COUGARS MAUL OPPONENTS ON THE FIELD AND AT THE TRADE TABLE
From the desk of Jiggs McGee
The Chicago Cougars have won at least 90 games for three straight seasons and are on the verge on winning their second World Championship Series in 3 years. So how did a team that hit rock bottom just six years ago, posting a FABL worst 59-95 record in 1928 and finish last in the Continental Association again in 1929, suddenly turn it around? Perhaps more than any other team in the history of the sport, the Cougars made a series of shrewd deals to bring a championship team to the Windy City.
Here is how the Cougars acquired their players. The list below includes all position players on their current roster who played at least 50 games this season and all pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. Of the 17 players who fit that description, only 3 were originally drafted as amateurs by the Cougars. 11 were acquired in trades, two were rule five draftees and one was claimed on waivers. In comparison, the Cougars 1933 World Championship opponents from Philadelphia have 11 draft picks among their players that meet the same 50 games or 50 innings criteria.
Here is a look at where the Cougars players came from
Code:
C Mike Taylor - trade with Brooklyn 1932
1B Bill Ashbaugh - homegrown, 1925 first round pick
2B Slim Bloom - homegrown, 1923 13th round pick
SS Arnold Bower trade with Brooklyn 1932
3B John Kincaid trade with NY Gothams 1929
LF Bobby Sprague trade with NY Gothams 1932
CF Cy Bryant trade with Toronto 1930
RF Tom Taylor trade with PHI Sailors 1931
INF Russ Combs trade with Cleveland 1929
INF Phil Vaughan Rule 5 pickup 1930 from Chi Chiefs
INF Forest Sylvester Waiver pickup from Phi Sailors 1933
OF Mike Smith Rule 5 pickup 1928 from Chi Chiefs
P Tommy Wilox trade with Brooklyn 1932
P Dick Luedtke trade with NY Gothams 1930
P Dick Lyons homegrown, 1921 2nd round pick
P Max Wilder trade with Cleveland 1929
P Jim Crawford trade with Sacramento (AAA) 1930
Only pitcher Del Lyons and Bill Ashbaugh remain as key contributors to those last place 1928-29 teams and today's club. The turnover and the way the Cougars have managed to fleece their FABL rivals in a series of deals is nothing short of astounding and either makes them extremely lucky or much smarter than the rest of the FABL GMs. Here is a chronological list of the moves that built a championship caliber team out of the ruins of back to back last place finishes.
October 18, 1929 - TRADES BRING WILDER, COMBS AND KINCAID
The Moves: added P Max Wilder and SS Russ Combs from Cleveland for Luke Nixon, Harry Parker, Pat Schuring and Ben Richardson and in a seperate deal with the New York Gothams acquired 3B John Kincaid in exchange for Ben Curtin, Erv Firth and Dean Astle.
On the heels of a second straight last place finish in the CA the Cougars make two deals that begin the transformation of the franchise. Wilder, 31 at the time and coming off a 14-14, 3.97 season for Cleveland after being recently acquired by the Foresters from Montreal, gives the Cougars a solid number two starter behind long-time Cougar hurler Del Lyons.
Wilder would go 11-9 in his first season in Chicago and follow that up with 3 straight seasons of at least 15 wins including 15-10 this year. When a lot of teams are dumping 30 year old players as many seem to begin a quick downturn, the Cougars see something in Wilder and he is still going strong at age 36 and was a key contributor to the 1931 World Championship squad. In the same deal the Cougars add infielder Russ Combs, who was 26 and just coming off a second straight season as the Foresters starting SS. He started for a spell in Chicago but has evolved into a utility infielder who can hit, batting .339 in 351 career games in Chicago.
The price for Wilder and Combs?
Luke Nixon, a minor league first baseman who hit .286 in 149 career games in Cleveland and has since been waived and claimed back by the Cougars. Nixon did get 3 games in Chicago this year but is really just a solid AAA player, batting .329 for Milwaukee this year.
Harry Parker, a former 23rd round pick who was a 20 year old Class B pitcher at the time of the deal. He has since been traded by Cleveland to Pittsburgh and at 24, has yet to make his major league debut.
Pat Schuring, a good glove but light hitting shortstop who was a 21 year old top-100 prospect at the time but now at age 25 seems to be no more than a minor league caliber infielder.
Ben Richardson, a 1927 15th round pick who did serve a purpose in Cleveland but only by being dealt as the now 25 year old catcher was part of the deal that brought T.R. Goins to the shores of Lake Erie.
VERDICT - Chicago adds a middle of the rotation pitcher and a good utility infielder in exchange for 4 players who appear to be nothing more than minor leaguers, with the possible exception of Richardson although even for him the clock is ticking as he approaches his 24th birthday and has 21 career FABL games under his belt.
On the same day the Cougars turn to the New York Gothams, who would become a frequent trade partner, and add another quality piece in 3B John Kincaid. Kincaid was entering his age 25 season and coming off 3 years playing everyday for the Gothams and doing so quite well, batting .328 while being a plus defender at the hot corner. He has been Chicago's everyday third sacker since then and actually improved his career average slightly by hitting .336 in his time with the Cougars.
