Well we have played our way into contention as we enter August with the lads putting in a really solid effort these past two months to give us a combined 34-23 since June 1. Most pleasingly, despite Ralph Kiner staying hot, the load has been more evenly shared.
Ralph's unbelievable rookie campaign continues as he wins another monthly hitting award. But as you can see from the numbers below, we are getting solid contributions from all but a handful of backups. In fact it is Elliott, and not Kiner, with the most bWAR to this point.
The pitching is similarly well-disposed, with every member of our staff WAR-positive and only one whose ERA is above 4. Surprisingly that player - Johnny Sain - also leads the group with 3.4 pWAR.
We've pretty much locked down all those we want to keep next year. Of this group, only Kerr remains unsigned and we'll see with him whether we can sort that out or will need arbitration - he's still under TC for two more years. Those spending their final season with us include Matlock, Shoun, Rosar, Craft, Arky Vaughan (who is spending his swansong for us at AAA), Bragan and Bowman.
So we are within reach of the Jints, with the Cubbies, Phils and Cards on our tail. Meanwhile, the BoSox' quest for a threepeat is looking good as they lead the AL by 5. Johnny Schmitz of the Cubs is giving the NL pitching Triple Crown a run.
News, Leaders and Top 20s
Monthly Award Winners
June
American League
- Batter – Charlie Keller (Yankees): 329 / 10 HR / 24 RBI
- Pitcher – Fred Hutchinson (Senators): 5-2 / 3.31 / 23 K / 54.1 IP
- Rookie – Grady Hatton (Browns): 348 / 4 HR / 14 RBI
National League
- Batter – Bob Elliott (Pirates): 378 / 3 HR / 16 RBI
- Pitcher – Al Smith (Giants): 6-0 / 1.13 / 17 K / 47.2 IP
- Rookie – Ralph Kiner (Pirates): 260 / 7 HR / 22 RBI
July
American League
- Batter – Willard Brown (Athletics): 392 / 5 HR / 21 RBI
- Pitcher – Dizzy Trout (Red Sox): 5-0 / 1.93 / 22 K / 51.1 IP
- Rookie – Yogi Berra (Yankees): 338 / 4 HR / 15 RBI
National League
- Batter – Ralph Kiner (Pirates): 297 / 9 HR / 25 RBI
- Pitcher – Stubby Overmire (Cardinals): 4-0 / 1.38 / 5 SV / 16 K / 32.2 IP
- Rookie – Ralph Kiner
Milestones and Observations of Note
- Dixie Walker reaches the 2000-hit mark.
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