[Tiger Fan]

SEPTEMBER 30, 1940

WHAT A FINISH!

The Continental Association race promised to be a special one and it did not disappoint as Toronto and Chicago entered the final week tied for first place with the surprising Cincinnati Cannons just a game behind. The Cannons bowed out of the race early, dropping five of six games to the Wolves over the final 9 days of the season but they did not go quietly as four of the Toronto wins required extra innings and the fifth, the one that would ultimately seal the pennant and end a 29 year drought, was decided by a single run.

Entering the final weekend the Toronto lead on Chicago was a single game as the Wolves hosted Cincinnati in 3 to end the year while the Cougars would finish with a home game against Brooklyn on the Friday followed by 2 games in New York against the Stars. Cincinnati was still in the race at the time, but just barely as the Cannons trailed Toronto by 3 games. That deficit would be down to two and both Toronto and Chicago would be tied for top spot after the Cannons beat Toronto for the first time in 4 games, claiming a 10-7 victory on Friday. At the same time the Cougars pulled into a first place tie thanks to a dramatic 5-4 walk-off win over the Kings. It was literally a walk-off win as Brooklyn's Stumpy Beaman issued a bases loaded free pace to Orlin Yates to plate the winning run.

With two games to play the Wolves and Cougars were tied for first place and it remained that way after both won on Saturday. More drama for Chicago as the Cougars took a 3-0 lead in the first inning over the New York Stars but did not score again until the top of the 14th when Aart MacDonald was the hero with an rbi single to give the Cougars a 4-3 victory. Pete Papenfus (8-10, 3.40) has had his ups and downs but on this day the 22 year old brought his A game as he went 11 and 2/3 innings while allowing just 3 runs (2 earned). Papenfus also fanned 6 which allowed him to overtake Cincinnati's Deuce Barrell for the Continental Association lead in that category. The two clubs remained tied for top spot as the Toronto Wolves outlasted Cincinnati in a game that also need extra innings. It looked like Cincinnati had the win when Moxie Pidgeon hit his 21st homer of the season, a solo shot in the top of the 12th, to put the Cannons up 5-4 but Walt Pack's 2-run single when the Wolves were down to their final strike proved the difference in a 6-5 Toronto win.

So we went to the final day of the season with Toronto and Chicago tied and the possibility of just the 4th tie-breaker playoff being needed in FABL history. It was not to be as the Cougars came up short in New York, watching with despair as the Stars put up 8 runs in the 7th inning to blow open a tight game and hand Chicago an 11-5 defeat. The Cougars were still alive as word filtered in from Toronto that Cincinnati had tied their contest at 4 in the top of the 8th inning. That flicker of hope in the visitors clubhouse in New York was quickly extinguished when the telegram gave word the Wolves had plated 3 in the bottom of the 8th and although Cincinnati gamely scored twice in the top of the ninth to pull within a run but with runners on the corners and two out Toronto reliever Lou Jayson, who had blown the save the previous inning, got the ground ball he needed to end not only the game but also the Cougars faint hopes for the need to play on Monday and 29 years of pennant frustration for the Wolves.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION - NO STOPPING PITTSBURGH

The Detroit Dynamos did everything they possibly could over the final week in sweeping the New York Gothams but the Dynamos, with off-days Monday thru Thursday, could only watch in frustration as the Pittsburgh Miners won game after game, 6 in all, to end the season with their second consecutive pennant and third in four years. For Detroit, a team clearly on the rise, it is yet another year of being the bridesmaid and not the bride as the Dynamos finish in the runner-up slot for the third year in a row.

FINAL 1940 STANDINGS AND LEAGE LEADERS

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES GAMBLE - It is possibly true that the better team usually wins in a World Championship Series although I'd hate to bet on it at that. Despite the arguments in behalf of the better club winning, there's no gainsaying the fact tis a brief, paltry test. Almost anything can happen in baseball. Especially in a four out of seven-game clash between two teams sufficiently powerful to win a FABL pennant. Powell Slocum once told me that he didn't think any genuine show of superiority could be produced in under 22 games.

