May 28, 1951
FORESTERS CONTINUE HOT PLAY
Streaks the Story in Both Associations
They may have started slowly but the two time defending Continental Association champion Cleveland Foresters are on a tear. The Foresters have won 10 straight games and are likely wishing that May would not end with a 21-6 showing this month. The Foresters quickly overcame a 5-8 start but even with the hot play of late they are still two and a half games back of the surprising Philadelphia Sailors for top spot in the CA. The Sailors have enjoyed a productive month as well, going 20-7 so far in May with only 3 games against last place Toronto remaining this month. The rest of the Continental is struggling to keep up with Montreal and Brooklyn, each 20-20, tied for third place but 8 and a half games off the pace set by the Sailors.
Streaks are not just restricted for the top of the Continental Association as at the other end of things we have the woeful Toronto Wolves. Toronto sits in the Continental cellar with an 11-26 record and has lost each of its last eight outings. Bright spots for fans at Dominion Stadium simply do not exist as the club is last in the loop in every major offensive category and barely better on the mound or with its defense. The Wolves are in the finishing stages of a 13 game homestand that has seen the club drop eleven of those thirteen contests. On the season Toronto is 6-13 at Dominion Stadium.
There are streaks in play in the Federal Association as well, most notably in Philadelphia where the Keystones are starting to show signs of coming out of their terrible funk to start the season. Despite losing leader Bobby Barrell, the Keystones have won five in a row and seven of their last nine outings as they try to put the memory of their recent 18 game losing streak behind them.
Despite dropping two of three in New York over the weekend the St Louis Pioneers continue to lead the way in the Federal Association as they look to duplicate their 1946-47 stretch when they finished 8th in '46 and won the WCS in '49. After finishing dead last in the Fed a year ago, the Pioneers presently lead Detroit by a game and a half and the Gothams by 5 games.
PITCHING PREVAILING EARLY IN FED RACE
It's still early into the FABL season, but as we're reaching the end of May, the Federal Association has been dominated by pitching. The two teams ranked first and second, the Pioneers and Dynamos, are also first and second in runs allowed, and they're two of just three Federal teams who have won more games then they've lost.
With the Pioneers, the 3-Hs are back to dominating, with "The Undertaker" Hiram Steinberg most impressive. He's just 5-3, but his 1.81 ERA (246 ERA+) is the second lowest mark among qualified pitchers, and he's paired that with a tidy 1.16 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. Hal Hackney again looks like the pitcher that won the 1948 Allen Award, and he's coming off a dominant 4-hit shutout against Boston, where he needed to be perfect as the Pioneers provided him with just one run. This improved him to 5-2 in 8 starts, working to a 2.38 ERA (187 ERA+) and 1.14 WHIP with 41 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched. His 8.7 BB% would be a career best, as he's allowed 23 free passes and is on pace for his first sub-100 walk season in 200+ innings. Danny Hern's (5-4, 3.57, 32) numbers seem pedestrian compared to his co-aces, but his 125 ERA+ is still well above average and his 3.45 FIP (77 FIP-) is in line with the other two, with a strong 1.19 WHIP and 1.7 K/BB.
With Carl Potter leaving his first start of the season with a partially torn UCL, many may have wrote off the Dynamos. Instead, he's seemed to infused his power into longtime teammate Wally "Big Game" Hunter.
Hunter is the one pitcher with an ERA lower then Steinberg, as his 1.65 ERA (263 ERA+) in 49 innings is the best among any qualified hurler. Now 4-1, he's got a 1.02 WHIP with 22 walks and strikeouts, doing his best to replicate the young veteran's dominance. Another surprising success for the Dynamos is the well-traveled Rusty Petrick, who at 35 is pitching like someone worth of being traded for a prime Rabbit Day. Petrick is on pace for a 20-win season, 5-2 with a 2.78 ERA (156 ERA+). I don't think anyone had Wally Hunter and Rusty Petrick leading the Dynamos to a postseason bid, but over a month in and that's how things are shaping up.
