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sigma804 · 07-12-2012, 08:04 PM

The new year began on a somber note, as Pittsburgh's ace Herb Pennock was forced to retire by a never injury. Spring Training was particularly rough from an injury standpoint - among those who went were Cleveland OF Babe Ruth (6 weeks), New York 3B Ossie Bluege (6 weeks), Chicago SS Rabbitt Maranville (4 weeks), Chicago 2B Jimmy Dykes (8 months) and Cleveland OF Harry Hooper (4 weeks).

The annual top ten prospect list was headed by OF Mel Ott of Baltimore but was dominated by Los Angeles pitchers - Ben Cantwell (#2), Danny MacFayden (#3), Fred Frankhouse (#5) and Ray Benge (#8) - all are hurlers in the Stars organization. Others in the top ten included pitcher Ownie Carroll and OF Carl Reynolds of St. Louis, Boston P Watty Clark, Detroit OF Sam West and Pittsburgh P George Blaeholder.

The injuries continued through the first six weeks, as Los Angeles lost star OF Curt Walker for 2-3 months with a hamstring injury and Boston lost P Eppa Rixey for the rest of the year with an elbow injury. The first big trade of the year saw Chicago send OF Rube Bressler to Pittsburgh for P Dolf Luque and SS Hod Kibbie. The biggest deadline deal saw Pittsburgh SS Lew Fonseca sent to Los Angeles for P Joe Shaute.

While the Central wasn't a race - Los Angeles finished 12 games ahead of Chicago - the Eastern was tied on the final day with New York and Baltimore in a dead heat and Pittsburgh one game back. The Titans were idle, while Baltimore took on Pittsburgh head-to-head. The Grays defeated the Stallions 4-2, leaving both of them a half-game behind New York, who got to claim the title without playing.

In the Central, Los Angeles was loaded - the Stars were first in every major category offensively, defensively and pitching-wise except home runs where they were third. Offensively players like Bill Terry (366-7-92), Jimmie Foxx (320-14-88), Frankie Frisch (323-1-64) and Lew Fonseca (340-4-56) tore it up, while Earl Whitehill (17-7,3.13) led a staff that had solid starters and outstanding relievers, including Lynn Brenton and his 0.84 ERA. Cleveland finished in second, largely driven by Babe Ruth's 32 home runs and decent pitching by guys like Ed Morris and Tommy Thomas. The only other .300 hitter in the lineup was Bob Fothergill (318-5-78). Chicago finished 12.5 back and had a great year from their outfield - Bob Meusel (306-2-37), Earle Combs (344-6-92) and Paul Waner (365-7-74). Flint Rhem was their best pitcher after coming over in a trade from Cleveland, going 8-7 with a 3.64 ERA. St. Louis finally avoided last place, though only by a half-game. The Spirit lineup featured three 300 hitters - Rogers Hornsby (320-9-73), Harvey Hendrick (318-5-49) and Babe Herman (319-8-68) and a good pitching performances from starters Bill Sherdel (16-12, 3.54) and Pete Donohue (12-12, 3.73) were hopeful and late season callups Tony Welzer (3-2, 3.48) and General Crowder (3-1, 3.82) offered more optimism for next season.Detroit slipped from fourth to last , largely because of a poor rotation that had a 4.27 ERA. Offensively the Iron Horses had plenty of hitters - Buddy Myer (339-1-53), Andy High (315-5-45), Heinie Manush (340-8-65), Chick Hafey (332-16-91), Gabby Hartnett (319-16-89) and Ken Williams (317-6-36) stood out.

Despite being last in the East in starters ERA the New York Titans eaked out a title, with Lou Gehrig (349-18-81) and Mickey Cochrane (340-4-66) leading the way. Having RF Cy Williams and SS Tony Lazzeri in double figures in home runs certainly didn't hurt. Pittsburgh also struggled with pitching and it may have cost them since they finished just a half-game back. Hack Wilson was the Grays offensive leader, hitting 328-25-98 but getting able support from Al Simmons (351-11-78) and Glenn Wright (302-7-43). Guy Bush led the team in wins with 16. After spending three years in last Baltimore turned into a contender , largely from rookies Mel Ott (372-20-90) and Lloyd Waner (328-1-47) being added to the lineup, though 1B Lu Blue (303-2-52) also helped out. Lefty Grove matured into a dominant starter, going 21-8 with a 2.51 ERA, while Sam Gibson (14-14, 3.89) and George Pipgras (14-12, 3.74) were solid. Philadelphia struggled, finishing 7.5 games back, as perennial .300 hitters Harry Heilmann (271) and Jim Bottomley (292) weren't up to their usual standards. The year did see 2B Charlie Gehringer finally blossom to superstardom, as he hit .336-3-42 from the leadoff spot. Charlie Root somehow managed to end up with a losing record despite a 2.93 ERA, a feat Dutch Ulrich (3.10) could sympathize with. Boston came in last, 9 games back, largely due to an offense that finished last in the East in most categories. Jesse Petty (3.44 ERA) did a nice job in the rotation and Eddie Collins hit .331 at the age of 40 but other than that and Pie Traynor's 333-3-69 line, there wasn't much to get excited about.

