OCTOBER 8, 1940
MINERS TRAPPED IN ANOTHER OCTOBER NIGHTMARE
There is just something about October baseball that brings out the worst in the Pittsburgh Miners. A regular season powerhouse, the Miners have won 3 of the last four Federal Association pennants, compiling a 357-259 record over that time. However, they are now 2-11 in World Championship Series games during that span and in danger of losing the WCS for the 5th straight time since they last won one back in 1901. Pittsburgh is 1-7 all-time in WCS and one more victory for the Toronto Wolves this October will drop the Miners to 1-8 in post season series and 12-32 all-time in games.
The Toronto Wolves are on the verge of their first World Championship since 1911 after ending a 29 year Continental Association pennant drought, what was the longest active streak by any FABL club to go without a pennant. The Wolves have been a bad team most of those 29 years and spent much of this decade near the bottom of the CA, but after a spirited run that fell just short two years ago the Wolves captured the heart, and the pocketbooks of Canadians, and finally won that elusive 5th franchise pennant. They also drew over one million fans for the first time in team history and clearly saved a franchise that six short years ago saw barely 200,000 paying customers and seemed on the verge of moving out of town.
GAME THREE TORONTO 9 PITTSBURGH 1
Only Mother Nature could do what the Miners pitching was unable to - slow down the Toronto bats. A 30 minute rain stoppage in the ninth inning only delayed the inevitable as the Wolves scored 3 times in the first inning off of Pittsburgh starter Charlie Stedman and built a 7-0 lead through 4 innings in what quickly turned into a rout as the Miners dropped their 4th straight postseason game at Fitzpatrick Park. George Garrison was outstanding on the hill for Toronto, scattering 5 hits while fanning 5 and allowing just one run.
GAME FOUR TORONTO 6 PITTSBURGH 4
Once again Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and although the Miners did battle to make it close, Wolves starter Joe Hancock and his mates proved once again to be too much for the struggling Pittsburgh side.
CAN LEFTY ALLEN PROLONG THE MINERS SEASON
The Miners team has plenty of October demons to contend with and perhaps no player is feeling the pressure more than Lefty Allen. A regular season ace, the 26 year old may just win his second career Allan Award this season, but in the WCS there has been little to cheer about for Pittsburgh fans when Allen is on the hill. He won his WCS debut against Brooklyn in 1937 but since then has lost 4 straight starts including a 5-2 decision in Game Two to the Wolves. Allan's career WCS era is 5.02 and unless he improves upon that mark it almost assuredly will mean yet another Miners post-season failure.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Since we are in a World Championship Series mood let's take a quick look at pennant and WCS history for each of the FABL teams, and maybe a quick word on their chances of adding to their title collection in the near future:
BOSTON- The Minutemen were the class of the Federal Association at the turn of the century, winning a record 5 straight pennants starting in 1902 and a pair of WCS titles. Two more pennants and another Series win came in the early teens but that is it, nothing since 1915 in the way of hardware for the Minutemen. They have not finished higher than third place since then and for much of the modern era (human GM 1926-today) the Boston entry has been good, but never quite good enough bouncing around between 3rd and 6th most years. There is talent, and the Minutemen regularly make strong runs for much of the season only to fade in the stretch drive. With Pittsburgh still such a power plus the Dynamos and Keystones clearly on the rise a pennant in the next few years to end what is the Federal Association's longest current pennant-less drought at 25 years may be a tough streak to snap.
Code:
LAST PENNANT WIN
FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
Pittsburgh 1940
Chiefs 1938
Gothams 1935
Keystones 1933
Detroit 1929
Washington 1925
St Louis 1921
Boston 1915
CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 1940
Stars 1939
Brooklyn 1938
Cleveland 1935
Cougars 1933
Sailors 1930
Montreal 1921
Cincinnati 1914
BROOKLYN- The Curse of Ferdinand Hawkins is well known and the Kings finally put an end to that talk when they beat Pittsburgh in the 1937 Series. It was the middle of three straight pennants for Brooklyn and a total of four in the modern era. Brooklyn actually ranks second in FABL in both modern era regular season record and pennants won, trailing only the Sailors for regular season supremacy and the Gothams for pennants. Brooklyn has 6 pennants all-time with pre-modern era titles coming in 1912 and 1923 but they lost the WCS both times. The club had a record 5 straight seasons with 90+ wins but that came to an end in 1939 and it appears the Kings are in need of retooling, but they do have a good core of young stars and prospects to build around.