Except when a wonder team like the mid-twenties Stars comes along, it is sheer guesswork to favor either WCS club. Superior pitching, as a rule, is a good bet. Still it doesn't always come through, either, case in point Lefty Allen and the Pittsburgh Miners took one on the chin from the surprising Stars about this time a year ago. Hurling form is often uncertain, even with the best of moundsmen. Heavy clouting outfits have been held in check where they expected to shatter series pitching, as Brooklyn fans know all too well from the Kings experience with the Chicago Chiefs in 1936. Pennant season form is frequently askew in a World Championship Series due to the nervous strain imposed on the players. Look no further than Doug Lightbody's disastrous ordeal that was the 1927 Series against the Philadelphia Keystones when the Continental Association MVP that season suddenly forgot how to hit and went 1-for-17 that October.

Perhaps that is why the so-called 'goats' of the Fall classic are usually players of glittering reputations. Because of their reputation they feel an extra responsibility of living up to it. By the same token lesser lights, with everything to gain and nothing to lose, should better be able to give their best.

There have been many examples through the years of lesser lights rising to the occasion. Just last year Johnny Hopper had 9 hits in 4 games to help the Stars sweep heavily favoured Pittsburgh or John Langille who almost single-handedly carried Brooklyn to the 1937 crown thanks to a 4-rbi showing in the deciding contest and hits in each of the 5 games as Pittsburgh was once again the victim of a borough club. Or going further back few expected Glenn Morrison to be the offensive force for the Washington Eagles in 1923. But there was Mr. Morrison, a 23 year old with less than 100 big league games under his belt at the time, going hit for hit with legendary teammate T.R. Goins as together they buried the Kings in 5 games. Morrison had 9 hits in the 5 games, including 4 for extra-bases and drove in 9 runs to lead the Eagles and was rewarded with the Series MVP that year. Morrison would go on to have a few decent seasons as an everyday infielder for Washington but was out of the big leagues at age 28 and never did ever recapture the glory he gained over that one special week in October.

The bottom line is the Series outcome can be extremely difficult to predict. Sometimes great players will rise to the occasion, but other times someone you might least expect would be the one to claim the glory. Perhaps the best course of action upon contemplating a World Championship Series outcome is to have no preconceived notion of what is likely to happen. That way you won't be disappointed.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREDICTIONS

Despite the advice of the Brooklyn Eagle's Ed Hughes, you can't stop newspapermen across the country from taking a stab at correctly predicting the winner of the World Championship Series. Last year very few successfully predicted a sweep for the New York Stars over the Pittsburgh Miners but history would tell you the Miners, despite looking to have a much better lineup a year ago, seemed destined to tumble quicker than oak leaves on a windy fall day once the calendar shifted to October. The Miners, you see, have an 8 game losing skid going in the WCS, stretching back to Game two of the 1938 classic, and as far as Series go, Pittsburgh has dropped 4 in a row and their only series victory in 8 tries came in 1901 when they topped Cleveland.

Toronto, on the other hand, is 2-2 in WCS play including a win over the Miners but that was way back in 1898 when the club wa known not as the Wolves but rather the Toronto Provincials. All the talk of Toronto WCS play is ancient history as the club had not won a pennant since 1911, of course that all changed yesterday and the slate is wiped clean. Who will prevail? Here is what the so-called experts say:

WILLIAM 'DOC' SHAW: BOSTON GLOBE - Pittsburgh murdered right handed starters this season. Toronto is very balanced against either handed arm as well as home and away. They had a winning record against lefties but it wasn't as good as it was against right handers. I think Pittsburgh's lefty starters as well as their success against right handed pitchers gives them the edge. I'll take Miners in 6.

ARCHIE IRWIN: CHICAGO DAILY NEWS - I want to pick the Wolves, but I think it will be Miners in 6. Eventually they'll have to win one.

PERCY SUTHERLAND: CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER - It should be a close, tightly contested series. Pittsburgh in 7.

