July 15, 1940
YOUNG GUNS LEAD FEDERAL ASSOCIATION TO ALL STAR WIN
Billy Woytek and Red Johnson were both barely teenagers when the first all-star game was played 8 years ago but thanks to the two of them the Federal Association has reclaimed superiority in the annual meeting of the stars of FABL. Woytek, the 21 year old second baseman who is a key reason for the Keystones success in Philadelphia this year, was named the game's Most Valuable Player after he delivered a pair of hits including a 3-run homer that turned the tide of the contest while the 22 year old Johnson delighted his hometown fans as the Detroit slugger also had a pair of hits with the big one being a 2-run blow in the 8th inning that cemented the first win in 3 outings for the Federal side. The 7-4 victory at Detroit's Thompson Field gave the Feds a little breathing room in the annual series as it extended their lead to 5 games to 3 and stemmed the wave of Continental success that had seen the CA boys win 3 of the last 4 contests.
It looked like it might be shaping up to be a third straight loss for the Feds as the Continental Stars jumped all over Detroit's Charlie Wheeler in the top of the third inning, scoring 4 runs and forcing Wheeler to the showers after retiring just one batter. Things started well enough for Wheeler when the first batter he faced, Toronto's Tom Frederick, grounded out. But then John Lawson singled and Red Bond worked him for a walk setting the stage for Toronto's Fred McCormick to lay the groundwork on a potential third straight MVP award. McCormick delivered again on this occasion, slapping a single to left field to plate Dawson with the game's first run. Cincinnati's Moxie Pidgeon followed with an rbi single and Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew, guiding the Federal side, had seen enough of Wheeler. Andrew called on Boston's Ed Wood but that did little to shut down the CA bats as two more runs came in, one on an Adam Mullins single and the other on a ground out from Fred Galloway. Wood eventually got out of the inning by inducing a groundout from CA pitcher Joe Hancock with runners on the corners but the CA still led 4-0. In hindsight, not lifting Hancock for a pinch-hitter might have been the key moment in the game for the CA as those extra runs another base hit could have provided would be sorely missed by the Continental nine.
The score remained 4-0 until the bottom of the 6th when McCormick, the two time MVP, was front and center once more but this time for the wrong reason. He booted a ground ball from Lew McClendon that prolonged the inning and gave Billy Woytek his opportunity. Woytek, who had singled in his first All Star at bat in the fourth inning, gave the Federal Association life with a 3-run homer off of Deuce Barrell to cut the Continental lead to a single run.
In the 7th inning the Federal bats picked on the oldest player in the all-star game, roughing up the Cougars 40 year old hurler Dick Lyons for 2 more runs and taking a 5-4 lead thanks to a triple from Bill May of the Chiefs that scored his teammate Ron Rattigan and another young Keystone in Hank Koblenz. Red Johnson, the young Detroit slugger, added insurance in the bottom of the 8th when, after Woytek reached on an error, he swatted a 2-run homer to make it 7-4 in favour of the Feds.
The CA did make it interesting in the ninth inning as Clarence Howerton led off with a single off of Bill Ketterman and moved to second when Mel Carrol worked the Miners hurler for a walk. Up to the plate stepped McCormick with a chance to make amends for his 6th inning gaffe. He ripped a solid line drive but right into the waiting glove of Chuck Hood - yet another one of those young Keystones - and two easy outs later it was all over and the Feds had their victory.
GAME NOTES- John Lawson of the Chicago Cougars, one of three players appearing in a record 7th all-star game, had a nice day, going two for four and scoring a run.....Woytek becomes the second Keystones player to claim the MVP award, following pitcher Don Attaway who earned his in the 1937 19-inning marathon in Toronto....Dick Lyons, who took the loss, was one of 6 players who also played in the first all-star game in 1933. Others were Moxie Pidgeon, Frank Vance, Fred McCormick, Bill Ketterman and Bobby Barrell.....Next year's All-Star game will be played in Brooklyn.
