August 4, 1941 We are back. Week long vacation is over!
August 4, 1941
DYNAMOS CLOSING IN ON BOSTON
Like a modern day Paul Revere, many Minutemen fans on the street corners and taverns in Boston could be heard wailing 'The Dynamos are coming! The Dynamos are coming!' as Detroit closed the gap on their beloved ballclub. Such dire warnings have become an all too familiar refrain at this time of year in Boston as the Minutemen have already several times this decade, enjoyed a lead atop the Federal Association in July only to be bitten by the dog days as the season headed for the homestretch.
There are reinforcements on their way as Boston will have four recent trade acquisitions in pitchers Dean Astle and Walt Wells as well as first baseman Bill Moore and outfielder Joe Watson available today as they start the week with a series against Pittsburgh, plus Bob Donoghue's wonky knee has been pronounced fit for duty and he has been cleared to play for the first time in two months. Boston will need all hands on deck to try and get things rolling again after a missed opportunity this week as they dropped three of five games to second division residents St Louis and New York. This after they allowed Detroit to waltz in to Cunningham Field a week ago and take two out of three games from the hometown nine.
The Dynamos, perhaps surprisingly after three straight second place finishes, elected not to make any major upgrades at the deadline. Whether they were unwilling or simply unable to find a suitable trade partner beyond the move that brought the struggling George Dawson north from Cleveland is uncertain. Perhaps the best move in Detroit's case is indeed the one they did not make as the Dynamos stars might have taken the inaction as a vote of confidence in their current clan, and rewarded management's faith with three consecutive series wins, including the aforementioned showing in Boston last week, to close to within two games of the front-running New Englanders.
One thing is certain: The Federal Association pennant race has a lot of life left in it and plenty of ups and downs expected, not just for Boston and Detroit but the Chicago Chiefs and even the defending champs from Pittsburgh, presently 6 games back, are still very much in the race. Boston is in the catbird seat but they have been there before and come up short. 'This time feels different,' says many a Boston booster, although sounding unsure if even he believes his own words. In an effort to end a title drought of over two and a half decades the Minutemen made the most noise at the deadline. Now they have to do it on the field...and three losses in 5 games at home to a pair of basement dwellers hardly instills confidence they are up to the task.
COUGARS STRETCH LEAD IN CA
The Chicago Cougars are threatening to run away with the Continental Association race. Winners of 7 of their last 9 contests, the Cougars have opened up a 5.5 game lead on second place New York after the Stars limped out of Toronto with three losses in a 4-game weekend series. Chicago is firing on all cylinders with a 46-18 record since May 24, a stretch that kicked off with 4 straight wins over the Stars. New York has been nearly as good during that stretch, posting a 40-29 mark, but the showing in Canada this weekend has made their task of trying to claim a second Continental crown in the past three seasons just a little bit more difficult.
1942 PROJECTED TOP TEN PROSPECTS
The 1942 draft class feels to be, at least among first round possibilities, one of the weakest of the post-feeder era. Now that could certainly change when the late arrivals appear in January and perhaps it is just perception, rather than reality, brought on by the fact this draft does not have multiple elite players that have been anticipated for at least a year and longer in many cases.
For example last season at this time everyone was looking at Hiram Steinberg as the next big thing in baseball while slugger Otto Christian and and pitcher Tom Buchanan also received plenty of attention. In 1940 it was Bill Sohl and Dick Blaszak. Going back to earlier this decade there was often debate between Sal Pestilli and Walt Messer one year and then Deuce Barrell and Red Johnson the next. The point is there always seemed to at least two dominant players but not this year. There are still some players OSA sees as quality big leaguers but this draft appears, at least at this stage of the scouting process, to lack that dominant star beyond Bob Arman.
Here are the players we would rank, with OSA's input, as the Top Ten at this stage.
