June 18, 1962
It's been five game weeks since our last update and the Chiefs continue to play much better than anyone around the league expected. On May 13 we
were 15-10 but we immediately hit a bit of a rough patch losing seven of our next 10 games including dropping two of three to Detroit and Philly and
finishing the run with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Miners. The expansion Suns then took two of three from us before we started to play
better. Sitting at 18-17 we then swept a three game set with Minnesota before taking taking two of three games in the next five series against
St. Louis, New York, Boston, Detroit, and Philly.
As we discussed earlier in the season the bats were carrying the Chiefs into any success they were having and it was all despite the starting
pitching which was supposed to be the best part of the squad entering the 1962 season. At least for this 18-game stretch from May 23 to June 18
the tables have turned. The starting pitching, still with room to improve, is starting to be more than expected, and the bats have started to cool.
So far this season has played out much better than anyone in the Chiefs' organization could have expected. OSA predicted we would win just 72
games but in the middle of June we already have 29 victories and are on pace to win 87 and sit tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the Fed.
The problem with that is the Pioneers are currently seven games ahead of us and on pace to win 106. Someone has to slow St. Louis down. It's a
funny game we play, we are the only team to play better than .500 ball
against the Pioneers so far this year at 4-2 but we understand it's still
early in the season. The funny part is the expansion Millers are 3-3 against St. Louis with the rest of the Fed going 11-35 against them. We
will definitely need some help from the other teams if we want to make up any ground.
Check this out...we are a third of the way through the 1962 season and All-Star voting has just opened so let's take a look at some of the surprises from
the first 51 games of 1962.
Joe Flanagan is a 28-year-old rookie who came to the Chiefs in a preseason trade with the expansion Imperials with veteran catcher catcher
Ray Smith. Smith has not played the way the GM Herb DeSpain had hoped when he was acquired but Flanagan has more than pulled his weight
so far this season. Up until this past week Flanagan was leading the FED in batting average. He currently is at .372 due to some struggles in June but
he was at .409 after the June first game against the Millers. He's on pace for over 200 hits, 117 runs scored, and 4+ WAR. That's more than the Chiefs
could have hoped for when they gave up two young prospects and $50k in cash for him and Smith.
Rod Shearer has seen his share of great individual seasons since he broke into the FABL as a 21-year-old in 1950 but the 1962 season could
go down as one of his best and he's only 33 years old and he continues to add to a great career. This is a great stat, if Shearer finishes 1962 at his
current pace he will finish the season as just the fifth player in history to accumulate 300 doubles, 100 triples, 375 homers, 1200 runs scored, and
1400 RBI. His company on that list includes four Hall of Famers named Barrell, Kellogg, Morris, and Wheeler. He would also break into the top
50 all-time in WAR.
23-year-old Dutch Lane won the stopper role with a great spring training that saw him post a 1.56 ERA in 17+ innings. Despite some recent rough
outings Lane is on pace for 32 saves which would set a new single-season record in the FED. The team record is only 20 saves set by Gene
Amico in 1957. The old FABL record is 29 set by the Kings' Del Lyons back in 1938. The Forresters have their own rookie stopper in 21-year-
old Johnny Ogden who is on pace for 40 saves but that won't overshadow the great season that Lane is having.
Next up we play a crucial three-game series in Pittsburgh before hosting Washington and finishing the month with six games
against the two expansion teams.
We will take a look at our farm system before the draft hits next sim.