THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
OCTOBER 5, 1936
SWEEP! CHIEFS DOMINANT IN SERIES WIN
The Chicago Chiefs swept the Brooklyn Kings to win just their second World Championship Series and first since 1917. It was a performance so overwhelming that the Kings only lead in the entire series came in the top of the ninth inning of game four but it was quickly nullified when the Chiefs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off their season with a 5-4 victory that completed the sweep. Starting June 23rd, or the day after Pete Layton arrived in a trade with the New York Stars, the Chiefs went 64-28 including the four series victories. They were 56-22 since Rabbit Day arrived in a trade with the New York Gothams at the all-star break with Day himself posting a 17-1 record over that time. Day was 2-0 in the World Championship Series but the MVP award went to his catcher instead. Tom Bird, who was acquired from Montreal over the winter, hit .278 with 4 rbi's in the series including a 3 hit performance in game four the culminated in a series ending 2-run walk-off double.
Game Three saw another terrific pitching performance for the Chiefs, this time from Ron Coles, who outdueled Brooklyn ace Tom Barrell by allowing just 7 hits over 8 innings before Charlie Bingham came on to close out the 3-2 victory. Barrell had a very strong game for Brooklyn, surrendering just 5 Chicago hits but, as they did in Game One, errors cost him dearly.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third but Brooklyn had their chances before then as they had runners on first and second with no one out in both the second and third innings but in each case a Chicago double play allowed Coles to escape without damage. Coles aided his own cause with a solo homerun to open the scoring. It was just the second homerun Coles had ever hit as a pro - a span of 268 plate appearances. Another Brooklyn error - they committed 11 in the series - led to two more runs and cost them the ballgame.
Game Four was really just a formality as with Rabbit Day on the mound and the Kings bats in an October freeze the outcome of the series was no longer in doubt. Brooklyn did rally with 3 runs in the top of the ninth to take their first lead of the series but proving once more they were a team of destiny the Chiefs easily swatted aside any Brooklyn attempts of prolonging the series by scoring three of their own to add one more chapter to the Curse of Ferdinand Hawkins for the Kings and slay their own ghosts by winning a second World Championship Series for the Whitney family.
JOE FOY - UNLIKELY HERO
From the Chicago Herald-Examiner
One of the great surprises about October baseball is it gives someone unexpected an opportunity to shine on the brightest stage. One of those players this week was Joe Foy of the Chicago Chiefs. The 28-year-old right fielder was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs scored to play a key role in the Chiefs 6-2 win over Brooklyn in Game Two of the Series. Foy was primarily the SS for Fort Wayne this season, but he's a right handed batter with OF experience, and so he was called up at the end of August to be the right-handed half of the RF platoon with Cliff Moss. In Fort Wayne Foy was hitting .352/.384/.504, and in his two weeks in Chicago, he hit .326/.354/.522 with 3 HR. The Chiefs had been looking for a right handed bat to pair with Moss. It's a small sample size, but Foy has earned himself an extended look in 1937.
Foy has had an interesting career to say the least. Originally a shortstop, he was a key member of two College World Championship teams at Opelika State and his .432 batting average in 1929 was the 18th highest ever recorded in the old feeder league system. He was named a second team All-American as a sophomore in 1928 and a first team selection the following season, prompting the Chiefs to select him 14th overall in the 1929 FABL draft. Despite missing a month and a half of his rookie pro season with an injury Foy still hit .307 at AA Memphis that season and by 1931 he was in the big leagues. He spent two seasons as a starter and two others in a platoon role with the Chiefs but despite hitting .339 in 85 games in 1934 he found himself in AAA Fort Wayne for the 1935 season, primarily because of defensive limitations as a shortstop. When he spent most of the season in Fort Wayne again this year it appeared that Foy's days as a big leaguer were nearing their end, but his strong September and now a big showing in Game Two have reopened the doors for the 28 year old.
CANNONS ON THE CLOCK
With Detroit publicly declaring they are going to take Sal Pestilli the focus now shifts to the Baltimore Cannons and the number two pick. Will the Cannons, who are well stocked with young arms from high selections in recent drafts including Rufus "Deuce Barrell" last season, keep the pick or are they inclined to move down a few spots and perhaps add another asset or two? if they elect to keep the pick the perfect selection for Baltimore has to be Walt Messer, a Maryland born boy who dominated in high school ball for nearby McKinley Tech in Washington D.C. Messer, who is ranked second behind Sal Pestilli in the OSA mock draft, is a 3 time High School All-American who won the Adwell Award as the top prep player twice. He likely needs a few years of seasoning in the minors but he gives the Cannons a power bat that could fit in the middle of their lineup for years. There may be some temptation in Baltimore to take a pitcher but the Cannons first pick each of the last three years was used on arms and that strategy is starting to pay off with the recent big league debuts of 1934 pick Gus Goulding (80, 2.90) and 1933 selection Johnny Edwards (2-2, 1.80). Add last year's pick Barrell and 20 year old Rusty Petrick, the 1933 10th overall pick of the Gothams who came to Baltimore in the initial Rabbit Day trade, and the Cannons have plenty of young arms so this is the year to focus on Messer.
MINERS ARE STRONG(ER) IN THE OUTFIELD AFTER DEAL
The Pittsburgh Miners pulled the trigger last night and grabbed one of the few remaining quality pieces the New York Gothams had left from last October's World Championship team with the announcement of a deal to acquire outfielder Mahlon Strong. It cost Pittsburgh a pretty penny for Strong, but when healthy, the 27 year old is one of the best sluggers in the game. He hit 26 homers and batted .345 for the Gothams last season despite missing over a month with a neck injury. My only question for Pittsburgh is why make this trade now and not back in July when the Chiefs were stocking up on Rabbit Day and Pete Layton? Pittsburgh was 4 games ahead of the Chicago Chiefs in mid-July and perhaps the addition of Strong might have been enough to help them hold off the Chiefs down the stretch. Was the Gothams price higher at that point or were the Miners unwilling to spend then what they did 3 months later?
As for the Gothams, the deal was an impressive addition to their arsenal of upcoming draft picks as they picked up the Miners first and fifth round picks in the December draft for Strong as well as a pair of prospects. The deal gives the rebuilding Gothams 4 picks in the first round and a total of 7 of the first 32 selections. New York now has to hope they strike it big with those selections or there may be a long dry spell at the Bigsby Oval, something the club owner will likely not take too kindly too. New York also adds 22 year old outfielder John Phillips and 20 year old pitcher Nate Speer.
Phillips, a 1932 7th round pick out of Hartford High School, made his FABL debut this past season, hitting .324 in 29 games with the Miners after starting the year in AA and and looking very good in a brief stop at AAA St. Paul. OSA feels he has the potential to be an above average corner outfielder some day. Speer was the Miners first round pick in 1933, selected 8th overall out of Dallas High School. He struggled a bit his first two seasons of pro ball but broke out this year, splitting the season between A and AA and compiling a 20-9 record with a 2.82 era. OSA says he has great raw stuff and should develop into a top of the rotation arm.