MINERS, KEYSTONES STAY HOT
The Pittsburgh Miners and Philadelphia Keystones both started the second half of the season on the right foot. The first place Miners took two of three from Detroit and then beat the New York Gothams in 10 innings yesterday. Pittsburgh has now won 9 of it's last 11 but they lost a little ground on the Philadelphia Keystones over the weekend as the Keystones won all 4 of their post-All Star game contests in an effort to assure the league the loss of ace pitcher Herman Patterson will not slow down the young Philadelphia side.
One team that may be slowing down is the Detroit Dynamos. Losers of 9 of their last 14 games, the Dynamos had promised shakeups and one came last night with news that Detroit has sent infielder Ed Stewart back to Pittsburgh in exchange for a second round draft pick. It was a rough week for the Dynamos, dropping 3 of 4 including that big series with the Miners, who they now trail by 7 games.
JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE ON THE TRADE: It does seem like an awful lot to give up a second round pick for a 31 year old infielder, who while he once was very good and was very good while playing in Pittsburgh, now looks like he may be on his last legs as a FABL player. I get where Pittsburgh is coming from. They are in win now mode and have been for a couple of years as they try to get every last win out of a mostly aging pitching staff and a Pittsburgh second round pick is bound to be at best 28th overall next season. There is also plenty of worry in Miners country about the health of Jack Cleaves, there just has to be with all the times he has been banged up in recent seasons. Even if Cleaves is healthy there is a good chance the Miners will give Stewart a shot in the starting lineup as their second base man.
I am not shocked at all Detroit made the move and rather impressed with the way they managed to get a second round pick for a 31 year old hitting .209. However, it is a surprise they would deal him back to Pittsburgh. Maybe it is an elaborate attempt to sabotage their rivals, and Detroit knows Stewart will be a liability in Pittsburgh just as he was in Detroit. In fact the Dynamos GM hinted at such by being quoted by Detroit World columnist Freddie Farhat as saying the following "Besides the way they were hitting for us, maybe (trading Stewart) can inflict that damage to the contenders. Sometimes addition is by subtraction, that might be the case here."
The Miners are counting on Stewart resembling at least something like the hitter he was in his first run with the team and if he does break out of his slump it will make it that much harder for Detroit to claw back in the race. I don't think I could turn this deal down if I was Detroit - Pittsburgh certainly overpaid in my opinion - but this move sends all the wrong messages in the Dynamos clubhouse. By all accounts Stewart was a hard worker and a great teammate and moving him without getting a piece that can help you this year in return seems to tell the Dynamos players that management has thrown in the towel on this season. Yes, they are 7 games back but if they get hot Detroit has one of the most explosive offenses in the game, and even without the injured Frank Crawford, some outstanding pitching. It's only July, but it just feels like Detroit has turned it's attention to next year and that is sure to cause Dynamos new owner Powell Thompson, who has never been described as a patient man, to turn up the heat on his management team.
CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
The Brooklyn Kings have certainly been a thorn in the side of their former General Manager the past few weeks. For the second team in less than a month the Kings swept a 3-game series from the Cincinnati Cannons and have dropped the Cannons 2 games back of the front running Toronto Wolves. The CA is starting to tighten up as they now have 6 teams over the .500 mark when just a few short weeks only the Wolves and Cannons were above the breakeven point. The Cannons, who were being fitted for a glass slipper early, have been on a nose dive since that first sweep at the hands of the Kings. Cincinnati was 38-17 on June 11th but since then they have gone 11-18.
DYNAMOS MAKE ANOTHER DEAL - SEND PESTILLI PACKING
LATE BULLETIN: The Detroit Dynamos made another move that seems to reaffirm the looking to the future theory as they sent Sal's brother Alf Pestilli (.213,8,43) packing to Chicago where he will join the Chiefs. Yes like the previously traded Ed Stewart, Alf has been struggling of late but this will likely not sit well with Sal. Maybe this wakes up Sal and the rest of the Dynamos, but it could just as easily send the club into a further spiral. This was supposed to be the year Detroit finally won it's pennant after a pair of second place finishes but instead it is feeling like the second division may be the Dynamos ultimate destination.
In return Detroit receives Class C pitcher Jim Bob Jones from the Chiefs. The 1939 5th round pick out of high school was 5-9, 5.86 for Waterloo so far this season and was ranked 216th by OSA on the top prospects list. Pestilli was acquired by the Dynamos from Brooklyn last season and hit .299 with 23 homers between the two clubs a year ago.
