The overall number of transactions (both large and small) was surprising low this off-season, but that didn’t mean it was uneventful. The Brunswick Legends embarked on a full-scale tear-down, gutting their starting rotation. And one notable free agent made Braeland his home, at least for the upcoming season.
Here are some of the noteworthy baseball developments that transpired since the Downie Chiefs won the United Cup back in April:
Noteworthy Retirements:
Two players of note retired at the end of last season. They won’t appear on the Hall of Fame Ballot for another three years, but they both offer compelling cases for induction. Here are their stats/achievements:
• Seven-time All-Star;
• Two Satchel Paige Awards (1941, 1943);
• Two-time United Cup Champion (1939, 1944);
• Four-time Pitcher of the Month
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• Seven-time All-Star;
• Four-time Batter of the Month
• Highest career OBP: .439
• 35-game hitting streak (1938; second longest in ULB history)
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Management Shakeups
May 10 – Well that Didn’t Last Long – Pulberry Dumps Manager after One Season
The Pulberry Trolleys fired rookie manager Wildemar Aquino on April 14 after guiding the club to a 54-100 record in his first year. The Trolleys elected to dump the 56-year old despite three years remaining on his contract.
On May 10, Pulberry signed another rookie manager,
Luke Mitford. The 62-year old Mitford spent the previous 12 seasons as an itinerant bench coach, spending one season with Cambria, three with Wolseley, three with Brunswick, three with Kingston and the last two with Wolseley again. As a bench coach, he was a member of seven playoff teams and three United Cup champions. He reportedly signed a 5-year deal worth $17,936 per annum to manage the Trolleys.
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May 13 – Cobourg Hires New General Manager
57-year old Denzel Seamon’s tenure as the Cobourg Red Stockings’ general manager has come to an end. During his seven seasons overseeing the Red Stockings, the club failed to reach the playoffs and finished above .500 just once. Thus, Cobourg decided to make a change. On May 13, they signed 58-year old
Oliver Richards to a 1-year deal (worth $7,296). It’s his first management position anywhere in ULB.
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May 17 – Barons Part Ways with Zachary Smith; Sign Rookie Manager
After three seasons at the helm, 53-year old manager Zachary Smith (402-368) was not retained by the Stratford Barons. Although Smith led the Barons to the playoffs twice and reached the United Cup in 1948-49 (before falling to Wolseley), the club fell to third place last season, 15 games out of top spot. On May 17, the Barons hired 56-year old
Xavier Ahernfeld to take his place, giving him a 3-year deal ($7,808 per). It’s Ahernfeld’s first management position anywhere in ULB.
As for Smith, he was hired by the Embro Suns on May 10 as their new bench coach.
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Trades and Signings
April 21:
The Wolseley Unions and Brunswick Legends completed a blockbuster deal:
To Wolseley – 33-year old LHP
Anastasio Rodríguez (72/72)
To Brunswick – 25-year old C
Armando López (45/45) and 23-year old CF
Carl Patton (21/66).
Knee-jerk reaction: The once dominant Legends have officially embraced rebuilding and set about tearing down their pitching core. The first to go was the biggest: three-time Satchel Paige Award winner Anastasio Rodríguez, who is now a Wolseley Union and immediately becomes their ace. His best pitch is his sinker (55/55) to go along with a forkball, slider and changeup. While his stuff is pedestrian (45/45), his movement and control are jaw-dropping (70/70). While his brilliance will be missed, his talents were being wasted on a non-playoff team. At any rate, I don’t think too many in the clubhouse will miss him, as he had a long-standing reputation as a disruptive influence.
In exchange, the Legends get a couple of potentially very useful players. López originally signed with Wolseley as a free agent out of Panama back in April 1949. He is developing solid batting skills with impressive pitch recognition and patience. He is projected to be a bench player but I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a starter at some point. Patton appears to be the real prize however. A third-round pick back in 1948, Patton’s only deficiency appears to be power. He has excellent contact skills, a smooth swing with quick hands with blazing speed and excellent defense and range in the outfield. The Legends have him listed as a centerfielder, even though they have Rookie of Year runner-up Cameron Osmotherley currently installed there. Either could shift to leftfield without missing a beat.
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May 4:
The Braeland City Monarchs and Cambria Cannons consummated a four-player deal:
To Braeland City – 30-year old RHP
Rizal Doctolero (63/63)
To Cambria – 24-year C
Alexander Pyatt (38/49), 24-year old C Juan González (20/39) and 24-year old minor league CF Bradley Gilsthorpe (20/34).
Knee-jerk reaction: After three outstanding seasons as Braeland City’s stopper, 32-year old RHP Samuel Hollier endured somewhat of a down year this past season. So the Monarchs made a move to beef up their bullpen by shifting their six-time all-star to middle relief and installed Doctolero as their new stopper. Doctorlero is very good at inducing ground balls with a serviceable cutter and curveball. While his stuff is merely average (45/50), he has very good movement (65/65) and control (55/55). He was second overall in saves in the ULB last season with 20.
