[ayaghmour2]

In the baseball world, the Keystones took the opener on the road, with Allen candidate Red Ross (23-8, 2.57, 130) winning a pitcher's duel over a counterpart in the CA in Butch Smith (19-10, 1, 2.19, 118). Game two, however, felt like a blast from the past, with a 4-hitter from Rabbit Day (18-10, 3.09, 74) and an Al Wheeler (.235, 21, 79) two-run homer as the Cannons evened up the series with an 8-0 win. The series will move to Philly, where Chris Clarke (12-10, 2.44, 75) likely taking on Chicagoan Pepper Tuttle (15-12, 2.85, 115) in game three. It should be another exciting series, but I think Bobby Barrell (.347, 46, 152) is going to help the Keystones take home their third title in the Human era.

AAA Milwaukee Blues (Century League): 91-49, 1st, 16 GA: We only had one title winner, and it was a cruise to the finish for the Milwaukee Blues. That's back-to-back titles in the Century League, something they did in both '34 and '35 and '38 and '39. The 91 wins were also their best since winning 98 in '39, and they were the only team in our system to win more then the 85 from Chicago. As you might expect from a team that won their division by 16 games, they led the league in most categories, including runs against and scored. The offense saw a lot of movement during the season, but the pitching staff remained very constant. Angel Lopez (17-6, 2.38, 72) was flat out elite and Johnny Ruby (12-2, 2.74, 84) was surprisingly dominant despite walking (92) more batters then he struck out. Bill Anderson (9-3, 10, 2.21, 31) did a little bit of everything while Jack Huston (15-11, 3.31, 98) and Bill Tuttle (13-9, 3.47, 79) were consistently reliable starters and a pen comprised of Charlie Kelsey (9-4, 15, 2.03, 38), Rube Finegan (6-2, 4, 1.47, 23), and Grover Donahue (0-1, 3, 1.93, 11) was very effective, making it very difficult to score late on the Blues. The offense saw a lot more change, as top producers Chick Browning (.270, 7, 35) and Don Lee (.288, 7, 45, 15) spent a lot of time in Chicago, while Cuno Myer (.334, 3, 65) and Bill Graham (.252, 3, 36) were shipped off in July. When healthy, Huck Hanes (.311, 1, 24) hit well and Bill Rich (.288, 4, 32) was good post-promotion, but neither came close to qualifying for at bats. It was very impressive that the Blues were able to score a ton of runs without much consistency, but most of the guys that came up to replace had decent success.

AA Mobile Commodores (Dixie League): 84-56, 3rd, 3.5 GB: No fourpeat for the Commodores, who fell behind both New Orleans (88-53) and Knoxville (87-54), who were tied after 140 games and the pennant was decided on a one-game playoff. While the Blues offense needed plenty of reinforcements as the season went on, the Commodores lineup was weakened, and ended up tied for 4th in runs scored. The pitching, led by hopeful future ace George Oddo (13-5, 2.56, 95), was the best in the Dixie League, leading an impressive five man group. Joe Swank (16-10, 3.26, 109), Harry MacRae (15-9, 2.84, 72), Stan Flanders (12-11, 3.17, 55), and Ed Fisler (15-7, 3.28, 81) were all well above average and the pen was needed so infrequently that they only recorded five saves. The lineup lacked power, just 24 total home runs, and Danny Richardson (.313, 4, 42) led the team despite playing just 68 games in Mobile That's not to say the offense wasn't effective at times, as former 7th Rounder Homer Guthrie (.297, 3, 53) didn't just hit well for a catcher, as anyone would enjoy a 133 WRC+, but he was the lone qualifier who offered above average production. Dan Collins (.335, 3, 52) was excellent after a promotion from Lincoln while 9th Rounder Lou Thomas (.380, 1, 12) ripped the cover off the ball in his 33 games with the Commodores. A lot of guys who finished the season in Mobile will be back to repeat the level, with a small sample given to Ed Neal (.200, 11, 8), and partial seasons from Dick Hamilton (.273, 1, 31, 4) and Alex Horning (.274, 2, 38, 6). The trio all performed better in Lincoln (although Neal still struggled there), and should see their production improve with another go about. One guy who won't return is 49th Overall Pick George Sutterfield (.333, 23, 9), who is ready for Milwaukee and potentially a midseason ticket to the show. The Commodores are historically one of our best affiliates, having put together winning seasons each year since 1929, while winning 80 or more games 10 times since.