JUST HOW SPECIAL IS LEFTY ALLEN'S 100TH WIN AT AGE 26
Pittsburgh Miners ace Lefty Allen beat the Philadelphia Keystones 5-2 a week ago for his 100th career victory. The win was only slightly tarnished by the fact that Allen could not complete the game as a minor injury forced him out in the top of the ninth inning. With the All-Star game, to which Allen was invited for the 4th time in his career, braking up the week Allen will likely not even miss a start because of the injury. While he did suffer a couple of serious injuries in the minors for the most part Allen has been healthy and pitching in a 4-man rotation with the Miners he averages about 40 starts a season. So while that certainly gives him an advantage over other pitchers who work in a 5-man rotation, to win 100 games (with just 56 defeats) by age 26 is quite a special accomplishment.
How special? Well, out of the 27 active pitchers (including those in the minors or free agents) only Milt Fritz was younger than Allen when he won his 100th. Fritz, who was pitching in the big leagues as a 19 year old with the Chicago Chiefs, was just in his age 24 season when he reached the century mark, so two years ahead of Allen. Fritz did hit some potholes along the way after that but seems to be back on track with the Chicago Cougars and is now, at age 30, just one victory shy of 170 for his career. If Allen stays healthy and keeps up his current pace he could certainly be caught up to Fritz' pace by then or perhaps even ahead of him. After Fritz and Allen the next fastest to 100 wins are Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo, who each were 28 when they hit the century mark. Day got even better with age and now, two months after his 36th birthday is at 259 victories. Lonardo also very recently turned 36 and he has 208 wins under his belt. 200 seems very easy for Allen to accomplish, again dependent upon health, but what about being the first pitcher to reach 300 (assuming Day does not get there) since recent Hall of Fame inductee Big George Johnson got there in 1925?
Well, let's now compare Lefty Allen to every FABL pitcher who tossed at least one inning after 1921 and recorded at least 180 career victories. How many wins did each of them have by the end of their age 26 season? Only three pitchers who fit that criteria had more wins by the end of their age 26 season that Allen's 100 (and counting because he still has half a season left). Those pitchers are Charlie Sis, Phil Miller and Ike Wetzel. Sis had 133 of his 395 career victories by the end of his age 26 season while Miller (288 wins overall) and Wetzel (277) each had 112. No one else was within 10 victories of those four and Allen has won 24 each of the past two seasons so if he repeats that this season he will be tied with Miller and Wetzel.
Does this mean Lefty Allen will win close to 300 games or perhaps even surpass that magic number? Certainly an awful lot can happen over the next 10-15 years but he does seem to be on the right track.
Below is the list of all pitchers who pitched at least one game after 1920 (to remove many of the deadball era pitchers from this comparison) and finished with at least 180 career wins:
Note this is Johnny Bologna's July 8, 1940 column
It was a busy day at the Keystones offices today while the players left the clubhouse for a three-day All-Star respite. In fact, it was a busy week. The tendency of a team who has had the unexpected first half the Keystones have had to overreact on a few losses, threatening the upstarts to fall from a race in which some believe they have no business taking part. But, the All-Star Break gives us all a chance to take stock of the first half of the season and the stock of the Keystones is rising.
The Keystones are young. The team has a youthful pitching staff that has fallen back to the pack, but the first half was led by Herman Patterson, whose left elbow needs to be put together again. More about him in a minute. Lloyd Stevens becomes the new de facto ace of the staff, who captured his tenth win of the season on Independence Day in a 5-3 victory over Boston. Pepper Tuttle and Jim Whiteley slot in right behind Stevens and the trio are all only 24 years old.
The Keystones are also young in the field. Billy Woytek and Hank Koblenz were named to their first All-Star teams at 21 years old and 23 years old, respectively. Woytek has already scored 51 runs and driven in 50 runs in 77 games this year, all while striking out only eight times all year. Koblenz has hammered 17 home runs and batted home 47 runs. His hard-boiled exterior is hard-earned, combining for 52 home runs in the minors and majors last season. Chuck Hood owns the best batting average in the Federal Association, hitting .339, and made his play for the All-Star roster by hitting .373 in May and driving in 23 runs in June.
