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JULY 13, 1954 . . . All Star Game time! The NL dominated last year, and we’re hoping to do the same in 1954. Warren Hacker got the start for the NL, while Herb Score pitched the first inning for the AL. And both guys got things going nicely from a pitching perspective, and the game stayed hitless through the first two innings, though at least the NL batters drew a couple walks. Vinegar Bend Mizell got an out and then walked Jim Delsing in the top of the third, but he handled a double play to get out of the inning still hitless. Jackie Robinson, in the bottom of the third, got the first hit of the game for either team, but he never got past first. Bobby Shantz became the fourth NL pitcher to get through a hitless inning, and Hank Aaron came up with one out in the bottom of the fourth and hit one 420 feet into the center field bleachers, putting us up 1-0 in a game where it seemed that might be enough! Alas, Lou Burdette gave up the NL’s first hit in the top of the fifth and it was a doozy, a 404-foot shot to left by Ray Boone that tied us up at 1-1, and his next pitches led to a solo blast by Yogi Berra that put the AL ahead 2-1. Burdette had a terrible appearance, and by the time he got his third out we trailed 4-1. But Willie Mays came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth and hit a three-run blast to right field, tying it up again! Way to go, Mays! Johnny Podres pitched a perfect sixth inning for us, but Sandy Consuegra gave up a walk and a hit in the seventh and a second hit allowed the go-ahead to score for the AL, a Jim Delsing single that drove in Eddie Yost. Ernie Banks got a hit for us in the bottom of the eighth but was left stranded. Warren Spahn got us through the ninth safely, allowing us to head into the bottom of the final inning trailing the AL All Stars by the same one-run margin. But we couldn’t buy a hit, and the AL All Stars beat us 5-4 in the end.
They outhit us 6-5, a game with few hits but plenty of homeruns. Jim Delsing of the AL was named the game MVP. Willie Mays came out of it with three RBIs and the homer that kept us in the game in the first place, so I’m pretty happy with that.
JULY 14, 1954 . . . Welcome back to baseball games that count in the standings! We’re back at Wrigley for the next week and a half -- tomorrow we have a doubleheader against Pittsburgh, followed by two more game against them before series next week against Brooklyn (three games), the Giants (two games) and Philadelphia (four games, including a Sunday doubleheader on the 25th). And we better make the games count, because we then hit the road on the 27th for 20 games before finally returning to Wrigley on August 17th. We currently lead the Dodgers by 10.5 games, while Cincinnati, Philly and Milwaukee are all within 18.5 games and still at least marginally in the race. In the AL, Cleveland (56-27) has a ten game lead on the Yankees, something I suspect is going to lead to heads rolling if the Yanks can’t find their way back in. The Chicago White Sox are in third, half a game behind the Yankees, and everyone but the Orioles (30 games back) stands at least a chance of fighting their way back to at least .500 baseball in that league.
I’ve decided that Hy Cohen has earned his spot as our ace at the moment, with Robert Diehl moving up to the second spot and Warren Hacker moving to third in the rotation. Joe Dobson will remain our fourth man, and we’re currently running a six man bullpen, led by Consuegra, Dorish, Ferrick and Fear, with Jim Konstanty awaiting his first appearance. We also recently acquired Bob Porterfield, age 30, from Boston via waivers. He’s got great movement and control and a load of stamina -- he’ll make a great spot starter as well as a long relief man if a starter tires early. Right now our team chemistry is through the roof, and I am confident we can build on one of the best starts in franchise history and get our way back into the World Series this fall.
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