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Jiggs McGee · 09-08-2021, 06:51 PM

September 12, 1938

DYNAMOS MAGIC RUN NEARS END

The Detroit Dynamos have had an incredible season highlighted by spending most of the summer atop the Federal Association standings a year after they were considered one of the worst teams in baseball. However, Labor Day, the traditional end to summertime also seems to have signified the end of the road for a gutsy Detroit club that now trails the mighty Chicago Chiefs by 6 games with just 3 weeks remaining in the season.

Detroit went into Chicago last Monday on an emotional high, celebrating on the train ride from St Louis after overcoming a 5-0 deficit to beat the hometown Pioneers 6-5. The high ride continued in the opener of their quick holiday twin bill with the Chiefs when the powerful Detroit lineup - which leads all of FABL in homers - belted 3 of them, courtesy of Ed Stewart (.270,28,100), Red Johnson (.292,14,68) and Ben Richardson (.252,5,39), to power the club to a 7-2 win over Al Miller (13-12, 4.05) and the Chiefs in the opener. Game two saw a pair of veterans enjoying exceptional seasons take the hill in ex-Dynamo Jack Beach (19-7, 3.55) and current Detroit ace Frank Crawford (19-7, 3.17). Neither would be around for the decision as the game went into extra innings thanks to an Ed Stewart sacrifice fly to tie the contest at 4 in the top of the ninth. It appeared just maybe the Dynamos did have a little magic left in them especially when Detroit loaded the bases in with just one out in the 14th inning. Chicago's Charlie Bingham, who got himself into the jam, finessed his way out of it by inducing a ground ball by pinch-hitter Packy Peck, who's knees must have been knocking as he made his big league debut in perhaps the most pressure packed situation possible. Peck's roller was fielded by Chicago first baseman Ron Rattigan who quickly threw a perfect strike to catcher Tom Aiello for the force play at home. Frank LeMieux then hit a lazy fly ball to end the threat.

The Dynamos got another chance an inning later as they again loaded the bases but with 2 out this time only to see Ben Richardson end the threat with a fly out. Two batters earlier Leon Drake had a chance to push the winning run home but he also flew out, and not deep enough to allow Red Johnson to tag and score from third. You could feel the momentum shift in the game and finally in the bottom of the 16th as veteran Tom Taylor was the hero. The 33 year old led off the frame with a single off Hank Spencer and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. On the first pitch to Hank Barnett (.317,27,106), Taylor surprised nearly everyone by breaking for third. He still has great speed even after the many injuries but the thought of sending him with the powerful bat of Barnett at the dish and just one out seemed to be a move out of left field....and that was where the ball went as the most shocked man in Whitney Park might have been Ben Richardson, the Detroit catcher. Richardson's rushed throw sailed wide of Detroit third baseman Frank LeMieux and towards the left field wall. Before it could be tracked down Taylor gleefully galloped home and was mobbed by his Chicago teammates. The Chiefs won 5-4 and restored their lead to 6 games while a downtrodden Detroit nine slowly walked off the field knowing that was likely the end of their pennant hopes for this year.

While Richardson will be remembered as the goat of the game and some media types in Detroit are already calling for him to be gone next season it is tough to place the blame solely with Richardson, who is a bit over his head as the primary catcher. The catching situation in Detroit is why many were surprised that the Dynamos were not linked with Mike Taylor at the deadline when the Chicago Cougars were shopping the veteran.

Detroit would go on to win 4 of their next 6 games to finish the week but the Chiefs did the same and the margin remains at 6 games in Chicago's favour.

A Labor Day extra-innings marathon also played a role in the Continental race as the Toronto Wolves 13 game winning streak came to an end in a 5-4 loss to Cleveland that went 19 innings. Like the Detroit-Chicago contest, this one was also decided by an error when Toronto backup shortstop Steve Clarke booted a ball allowing the Foresters to plate the winner. Toronto did rally to win the second game 9-6 thanks to a 9th inning homer from Sam Orr. It ended up being a disappointing 3-4 week for the Wolves but thanks to the New York Stars sweeping a 3-game set from the Kings in Brooklyn the Continental race is still very much up in the air. A key moment in Wolves history might come this weekend as they play a 2-game set at Kings County in Brooklyn. It will be the final meeting of the season for the two barring the need for a playoff tiebreaker.