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CURRENT TOP TEN PROSPECT BOARD FOR 1942 DRAFT
# NAME POS AGE SCHOOL OSA Assessment
1 BOB ARMAN RHP 20 Bluegrass State Front-line starter
2 JOHN JACKSON RHP 16 Salem (NJ) HS near the top of rotation
3 ERNIE McCOY CF 20 Bluegrass State Elite big league CF
4 HOWIE HARRIS RHP 18 Ross HS, Hamilton, OH near the top of rotation
5 SAM LANTING CF 17 Sulpher Springs(TX)HS talent to flourish as a CF
6 CRAB CROWLEY C 16 Framingham (MA) HS lions share of starts
7 JAKE ROBERTS RHP 17 West Fork (AR) HS mid-rotation starter
8 BOB SCHMELZ 2B 16 Dravosburg(PA) HS above average 2B
9 JACK WILSON 2B 18 North Carolina Tech second-division starter
10 CHICK MacKNIGHT C: 20 Eastern Oklahoma second-division starter
As a comparison here is who we projected as the top ten of the 1942 draft a year ago when they were still a year and a half away from their draft day:
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WAY TO EARLY 1942 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS (Aug 1940)
# NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN
1 BOB ARMAN 19 RHP Bluegrass State Brooklyn, NY
2 HOWIE HARRIS 17 RHP Ross HS, Hamilton,OH Hamilton, OH
3 CRAB CROWLEY 16 C Framingham (MA) HS North Providence, RI
4 JOHN JACKSON 16 RHP Salem (NJ) HS Baltimore, MD
5 ERNIE MCCOY 19 CF Bluegrass State Albion, NE
6 PETE WOODWARD 19 CF Cleveland College Lansing, MI
7 MILT RADER 16 LF Stroud (OK) HS Seminole, OK
8 JOHNNY WEISZ 19 3B Three Rivers State Morristown, NJ
9 NELLIE WALTERS 19 SS Oklahoma City State Philadelphia, PA
10 ROGER CLEAVES 16 C Hoboken (NJ) HS West New York, NJ
Bob Arman of Bluegrass State has remained at the top of the list and probably the best recent comparisons for Arman are fellow college hurlers Vic Carroll and Bill Sohl, who were selected first overall in 1939 and second overall in 1940 respectively.
Here is what OSA had to say about each of them in the months leading up to their draft.
And here are the college stats each has amassed with the note that Arman still has his junior season remaining to be played.
Barring a late addition to the draft pool with an incredible report one has to believe Arman is a lock to be the number one choice in the draft. The only question is does the recent serious injuries suffered by both Carroll and Sohl, jeopardizing their careers, cast doubt on the viability of selecting a pitcher first overall? Usually teams feel pretty safe taking a college arm, while perhaps a little more tentative on high school pitchers, but will that change this time around?
A LOOK AHEAD AT THE TOP PROSPECTS FOR THE 1943 DRAFT
Unlike the 1942 class the group for 1943 appears to be much deeper, at least at this stage of the scouting process. One could easily add 25 names to this list so we will expand it to include enough players to cover more than just the first round. Here is a very early look at the top 20 players eligible for the 1943 draft
It will be interesting to follow and compare Jim Adams Jr. and Homer Mills over the next couple of seasons. Each was an All-American selection at shortstop this past season with Mills making the first team and Adams settling for second team honours but the St. Ignatius youngster Adams gets the nod as the top prospect according to OSA very early rankings. Adams dad was a long-time FABL player, primarily as a reserve infielder but did play 777 big league games over parts of 12 seasons with the Keystones and Toronto.
