APRIL 8, 1940
STAR CROSSED?
The New York Stars were the biggest surprise of last season with their miracle run to a World Championship Series title. The Stars are also the surprise team of spring but for all the wrong reasons as, at 6-13, they currently sit last overall in Grapefruit play. Not that wins recorded in Florida usually are any indication of regular season success as just last year the Washington Eagles, Toronto Wolves and Brooklyn Kings had the top three spring records and none of the three finished within shouting distance of the first division once the games started to count. Still there is something to be said for a positive spring leading to regular season success - just ask the reigning Federal Association pennant winning Pittsburgh Miners, who finished tied for second in the Federal Association spring standings a year ago and used that to propel them off to a fantastic start to the regular season.
The Stars were a middling 12-12 last spring and that clearly did not impact their October victory parade in any way whatsoever but winning just 6 of their 19 tune-up games doesn't necessarily sit well with New York management.
"We are a bit concerned with the lack of performance from some players," admitted Stars manager Otto Schmidt on Saturday after the club had suffered it's seventh consecutive defeat. "We understand we may be on a bit of a championship hangover from last year, but overall the team looks good. There was a lot of experimentation with some new pitchers that wont make the cut, and most of our poor outings were caused by their lack of experience. And in the end, spring is for stretching our legs and spreading our wings. Win or lose we just need to see progress. The coaching staff is working hard to get the pony out of the stable and hope to be fired up coming out of the starting gate."
The Stars did snap the losing skid yesterday with a 5-1 win over Montreal thanks to a very strong outing from Vern Hubbard, who won 15 games for New York a year ago. Reliever Ben Watkins, a 30 year old waiver wire pickup, continued his strong camp with 5 solid innings in relief. The Stars still have a week left to iron out some of the wrinkles and the expectation is they will look closer to the squad that will start the season over the next few days.
FIVE ROOKIE HITTERS TO WATCH
Last week we profiled five highly touted pitching prospects who seem to be on the verge of making their FABL debuts. This week let's take a look at a few of the position players ranked very high on the OSA prospects list that appear poised to play their first FABL game. Note- This list is strictly of players who have yet to appear in a regular season FABL game so September call-ups from last year are not eligible.
PETE CASSTEVENS Catcher New York Gothams (#4 on OSA top prospects list): If you asked any scout a month ago they likely would have told you that Casstevens will not only begin the season with the Gothams but will likely play 130 games. That was partially out of respect for the skills that the son of former big leaguer Clint Casstevens possesses and partly out of necessity after the Gothams dealt away starting catcher Jack Flint over the winter which left them with Joe Green as the only catcher on their 40-man roster with any big league experience. The job appeared to be Casstevens for the taking despite the fact he only has 45 games of experience and just turned 21 last month, and it still might be, but a slow spring start in which the youngster is batting just .146 through three weeks of play might be causing the Gothams to start pouring over the waiver wire in search of a short-term replacement should Casstevens prove not yet to be ready to join the young talent in the Gothams Million Dollar infield.
Casstevens was a bonus baby when he joined the Detroit Dynamos straight out of Syracuse High School, where he was a 3-time High School All-American selection, as part of the short-lived rookie free agent phase back in 1937. He peaked at #5 on the OSA prospect list that summer before the Gothams sent promising pitcher Charlie Wheeler and veteran infielder Erv Smith to Detroit in exchange for the catching phenom prior to the 1938 season. Casstevens would split the '38 campaign between 3 levels of the minors peaking at Class A where he hit .340 in 44 games. Last year he began the season at A but after two weeks it was clear he was ready for a greater challenge and was promoted to AA Jersey City. He showed well enough at that level to earn a late season call up to AAA Toledo for whom he struggled somewhat, batting just .221 with 2 homers in 45 games but it is important to remember he was just 20 years old. It might be too much for the Gothams to ask Casstevens to step in to a full-time job guiding a pitching staff that was the worst in the Federal Association a year ago so a veteran option might still be in the cards but if Casstevens does not crack the opening day roster you have to expect he will be in New York before the all-star game.