A Lincoln Legislators (Heartland League): 81-59, 2nd, 6 GB: They won two fewer games in '44, but the Legislators landed ten games closer to the first place Hustlers, who won their first ever Heartland League title. Just like the Commodores, their strength was their pitching, which ranked 1st in runs allowed. 26-year-old Tommy Davis (8-8, 3.10, 81) was dominant in his 20 starts, but the real star of the team was Tom Irwin. The bullpen ace needed one more out to reach the century mark for innings, and he held an elite 1.63 ERA (274 ERA+) and 1.16 WHIP in 56 appearances. He finished 9-5 with 25 saves, 49 walks, and 75 strikeouts. Having him once the starters needed out was huge, and he helped support Jimmy Ballard (9-5, 3.79, 84), Bill Ballantine (3-5, 3.89, 50), and Roscoe Brown (5-2, 4.02, 60). The Lincoln rotation saw a ton of movement, with 9 players starting 10 or more games. This even includes top 100 prospects George Oddo (8-1, 2.50, 65) and the now 77th ranked Bill Chapman (8-5, 4.27, 73). With a stronger offense, we probably would have captured Lincoln's 7th title. A lot of the regulars were better defenders then hitters, part of the reason our pitching did so well, as Joe Dackett (.274, 6, 52), Ed Neal (.252, 3, 45, 13), and Henry DeVeaux (.273, 2, 19) all made up for it on defense. The Legislators offense was hampered by Dick Hamilton's promotion, as he hit an impressive .361/.426/.515 (142 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers, and 40 RBIs in 63 games before his promotion. Same goes for Dan Collins (.290, 2, 32) and Danny Richardson (.282, 7, 45), but 8th Round Pick Johnny Carlisle (.360, 2, 33, 2) made up for some of it. He did miss most of September, but the versatile 22-year-old appeared in 14 or more games at third, short, center, and right. I'm excited to see what he can do next year, and there could be a big year for the underrated Israel Holmes (.280, 23) who tore up pitching down in San Jose.

B San Jose Cougars (California-Oregon-Washington League): 64-56, 4th, 9 GB: It was a rough year for the baby Cougars too, failing to win 70 games for the first time since they went 63-77 in 1934. The lower levels had a lot of movement all year, and with a lot of teams low on youngsters, there were plenty of older minor leaguers filling up the lower levels. Still, the Cougars staff was the best, allowing the fewest runs in the C-O-W League. Last year's 5th Rounder Lefty Jones (8-5, 2.96, 71) was impressive in his 13 starts and Bill Holloway (9-4, 3.00, 115) pitched well enough to start the season in Lincoln. Promotions to Lincoln took away Bill Ballantine (8-1, 2.11, 59), Roscoe Brown (5-3, 2.66, 89), and Bob Petty (5-2, 2.52, 80). Promotions also took Israel Holmes (.287, 2, 45, 4), Al Hurd (.278, 3, 53), and Bob Griffen (.288, 1, 28), while last year's 2nd Rounder Al Clement (.267, 2, 35, 14) and 1942 9th Rounder Don Jeppsen (.253, 2, 49) led the team in PAs while sporting a matching 80 OPS+. I think Clement should do better next year, and he'll get support from Dick Pace (.274, 1, 8, 1) and hopefully one of Bob Rogers, Tom Jovin (.178, 3), Harry Austin (.190, 1), and Jimmy Hairston (.171, 1, 1) who all spent most of their time in La Crosse. Another set of military callups could force a lot of younger guys up, but regardless San Jose will have a lot of guys better suited for C ball.

C La Crosse Lions (Upper Mississippi Valley Association): 53-67, 6th, 20 GB: *Checks Notes* A losing record? Our minor league teams generally perform well, and the Lions haven't had a record below .500 since a very tough 1933 where they went just 46-94 and a whopping 57 games out of first. The Lions had a roster of nearly entirely teenagers, with a lot of high upside youngsters. It came to various success, as our past two first rounders Tommy Seymour (7-6, 4.75, 45) and Bert Rogers (1-7, 5.26, 26) were completely overmatched, while 5th Rounder Lonnie Sis (5-5, 2.35, 42) and 8th Rounder Al Robison (3-4, 2.42, 29) were extremely effective. Unlike the rest of our affiliates, the Lions allowed the second most runs in the UMVA, as just swingman Russ Cushing (4-4, 3, 2.48, 68) joined Sis and Robison with 60+ innings and an ERA+ above 100. The offense also finished in the bottom half of the league, but the lineup was compose of a lot of talented youngsters who struggled, including Tom Brownleaf (.225, 2, 45, 14), Bob Rogers (.230, 34, 4), Billy Biggar (.290, 1, 37), Jimmy Hairston (.266, 4, 29), Tom Jovin (.261, 7), Harry Austin (.277, 2, 14), and Buddy Brumbaugh (.267, 14). None of the bunch had an OPS+ above 115, and I expect most of them to return to La Crosse to start next season. I'd love to see them have a winning record next season, but Lions fans might have to wait until after the war before they start seeing more wins.