May 14, 1947: Philadelphia, PA:
"What are you smiling about?" Billy Woytek asked Bobby Barrell as they stood near the batting cage at Broad Street Park. It was just after eleven on a partly cloudy but otherwise pleasant morning and the Keystones were preparing to take on the St. Louis Pioneers. St. Louis had come out of the gate like gangbusters and entered play with a 19-9 record while the Keystones were 15-13.
"Oh, I'm feeling good today, Bill," Bobby said, his grin getting even wider. Woytek scoffed but didn't say anything - truth was Bobby had been feeling good all season. He entered the game with 13 homers in 27 games, a breakneck pace to be sure. The whole league was suddenly power crazy - even the writers were noticing - and the Keystones were leading the pack. Bobby was setting the pace but rookie catcher Roger Cleaves had hit nine homers and Hank Koblenz six.
Bobby was in a batting practice group with Cleaves, Woytek and Davey Robicheaux. The latter, who'd come up a third baseman before getting bumped to the outfield when Koblenz came along, was a thickly-accented Alabaman with a perfectionist streak who had finagled his way into Bobby's group because he was trying to emulate his swing. Consensus around FABL said Bobby's swing was perfect. Keystones hitting coach Tom Wright, while acknowledging Bobby had a "good swing" was always telling Robicheaux that he'd never be able to copy it. "You're a right-handed hitter, Dave," he'd say to which Robicheaux would reply with a slowly drawled slew of words that the California-born Woytek believed had something to do with mirrors.
Bobby had no problem understanding Robicheaux. Woytek told him this was only because Bobby himself was from the deep south. "You all speak draw-all," he'd said with a smirk.
Rochicheaux, who had been chatting with Cleaves, perked up and paid attention as Bobby stepped into the cage. Pitching coach Elmer Pettus was throwing BP. A former catcher, Pettus was always in Cleaves' ear about working with the staff, but he had gotten into some hot water with Wright for telling the young catcher that he should try to hit the ball on a line, or on the ground and stop "trying to hit taters."
Now, Pettus frowned at Bobby, who just grinned back at him.
"Show time," Cleaves said, making Rochicheaux and Woytek smile. Woytek's smile was half-hearted, he'd suffered a concussion and was officially on the injured list. He wasn't taking batting practice, but refused to stay away from the team even though he wasn't playing.
Pettus began throwing and Bobby began hitting bombs into the bleachers. Cleaves, watching Robicheaux's reactions, smiled when the outfielder began trying to mimic Bobby's swing. "Mirror, right, Davey?" Cleaves asked.
Robicheaux nodded. "Watch my hips, Roger," he said and did a slow-motion imitation of Bobby's hip turn. Woytek, seeing this, shook his head. Wright, next to him, huffed and said, "Knock it off Davey, you're not going to get it."
Robicheaux stopped, muttering something only Cleaves could hear and which caused the rookie to smirk. Manager Jack Everhart had wandered over and told Rochicheaux to "leave it alone" and then pointed out that there was nothing wrong with his swing. "You do you, and let Bobby do Bobby, eh?" he said.
Cleaves was next and jumped into the cage with a big smile on his face. "Show time, part two!" he shouted, earning a frown from Pettus and a chuckle from Bobby.
A few hours later, the smiles around Broad Street Park were even wider. The Keystones had won in dramatic fashion and for the fans, it was showtime indeed.
Bobby and Hank Koblenz had combined for five home runs, and Robicheaux had also hit one.
The fun had started in the first inning. After Charlie Waddell had set down the Pioneers 1-2-3, Hal Hackney took the mound for St. Louis. He'd gotten leadoff man Ed Greenwood to pop to second baseman Bill Freeman. Robicheaux had followed and still trying to emulate Bobby's swing had flown out the center, earning him a "knock it off!" from Everhart when he got back to the dugout. Bobby himself stepped in, took two balls from Hackney and then unloaded on a fastball, depositing it 386 feet away in the right field bleachers for a 1-0 lead. Koblenz, hitting cleanup, took a 2-1 change-up and gave the fans in left field a souvenir with a 352-foot blast of his own. Cleaves followed but got underneath it and lifted it out to center for the final out.
Waddell ran into trouble in the third and St. Louis scored four runs to take the lead. The Keystones had come back to the top of the order in the bottom half, with Greenwood again leading off. This time he drew a four-pitch walk, to bring Robicheaux to the plate. Woytek, watching from the dugout, saw third base coach Frank Kirby signal for a bunt. Robicheaux frowned. Hackney checked the runner and came home. Robicheaux started to square, then pulled back and took a strike. Everhart, seeing Pioneers third baseman Gary Carmichael creeping in, signaled out to Kirby who relayed to Robicheaux - the bunt was off.
Hackney gave Greenwood a glance, then came home. Robicheaux, his swing looking like an awkward combination of his own swing (which Woytek also found perfectly fine) and Bobby's hip-driven power stroke, connected solidly. Woytek stepped up onto the top step of the dugout and laughed out loud when the ball plopped into the waiting hands of some kid in the second row of the left-field bleachers. A two-run homer - Robicheaux's third of the season.
"Now I'll never get him to stop that *&%^!" Everhart muttered while Wright rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Robicheaux had tied the game and rounded the bases looking like he was on cloud nine. Waiting at the plate was Bobby himself, who was up next. He had a broad grin on his face and slapped hands with Robicheaux. Then he stepped in, worked the count full, and hit another homer himself, this one 401 feet into the right field bleachers. When Koblenz connected for his second circuit clout of the game three pitches later, even the reticent Jack Everhart had to smile. The Keystones had gone back-to-back-to-back and it was 6-4. The fans (18049 of them) went berserk.
Robicheaux came up again the home fourth with Frank Davis on third and two outs. He was again trying his "power swing" and this time, got on top of the ball, beating it into the dirt in the direction of Carmichael at third. Bobby, standing on deck, heard Davey's curse as he busted out of the box and down the line. He beat out the infield single, scoring Davis and extending the Keystones lead to 7-4.
Bobby stepped in but grounded out harmlessly to second to end the inning. The Pioneers, showing a lot of resilience, came back in the top of the fifth to score three runs and tie it at seven apiece. Things settled down from there and though both teams threatened, neither had scored any additional runs by the time the game went to the bottom of the ninth.
The Pioneers' stopper, Tony Dixon, came on to pitch, relieving Ben Fiskars who had himself relieved Hackney back in the fourth. Greenwood, first pitch swinging, flew out to center. Robicheaux stepped in and struck out swinging on four pitches, earning a glare from Wright and a direct rebuke from Everhart on his return to the dugout. Bobby came up and took the first pitch for a ball. Dixon came home with the second pitch and Bobby unleashed his full might on the swing, launching the ball deep into the air towards left-center field. Both Larry Gregory in left and Cal Page in center just looked up as the ball soared far overhead, landing more than halfway up the bleachers, some 414 feet from the plate.
Bobby circled the bases as the fans went crazy. All the Keystones came out of the dugout and were waiting on him at home plate. Pioneers shortstop Homer Mills said, "That was the finest hitting display I've ever seen," as Bobby passed him; Bobby muttering "thanks" as he did so. Koblenz was the first to greet him, but Bobby was swallowed up in a sea of Keystones players. Woytek, trying to get in, was grabbed by the shoulder. It was Everhart. "You're recovering from a concussion, remember?" he said.
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Davey Robicheaux, 1947
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