In return the Gothams added then 24 year old reliever Ben Curtin, who pitched one season out of the New York pen before being flipped to St Louis as a piece in the historic deal that moved Max Morris briefly to the Big Apple. Now 28, Curtin is looking like a solid relief pitcher for the Pioneers.
New York also added two other prospects. One is Erv Firth, a now 26 year old outfielder who hit just .156 in two brief call-ups by the Gothams. The other was Dean Astle, a top 50 prospect at the time who was a 20 year old lefthander. Astle has since been moved to Cleveland and did look impressive in his big league debut this season with the Foresters, going 7-3 with a 2.57 era in 12 starts.
VERDICT- Not as lob-sided as the deal above but you have to think the Gothams would have certainly held on to Kincaid had they been given a do-over.
MARCH 17, 1930 - MINOR LEAGUE TRADE NETS CRAWFORD
Once a year the FABL teams are each allowed to propose a single trade with a independent team and it is hard to imagine many deals being more successful than the Cougars acquisition of Jim Crawford. The then 23 year old righthander was coming of a 12-7 season for Sacramento of the Great Western League. He would go on to win 18 games in the Cougars 1931 Championship season and was 12-9 this past season improving his career mark since joining Chicago four seasons ago to 53-34. The cost was a low level minor league pitcher by the name of Buck Putnam
VERDICT- Chicago adds a key piece to their rapidly improving pitching staff at the cost of a minor league cast-off.
JULY 14, 1930 - DEADLINE DEAL BRINGS DICK LUEDTKE
Shortly before the trade deadline the Cougars, who are heading towards a 4th place finish in 1930 and an improvement of 24 wins over the previous year, make another deal with the New York Gothams. Luedtke is a late developing righthander, having made his FABL debut just the year prior at the age of 27. He was 9-5 with a 3.09 era for the Gothams at the time of the deal and would win 9 more games for Chicago that summer. He is now 32 years old, was named to the CA team for the first all-star game and went 17-11 this season to bring his FABL record to 69-40.
In return Chicago gave up outfielder Earl Johnson and pitcher Lou Gaffin. Both have seen a little action in New York but neither have been overly impressive. Gaffin is now 28 and perhaps he will be a late developing pitcher along the lines of, oh I don't know, let's say Luedtke. Johnson is 26 and has hit .222 over two brief call-ups.
VERDICT - Chicago gets the better of New York in this one. I assume the age of Luedkte allowed the Gothams to consider the deal but tough to justify trading a pitcher who has gone 9-5 with a 3.09 era in his first full season with your club. Perhaps he was expendable as the Gothams were on their way to winning the Federal Association pennant and may have been looking to get younger and, despite losing the World Series to Chicago that year, the Gothams did beat up Luedtke in his only start of the series.
NOVEMBER 3, 1930 - CF CY BRYANT ARRIVES FROM TORONTO
Cy Bryant will not come to mind when one is asked to name the Cougars top players. The 27 year old hit just .264 at the bottom of the order for the Cougars this season but his defense in center field is among the best in the game. Bryant was added in an off-season deal with Toronto in exchange for a then 24 year old shortstop named Clyde Hinzman, who has since hit .259 in three seasons as a backup with the Wolves. Bryant's batting average has dropped each of his 3 years in Chicago but his fielding, which was already great, has improved each season.
VERDICT - This trade is often overshadowed by the Cougars bigger pickups but a very smart move adding a huge piece that has helped the Cougars pitchers look even better.
FEBRUARY 23, 1931 - TOM TAYLOR ARRIVES
Tom Taylor took the sport by storm, winning back to back Whitney Awards his first two seasons in the league and helping the Philadelphia Sailors win a pair of World Championship Series. The second title came in 1930 and it was certainly a down year for Taylor, who after leading the CA in homers, rbi's, WAR and slugging percentage his first two seasons saw his batting average dip to .261 (from .351 the previous year) and his homerun total decline from 38 to 15. Taylor did miss nearly two months with recurring elbow troubles so perhaps the Sailors figured he was damaged goods when they pulled the trigger on a deal to send him to the Cougars for 2B Mack Deal and a pair of minor leaguers.
The trade changed the complexion of the Continental Association as the Sailors went from 3 straight pennants in Taylor's first three seasons to a team struggling to finish at .500 over the past three years. The Cougars on the other hand were already a team on the rise, but since Taylor arrived they have won 91, 97 and 97 games and are, at this writing, 2 wins away from their second World Championship Series victory in three years.
Taylor has not been the player he was his first two years but he has been much better than he was in his final year in Philadelphia, batting .301 while averaging about 17 homers and 100 rbi's a year as a Cougar. He has, for the most part, stayed healthy and is defense in right field is among the best in the game.