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1943 DRAFT CLASS RANKINGS AS OF AUG 1941
# NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN OSA COMMENT
1 Jim Adams Jr 19 SS St. Ignatius College Philadelphia, PA. multiple trips to ASG
2 Homer Mills 19 SS Weston University East Chicago, IN potential elite SS
3 Ted Davis 16 LHP Northgate HS, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA front of rotation
4 Al Clement 16 SS De Pere (WI) HS De Pere, WI unleash obvious talent
5 Bill Holloway 18 RHP Lincoln College Chicago, IL frontline starter
6 Walt Conner 19 2B Bluegrass State St Louis, MO above average player
7 Sid Kling 16 OF McKinley HS, Buffalo,NY Buffalo, NY high ceiling above average power
8 Frank Wood 16 C Bell (CA) HS Los Angeles, CA talent to flourish
9 Paul Cantin 15 CF Martinez (CA) HS Oakland, CA solid starter
10 Dixie White 16 SS Mooresville (NC) HS Mooresville, NCA solid starter
11 Al Hurd 19 C Univ of New Jersey Manville, NJ lions share of starts
12 Johnny Thacker 18 C Columbia Military Acad Charleston, WV 2nd division starter
13 Benny Everidge 15 CF Sandusky (OH) HS Sandusky, OH 2nd division starter
14 Randy Minton 16 3B Pana (IL) HS Pana, IL 2nd division starter
15 Jim Clarke 15 OF Beaumont (TX) HS Beaumont, TX 2nd division starter
16 Bill Gallman 16 OF Perry HS, Massillon, OH Canton, OH above average hitter/bad defense
17 Joe Davis 16 1B Copley HS, Boston Medford, MA 2nd division starter
18 Walt Parker 16 C Ellet HS, Akron, OH Bucyrus, OH 2nd division starter
19 Frank Gonnella 19 3B Canton State Newark, NJ has the raw tools
20 Ed Haynes Jr 16 C Austin (TX) HS Austin, TX Reliable hitter
As a comparison here was our first attempt at projecting the 1943 draft class. It was done in August of last year.
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WAY TO EARLY 1943 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS (AUG 1940)
# NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN
1 SID KLING 15 LF McKinley HS Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY
2 ED HAYNES JR 16 C Austin (TX) HS Austin, TX
3 JOHNNY THACKER 18 C Columbia Military Acad. Charleston, WV
4 BILL GALLMAN 15 RF Perry HS, Massillon, OH Canton, OH
5 RUDY MINTON 15 3B Pana (IL) High School Pana, IL
6 TED DAVIS 15 LHP Northgate HS, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA
7 JOE DAVIS 15 1B Copley (MA) HS Medford, MA
8 IRA KENNEY 15 CF Texico (NM) HS Texico, NM
9 BENNY EVERIDGE 15 CF Samdusky (OH) HS Sandusky, OH
10 DIXIE WHITE 15 SS Mooresville (NC) HS Mooresville, NC
QUICK HITS
- Keystones pick up 5 wins against a single loss this week, which was the first one out of the gate. Davey Robicheaux picked up Rookie of the Month honors as his position has risen in the order to the 3 spot in between Billy Woytek and Bobby Barrell. Philadelphia is still four games under .500, but the Keys will travel to Pittsburgh for three over the weekend to try to close the gap on fourth place.
- A positive for the New York Gothams has been the play of Walt Messer (.327,19,66), who had a huge July and is now among the Fed leaders in homeruns and batting average. A former two-time National High School player of the year, the 23 year old may finally be starting to live up to the huge expectations many had for him when he was selected second overall in 1936.
- Toronto continues its close, extra inning woes. 10-25 in one run games, 2-11 in extras. The team is surprising bad against RHP starters, 10-26. New goal is to finish in the first division by passing Cincinnati, even that could be a stretch goal. Management will also begin evaluation of the entire system which has already begun with two players given their pink slips. With the rumours of an upcoming draft and the possibility of entering the European conflict some players may remain in the system to provide warm bodies during 1942.
- The weird thing about Washington slugger Sig Stofer is that he apparently hates hitting in garbage time. Small sample size, but in 88 'high leverage' at-bats, he's posted an OPS of 1.006, which is a gain of more than .300 points compared to his .701 'Low Leverage' at bats.