QUICK HITS

Never mind the Kings/Wolves battle, the real race is at the other end of the Continental Association. Can the Baltimore Cannons avoid tying a FABL record for futility by finishing ahead of the Montreal Saints. The Cannons, who hold the CA record now with 4 straight last places finishes, can tie the 1920-24 Philadelphia Keystones FABL mark of futility with 5 straight appearances in the cellar. The Cannons took a big step at avoiding infamy with a 3-game sweep of the Saints in Montreal last week but they then proceeded to drop 2 of three to the New York Stars over the weekend. Baltimore is one game up on the Saints for 7th with 3 weeks to play including 3 more games head to head between the Cannons and Saints.
The Cannons are just having a rough decade. They did start things off right with back to back second place finishes in 1930 and 1931 but since they have lost 83,89,100,89,99 and 94 games and are on a pace this season to drop 91 games.
The change at the top has certainly lit a fire under the New York Stars. Simply calling up Joe Angevine and Bill Barrett was a huge step in the right direction. We might have understated things when we said Angevine might be ready now. The 23 year old shortstop is making everyone forget about Barrett in the new look New York lineup. Angevine is hitting .396 with 7 rbi and 10 runs scored through his first dozen FABL games with at least 1 hit in every game he has played. Not that Barrett is doing that badly either. The 18 year old outfielder got another homer this week, his 4th, which was an 8th inning 3-run shot to sink the Kings in part of the Stars sweep, and is batting .257 through his first 28 big league contests.
They are going to run out of time in a pennant hunt but the Foresters are on fire with 14 wins in their last 16. They swept Brooklyn 2 weeks ago and took 2 of 3 from Toronto last week and are now 9 games back with 2 more vs the Kings and 3 against the Wolves upcoming so a spoiler role is a distinct possibility. They did get some bad news when 31 year old pitcher Lou Martino (11-6, 3.98) suffered a season ending arm injury last week.
Kings brass is concerned, and rightly so, with another terrible run by the club. One could chalk it up simply to bad luck if these terrible stretches didn't see to happen every year to Brooklyn. There is a very important 2 game weekend in Brooklyn coming up against the Toronto Wolves. However, they should have been meaningless tune up games for the Kings who just seem to get some perverse pleasure in shooting themselves in the foot. To get swept by the Stars this week and only win 2 of 5 vs Montreal the past 2 weeks is unacceptable yet oh so typically Brooklyn. So far no word from the team on rumours that Powell Slocum's days as manager might be numbered.
Toronto's Frank McCormick saw his batting average dip below .400 for the first time since he went 4 for 4 on July 11th. It peaked at .416 on 8/14, 8/15, but a .278 September has now dropped his average to .397.
It has been a fun season in Toronto including a new franchise attendance record being set. The Wolves are certainly ahead of the pace expected with their rebuild and glad to have the Kings looking over their shoulder in mid-September. Toronto skipper Hank Leitzke is said to be hoping for 13-6 in the last 19 which would be 94 wins and two shy of the franchise record established in 1898. Two the thirteen really need to be this weekend in Brooklyn against whom Toronto is 11-9 so far this season. There is a little problem for the Wolves, 13 of the last 19 are on the road while the Kings finish with 16 of their remaining 18 at home.
Kings rookie Jim Alarie hits .375/.375/1.000 in his Kings debut but may not get many starts in centerfield as Bob Worley batted .391 with a pair of homers last week. The 29 year old is hitting .308 with 7 homers in 33 games since coming over from the Chiefs.