DAVEY ROBICHEAUX Third base Philadelphia Keystones (#6 on OSA top prospects list): It has been a quick rise for the 22 year old Robicheaux as after playing just one season of college ball - where he was a first team AIAA All-American selection at Bay State, the slugging third baseman was drafted 6th overall by the Keystones. He immediately adapted to the pro game as one of his early minor league contests was a 5 hit game for New Orleans in the AA Dixie League. He played 62 games for the Showboats and hit .360 with 9 homeruns, numbers more than good enough to earn him an invite to the Keystones main camp this spring. He has appeared in just 9 spring games so far but registered a hit in eight of them for a .374 average, which is likely making the Keystones brass look closely at bringing him north with the big club. The only thing standing in Robicheaux's way might be Hank Koblenz, another third baseman and former first round pick, who smacked 11 homers in 42 games after being called up late last season. The expectation is eventually Robicheaux will be moved, perhaps to first base, in order for Philadelphia to take full advantage of both powerful bats in their lineup.
CHUCK ADAMS First base Brooklyn Kings (#7 on OSA top prospects list): Originally a 1935 second round pick of the Chicago Chiefs out of Memphis High School - the same school that produced a legendary first baseman by the name of Rankin Kellogg back in the feeder league days. Adams was a two-time High School All-American selection and one of the prize prospects Brooklyn received from the Chiefs when they dealt outfielder Bill May to Chicago at the 1938 trade deadline. He has been in OSA's top ten prospect list since the 1938 season began and only helped his standing in that regard with a .264/19/73 showing in 137 games at AAA Rochester last season. Brooklyn has been experimenting with him in the outfield as they also have another fine young first base prospect in 'Tiny Tim' Hopkins, who was selected by the Kings 4 picks after their original target Adams was snatched up by the Chiefs. There are concerns neither Hopkins nor Adams can successfully make the transition to the outfield which means one of them will likely have to eventually be traded by the club. Hopkins made his big league debut last season and now that Adams has been added to the secondary roster the expectation is he will be in Brooklyn sometime this year.
BILL GREENE Center Field Montreal Saints (#8 on OSA top prospects list): Greene joins Heinie Billings and Dilly Ward as solid centerfield options in the Saints system that made it easier to part with long-time star Pablo Reyes prior to last season. As of now Greene is not on the Saints 40-man roster but it just seems to be a matter of time before that changes especially after Saints skipper Dick Pozza spoke so highly of the 23 year old just last week. Greene is the latest Rhode Island native (joining the Pestilli brothers) ready to make his mark on a big league outfield. He was a three year starter and 3 time AIAA All-American (2 first team selections and a second) at Brooklyn Catholic before the Saints selected him third overall last year. After solid but brief showings in A and AA, Greene was fast tracked to AAA Minneapolis where he hit .249 with 4 homers and 6 stolen bases in 51 games for the Lumberjacks. Because of the depth at the center field position in Montreal the Saints may elect to keep Greene in AAA much of the year but there is a strong chance he will be a September call-up, and might be in the big leagues sooner if he has a hot start in Minneapolis.
BUDDY SCHNEIDER Second base Boston Minutemen (#14 on OSA top prospects list): It is hard not to mention Buddy without bringing up his brother Skipper Schneider (#21 on OSA list, Chicago Cougars), part of the triplets who were amazingly selected in succession with picks 7,8 and 9 in the first round of last year's draft. The third member of the family is pitcher Bart, who appears to be a long ways away from the big leagues in the Cleveland system. Skipper is looking like he is close but faces a tough task of unseating either Freddie Jones or Billy Hunter with the Cougars so Buddy is the best bet to get to the big leagues ahead of his siblings. The Minutemen do have 23 year old Lew McClendon seemingly penciled in for the long haul as their shortstop but Buddy might push veterans Art Spencer and Joe Nichols for the second base job. He is not on the secondary roster yet so it might be a little ambitious to think Buddy will make his debut this season but after hitting .308 in 72 games at AAA last season coming right out of high school you have to think a September call-up is a distinct possibility. If that happens Schneider could be the first teenager to suit up for a game with the Boston Minutemen since 19 year old's Billy Porter and Bob Landry combined to appear in 4 games in 1908. Regardless if Schneider gets to Boston this season or not, you have to be impressed how he can go from being an infielder at Northwestern High School in Detroit straight to AAA and accomplishing what he did. His defense at his natural shortstop position was well above average so if he shifts to second because of McClendon he should be an amazing second sacker with the glove.