- It is hard to believe that the Washington Eagles are 8-3 against Fed front-runner Boston this season but just 13-20 vs second division mates New York and St Louis. Attendance is up substantially in the nation's capital but despite that the Eagles, at 23-28, own the worst home record in the Fed. There are some positives in Washington, such as a very impressive 22-13 record in one run games, but the offense and starting pitching are bad once again this season and a 12th straight second division finish seems very likely.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. This time around it is an update on how each of the first round picks are doing after their first month or so of professional baseball:
BOSTON- The Minutemen selected high school shortstop Billy Bryant 8th overall and he is ranked #16 on the OSA prospect list. The 18 year old has played a dozen games at Class C Hattiesburg and is batting .238 but displaying some decent skills with his glove.
BROOKLYN- Orie Martinez was the first college player selected at 5th overall by the Kings. The 21 year old former Miami State outfielder got his pro start at Class B Tampa. He is struggling early with a .224 batting average after 24 games but is the Kings #3 prospect and ranked 21st overall by OSA.
CHIEFS- The Chiefs dealt both their first and second round picks (and their fourth as well) so their top new draft pick is regional round 3 selection Frank Stephens. The 18 year old is not thought of too highly by OSA as he did not crack the top 500 prospects and is actually listed as only the 61st ranked prospect in a weak Chiefs system. That being said the second baseman is off to a decent start at Class Waterloo, batting .296 after 19 games with the baby Chiefs.
COUGARS- Slugging third baseman Otto Christian, once considered a candidate for the first overall selection, fell to the Cougars at pick 13. The Walla Walla Walloper is #51 on the OSA prospect list and after belting 57 homers in 110 career high school games, he already has 4 in 12 pro games while batting .262 for Class C La Crosse.
CINCINNATI- The Cannons had 2 first round picks at one point but dealt them both to Montreal in the Adam Mullins trade so Cincinnati's top selections were a pair of second rounder Claude Hesser and Win Hamby. The 21 year old Hesser is struggling in the early going at Class C Burlington, batting just .205 after two dozen games and slots in at #251 on OSA's list. Hamby, an 18 year old shortstop, is 100th on the OSA list and was sent to Class B Charleston to begin his career, but is struggling at that level with a .172 batting average through 24 games but his defensive play has looked very solid.
CLEVELAND- First overall pick Hiram Steinberg rewrote the high school record book and made his pro debut with a very nice outing for Class C Ottumwa of the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. No decision in his debut but he went 9 and a third while allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and fanning 7. Thru 5 starts with the Owls he is 2-2 with a 4.20 era and ranked the #2 prospect in all of baseball by OSA.
DETROIT- 18 year old outfielder Hal Renard was selected 14th by Detroit and debuted as the Dynamos top prospect in the eyes of OSA, at #35 overall. He is hitting .200 after close to a month at Class Biloxi.
MONTREAL- Thanks to some trades the Montreal Saints owned 4 first round picks in #3 Gordie Perkins, #4 Bert Cupid, #10 Hal Eason and #11 Mel Franklin. Perkins is considered the best shortstop prospect in the game today (9th overall by OSA) and has split his time between Class B and C, batting .240 in his first 18 games as a pro. Cupid is an 18 year old righthander from Youngstown nicknamed The Buckeye Bullet. He has struggled, going 1-3 with a 6.20 era at Class C Dubuque, but is ranked #22 overall on the OSA prospect list. Eason is a 22 year old outfielder from Huntington State who was born in Montreal when his father was starring in the Saints outfield. He has struggled early at Class B Mobile, batting .179 after 19 games with the Monarchs. OSA thinks very little of catcher Mel Franklin and did not place him in their top 500 prospect list. Franklin is batting .232 after 18 games at Class C.
NY STARS- The Stars selected high school pitcher Larry Gregory 9th overall and he is considered by OSA to be their top pitching prospect at #40 overall. The Chicago native has made 5 starts at Class Alexandria, going 2-0 with a 3.09 era.
NY GOTHAMS- For the third year in a row the Gothams dealt their first and second round picks meaning regional selection Glenn Carney was their top choice. The 18 year New York City native is off to a strong start at Class C Rock Island, batting .300 through 24 games with the Steamboats. A shortstop, he did not crack the OSA top 500 prospect list.