3 games remaining with Detroit in the last week of the month for the Chicago Chiefs. With the 5-man rotation in place, the pitching probable's for that series would be Day, Lonardo, and Miller which is something Detroit fans certainly don't want to hear.
Chiefs now have 3 players with 20 or more HR (and with Cliff Moss sitting at 19). As far as I can tell, 1938 will be the first season the Chiefs have had 4 players reach the 20 HR plateau.
The Fed Allen vote may be even more interesting that the Whitney vote. It looks like it will come down to 4: Chicago's Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo and Pittsburgh's Bill Ketterman and Lefty Allen (the 1937 winner).
Frank Crawford has had a breakout season for Detroit and might deserve some consideration in the Allan talk as well. The 30 year old has fashioned his best season going 19-7 with a 3-17 ERA and 126 strikeouts. He will have 4-5 more starts down the stretch to get over the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career. Crawford’s success has somewhat overshadowed the the very good season SP Charlie Wheeler has had. The 24 year old is 13-8 with a slightly better ERA at 3.07.
The Dynamo’s have only won 90 or more games in a season 5 times in their history. With 81 wins so far they just need to win 9 of their last 19 to reach that mark for the 6th time. Detroit last won 90 games in the 1933 season. Detroit’s all time record for wins was in 1908 when they won 97 games.
Detroit blew past the 1.5 million market in attendance last week. The team is averaging 24,440 fans per game which has them coming in at 1,884,000 smashing the FABL league record in attendance. With 3 games very the Chiefs at home in the last week of the season could they get 90,000 over that 3 game series?
Still with Detroit Sal Pestilli seems to have regained his homerun stroke with 3 in his first 11 September games after having a down August. Pestilli now stands at 34 home runs with 107 RBI’s and 118 runs scored. He has a triple crown going in home runs, RBI’s, and runs scored in the Fed and also leads the circuit in triples, slugging %, and isolated power. Not bad for a 22 year old.
Ed Stewart joins Pestilli in the 100 RBI club for the Dynamo’s as the 2B currently is 2nd in the Fed (and the FABL) in home runs with 28 after hitting 3 last week.
Detroit right fielder Leon Drake will have to put on his track shoes if he wants to have a 3rd straight 20x20x20 season. Drake has hit 30 doubles and needs two more home runs to get to 20. But with 15 triples on the season he will need to hit 5 over the last 3 weeks. Still it has been another solid year for Drake who has a 6.2 WAR on the season and was one of the centerpieces in the ill-fated Rufus Barrell II discussions. With Deuce’s early struggles in the big leagues the Dynamo’s are likely happy the didn’t pull the trigger on that deal.
Pete Papenfus has struggled of late in Chicago with walks causing him and Cougars fans a lot of grief. After his flashy start the 20 year old is now 6-5 on the year. His ERA is a respectable 3.89 but he has lost his last 4 decisions while allowing at least 7 free passes in each of them.
Bad news for Chiefs prospect Sam Vaughan as the 21 year old is out indefinitely with a sore shoulder. The Chiefs top pitching prospect (#138 overall) was 4-6 with a 2.82 era split between A and AA this season. The 1935 third round pick also had some shoulder troubles earlier in the season.
Boston called up Mel Alvarez to get a look. In the 2 games he played he went 5-6 with a homer and 2 rbi's. He also scored 4 times. His wRC+ is 516 with an RC/27 of 80.0.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 09/11/1938