CHIEFS- The Chiefs own the best record in the Federal Association over the course of the modern era and won 2 WCS titles in the past five seasons. They also won a pennant in 1928, 11 years after winning their first pennant and WCS title back in 1917. They made a run for much of this season but an August slump dropped them out of contention. They are getting a little older but still certainly capable of a first division finish, although without some upgrades a pennant might be a big ask considering the strength of the big three (Miners, Keystones and Dynamos) in the Fed.
COUGARS- The Cougars are tied with the New York Stars and Pittsburgh Miners for the most WCS appearances with 9. The first four came before 1901 but they also won pennants in 1910, 1918 and 1922 before adding 2 more in the modern era thanks to a WCS win in 1931 and a pennant two years later. One of 9 teams over .500 in the human GM era, the modern Cougars started slow with two 7th place and two 8th place finishes in the first four seasons of modern baseball, but they have not finished that low since. Three straight 90+ win seasons to start the thirties before the Cougars had a bit of a downswing following their '33 pennant. Chicago is a team to be feared now, especially after finishing just a game off the pace in 1940.
CINCINNATI- With Toronto finally getting a CA crown, the Cannons organization is now the one with the longest active pennant drought, last winning in 1914 when Powell Slocum was still in his prime and the club was known as the Baltimore Clippers. They did win 4 pennants and 3 WCS between 1907 and 1914 but there have been a lot of lean years since then. In 1930 & 1931 they had back to back second place finishes on a team led by Rabbit Day but since trading Day prior to the 1934 season the Cannons finished dead last in the CA 6 straight years. That finally ended with the winter move to Cincinnati and after a third place finish there is finally hope for the franchise again.
CLEVELAND- A powerhouse in the middle of the decade after bold moves to add veterans Max Morris and T.R. Goins, the Foresters finally won their first ever WCS title in 1934 when they beat the Gothams in 7 games. They had a rematch the following season but came up short against New York that time. The club spent nearly the entire 1930s in the first division including a surprising second place finish in 1939 but the roof caved in last year when they finished with the worst record in FABL. Cleveland has won 5 pennants but just the one WCS title and judging by the roster mix at the moment it might be a few years before they can even be considered in contention for another crown.
DETROIT- Detroit has won 7 Federal Association pennants and 5 World Championship Series titles with the most recent one coming in 1930. They spent close to a decade as serious contenders until everything fell apart in 1934 and then came the dismal 43-111 1935 campaign. A new GM entered the scene and after a couple of lean years the club was transformed thanks in no small part to the drafting of Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson. With three straight second place finishes you just know the Dynamos time will come, perhaps as early as next season. Only the Chiefs and Keystones have won more Federal Association games in the modern era than the Dynamos but Detroit has just one pennant during that time, compared to three for each of the other two squads.
MONTREAL- 1915-21 was the glory years of the Saints, with all four of the franchises pennants and 2 WCS wins coming in that span. The modern era has not been kind to Montreal as the Saints are one of five teams to not win a pennant since the human-GM phase began, joining Boston, St Louis, Washington and Baltimore/Cincinnati. Montreal has been a second division club for 12 of the last 15 seasons and only had one year since 1926 they finished less than 10 games out of first. There are some quality building blocks but coming off a 7th place finish, and five straight seasons of finishing either fifth or seventh it does not look like the Saints will be raising another pennant in the near future, although seeing turn arounds like Cincinnati, Toronto and the New York Stars enjoyed recently perhaps gives Quebeois fans some hope.