The issue for these two teams, however, is the offense, as they're 5th and 6th in the Fed in scoring. The surprising star of the Pioneer's offense has been offseason pickup Frank Kirchner (.343, 1, 24), who's 137 WRC+ blow's trade mate Jim Adams Jr. (.260, 1, 12, 5) out of the water. Larry Gregory (.230, 3, 20) and Al Tucker (.273, 1, 18) have started out ice cold, with Tucker being moved to the bench in favor of Ray Bates (.450, 1, 8). Bates has been excellent in a reserve role, as has 84th ranked prospect Claude Kate (.309, 4, 19), but to stay on top, the Pioneers may have to look outside the organization to keep up their great stretch.
The same can be said for Detroit, though they already upgraded the offense around Opening Day when they picked up outfielder Pat Petty (.279, 1, 15) from the Kings for former top pick Roy Schaub (3-2, 3.86, 8). Batting behind Dick Estes (.291, 4, 27) and Edwin Hackberry (.278, 6, 23, 6) should provide him plenty of RBI opportunities, but the Dynamos' cornerstone bats haven't been producing at their normal levels. There's room for improvement with both, but they'll now have to replace young third basemen Jim Gaiter (.269, 1, 9). With continued production from the double play duo of Del Johnson (.299, 3, 14, 10) and Stan Kleminski (.306, 1, 17, 3), Detroit could be just one bat away from a pennant, but like the Pioneers, they'll have to hold off last year's pennant winners. The Gothams may still be five out, but with stars like Ed Bowman (4-1, 2.91, 28), George Cleaves (.274, 5, 12), Walt Messer (.253, 3, 16), and Red Johnson (.261, 10, 31), you can never count them out.
TALES FROM THE LAIR
Wolves Go 0-7 For The Week -Toronto's baseball team continues their losing ways by dropping all 7 games this week and bringing their current winless streak to eight as they prepare to close out a homestand against the CA leading Philadelphia Sailors. The team's record in May is now 6-21 including a 2-11 at home with 3 games remaining before heading out on the road. For the immediate future we will concentrate this weekly column on a general overview of the Wolves direction rather than a detailed game-by-game account of the suffering. Brett will be looking for promising things happening, ask questions about recent moves and suggest possible transactions. This is rather than detailing recent games that must be coming as depressing for the readers as it for Brett to report them to the public.
This past week there was a loss to the Saints followed by three to the Kings then four more to the red hot Foresters who have now won 10 straight chasing down Philadelphia. This week the opposition outscored the Wolves 58-28 showing where the source of the problem lies for Toronto: pitching. The Wolves knew going into the season they would not be an offensive juggernaut and that pitching would be the key to any success the team would have in 1951.
The pitching has not been even close to FABL quality thus far. The bullpen has received, deservedly, criticism for surrendering leads late in games. The starters have not been much better posting a combined record of 6-23, 4.67 ERA. The place to start the change for the Wolves is on the mound. Brett has been told there is change in the works. First move is Rule 5 acquisition Frank Sartori being returned to Chicago Cougars along with his 0-8 record, 7.00 ERA. Overall the team lacks quality lefthanded pitching, and the future reported ace Les Ledbetter is struggling in Buffalo with ERA north of 6 so he is not the immediate answer. Manager Fred Barrell will probably be forced to cobble together a pitching staff for the short term while looking to the minors for help, but currently there is no one who stands out as an immediate solution.
At the plate, preseason predictions are correct through the first two months of the season, the Wolves are not going to outslug anyone. On the infield Fred McCormick is definitely slowing down although he still leads the team in RBI. Many are screaming for the callup of Tony Ballinger, .333/.382/.609 8 HR 20 RBI in AAA, who appears to ready for the FABL. The question becomes is the long term value more to Toronto with Ballinger at 1B while having Ed Reyes, McCormick on the bench or play out 1951 with Reyes, McCormick combination while allowing Ballinger honing his skills for the future? Brett thinks leaving Ballinger in the minors to murder AAA pitching is the way to go unless either or both of the vets completely fall off the cliff.