The Stars sent ace Earl Whitehill to the mound for Game One, while New York countered with Bump Hadley (12-17, 4.65 in just his second year). Of course, Hadley surprised everyone and outdueled Whitehill in a 2-1 Titans victory. The two teams were tied at one going into the sixth, when Lou Gehrig singled, Tony Lazzeri doubled and then Cy Williams brought Gehrig home with the winning run on a sacrifice fly to center. Game Two saw more great pitching, as Freddie Fitzsimmons shut out New York and held them to just four hits. Sam Jones did a nice job for New York as well, going 8 innings and allowing just one earned run on two hits. The game's only runs came in the bottom of the fifth as Walt French drove home Bill Terry on a sac fly and then Curt Walker scored on a bases loaded to walk to Fitzsimmons. The low scoring series continued in Game Three and featured a dramatic ending as the game was tied at 2 going into the bottom of the ninth. With one out Babe Twombly singled off Jumbo Elliott, then stole second. Goose Goslin lined a 2-2 pitch into right and Twombly came all the way around from second for the game winning run.

Game Four was yet another one run game, except this one went into extra innings. Tied at five in the 10th, the Stars' Topper Rigney doubled to lead off the inning and after a Frankie Frisch single Lew Fonseca brought Rigney home to make it a 6-5 Los Angeles win. Red Ruffing got the win, while John Slappey took the loss in relief. The fun continued in Game Five, another extra inning, one run game. Tied at five after eight innings New York took a one-run lead in the top of the ninth as Mickey Cochrane singled in Goslin. The Stars countered by scoring in the bottom of the inning as CF Alex Metzler singled in Jimmie Foxx to tie it up. Stars relief ace Lynn Brenton came on and shut out New York in the 10th, setting up a second night of Lew Fonseca heroics. Los Angeles 3B Joe Dugan led off with a single and Brenton bunted him to second. A ground out by Frankie Frisch put Dugan at third with two out and Fonseca singled on the second pitch from John Slappey to bring home Dugan for the win. New York evened the series at 3 with a 5-2 win in Game Six as Lou Gehrig homered twice and Kiki Cuyler also hit one out while Sam Jones pitched well and Slappey picked up the save.

The Titans took a 4-3 lead as they returned home for Game Seven and won 6-2 behind a complete game from vet Lefty Williams. Cuyler was 2 for 4 with a double, a triple and 2 RBI while Goose Goslin homered. New York won the championship in Game Eight, as Cy Williams broke the game open early with a 3-run homer in the first and Slim Harris pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to finish a complete game outing.

1927 Rookies of the Year were Baltimore's Mel Ott, pretty much a no-brainer, and St. Louis first baseman Harvey Hendrick. The pitcher awards went to Baltimore's Lefty Grove and Los Angeles starter Earl Whitehill. Hitter awards were given to New York's Lou Gehrig, and as always, Cleveland's Babe Ruth.

As usual it didn't take long for teams to start dealing after season's end. St. Louis sent OF Edd Roush to New York for P Ken Holloway and 2B Johnny Burnett. After his struggles in the championship series, it wasn't a surprise to see New York send reliever John Slappey packing, as he was traded with minor league 1B Les Burke to St. Louis for Fred Schulte. New York also picked up SP Jesse Petty from St. Louis for P Johnny Welch, SS Charlie Engle and OF Bill Hohman. The overhaul of the Titans pitching staff continued as they also traded for SP Jakie May of Boston, giving up 1B Buck Jordan and three minor leaguers.

St. Louis surprised many by trading 26-year old outfielder Harry Rice (four straight years over .300) to Philadelphia for minor league SS Heinie Schuble. Detroit picked up SP Tommy Thomas from Cleveland for 3B Les Bell and 1B Andy Harrigan.