Hitler scoffs at British/French threat of blockade, praised his country's relationship with Italy and Japan, and called the 'Jewish enemy' and Bolshevism a threat to the German nation. However, he was silent on what his policy going forward will be toward Czechoslovakia.
However later in the week Field Marshall Hermann Goering hinted at War as he declared Hitler would accept nothing less than outright annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudeten Germans.
Indirect signs out of Spain hint at a possible break in fighting in the now two year old Spanish Civil War.
In open letters to several newspapers, President Roosevelt congratulated the press for the way it carries itself while holding a "grave responsibility in these fateful times when there is a vital need for a strong, fearless and free press."
Over 75,000 filled the streets of New York for the funeral of Cardinal Patrick Hayes. He had been the archbishop of the richest diocese in the world since 1919.

09-08-2021, 06:51 PM	#241
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	This Week in Figment Baseball: September 12, 1938 September 12, 1938 DYNAMOS MAGIC RUN NEARS END The Detroit Dynamos have had an incredible season highlighted by spending most of the summer atop the Federal Association standings a year after they were considered one of the worst teams in baseball. However, Labor Day, the traditional end to summertime also seems to have signified the end of the road for a gutsy Detroit club that now trails the mighty Chicago Chiefs by 6 games with just 3 weeks remaining in the season. Detroit went into Chicago last Monday on an emotional high, celebrating on the train ride from St Louis after overcoming a 5-0 deficit to beat the hometown Pioneers 6-5. The high ride continued in the opener of their quick holiday twin bill with the Chiefs when the powerful Detroit lineup - which leads all of FABL in homers - belted 3 of them, courtesy of Ed Stewart (.270,28,100), Red Johnson (.292,14,68) and Ben Richardson (.252,5,39), to power the club to a 7-2 win over Al Miller (13-12, 4.05) and the Chiefs in the opener. Game two saw a pair of veterans enjoying exceptional seasons take the hill in ex-Dynamo Jack Beach (19-7, 3.55) and current Detroit ace Frank Crawford (19-7, 3.17). Neither would be around for the decision as the game went into extra innings thanks to an Ed Stewart sacrifice fly to tie the contest at 4 in the top of the ninth. It appeared just maybe the Dynamos did have a little magic left in them especially when Detroit loaded the bases in with just one out in the 14th inning. Chicago's Charlie Bingham, who got himself into the jam, finessed his way out of it by inducing a ground ball by pinch-hitter Packy Peck, who's knees must have been knocking as he made his big league debut in perhaps the most pressure packed situation possible. Peck's roller was fielded by Chicago first baseman Ron Rattigan who quickly threw a perfect strike to catcher Tom Aiello for the force play at home. Frank LeMieux then hit a lazy fly ball to end the threat. The Dynamos got another chance an inning later as they again loaded the bases but with 2 out this time only to see Ben Richardson end the threat with a fly out. Two batters earlier Leon Drake had a chance to push the winning run home but he also flew out, and not deep enough to allow Red Johnson to tag and score from third. You could feel the momentum shift in the game and finally in the bottom of the 16th as veteran Tom Taylor was the hero. The 33 year old led off the frame with a single off Hank Spencer and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. On the first pitch to Hank Barnett (.317,27,106), Taylor surprised nearly everyone by breaking for third. He still has great speed even after the many injuries but the thought of sending him with the powerful bat of Barnett at the dish and just one out seemed to be a move out of left field....and that was where the ball went as the most shocked man in Whitney Park might have been Ben Richardson, the Detroit catcher. Richardson's rushed throw sailed wide of Detroit third baseman Frank LeMieux and towards the left field wall. Before it could be tracked down Taylor gleefully galloped home and was mobbed by his Chicago teammates. The Chiefs won 5-4 and restored their lead to 6 games while a downtrodden Detroit nine slowly walked off the field knowing that was likely the end of their pennant hopes for this year. While Richardson will be remembered as the goat of the game and some media types in Detroit are already calling for him to be gone next season it is tough to place the blame solely with Richardson, who is a bit over his head as the primary catcher. The catching situation in Detroit is why many were surprised that the Dynamos were not linked with Mike Taylor at the deadline when the