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AAA Milwaukee Blues (Century League): 81-59, 2nd, 1 GB: It was another second place finish for the Blues, this time finishing two out instead of one, as the win total dropped four points. Milwaukee could never quite erase their 11-19 May, as even thought they finished the season winning 18 of the last 22, the Indianapolis Hoosiers (83-57) proved too difficult to overcome. Milwaukee's offense was the strength, leading in OPS and WAR, two things star shortstop Elmer Grace (.289, 20, 69) was a crucial part of. In 133 games has worth 7.3 WAR, second to only the 19th ranked Marshall Thomas (7.6) of the Boston Minutemen. He did pretty much everything right, producing a 149 WRC+ and 17.8 zone rating (1.083 EFF), hitting .289/.375/.476 (135 OPS+) in 582 trips to the plate. Thing is, he was one of the few players that spent the full season in AAA, as plenty of useful contributors moved up and down. Clyde Zimmerman (.267, 10, 54, 11) and Al Clement (.280, 17, 58, 9) spent time during the regular seasons as pieces on the big league team, while Mike Bordes (.246, 13, 52) and Jimmy Hairston (.265, 12, 56) got September callups. I'm not sure what the lineup is going to like next season, but there will be plenty of talented hitters ready to snap the three game second place streak.

There are a lot of question marks on the pitching side, but one certainty is that the Blues are not going to get seven starts of George Oddo (6-0, 1.42, 46) again. He was the most effective pitcher, but Frank Sartori (13-6, 3.09, 110) did an excellent job as the staff ace. He won the team triple crown, and had the lowest ERA among pitchers with ten or more starts. Before the deadline deal with the Wolves, Zane Kelley (5-4, 3.83, 54) was a reliable two, and they got good starts from Frank Terry (8-7, 3.62, 59) and Bob Hobbs (12-5, 3.44, 102) while Ken Matson (7-7, 19, 3.12, 58) did well in his stopper/swingman role. Jack Hale (5-0, 1, 2.67, 60) and Mark Eichner (5-0, 2.67, 60) were lethal out of the bullpen. The biggest thing to look forward to, however, is that top prospect Bob Allen will be here at some point next season, giving them the biggest attraction of the league. It's funny how even our minor league teams get close but not enough, and will have plenty of firepower coming back for another pennant attempt.

AA Little Rock Governors (AA Dixie League): 93-47, 1st, 13 GA): If the Blues are the minor league equivalent of us, the Little Rock Governors are our foils, as in their first ever Dixie League campaign they sequestered the competition and ran away with the league in June and never looked back. There's less categories the Governors didn't lead in then they led, and they had superstars on both sides of the field. There's the five shutouts from Jim Williams (16-6, 2.33, 75), who led the Dixie League in ERA, while leadoff extraordinaire Archie Cunningham (.283, 5, 60, 44) was the Dixie League WARlord for 1950. If there were All-Stars in the minor leagues, you could make legitimate cases for Frank Reece (.285, 14, 65, 25), Cliff Wallace (17-7, 2.57, 114), Roxy Hilts (.316, 4, 65, 11), Tommy Seymour (15-8, 3.03, 121), and Bill Nash (.315, 8, 58). They had plenty of guys moving in and out as well, finishing the season with eight elite Bob Allen (7-1, 1.68, 41) starts, while Jerry Smith (.277, 3, 30, 6), Harry Austin (.340, 9, 45), and George Carter (10-4, 3.24, 82) impressed while they were here. The Governors are returning a lot of regulars, and should go into 1951 as the odds on favorite for the title. Our AA affiliate has now won two fo the last three pennants, as the Commodores were the '48 champs.

A Lincoln Legislators (Heartland League) 92-48, 1st, 11 GB: The Legislators actually had a way better season this year as opposed to last, when they won the Heartland League, finishing an impressive 92-48. That's their best mark since 1942, but since the Terre Haute Brewers won 103 games, Lincoln was 11 out of first, and had to settle for a high win total second place finish. They allowed the fewest runs and scored the second most, using a balanced attack to beat the six sub. 500 teams in the Heartland League. Lonnie Sis was the star of the league's top staff, and despite being the #6 starter, he went 15-4 with a 2.95 ERA (130 ERA+) and 1.42 WHIP. All season long I was waiting for him to slip up, but the son of former FABL great Charlie Sis was a stabilizing force in a rotation that saw seven pitchers make ten or more starts. The only guy who made more then Sis' 23 starts was former top 100 prospect Dixie Gaines (10-9, 4.22, 127), who has taken a shocking tumble down the prospect rankings despite his wipe out stuff. The highly touted Bob Allen (6-7, 3.38, 62) gave Lincoln a little over 2 WAR (2.1) in 15 starts, though lesser prospects Al Robison (7-1, 2.21, 51), Barney Gunnels (8-2, 2.62, 56), and Howard Miller Jr. (6-1, 1.65, 57) were more effective. In single digit starts, Joe Oates (3-2, 2.44, 31), Steve Davis (5-2, 3.04, 47), and Lee Parker (2-4, 3.60, 18) were effective, and with such a large group of arms they're going to be retaining a great rotation.