NY STARS- While the 1939 WCS title came as a real surprise after a 6th place finish the previous season, the Stars have been a FABL power over the years. They are tied with the Chicago Cougars and Pittsburgh for the most WCS appearances with 9 and their 8 WCS wins are 3 more than any other team. They have had two distinct 'dynasty' phases, winning 4 pennants and 3 WCS titles in a 5 year span between 1902-1906 and then their record 3 straight WCS wins from 1924-26. For good measure they also added in a title in 1930. They slipped to fourth this year in a tight Continental Association race but there is no reason to not expect the Stars to be pennant contenders for the next few seasons.
NY GOTHAMS- No FABL team has won more pennants than the 5 the Gothams claimed in the modern era but few teams have been worse than the Gothams the past five years. New York was a power in the very early days of FABL, winning 3 of the first 4 World Championship Series in FABL history. That was followed by a long drought that did not see the Gothams win again until the first season of the modern (human GM) era in 1926. Four more pennants would come over the next decade but only once did they prevail in the WCS, that was in 1935 as they won a rematch with Cleveland after losing to the Foresters in 7 games the previous year. They had also lost in 7 to the Sailors four years earlier. Since 1935 little seems to have gone according to plan for the Gothams and they appear to be no closer to winning a 9th pennant now then they were when they sold off most of the pieces that won a title the previous year following a slow start to the 1936 season.
KEYSTONES- The Keystones won the very first Federal Association title back in 1892. There was no WCS that year (it started the following season) and Philadelphia fans had to wait 35 years for the Keystones to participate in one. That was in 1927 when Rankin Kellogg led the 'Stones to a Fed pennant, winning by the narrowest margins in needing a tiebreaker to defeat Detroit and then a week later celebrating their first WCS win. They would win 2 more pennants and the 1933 WCS while being quite competitive most seasons. Kellogg's sudden retirement in 1938 sent the club spiraling but it was a very short downturn as the Keystones made a spirited run at a pennant this season and the future looks very bright for their young club.
SAILORS- Sailors fans still cherish the memories of 1928-30 when their heroes won 3 straight pennants and a pair of WCS titles. Before that it was a long drought as you had to go all the way back to 1897 for a pennant and their only other WCS win. The Sailors slipped to 5th this season - although only 8 games out of first - for the first time since 1932. They have been a very good club during the human GM era (1926-today) and as the image below shows the Sailors have been the winningest regular season team during that period as well. In addition to their three pennants the Sailors have had some very close calls as well, finishing just a game back twice including 1937 when they lost the only Continental Association playoff tiebreaker of the modern era. Never a team you can count out, the Sailors always seem to be competitive so it is quite conceivable they win another pennant in the next couple of seasons.
PITTSBURGH- The Miners might be considered a mini-dynasty right now with 3 pennants in the past four years and no reason to think they won't contend for at least one or two more. Miners were an early FABL power with 4 straight pennants from 1898-1901 but they lost the WCS the first three times. There have been more pennants since in 1907, 1924 and two of the past three years but the Miners are still searching for a second WCS title. No team has been to more WCS than the 9 Pittsburgh (tied with Stars and Cougars for most) has participated in but no Fed team has won as few (1) as the Miners have. Of course they are hoping that changes this week.
ST LOUIS- Surprisingly the Pioneers only own 2 Federal Association pennants and one WCS title. They came in 1920 & 1921 - the first two season of the Max Morris era in St Louis. For the most part the Pioneers have been pretty competitive in the modern era although there was a down period from 1928-31 when they finished 7th or 8th for four consecutive seasons. A management change around that time got the team on track and they spent 7 straight seasons in the first division including a pair of second place finishes and were in some good pennant races. That all changed this season as the club collapsed with little going as planned. Injuries played a big role, especially to the pitching staff but there also should be concern about the lack of offensive production. If the pitching can bounce back they may get back into the first division next season but a pennant seems a long, long ways away right now.