In return, the Cannons get three rather underwhelming players. Pyatt is a former first-round pick from 1946-47 and has a very good bat to go along with respectable defense. But he won’t unseat Cambria’ current catcher, 32-year old Heung-su Park, who is second only to Stratford’s Aaron Skidmore as top catcher in the ULB. But Pyatt should be a very decent back-up. Taking Doctorlero’s spot for Cambria will be 25-year RHP Keith Roche (41/64), a former 10th overall pick from 1947-48.
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May 19:
The Cobourg Red Stockings and Brunswick Legends agreed to a three-player deal:
To Cobourg – 34-year old LHP
Daniel Pierson (46/46) and 23-year old RHP
Harry Dinsmore (51/69)
To Brunswick – 26-year old 2B Gavin Saunders (39/44)
Knee-jerk reaction: The exodus of pitchers continues as Cobourg acquires two more of Brunswick’s original rotation. Pierson is a three-time all-star who pitched a no-hitter against Kingston last season. But his best years would appear to be behind him. He has below average stuff (30/40) with good movement (55/60) and control (60/60). He has four pitches in his arsenal, but none are impressive (his cutter is his best – 40/50). He is considered a borderline starter – Cobourg has him on the bubble as their No. 6 pitcher heading into spring training.
But Dinsmore may be the real prize soon. He has excellent movement (65/70) to go along with acceptable stuff (50/50) and control (40/50) with three pitches: fastball (45/50), curveball (35/50) and changeup (55/55). When fully developed, Dinsmore is projected to be a serviceable back-end rotation option. He’s currently slotted in the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Interestingly, both Dinsmore and Pierson were acquired by Brunswick from the Sherburn Tigers in a trade back in January 1950.
Saunders, a former fifth-round pick, is also a borderline starter, but he will lead off for Brunswick in spring training. Saunders has an incredible eye at the plate (75/75), thus he should draw a good number of walks. He is competent defensively (50) and should be a very good base-stealer (80).
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May 29:
The Wellington Athletics and Brunswick Legends finalized a three-player deal:
To Wellington – 34-year old C
Maurice Evans (39/39)
To Brunswick – 34-year old LHP
Gavin Hewat (45/45) and 20-year old minor league LHP Ron Killingworth (27/65).
Knee-jerk reaction: A minor deal that sees 12-year veteran Maurice Evans shipped out of Brunswick to serve as 22-year old C Declan Bugbie’s back-up in Wellington. While Evans is good at putting the ball in play, he does not have a good stroke and makes a lot of outs. His days as an everyday player are mostly over. His departure allows recently acquired Armando López to take over catching duties for Brunswick.
In return, the Legends get a mediocre starter in Gavin Hewat. He has good control (55/55) but weak stuff (40/40). He finds himself currently the No. 4 pitcher in Brunswick’s watered-down rotation. Killingworth is a future stopper that may be the key piece in this deal from Brunswick’s perspective. A fifth-round pick in 1948-49, Killingworth has good stuff (45/55) and movement (50/60) but still needs to work on his control (35/50). With some refinement and experience, he could become a formidable reliever one day.
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August 14:
The Braeland City Monarchs sign 44-year old RHP
Satchel Paige (60/60) as a free agent to a 1-year contract ($60,000; $5,000 All-Star bonus; $5,000 Satchel Paige Award bonus).
Knee-jerk reaction: With the real Satchel Paige at loose ends after the Cleveland Indians released him at the conclusion of the 1949 season, it seemed like the perfect time to import him into the United Leagues to play for the Monarchs, although it will be kind of surreal seeing him play in an opposing park that’s named after him (Wolseley).
In this game, the scout views him as a relief pitcher – “a real worm killer who will generate a high number of groundballs. He can mix six different offerings, although none of them grade out well. He has good control and can throw all his pitches for strikes. Paige should be able to step into a closer’s role.” The Monarchs are banking on him being much more than that. We shall see.
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The War Gained chart essentially reflects the moves made by the Brunswick Legends, shipping out the likes of SP Anastasio Rodríguez (8.6 WAR), SP Daniel Pierson (3.6) and C Maurice Evans (1.7) to the Wolseley Unions, Cobourg Red Stockings and Wellington Athletics respectively. The Pulberry Trolleys saw two pitchers retire: Chris Sappington (3.0) and Wayne Smith (0.2). That pulled them down in the chart.
Heading into the 1950-51 season, the big question may be: How dominant will the Wolseley Unions be? They already led the United Leagues in Starter ERA, Bullpen ERA and FIP last season. Now with the best pitcher in the United Leagues in Anastasio Rodríguez added to the fold, will they surpass 104 wins in a season? That is the most any team has won in the ULB. That mark has been reached three times thus far: the Embro Suns in 1942-43, the Kingston Pelicans in 1945-46 and the Braeland City Monarchs in 1948-49.
And in the Eastern League, will Satchel Paige live up to the hype and lead the Monarchs to their first championship? Will a modestly revamped pitching staff finally help the Cobourg Red Stockings end their post-season drought? And of course, will the Downie Chiefs pick up where they left off and successfully defend their United Cup championship? Or will they prove to be a one-year wonder (like the 1946-47 Queensland Eagles)?
So many questions. We may begin to get some answers soon, as the teams embark on the 14th annual Coconut Leagues.
