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.
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
Includes excerpts from the Osaka Shimbun
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.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 06/12/1938
- 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.