Bill Jones has performed well in limited playing time, and so while nothing will change at this point in the season, one would expect to see an open competition at third base next season.
• Still with the Chiefs Bill May, who came over from Brooklyn at the deadline, stole 13 bases in August which is something the Chiefs are not used to seeing. Bob Worley, who went the other way in the deal along with some very good prospects, has hit .284 with 5 homers in 27 games as a King. Brooklyn also announced they have just promoted Jim Alarie, who came over in the same deal, to the big club after the 22 year old looked very good the past month in AAA Rochester. Worley is coming off a 3-for-18 week and perhaps showing signs he is starting to regress to his career averages but he will still get the bulk of the starts in center next week although the Kings are going to get the youngster a game or two.
• The Gothams got a slap of reality with a 1-5 week and now face a doubleheader in St. Louis followed by 7 straight against Detroit and Chicago. Despite their ups and downs at the top level the organization continued to accumulate awards at various levels down on the farm. Constantine Peters won player of the month at AA Jersey City, hitting .385 with 3 homers, 30 RBI and scoring 23 runs in August. Peters is expected to move to AAA for September. Down at class C Rock Island, hurler Johnnie Walker was August pitcher of the month going 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA, tossing 45 innings in 5 starts. Finally this past week catcher Cliff Smith won POW honors for Jersey City, going 11-21 with a homer and 6 RBI.
• Keystones with a rare winning week (4-3) but officially eliminated from postseason and own the worst record in either league. The Keystones showing this year has to rank as the biggest disappointment after the club won 85 games a year ago and was in contention.
• All in all not a good year for the Barrell family with Bobby struggling in Philadelphia, Rufus is 1-7 with a 6.22 era as a rookie in Baltimore, Tom not getting any breaks and Fred having another down year in Brooklyn. At least Kings shortstop Harry is doing okay but that’s about it unless the recently retired Dan is really kicking it with OSA as a scout. And after a quick start young James Barrell is batting just .115 over his last 2 weeks in Class C.
• Another team that has had a rough go of things this year is the Washington Eagles. They came back to normal after two good weeks by posting a 2-5 record this time. Rookie CF Jim Hanshaw is showing good skills playing almost everyday in the outfield and notched his first FABL HR this week. With September upon us and a stretch of 8 games in 7 days, there will be a few call-ups from AAA for trials to finish the season. 1B Harry Pickering got his second promotion of season following the nomination for CL player of the week. The 25 year old was hitting .301 with 11 homers in just 55 games at AAA. Outfielders Joe Ellicott and Bob Gillespie are both coming back up after spending a little time with the big club earlier in the season and catcher Ernie Killam has been rewarded for many years of service in the organization with his first trip to Washington at the age of 27. Pitching has been the big problem in the nation's capital and Lou Johnson will be the latest to get a shot in the Eagles rotation. The 21 year old was selected in the second round of the 1934 draft. He did not look overly impressive at AAA Kansas City (7-7, 5.64) there has not been much to impress anyone on the big league staff either. Eagles brass feels Johnson's K/BB ratio is good enough to see if his control can lead him to success at the big league level.
• Even Sergio Gonzales (11-15, 4.02) is struggling after the move from Cleveland. Since his trade Gonzales is 3-6 with an era nearly a full run higher in Washington than it was with the Foresters. His ERA+ is also below average for the first time in his career. The player Gonzales was traded for, 3B Mel Carrol (.363,13,101) is faring very well in Cleveland and just claimed his first CA player of the week award to go with the 8 (along with a Whitney Award) he won in Washington.

• Britain sends Hitler a final warning not to start a war with Czechs while France speeds up arms production.
• Germany cannot count on support from Italy in case of war over Czechoslovakia according to information received in Paris.
• President Roosevelt is conferring with senior cabinet members on the crisis in Central Europe as both the Nazi's and British/French increase their military presence.
• Italy exiled all Jews who have settled in the country in the past twenty years. The 20,000 affected have been given 6 months to leave the county.
• The British navy stepped up it's presence in the Strait of Gibraltar to counteract mysterious activities of Spanish insurgents.