KEYSTONES- For the second year in a row the Keystones selected a pitcher before he pitched his first high school game. It seems to have worked out quite well with Joe Quade last season and the Keystones are seeing a fast start out of this years selection - 18 year old Sid Moulton from Eastlake, Ohio. Moulton just signed recently and the 12th overall pick is 1-0 with a 1.38 era in 2 starts at Class C. Moulton is ranked #107 on the OSA prospect list.
SAILORS- Outfielder Ernie Grout, an 18 year old outfielder out of Rochester, New York was the Sailors first rounder, selected 7th overall. He is off to a hot start at Class B Miami of the Southeastern League, batting .322 and recently hit his first career professional homerun. OSA has Grout at #74 on their prospect list.
PITTSBURGH- Cincinnati native George Darnell was the Miners first selection, as the defending Federal Association champs selected the 18 year old shortstop 16th overall. Darnell has played 24 games at Class C Jackson of the Gulf States League and is batting .226. OSA slots him in at #101 on their prospect list.
ST LOUIS- The Pioneers loaded up on high school pitching in this draft, using each of their first five picks on young arms with the best of the bunch being #2 overall Tom Buchanan. The lefthander from Waterloo, Iowa is ranked #6 overall by OSA and is 1-2 with a solid 2.90 era after 4 starts for Class C Moline of the UMVA. He also has 25 strikeouts and just 7 walks in 31 innings of work.
TORONTO- Toronto went with high school shortstop John Fast with the 15th pick of the draft and he is presently ranked #15 on the OSA prospect list. The last time the Wolves selected a shortstop in the first round was 1934 and it worked out pretty well for them as that player was Charlie Artuso, who likely will block Fast's path to the big leagues for quite some time. Fast is hitting .333 after 20 games at Class C Tuscaloosa and getting some playing time at both second and third base as well as his natural shortstop position.
WASHINGTON- The Eagles drafted 18 year old outfielder Jesse Alvardo 6th overall. Born in Mexico, 'The Hidalgo Kid" moved with his family to Brooklyn when he was a child and is ranked #105 on the OSA prospect list. He made his debut at Class B and while batting just .224 has showed some of the power he displayed at Brooklyn's Canarsie High School by hitting 3 homers in 19 games with Everett of the C-O-W League.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/03/1941
- While the focus has been on the Eastern Front of late, Prime Minister Churchill said he feels a Nazi invasion of England could come within the month. He adds the United States "is advancing to the very verge of war," but warns that neither Russia nor the United States would win the war for Britain.
- Russian forces reported to have great success on the Finnish front, driving the Nazis back in the new two week old battle. Stalin's forces are also said to be holding strong protecting Leningrad but Hitler is reinforcing his army with the addition of Italian troops in the war against Soviet Russia and Berlin is claiming a great victory at Smolensk.
- The United States and British Navies have established a parallel patrol of the Atlantic Ocean to ensure nothing will be allowed to interfere with an "endless assembly belt" stretching from the US to Britain to insure delivery of American war material.
- After Japan issues a decree under which the army is empowered to invoke emergency law at any time it teams necessary the Tokio Stock Exchange went into a panic as prices toppled across the board.
- The Japanese Government froze assets from many countries including the US and Britain prompting widespread response from British and American companies including Standard Oil halting oil shipments and Hollywood motion picture companies suspending distribution of American movies to Japan.
- Japan issued an informal apology after dropping bombs on a US gunboat at Chungking that damaged the ship but did not injury any American sailors. The United States rejected the apology after the ship was hit while docked in a neutral, safe area.
- Police in Argentina say they smashed a Nazi plot to overthrow the present government. Nine persons were arrested and a large quantity of propaganda documents were seized.
- Gas stations all along the east coast have been ordered open only for reduced hours in an effort to conserve gasoline consumption.