Of the five players listed above only Greene has looked comfortable at the plate this spring so while those five top the list of OSA prospects, there is a good chance that the time for big league debut for each might be delayed. There are a lot of others that deserve to be on this list of top prospects approaching being ready for a big league debut including but certainly not limited to Washington outfielder Chubby Hall, Montreal second sacker Charlie Woodbury, Cincinnati third baseman Danny Andrews and Boston outfielder Bill Burkett.
(taken with some modification from a Brooklyn Daily News sports editorial in the spring of 1940)
- These are the fateful days that disclose the sad tidings to the rookie. After his spectacular spring performances, and all the sacchariferous writeups of the same, the manager discovers he isn't quite what he seemed. So it's back to the tall and uncut grass, the unwashed herd from whence he came - for further seasoning.
It doesn't do any good to say that it's all for the best. The idea that he'll be able to play regularly with the Bird Center Inchworms, whereas with the Kings or Stars he'd spend most of the season on the bench, doesn't appeal to him. All the detached rookie can feel is that he didn't make the grade. There is a crushing conviction, too, that he never again will get another shot at the permanent limelight of FABL. That, usually, is an error - if the rookie is young enough and possesses real ability.
What the crestfallen rookie should really worry about is he doesn't come up to the majors TOO MANY times. By the same token he has to descend to the sticks an equal number of times. And in so doing he finally collects the sinister label "born minor-leaguer."
BROOKLYN SAMPLE
Brooklyn had one of the very best samples of the specimen a few years back. Surely you haven't forgotten Charlie Powell. Mr. Powell, a burly fellow, had all the earmarks, also some clumsiness in his broad feet. Chuck was a confirmed commuter between the bushes and the big top, having been up and down five times before the majors quit him.
Powell's portrait as a born minor leaguer is worth studying. Originally a rugby football star as a teen in his native Canada, Powell could also belt the horsehide a mile and that skillset earned him a full ride with Boulder State University, for whom he excelled on the gridiron as well as the diamond.
Following his days as a schoolboy star Powell was selected by the Cleveland Foresters in the 8th round of the 1926 FABL draft. In 1927 he hit 36 homers for Reading of the Middle Atlantic League in just 85 games. He followed that up with a great start between AA and AAA the following season which caught the attention of Rube Carter, who was the Brooklyn scouting director at the time. The Kings acquired Powell at the trade deadline and he would hit 16 more homers in 45 games with AAA Houston after smacking 36 round-trippers at two stops in the Foresters system to begin the season.
Powell seemed a can't miss prospect, with the Kings having visions of him becoming their most feared slugger since Paul Tattersall was traded a decade earlier. Powell got a taste of the big league life in '28, hitting 3 homers as a September call-up and spent much of the 1929 season with the big club, batting .288 with 21 homeruns. He would also spend all of 1929 and 1930 in Brooklyn but his power numbers and batting average both nose-dived. By 1931 Powell's life as a big league regular was over and at age 27 he began a series of year shuffling between Brooklyn and the sticks. Finally in 1934, after hitting just .211 with no homers in 27 games the Kings released him. Flash forward to this season and Powell, now 35, is still going strong, although as a 6 year veteran of the Oklahoma City Chiefs in the lowly Western Baseball League.
So let the story of Charlie Powell be a cautionary tale for young hotshots like Frank Cunningham of the Kings, a 20 year old who may be getting his fleeting moments of fame right now in spring play. The youngster, who practiced his trade in the far off depths of Tampa and Marshalltown last season, is the darling of the Brooklyn papers in recent days with 2 homers and a .381 batting average in 7 games with the big boys of FABL. However, big league fame is fleeting. Just ask Charlie Powell who had more of it that most but still can't shake the seemingly long gone hope of getting another taste, even as he spends half a decade riding broken down buses and playing in dustbowl ballparks in non-descript western towns.