Chicago Cougars were shopping the veteran. Detroit would go on to win 4 of their next 6 games to finish the week but the Chiefs did the same and the margin remains at 6 games in Chicago's favour. A Labor Day extra-innings marathon also played a role in the Continental race as the Toronto Wolves 13 game winning streak came to an end in a 5-4 loss to Cleveland that went 19 innings. Like the Detroit-Chicago contest, this one was also decided by an error when Toronto backup shortstop Steve Clarke booted a ball allowing the Foresters to plate the winner. Toronto did rally to win the second game 9-6 thanks to a 9th inning homer from Sam Orr. It ended up being a disappointing 3-4 week for the Wolves but thanks to the New York Stars sweeping a 3-game set from the Kings in Brooklyn the Continental race is still very much up in the air. A key moment in Wolves history might come this weekend as they play a 2-game set at Kings County in Brooklyn. It will be the final meeting of the season for the two barring the need for a playoff tiebreaker. QUICK HITS Never mind the Kings/Wolves battle, the real race is at the other end of the Continental Association. Can the Baltimore Cannons avoid tying a FABL record for futility by finishing ahead of the Montreal Saints. The Cannons, who hold the CA record now with 4 straight last places finishes, can tie the 1920-24 Philadelphia Keystones FABL mark of futility with 5 straight appearances in the cellar. The Cannons took a big step at avoiding infamy with a 3-game sweep of the Saints in Montreal last week but they then proceeded to drop 2 of three to the New York Stars over the weekend. Baltimore is one game up on the Saints for 7th with 3 weeks to play including 3 more games head to head between the Cannons and Saints. The Cannons are just having a rough decade. They did start things off right with back to back second place finishes in 1930 and 1931 but since they have lost 83,89,100,89,99 and 94 games and are on a pace this season to drop 91 games. The change at the top has certainly lit a fire under the New York Stars. Simply calling up Joe Angevine and Bill Barrett was a huge step in the right direction. We might have understated things when we said Angevine might be ready now. The 23 year old shortstop is making everyone forget about Barrett in the new look New York lineup. Angevine is hitting .396 with 7 rbi and 10 runs scored through his first dozen FABL games with at least 1 hit in every game he has played. Not that Barrett is doing that badly either. The 18 year old outfielder got another homer this week, his 4th, which was an 8th inning 3-run shot to sink the Kings in part of the Stars sweep, and is batting .257 through his first 28 big league contests. They are going to run out of time in a pennant hunt but the Foresters are on fire with 14 wins in their last 16. They swept Brooklyn 2 weeks ago and took 2 of 3 from Toronto last week and are now 9 games back with 2 more vs the Kings and 3 against the Wolves upcoming so a spoiler role is a distinct possibility. They did get some bad news when 31 year old pitcher Lou Martino (11-6, 3.98) suffered a season ending arm injury last week. Kings brass is concerned, and rightly so, with another terrible run by the club. One could chalk it up simply to bad luck if these terrible stretches didn't see to happen every year to Brooklyn. There is a very important 2 game weekend in Brooklyn coming up against the Toronto Wolves. However, they should have been meaningless tune up games for the Kings who just seem to get some perverse pleasure in shooting themselves in the foot. To get swept by the Stars this week and only win 2 of 5 vs Montreal the past 2 weeks is unacceptable yet oh so typically Brooklyn. So far no word from the team on rumours that Powell Slocum's days as manager might be numbered. Toronto's Frank McCormick saw his batting average dip below .400 for the first time since he went 4 for 4 on July 11th. It peaked at .416 on 8/14, 8/15, but a .278 September has now dropped his average to .397. It has been a fun season in Toronto including a new franchise attendance record being set. The Wolves are certainly ahead of the pace expected with their rebuild and glad to have the Kings looking over their shoulder in mid-September. Toronto skipper Hank Leitzke is said to be hoping for 13-6 in the last 19 which would be 94 wins and two shy of the franchise record established in 1898. Two the thirteen really need to be this weekend in Brooklyn against whom Toronto is 11-9 so far this season. There is a little problem for the Wolves, 13 of the last 19 are on the road while the Kings finish with 16 of their remaining 18 at home. Kings rookie Jim Alarie hits .375/.375/1.000 in his Kings debut but may not get many starts in centerfield as Bob Worley batted .391 with a pair of homers last week. The 29 year old is hitting .308 with 7 homers in 33 games since coming over from the Chiefs. 