ERNIE HERR: CINCINNATI POST - I think it has the potential to be a great Series. Two outstanding pitching staffs but also plenty of offense on both sides. Lefty Allen came back strong last week after I was very worried his arm was close to falling off. When you throw as many innings as he does there is always the potential to run out of gas down the stretch and that certainly happened to him last October. I like Toronto's pitching about as much as Pittsburgh's so I am going to call that a wash, or big advantage Toronto if Allen is worn out. Fred McCormick may well be the best active player to never appear in a WCS. That changes this year and McCormick shows why he is so talented. It will be tight but Toronto wins in 6 hard fought games.

FREDDIE FARHAT: DETROIT WORLD - If I did my numbers right this is Pittsburgh’s 9th World Series. Currently they have gone 1-7 in the previous World Series matchups. They are on an 8 game World Series losing streak. Before his last 2 starts Lefty Allen (who pitched on Sunday) was looking tired in September (he went 18IP with 5 runs in winning those 2 games). So what does that add up to for Fast Freddie?
A couple of things. 1.) The Miners will stop the consecutive games losing streak. 2.) Lefty Allen will likely only get 2 starts instead of 3. 3.) The Miners track record in the series suggests Toronto wins. 4.) I was burned badly by my "Miners in 4 or 5" prediction last year. So that adds to to Toronto wins in 6

MONTREAL STAR: Toronto to win in 6 games.

JOHN BRINKER: NEW YORK DAILY MIRROR - This is a tough one to predict. I think Pittsburgh is more talented overall (particularly offensively), but the Wolves have been very clutch of late and had a tougher road to the pennant. Largely on the basis of being the more "tempered" team due to fighting off both the Cougars & Cannons, I would predict the Wolves in... six games.

NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE - Toronto in 6. They have so much talent. Sorry Pittsburgh, the drought continues.

JOHNNY BOLOGNA: PHILADELPHIA INQUISITOR - While both teams have explosive offenses, Toronto has a bit more pitching. Toronto also has home field advantage. Johnny Bologna thinks Fred McCormick opens his Series account with an MVP Award. Wolves in 6.

DENTON FOX: PITTSBURGH PRESS - Miners will win in 7

TORONTO MAIL & EMPIRE - Toronto in 6.

BOB STEWART: WASHINGTON TIMES HERALD - Wolves in 5. It should be noted that Stewart was one of the few who correctly called the Stars victory a year ago.

With the 1940 season in the books and a second consecutive sixth place finish for the Washington Eagles, and 11 straight years in the second division, it can't hurt to take a stab at what next season will look like.

With cautious optimism, I predict that Washington will, for the first time of their current management team, finish with a record above .500. Overall, the trend will be younger players taking a step up, while veteran bats like Brown, Miller, and Elder will return to their previous forms. With that said, the line-up on the field will probably look something like this in '41.

1B - HARRY SHUMATE/SIG STOFER/BILL DOWNS
No position is as much in doubt for the Eagles as first base, with three credible candidates contesting the position. Each of the three offers something different pros and cons, and it isn't inconceivable that those not picked will carve out good careers elsewhere in the league once a choice is made.

2B - Karl O'Reilly
One of the few returning players from 39 to fulfill all expectations, Karl O'Reilly is the epitome of a pure contact hitter, posting a .316 AVG while only striking out 23 times this season. And though his defense is cause for concern, the 25 year old will have time to work on his glove in Washington.

SS - Jack Bush/Offseason Trade Acquisition
One might question the wisdom of starting the league's worst hitter on a regular basis, especially when he's shown little signs of improvement over the last season, but, for now, there is not a shortstop that can combine even an average glove with a good bat in the Washington system.

3B - Leon Blackridge/Bill Downs
Whether this position goes to Blackridge or Downs is entirely on the back of the former's bat. Washington would much prefer the slick fielding Blackridge over the stone gloved Down, but it cannot accept the mediocre bat he provided in 1939.

LF - Sam Brown
Please, God almighty, let this be a 1 year slump. Brown went from .303,18,85 in 1939 to .282,11,62 this season with a similar drop in his slash line of .303/.359/.450 in '39 to .282/.321/.386 this time around.

CF - Dilly Ward
Though he started the season as a bench OF for another club, the Warden has made his mark in Washington. The 26 year old journeyman is an elite defensive outfielder capable of maturing into one of the league's best hitters, should he stay healthy.