The young middle infield of Harry Finney, 27, at 2B, Joe DeMott, 24, at third and 20-year-old John Wells at short should be penciled on the lineup card almost everyday in the hopes of developing into a tight, defensively sound, run-saving combination. With Pat Todd, Tom Frederick and John Fast providing help off the bench as needed the team should concentrate on the regulars meshing for the future. Fans can expect some tough days at Dominion Stadium during this growth process. Behind the plate the tandem of Harry Pomeroy, who bat is finally awakening after two months, and Cal Yeager are both under 27 and should be a league average to slightly above in the future.
An outfield of left to right of Hank Giordano, Wally Boyer and Kirby Copeland should be defensive sound with the biggest question being will Boyer hit enough to be an everyday CF? The Wolves have some outfield help on the way. Ralph Miller in Buffalo and Bill Irvin in Vancouver are showing hope for the future.
As for manager Fred Barrell and his staff Brett believes that Barrell, Dick Dennis, Johnny Franklin should remain in place at Dominion Stadium. They are the right people to turn around this team's fortunes. Replacing Huck Monahan might be required who has an expiring contract. Brett will chronicle the Wolves lack of success in the draft in a later article, Scouting Director Art Willis should be held to account for a system that is currently ranked 12th of 16.
Overall Brett thinks the balance of 1951 will be trying in Wolves nation. He thinks fans should continue to support he team at Dominion Stadium to be in on the ground floor of a rising team. The front office should be continually pushing system players up through the system. More to follow from the Mail & Empire.
"It's still early". It's the common refrain from teams not playing as expected. And it fits this season's Gothams. As we near the end of May, the preseason favorites find themselves playing a little below what they may have expected, but finding themselves 5 games behind St. Louis. "It's still early" can become "It's getting late" very quickly.
What's lacking this season? For one Lefty Allen. The veteran is 1-5 with a very ugly 6.57 ERA. Lefty has mixed in some very adequate starts with some real stinkers. In addition, the team has not found a reliable 5th starter, and so far the schedule has not allowed for skipping the spot and relying on Ed Bowman, Buddy Long and Joe Brown who are doing their share.
What is working? Most of the offense. With Red Johnson looking himself in May, the lineup is humming along as Walt Messer works to find himself. George Cleaves has his usual strong .411 OBP. Then there's Billy Moody's otherworldly .505 OBP. Add in the infield group of Roosevelt Brewer (league leading .374 Avg), Tom Jefferies (.328) and Cecil LaBonte (.319) and there's no shortage of runners on base.
The combination of good hitting and good pitching 3 of 5 days has moved the Gothams up in the standings, but the question remains, can they run off a streak to catch St. Louis, and Detroit? They'll get a shot at Detroit this week with the 2nd place Dynamos arriving at Gothams Stadium for a 4 game set, which includes a Memorial Day double header.
SHAMROCKS CABBELL NAMED TOP NAHC PLAYER
For the second year in a row New York Shamrocks captain Orval Cabbell was named the winner of the McDaniels Trophy, presented annually to the regular season Most Valuable Player. Cabbell, who established a new single season NAHC point mark with 82, appeared in all 70 games for New York and scored a season high 29 goals. Under the leadership of the 33-year-old the Shamrocks finished with the best regular season record but fell to Boston in a semi-final series that went the full seven games. Cabbell had 1 goal and 6 points in the playoffs.
Cabbell was chosen the winner from the three finalists that included Wilbur Chandler of the Boston Bees and Chicago's Tommy Burns, who won three consecutive McDaniels Trophy's from 1946 thru 1948.
The top goaltender was also a repeat winner as Alex Sorrell of the New York Shamrocks won his second straight Juneau Trophy. The 25-year-old Niagara Falls, ON., native led the NAHC with a 1.92 goals against average while posting a 28-17-3 record. Sorrell narrowly nosed out veteran Montreal goaltender Tom Brockers, who already owns four Juneau Trophy's, for the award.