Patterson's season-ending injury kicked off the week that just transpired, so panic could have easily been the order of the day. In Patterson's 16 starts, he was nothing short of spectacular. Patterson went 8-2 with a 2.72 E.R.A. with 81 strikeouts, which is tied for the team lead and tied for second place in the Federal Association. Scotty Thomas received a spot start in a doubleheader later in the week against Boston and he was tattooed in an 8-0 loss. Back to the bullpen for Thomas. Next up will be Henry Shaffer, another rookie who impressed in his nine starts, pitching to a 3.68 E.R.A. with the senior club while honing his craft on the farm in Louisville, winning three of four decisions and carrying a 3.29 E.R.A.
But, while Patterson's injury marked the start of the week and tough losses pockmarked the week, specifically a blown 6-3 ninth-inning lead, a barren 8-0 loss in the second game of a doubleheader in Boston, and a 13-1 thrashing at the hands of first-place Pittsburgh, the week ended on two positive, hopeful notes. One is the arrival of the All-Star Game and a chance for the Keystones to take a breath from an overachieving first half that saw the team reach 10 games above the .500 mark.
The second positive note was the claiming of Doug Lightbody on waivers from the Cincinnati Cannons on Sunday. Lightbody is not what he used to be. He has been beset by injuries, totaling about 24 months on the shelf in a 15-year career. Six of those 15 seasons produced a season of less than 100 games played. But, boy, can he hit.
Lightbody is a career .341 hitter, though he has not broken .300 since his last "great" season in 1935 when he batted .356. The Keystones are hoping the two-time batting champion can provide some hitting off the bench, but it is so much more than that. For such a young squad, Lightbody can regale the kids with tales of great Brooklyn teams of the past, culminating in a championship in 1937.
The feeling may be mutual. Lightbody might be able to tap into the youth to bring his game back to earlier times. After all, he is 33 hits shy of 2,000, and fellow graybeard, Carl Ames, can tell him a story of what it was like to reach the plateau. It may be a marriage of convenience for both sides, but the Keystones and Lightbody are rooting for the chance of a romantic ending in October.
GOTHAMS OWNER: "IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING"
Leland Winthrop is generally quiet as far as big league owners go. He has mostly listened to his advisers who have preached patience. "The young guys are on the way", "We're about to turn things around". Instead the Gothams are in danger of finishing at the bottom of the FA, again. A man's patience can only last so long.
So when in the normally quiet Gothams offices a directive comes from the big office overlooking Manhattan, everyone listens. The missive started with a new refrain - "DO Something". Below that were details of lower attendance, a grumbling fan base and a sad listing of the team's past four records. Sure, one could always preach patience. "Wait for Bowman" or some other promising kid. But sometimes you need to make a move. And when the big man demands something be done, all bets are off. Expect to see players and/or draft picks on the move. And while it's doubtful any of the "Infield of the Future" will go anywhere, a shaken GM might just do anything, or something.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Let's take a look at how the first and second round picks are doing from the most recent draft. Where does OSA rank them and more importantly, are they signed yet?
BOSTON- Both Andy Howell and Hal Pratt are signed and playing Class C. Howell, the 18 year old pitcher selected 11th had a very nice debut last week. Neither cracked the top 300 prospect list with OSA listing Howell 312th and Pratt, a 17 year old outfielder selected in the second round, at 349th.
BROOKLYN- The Kings have not as of yet signed any of their top picks. John Moss, cousin of Chiefs outfielder Cliff Moss was taken 4th overall and shortstop Tom Landowski was the 13th pick. Second round Wiley Bowens, a high school third baseman is also not signed.
CHIEFS- Joe Rutherford and Bob Crowley both agreed to contracts this week. Each debuted in the top 100 with second round pitcher Crowley at 78th, ten spots ahead of outfielder Rutherford who was the 7th pick of the draft. Despite that the Chiefs minor league system still ranks last in the league.