RF - Don Miller
It's hard to believe that the Don is only 26, but with his ability to hit, throw, and steal, he should be able to hold a lock over an outfield position for another half decade.

GOTHAMS SET TO BRING FORMER TOP PROSPECT PETRICK HOME

While it can not be officially confirmed until after the World Championship Series has concluded TWIFB has learned the New York Gothams have made a deal they hope will help address their desperate need for pitching. The move will bring Rusty Petrick back to the Big Apple club as the Cincinnati Cannons will part with the 24 year old righthander in exchange for the Gothams first selection, fourth overall in the January portion of the 1941 FABL draft. New York had pretty good success with Gus Goulding (13-16, 3.63), who was acquired from the Cannons last winter in a package that also included New York's first round from last season. The Gothams hope Petrick will enjoy similar results once he arrives in New York. As an 18 year old Petrick was originally selected by the Gothams 10th overall in the 1933 draft. He never actually pitched in the New York system as the following spring he was sent as part of a package in the huge trade that brought Rabbit Day to New York and eventually led to a WCS win for the Gothams in 1935.

Petrick, who threw a no-hitter against the Gothams Class C club shortly after that 1934 deal, has had mixed results to date in his big league career posting a 33-56 record with what was clearly a very bad Cannons club for a number of seasons. This year he was 6-7 with a 4.81 era in 19 appearances with Cincinnati.

The Cannons have a logjam of pitchers with youngsters Vic Carroll and Jim Anderson already arrived at the big league level and last season's #2 overall draft pick Bill Sohl not far away from joining them. Speaking off the record since the trade cannot be made official yet, a high ranking Cannons official admitted they hated to part with Petrick but felt they had little choice. "The kid has been nothing but positive throughout his tenure with the Cannons, no matter how bleak things were at times," observed the official. "We don't want to lose him just as he appears to be ready to hit his prime but we have a real roster crunch on the mound, which is obviously a good problem to have....but Rusty had some trade value and this gives us the opportunity to perhaps add another talented young offensive piece in the draft."

NEWEST GOTHAM RUSTY PETRICK

PENNANT FACTS

Courtesy of Johnny Bologna of the Philadelphia Inquisitor

• Every FABL team has one at least one title, with Brooklyn, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh tied with 1 title. Pittsburgh will either join Toronto in the 2-win club or Toronto will win a third championship, which will tie Toronto for 9th-most in the FABL with Baltimore/Cincinnati, the Sailors, St. Louis, and Washington.
• The Continental Association leads the all-time Series tally over the Federal, 28-25
• Longest droughts (entering 1940): Pittsburgh (38 years, last won in 1901), Toronto (28, 1911), Boston (27, 1912), Cincinnati (25, 1914 as Baltimore), St. Louis (19, 1920), Montreal (18, 1921), Washington (16, 1923) - the other 9 have all won in the Human GM Era
• Counting before the establishment of the WCS in 1894 the New York Stars lead the way with 8 championships followed by the Philadelphia Keystones with 6. If discount years in the old leagues before the establishment of FABL and the WCS the Stars still lead the way with 7 WCS wins.
• Best all-time franchise winning percentage? The Chicago Cougars at .536 with 3906 victories followed by the Chicago Chiefs, who with 4632 wins are tops in that category, although they did have a head start on every other franchise except for the Philadelphia Keystones, who like the Chiefs, debut in 1876 which helps explain why the Philadelphia club was known as the Centennials originally.

