[jksander]

October 11, 1946: The rumors are over, and all speculation is finished, as the St. Louis Browns, the MLB’s punching bag of late, have finally found a manager and GM to take the helm. Niccolo “Nico” Lazzeri, age 29, has taken the thankless job just a month or so out from the team choosing first in the first-ever Major League Amateur Draft. Lazzeri, who is the American born son of Italian immigrants who came to Chicago just three decades ago from Salerno, will become the youngest front office leader in the game right out of the gate. And he’s going to have a tough road to hoe ... though the team reportedly has cash to spend, he’ll be working for a demanding owner who has shown little signs that he’s willing to do what needs done to field a winner. While the Cardinals, who share Sportsmans Park with the hapless Browns, have found much success in the baseball world, the Browns have just one pennant win since 1888, and it took place in 1944 when the bulk of the league’s players were off fighting in World War II. Outside of the War seasons of ’44 and ’45, they haven’t finished less than 10 games back since 1922 when they were 93-61 and lost the pennant by a single game.

“I know I have my work cut out for me,” Lazzeri told the local assembled press. “But I’ve spoken with Vern Stevens, who has been the young leader of the team over the last half decade, and I’ve assured him that I want to build a team here that can make our city proud just like the Cardinals have done. It’s going to take work, both in this new draft and via free agency, but I’m ready to dig in and fight for this team and its fans. We’re going to prove that more than one team can win games in St. Louis.”

Owner Kelly Nau has made it clear he expects this team to be able to play .500 ball, though with what roster remains to be seen. The Browns had attendance of fewer than 9,000 fans per game last season, falling short of 700,000 attendance during a season where the Cardinals packed more than 1.5 million fans into Sportsmans Park while the Browns were on the road. The team spent $290,000 on its roster, which was comparable to other teams of its stature, but with players now having more freedom to demand “big money” as free agents, will they be able to compete as an organization to get the players needed to field an actually competitive roster? Only time will tell.

Babe Dahlgren remains the team’s only major player who could become a free agent this offseason ... Dahlgren, a first baseman, hit .294 with a double and an RBI in 21 games as a pinch-hitter, so it is unlikely that Lazzeri will be focused on bringing him back. More likely, the focus is on planning for the upcoming draft and then hoping that ownership will free up some money for any free agents who do end up declaring in the next couple weeks. But he’ll be working with one of the league’s worst overall front office, full of unproven, inexperienced baseball minds, and the team’s hitting and pitching coaches as it stands are among the dregs that all other major league teams have let pass by. It’s worth noting, however, that the group has shown good morale and it may be worth keeping them around in this “transition year” to keep the team’s young core energized.