COUGARS- Second rounder Don Lee signed a couple weeks ago and is off to a decent start in Class C while first round selection Mel Haynes, an 18 year old pitcher taken 12th overall just agreed to a deal. Haynes debuts at #57 on the OSA list while Lee just sneaks into the top 200 at #190th.
CINCINNATI- While the week was a tough one on the field for the Cannons it was a huge success off the field. Top picks Dick Blaszak, a high school outfielder, and Bill Sohl, a pitcher from Lane State are both now signed and in the organization with both debuting in the top ten of the OSA prospects list. They were taken 1-2 overall in the draft as for the first time in FABL history one team owned both the first and second selections.
CLEVELAND- The new GM in Cleveland got to work quickly and signed both of his top two picks. Richie Hughes is a high school pitcher selected 14th overall while shortstop George Bray, also out of the high school ranks, was their second rounder. Both ended up in the low 200s according to OSA with Hughes clocking in at 289th and Bray 9 spots lower.
DETROIT- Without a first round selection the Dynamos top pick was former Grange College third baseman Eddie Barkley. Ranked 260th by OSA, Barkley hit .333 through his first 4 games at Class B Chattanooga.
MONTREAL- The Saints top pick was George Wynn, a pitcher out of tiny Williamette Valley College and OSA loves him, ranking the 8th overall pick as #15 on the top prospect list to make a solid Montreal farm system even stronger. Hi Penley, a high school first baseman selected in the second round, did not fare so well in OSA's eyes. He slots in at #375 on the prospect list.
NY STARS- Faced with a money crunch the Stars have been so far unable to get either of their two first rounders or the first of their three second rounders under contract. They did sign their other two second round picks in Bill Grove and Don Bitters. Grove is a 17 year old third baseman ranked #274 by OSA while Bitters, who won the Christian Trophy as the AIAA's top player this past season, was the final pick of round two. Bitters slots in at #248 on the OSA list. However, if the Stars cannot get 5th overall pick Bill Barnett to come to terms, it will make the dealing of Moxie Pidgeon to the Cannons for that pick, look even worse. It appears they are resigned to the fact that second round Newt Cooper is going to return to American Atlantic for his senior year but the jury is also still out on Wally Hunter, the high school pitcher the Stars selected at the end of the first round. Hunter has committed to Ferguson College in North Carolina.
NY GOTHAMS- Without a first or second round pick the Gothams top selection was outfielder Bill Payne in the regional round. The 17 year old is signed and at Class C. He is ranked 292nd by OSA.
KEYSTONES- Local high school pitching star Joe Quade signed quickly with the Keystones and tossed a 3-0 complete game shutout at Class A in his pro debut. OSA has him settled in at #13 on their top prospect list and he looks like another of the great young pieces the Keystones have collected in recent years. Catcher Lou Beyer was their second round pick and he is also signed and playing, in his case at the Class B level. Bayer ranks 193rd on OSA's list.
SAILORS- Top pick Jimmy J. Walker, a high school outfielder with a commitment to Northern Mississippi is not yet signed but being a Pennsylvania native you have to think he will eventually accept the Sailors offer. Second round pick Joe Lund, an 18 year old from Vermont, did agree to a deal in the last few days but OSA does not feel he belongs in the top 500 prospects.
PITTSBURGH- Both Miners high picks are signed. Bill Traylor, a 20 year old pitcher from Coastal State just agreed to a deal while second round pick Gordon Carter, an 18 year old second baseman, signed early and is playing at Class C. Traylor debuts at #73 on the OSA list while Carter is a respectable 150th according to the league scouting service.
ST LOUIS- The Pioneers are fast tracking first rounder Tucker Ness as they assigned the 21 year old directly to AAA Oakland, where the 9th overall pick did not look out of place. Ness is ranked 51st overall and number 3 among all catchers by OSA. Frank McNeil, a middle infielder from Daniel Boone College, is also signed but just inked the deal and has not been assigned to an affiliate level yet. OSA slots him in at 141st.
TORONTO- Toronto selected John Graves, an outfielder from Detroit City College 6th overall and stayed in the college ranks for round two with former Chesapeake State righthander Tommy Anderson. Both are signed and Graves, who OSA ranks 36th overall, had a solid debut in Class B. Anderson slots in at 432nd according to OSA and will make his pro debut at Class C.