Detroit had the first pick in the draft and took catcher Bill Dickey, a potential superstar from a little town in Arkansas. The rest of the first round saw Boston take P Carl Hubbell then went P Pat Malone (St. Louis), OF Chuck Klein (Philadelphia), OF Ed Morgan (Chicago), P George Earnshaw (Cleveland), P Si Johnson (Pittsburgh), C Spud Davis (Baltimore), 1B Del Bissonette (New York) and P Ed Brandt (Los Angeles). Potential non-first rounders of interest included Pepper Martin (2nd round, Philadelphia) and P Mel Harder (3rd round, St. Louis)

07-12-2012, 08:04 PM	#8
sigma804 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 25	1927 The new year began on a somber note, as Pittsburgh's ace Herb Pennock was forced to retire by a never injury. Spring Training was particularly rough from an injury standpoint - among those who went were Cleveland OF Babe Ruth (6 weeks), New York 3B Ossie Bluege (6 weeks), Chicago SS Rabbitt Maranville (4 weeks), Chicago 2B Jimmy Dykes (8 months) and Cleveland OF Harry Hooper (4 weeks). The annual top ten prospect list was headed by OF Mel Ott of Baltimore but was dominated by Los Angeles pitchers - Ben Cantwell (#2), Danny MacFayden (#3), Fred Frankhouse (#5) and Ray Benge (#8) - all are hurlers in the Stars organization. Others in the top ten included pitcher Ownie Carroll and OF Carl Reynolds of St. Louis, Boston P Watty Clark, Detroit OF Sam West and Pittsburgh P George Blaeholder. The injuries continued through the first six weeks, as Los Angeles lost star OF Curt Walker for 2-3 months with a hamstring injury and Boston lost P Eppa Rixey for the rest of the year with an elbow injury. The first big trade of the year saw Chicago send OF Rube Bressler to Pittsburgh for P Dolf Luque and SS Hod Kibbie. The biggest deadline deal saw Pittsburgh SS Lew Fonseca sent to Los Angeles for P Joe Shaute. While the Central wasn't a race - Los Angeles finished 12 games ahead of Chicago - the Eastern was tied on the final day with New York and Baltimore in a dead heat and Pittsburgh one game back. The Titans were idle, while Baltimore took on Pittsburgh head-to-head. The Grays defeated the Stallions 4-2, leaving both of them a half-game behind New York, who got to claim the title without playing. In the Central, Los Angeles was loaded - the Stars were first in every major category offensively, defensively and pitching-wise except home runs where they were third. Offensively players like Bill Terry (366-7-92), Jimmie Foxx (320-14-88), Frankie Frisch (323-1-64) and Lew Fonseca (340-4-56) tore it up, while Earl Whitehill (17-7,3.13) led a staff that had solid starters and outstanding relievers, including Lynn Brenton and his 0.84 ERA. Cleveland finished in second, largely driven by Babe Ruth's 32 home runs and decent pitching by guys like Ed Morris and Tommy Thomas. The only other .300 hitter in the lineup was Bob Fothergill (318-5-78). Chicago finished 12.5 back and had a great year from their outfield - Bob Meusel (306-2-37), Earle Combs (344-6-92) and Paul Waner (365-7-74). Flint Rhem was their best pitcher after coming over in a trade from Cleveland, going 8-7 with a 3.64 ERA. St. Louis finally avoided last place, though only by a half-game. The Spirit lineup featured three 300 hitters - Rogers Hornsby (320-9-73), Harvey Hendrick (318-5-49) and Babe Herman (319-8-68) and a good pitching performances from starters Bill Sherdel (16-12, 3.54) and Pete Donohue (12-12, 3.73) were hopeful and late season callups Tony Welzer (3-2, 3.48) and General Crowder (3-1, 3.82) offered more optimism for next season.Detroit slipped from fourth to last , largely because of a poor rotation that had a 4.27 ERA. Offensively the Iron Horses had plenty of hitters - Buddy Myer (339-1-53), Andy High (315-5-45), Heinie Manush (340-8-65), Chick Hafey (332-16-91), Gabby Hartnett (319-16-89) and Ken Williams (317-6-36) stood out. Despite being last in the East in starters ERA the New York Titans eaked out a title, with Lou Gehrig (349-18-81) and Mickey Cochrane (340-4-66) leading the way. Having RF Cy Williams and SS Tony Lazzeri in double figures in home runs certainly didn't hurt. Pittsburgh also struggled with pitching and it may have cost them since they finished just a half-game back. Hack Wilson was the Grays offensive leader, hitting 328-25-98 but getting able support from Al Simmons (351-11-78) and Glenn Wright (302-7-43). Guy Bush led the team in wins with 16. After spending three years in last Baltimore turned into a contender , largely from rookies Mel Ott (372-20-90) and Lloyd Waner (328-1-47) being added to the lineup, though 1B Lu Blue (303-2-52) also helped out. Lefty Grove matured into a dominant starter, going 21-8 with a 2.51 ERA, while Sam Gibson (14-14, 3.89) and George Pipgras (14-12, 3.74) were solid. Philadelphia struggled, finishing 7.5 games back, as perennial .300 hitters Harry Heilmann (271) and Jim Bottomley (292) weren't up to their usual standards. The year did see 2B