QUICK HITS
- The Wright Stuff? A peak at the spring batting leaders shows the name Hans Wright topping the list. Forgive the casual FABL fan for not recognizing the name as Wright has been overshadowed in the Philadelphia Keystones system by players like Davey Robicheaux, Billy Woytek and Hank Koblenz. The 24 year old third round pick in the 1936 draft is doing his best this spring to change that. Wright leads all hitters with at least 25 spring plate appearances with a .600 batting average following a 2-for-3 showing in a win over Pittsburgh yesterday. Clearly no one in Philadelphia is ready to anoint him as the heir to Rankin Kellogg at first base but Wright has certainly been impressive the past three weeks and looks like he has earned himself a big league job.
- The Pittsburgh Miners are encouraged with the spring performances of youngsters Tony Puccinello and Speed Brown. If one can develop into a legit mid-rotation option, it could give them a lot more flexibility in making a mid-season deal down the line. Pittsburgh did receive some bad news on the pitching front this week when reliever Chick Stout went down with another injury that is expected to sideline him for an extended period.
- Looks like the New York Gothams are in the market for a catcher as the club feels top prospect Pete Casstevens needs more time in the minors after an awful spring for the 21 year old. Odds are New York should have little trouble finding at least a serviceable candidate on the waiver wire. The Gothams number one worry however remains, as always, it's pitching staff. Nate Spear is being counted on to be the ace and he has been healthy for a change but has had a rough spring, getting hit badly in his first three starts before finally having a decent showing yesterday against the Chicago Chiefs. The hope in Gothams land is he builds on that and is ready to go when the games count a little over a week from now. Gus Goulding, the anticipated #2 starter who was acquired from Cincinnati over the winter, has also been inconsistent this spring.
- Another solid week for the Cannons who have gone from being desperate for pitching to facing some tough decisions with a lot of pitchers showing very well in camp. It looks like longtime Cannon stalwart Pinky Conlan will be a casualty as the injury prone righthander followed up a bad season a year ago with a less than stellar spring and is expected to be placed on waivers.
- Toronto has set their Opening Day roster, Juan Pomales was one of the players sent to Buffalo after some subpar spring training pitching performances. The 25 year old two-way player, rated in the top 50 prospects by OSA, struggled both on the mound and at the dish. He was acquired from the Chicago Cougars organization in a winter deal that sent another highly touted pitching prospect in Donnie Jones to the Windy City.
- With roster cut down day just a week away every FABL club will face some tough decisions but perhaps none more difficult that the ones the Brooklyn Kings will have to make. Many are speculating this might be the end of the line at Kings County for Doug Lightbody. The long-time King is now 36 and clearly not the hitter he once was and there is speculation he may be released by the club. Brooklyn also has a pitching crunch and one young arm who might be on the outside is 23 year old Jack Goff, who is out of minor league options so must remain on the Kings 24 man roster or be exposed on waivers. Complicating matters is Goff's father Danny is the Kings pitching coach.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/7/1940
- A tale of a wild plot to overthrow the government is being told to the Dies Committee. A secret agent working for a former House investigating committee claims that fascist activist and Silver Shirts leader William Pelley had enlisted the aid of certain army officers in plan to overthrow the Federal Government and become the "white king" of the country. Pelley founded the anti-semitic Silver Legion and has been a long-time critic of President Roosevelt and the New Deal. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for President in 1936, winning only 1,600 votes.
- Thomas E Dewey took control of Wisconsin's delegation to the Republican National Convention while Democrats from the state favoured a third term for President Roosevelt by a wide margin.
- Prime Minister Chamberlain warned neutral nations that aiding the Reich might render themselves 'liable to the hideous fate that has overtaken previous victims of German policy." Chamberlain also revealed to the House of Commons that the British are tightening their stranglehold on German trade by controlling the sea to interfere with passage of German cargo ships from Scandanavia while also warning neutrals that their imports from the British Empire will be cut unless they limit their sales to Germany.
- The Nazis angrily denounced Chamberlain's message as "proof" that the Allies were planning more intense and ruthless war "against neutrals" and declared the Nazi air force would "strike the hardest blow in destruction of England."
- Britain announced the loss of it's first fighter plane in the war. The Spitfire, while defending the coast from German attack was downed near Yorkshire. The pilot, who was successfully rescued, did succeed in destroying the German bomber before ditching in the ocean himself.
- Chamberlain announced later in the week he was "ten times as confident" of victory now as when he was when the war began, because Hitler "missed the bus" by failing to use the arms superiority Germany had at the start.