3 games remaining with Detroit in the last week of the month for the Chicago Chiefs. With the 5-man rotation in place, the pitching probable's for that series would be Day, Lonardo, and Miller which is something Detroit fans certainly don't want to hear. Chiefs now have 3 players with 20 or more HR (and with Cliff Moss sitting at 19). As far as I can tell, 1938 will be the first season the Chiefs have had 4 players reach the 20 HR plateau. The Fed Allen vote may be even more interesting that the Whitney vote. It looks like it will come down to 4: Chicago's Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo and Pittsburgh's Bill Ketterman and Lefty Allen (the 1937 winner). Frank Crawford has had a breakout season for Detroit and might deserve some consideration in the Allan talk as well. The 30 year old has fashioned his best season going 19-7 with a 3-17 ERA and 126 strikeouts. He will have 4-5 more starts down the stretch to get over the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career. Crawford’s success has somewhat overshadowed the the very good season SP Charlie Wheeler has had. The 24 year old is 13-8 with a slightly better ERA at 3.07. The Dynamo’s have only won 90 or more games in a season 5 times in their history. With 81 wins so far they just need to win 9 of their last 19 to reach that mark for the 6th time. Detroit last won 90 games in the 1933 season. Detroit’s all time record for wins was in 1908 when they won 97 games. Detroit blew past the 1.5 million market in attendance last week. The team is averaging 24,440 fans per game which has them coming in at 1,884,000 smashing the FABL league record in attendance. With 3 games very the Chiefs at home in the last week of the season could they get 90,000 over that 3 game series? Still with Detroit Sal Pestilli seems to have regained his homerun stroke with 3 in his first 11 September games after having a down August. Pestilli now stands at 34 home runs with 107 RBI’s and 118 runs scored. He has a triple crown going in home runs, RBI’s, and runs scored in the Fed and also leads the circuit in triples, slugging %, and isolated power. Not bad for a 22 year old. Ed Stewart joins Pestilli in the 100 RBI club for the Dynamo’s as the 2B currently is 2nd in the Fed (and the FABL) in home runs with 28 after hitting 3 last week. Detroit right fielder Leon Drake will have to put on his track shoes if he wants to have a 3rd straight 20x20x20 season. Drake has hit 30 doubles and needs two more home runs to get to 20. But with 15 triples on the season he will need to hit 5 over the last 3 weeks. Still it has been another solid year for Drake who has a 6.2 WAR on the season and was one of the centerpieces in the ill-fated Rufus Barrell II discussions. With Deuce’s early struggles in the big leagues the Dynamo’s are likely happy the didn’t pull the trigger on that deal. Pete Papenfus has struggled of late in Chicago with walks causing him and Cougars fans a lot of grief. After his flashy start the 20 year old is now 6-5 on the year. His ERA is a respectable 3.89 but he has lost his last 4 decisions while allowing at least 7 free passes in each of them. Bad news for Chiefs prospect Sam Vaughan as the 21 year old is out indefinitely with a sore shoulder. The Chiefs top pitching prospect (#138 overall) was 4-6 with a 2.82 era split between A and AA this season. The 1935 third round pick also had some shoulder troubles earlier in the season. Boston called up Mel Alvarez to get a look. In the 2 games he played he went 5-6 with a homer and 2 rbi's. He also scored 4 times. His wRC+ is 516 with an RC/27 of 80.0. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 09/11/1938 Hitler scoffs at British/French threat of blockade, praised his country's relationship with Italy and Japan, and called the 'Jewish enemy' and Bolshevism a threat to the German nation. However, he was silent on what his policy going forward will be toward Czechoslovakia. However later in the week Field Marshall Hermann Goering hinted at War as he declared Hitler would accept nothing less than outright annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudeten Germans. Indirect signs out of Spain hint at a possible break in fighting in the now two year old Spanish Civil War. In open letters to several newspapers, President Roosevelt congratulated the press for the way it carries itself while holding a "grave responsibility in these fateful times when there is a vital need for a strong, fearless and free press." Over 75,000 filled the streets of New York for the funeral of Cardinal Patrick Hayes. He had been the archbishop of the richest diocese in the world since 1919. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 09-08-2021 at 11:43 PM.