Charlie Gehringer finally blossom to superstardom, as he hit .336-3-42 from the leadoff spot. Charlie Root somehow managed to end up with a losing record despite a 2.93 ERA, a feat Dutch Ulrich (3.10) could sympathize with. Boston came in last, 9 games back, largely due to an offense that finished last in the East in most categories. Jesse Petty (3.44 ERA) did a nice job in the rotation and Eddie Collins hit .331 at the age of 40 but other than that and Pie Traynor's 333-3-69 line, there wasn't much to get excited about. The Stars sent ace Earl Whitehill to the mound for Game One, while New York countered with Bump Hadley (12-17, 4.65 in just his second year). Of course, Hadley surprised everyone and outdueled Whitehill in a 2-1 Titans victory. The two teams were tied at one going into the sixth, when Lou Gehrig singled, Tony Lazzeri doubled and then Cy Williams brought Gehrig home with the winning run on a sacrifice fly to center. Game Two saw more great pitching, as Freddie Fitzsimmons shut out New York and held them to just four hits. Sam Jones did a nice job for New York as well, going 8 innings and allowing just one earned run on two hits. The game's only runs came in the bottom of the fifth as Walt French drove home Bill Terry on a sac fly and then Curt Walker scored on a bases loaded to walk to Fitzsimmons. The low scoring series continued in Game Three and featured a dramatic ending as the game was tied at 2 going into the bottom of the ninth. With one out Babe Twombly singled off Jumbo Elliott, then stole second. Goose Goslin lined a 2-2 pitch into right and Twombly came all the way around from second for the game winning run. Game Four was yet another one run game, except this one went into extra innings. Tied at five in the 10th, the Stars' Topper Rigney doubled to lead off the inning and after a Frankie Frisch single Lew Fonseca brought Rigney home to make it a 6-5 Los Angeles win. Red Ruffing got the win, while John Slappey took the loss in relief. The fun continued in Game Five, another extra inning, one run game. Tied at five after eight innings New York took a one-run lead in the top of the ninth as Mickey Cochrane singled in Goslin. The Stars countered by scoring in the bottom of the inning as CF Alex Metzler singled in Jimmie Foxx to tie it up. Stars relief ace Lynn Brenton came on and shut out New York in the 10th, setting up a second night of Lew Fonseca heroics. Los Angeles 3B Joe Dugan led off with a single and Brenton bunted him to second. A ground out by Frankie Frisch put Dugan at third with two out and Fonseca singled on the second pitch from John Slappey to bring home Dugan for the win. New York evened the series at 3 with a 5-2 win in Game Six as Lou Gehrig homered twice and Kiki Cuyler also hit one out while Sam Jones pitched well and Slappey picked up the save. The Titans took a 4-3 lead as they returned home for Game Seven and won 6-2 behind a complete game from vet Lefty Williams. Cuyler was 2 for 4 with a double, a triple and 2 RBI while Goose Goslin homered. New York won the championship in Game Eight, as Cy Williams broke the game open early with a 3-run homer in the first and Slim Harris pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to finish a complete game outing. 1927 Rookies of the Year were Baltimore's Mel Ott, pretty much a no-brainer, and St. Louis first baseman Harvey Hendrick. The pitcher awards went to Baltimore's Lefty Grove and Los Angeles starter Earl Whitehill. Hitter awards were given to New York's Lou Gehrig, and as always, Cleveland's Babe Ruth. As usual it didn't take long for teams to start dealing after season's end. St. Louis sent OF Edd Roush to New York for P Ken Holloway and 2B Johnny Burnett. After his struggles in the championship series, it wasn't a surprise to see New York send reliever John Slappey packing, as he was traded with minor league 1B Les Burke to St. Louis for Fred Schulte. New York also picked up SP Jesse Petty from St. Louis for P Johnny Welch, SS Charlie Engle and OF Bill Hohman. The overhaul of the Titans pitching staff continued as they also traded for SP Jakie May of Boston, giving up 1B Buck Jordan and three minor leaguers. St. Louis surprised many by trading 26-year old outfielder Harry Rice (four straight years over .300) to Philadelphia for minor league SS Heinie Schuble. Detroit picked up SP Tommy Thomas from Cleveland for 3B Les Bell and 1B Andy Harrigan. Detroit had the first pick in the draft and took catcher Bill Dickey, a potential superstar from a little town in Arkansas. The rest of the first round saw Boston take P Carl Hubbell then went P Pat Malone (St. Louis), OF Chuck Klein (Philadelphia), OF Ed Morgan (Chicago), P George Earnshaw (Cleveland), P Si Johnson (Pittsburgh), C Spud Davis (Baltimore), 1B Del Bissonette (New York) and P Ed Brandt (Los Angeles). Potential non-first rounders of interest included Pepper Martin (2nd round, Philadelphia) and P Mel Harder (3rd round, St. Louis)