QUICK HITS

• Three straight second place finishes for Sal Pestilli, Red Johnson and crew. One has to think it is just a matter of time before the aging Miners slow down and the Dynamos ascend to throne but I expect there is plenty of worry in Detroit about competition going forward, both from within the Federal Association and world events. The military draft is now official so if this country enters into Europe's war who knows what kind of impact that will have on the Dynamos and the other 15 FABL clubs. But even if that does not happen the Dynamos might just be in for a big battle for top spot from not just the Miners, who are showing no signs of slowing down, but also the incredibly talented crew from the other side of Pennsylvania as the Philadelphia Keystones proved this season they are a force to be reckoned with going forward.
• Pittsburgh has now won 3 of the past 4 Fed pennants. In the 10-year period from 1898 to 1907, the Federal pennant was won by either Boston or Pittsburgh, each winning 5.
• The Miners are currently on an 8 game postseason losing streak. They won the first game of the ‘37 series and haven't won one since.
• Toronto and Pittsburgh each came within a whisker of 800 runs scored.
• Joe Owens was a big reason for Pittsburgh's run production. The 28 year old scored 7 runs this week to get him to 101 on the season, his 6th straight season in triple figures.
• Pittsburgh starter Charlie Stedman won 21 games for just the second time in his career and finished with a winning record for the first time in 3 years. "Hard Luck Chuck" finally got a little better run support this season.
• A great rivalry between the Miners and Keystones seems rekindled. Philly's "goose was cooked when the Miners battered Canfield and Whiteley around in (their) two games this week."
• Toronto going 10-2 the last 2 weeks was a surprise to many local observers but it was everything the Wolves needed to capture their first pennant in 29 years. Wolves managed to win 12 of 14 extra inning games for the seasons including 5 of the last twelve games. Good managing or good luck?
• Tough luck for the Cougars. A 5-2 week to finish but still come up a game short. Really exciting race though.
• Congratulations to Dave Trowbridge as the 42 year old New York Stars first baseman wins his first batting title by going 3-for-5 on the final day of the season to edge out Chicago's John Lawson by .00097. It was Trowbridge's first batting title although he did finish second in 1928 and 1932. It will take a little research but almost certain he is the oldest player to ever lead an Association in hitting. Lawson did tie Montreal's Red Bond for the RBI lead in the CA with 111 while Bond's 30 round-trippers topped in that category.
• Red Bond waits until the final day but gets his 30th off Tom Barrell and he tied for the rbi lead with Lawson. While finishing 3rd in the batting race. Enough to win him a Whitney? Percy Sutherland thinks so and Jiggs McGee concurs. Sutherland adds Lefty Allen, with 2 wins in the final week, did what he needed to do to set himself up to win his second Fed Allen Award.
• Bond reached the 30 HR plateau on last day of the season while final six games where played in Parc Cartier. The milestone came on a third inning shot off of Brooklyn's Tom Barrell in a 6-2 Saints victory. Whitney contender is what the local press is writing about today in Montreal.
• Tom Barrell had a rough year, 10-17 5.50. Is it the beginning of the end for the 32 year old or just an off year building strength back up in arm following his 1939 injury? Meanwhile his Brooklyn teammate Al Wheeler got his 20th homer but hit just .253. Kings have some tough decisions as franchise had 2 straight down seasons. Percy Sutherland: "Kings need a bit of retooling, but they have the farm system to do that."
• The Fed batting crown went to Detroit's Red Johnson hit .335 to win his first batting title. Teammate Sal Pestilli led the way with 127 rbi's while Chicago's Hank Barnett won the homerun derby with 36 of them.
• As for Detroit they record their 3 straight season of 90 wins or more and their 3rd straight 2nd place finish. There will be news coming out of Detroit but it will wait until after the World Championship Series.
• What a complete waste of a week in Boston. Actually what a complete waste of a month. Once again a September swoon (8-17) in Boston cancels out any and all season momentum as the Minutemen finish fifth for the third time in the past four seasons.
• Small sample size theater: Boston's Duke Hendricks. 15.0 innings 14 walks and a 7.63 ERA. Dalpman on the other hand had a nice showing as he went the distance in his FABL debut, allowing 8 hits in beating Washington 4-2 last week.
• Boston's Chick Donnelly has 1463 hits and will play at 29 next season. 2,000 seems very likely. Can he get to 3,000?