The lineup was anchored by Henry Norman, who missed the last month of the season with shoulder inflammation. The 45th ranked prospect got into 94 games, hitting .330/.418/.476 (145 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 6 triples, 10 homers, 60 RBIs, 56 walks, and 8 steals. He spent about two thirds of his time in right, most of the rest in center, and was worth 5.0 WAR with a 150 WRC+. He's not going to be back next year, and if he stayed healthy I probably would've given him a late callup to Little Rock, where key contributors Charlie Everitt (.325, 14, 78) and Jerry Smith (.302, 10, 61) ended up. Charlie Harvey (.300, 11, 54) deserves a spot in AA, but our logjam could get him stuck down here. That's a good sign for Legislator fans, as what's left of the lineup isn't threatening. John Price (.403, 5, 22) did well in limited time, but in larger samples Bob Allie (.269, 2, 24) and Buddy Jenkins (.241, 5, 46) struggled. Johnnie Love (.275, 1, 51), Johnny Hadley (.285, 8, 67), and Lou Jackson (.247, 3, 54, 4) had average seasons at the plate, but they're the ones most likely to get called up. There aren't many reinforcements in San Jose, so I'm sure Manager Tex Cortes is hoping our logjam leaves ready to advanced guys at his disposal.

B San Jose Cougars (California-Oregon-Washington League): 80-60, 2nd, 3 GB: Just like the Chicago Cougars, the San Jose Cougars were in it until the last week, coming up just short of the Fresno Grizzlies (80-60) of the New York Gothams system. They suffered from similar issues as us, as the pitching was great but the offense inconsistent. Pat Burnett (7-9, 2.80, 144) opened up the season as the ace, but he was later passed up by midseason additions. Mack Lyons didn't pitch until the 26th of June, but Dick's son was simply marvelous in his first year in the organization. Mack went 8-3 with a 1.79 ERA (246 ERA+) and 1.51 WHIP. The other was 2nd Round Pick Ernie Tisdale, who went 6-2 in 10 starts with a 3.32 ERA (133 ERA+) and 55 strikeouts. That made up for promotions of Steve Davis (8-1, 2.11, 80), Joe Oates (5-6, 3.92, 91), Lee Parker (5-5, 3.66, 66), and Al Robison (5-3, 3.84, 45). The lineup struggled at times, but catcher Ernie Frost (.315, 5, 48) was a consistent presence. They missed Lou Jackson (.283, 4, 49, 5) then Harley Dollar (.301, 5, 42, 5) before promotions to Lincoln, and the revolving door of lineup members didn't produce many threats. Offense is an area of improvement for next season, allowing the opportunity for one of the remaining players seizing a lock in the lineup.

C La Crosse Lions (Upper Mississippi Valley Association): 32-30, 4th, 12 GB: The least successful member of our organization, the Lions finished with the lowest win percentage and most games out of first, and they struggled to end the season with a 3-6 September record. 1st Round Pick Andy Robinson (.246, 6, 22, 3) didn't have the best go at it post-draft, and the same can be said for Ike Soeur (.227, 5, 11), Bill Owens (2-4, 3, 8.85, 53), and Gene Meeker (.132, 1, 5, 2). One of the few draftees to succeed was Hal Lewis (4-3, 2.54, 81), but he's 21 and will start next season in San Jose. There are a lot of spots up for grabs and plenty of inexperience, and our rotation had some serious struggles. The biggest issue was Walt Cooper (2-0, 4.20, 24) tearing an elbow ligament in his second start, as in this high scoring environment his 4.20 ERA was equivalent to a 133 ERA+. 7 pitchers with 15 or more innings had ERAs above 5.50, as even the pen was hit hard. Morty Smith (1-0, 2.73, 46) was one of the few to keep his ERA down, but he walked 30 in 33 innings and that type of command is not desirable. Offensively they didn't have much support, though Biff Tiner (.323, 2, 17, 3) and Frank Hernandez (.296, 5, 16) did well in limited time. Another plus was a power surge from Clyde Skinner (.260, 8, 32), though he struggled heartily in 18 games in San Jose. Our youth might work against the record, as we have a lot of talented, raw prospects, and with two few at bats or innings to go around, it may be effecting some of the guys play.