TORONTO- No more chants of 1911. The Wolves put an end to the longest active pennant drought last week with their 5th Continental Association crown but first in 29 years. They won the WCS in 1911 (and also in 1898) and are looking for their third one right now against Pittsburgh. There were a lot of lean years - nearly three decades worth - and the franchise probably came closer to moving out of Toronto then they care to admit but fan support is back, winning is back and the Wolves should be contending for at least the next few seasons which hopefully will allow them to improve upon what is currently the worst record of the modern era at 1050-1260 since 1926.
WASHINGTON- It may be hard to believe but the Eagles were once a dominant team. 7 pennants and 2 WCS titles highlight their history and from 1921-26 they were a Federal Association power led by T.R. Goins. The 1930's were not kind to the Eagles as they never escaped the second division and after back to back 69-85 seasons in '39 and '40 the future, at least in the short term, still does not look all that bright in Washington. The Eagles are paying the price for a lot of questionable drafting and trades over the past decade and a half. No team in the Fed has been worse than Washington since the human GM era began, and at 1061-1249 they are 70 wins behind the 7th place Gothams in that regard.
1941 DRAFT PREVIEW: TWIFB PROVIDES A MOCK FIRST ROUND
Based on the latest reports from the OSA scouting service here is a mock first round for the upcoming January draft. The list below primarily factors in the quality of assessment on the OSA report but also to small degree looks at team need and past trends in drafting history. Note - it is very important to keep in mind TWIFB is working with an incomplete list as there will be additions made as the remaining 59 prospects are added to the pool in the new year so while this is a fun exercise, it will almost assuredly turn out to not be an especially accurate representation of the actual first round.
There is no change at the top of the list and likely none expected to be as New York High School righthander Hiram Steinberg remains to be the odds on favourite to be selected first overall by the Cleveland Foresters.
Code:
1941 MOCK FIRST ROUND DRAFT
# TEAM PLAYER POS SCHOOL
1 Cleveland HIRAM STEINBERG RHP Washington High School, New York City
2 St Louis TOM BUCHANAN LHP Waterloo (IA) High School
3 Montreal GORDIE PERKINS SS Trumbauersville (PA) High School
4 Cin(fromNYG) MEL FRANKLIN C Moberly (MO) High School
5 Brooklyn OTTO CHRISTIAN 3B Walla Walla (WA) High School
6 Washington FRED LONEY SS Totowa (NJ) High School
7 Sailors GENE MADISON RHP Sacred Heart HS, San Francisco, CA
8 Boston HAL RENARD OF Pittsfield (ME) High School
9 Stars BERT CUPID RHP Wilson HS, Youngstown, OH
10 Mon(fromCHI) HANK EASON OF Huntington State
11 Cincinnati LORENZO SAMUELS 1B West HS, Cleveland, OH
12 Keystones GIG TAYLOR OF Roosevelt HS, Washington DC
13 Cougars FORD WOOD 2B Wenona (IL) High School
14 Detroit BOB MONTGOMERY SS Snyder (TX) High School
15 Toronto JESSE ALVARDO OF Canarsie HS, Brooklyn NY
16 Pittsburgh MAURICE CARTER 1B Meridian (MS) High School
The Week That Was
Current events from 10/05/1940 thru 10/07/1940
- Meeting for a conference at Brenner Pass in the Alps, Hitler and Mussolini vow to step up the intensity of their war efforts, planning to strike at Britain in a particularly "vulnerable spot." They also said they were not worried at British attempts to gain the United States as an actual ally, nor concerned at which of the two candidates "with their more or less interventionist policies" win the United States Presidential election.
- Fleets of German war planes continued to batter London and other objectives but suffered severe losses from a counter-attack as British bombers, in a daylight raid, wrecked a railroad line in France used by the Germans for bringing up supplies. The RAF also pounded the French "invasion" coast as it appeared aflame from Dunkirk to Boulogne.
- Secretary of Navy Frank Knox warns that the Japanese-German-Italian military alliance is the most serious challenge to the American "mode of life" in history. Japan wants friendship with the United States, but if the US challenges either Japan or it's expansionist policy in the Far East war would result.
[*}Rome claims a rout of British tank and armored car units in a sudden redemption of war activity on the Egyptian front.
