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Spring Training 1948
The Kings brought 46 players to camp including highly priced rookies 3B Ken Newman, C Dan Smith, SP Paul Byler, P Joe Potts, and SS Chuck Lewis. While the front office did not feel any of these future Kings were ready to make the 1948 club, they wanted to give these kids a taste of the big league camp. The early part of the spring was giving equal amounts of time to the starters and then also the youngsters in camp. Accordingly, the Kings early spring record was just 7-13. But Manager Tom Barrell and GM DD Martin were not concerned. They had a mission and it was getting these kids experience and while the record was not what any fan would want, the duo was not concerned.
For the 2nd half of the camp many of the younger players were sent to the Kings minor league camp for re-assignment. The Kings finished with a flurry to end the spring with a 19-17 record and were preparing for what they hoped for was another step in their building block to “true” contention for the CA crown in the near future.
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