• Ready for another exciting offseason of hoping the "Hundred" dollar infield shows up to Gothams camp more mature and ready to prove their worth? William Wedge of the New York World Telegram quotes a Gothams source as saying "It looks like we'll have to stop counting on (Nate) Spears and (Bob) Adams in the rotation and take whatever thay provide as extra. Just too many injuries." Gothams skipper Ed Ziehl says he is happy with Gus Goulding's season. "Despite the record, he pitched well. Fred Ratcliffe was a nice surprise. He had the record, though his own stats weren't so great."
• And another grim season sputters to an end on Queens. The Gothams don't even reach 60 wins, just the third time since 1905 that has happened. There's rumor around the club of a trade coming (it was with Cincinnati as has been reported in TWIFB). Still somehow just under 1.2 million wandered into Gothams Stadium.
• 12 of the 16 teams top the 1 million attendance mark with a 13th (Boston) falling just 318 short.
• A 20-7 September and finishing in the first division feels almost as good as winning the pennant, at least that is what the Chicago Chiefs are trying to tell themselves.
• Oscar Morse just may not be done. Waived by Detroit the 37 year old went 2-1, 3.00 in 4 starts after being claimed by the Chiefs, who just seem to have a knack for getting a little extra out of older pitchers many think were on their last legs before arriving in the Windy City.
• Bad news: Bill Rich--the glue holding the Chiefs clubhouse together--is retiring.
• Staying with the Chiefs, Red Hampton ended his story book season with a 2-hit shutout for his 18th win.
• Only 3 Fed players played all 154 games, two of them Chiefs in Ron Rattigan and Bill May plus Artie D'Alessandro of St Louis. In the CA it was 5 players including Joe Angevine and Chink Stickels of the Stars, Cleveland's Bill Moore, Rip Lee of the Sailors and perhaps most surprisingly 37 year old John Lawson of the Cougars. It should be noted none of those players started all 154 games.
• As if there isn't already enough young talent in Philadelphia the Keystones called Davey Robicheaux up to give him a taste of top-flight action. He was 2-for-8 in his first week, getting his feet wet, but he gave Keystone fans a look at what they might be in for next season, as he hit .375 with four homers and 10 RBI. But, alas, it was not enough.
• For you Doug Lightbody fans, he had a hitless week and stands at 1,982 hits to end the season. His veteran leadership contributed to three 15-win months. Johnny Bologna of the Inquisitor surmises that Lightbody would be in the mix for the backup 1B/PH spot if he does want to come back, along with Austin Moore and Davey Robicheaux, who will likely get some time in Spring Training at 1B to see if he can be a rover next season (3B/LF/RF/1B).
• Bobby Barrell ended the year at 1,972 hits, though his 149 hits this season was a career low. For Barrell, it was the most HR in four years, most RBI in three years, but he had his third straight year below .300, hitting a career-low .261.
  All that said, he has had a brilliant first decade in the FABL. After finishing his 10th season, it is easy to roughly figure out his average season: .317/.368/.535, 26 HR, 117 RBI, 104 R, 197 H, 38 2B, 9 3B, 621 AB, 151 G.
• Heartbreaking finish to the season in Cincinnati as the Cannons go 3-8 down the stretch, losing four of those games in extra innings. Plenty of positives of course highlighted by the starting pitching as Deuce Barrell finishes second in both wins (19) and K's (145). Butch Smith (17-11) and William Jones (15-12) also come up big while Larry Brown has 18 saves despite imploding against Wolves. Then there is Moxie Pidgeon (.340,21,100) with an amazing year.
• Hard to criticize them based on preseason expectations but that 3-8 stretch to finish off certainly puts a damper on a Cannons season that otherwise was nothing but positive. As previously mentioned 6 of those losses were either in extra innings or by 1 run so the bullpen had some issues late but overall can't complain as Larry Brown, Scheuermann, Seguin, Petrick and Payne combined for the best bullpen ERA in the the Continental. Perhaps it is just the team needs time to learn how to win, similar to the Wolves woes two years ago becoming the building blocks to construct their pennant winner this season.
• Johnny Bologna of the Philadelphia Inquisitor says Cincinnati is very proud of their new club. "Things are extremely bright in Cincinnati. A city just fell in love with a franchise this season. They came out to the stadium. They followed them daily in the papers. Big things ahead."