So what did Philadelphia get in return for a two-time MVP who was still just 25 years old at the time of the deal. The aforementioned Mack Deal hit .266 as a Star in 2 and a half seasons but spent a good chuck of this year in AAA despite being just 26 years old. Catcher Jim Stevens, 28, has bounced between Philadelphia and AAA San Francisco and is hitting just .194 with the Sailors while center fielder George Jordan, also 28, has played just 18 games for the Sailors over the past three seasons and hit .158.
VERDICT - Pretty obvious the Cougars gambled that Taylor's injury problems were not as serious as the Sailors feared and it paid off big time. While maybe not an MVP anymore, Taylor is a proven winner and on the verge of his 4th World Championship with 2 teams in 6 seasons of big league ball.
MAY 23, 1932 - COUGARS ADD SS BOWER
A minor deal in the big picture but perhaps it opened the discussion on the blockbuster with Brooklyn that would come just two months later. Bower had a good start to his career in Brooklyn but was struggling both at the plate and in the field when the Kings decided there was no longer room for him on the major league roster. Out of options he was dealt to Chicago for outfielder Ed Rhoden, who had decent numbers in AAA but couldn't crack the Cougars outfield.
Since the deal Bower hit very well for the Cougars in 1932 but, like his days in Brooklyn, struggled at the plate and in the field this past season. However, Rhoden has done very little in Brooklyn but has looked okay in the minors.
VERDICT - Not a major trade but the Cougars did add a serviceable piece to fill a position of need at basically no cost.
JULY 25, 1932 - THE BLOCKBUSTER - WILCOX AND TAYLOR FOR A PAIR OF BARRELLS
At the end of last season Cougars fans were wondering what did the team do? After the huge trade that saw the Cougars send pitcher Tom Barrell, his brother Fred, a catcher, and highly touted minor league pitchers Mike Murphy and George DeForest to Brooklyn in exchange for pitcher Tommy Wilcox and catcher Mike Taylor the Cougars crashed while the Kings soared, posting the best record in the entire CA after the trade. It was a huge deal involving two former number one picks in Tom Barrell and Wilcox, a number two overall in Murphy (Taken behind Wilcox) and a number #3 in Fred Barrell.
The deal was supposed to lift Chicago in it's chase to catch the New York Stars and repeat as CA champion while the Kings were reeling, off to a terrible start and had already canned their manager. Instead the Barrell's caught fire, Mike Murphy was amazing down the stretch and Wilcox went into a funk, posting a 6-6 record and a 6.70 era after the deal.
Flash forward to this season and the Cougars GM is back to looking like a genius. Wilcox won 21 games and led the league in ERA while Taylor hit .282 with 21 homers. Meanwhile the Brooklyn Barrell's have struggled and the Kings had another terrible start to the season.
VERDICT - Getting perhaps the best pitcher in baseball in Tommy Wilcox was a huge win for Chicago, even if Wilcox did not pitch like it in 1932. Perhaps this trade will even out over time as the Barrell's and Mike Murphy should be much better than they were this season but like the deal the Sailors made to give up on Tom Taylor, the Kings will quite possibly look back at this day as a franchise altering moment that cost them the opportunity to win several pennants - pennants that it appears will reside in Chicago quite regularly over the next few years.
OCTOBER 3, 1932 SPRAGUE JOINS CHICAGO
The Cougars made one more trade of note immediately after the 1932 season as they added outfielder Bobby Sprague from the New York Gothams for young outfielder Joe Johnson and pitching prospect Mel Leonard. The 26 year old Sprague was coming off of a .342,5,56 season in New York and gave the Cougars somewhat similar numbers this year (.300,5,61) while also being well above average with the glove in the outfield.
VERDICT- Far too early to tell on this one as Johnson, a 25 year old former second round pick, is a top 25 prospect who provides plus defense in centerfield and hit .251 in 107 games as a rookie this year despite missing 2 months with a sprained ankle. Leonard is also a former second round pick but just 21 years old and went 12-13 at two levels of minor leagues this season. He remains a top 60 prospect but his stock has dropped slightly the past couple of seasons. Regardless of how good these two might turn out to be you have to think the Cougars are very happy with the deal as Sprague became a key piece of the their championship team this year.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I glanced briefly to try and find some deals the Cougars did not win on in the past few seasons and I could not come up with much. The closest perhaps is a deal prior to the 1931 season that added a 36 year old Steve Castelini to the Chicago rotation. Castelini was coming off a 19-7 season in New York and struggled with a 10-14 record and a 4.71 era in the Cougars championship season but he did play a role in a pennant for Chicago. He has since been moved to Pittsburgh so perhaps the cost of pitching prospect Ben Turner to pry Castelini from the Gothams was a little steep in hindsight. Turner was not a Gotham prospect for long as the pitcher was moved a month later to Cleveland and is 29-25 over two and a bit seasons for the Foresters. But if the worst deal you made is getting a rental player who helped you win a World Championship in exchange for an upper mid-level prospect then I think you are doing pretty well.
Perhaps this article is as much a warning to other GM's to be very wary of giving up on players too early when talking trade with the Chicago Cougars (I am looking at you Brooklyn, the Sailors and Gothams) as much as it is a testament to the amazing job the Cougars have done in their rebuild.