The battle for the McLeod Trophy as top rookie was also a tight one with Boston Bees forward Mike Brunell finishing ahead of tough young Montreal Valiants rearguard Ed McRae. Brunell's win is the first McLeod Trophy for a Boston player since Brockers won way back in the 1938-39 season. It also ends a three rear hold on the award by the Detroit Motors. Detroit's Bob Pilon was a finalist on this year's ballot but finished a distant third.
The final award was the Yeadon Trophy, presented for gentlemanly play. Another Boston Bee was the winner as veteran forward Tommy Hart was the choice. This marked the second year the Yeadon was awarded after an eight year absence.
SHELTON PICKS MCCOY FOR FIRST TITLE DEFENSE
Memphis Millard Shelton, who some still cannot believe beat John Edmonds to win the World Welterweight title in March, has announced he will make his first defense against young Mark McCoy next month. The bout, set for Friday July 13th under the lights at Cincinnati's Tice Memorial Stadium, will be the first championship fight ever contested in the Queen City ballpark.
Shelton knocked Edmonds down in both the 14th and 15th rounds to score a victory over the former champ at Thompson Palladium in Detroit on March 17. After the bout, the 30-year-old slow talking Tennessean seemed as shocked as nearly everyone else in attendance that he was the new champion. There had been some call for a rematch with Edmonds but that will have to wait at least until the fall as McCoy, a 22-year-old from Kansas City who stopped Nathan Sears in April to run his record to 24-2, was selected to face Shelton.
RECENT KEY RESULTS- Thursday night in St. Paul, MN., former middleweight contender Nick Harris scored a unanimous decision over Andy Jackson in their 10-round tussle. Harris, who once had a title shot when Frank Melanson ruled the middleweight division, is now 32-8-1 for his career.
- Another former contender, this time heavyweight Cannon Cooper, was also in action last week. Cooper who waited years before finally getting his chance against Hector Sawyer a year ago, claimed a unanimous decision over another veteran fighter by the name of John Howe when the two met at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium on Friday.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- June 7- Flatbush Gardens, Brooklyn- Mark Westlake (28-8-1) vs Jeffrey Wolff (27-7-3) in a welterweight fight
- June 8- Buffalo, NY: World Welterweight champion Danny Rutledge (23-1-1) makes his first tile defense against Ben Burns (20-0)
- June 9- Bigsby Garden, New Yok - heavyweight contenders Tommy Cline (18-4) and Brad Harris (20-1-1) meet
- June 16 - Bigsby Garden, New York, NY- Brian Pierce (18-3-1) vs Rudy Perry (31-6-1) in a battle of ranked welterweights
- June 22- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago - former welterweight champ Ira Mitchell (27-6) vs Artie Neal (30-9-1)
- June 29- Thompson Palladium, Detroit- highly touted HW contender and Detroit naive Joey Tierney (23-0) faces Evan Rivers (18-2-3)
- July 13- Cincinnati: World Middleweight champion Millard Shelton (31-5) makes his first title defense against Mark McCoy (24-2)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 5/27/1951
- Reds have begun withdrawing from half of the Korean front after losing a reported 60,000 men, by Allied estimates, in a five-day offensive launched by UN forces. American forces have once again crossed the 38th Parallel.
- Speaking at the Senate hearing, Gen. Bradley said that Gen. MacArthur's Far East recommendations could only have been carried out if "you strip everything else" away in the military establishment.
- The United States flatly rejected a Russian proposal for a Japanese peace treaty that would among other things strip Japan of all American defense forces.
- Supporters of Iran's Nationalist Premier clashed with Communist-backed railway union demonstrators in the latest skirmish in and around Teheran.
- Gen. Bradley told Congress that Iran is the next danger point for conflict with Russia, noting there is concern the Soviets may move into Iran "starting another aggression."
- Bradley also candidly stated that the North American Treaty nations "do not have capability right now" to stop a Russian attack.