• Percy Sutherland is doing some research for an all-defense team, and while most positions could have multiple winners, there is a third baseman who is head and shoulders above every one else: Tommy Wilson (who is a natural short stop) of St Louis. Wilson was part of the package received by the Pioneers from the Cougars for Freddie Jones. Wilson's downside? An OPS+ of 59 this season. Dan Barrell says give the 24 year old Wilson, who slashed .223/.300/.300 this season, some time. "Wilson had a poor year at the plate, but he's not Jack Bush. There is some offensive talent there." Perhaps it was just one of those years for Wilson and the Pioneers. The St Louis Post notes "most of the Pioneers had pretty bad offensive seasons with the exception of Zimmer." Catcher Heinie Zimmer hit .298 with 8 homers and 55 rbi's, all career highs, and led the Fed in walks with 124 although a big reason for that might have been the lack of support he had in the lineup.
• Jack Bush is a 27 year old second year Washington shortstop who hit .182 this season and .191 in 275 career games. His defense is very good but a lot of undue attention was heaped upon Bush two years ago when then-Washington manager Jake McGuire famously called Bush a 'future Hall of Famer' despite having yet to play a FABL game and putting up barely average offensive numbers in the minors. McGuire, as one might surmise with comments like that, is presently 'between assignments.'
• The left side of the Pioneers infield is certainly interesting. They have both the best third baseman and the worst short stop (defensively speaking).
• Sticking with defense how about this. Out of 326 routine chances in center field, the Cougars Carlos Montes made 326 outs. Or word from Percy Sutherland in his research that Keystones rookie Hank McKay had an astounding 15% catch rate on remote balls in right field.
• Keystones assistant General Manager George Mitchell on McKay (.269,10,61). "He had speed, but my scout thought he was an elite defender. That won me over to deal Baker for him and a pick." Originally a 1934 5th round pick of Montreal the Keystones sent veteran pitcher Ed Baker north of the border last winter in exchange for McKay. The 24 year old led the Fed in triples this season with 16 while swiping 24 bases.
• Of the regulars on Toronto only three had a '+' zone rating led by Charlie Artuso at an amazing +27.5 (1.119 Efficiency) at SS. The others were outfielder Larry Vestal and second sacker Tom Frederick. Wolves look solid in the middle infield but the rest of the team was not on the field for their glove work. In picking the shortstop for the all-defense team, Sutherland says you could really flip a coin between Artuso and Barrell.
• Here is something Freddie Farhat found in an otherwise dreary game played June 18, 1940 at Thompson Field. There wasn't much excitement for the home team as they lost 5-1 to Washington but something occurred on this date that didn't happen any other time this season, only once in 1939 and not at all in 1937 or 1938.
  What was the rare event that day? Well it all started in the visitor top half of the 4th. Dilly Ward and Johnnie Sundberg had both hit singles with 2 strikes on them. Then C Paul Wilkerson stepped up to the plate and on a 2-1 pitch he hit a screaming ground ball to 3B Frank Vance who touched 3rd, threw to 2nd and then onto first. In the scorebook(game log) it only shows as a 5-4 triple play but I imagine it was a 5-4-3 triple play as it indicates that it was Vance-Stewart-Johnson. I am sure there have been others, but not sure if there is an easy way to see it. Based on the fielding stats it is the only triple play this season.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 9/29/1940

• Nine French and Belgian ports where German invasion preparations have been in progress were pounded in a sharp aerial offensive by British bomber units, killing an estimated 60,000 Nazi troops and upsetting plans for a land assault on English soil.
• The Royal Air Force also had great success this week in destroying key military and power grid targets in Berlin.
• In what Hitler had hoped for French and British forces are clashing over the entrance to the Mediterranean at Gibraltar and the northern tip of Africa. The clash came after the French under German control declined an ultimatum by General Charles De Gaulle, leading the "Free Frenchmen" alongside the British, to surrender.
• Tokio signs an Axis war pact, agreeing with Germany and Italy on a one-for-all and all-for-one pledge of aid against any new enemy entering either the European or China war - an implicit warning to the United States and Russia.
• President Roosevelt did not comment on the agreement but did immediately schedule conferences with defense officials and British diplomats. Secretary Hull said that Japan's alliance with the German-Italian axis merely made clear "a relationship which has long existed in effect" and which the United States had taken into account in determining it's own policies.
• Italian newspaper spokesman Verginio Gayda warned that the United States would be attacked from two continents and on land and sea if she intervened in war on the side of Great Britain.