WASHINGTON- The Eagles traded their first round pick and it is looking like second rounder Johnny Thacker is not going to report. Thacker seems set on serving his country should the United States be drawn into the war in Europe as he plans on attending Columbia Military Academy rather than pursue a baseball career at this time. The Eagles did sign regional round pick John Dickerson, an outfielder out of Eastern State and he nearly cracked the top 100, landing at 113th on the OSA list.
QUICK HITS
- For the first time in 7 All-Star Game appearances Fred McCormick was on the losing side. McCormick, who was the MVP each of the last two games after joining the Continental Association following his trade to Toronto, was also on the Fed team for it's first four wins while he was a St Louis Pioneer, failing to make the team only in 1936 when the Feds suffered their first defeat. It was McCormick's 6th inning error that opened the doors for the Fed comeback this year, as it led to 3 unearned runs cutting the CA lead from 4-0.
- The Cleveland Foresters have a new General Manager. Perhaps he can inject some life into the team that, along with St Louis, has been the most disappointing in baseball this season. A year ago the Foresters were challenging for the Continental crown and perhaps just a late season injury to shortstop George Dawson was the only thing that denied them the 1939 pennant. This year they have been awful, really in all facets of the game, and presently own the worst record in either association.
- Speaking of St Louis, nothing seems to be going right for the hard luck Pioneers. Ace David Abalo missed 5 weeks with back troubles and in his first game in over a month he throws 11 pitches before having to leave again. This one is bad and word is Abalo is done for the year. That's two of the past three seasons he misses substantial time and even in his healthy year (1939) he missed a month and a half plus suffered an injury in the final weeks that would have cost him at least another month and a half had it occurred during the year. Just 26 and win 87 career wins but one has to wonder how much longer Abalo will be an effective pitcher.
- Despite dropping 3 of 4 after the break there are positives for the Chiefs in Chicago. Rabbit Day (11-5, 2.93) is looking like the Rabbit Day of a couple of years ago and may get another 20-win season. He picked up career victory 260 by blanking Boston on the weekend. The Chiefs are also thrilled to see Red Hampton get the win in the All-Star Game. The 33 year old is 10-7 with a 2.89 era and enjoying a career best season.
- With the fire sale in Detroit, don't be shocked if Frank Vance is on the next train out of the Motor City. The 38 year old is having a big season (.318,14,45) and would certainly help a contender but the Dynamos asking price might be too high as this stands a decent chance of being Vance's final big season of his storied career.
- The Miners are hoping the acquisition of Ed Stewart can add a bit of pop against left handers, who the Miners are still struggling with. We've gotten lucky with in-season additions the last few years (Henry Jones, Roger Perry), so hopefully Stewart can do the same. He's still a very popular player in Pittsburgh, so they'll be happy to have him back, and maybe raise the still low fan interest.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/14/1940
- Germany and Italy have a threefold plan to defeat Britain. The Axis partners are said to be hoping to 1) blockade the British Isles, 2) break Britain's empire contacts and 3) defeat her "at home, in imperial territories and at sea."
- In the skies over the English Channel and England itself many dogfights between British and German aircraft were waged all week. While in the Mediterranean, Italian bombers wage attacks with great success on British naval objectives throughout the region.
- Japan demands an apology from the United States after Marines in Shanghai arrested 16 Japanese plain clothes men who entered an American defense sector. Japan also expressed "dissatisfaction" with Great Britain's attitude toward the question of cutting war supplies to China.
- Fears are arising that the US's most valuable military secret - the highly-prized bomb sight- has fallen into Nazi hands. Returning from France, 3 American aviation experts told of seeing raids made on Paris and roads exiting the city and indications are "it is a good possibility that they have our sight."
- President Roosevelt vows the United States will not fight abroad. The promise was made as part of his address to Congress to approve the addition of 19,000 new fighting planes to the Army and Navy.
- Two bombs containing enough dynamite to have caused many deaths at the Republican National Convention were found inside the convention hall in Philadelphia the day before the conclave was opened. This comes on the heels of a July 4th bombing in New York City at the site of British pavilion in the World's Fair.